A1-Sible de Blaauw
Origins and Early Developments of the Choir
Sible de Blaauw
Notwithstanding the continuing « ambiguïté du mot
chœur », which had to be acknowledged during the
conference La place du choeur, it is the aim of this con-
tribution to illuminate a few elementary problems of
terminology, morphology and liturgy regarding the con-
cept « choir » in the Early Christian period. Insights of
this early period may provide some basis for the discus-
sions on later developments. Before going into the
functional, archaeological and architectural aspects, a
few words on the term « choir / chœur » are called for.
The word chorus
The Latin word chorus is likely to be responsible for
the term that reappears in many European languages
with such clear associations but poor definitions. In
classical Latin, it is related to the Greek chorós, and has
to do with dancing and singing in Athenian drama,
either indicating the performance itself, or those who
perform : the body of singers or dancers 1. Remarkably
enough, in late antique Latin, the root chorus appears
as a part of a composite word with an architectural sig-
nificance : trichorus / trichora. It denotes a room or a
building with three apse-like extensions 2. Seemingly,
philologists have not been able to explain the transition
from one context to another, and perhaps we simply
miss some links in the chain. But the fact is worth not-
ing, that chorus, from the fourth century onward at the
latest, could also be understood as an architectural con-
cept 3. In the ecclesiastical context, the expression was
almost exclusively in use for the body of singers during
the liturgy. A Gallic council in 567 recalled that the lay
people were not allowed to enter the altar area during
liturgy, and that the part enclosed by a screen towards
the altar, was exclusively destined for the clerics of the
« chorus psallentium » 4. Obviously, the term is referring
to the group of persons singing the psalms and other
chants.
In the ecclesiastical context, the expression was almost
exclusively in use for the body of singers during the
liturgy. A Gallic council in 567 recalled that the lay peo-
ple were not allowed to enter the altar area during litur-
gy, and that the part enclosed by a screen towards the
11
altar, was exclusively destined for the clerics of the
« chorus psallentium ». Obviously, the term is referring
to the group of persons singing the psalms and other
chants.
When the term chorus was given to a specific part of a
church building, in particular as a section of its internal
space, it may be supposed to have been the next step in
its development. Isidore of Sevilla does not allude to
this new sense of the word, but restricts his explanation
of the term to its classical significance ; a group of
singers, or the group of clerics standing around the
altar 5. However, the earliest witnesses of the use of cho-
rus as an indication of a part of the church date exactly
from the period when Isidore lived, and from the same
region as well, that is Visigothic Spain in the seventh
century. The fourth council of Toledo (A.D. 633) pre-
scribes the decent course of the communion during
mass, indicating that the celebrant and his assistant take
communion in front of the altar, the clergy in the « cho-
rus », and the people outside the choir 6. Clearly, the
choir is not identical with the altar area, but is the zone
where the clergy stands – and probably sings – while
mass is celebrated. It is obviously at the nave side of the
altar and screened off from the area beyond, where the
people are standing. Hence, a longitudinal division of
the church interior in three different zones is implied ;
the choir is the reserved area between the lay section
and the altar. This spatial meaning of the word seems to
develop alongside the earlier, purely architectural
meaning. A Visigothic building inscription speaking of
« duos coros », gives the impression of referring to two
clearly recognizable architectural elements of a church 7.
Hence, in the Spanish, seventh century context, the
term has already gained both of the meanings we are
accustomed to associate with it in relation to church
architecture : a distinct area of the interior of the
church or an articulated part of the building itself.
Only in the Carolingian period can a broader use of the
word chorus in the sense of an enclosed internal space
be observed, in most cases in a liturgical context
(Cf. the contribution by Christian Sapin in this vol-
12
ume). One of the most telling testimonies is the famous
ground plan of the abbey church of Sankt Gallen (817-
830). In front of the high apse platform with the main
altar, a rectangular enclosure is labelled « chorus psal-
lentium », a terminology that applies the old name of
the choir of singing monks to the space allocated to
that function. Benches called « formulae » obviously
had to accommodate the singing monks 8.
