Assett, O. E. A salver.
Assommoir, Fr. A sort of gallery built over a door or passage of a fortified place, from which stones, lead, and other heavy objects could be hurled down to overwhelm (assommer) the besiegers. Hence the name.
Asterisk, Chr. Sometimes called Stellula. A kind of crossed framework made of gold or silver, consisting of two arched bands which are sometimes surmounted, at the point of intersection, by a cross. The asterisk is placed upon the patera for the purpose of keeping up the cloth which covers the consecrated wafers of the host.
Astler. (See Ashlar.)
Astragal (ἀστράγαλος, knuckle-bone). A small semicircular moulding, so called from its resemblance to a row of knuckle-bones placed side by side. As it is decorated with beads, or berries of laurel or olive, separated by discs, it is now commonly known as a chaplet. Astragals are placed at the top of a column, beneath the capital, and divide the architrave into two or three parts. They are also used to decorate any kind of base. (See Torus.)
Astragalus, R. The ancient game of knuckle-bones; a common subject in classical sculpture, called also Tali.
Astreated, Arch. Star-shaped ornaments, used in Norman mouldings.
Asylum, Gr. and R. (ἄ-συλον, safe from violence). A place of refuge, to which was attached the privilege of inviolability called asulia. This privilege belonged to certain temples, woods, or other sacred enclosures. There were a considerable number of such retreats in Greece and the Greek colonies.
At Gaze, Her. Said of animals of the chase “standing still and looking about them.”
Atach-gah, Pers. The fire-altar of the ancient Persians; mentioned in the writings of Pausanias and Strabo.