What is a trumeau?
A trumeau is a central pier or mullion that divides a wide doorway, usually a church portal, into two openings and supports the tympanum above. The word is French and has two related meanings: the section of wall between two windows, and a mirror or panel above a fireplace or between two windows.
The three meanings
- Central pier of a portal: found mainly in Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals. The trumeau carries the lintel beneath the tympanum and is often richly carved, for example with a figure of a saint, Christ or the Virgin. Well-known examples are in the north porch of Chartres Cathedral and the main portal of Saint-Lazare Cathedral in Autun.
- Wall between two windows: in this sense trumeau is a less common word for a window pier, the solid stretch of wall between two openings.
- Mirror or panel (trumeau mirror): in interiors, a mirror above the mantelpiece or between two windows, often in a carved or painted timber frame and sometimes with a painting above the glass. A tall mirror between windows is also called a pier glass.
Uses
As a building element, the portal trumeau is found mainly in medieval churches and in Gothic Revival buildings that imitate them. The trumeau mirror belongs to classical interiors of the 18th and 19th centuries, especially in French styles, and is still sold as an antique or reproduction.
Practical tips
- Read the context: in a survey or restoration report on a church, trumeau almost always means the portal pier; in an antiques listing it usually means the mirror.
- Never just remove one: a trumeau in a portal is structural. Have a structural engineer look before any restoration or widening of the doorway.
- Hang mirrors securely: a trumeau mirror in a timber frame is heavy. Fix it to the wall or chimney breast with suitable fixings rather than resting it on the mantelpiece.
Related terms
- Portal
- Pier
- Wall pier
- Tympanum
- Archivolt
- Gothic Revival
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