Voussoir

Alternating colored voussoirs, known as striped arches, have specific historical and political meanings in medieval architecture. In the early Islamic architecture, alternating voussoirs showed the power and wealth of the Umayyads. After the fall of Umayyad Caliphate in Syria, Abd al-Rahman I used alternating brick and stone voussoirs in the Great Mosque of Córdoba. This recreation of the marble revetment of the Great Mosque of Damascus was a symbol of Umayyad authority in the Iberian Peninsula. In 12th-century Romanesque architecture churches like Sainte-Madeleine at Vézelay and Le Puy Cathedral, banded arches reminded visitors of the First Crusade and the Holy Land. When crusaders captured Jerusalem, they declared the Dome of the Rock, with its interior arcades made of alternating marble voussoirs, as the Templum Domini (Temple of the Lord). These multi-colored arches became a clear symbol of Jerusalem and the crusades in Western Europe. At Cluniac monastery sites in Spain, like San Pedro de Cardeña, this decor was also used to represent Muslim enemies during the Reconquista. The keystone represents power and strength as a central element of the arch. == Examples of Voussoirs ==

The Dome of the Rock displays voussoirs creating the arches inside the monument. The green and white colored voussoirs exemplify the Umayyad style by continuing a sense of divineness, in comparison with using mosaics, inscriptions, and carvings. In doing so, concepts of vases and vegetal designs, paired with the updated architecture of the voussoirs, establish a sense of power during the time. The Great Mosque of Córdoba also contains prominent voussoirs displayed in arch form, utilizing the Cordoban Caliphate arch concept. The arches are in sets of two, lined in rows and columns. In regards to the Umayyad period, these voussoirs focused on three main components: the red and white coloring, textured wedge shapes, and intricate detail. The architectural form also changed during the time to make the stones wider and more radial. Using different colored voussoirs helps highlight the shape of the arch and makes it easier to see how the pieces fit together. ==Etymology==

The word is a stonemason's term borrowed in Middle English from French verbs connoting a "turn" (OED). ==See also==