The fact that chorus is such a rare expression in the ear-
liest centuries of Christian church building, and that it
virtually does not appear in the meaning we are used to
before the seventh century does not, of course, imply
that the physical concept was unknown. However, the
absence of an unequivocal terminology for a phenome-
non that is also not clearly defined requires some
methodological flexibility. In studying the written
sources and the archaeological evidence regarding the
early centuries, attention will be focussed on a specific
area in a church, confined by some kind of enclosure
and with a functional relationship to the altar. This
could in later times be termed the « choir ». times. Its
specific function tends to be the accommodation of the
clergy assisting in the Mass or singing the Hours, but
not of those standing at the altar to celebrate the Mass.
Written sources
One of the earliest descriptions of a liturgical enclosure
in a church considers the cathedral of Tyre in
Phoenicia, belonging to the first generation of public
Christian churches. Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea, eye-
witness of the basilica’s dedication probably in
317 A.D., describes the enclosure in terms inspired by
the biblical texts on Solomon’s’temple 9 :
« Nevertheless, having thus completed the temple he
[bishop Paulinus of Tyre] adorned it with thrones, very
lofty, to do honour unto the presidents, and likewise
with benches arranged in order throughout in a conve-
nient manner* ; and after all these he hath placed in the
midst the holy of holies even the altar, and again sur-
rounded this part, that the multitude might not tread
thereon, with a fence of wooden lattice-work, delicately
wrought with the craftsman’s utmost skill, so as to pre-
sent a marvellous spectacle to those that see it ».
*Variant : « and likewise (he adorned it) with benches
for the whole [of the clergy ?] and toward all this, he
located the altar in the midst, as the Holy of Holies.
This part he surrounded as well... »
There are some problems in the translation, of which
only that in the passage regarding the benches and the
altar is relevant here. The second version seems clearer
to us, and ought not necessarily be inconsistent with
the first. The text distinguishes a part of the church in
which are the chairs of state of the high clergy, the
benches probably for the lower clergy and the part in
which the altar is standing. The latter is clearly the core
and focus of the arrangement. It is fenced off with a rail
of decorated woodwork in order to ensure its reserved
character and it is given the biblical name the Holy of
Holies, an analogy with the most secret part of the
Jewish temple of Jerusalem. The benches of the higher
clergy are obviously conspicuous pieces of furniture.
Regarding the other benches, it is stressed that they are
orderly arranged so as to serve the dignity of the space.
The text is quite vague here, but it is virtually out of the
question that the benches be interpreted as pews for
the lay people, a phenomenon alien to late antique
church interiors.
Unfortunately, any clue for archaeological verification
of Eusebius’ description is missing. Most probably, the
cathedral of Tyre was already a « classical » Christian
basilica. This simultaneous appearance, during
Constantin’s reign, of monumental churches with an
atrium, three or five aisles separated by columns, and
an apse at the short side opposite to the entrance, in
Rome, Palestine and other parts of the empire, is one of
the wonders of architectural history. Eusebius’ rhetori-
cal description suggests that the basilica had an apse
and that the altar was standing in front of it at a slight
distance. This makes it plausible that the throne of the
bishop and flanking benches for the high clergy were
located in the apse. The other benches may have been
located to either side of the altar, or in front of it. We
know this type of disposition only from later monu-
ments, mainly in Greece, but this will be dealt with in
the archaeological section below. The only name given
by Eusebius to the highest liturgical area of the basilica
is Holy of Holies, obviously with respect to the altar,
and clearly employed for reasons of biblical analogy.
His description fails to discriminate between various
liturgical functions.
Another precious source is the collection of rules gov-
erning church life from the last quarter of the 4th centu-
ry, the so-called Apostolic constitutions. It has a few
sentences on the place of worship 10 :
« And first, let the building be long, with its head to the
east, with its vestries (pastophories) on both sides at the
east end, and so it will be like a ship. In the middle let
the bishop’s throne be placed, and on each side of him
let the presbytery sit down ; and let the deacons stand
near at hand, in close and small girt garments, for they
are like the mariners and managers of the ship : with
regard to these, let the laity sit on the other side, with all
quietness and good order. And let the women sit by
themselves, they also keeping silence. In the middle, let
the reader stand upon some high place : let him read the
books of Moses... [etc.] »
There is no indication of the altar, but in view of the
Syrian origins of the text and the diffusion of it in the
East, we may assume it to stand slightly in front of the
apse. The apse is presumed to be the east end of the
ship form the church has, flanked by two annex rooms
that are usual in certain regions of Syria. We hear that
the chair of the bishop is flanked by benches for the
priests. This is a common arrangement in Early
Christian churches with the chairs being almost always
situated in the hemicycle of the apse. The fact that an
orderly arrangement of the laity is stressed and that its
places are described as being « on the other side », sug-
gests that there is a clear separation between the part
for the clergy and that of the people. It may be, that
there is no essential difference between the disposition
referred to here, and that indicated by Eusebius in
Tyre. A specific spatial terminology is missing, but it is
worth noting that the body of priests sitting on the
benches is called in Greek presbyterion.
