A hagioscope (also called a “squint”) is an angled viewing opening or narrow slit in a wall of a church, usually in the chancel or transept wall. Through it, worshippers who were not standing in the nave could still keep sight of the altar.
Characteristics
The hagioscope is an opening bored at an angle through the wall, directing the gaze towards the altar. Typical features:
- A narrow, angled line of sight
- Usually in the chancel or transept wall
- Aimed at the altar and the Eucharist
- Found mainly in medieval, Gothic churches
Because the opening is set at an angle, people in a side chapel or another place outside the nave could still see the altar.
Applications
The hagioscope allowed worshippers who were not permitted or able to stand in the nave — for example from a side chapel, or in the Middle Ages sometimes lepers outside the church — to follow the most important moment of the Mass: the elevation of the host, when the priest raised the host aloft.
In this way, those at a distance also took part in the Eucharist without mixing with the other churchgoers. Today the hagioscope is mainly an architectural and church-historical feature, still found in many medieval churches, offering insight into the liturgical customs of that time.
Related terms
- Chancel
- Altar
- Transept
- Niche
- Gothic
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