Editing Cruciform

{{short description|Physical phenomena resembling a cross shape}}
{{For|the fictional resurrection device/parasite|Hyperion Cantos}}
A '''cruciform''' is a physical manifestation resembling a common [[cross]] or [[Christian cross]]. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design.

== Cruciform architectural plan ==
[[Image:Present-day plan of the Etchmiadzin Cathedral.png|thumb|[[Etchmiadzin cathedral]]]]
[[Image:PeterPlanDehio.jpg|thumb|[[Peterborough Cathedral]]]]
{{main|Cathedral diagram|Cathedral architecture of Western Europe}}
[[Christianity|Christian]] churches are commonly described as having a cruciform architecture. In [[Early Christianity|Early Christian]], [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] and other [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] forms of [[church architecture]] this is likely to mean a [[tetraconch]] plan, a [[Greek cross]], with arms of equal length or, later, a [[cross-in-square]] plan.

In the Western churches, a cruciform architecture usually, though not exclusively, means a church built with the layout developed in [[Gothic architecture]]. This layout comprises:

*An east end, containing an [[altar]] and often with an elaborate, decorated window, through which light will shine in the early part of the day.
*A west end, which sometimes contains a [[baptismal font]], being a large decorated bowl, in which water can be firstly, blessed (dedicated to the use and purposes of God) and then used for [[baptism]].
*North and south [[transept]]s, being "arms" of the cross and often containing rooms for gathering, small side [[chapels]], or in many cases other necessities such as an organ and toilets.
*The [[Crossing (architecture)|crossing]], which in later designs often was under a tower or dome.

In churches that are not oriented with the altar at the geographical east end, it is usual to refer to the altar end as "liturgical east" and so forth.

Methodist [[tabernacle (Methodist)|tabernacles]] also have a cruciform shape.<ref name="LanierHerman1997">{{cite book|last1=Lanier|first1=Gabrielle M.|last2=Herman|first2=Bernard L.|title=Everyday Architecture of the Mid-Atlantic: Looking at Buildings and Landscapes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RwM9TO1bWIMC&pg=PA275|access-date=1 July 2018|date=19 June 1997|publisher=JHU Press|language=en|isbn=9780801853258|page=275}}</ref>

== Cruciform DNA ==
{{multiple image
 | width1 = 180
 | image1 = Holliday Junction.svg
 | caption1 = [[Holliday Junction]]
 | width2 = 150
 | image2 = cruciformjoint.png
 | caption2 = [[Cruciform joint]]
 }}{{multiple image
 | width1 = 180
 | image1 = Humfrey Wanley by Thomas Hill, 1711.jpg
 | caption1 = Librarian [[Humfrey Wanley]] holding a facsimile copy of a cruciform Greek manuscript ([[Lectionary 150]])
}}
{{main|Cruciform DNA}}
DNA can undergo transitions to form a cruciform shape, including a structure called a [[Holliday junction]]. This structure is important for the critical biological processes of DNA recombination and repair mutations that occur in the cell.

== Cruciform joint ==
{{main|Cruciform joint}}
A cruciform joint is a specific joint in which four spaces are created by the welding of three plates of metal at right angles.

== Cruciform manuscript ==
A cruciform manuscript was a form of [[Anglo-Saxon]] / [[Insular art|Insular]] manuscript written with the words in a block shaped like a cross.

== Cruciform melody ==
<!-- This section is linked from [[BACH motif]], [[Cross motif]], and [[Musical cryptogram]] -->
In music, a [[melody]] of four pitches where a straight line drawn between the outer pair bisects a straight line drawn between the inner pair, thus forming a cross. In its simplest form, the cruciform melody is a [[changing tones|changing tone]], where the melody ascends or descends by [[steps and skips|step]], skips below or above the first pitch, then returns to the first pitch by step. Often representative of the Christian cross, such melodies are cruciform in their retrogrades or inversions. [[Johann Sebastian Bach]], whose last name may be represented in tones through a [[musical cryptogram]] known as the [[BACH motif]] that is a cruciform melody, employed the device extensively. The subject of the [[Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor, BWV 849|fugue in c-sharp minor]] from ''[[The Well-Tempered Clavier]]'' Book I is cruciform. See also: [[Cross motif]].

== Cruciform tail ==
{{main|Cruciform tail}}
[[Image:Jetstream31.jpg|thumb|[[British Aerospace Jetstream|Jetstream 31]] with cruciform tail]]
Some airplanes use a ''cruciform'' tail design, wherein the horizontal [[Stabilizer (aircraft)|stabilizer]] is positioned midway up the vertical stabilizer, forming a cruciform shape when viewed from the front or rear. Some examples are the [[F-9 Cougar]], the [[F-10 Skyknight]] and the [[Sud Aviation Caravelle]].

The cruciform tail gives the benefit of clearing the aerodynamics of the tail away from the wake of the engine, while not requiring the same amount of strengthening of the vertical tail section in comparison with a T-tail design.

== Cruciform sword ==<!--This section is linked from [[Sword]]-->
[[Image:Swiss Sword.jpg|thumb|Swiss [[longsword]], 15th or 16th century]]
The plain sword used by [[knight]]s, distinctive due to the flat bar used as a [[crossguard|guard]]. The overall shape of the sword when held point down is that of a cross.

It was very popular due to the protection it offered to the hand and certain attacks that rely on the cross to trap the blade of the enemy. See [[Sword#Middle Ages|Sword]].

== Cruciform web design ==
Cruciform web designs use a cross-shaped [[web page]] that expands to fill the width and height of the [[web browser]] window. There are a number of different approaches to implementing them.

== Cruciform product design==
In addition to common cross-shaped products, such as key chains and magnets, certain designers have gone so far as to create cruciform devices and accessories. For example, the mass-produced cruciform MP3 player "Saint B", or the "iBelieve", an accessory that converts the original iPod Shuffle into a cross shape designed by Scott Wilson in 2005. The cruciform MP3 players often come preloaded with audio files of the New Testament, but are mainly purchased for users to proudly display their faith.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gorman|first=Carma R.|date=2009|title=Religion on Demand: Faith-based Design|journal=Design and Culture|volume=1|issue=1|pages=9–22|doi=10.2752/175470709787375715|s2cid=143513427}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Crucifix]]

==References==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Commons category|Cruciform buildings}}
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Church architecture]]