GOTHI C A R C H I T EC T U R E

IN

FR A N C E , EN G L A N D, A ND I T A LY

I N TWO V OL U M E S

V OL U M E I
 C A MB R I D G E U N I V ER S I T Y P RE SS
C F C LAY M N GE
. .
, A A R

ib h : F E TT E R L A NE
un un E C , . .

QEDi h gh
n ur P R IN C E S S TR EE T
: I OO

IJ ic a go z T H E
QE U NI ER S I Y O C H I C
V T F A GO P RE S S
B u mb ag , QEaIcu t ta an t M m a M A CM I L N
as : L A A N D CO .
, LT D
al u m n a) : J M D EN
. . ND S ONS
T A , LT D .

Gink go : T H E MA R U ZE N K A BU S H I K I K A S HA
- -
I

A Z! r z g fi t s r eser ved
 by
T H O MA S G RA H A M J AC KSO N Ba r t , ,
P S A
. . .

H D C L O x f rd H
on . . . L L D C m bridg
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on . . . a e

H F e ll w
on f W a dh a m C ll g
. o O x f rd
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A sso c ié de l A c a dé m ie R o
’
yl a e

de Be lgiq u e

Ne c m in im u m m eru ere de c u s ve s ig ia G a e c a t r
A u si de se r e r e et ce el br r a e do m e s ic a fa c t a t .

HO R fi r s P oet ic a . .

C a m b r idg e
at the U n iv e rs it y P r e ss
 Qt amhrib g e
P R I NTE D BY J OHN C Y M
LA ,
. A .

AT T HE UN V I E R S I Y RE SS
T P

C C
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 P R E FA C E

LT HO UGH thi s book w hich treat s of a de fi nite

,

period of Po s t Rom a n a rchitecture may be read

-
,

independently it is i n fact a continuation of the hi s tory

,

I publi s hed in 1 9 1 3 of the B yz a ntine a n d Rom a ne s que

style s I venture to hope that by the two book s taken
“
.
,

i n connexion with one a nother the s tudent m a y be ,

h elped to a con s i s te nt idea of mediaeval a rchitecture ,

from it s origi n i n the decay of Rom a n Art to it s final

s tage s in th e 1 6th cen t ury I h a ve therefore not he s itated
.

to refer fr e q u e n t ly from thi s book to it s predece ss or

x .

I t is only by regarding the A rt a s a whole tracing it s ,

career following it s s teady and unbroken growth and

, ,

s howing how it changed a s the time s changed and kept ,

pace with the progre s s of s ociety that it can really be

under s tood .

Gothic architecture attained it s perfect development

i n F rance and E ngland The s tyle s of the two countries
.
,

like yet unlike overl a pped and i nfluenced one another

, ,

though they diverged ever more and more widely as

time went on .

I n I taly though it w a s the cradle of Rom a ne s que

,

a rchitecture from which G othic s prang C la s s ic tr a dition ,

w a s never lo s t a n d I talian Gothic is Gothic with a

,

difference I t h a s a charm of it s own depending perhap s

.
,
 P RE FA C E
rather le s s on a rchitectura l form than on lovely m a terial ,

s upreme technique of execution refinement a n d delicacy ,

of ornament a n d above all on splendour of colour

,
.

I had i ntended an account of the Gothic art of the

Low C ountrie s and of Germ a ny but the pres ent unhappy ,

w a r h a s prevented a vi s it to tho s e part s to revi s e my

note s taken m a ny ye a rs a g o .

Germ a n G othic however is of minor import a nce in

the hi s tory of the Art I t w a s a n imported a n d not an .

i ndigenou s s tyle a n d therefore h a s le s s to teach u s

, .

I n my firs t ch a pter I have s aid th a t Gothic is m a inly a

Teutonic a r t bec a u s e it a ro s e a n d flouri s hed in N orthern
,

a n d E a s tern France i n E ngland and in cert a in part s of , ,

I t a ly where the older popul a tion had the large s t infu s ion of
,

Teutonic blood — Goth Frank B urgundian and N orman , ,

in F rance S a xon D a ne a n d N orm a n i n E ngland Goth

, , ,

a n d Lomb a rd in I taly N orm a n in S icily and Apulia , .

N ot th a t the mere Teuton w a s the a uthor of the new

s tyle but it s eem s to be the fruit of grafting a Teutonic
,

element on a n older s t o c k E xcept in mu s ic the l

.

G erman s who claim to be unmixed Teuton s have not

, ,

excelled i n the Art s nor indeed i n the Science s a s , ,

a cre a tive ra ce Their part h a s been not to originate

.
,

but by p a tient re s ea rch like the S a racen s of Southern ,

I taly a n d Spain to pur s ue and enrich the di s coverie s

,

of others They have produced but two painters of

.

the firs t rank no great s culptor for the admirable

, ,

metal work of Peter Vi s cher is on a s mall s c a le their ,

Romane s que architecture w a s imported from Lombardy ,

If w
1
t b l i Pr f r S y t h T t i l m t i E gl d
e a re o e e ve o e s so a ce e eu on c e e en n n an

h as b een r t im t d d h l g g b
o ve -
es b rb d ; d w h
a e ,
an as on a o e en a so e an e a ve

no w r rt d t t h N l ith i typ H i th ry h w r i t i r l ly
e ve e o e eo c e . s eo o e ve s no u n ve s a

acce pt d e .
 P R E FA C E
an d their Gothic borrowed rather late from France .

C ologne C a thedral is ba s ed on A mien s of which it e xa g ,

e r a t e s the weak point s The s tyle s uffer s from meg a lo

g .

mani a the s ure s ign of a weak arti s tic s en s ibility

, .

C ologne C athedra l is an ex a mple of th i s e s pecially s ince ,

it s completion by the mon s trou s twin s teeples at the

We s t end .

At the s ame time German Gothic— especially that of

South Germany — h a s its pl a ce i n the hi s tory of the A rt ,

and I regret it s omi s s ion here .

The Arts found a happier s oil i n which to flouri s h

in B elgium and H olland the l a nd of th e Van E yck s , ,

M emling Rembra ndt V an Dyck and Ruben s

, ,
The .

nece s s a ry omi s s ion of s ome account of the fine churche s ,

s plendid town hall s and rich dome s tic work in B elgium

-
,

is the more unfortun a te becau s e many of the building s ,

have already been de s troyed and m a ny more will i n all ,

likelihood s uffer by the s y s tematic bruta lity o f German

warfare The Cloth H all at Ypre s perhap s the fine s t
.
-
,

municipal building i n E urope and the Cathedral have ,

been demoli s hed f o r no conceivable military purpo s e ,

Louvain h a s been deliberately de s troyed out of revenge ,

Arra s and Aers chot are i n ruins A ntwerp and Bru s s els .

will be i n peril when they come within the range of

battle and the s ame danger will overtake Ghent and
,

B ruge s in the like event .

S imilar di s a s ters menace and ind e ed hav e partly b e ,

fa llen the s plendid architecture of N orth E astern Fr a nce -

the very flower of the s tyle which may already have ,

become a thing of the pa s t before the s e pages r e ach

publ ic a tion Si nce the following chapters were written
.

the German s have b a ttered the Cathedral of Reim s ,

de s troying much if not all of it s inimitable s c u lpture

J . G . A . b
 P R E FA C E
S oi s s on s is now undergoing th e s a me treatment ; S enli s
h a s been dam a ged ; N oyon L a on S , Q uentin
,
a n
. d ,

Tourn a y which a r e s till i n po s s e s s ion of the en emy will

, ,

be expo s ed to the artillery of both friend and foe and ,

the G erm a ns have promi s ed th a t if they are turned out

of Al s ace a n d Lorra ine they will not le a ve a building
behind them .

I taly h a s now j oined i n the war a n d the pricele s s ,

treas ure s of her art are in d a nger Bomb s have already

.

fallen near the D ucal P a lace at Venice a n d we m a y ,

hear any day of their falli ng on S M a rk s With the .

’
.

de s truction of that C hurch and that of S S ophia which

, .

duri ng the Balk a n war the T u rk s threatened to blow up

if they were driven from Con s t a ntinople one s plendid ,

ch a pter of E uropean a rchitecture would be deleted .

Although it is only German s who de s troy work s of

art out of pure m a levolence and s pite it is di fficult to s e e
how any arch itecture is to s urvive modern method s of
war B uildings that h a ve for hundreds of year s looked
.

down on change s of ma s ters and have s urvived battle s

,

and s iege s during the M iddle Age s and the N apoleonic

camp a ign s crumble into du s t at the a wful touch of
,

modern engine s of de s truction . U nle s s w a rs s hould

cea s e in all the world we m a y be the la s t who will s e e
the wonders of ancie n t architecture .

