Part [7]
The place without a roof is called an open gallery.
Locus
sine tectō dicitur subdiāle.
In the roof are jettings out and pinnacles.
In tectō sunt maeniāna et
coronidēs.
[i] subdiālis, -e: open-air; also used, as in the text, as a
noun referring to a terrace or open gallery
[ii] maeniānum, -ī [2/n]: the translator vaguely refers to
“jettings out”, a feature typical of Mediaeval buildings i.e. where the upper
stories overhang the ground floor. The term may simply refer to an upper room,
but a good example of a maeniānum can be seen at Herculaneum where,
unlike at Pompeii, upper stories of some of the buildings survived and the
feature acts as a balcony.
Image #1: the way in which Comenius interprets maeniānum (houses
in the York shambles)
Image #2: the maeniānum at Herculaneum, functioning as a balcony that projects over the pavement.
The final word of the Comenius text is a very good example of
how original Latin words were adapted to convey new meanings.
[iii] corōnis, -idis [3/f] < Anc. Gk. κορωνός [korōnós]: crooked; curved
“a curved line or flourish
formed with a pen, which writers or transcribers were accustomed to make at
the end of a book or chapter” (Lewis & Short)
The term coronis is used in English printing to refer
to such a decorative mark. It is often associated with a brief description of
the work which is traditionally placed – together with a publisher’s logo - at
the end.
Images #3 and #4 show two examples (1) from a Church Slavic text in 1581, and (2) from a publication in 1657, the year before Comenius’ work was first published.
Images #5-7: In the text Comenius uses the word as an architectural term. In the original image it is likely he is referring to finials (architecture), an ornament on the peak of the gable of a roof, that can also be described as a pinnacle. The second image is particularly interesting. From a house in Portugal, we can see a permanent metal flag, which is what is depicted (more clearly) in figure 29 of a later edition.
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