Another church order, the so-called Testamentum
13
Domini, originally in Greek as well, but only known in
a Syriac translation, is more concrete on some points.
The original text may date back to the 4th century, but
certain fragments seem to have been added in the 5th.
The passage mentioning the liturgical appointments
surrounding the altar is quoted here in a Latin transla-
tion of the Syriac version 11 :
« Deinde sit thronus (episcopi) versus orientem, a cujus
dexteris et sinistris sint loca (seu subsellia) presbytero-
rum ; e regione quidem dextera sedent illi (presbyteri),
qui eminentiores et honorabiliores sunt... ; e regione
vero sinistra illi, qui sunt mediae aetatis. Sit porro locus
throni (episcopi) elevatus (a solo) tribus gradibus, quo-
niam et altare ibi collocandum est. Ipsa autem domus
habeat a dextera et a sinistra porticus duas, (unam) pro
viris, (alteram) pro mulieribus ».
Again, a hierarchical order of seats in the eastern part
of the building is outlined. We also learn that the altar
is located virtually in the same area as the bishop’s
throne, and that the throne has to be placed in an ele-
vated position, above the level of the altar, for visual
reasons. Again, the areas for the lay people are clearly
separated from the altar and the clergy’s seats. This text
clearly refers to a disposition where the altar as well as
the seats is concentrated in one spatial unit, probably in
and in front of the apse.
Finally, a western source deserves to be mentioned : the
Ordo Romanus Primus, a widely known account of the
ritual course of the papal mass about 700 A.D. 12. The
text contains older material, and probably also reflects
century old traditions in Roman papal liturgy. It has
been analyzed by various scholars, most importantly in
a systematic way by Thomas Mathews in an article pub-
lished in 1962 13. The spatial reconstruction made by
Mathews on the base of the rubrics and some archaeo-
logical finds in Roman churches is presented in a draw-
ing that gives an idea of the church lay-out as implied
in the Ordo (fig. 1). It gives a valid picture of a Roman
liturgical disposition in the Early Middle Ages in its
main lines, but it should be noted that the terms, attrib-
uted by Mathews to the respective areas, are not always
 1. Reconstruction of an Early Medieval
Roman chancel arrangement
14
those that appear in the texts.
Three distinct zones may be discerned in the longitudi-
nal axis of the basilica. One is that of the cathedra and
the benches in the apse, reserved for the pope and the
higher clergy, called cardinals. It has no name in the
Ordo 14. The second zone is that of the altar, directly in
front of the apse. The term sanctuarium does not
emerge in Roman sources of the time to indicate this
area. Later, and elsewhere, the sanctuarium is distin-
guished from the choir, the place of the altar from that
of the clergy, but this vocabulary is anachronistic for
Early Medieval Rome 15. The third area is an enclosure
at the nave side of the altar, in which the lower clergy
and the singers stand in double lines during the papal
mass. It is fenced off, accessible at the front side
through a small gate, called rugae, and is called presby-
terium in the Ordo itself and in contemporary Roman
sources as well 16. Formally, this is not correct, because
there was no priest among the people staying in the
enclosure – during the papal mass, at least –, but obvi-
ously, presbyterium was quite a general term for the
entire area reserved for the altar and the various orders
of the clergy and liturgical assistants 17. As in the case of
the term chorus, the name for a body of persons (see
above the Testamentum Domini) appears to have been
transferred to a spatial entity where these functionaries
are situated. The caption Solea / schola is a product of
Mathews’ interpretation. Neither term was ever used in
the Middle Ages for a liturgical area in a church. Schola
refers to the body of singers standing in this space, the
schola cantorum, whereas it was by no means a spatial
category. Solea is a Greek term for a narrow pathway
leading to the altar area, but it was never in use in the
West.
The Roman Ordo, although relatively late, is the most
differentiated textual source of information about Early
Christian liturgical dispositions. It distinguishes unmis-
takably a hierarchical subdivision of the liturgical stage.