Some review s of my former t wo volume s complained

that the account s of the buildi ng s referred to were
not complete : others pointed out th a t s omething might
have been s a id a bout cert a in buildings which were not
mentioned a t a ll But it w a s not my purpo s e to write
.

a guide book on one h a nd nor on the other to give an

-
,

exhau s tive c a t a logue of ex a mple s M y obj ect then a n d

.
,
 P RE FA C E
now h a s not been to de s cribe a number of architectural
,

works but to give a ra tional view of the s tyle a s a whole

, .

To s upply the reader i n fa ct with a s keleton s cheme

which if he properly unders tood it might be filled up ,

from h is own ob s ervation For that purpo s e I have

.

cho s en for description s uch buildings or parts of buildings

as are typical of the hi s tory and development of the art ,

and have de s cribed them only s o far a s was needed to

illu s trate the s ubj ect matter M ore than that would not
.

only encumber the book but a l s o di s tract the attention of

,

the reader from it s obj ect A s a further limit a tion I have

.

confined the example s almo s t entirely to buildings that

I have myself s tudied and among them where the
, ,

opportunity offered tho s e with which I have happened

,

to be profe s s ionally connected To write a bout a r c h it e c

.

ture at s econd hand from the accounts of others is I am

-
,

convi nced of very little value For thi s rea s on I say

, .

nothing of the highly interes ting Gothic of Spain for ,

I have never been i n that country and can add nothing ,

of my own to what Street and others have told u s .

M y drawings and note s have be e n made at variou s

time s during the last half century but I have purpo s ely ,

revi s ited m a ny of the buildings referred to and have for ,

the firs t time s een S icily S o fa r a s I could I have

.

u s ed original s ketche s for illu s tration rather than photo

gr a ph s whi ch be s ides m a king a dull book often convey
,

a fal s e idea of the s ubj ect Several of the drawings

.

in S icily are by my s o n B as il ; tho s e by others are duly

acknowledged .

M y th a nk s a r e due to s everal friend s who have

kindly helped me : to M r Gera ld H or s ley for the use of
h is fine drawi ng of the interior of M il a n C ath e dral ; to
M r W S Weatherley for leave to reproduce h is beautiful
. .
 P R E FA C E
drawings of the s tatuary at We s tminster and that of the ,

C h a pter hou s e ; to M r W a ller the architect in ch a rge

,

of Gloucester Cathedral for much information a n d for

,

drawings of the con s truction of the choir ; to M r F ranci s

’
B ond for the loan of h is plate of the interior O f K ing s
C ollege C hapel to Profe s s or Salinas of P a lermo deceas ed ,

I am sorry to s a y s i nce my vi s it for m uch as s i s tance

,

there and for the gift of s ome of h is publication s ; al s o

,

to Profe s s or O rs i of S yra cu s e ; to P rofes s or Prior for

Plate X C I of two s tatue s at Well s ; to the S cience a n d
Art department at South K en s ington for the photograph s
from which Plate C L X V I I I is taken ; to the E ditors of
the B u ilder and the B u ilding N 6 205 for leave to reproduce
s everal illu s tr a tion s from tho s e paper s and to my friend
th e Rev George H orner for kindly reading th e proofs
. .

La s tly I h a ve to th a nk the C ambridge U niver s ity

Pre ss for the extreme c a re that h a s been taken in the
printing illus tration and comely production of the book
, , .

A s in the former work I have a ppended at the end

of the s econd volume a comparative table of date s of the
principal building s referred to i n the text with the addition ,

of a few more Thi s I hope will be found in s tructive

.

and u s eful to the s tudent .

T . G .
J .

E A GL E US E
HO ,

WI M L EDO N
B .

S efi t .
3, 191 5
.
 C ON T E N T S O F V O L U M E I
CH A P .

Pr f
e ac e

Li t
s f ill tr t i
o i
us l I d a on s n vo s . . an 11 .

D fi it i
e n f G th i
on r h it t r
o o c a c ec u e

Th G th i
e o lt c va u

Th G th i
e o lt tic d va u ,
co n nu e

E rly Fr h G th i T h tr it i l p i d S D i
a en c o c . e an s on a er o . . en s

S li S en N y
s t en s o on, e c .

E rly F h G t h i
‘

a r en c ti d Ng g j M o P i c, co n nu e . r a ar s

L S R m y t R im
aon : S i
. B rg e a e s : o s so n s : ou es

C
hartr es t ,
e c .

E rly Fr
a h G th i en c ti d R im o c , co n nu e . e s

Fr h G th i A m i
en c o d B c i .S D i v en s an e a u va s : . e n s, na e

S C h p ll
te
t P ri a e e a a s

Fr h pr i i l tyl
en c N rm dy
ov n c a s es . o an

Fr h pr i i l tyl
en c ov n c a ti d B rg dy T l s e s, c o n nu e . u un o u o u se

A j t
n ou Fr h t w r d p ir
, e c . en c o e s an s es

L t r Fr
a e h G m tri l G th i
en c eo e ca o c

E gl i h G th i Th tr it i l p ri d W r t r
n s o c . e an s ona e o . o c es e

S D id W l l C t rb ry t
. av
’
s : e s : an e u , e c .

Th eE rly E gl i h tyl L i l
a n t d i rg sf s e . nco n, e c .
, ve en c e o

E gl i h nd Fr s h G th i an en c o c

Th E rly E gl i h tyl
e a ti n d P t rb r gh Cis s e, c o n nu e . e e o ou : s

t r i r h it t r R i v l x S th w rk W r t r
e c an a c ec u e : e au : ou a : o c es e

h ir S l i b ry W l l E ly Dg rham B rl y t
c o : a s u : e s : : : e ve e , e c .

E rly p i t d r h it t r f Fr
a o n e ad E gl d mp r d
c ec u e o an c e an n an co a e

W t m i t r A bb y d t h m d i v l r h it t
es ns e e an e e ae a a c ec s

W t m i t r A bb y
es ns e ti d e ,
co n nu e

A pp d ix O w id i g r fi m t
en . n en n e ne en s
 L I ST O F I L L U S T RAT I O N S

Vo l &p
. ag o ltP a e

A BB EV I LL E W es t fr ton CXX III

'

Ba s e l m
of co u ns 11 . 1 45

F li g r i g
o a e ca v n 11 . 1 50
I t ri r f h ir
n e o o c o 11 . 1 48 c xx 1x
Do . C h ir i l o a s e 11 . 1 49 c xxx
Cr k t f J b é
oc e o u 11 . 1 50 c x xx 1
A M IEN S CA T H E D R A L Pl
an 1 . 1 18

I t ri r
n e o 1 1 16 xxvm
T r if r i m t rr
o u e ace xx1x
C pit l i
a a n n a ve 1 . 1 19

Ba se S ti f
. ec on o 1 63
Ba y o f n a ve (G . G . 1 . 12 1 xxx
fr tWe s t on 1 . 123 xxx1
We st
p rt l o a xxx1 1
S G ER M IN Fl m b y t tr ri
. A a o an ace es 11 . 141

A N G ER S C H E D R A L Pl
AT an H 1 61
.

H O E L D IE U Pl
T an H 1 62
D I t ri r
o . n e o H 1 61 xu v
D Gr ry
o . ana N 1 64
S SER G E
. I t ri r n e o H 1 64
. X LV

G r i i g ib o n n r H 1 63
.

T w r d p ir
o e an s e 11 . 89
Vi w e 11 . 1 88

P rt l f l w r C h r h
o a o o e u c 11 . 1 92 C X LV III
D rw y f C v t (A
oo a o on en n der s o n ) IL 181

A U TH IE G bl d t w r a e o e XL

A U X ERRE C p it l a a 1 . 1 20

A V I G N O N S PIERRE P lp it
,
. u 11 . 1 42 c xxv
D D t ilo . e a s 11 . 1 42

E t d as en 11 .
31 L xxx 1 1 1
Fr h E rly en c . a

Do . Do . 1 . 1 44

Do . Fl m b y t a o an 11 . 145

Do . Do . 11 . 1 46

E g li h E rly
n s . a I . 2 16

Of p lp it t P i
u a sa 11 . 2 12
 L I ST O F I L L U S T RA T I O N S
V o l & pa g e
. P lt
a e

BA YE U X C A TH ED R AL Ch ir o 1 . 1 38 XX X VI

N a ve 1 1 42

C p it l
a a 1 1 44

Do . I . 145

Ba se s 1 . 1 44

B E U IS
A VA ED R A L I t r i r
C A TH n e o 1 . 128 xxxm
Pl f h ir an o c o 1 . 1 29

Cr ib o ss r 1 . 1 30

B S ti a se . ec on of 1 . 63
Ap E x t ri r se . e o 1 . 1 31
I t ri r f i l n e o o a s e 1 . 1 29 XXX I V
S T r pt . a n se II . 1 56 C XXX V III
S E IENNE Wi d w
. T n o s 11 . 14 1

P rh o c C X LV II
B y f h ir ( A a o c o r c k ceo log z c a l I n s t i t u t e,
1 84 6)
P r y t mb Th e e c o

B I TT O N A i l wi d w s e n o s

BLO I S Th t w r t ir e o e s a CX L
B OTTE S F O R D I t ri r n e o

BO U R G E S CAT H E D R L Pl A an

N rth P r h o o c

M i d Cj a so n e u as

M i d Ch rl V I I a so n e a es .

