Multifoil arch

A Multifoil arch is a style of arch that was an architectural element in the Moorish architecture of al-Andalus.

The multifoil arch design was influenced by Islamic art and architecture. Examples are found in the maqsuras and arcades of the Moorish Umayyad Caliphate's mosques, which are located in present-day Spain.

The term is French, "foil" means "leaf." A specific number of foils may be indicated by a prefix: e.g. trefoil for three, quatrefoil for four, etc., or simply multifoil for many.

Moorish architecture
Moorish architecture is the articulated Islamic architecture of North Africa and parts of Spain and Portugal (Al Andalus), where the Andalusians (Moors) were dominant between 711 and 1492. The best surviving examples are La Mezquita in Córdoba and the Alhambra palace in Granada (mainly 1338–1390), as well as the Giralda in Seville (1184). Other notable examples include the ruined palace city of Medina Azahara (936–1010), the church (former mosque) San Cristo de la Luz in Toledo, the Aljafería in Saragossa and baths at for example Ronda and Alhama de Granada.

Characteristic elements of Moorish architecture include muqarnas, horseshoe arches, voussoirs, domes, crenellated arches, lancet arches, ogee arches, courtyards, and decorative tile work known as zellij in Arabic or azulejo in Spanish and Portuguese. The architectural tradition is exemplified by mosques, fortifications, and other edifices such as the Mezquita in Córdoba (784–987, in four phases); the Alhambra (mainly 1338–1390) and Generalife (1302–9 and 1313–24) in Granada and the Giralda in Seville in 1184; Paderne Castle in the Algarve, Portugal; the mosque of Koutoubia, Hassan Mosque, Andalusian Mosque, and University of Al-Karaouine in Morocco; the Great Mosque of Algiers and the Great Mosque of Tlemcen in Algeria; and the Mosque of Uqba in Kairouan, Tunisia. Other notable buildings include the ruined palace city of Medina Azahara (936-1010), the church (former mosque) San Cristo de la Luz in Toledo, the Aljafería in Zaragoza and baths at for example Ronda and Alhama de Granada.

The term is sometimes used to include the products of the Islamic civilisation of Southern Italy. The Palazzo dei Normanni in Sicily was begun in the 9th century by the Emir of Palermo.

There is archeological evidence of an eighth-century mosque in Narbonne, France.

Source From Wikipedia