If the religious function is the motive for separating these isolated porches of any devoted to commemoration (triumphal arches in Europa, for example), one must examinate the monumental entries to a number of cemeteries in Europa and others continents too. In Brittany, there is a small region where the edifices in the christian cemetery around the church were build with the desire to emulate with the near parishes in 16th and 17th centuries. A massive porch made of stones is placed at the main entry of the Enclos paroissial (fr) or Kloz Iliz (breton), the name used for the entire ground. If « ceremonial gate » is voted, I suggest that historic porches for the ancient cemeteries will be considered as well.
Christian Rogel, Brittany
This is absolutely wonderful!
I’ve always thought that building structures to mark the boundary between the sacred and the secular was a fairly universal phenomenon in human culture.
(And in fact, if we don’t focus too much on the specific shapes, many such boundary-marking structures do exist.)
However, I wasn’t able to find examples of gate or arch-like structures in the Western world that specifically served to divide sacred and secular spaces.
I suspect this might not be due to the absence of such traditions in the West, but rather because they may have been absorbed into or covered over by more systematized forms of religion.
The triumphal arch in the Enclos paroissial you shared seems to match exactly the kind of structure I had in mind. - View Image
If you happen to know of any other similar structures in the Western world that played this kind of role, I would greatly appreciate it if you could share them as well.
Interestingly, it’s a bit puzzling that a sacred structure marking the boundary between the secular and the sacred is called something as secular-sounding as “Arc de Triomphe.”
It seems that the function of the structure was emphasized, while the name wasn’t given much theological consideration.
According to my research, it’s also referred to as “Porte monumentale” or “Porte triomphale”—which, again, sound quite secular as well.
At this point, I think we need to discuss an important issue.
It’s the question of how to classify the structure generally referred to as a “triumphal arch,” which, while similar in form and function across contexts, carries somewhat different meanings.
Personally, I don’t think the name itself is what really matters.
For instance, the religious structure mentioned just above is also called a “triumphal arch”, but in that case, its function is to mark the boundary between the sacred and the secular.
However, the more commonly known “triumphal arch”—as in those built to commemorate military victories or honor certain figures—seems to me to be more of a monument.
(Of course, from the perspective of those in power who built it, they may have intended to declare a kind of sacred authority through it.)
So, what do you think?
When a triumphal arch is built to commemorate a victory or honor someone, is it a monument, or would you consider it a ceremonial gate or ceremonial arch?
So, what do you think?