BRI O U D E V lt au

BRI STO CA TH ED R L V i w i
L ilA e n a s e

B U I L D WA S A EY Pl BB an

BU R L EI G H H O U S E T w r o e c xx1 1
BY L N D A
A EYBB

C EN A B YE A U X H O MM ES Pl
A ,
B A f lt an o va u

Ba y of do .

Do . do
ri Co n ce

C p it l a a s

S r i ty ac s

S S A U V E U R St pl
. ee e

S PIERRE E t d d p i l
. as en an n n a c es

M RI D GE Ki g i e g C h p l I t ri r
’
CA B n s e a e . n e o

S J h C ll g G t w y . o n s
’
o e e a e a

CA N T ER BU RY C H E D R L Pl AT A an

B y f h ir d a ti o c o an s ec on

C h ir i t r i r o , n e o L X II
C p it l a a

T r i ity Ch p l I t ri r n a e . n e o

B l l H rry t w r e -
a o e

CA PI STA L M ld d ou e
 LI ST OF I L L U S T RAT I O N S
Vo l . pg
a e P lt
a e

St pl ee e 11 . 1 51 C XXX III
Ex t ri r e o ( B a s il H j . a c ks o n ) II . 2 60 C L XX V

Cl i t ro s e II 2 61 C L XX V I
Do . Ca i pt l a in
Do . Do . 11 . 2 64

Do . Do . 11 . 2 64

C H AL O N s -
M A RNE S A lp i
SUR -
. n 1 .
72 vi
C H A M F ER C U S P IN G 11 . 27

C H R T HA M
A W i d w tr ry n o ac e 11 . 26

C H A R T RE S CA T H E D R A L R y l p rt l o a o a s 1 .
98 X IX

Pl an 1 .
97
B y E l ti d a ti . e va on an sec on I . 1 00

C p it l i a a n n a ve 1 . 10 1

D i m b l t ry O . n a u a o I . 10 1

N rth P r h I t r i r o o c . n e o 1 .
99 XX
D d Ex t ri r ( M
o . o . e o . A da m s
in B u i ldin g N ew s ) 1 . 103

Do . St t a u es In N rth P r h
o o c 1 . 1 04 XXI

t pl Th e o ld s e e e 1 . 105 xx1 1
Th N W t pl e . . s ee e 11 . I 5O A C XXX II
S PIERRE I t ri r
. n e o 1 . 1 74

CH I RA AV A L E L S ti ec on I L 1 86

C H I CH E S T ER S tr pt w i d w . a n se n o 11 .
59
W i d w i L dy C h p l n o n a a e 11 .
32
C H IN O N Fl m b y t r k t a o an c oc e 11 . 1 50
C H RI S CH U R C H PRI O RY R r d
T e e os 11 . 80 CV

C I S T ER C I N AA EY S P l f BB an s o

C I TTA D E PIE E Wi d w (A d
L LA V ) n o n er so n 11 . 1 80

CLA PH M A T w r wi d w o e n o 11 . 6
C U NY H O E L D
L , ( P ri ) Fl m b y t r k t
T E a s a o an c oc e

CO M O Br l tt o e o CX L 1 1

C O U T N C E S C T H E D R L Ex t r i r
A A A e o X LI

Pl f p i r an o e s

C h ir i l I t ri r o a s e . n e o X L II
Pl f p an o a se 1 . 1 54
W t t w r es o e X L III
Wi d w i D m n o n u o o

S o ffi t 11 . 18

h mf r Do . C a e 11 . 27

D REN H
A T T im b r p ir e s e 11 . 84
D ERE H M E A S
A Wi d w
,
T n o 11 .
9
D UN M OW L IT E ( Fr m Sp ng G d
,
TL o ru -
ar en s s eet c /z b o o lé) 11 . 83
D URH M C A H ED R NAT lt i g AL a ve va u n LV III
Ch p l f N i A lt r a e o ne a s L XX VI
E L SO H M
AR N A r f a ve oo 11 . 1 24

E L H M P C E R f f H ll
T A A LA oo o a IL 126
 LIST O F I L L U S T RAT I O N S
V o l & p a ge
. P la t e
E L Y CAT H D R A L E pr byt y Ba y of th e es er 1 . 2 40 L xxv
Pl f th t g an o e oc a on II . 65
B y f h ir ( fr m F g a o c o o er u ss o n ) II . 67
Pl f h ir lt an o c o va u II . 80
Tr pt r f tr a n se oo u ss 11 . 1 24

E ONTT E t wi d w as n o 11 . 13

E X E ER C H ED R
T Wi d w tr ry
AT AL n o ac e 11 .
55
I t ri r n e o 11 .
44 L XXX V III
D i gr m f lt a a O va u II .
46
F N A U IN G V l t
VA LT ,
v . au

F NOA W i d w i P l zz d l C n o n a a o e om u ne

F O REN C E
L Pl f D m an o uo o

G i tt t w r (i l r) XI
’
o o s o e n co ou CL
FREN C H S E S BA

G EN O A J m b f p rt l i D m a o o a n uo o C XL I X
D p li d o . ane n o .

G O U C E S ER C T H E D R
L T Ex t ri r i w
A AL e o v e CV III
P l f tr if ri m p i r an o o u e

D f l r t ry p i r O . o c e es o e

S t i f h ir ec on o c o

I t r i r f h ir n e o o c o

D i gr m f h ir lt a a o c o va u

Cl i t r o s e s C X II
S T r pt w i d w . a n se n o

GR I E
AV LL Wi d w n o

H RRIN G W R TH
A C h im
O y ne

H AV ER F R WES O Wi d w
D T n o

H ERE F O R D C r d p dril a ve s an

H O W D EN Wi d w n o

HY HE T Wi d w n o

I LCH E S TER Wi d w n o

I P S WI CH S L EO N R S T w r
,
. A D
’
o e

KET O N T T w r d Sp r o e an i e

K IR Y B E tr d H ll n an c e an a

KN O E L C rt g l l ry a oon a e

L N G RE S
A P l f lt an o va u

L ON C
A HEDR AT Pl AL an

I t ri r ( j 0 S t t i n e o . . co n

Ga r den s eet c /z
s/ book) 1 . 87
h ir d N rth tr pt Ex t ri r I
C o an o a n se . e o . 88 X III
W t fr t es I
on 89 XIV

C p it l
a a 1 89
B S ti f
a se . I ec on o . 63
LAV EN H M A I t ri r f v
n e o o na e 11 . 1 18

Spri g h p l P r p t d i l y II
n c a e . a a e an n a . 1 20

L E D U RY
B Wi d w n o 11 .
33
 L I S T O F I L L U S T RAT I O N S
Vo l . pg
a e P lt
a e

L I M O G ES S M i h l x Li. T c e au on s . o we r and

p ir s e XL I X
L IN CO N L CAT H ED RA P l f E t r p rt
L an o as e n a

P l f h ir p i r an o c o e

D bl w l l r d ou e a a ca e

E xt ri r i w e o V e

C h ir I t ri r o . n e o

C p it l i D Ch p l ’
a a n ea n s a e

Do . do . do .

Do . do . do .

Do . in pr byt ry es e

Pl an o f h ir c lt o va u

DO . o f vna lt e va u

Do . do . do .

N a ve . I t ri r
n e o X V II L
N . T r a n s e p t w in do w ( t h e D e a n 5 E ye )
II I I L XXX II
( t h e B ish o p s E y e )
.
’
Do . do . do .

Pr byt ry es e or an g l h ire c o

Tw gl o an e s in do .