There are two sections in which the actors of liturgy are
located. One is the precinct at the nave side of the altar
for the lower clergy, which receives the denomination
chorus in the Carolingian Frankish version of the
Roman ordo 18. If chorus still had a connotation with the
singing choir, this would be consistent with the schola
cantorum standing here. Hence, the slow introduction
of the term chorus in Rome as a result of Frankish
influence 19. For reasons of clarity this area may be
called the lower choir, without any pretension of lexico-
logical historicity. Subsequently, behind the altar, the
area reserved for the higher clergy was located, concen-
trated in the apse, which in this sense continued to
function as the classical tribuna for the presidents of
the congregation.
The widespread Eastern term bema has some parallels
with chorus in the West : it does not appear very early
with unequivocal significance 20. Only later, does it
become the expression par excellence for the area where
clergy and altar are concentrated. Although, some ref-
erences to the bema with regard to church interiors
 2. Reconstruction of a Greek chancel
arrangement in the 6th c.

were known in the late fourth century. Strictly, the side church shows a distinction between two articulat-

15
expression refers to the platform with benches of the ed square areas : the higher may have housed the altar
(higher) clergy, but sometimes it includes the altar and the clergy, the lower square extending into the nave
itself. Another term, hierateion, is semantically the was possibly destined for the lower clergy, the singers
direct parallel of the successful western term presbyteri- and / or readers. It has two lecterns at its front side. In
um. many cases there does not seem to have been a differ-
entiation between the altar area for the celebrating cler-
ics and an additional enclosure for the assisting clergy.
Archaeological evidence
For instance, the rectangular enclosure in Siagu (pre-
Only some representative examples of dispositions in sent Tunesia) in front of the apse is large enough for
various areas of the Early Christian world can be pre- both functions 24.
sented in this brief examination of the extent to which The most widespread variant in the East, attested by
the rare textual sources can be combined with archaeo- excavations, is the so-called bema in pi-shape : a rectan-
logical evidence. Three types might be distinguished : gular enclosure, in front of the apse, constituting one,
the concentrated disposition, the spread disposition slightly raised, platform that extends into the hemicy-
and the bifocal disposition 21. The space allotted to the cle 25 (fig. 2). It became common in the course of the 5th
laity is usually only established ex negativo : it is the century and obviously represents the most satisfactory
remaining surface of the nave, outside the screens. arrangement to come up to liturgical, ceremonial and
Usually called the quadratum populi in modern French ecclesiastical requirements. It accommodated the top of
scholarship regarding Early Christian church building ; the hierarchy on the synthronos, the altar and the cele-
this expression fails to have a clear foundation in the
sources.
In the first category, the concentrated disposition, the
altar and priest benches are closely concentrated in a
clearly outlined area, which may have more or less vast
extensions. Almost always, the core area is situated in
and directly in front of the apse. A good example in the
West can be found in the Early Christian churches
underneath the cathedral in Verona 22. Church A (4th
century) only preserves its platform with under floor
heating inside a larger enclosure. It seems to be the
altar dais, placed centrally in an area enclosed by para-
pets, and occupying the last three intercolumniations of
the nave. This must have been the area reserved for the
clergy and liturgical assistants. The much larger Church
B (5th century) has a similar enclosure in front of the
apse, with a long pathway extending into the nave. This
so-called solea has been widely in use in Northern Italy,
but obviously had a processional function and cannot
have been destined for the positioning of members of
the clergy. A parallel in the East may be seen in
Zahrani, Libanon (389/90 A.D.) 23. This small country-

16
brant on the chord of the apse, and the lower clergy in
the remaining area at the sides and in front of the altar.
Extensions are not common, but in some regions, the
ambo for the sacred readings could be directly connect-
ed to the bema. In Constantinople and Greece, it was
usually more or less free standing.
In Rome, the concentrated disposition developed into
an agglomeration of distinct areas, as already noticed by
Mathews, and now repeatedly confirmed by archaeo-
logical evidence. The church of San Clemente had a
spatial sequence of four sections, all focussed on the
altar (6th century ?) : the solea, followed by the lower
choir and then by the separated altar area, behind
which, an elevated platform for the seats of the higher
clergy extends into the apse 26. In this type of arrange-
ment, maybe with some sort of integration of the ambo
or ambones into the parapets, the predecessor of the
high medieval chancel arrangements in Roman church-
es may be recognized 27. This layout was certainly not
specific to Rome. A significant example in Southern
Italy is the recently excavated complex of San Giusto
(Apulia), where the south basilica has clearly recogniz-
able traces of a square enclosure in front of the apse,
probably the altar area, joined by a narrower enclosure
extending halfway into the nave 28. Similar schemes
occur in North Africa 29.
