In a medieval monastery, a gavit (; gawit’) or zhamatun (Armenian: ժամատուն; žamatun) is a congressional room or mausoleum added to the entrance of a church, and therefore often contiguous to its west side. It served as narthex (entrance to the church), mausoleum and assembly room, somewhat like the narthex or lite of a Byzantine church.
History
The
gavit, the distinctive Armenian style of narthex, appeared in the tenth and eleventh centuries.
[Medieval Armenian architecture: constructions of race and nation Christina Maranci – 2001 "Unlike Strzygowski, who stressed the importance of race and nation in the formation of architecture, ... Another structure at Ani also provided Baltrusaitis with an ogive — the narthex or gavit' located at the south side of the church."] The first structures in the 10th century were simple quadrangular buildings without columns and protected by wooden roofs, used as dynastic necropoleis.
From the 11th century, the first known
zhamatun with a four-columned structure appears in Hoṙomos Monastery, built in 1038 by King Yovhannēs-Smbat.
The vault was in the shape of an octogonal cone, and was decorated with superb reliefs.
Many of the first zhamatun or gavits were located in the south of the Armenia in the region of Syunik Region. The type of construction changed during the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, as found in the monasteries of Saghmosavank of Haritchavank, or Hovhannavank Monastery. They changed again in the late thirteenth century as can be seen in monasteries such as Gandzasar, and gradually ceased to be built in the late Middle Ages.
The general structure of the gavit, with its nine-bayed plan is typical of the nine-bayed plan of from the Abassid period onward, which can be seen from Spain to Central Asia.
The first mention of a "žamatun" appears in the 1038 dedicatory inscription of Horomos Monastery, which also is the oldest known "žamatun", built in 1038:
The mention of the term gavit for such buildings appears for the first time more than a century later in 1181 in the dedicatory inscription at the Sanahin Monastery by Abbot Yovhannēs:
It seems that zhamatun was used to refer to new structures built more-or-less contemporaneously with the neighbouring church to serve funerary or commemorative functions, while the terms gavit referred to a space built next to older churches, covering existing ancient gravestones.
Structure
The earliest style of
gavit consists of an oblong vault supported by double arches, with an
erdik (lantern or oculus) center, and adorned with eight decorated slabs, as seen in the earliest known gavit at
Horomos dated 1038.
In later types the vault would often be decorated with
muqarnas stalactite designs.
This early type of
muqarnas vault used cut stone in a way similar to that of Anatolian Seljuk architecture, different from the typical Armenian vault construction, which used thin stone facing on mortared rubble.
This form was replaced by a square room with four columns, divided into nine sections with a dome in the center. The
muqarnas motif was clearly inspired by Islamic sources, but it was used differently, and the Armenian
muqarnas vault with oculus was not found in the Muslim world until it was copied about a century later, as in
the vault of the
Yakutiye Madrasa in nearby
Erzurum (1310).
The "lightwell" itself, with central oculus, is known in Anatolian art from earlier periods, as in the Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital (built 1228-1229).
The last evolution consists of a
gavit without columns and with arched ceilings.
On the west side of the Church of the Holy Redeemer in the Sanahin Monastery complex, the gavit built in 1181 has four tall free-standing internal pillars supporting arches. The pillars and their bases are elaborately decorated. In the same complex, the gavit of the Mother of God church is a three-nave hall with lower arches and less elaborate decorations on the pillars.
Major examples
Some major examples of
gavits and
zhamatuns, ordered chronologically:
File:Horomos Monastery 26.jpg|The first known zhamatun is from Horomos, dated 1038. Vault with oculus ("lightwell") and decorated slabs in an octogonal layout.
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