S th d r
ou oo of pr byt ry es e

St t f
a u es o th Ch r h
e u c and th e
Sy g g na o ue X CIV
L S I IEU X S PIERRE,
. Ba y o f n a ve ( fr o m Bu i ldi g n N ew s )
Pl f l m an o co u n

5 J C Q U ES I t ri r
. A n e o C XX V I
Pl f l m an o co u n and b a se

L 1 TT L D U N M OW
E D m w ,
v . un o

LONG M E FO R M lf rd
L D, v . e o

LUCC A I t ri r f D m n e o o uo o

T r if r i m i d o u n o .

W i d w ( fr m A n o o n der s o n )
C a sa G u in ig i
LU FF EN H M N O R H T w r d pir
A ,
T o e an s e CV II
M NTES C H ED R
A I t ri r f p
AT AL n e o o a se

M E FO RD L O N G
L A i l w ith fl i t i l y
,
s e n n a

M ER S H M T A T mb p ir I er s e

M I N D UOMO
LA , Pl an

Ex t r i r e o C X LV
I t ri r ( by G ld H n e o er a o r s ley )
S G O R O C m p il
. T TA D a an e C X LV
S A M RO GI O Pl f b y
. B an o a

Vi w f b y e o a

E l ti f b y e va on o a

S ti ec on

M O NRE E D U O M O Pl
AL , an

I t ri r n e o CL XXX II
xviii LI ST O F I L L U S T RAT I O N S
V o l 8:. pg a e P lt
a e

P A L E RMO , L A
” T
J
’
NN U N I Z A TA D o o wa r y II . 2 95

11 . 2 92

P L O CHI R MON E A AZZ A A T Win d o w CX C

P RI S N O RE D A M E P l
A ,
T an 1 79
B S ti a se . ec on of I 63
Ba y o f n a ve ( V le D u c )
.
- -
I 81
F ly m g b ttr u esse s e t c . We s t e r n t o we sr I .
78 X

pt l i Ca i a n n a ve I 83
W t fr t es on 1 79 XI

I t ri r f h ir i l n e o o c o a s e I . 84 XII

S C H PE
TE E Pl A LL an 1 . 135

Ex t ri r e o I . 1 34 XXX V
S G ER M IN D S PR ES B y f h ir
. A E a o c o 1 .
76
S M R IN D C H M P S R f t ry w i d w
. A T ES A e ec o n o 11 . 19

C U NY H O E D
L Cr k t , T L E oc e 11 . 1 50
P RI X O U RNE
AT Wi d w
B n o II . 27

P VI
A A Th h r h f th C m m e c u c o e ar e ( fr o m
G r u n er )
PE ER O R O U G H
T B rf r
T i o iu m
W t fr tes on

P lp it i B pt i t ry
u n a s e

Do . do . d t il
e a s

Ca p l l d l l Sp i
e a e a na

P O I IERS
T CA T H ED R AL I t ri r f
n e o o n a ve

Pl an

R A D S TO N Win d o w
R EI M S CA TH D E R AL Pl an

I t ri r
n e o

C p it l
a a

Do .

A p h p l (V l D )
se c a e -
e
-
u c

W t fr tes on

A i ti
nnunc a d S l t ti on an a u a on

H d ea f M ry d E l iz b th i
s o a an a e n do .

S . R EM I N a ve l m co u ns

C pl d
ou l m e co u ns

C p it l i
a h ir a n c o

Ap Ex t r i r
se . e o

R IE U L X A EY
VA BB Th h ir
e c o

R I PO N C H ED R AT AL E t wi d w
as n o

R O M NEY N EW , Wi d w n o

R OO F S D i gr ma f v ri a f rm f o a ou s o s o con

tr t i
s u c on

O U EN CA TH ED R AL I t ri r
n e o

P rt il d L ibr ir
o a es a es

E trn r t d
an ce sc ee n o o .
 L I ST O F I L L U S T RAT I O N S
Vo l . pg a e P lt
a e

RO U EN CA TH EDR AL We s t fr t on 11 . 1 39 CX X I V A
S M . A CL O U Ba y o f n a ve II . 1 44

fr t We st on 11 . 1 39

S O U EN E x t r i r
. e o I . 1 76
C tr l t w r en a o e 11 . 1 47

P A LA I S D J U S I C E E T 11 . 1 55
D I D S C TH E R
AV
’
B y f
A D AL a o n a ve I . 1 80

Pl f p i r d r h an o e an a c I . 1 83

Bi h p G w r r t m b (i
’
s o o e s sc e en an d o n

l r) co ou

P AC E D rw y AL oo a

C h im y ( i l r) ne n co ou XC I X
D ENI S A m b l t ry lt u a o va u

E t d as en

C p it l i rypt a a n c

D i wi d w j m b o . n n o a

D i h ir i l o . n c o a s e

Ba s e
m GER M ER W in d o w
m LEON RD A T o we r an d s pr 1 e X L V III
m L U D E S S EREN pt l Ca i a
’
E T

m LO I t ri r n e o C XX V I I
m MALO Wi d w n o

m P ERE S O U S V E E L Y T w r d p ir Z A o e an s e

m PIE R O N A G R O Pl
T I an

S id i w e V e

E t d ( by B il H j as en as a c ks o n )
Q U EN T IN I t ri r f n e o o n a ve

H Ot l d V il l e e e

Wi d w i d n o n o .

S R I Q U IER
. St t f S Chr t ph r a ue o . is o e C XXX I X
S L I S U RY C TH ED R L Pl
A B A A an

I t ri r n e o

Ex t r i r e o

V l t f Ch pt r h au o a e o u se

P rh o c

Pl f p i r an o e

Cl i t r o s e

SEEZ C H ED R AT B y f vAL a o na e

SE L Y A EY
B BBE t d as en

N i l wi d w a ve a s e n o

C h ir l r t ry d o c e es o o .

C p it l i h ir a a n c o

SE M U R N A U X O I S W t fr t
-
E -
es on

SEN L I S A p id l h p l s a c a e s

C h ir I t ri r o . n e o
 LIST OF I L L U S T RAT I O N S
Vo l
. pg
a e P lt
a e

SEN I S
L St pl ee e I . 68 111

SEN C S A TH ED RA L Ba y o f n a ve I 38 I
St ir t tr ry a o ea s u 1 . 69 IV

P d i m f p rt l
o u o o a I 70 V

S r ll j m b f d
c o on a o o . I 70
SIEN A . THE D U O M O Pl an 11 . 1 97

I t r i r f h ir
n e o o c o II . 1 98 CL
D f d m O . o o e 11 . 1 99 CLI

W t fr t es on CL II
S l pt r d l m i d
cu u e co u n n o . 11 . 20 1 CL III
T w w i d w tr ori n o ace es 11 . 207

PALAz z o C O MU N L E Th rt il (i l r)
A e co e n c o ou CL X III
P A LAz z o S R C ENIA A Wi d w n o

S L P TO N
A Wi d w n o II .
58
D0 . 11 .
58
S O FF I T CU S P IN G II . 18

S O I S S O N S C H ED RA L S T r pt
AT . a n se I .
93
S U H W R K CA H E D R L I t r i r f h r
O T A T A n e o o c oi 1 . 2 26

S O U H WE LL C H ED R L C p it l i Ch pt r h
T AT A a a n a e o u se 11 .
49
C h ir r o sc ee n 11 . 64
S M FO RD A L S A IN TS C p it l
TA ,
L a a s II .
48
S M A RY S T w r d p ir
.
’
o e an s e 11 . 85
T O R M IN A
A L V h i B d i ( by B a ec c a a a a s il H
j a c ks o n ) CL XXX I X
r y
D o o wa
P l zz C
a a o o r va j a , cort il e C XCI
Do . do . wi d w n o

THO RN O N A EY Bl k w i d w i
T BB an n o n C h pt r h a e o u se

T IN TERN A B EY Pl B an

TO U O US E
L T w r f h J bi o e o t e aco ns X L V II
T R C ERY
A D i gr m h w i g tr t i fa a s o n c on s uc on o

D i gr m f g m tr i l d fl w i g
a a o eo e ca an o n

Fl m b y t a o an

Wi d w n o

Cr lt d q r pl o ss va u an s ua e an

D d w ith rd i t o . o . o n a es

Cr lt b l g pl w ith r d o s s va u , o on an ou n

rh a c es

D d w ith p i t dd o . o . o n e o .

