rood screen

noun
1.
a screen, often of elaborate design and properly surmounted by a rood, separating the nave from the choir or chancel of a church.
Origin
1835-45
British Dictionary definitions for rood screen

rood screen

noun
1.
a partition of stone or wood, often richly carved and decorated, that separates the chancel from the main part of a church: it is surmounted by a crucifix (rood), and was an important feature of medieval churches, though in England many rood screens were destroyed at the Reformation
Encyclopedia Article for rood screen

in Western architecture, element of a Christian church of the Middle Ages or early Renaissance that separated the choir or chancel (the area around the altar) from the nave (the area set apart for the laity). The rood screen was erected in association with the rood, which in Old English means "cross," or "crucifix."

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