28. _Saracenic style._--This appellation has been given to the style of building practised by the Moors and Saracens in Spain, Egypt, and Turkey. It is distinguished, among other things, by an elliptical form of the arch. A similar peculiarity exists in the domes of the Oriental mosques, which are sometimes large segments of a sphere, appearing as if inflated; and at other times, they are concavo-convex on the outside. Several of these domes are commonly placed upon one building. The _minaret_ is a tall slender tower, peculiar to Turkish architecture. 29. _Gothic style._--The Goths, who overran a great part of the Western empire, were not the inventors of the style of architecture which bears their name. The term was first applied with the view to stigmatize the edifices of the middle ages, in the construction of which, the purity of the antique models had not been regarded. The term was at first very extensive in its application; but it is now confined chiefly to the style of building which was introduced into various parts of Europe six or eight centuries ago, and which was used in the construction of cathedrals, churches, abbeys, and similar edifices. [Illustration: GOTHIC CATHEDRAL AT YORK.] 30. The Gothic style is peculiarly and strongly marked. Its principles seem to have originated in the imitation of groves and bowers, under which the Druid priests had been accustomed to perform their sacred rites. Its characteristics are, pointed arches, pinnacles and spires, large buttresses, clustered pillars, vaulted roofs, and a general predominance of the perpendicular over the horizontal. 31. The ecclesiastical edifices of this style of building are commonly in form of a cross, having a tower, lantern, or spire, erected at the point of intersection. The part of the cross situated towards the west is called the _nave_; the eastern part, the _choir_; and the transverse portion, the _transept_. A glance at the following diagram will enable the reader to understand the form of the ground-work more fully. [Illustration] 32. Any high building erected above a roof is called a _steeple_, which is also distinguished by different appellations, according to its form: if it is square topped, it is a _tower_; if long and acute, a _spire_; or if short and light, a _lantern_. Towers of great height in proportion to their diameter are denominated _turrets_. The walls of Gothic churches are supported on the outside by lateral projections, called _buttresses_, which extend from the bottom to the top, at the corners and between the windows. On the top of these are slender pyramidal structures or spires, called _pinnacles_. The summit or upper edge of a wall, if straight, is called a _parapet_; if indented, a _battlement_.