Th W l h gr i e e s o n

S k t h f ib d p E l lt e c o r an an va u

R ib w ith d w ith twb an ou e

R ib t A g r a n e s

Pl f id t p g g an o cono a s r in In

S x p rt it lt e a e va u

V lt t Br i d au a ou e
 LI ST OF I L L U S T RAT I O N S
Vo l . pg
a e P lt
a e

VA U L IN G
T (c o n t ) V ltau at S . D en is 1 .
4s
Do . do . La ngr es

D iagr am of thr t us s

C h ir o va u lt Li l ,
nco n

N a ve do . do .

Do . do do
. .

Fr h en c fil l g i wa y o f in n

E gl i h
n s do do . .

C h pt r H
a lte o u s e va u

V l t w ith i t rm d i t r ib
au n e e a e s

D d
o t Ex t r
. o . a e e

E ly t ll r lt , s e a va u

Gl t r d i gr m f h ir
o u c es e , a a o c o va u lt 11 . 106

D oCl i t r f
. lt o s e an va u C X II
Wi h t r nc lt es e n a ve va u CX
W tm i t r f
es lt ns e an va u IL 1 1 1 CX IV
VENI C E F d d i T r hi
on aco e u c I L 236 CL X IV
Byz ti P l an ne a ace 11 . 2 37 CL XV
Do . do . 11 . 237

V en e t i d t il
an en I L 2 37

Du ca l P l P i zz tt Fr t
a a c e, a e a on I L 2 38 CL XV I
Do . d oC p it l
. a a s 11 . 241 C L X V III
Do . d oJ dg m t f S l m
. u e en o o o on II . 2 40 C L X V II
V en e ti r k t
an c oc e 11 . 2 43

P a a l zz S gr d
o a e o 11 . 2 44 CL XIX
P a a l zz C i g
o co na I L 2 45 CL XX
P a a l zz C ll i
o a va I L 2 46 C L XX I
P a a l zz C d
o ( d w m g by F
a
’ ’
o ro ra .

B a g g a llay in t h e B u ilder ) CL XX II
b ttl m t
Do . do . a e en s

P l zz C t ri i F a a o on a n a sa n CL XX III
S S Gi i P l l t
. o va n n e ao o . n e r 10 r

VERCE I S A N D RE Pl
LL ,
. A an

I t ri r n e o

E xt ri r e o

VI ER O
T B Cl i t r i o s e n

WE LL S CATH ED R N I t ri r
AL a ve . n e o

N Pl f p i ra ve . an o e

N C p it l a ve . a a

N rth p r h o o c

D r d p dril o . ca ve s an

W t fr t es on

T w r fr m C l i t r
o e s o o s e

S C U P U RE F ig r
L T W t fr t ( fr m
u es on es on o P r io r
an d Ga r dn er )
T h e R e su rr t i ec on
xxii LI ST OF I L L U S T RAT I O N S
i g ,
V o l & pa ge . P lt
a e

WEL LS ED R A Th h ir I t ri r
C AT H L e c o . n e o 11 .
72 CI I

S C U H ERT S T h T w r
. T B
’
e o e II . 13 1 C X V III
W E S M IN S ER A EY Pl
T T BB an I . 2 70

I t ri r l k i g E t n e o ,
oo n as 1 . 2 62 L XX V II
T r if r i m g ll ry o u a e 1 . 2 74 L XX V III

D l ti o . e e va on 1 . 277

D p it l d b o . ca a an a se 1 . 2 16

Do . do . do .

To m ry I I I
b of H en L XX I X
C r t io h air
o ona n c I . 2 84

D o g .d r ti (i e s so ec o a on n I . 2 86 L XXX
C h pt r h
a I t ri r
e o u se . n e o (W . S .

Wea t h er ley ) 11 .
36 L XXX I V
gr m f lt
D ia a o va u 11 .
40
T m b f A ym r d V l
o o e e a en c e 11 .
77
H ry V I I S hap l
en lt d ’
c e ,
va u e 11 . III C XIV
D o d . pl f p i r o . an o e 11 . 111

D o d . T hr tt o . ee s a u es

(W S . Wea t /t er ley ) CX V

WE ST M IN S T ER H A LL T h e ro o f e t c 11 . 122 c xv1
W ES T W A L TO N Win d o w 11 . 1 1

W ES TWE L L I n t e r io r 11 . 6 L XXX I
W IN C H E S T ER C A T H E D R A L N a ve E l e va t io n . an d s ec ti
on 11 . 1 14

N rth tr
o pt a n se 11 .
3
B k f f r t ry
ac o e e o 11 .
71 CI
N lt
a ve va u 11 . 107 CX
W IN D O W N rm i g l l ig ht
o an s n e 11 . 2

D i gr m f i
a r rh a o nne a c , v . T r ac e ry 11 . 28

W IN GHA M Wi d w n o 11 .
31
W I T NEY T w r od p r e an s 1 e 11 87
(H
.

W O RC E S T ER CA T H ED R W t r b y
AL es e n a s o f n a ve

B r a ksp ea r In t h e B u ilde r ) 1 . 1 82
Ch ir E lo . e va ti ons a n d s ec ti
on 1 . 229

WY M O N D H A M N v r f
a e oo 11 . 128

YO R K C A TH ED R AL Ex t r i r e o 63 X C VII
C l r t ry
e es o of Pr byt ry es e I . 2 53

S M RY S
. A
’
A BB EY N a ve a s e i l 11 .
48 L XXX I X

E R R A TA
9 6, li
ne 8 . For
“
w e h r e r ea d w h en .

1 79, li ne 6 . F o r P o r t r a il r ea d P rt il o a .

1 89 , n o e t . For 1 09 3 r ea d 1 0 9 6 .

2 3 8, li ne 28 . F o r fr e iz e r ea d fr i z e e .

3 3 4, li ne 7 . F or 11 .
304 r ea d I . vi ; 11 .
30 4 .

li
ne 29 . F or I . 2, 1 5 r ea d 1 . vi, 2 , I 5.
 C HA PTE R I

E
D F I NI T I O N O F GO T H I C

TH E arts of Western E urope duri ng the M iddl e Age s ,

that is to s a y speaking roughly from the 1 2 t h to the

, ,

1 6th c e ntury are gen e rally known as Gothic ; a title of

rath e r vague and loose application .

I t w a s i nv e nted at the revival of l e arning as a term

of reproach I n literature compo s itions were called
.

Gothic which were not Classic : that is to say such as

did not follow the style of Greek and Latin authors .

The term expre s s ed the contempt of the e nlightened G thi o c

men of the Renaissance for the works of their mediaeval

pre dec e ssors ; for th e ir j ingling rhymes their unclas s ical £52
,3:
0

Latinity and their barbarous att e mpts i n the vernacular

,

tongue I n th e Arts the disciple s of Vitruviu s and

.

wors hippers of the five order s branded as Gothic all the

work s of the pr e ceding centuries during which the rul e s
of Clas s ic proportion and detail had b e en forgott e n or
ignored The Goth s who had ov e rth rown th e We s tern
.

E mpire and fou nded ki ngdoms in I taly Spain and

, , ,

Gaul were taken to typify all the Germanic tribes whose

,

invasions and settl e ment s had changed the face of E urope ,

and wiped out the civilization of th e ancient world The .

“
s e condary meani ng of the word Gothic i n the N ew ”

“
E ng l isn D ic t io n a ry is T e utonic or Germanic and to ,
”

J . G . A .
 D E F I N I T I O N O F GO T H I C [ CH . 1

the I talian the Gothic s tyle was alway s the Germ an

s tyle lo s t ile Tedes c o
,
Raffaelle write s to Pope Leo X .

“
that after the fall of Rome the Germ a n s ( i Tedesc lz i)
began to revive Art a little but in their ornament s they ,

were clumsy and v e ry far from the fine mann e r of the

Roman s Va s a ri and Palladio j oin i n pouring contempt
.
”

on tho s e who admired the German s tyle the only excu s e ,

for which according to Raffaelle was that it originated

in imitation of growing tree s whose interlacing bough s ,

formed pointed arche s and that it w a s s o fa r conformable ,

to nature and therefore not e ntirely d e s picabl e

,
’
.

The I talian s were of cours e m istaken i n s uppo s ing

that the architect u re we know a s Gothic origi nated in
Germany but if we take Gothic i n its wider sense as
,

Teutonic it is a very good name for the s tyle For it .

was an art essentially of N orthern origin and grew up ,

a m ong those p e ople s who had the stronge s t s trai n of

German blood I n F rance its cradle was in the N orth ;
.

i n the old Roy a l Domain where Goths and Franks had ,

established their rule and mingled their blood with that ,

“
of th e old Gallic inhabitants The N orth of Franc e .
,
”

“
says M Guizot w a s es s e ntially Germanic th e South
.
, ,

essentially Roman The B urgundians and N orman s

.
”

were Teutonic peoples ; and in E ngland wh e r e the s tyl e ,

had an equal development with that in France the old ,

C eltic race w a s almo s t lost among Sa x on Dani s h and , ,

N orman conquerors who were all of T e utonic origin .