3. Seleukeia Pieria, Tetraconch
church, 5th c., reconstruction
In a spread disposition, there is some spatial intermedi-
ate (an opening or barrier) between the altar area and
the section with the seats of the clergy. Early liturgical
arrangements in North Africa (often in present
Tunesia) have the altar far into the nave, separated from
the benches of the clergy on the apse platform.
Sometimes, there is a connection between the two ele-
ments (fig. 3) 30. A reversed variant is the so-called
North-Syrian bema, where the seats of the clergy and
the place for the lessons from the Scripture are concen-
trated on an isolated U-shaped platform in the nave,
and the altar is located in the depth of the apse, with an
intermediate space in between 31. Finally, there is the
rather unusual bifocal disposition, with two relatively
autonomous cult centres in one church interior often
determined by the tomb of a saint or a special site of
veneration. In most cases, the second focus is clearly
added to an existing situation. Most examples can be
found in North Africa 32.
From this concise / brief discussion, it may be conclud-
ed that Early Christian chancel arrangements consist of
static and dynamic components. Of a static character
are the areas of the seats, and to a less extent that of the
altar. Dynamic in nature are the zones appropriated by
liturgical movements, especially the long and narrow
extensions far into the nave or the connecting elements
in a spread disposition. The tendency emerging from
developments in the Early Christian period seems to be
towards concentration in the Eastern part of the
Mediterranean and towards agglomeration in the West.
The latter obviously reflects the need to accommodate
different categories of the clergy in an ordered way. It
exhibits a functional differentiation in articulated sec-
tions : an altar area, possibly a special seating arrange-
ment for the high clergy inside the apse, and finally an
enclosure in front of the altar area, that approaches the
concept of a « choir » in the strict sense. The narrow
pathway leading to the choir tends to disappear. The
process in the East results in a concentrated sanctuary /
presbytery, fenced off by the iconostasis. In the West,
the prefiguration of the medieval choir arrangements
can be recognized. Common to the Eastern and

Western developments is the virtual disappearance of
the dynamic elements : the choir develops into an area
to stand and to
sit, completely appointed with seating furniture, of
which the « formulae » in the chorus psallentium of St.
Gallen are early examples.
Chancel arrangement and architecture
Some remarks about the relationship and the possible
interaction between chancel arrangements and Early
Christian architecture conclude this contribution.
At the start of the process there was a conspicuous con-
nection : that between the benches for the higher clergy
and the apse, a well-known device from classical
Antiquity. The location of the altar in front of the apse
was obviously the consequence. The entire spatial expe-
rience was focussed on the apse, constituted by the
converging point of the main axis, the platform of the
liturgical presidency and the visual backdrop of the
altar, giving strong symbolical associations. The impor-
tance of this point of departure, which would be a
determining influence for many future centuries of
church building, cannot be underestimated. On the
other hand, the paradoxal fact deserves to be empha-
sized that the further development of the altar and
chancel area in Late Antiquity has evolved without a
direct correlation to the architectural framework of the
church building [has evolved without a direct...].
To illuminate this mutual independency of architecture
and internal disposition the Early Christian churches in
present Carinthia and the Adriatic region may be men-
tioned. They exhibit a completely isolated chancel : the
platform clearly imitates an apsed church but is situat-
ed in a rectangular architectural framework or even in a
church with a real apse. Hence, it confirms the ideal
connection between chancel and apse, but confirms the
autonomy of the chancel in relation to the building
type. Another telling case in point is the group of
churches dedicated to St. John the Baptist in Gerasa
(Jordania). The complex consists of two longitudinal
basilicas and a centralised church. Notwithstanding
4. Carthago - Dermech I, reconstruction
of choir arrangement in second phase
17
their fundamentally diverging architectural form, all
three churches have an identical liturgical disposition
consisting of a pi-shaped bema in front of the apse. The
same independency can be observed at the North-
Syrian bema : it occurs frequently in basilicas, but occa-
sionally also in a centralised church like that of Seleukia
near Antiochia (fig. 4).
