Tented roof
type of polygonal hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak
A tented roof (also known as a pavilion roof) is a type of polygonal hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak. Tented roofs, a hallmark of medieval religious architecture, were widely used to cover churches with steep, conical roof structures.
In the Queen Anne Victorian style, it took the form of a wooden turret with an octagonal base with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak, usually topped with a finial.
A distinctive local adaptation of this roof style was widely used in 16th- and 17th-century Russian architecture for churches, although there are examples of this style also in other parts of Europe. It took the form of a polygonal spire but differed in purpose in that it was typically used to roof the main internal space of a church, rather than as an auxiliary structure. The same architectural form is also applied to bell towers.
The term "tent roof" may also be applied in modern architecture to membrane and thin shell structures comprising roofs of modern materials and actual tents.
Russian tent-like churches
The "tent-like church" (Russian: шатровая церковь) is a national type of church that was developed in late medieval Russia. It marks a sharp departure from the traditions of Byzantine architecture which never put emphasis on verticality. Sergey Zagraevsky has argued that tented roofs have something in common with European Gothic spires.
“Tented roof” enters the record as type of polygonal hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Tented, roof and type can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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