I n Germany it s elf the new art ling e r e d longe r i n th e

Roman e sque stage which w a s it s elf a transi tion from ,

Roman to Gothic architectur e but ther e too i n th e end , ,

1
He c ont i — E b h e q t rigi
n u es, i i t tt d
en c pr zz r u es a o n e n on s a n u o a s e a e

p r
u e é d b l p r h e m l t p ii r gg r bb r l p
e o e, e c o f tt di tr i
o I e e e e o e ca ann e a e av

t
in c a e n a e, t p t d
e di
os e a l li lm i i
u so p im ti m c o o n n e, con cu n e co r en co e

d r iv
e sc e Vit r u vio , et c .
, et c .
 D E F I N I T I O N O F GO T H I C [ CH . I

support From these premi s es h e concludes that the

.

only real and true Gothic is that of the churches i n the

I le de France of which the perfect example is A m ien s ,

Cathedra l But thi s is aft e r all only a matter of word s

.

and name s and come s S imply to thi s that Goth ic

, ,

architecture gave more logic a l expre s sion i n s ome place s

than in others to those pri nciple s of con s truction which
it obey s ev e rywhere To exclude from the style all .

E ngli s h work except s o much of Canterbury Cathedral

a s w a s built by a F r e nchman and perhaps the nave of ,

Lincoln is to mi s take the part for the whole th e letter

, ,

for the s pirit and to confine the conception of a great

,

wave of arti s tic emotion to one only of its outward

‘
manifestation s .

Vaulting play e d a gre at part —perhaps the greates t , ,

though certainly not the only part in developing Gothic

architecture ; but it will not do to define it a s S imply
the expres s ion of s cientific vaulting The Romans were .

mas ters of the art of vaulting long before they u s ed ,

probably in vent e d —the cro s s vault and unders tood the ,

-
,

concentration of thru s t s on isolated points I t was from .

them and from the E a s tern Rome a s well that the

, ,

Romane s que builders learned how to make their s tone

roofs and they i n their turn passed the art on to th e ir
,

Gothic s ucce s s ors who improv e d and develop e d it in ,

their own way maki ng in the end almo s t a new art of it , .

But it must be remembered that most of the problems of

scientific vaulting had presented themselv e s before their
M r M r w rit th t w h r v r fr m w rk m i t i d
1
oo e thes a
“
e e e a a e o a n a ne on e

pri ipl f thr t d

nc t rthr t i w t i g th r w h
e o us t G th i
an c ou n e us s an n e e e a ve n o o c
”

( p it p
o . cT hi w .ld x l d t h S t C h p ll t P ri d m y
. s ou e c u e e e a e e a a s, an an

m r v lt d b ild i g w h r
o e au th thr t i t k d ir tly by b ttr
e u n s e e e us s a en ec u e s ses .

M r P rt r d t
o pt M r M r l im it t i f t h t rm M di v l
e o es n o acce oo
’
e s a on o e e . e e a

A / t t N w Y rk
'

rc u ec u r e. e
909 o ,
1 .
CH . I
] DEFINITION OF G OT H I C 5

time and had been partially at all event s solved by their

,

predecessors though not s o completely

, .

feature of the s tyle however great it s influence may have

m
N or is it correct to regard vaulting a s an e s senti a l i k i g
ti l essen
l n

a
,

been on the s tructure of great churche s I n E ngland .

except on a grand s cale it is exceptional ; a n d yet if

Wes tminster H all with it s s tupendou s timber covering ,

and the Fen churche s with their glorious wooden roofs ,

and the s plendid ceiling of the nave at S t D avid s are ’

not Gothic what are they ? A nd what else can we call

the countle s s V illag e churche s gem s of mode s t art that
, ,

s tud our country far and wide and con s titute one of it s ,

greate s t charm s though it is only here and there that

,

they a s pire to th e dignity of a vaulted ceiling ?

Again if th e te s t of Gothic is to be the logical ex D m ti o es c

G th O lc
pres s ion of a va u lt e d construction what become s of dome s tic
architecture both here and abroad i n wh ich vaulting ,

certainly doe s not play a n important part Are the town

halls of B rus s el s Ypres and Louvai n not Gothic nor the
, , ,

B roletto of Como the p o n t ifi c a l palace at Viterbo or th a t

, ,

of the pope s at A vignon or the duc a l palace at Venice

,

Still le s s is Gothic architecture a s it has appeared to G thi

,
o c not
Of
the ordin a ry layman a m a tter of quatrefoil s and trefoil s iiiiii
, iiit , o a

of cu s p s and tracerie s of crockets and fi n ia ls pinnacles

, ,

and flying buttre s s es These are but the accident s of

.

the s tyle though no doubt they re s ulted naturally from

,

the application of certain principle s behind them B ut .

they might all fly away and yet leave a Gothic building

behind them M any a n old tithe barn of rough timber
.

framework is a s truly a piece of Gothic arch itecture a s

Y ork M in s ter or Sali s bury Cathedral .

I f then none of the s e attempted definition s are really

coexten s ive with the Gothic style of architecture for a ,
 6 DEFINITION OF GOT H I C [ ca 1

building may be Gothic and yet have none of th e se

characteri s tic s how are we to define it ?
,

G thi
o t c no The true way of looking at Gothi c art is to regard
m tt r f
—
a a e o

f rm b t
o it not
u as a definite s tyle bound by cert a in formul a s for
o f p irit
s
it is infinitely variou s but rather a s the expre s s ion of a
,
-

cert a in temper s entiment a n d S pirit which in s pired the

, ,

whole m ethod of doing things during the M iddle Ag e s

i n sculptur e and painting a s well a s in architecture I t .

c a nnot be defi ned by a n y of its outward feature s for ,

they are variable differing at different time s and i n

,

different place s They are the outward expression of

.

certain cardinal pri ncipl e s behind them and though ,

these principle s are common to all good styles Gothic — ,

among them — the re s ult of applying them to the buildings

,

of each a g e country and people will vary as the circum

, ,

stance s of that country that age and that people vary , , .

G thi
o c To arrive at anything like an exact definition of
d fi d by Gothic architecture therefore we mu s t look deeper than
e ne
pri ipl nc e , ,

t b y f rm
no
the mere outward phenomena by which we are accustomed
o

to recognize it To j udg e from them alone no word s

.
,

could be framed to de s cribe i n common term s buildings

so divers e as K ing s C ollege C hapel and Sali s bury ’

C athedral Yet di fferent a s they are from one another

.

they both r e sult regularly and natur ally from the a pplica
tion of the s a me pri nciples under s omewhat different
circum s tance s The s e principles were already at work
.

i n the Romane s que buildings of the preceding centuries ,

and it is to their consi s tent application that the develop

C on ment of the new style is due The same principles .

t i it y f
nu o
R m o which brought Romane s que archit e cture to birth out of
an

d
es q
G thi
o
u e an
the
c
style of ancient Rome when carried further and ,

pu s hed to their logic a l con s equence s produced the arts ,

of the M iddle Ages which we call Gothic There w a s .

CH . 1
] DE F I N I T I O N OF GOT H I C
no interruption no brea k of continuity i n development
,

the earlier style melted gradually almo s t imperceptibly ,

into the other ; and afterwards one phase of Gothic

pas s ed gradually and naturally i nto the next There is .

no break in the s e quence from the latest Roman wor k at

Spalato to the ba s ilica s of Rome and Ravenna ; from
them to th e nave of S Ambrogio to the great churches .

on the R hine and the Conqueror s churche s at Caen ; ’

to V ezelay S Albans Winchest e r and D urham ; and

, .
, ,

onwards to C onrad s gloriou s choir S D enis Sen s the

’

, .
, ,

work of the two William s at Canterbury the choir of ,

Li ncoln Sali s bury We s tmin s ter P a ri s and Amiens

, , , ,
.

T hree grand pri nciple s have governed the develop

ment of Gothic architecture as indeed they have that of ,

every good s tyle that th e world has ever s een .

Th e first is that the construction must be sound and

good Good building is the foundation of good archi
.

tecture : no amount of de s ign can ma k e up for defect i n

thi s re s pect This however doe s not take one beyond
.

mere utility and engineering and does not touch the

, ,

bound s of A rt .

