HANNA KOZACZEWSKA-GOLASZ

AGNIESZKA BERNAÅš

The three-aisle basilica and hall churches had several entrances to the aisle corpus, the main entrance received the most impressive portal, whereas additional portals were usually smaller. More modest portals led to the chancel, sacristy and tower staircases. The portals’ reveals were placed inside the wall width, and only decorative elements – pinnacles, side small columns and wimpergs, protruded through the wall face. Reveals were finely profiled with unclear layout. Only the measurements revealed varied shapes of horizontal sections, which can be divided into:

- jamb

- offset, profiled

- fragmented (profiled) with a sloping line or polygon

The view composition layout is of more importance for typological divisions than the horizontal section. Several types can be distinguished:

1. lancet and two-armed arch jamb portals

2. offset and fragmented portals with no capital zone and with capitals

3. portals in rectangular frames, with a figurative sculpture

4. portals with side small columns or supports with figurative sculptures or pinnacles

5. portals with pinnacles and wimpergs

6. expanded portals with several listed elements: frame, wimpergs, small columns, pinnacles.

The article discusses composition layouts of the listed portal types. It mentions characteristic elements of Silesian portals: two-armed arches of jamb portals, small, varied profiling of offset and fragmented reveals – indicating a deliberate use of perspective illusion effects, pinnacles on the portal sides, external small columns carrying sculptures or pinnacles, wimpergs and rectangular frames.