In basilicas with transepts or with an intermediate bay
between the nave and the apse, the chancel enclosure
may tend to fit more specifically into the architectural
moulding. For instance, Basilica B in Philippi, never
completed, had the altar area with the pertaining enclo-
sure in the crossing 33. The cupola articulates this zone
prominently. However, this is not a standard solution.
Crossing towers and cupolas also occur without the
chancel or altar area underneath. Moreover : the
transept arms are usually not utilized as an additional
space for chancel extensions. In sum : apart from the
connection with the apse, the liturgical disposition
finds its shape virtually without direct interference
from architectural articulations. The space provided, by
no matter which building type, was freely available for
liturgical demarcations of any form. But this is only the
beginning of an interchange that is one of the main
themes of this volume.
18
NOTES
1
Thesaurus linguae latinae, vol. 3, Leipzig, 1906-1912, p. 1022-1026.
2
Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum, vol. 2, Stuttgart, 1954,
p. 944 (s.v. Cella trichora, Friedrich Wilhelm Deichmann). The earli-
est example of the architectural term trichorus is already substantiat-
ed in Publius Papinius Statius (ca. 45-ca. 96 A.D.), Silvae, l. 3. 58,
referring to villa architecture : « uid nunc iungentia mirer aut quid
partitis distantia tecta trichoris ? » (translation Henri Clouard, Paris,
1935 : « Admirerai-je encore les vastes proportions ou les trois corps
de la vaste construction ? »).
3
E.g. applied to a church building : Paulinus Nolanus, Epistolae,
32. 10 : « absidem trichora(m) », referring to the main apse with two
lower side apses of the Basilica Nova in Cimitile.
4
Concilium Turonense 567, canon 4 : Concilia Galliae A. 511 – A. 695,
éd. Charles DeClercq, Turnhout, 1963, p. 178 : « Ut laici secus altare,
quo sancta misteria celebrantur, inter clericos tam ad vigiliis quam ad
missas stare penitus non praesumant, sed pars illa, quae a cancellis
versus altare dividitur, choris tantum psallentium pateat clericorum ».
5
Isidorus, Etymologiae, 6, 19, 5-6 : « Chorus est multitudo in sacris
collecta ; et dictus chorus quod initio in modum coronae circum aras
starent et ita psallerent. Alii chorum dixerunt a concordia, quae in
caritate consistit ; quia, si caritatem non habeat, respondere conve-
nienter non potest. Cum autem unus canit, Graece monodia, Latine
sicinium dicitur ; cum vero duo canunt, bicinium appellatur ; cum
multi, chorus. Nam chorea ludicrum cantilenae vel saltationes classi-
um sunt ».
6
Concilium Toletanum IV, canon 18 : Gonzalo Martínez Díez, Felix
Rodríguez, La Colección canónica, Madrid, 1992, p. 206 : « ...benedic-
tio in populum sequatur et tunc demum corporis et sanguinis domini
sacramentum sumatur, eo videlicet ordine ut sacerdos et levita ante
altare communicent, in choro clerus, extra chorum populus ». Cf.
Thilo Ulbert, Frühchristliche Basiliken mit Doppelapsiden auf der
Iberischen Halbinsel : Studien zur Architektur-und Liturgiegeschichte,
Berlin, 1978, p. 128, 137-138.
7
Noël Duval, Les églises africaines à deux absides. Recherches archéolo-
giques sur la liturgie chrétienne en Afrique du Nord, 2 vol., Paris, 1971-
1973, vol. 2, p. 393 : « duos coros ic construxit » (A.D. 691).
8
Walter Horn, Ernest Born, The Plan of St. Gall. A Study of the
Architecture and Economy of, and Life in a Paradigmatic Carolingian
Monastery. 3 vol., Berkeley, 1979, vol. 1, p. 136-141.
9
Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica, 10, 4, 44 : Eusebius Ecclesiastical,
trad. John Ernest Leonard Oulton, Cambridge (Mass.) and London,
1932, p. 427.
10
Constitutiones apostolicae, 2, 57 : Les constitutions apostoliques, éd.
et trad Marcel Metzger, Paris, 1985, vol. 1, p. 313 (English transla-
tion : http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/07152.htm).
11
Testamentum Domini Nostri Iesu Christi, 1, 19 : Testamentum Domi-
ni Nostri Iesu Christi, éd. Ignatius Ephrem Rahmani, Mainz, 1899, p. 25.
