East Nave

The East Nave is one of the four cardinal naves of the Mynster, extending from the east side of the chancel. Though designated as the formal entrance to the building, it is seldom used in practice and is typically empty within the concent.

First Appearance and Context

The East Nave is described alongside the other naves during a visit to the Mynster for the daily aut at Provener. The naves surround the chancel, whose bright interior surfaces and perforated screens create the illusion from each nave that it alone opens onto the core of the Mynster. The nave’s role is contrasted with those of the other halls and with the central works anchored by the Præsidium.

Structure and Features

Four broad naves project to the north, east, south, and west from the base of the Mynster. The East Nave mirrors the others architecturally but lacks a regular congregation or assigned cohort. Older avout explain its purpose as the Mynster’s formal entrance, but in day‑to‑day use it remains largely vacant. A pipe‑organ once stood in this nave; it was torn out during the Second Sack, and later refinements of the Discipline banned other musical instruments.

Relationships and Functions

  • Parent structure: the Mynster at the heart of the concent.
  • Liturgical context: noted during Provener, when the arrangement of naves and the chancel’s screens is most evident.
  • Governance and tradition: it has been said (by way of avout talk) that the nave might one day be dedicated as a sanctuary for ten‑thousand‑year fraas, a notion associated with a long‑pending submission to the Millenarians. This is presented as longstanding talk rather than an active project.

Current Status

The East Nave is quiet and mostly unused. It stands as the formal entrance in name, but without a regular function in current practice.

Summary:

The east-facing nave of the Mynster, officially the building’s formal entrance. It is currently little used and generally stands empty.

Known as:
The East Nave