Crypt

This article is about the stone chambers called "crypts". For other uses, see Crypt (disambiguation).

Crypt of Bayeux, France

In medieval terms, a crypt (from the Latin crypta and the Greek kryptē) is a stone chamber or vault, usually beneath the floor of a church or castle, usually used as a chapel or burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics of important persons such as saints or high ranking church officials. Saint-Sernin basilica located in Toulouse France was built during the Romanesque Period between AD 1080 and 1120 Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. A chapel is a holy place or area of Worship for Christians, which may be attached to an institution such as a large church, a College, a For a protective coffin enclosure see Burial vault (enclosure. A sarcophagus is a Funeral receptacle for a Corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone A coffin (also known as a casket in North American English) is a funerary Box used in the display and containment of deceased remains – either for A relic is an object or a personal item of religious significance carefully preserved with an air of Veneration as a tangible memorial A saint (from the Latin sanctus) is a human being to whom has been attributed (and who has generally demonstrated a high level of Holiness and Sanctity

1 Description
2 Burial vaults
3 Examples
4 See also

Description

Churches were occasionally raised above ground level to accommodate a crypt at the ground level, such as St. Michael's Church in Hildesheim, Germany. The Church of St Michael (Michaeliskirche in Hildesheim, Germany, is an early- Romanesque church is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the district of Hildesheim, about 30 km southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste Crypts are typically found below the apse such as at Saint-Germain en Auxerre, but occasionally found beneath church wings and naves. APSE standing for Ada Programming Support Environment is a program or set of programs to support Software development in the Ada programming language. In Romanesque and Gothic Christian Abbey, Cathedral Basilica and church Architecture, the nave is the First known in the early Christian period, in particular North Africa at Orleansville and Djemila in Algeria, and Byzantium at Saint John Studio in Constantinople, crypts were first used and spread widely in western Europe under Charlemagne, they are most common in the early medieval West, for example in Burgundy at Dijon and Tournus. Chlef ( الشلف) is the capital of Chlef Province, Algeria. Djemila lit in arabic the Beautiful one, Latin: Cuicul or Curculum) is a mountain village in Algeria, near the northern coast east Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's This article is about the city See also Byzantine Empire. Byzantium ( Greek: Βυζάντιον Latin: la BYZANTIVM Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS Charlemagne (ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814 was King of the Franks from 768 to his Burgundy (Bourgogne Burgund is a region historically situated in modern-day France and Switzerland, inhabited in turn by Celts ( Gauls) Dijon ( diʒɔ̃ is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or departement and of the Bourgogne region Tournus is a commune of the Saône-et-Loire département, in east-central France. After the 10th century the need for crypts faded, when Church officials permitted relics to be held in the main level of the church. By the Gothic period crypts were rarely built. See also Gothic art Gothic architecture is a style of Architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period.

Burial vaults

Main article: Burial vault (tomb). For a protective coffin enclosure see Burial vault (enclosure.

In more modern terms, a crypt is most often a stone chambered burial vault used to store the deceased. For a protective coffin enclosure see Burial vault (enclosure. Crypts are usually found in cemeteries and under public religious buildings, such as churches or cathedrals, but are also occasionally found beneath mausolea or chapels on personal estates. A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. This article is about the history and organisation of the cathedral A mausoleum ( plural: mausolea is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons A chapel is a holy place or area of Worship for Christians, which may be attached to an institution such as a large church, a College, a Wealthy or prestigious families will often have a 'family crypt' or 'vault' in which all members of the family are stored. Many royal families, for example, have vast crypts containing the bodies of dozens of former royals. A royal family is the extended family of a monarch. Generally the head of a royal family is a king or queen regnant In some localities an above ground crypt is more commonly called a mausoleum, which also refers to any elaborate building intended as a burial place, for one or any number of people. A mausoleum ( plural: mausolea is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons

There was also a trend in the 1800s of building crypts into medium to large size family estates, usually subtly placed on the edge of the grounds or more commonly incorporated into the cellar. After a change of owner these are often blocked up and the house deeds will not allow this area to be re-developed.