An abat-son (plural usually abat-sons) is an architectural device constructed to reflect or direct sound in a particular direction. It consists of large

louver A louver (American English) or louvre (Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences) is a window blind or window shutter, shutter with horizontal wikt:slat, slats that are angle ...

s. The term is commonly used to refer to angled louvers in a

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

designed to redirect sound or to prevent ingress of water. Abat-son can also refer to a louver or board used in the device. These boards or sheets are typically made of wood or metal. The term comes from the French , literally and .

In the windshields

The slats, generally of the grid type and fixed to a carpentry frame, are usually made of wood or covered with metal, slate or lead; In addition to redirecting the sound of the bells towards the ground, they prevent rain or snow from penetrating the bell tower and allow the tower's carpentry to be ventilated. «Beffroi», is an architectural technical

Gallicism A Gallicism can be: * a mode of speech peculiar to the French; * a French idiom; * in general, a French mode or custom. * a loanword, word or phrase borrowed from French. See also * Francization * Franglais * Gallic (disambiguation) * Gallican ...

that appeared in the 19th century, replacing the popular name of «windscreen» (abat-vent). Loudspeakers are often inserted into twin bays on each of the steeple faces, more rarely in the skylights of steeple arrows. These vain bell towers are typically flanked by columns with

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

s and decorations, in

Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

, with

archivolts An archivolt (or voussure) is an ornamental moulding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental mouldings (or other architectural elements) surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the ...

, and with interlocking

fretwork Fretwork is an interlaced decorative design that is either carved in low relief on a solid background, or cut out with a fretsaw, coping saw, jigsaw or scroll saw. Most fretwork patterns are geometric in design. The materials most commonly u ...

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...

. Turntables developed especially from the 13th century, and were often already decorated with fretwork, serrated bottoms, or embossed in lead.

Gallery

File:Trélissac église chapiteau abat-son (2).JPG, A church in Trélissac File:La Tour-Blanche église abat-sons.JPG, Church of Saints Peter and Paul, La Tour-Blanche File:Echourgnac église abat-son.JPG, Church of Our Lady of the Assumption,

Échourgnac Échourgnac (; ) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is the site of a Cistercian abbey, Notre-Dame de Bonne Esperance, which is renowned for producing cheese. Population See also *Commu ...

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External links

* Architectural elements {{architecturalelement-stub

In the windshields

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links