View source for Crocket

{{Short description|Decorative element common in Gothic architecture}}
{{distinguish|Crockett (disambiguation){{!}}Crockett|Cricket}}
[[File:Vitré (35) Église Notre-Dame Façade sud 01.JPG|thumb|upright|Crocketed spire of the Notre-Dame Church in [[Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine|Vitré]], France]]
{{wikt | crocket}}
A '''crocket''' (or '''croquet''') is a small, independent decorative element common in [[Gothic architecture]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/crocket|title=Crocket {{!}} architecture|work= Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2018-09-08|language=en}}</ref> The name derives from the diminutive of the [[Old French]] ''croc'', meaning "hook", due to the resemblance of a crocket to a [[bishop]]'s [[Shepherd's crook|crook]]-shaped [[crosier]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crocket|title=Definition of CROCKET|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=2018-09-08}}</ref>

==Description==
Crockets, in the form of stylized carvings of curled [[leaf| leaves]], buds or [[flower]]s, are used at regular intervals to decorate (for example) the sloping edges of [[spire]]s, [[finial]]s, [[pinnacle]]s, and [[wimperg]]s.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/crocket |title=crocket, architecture |work=Encyclopaedia Britannica |access-date=2018-09-08 |language=en | quote = crocket, in architecture, a small, independent, sharply projecting medieval ornament, usually occurring in rows, and decorated with foliage. In the late 12th century, when it first appeared, the crocket had the form of a ball-like bud, with a spiral outline, similar to an uncurling fern frond; but in the later Gothic period it took the form of open, fully developed leaves that by the 15th century had evolved into richly involuted forms. Crockets are used especially on the inclined edges of spires, pinnacles, and gables and are also found on capitals and cornices.}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Bloxam
 |first1               = Matthew Holbeche
 |author-link1         = Matthew Bloxam
 |year                 = 
 |orig-date            = 1829
 |chapter              = Of the Decorated English Style
 |title                = The Principles of Gothic Ecclesiastical Architecture
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=K3KyAwAAQBAJ
 |publisher            = Publio Kiadó Kft.
 |isbn                 = 9789633819135
 |access-date          = 7 March 2023
 |quote                = The doorways of this style are frequently enriched with pedimental and ogee-shaped canopies, ornamented with crockets and finials; of which the north doorway of Exeter Cathedral and the south doorway of Everdon Church, Northamptonshire, may be cited as examples.
}} 
</ref>

==As ornaments==
When crockets decorate the [[Capital (architecture) |capital]]s of [[column]]s, these are called '''crocket capitals'''. This element is also used as an [[ornament (architecture) |ornament]] on [[furniture]] and [[metalwork]] in the Gothic style.<ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.britannica.com/technology/capital-architecture |title= Capital {{!}} architecture|work= Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date= 2018-09-08|language=en
}}</ref>

==Examples==
* [[All Souls College]] – Oxford
* [[Canterbury Cathedral]]
* [[Notre-Dame de Paris]] cathedral – Paris
* [[León Cathedral]] – Spain
* [[Duke Chapel]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Crockets}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Crocket|volume=7|page=477}}

[[Category:Church architecture]]
[[Category:Ornaments (architecture)]]


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