Th e s econd great pri nciple is that of E conomy : by

which I mean not merely thrift though that come s in ,

too and the Gothic builders might have said with

,

Pericle s
et ir ekefa s
’

fit h O K a Ao i
i ‘
t ev er
p y ,

but economy in the original sen s e of the word that is to ,

say a nice regard for a rrang e ment and proportion the ,

due observance of circum s tance of time and place of the ,

means available of the m aterial s at your di s po s al and of

,
”

the mode of u s ing them to the best advantage Thi s .

take s u s a s tep farther The suitable treatment of .

material so as to make the be s t of it s n a tural qualitie s

 DEFI N ITION OF GO T H I C [ ca 1

without waste or misapplication carries us a long way

towards our third gre at principle .

Thi s third pri nciple is that the design s hould be the

aesthetic expression of the con s truction For architecture
.

differs from mere building s imply in this that it is the ,

art of building expres s ively and th e refore b e autifully .

The two firs t pri nciple s are within the compass of e v e ry

one but the third can only b e appli e d i n an arti s tic ag e
,

and by an artistic p e ople I t is with nations as with

.

i ndividuals J u s t as two men may do the same thing

.
,

but one will do it grac e fully and th e oth e r awkwardly so ,

the buildings of one ag e and one people will be beautiful ,

while those of anoth e r though po s s ibly no le s s com

,

m o dio u s will b e vulgar and di s tasteful

,
I n either case
.

the artistic faculty is a gift of nature which may b e

cultivated but cannot be implanted when it is ab s e nt .

I t is by conforming to the s e three rules of solidity ,

e conomy and aesth e tic e x pres s ion that all good s tyles
, ,

— Romanesque and Gothic among them — are ustifi e d

j , .

I n plain language th e y mu s t be s trong they must b e ,

s en s ible and thei r work must S how that th e y are so

, .

But though the s e pri nciple s are of univers al application

they lead to different results in different countrie s and
a ge s . This is inevitable if they are to be true to them
s elves for they demand the expres s ion of the s pecial
,

conditions in each cas e The difference between on e

.

true and living s tyle and another doe s not ari s e from any
difference in principle but from difference of circumstance
,

to which tho s e principles are applied I t will be our .

task to trace their i nfluence on the development of

Gothic architecture through the circum s tanc es amid which
the s tyle aro s e .
CH . 1 ] NAT U RE O F GOT H I C
The Byzantin e and Romanesque s tyle s ar e the phase s
into which architecture p a s s ed in E a s tern and We s tern
Europe re s pectively from the decay of the older s tyle of
, ,

the Rom a n world And Gothic is the pha s e or rather

.
,

the s ucce s s ion of pha s e s into which the art pa s sed out of
Romane s que during the M iddle Ages For late Gothic .

differs from the early s tyle s as much a s they do from

their parent Romanesque H enry V I I s chapel at
.
’

’
We s tminster and H enry I I I S choir are both Gothic ,

but they differ from one another almo s t a s much a s

’
H enry I I I S work does from the nave of D urh a m .

Romane s que art out of which Gothic was developed

spread in variou s form s through all We s tern E urope ;
from I taly where it began to our own country But , .

Gothic which w a s e s s entially of N orthern origin and a ,

Teutonic art though it had force enough to pu s h it s

,

way i nto the heart of the Latin population of S outhern

E urope where clas s ic trad ition never wholly expired
, ,

was unable to find there it s full and free development .

There was in fact a flux and reflux of the two s tyle s ,

C la s sic and Gothic from S outh to N orth from N orth to

, ,

South and back again J u s t a s the influence of Roman

, .

art s pread beyond the Al ps in s pired the rude beginning s

,

of the native s tyle s of Fr a nce Germany and E ngl a nd , , ,

a n d formed the b a s i s of Romane s que archit e cture there

no less than in I taly s o when northern Roman e sque

,

pass e d into Gothic the new s tyle o ve r fl o w e d into those

countri e s wh e re Clas s ic architecture had it s origin and ,

affect e d their art till the wave s pent it s force and ebbed
back agai n N o r t h wa r ds .

Th e s entiment of Gothic architecture is i n fact alien

to the clear po s itive temperament of the Latin race s .

I t r e flect s i n its gloom and myst e ry the romantic temper

IO N AT U R E OF GOT H I C [ ca 1

of the N orth I n the Byzantine and I talo Byzantine

.
-

basilica and even in S Sophia itself and the domed

, .

churche s of the East there is no mystery All is open .

and vi s ible Ther e are no cavernous porta l s like those

.

of C h a rtres and Amiens no dimly seen per s pective s like

,

tho s e of C anterbury or Westmin s ter no surpri s e s like ,

tho s e of the ea s tern part s of Well s Winchester or ,

Sali s bury E ven the crypts of I talian churche s are light

.

and cheerful unlike the ghostly dimly lit vaults and th e

,
‘
-
,

dark mysteriou s reces s es of our northern undercroft s .

I taly is no place for my s teries of Udo lp h o s liding ,

pan e ls hidd e n chamber s and s ecret passage s ; the scen e

, ,

“ ’ ”
of H orace Walpole s Gothic Romance had been laid
more appropriately among the robber castles on the
Rhine or i n the wilds of the B lack Fore s t than at
, ,

Otranto .

O ne more charact e ristic Goth ic I S th e style of freedo m

.

from convention and of i ndividuality Romane s que had

, .

only h a lf a chi e ved liberty ; it was still held back by

Roman traditio n though it no longer obeyed s trict
,

V itruvian r u l e s I t was left for its Gothic s ucc e ssor to

.

complete the e s cape and to travel on its way in entire

,

freedom from C las s ic tradition and without any fre s h ,

impediments to take it s pl a ce The adoption of the .

pointed arch w a s no doubt the principal i nstrument of its

liberation as will pre s ently be explain e d but the change
,

w a s not limited to construction only it ran through a ll ,

part s of the de s ign i n the direction of greater naturalism .

I n its ornament the form s of animal and vegetabl e life

were treated with constantly improving art and con s tantly
gre a t e r truthfulness and i n con s truction the natural law s
of statics and equilibrium were studied rather than
traditional formula s and the very force s which e ndanger
,
12 N AT U R E O F G O T H I C [ CH . 1

unnoticed and the s ame style continued u nder the

,

Ptolemie s and Cae s ars with but s light modification from

,

what it had been under the Pharaohs thousands of years

before C ontrast it al s o with the uniformity of Roman
.

architecture where certain pattern s of temple theatre or

, , ,

ba s ilic a were s tereotyped and carried with the s pread of

,

empire from Rome to Syria A frica Gaul and B ritain , , ,

.

Roman architecture reflect s th e centralization of the

empire in Rome and the immobility of imperial in s t it u
,

tion s and of the s ociety that lived under them Gothic .

architecture expres s e s the re s tles s temp e r of th e modern

world it s pa ss ion for progre s s it s gras ping at new ideas
, ,

and novel method s I t never stood still A S fast a s one

. .

problem of construct ion was solved s omething beyond ,

it invited a fre s h departure N o sooner w a s one s tyle .

perfected than the builders tired of it and mov e d on to

s omething el s e For barely three and a half centuries
.

Gothic architecture ran its impetuou s cours e and then

s ank exhausted before the returning tide of Classic at

the Renai s sance I t had taken nearly eight centurie s

.

to develop Roman e s que s lowly a n d tentatively from its

Rom a n origin down to the beginning s of Gothic — from
Ravenna to C hartres C anterbury and the choir of , ,

Lincol n B ut i n le ss than half that time Gothic archi

.

tecture ran through all it s s ucce s s ive pha s e s from the ,

chas te s everity of Sens and Paris to the wild luxuriance

of the Fl a mboyant work at Abbeville a n d S Riquier .
,

and from the last effort s of N orman i n the west front of

E ly and the Galilee at D urham to th e fairy vault s of
’ ’
Wind s or K ing s College and H enry V I I S chapel at
, ,

W e s tmin s ter The N orman nave a t P e t e r b o r o u g h w a s

.
‘

hardly fini s hed before the E arly E ngli s h we s t front w a s

begun Those who helped to rai s e it might i n their old
.
ca . 1
] N AT U R E OF GOT H I C 1 3

age have s een the last e x ample s of G e om etrical D ecorat e d

work and their grandchildren might conceivably have
,

worked in the earlie s t perpendicular s tyle on Abbot ,

Stanton s r e li ning of the choir at Gloucester or on B ishop

’

Edy n g t o n s we s t front at Winch ester

’
.

