Fornix (architecture)
Fornix (Latin) in Roman architecture denotes the arch of a vault , initially the arches of bridges and aqueducts , later also vaults in the masonry over doors and windows, small gates and entrances to the auditorium. After all, Fornix also stood for the vault itself, vaulted passages and arcades or a vaulted room, for example a cellar vault, even more generally for a basement.
Towards the end of the republic , the meaning began to change. Due to the bad reputation of the tabernae housed in such shop and cellar vaults , Fornix became a synonym for brothel . Therefore, from now on, only the more neutral arcus was used for the arches of aqueducts, gate and triumphal arches . However, some ancient arches in Rome retained their names, such as the Calpurnianus Fornix , the Fabianus Fornix , Fornix Augusti , Fornix Scipionis and the three Fornices Stertinii . Passages and arcades were called via tecta (“covered path”).
The meaning of “brothel” fornix and its derivatives ( fornicare “fornication”, fornicatrix “whore”) found widespread use in the writings of the church fathers , from where they came into the European languages, for example English and French ( fornication “fornication ").
literature
- Walter Hatto Gross : Fornix. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 2, Stuttgart 1967, Col. 596 f.
- Christoph Höcker : Metzler Lexicon of Ancient Architecture. 2nd edition Metzler, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-476-02294-3 , p. 89.