hagioscope.

About hagioscope

A hagioscope or squint is an architectural term denoting a small splayed opening or tunnel at seated eye-level, through an internal masonry dividing wall of a church in an oblique direction, giving worshippers a view of the altar and therefore of the elevation of the host. Where worshippers were separated from the high altar not by a solid wall of masonry but by a transparent parclose screen, a hagioscope was not required as a good view of the high altar was available to all within the sectioned-off area concerned. In the 19th century, European antiquarians developed theories about the purpose of the squint and its relationship to people with leprosy and other non-desirables, namely that the feature would allow them to see the service without coming into contact with the rest of the populace, hence the terms leper windows or lychnoscopes. However, given the lack of medieval sources to definitively link the squint to fears of contagion, recent scholarship has contested these claims.