12
Quoted as OR I according to the edition by Michel Andrieu, Les
ordines romani du haut Moyen Âge. 5 vol., Leuven, 19311961, vol. 2,
p. 67-108.
13
Thomas Mathews, « An Early Roman Chancel Arrangement and its
Liturgical Functions », Rivista di Archeologia Cristiana, 38, 1962,
p. 73-95. A more recent archaeological overview : Federico Guido-
baldi, « Struttura e cronologia delle recinzioni liturgiche nelle chiese
di Roma dal VI al IX secolo », Mededelingen van het Nederlands
Instituut te Rome, 59, 2000, p. 81-99.
14
Sible de Blaauw, Cultus et decor. Liturgia e architettura nella Roma
tardoantica e medievale : Basilica Salvatoris, Sanctae Mariae, Sancti
Petri, Città del Vaticano, 1994, p. 80-81, 557.
15
An early example of sanctuarium for the altar area in Braga 561-563.
Cf. Concilium Bracarense. I, canon 13 : Martini episcopi Bracarensis
Opera Omnia, éd. Claude W. Barlow, New Haven, 1950, p. 113. The
St. Gall plan has the label Sancta sanctorum for the altar section.
16
OR I 47 ; S. De Blaauw, op. cit., p. 76, 79, 556-557. Cf. for a differ-
ent interpretation Victor Saxer, « Recinzioni liturgiche secondo le
fonti letterarie », Mededelingen van het Nederlands Instituut te Rome,
59, 2000, p. 71-79.
17
E.g. Concilium romanum 826, MGH Conc 2. 2, p. 581 : « Sacer-
dotum aliorumque clericorum eclesiis servientium honores a laicorum
discrete apparere convenit. Quamobrem nulli laicorum liceat in eo
loco, ubi sacerdotes reliquive clerici consistunt, quod praesbyterium
nuncupatur, quando missa celebratur, consistere, ut libere ac honori-
fice possint sacra officia caelebrare ».
18
M. Andrieu, op. cit., vol. 2, p. 194.
19
Chorus is usual in Roman sources of the 12th century and later, and
then indicates the enclosure at the nave side of the altar, or a specific
area for the liturgy of canons and monks : S. De Blaauw, op cit., p. 79.
20
S. de Blaauw, « Kultgebäude », in Reallexikon für Antike und
Christentum, Stuttgart, 2007, p. 227-393.
21
I have worked out this categorization in ibidem, p. 375-385.
22
Ibidem, p. 376, 380-381.
23
Maurice Chéhab, « Mosaïques du Liban », Bulletin du Musée de
Beyrouth, 14-15, 1958, p. 81-106.
24
N. Duval, « Le chœur de l’église de Siagu (Tunisie) », Felix
Ravenna, 127-130, 1984-1985, p. 159-199 (p. 171-174. Duvals use of
the word « chœur » is anachronistic).
25
C. J. A. C. Peeters, De liturgische dispositie van het vroegchristelijk
kerkgebouw, Assen, 1969, p. 327-328.
26
F. Guidobaldi et alii, San Clemente : La scultura del VI secolo, Roma,
1992, p. 249-255.
27
Cf. the unpublished (and not unproblematic) dissertation by Elaine
De Benedictis, The Schola Cantorum in Rome during the High Middle
Ages, Bryn Mawr College, 1984.
28
Giuliano Volpe, « Il complesso paleocristiano di San Giusto
(Lucera). Seconda relazione preliminare. Scavi 1996 », Vetera
Christianorum, 34, 1997, p. 120-121.
29
E.g. Sbeïtla V and Carthago Dermech I (here, however in a
« spread » disposition, see fig. 4) : N. Duval, Les églises africaines à
deux absides, op. cit., vol. 2, p. 344-349 ; cf. the dissertation by Jürgen
Christern, Die Grundrisstypen der frühchristlichen Basiliken in
Algerien und Tunesien, Bonn, 1960, p. 85-86.
30
E.g. Sbeïtla I, II, III and Carthago Dermech I.
31
Georges Tchalenko, Églises syriennes à bêma, Paris, 1990.
32
N. Duval, Les églises africaines à deux absides, op. cit., vol. 2, p. 305.
33
Paul Lemerle, Philippes et la Macédoine orientale à l‘époque chréti-
enne et byzantine. Recherches d’histoire et d’archéologie, 2 vol., Paris,
1945, vol. 1, p. 435-436.