In architecture, a clerestory is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both.
The church of St Nicholas, Stralsund in Germany – the clerestory is the level between the two green roofs, reinforced here by flying buttresses
The walls of the clerestory of the basilica-shaped Cathedral of Monreale, Italy are covered with mosaic
Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. The nave wall is divided into three stages: the upper stage with windows is the clerestory, beneath it is the triforium, and the lowest stage is the arcade.
The clerestory of Amiens Cathedral in northern France
A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material, a sash set in a frame in the opening; the sash and frame are also referred to as a window. Many glazed windows may be opened, to allow ventilation, or closed, to exclude inclement weather. Windows may have a latch or similar mechanism to lock the window shut or to hold it open by various amounts.
Alabaster "mullion"-divided decorative windows in Santa Maria La Major church (Morella, Spain)
Alabaster window in the Valencia Cathedral. Note the asymmetrical, slanted left side of the wall-frame, which lets sun rays reach the chancel
Ancient Egyptian sandstone window grill from a palace of Ramesses III, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
Fragment of a Roman window glass plate dated to 1st to 4th century CE. Note the obvious curvature; this is not a flat pane