The rapid development of the sister art of painting C m p i o ar

in I taly during the 1 3 th and two following centuries is ifif§2f

marv e llous enough though there was an interval of over
,
p i ti g a n n

2 4 0 years between the birth of C imabue and that of

Raffaell e B ut in the h istory of Gothic architecture

.

I 50 year s s ufficed to carry it into no le s s than four

di s tinct phase s in E ngland and three in F rance , ,

where th e re is nothing corre s ponding to our F lowing

D ecorated of the 1 4 th c e ntury F ro m D e Lucy s E arly E rly
.
’

E ngli s h lancet s at Winche s ter in 1 2 0 2 it is but 4 0 or 4 5 fii

n ” n g

’
years to H enry I I I S choir at We s tminster where bar
tracery appear s Anoth e r half century brings us to the D r t d
. ec o a e

Chapter H ou s e at Wells where ge om etrical form s begi n

,

to melt into ogee curves Twenty years lat e r in 1 3 2 1

.
, ,

the Lady Chapel of E ly w a s begu n in fully developed

curv ilinear Gothic th e v e ry flow e r of the art i n E ngland
,

and another quarter of a century close s the D ecorated

period and u s hers i n the Perpendicular style at Glouce s ter P p di er en

m 35 cu ’ °
in 1 3 50 and Winch ester a few year s later which h a d a
, ,

longer life than its predeces s ors and la s ted till the adv e nt
of the Renaissance i n the 1 6th c e ntu ry .

Surely th e re has nev e r be e n another such astounding

’
in s tance of artistic growth i n the world s hi s tory .

Th e spirit of Gothic art pervaded all that was done U i r l n ve s a

during th e period of it s existence To confine th e name .

G ’h i o c
to one of its manife s tation s that of vaulti n g is to take
, ,

the letter for the spirit and to mi s take the whole nature
,

of the mov e ment I t is the art of liberty as O ppo s ed to

.
14 N AT U R E OF GO T H I C [ CH . 1

artificial formula of reas on a s oppo s ed to convention

,
.

Applied to stone roofing it h a s given us th e Gothic

vault with its attenuation of support and equilibrium ,

attained by counter thru s t ; applied to woodwor k it re

-

s u lt e d in the magnific e nt roofs of We s tmin s ter H all ,

E ltham Palace and H ampton C ourt and the s tall s of

Wi nch e s ter Lincoln and Gloucester with their delicat e
, ,

traceries and canopie s But it w a s the same s pirit that

.

inspired them all — the s pirit of rea s on and direct adoption

,

of the simplest mean s to the e nd regardle s s of convention

,

and tradition To reduce thru s t the point e d arch s uper

.

s e de d the Roman and Romanesque round arch in S pite

of i nherited love for the older form For greater con .

v e n ie n c e of plan and greater economy of material void s

, ,

were e nlarged at th e expense of solid s ; the ma s siv e

piers of Roman and Romanesque builders became mere
s lender clustered column s ; the s upport of s olid wall s
w a s replaced by that of buttres s e s turned at right angle s
to them on th e tran s v e rs e lin e of th e piers ; and th e
high vault s were s trutted by flying arche s bridging th e
ai s les This s urely was th e mo s t unconve n tional featur e
.

ever introduced into building a purely mechanical con

t r iva n c e which an artist might well have despaired of

making comely . For gr e ater light the int e rvening

curtain wall s betw ee n buttre s s and buttres s havi ng no ,

longer anything to do but to carry them s elv e s were ,

conv e rted i nto windows group s of detached light s at

,

firs t till tracery came i n to hold th e glazing with the

,

leas t amount of solid support .

Through all the s e developments we see the working

of rational motives free from restraint of conventional
rule and precedent There w a s a reason for them all
. .

The Gothic artist followed unhesitatingly the lead of

CH . 1
] N AT U R E O F G O T H I C 1 5

every novel requirement waiting for no authority but that

,

of common s en s e and economy and gladly welcoming

,

ev e ry fre s h con s tructional problem i n turn a s affording

,

the mo s t fertile s uggestion for arti s tic expre s s ion .

The s ame s pirit may be traced in all he did ; i n

humble village church as i n mighty min s ter in lonely ,

manor hou s e a s in lordly palace in timber construction

,

no le s s than in ma s onry Gothic art is the flower of the

.

freedom loving Teutonic i ntelligence the outcom e of

-
,

natural unaffected application of means to an e nd ; and

the s hape it took w a s the natural perhaps the i nevitable
,

result of the condition s of time place and people amid

, ,

which it aro s e .
 C H APTE R I I

T H E GOT H I C V A ULT

T H R EE cardinal principl e s a s we have said govern all

, ,

great and living s tyles of architecture Firstly S O L I D I T Y

.
,

which give s u s s ound con s truction Secondly E C O N O M Y

.
,

which prescribe s proper use of material and adaptation , .

of de s ign to particular need s by due observance of local

circu m s tance And la s tly A E S T H E T I C E X P R E SS I O N of th e
.

two preceding conditions of s ound building on one hand ,

and appropriate d e s ign on the other .

The s e three general prin c iple s apply to all style s

and the difference between s tyle and style ari s es from
the particular economical circumstances of each country ,

each a g e and each people I t w a s pointed out i n the

, .

last chapter how the unchanging character of Egyptian

civilization w a s reflected in the immobility of Egyptian
architectur e ; and how the univers al s pread of Roman
architecture throughout the E mpire expre s s e d the cen
t r a liz a t io n of Roman i n s titutions in the imperial city .

I t remain s to trace the economical condition s of mode m ,

or po s t Roman E urope which ga ve direction to the art of

-

the M iddle Age s m a de it what it w a s and found ae s thetic

, ,

e xpre s sion in th e s tyle which we know as Gothic .

All s tyle s of architecture are ba s ed on what has gone

before ; and when h is turn came the only model s for the
Romanesque architect were Roman buildings B ut the .
CH . 11
] THE GO T H I C VA U LT 1 7

expen s ive charact e r of Roman work con s tructed with huge ,

stone s colo s sal wall s and vault s of s cientific con s truction

, , ,

th e work of wealthy prince s with an unlimited command

of l a bour and material s and po s s es s ed of all the known
,

s cience of their time made it hopele s s ly beyond h is

,

power of imitation The Rom a ne s que s tyle in its infancy I t diffi

. s
lt i cu es
w a s the child of poverty and i ncompetence The architect .

had to produce with small s tones and rude a ppliances the

be s t ver s ion he could of the work of the M a s ters of the
World H e pilfered column s and c a pital s from de s erted U f se o
m t ri l
.

a e a s

temple s and pal a ce s and set th e m up in row s i n h is t d a se c o n

h d an
churche s propping the S hort one s on blocks of stone to
,

make them range with the long on e s putting capita l s on ,

s haft s that they did not fit and forming architrave s and ,

cornice s of fragment s of cla s s ic entablatures that h a d

nothing to do with one another as we s e e them in the ,

Ma t r o n e u m of S Lorenzo fuori le M ura at Rome Vault s

. .

were beyond h is humble skill and h is roofs were of wood ,

over both nave and ai s les For h is arche s the grea t .

s tone s of the Rom a n were out of the que s tion he could

neither quarry nor w ork them and probably he had no ,

tackle to lift them H e nce came the s y s tem of sub Si bt i d f

.

na
u or

on o

ordi nation of order s i n the arch which w a s to play s o rd r ,

o e s

l eading a part i n all s ubsequent architecture I n s tead of .

the large vou s soirs of the Roman which reached from

s ide to s ide of the a rch through the thickne s s of the wall ,

he learned to bu ild the arch with little s tone s in two or ,

three s ucce s s ive ring s and s till further to economize by

,

r e ce s sing each ring withi n th a t out s ide it Thi s intro .

du c e d at once an a e s thetic motive Pleas ed with the .

concentric s hadow s ca s t by h is receding ring s or orders

he s e t to work to decorate them by moulding the square
edge s of the stone s and thu s led the way to the richly
,

J . G A
. .
 1 8 T H E G O T H I C VA U LT [ GI L 1 1

decorated arcade s a n d the s culptured portal s of the ,

M iddle Age s For the gorgeou s doorways of Paris

.
,

Bou rges A miens and Lincol n with their wealth of

, ,

imagery have the ornament di s po s ed on concentric rings

,

‘
or orders retired regularly within one another And .

thus a device originating in poverty and economy of

material resulted i n o ne of the mai n artistic motive s
of Gothic architecture .

The Romane s que architect did not r e st h e re The .

Romans had covered their building s with vaults of stone

or concrete and h is own wooden roofs did not content
,

him he felt he mu s t do a s the Romans did and protect

h is churche s with a more monumental and les s perishable
covering The wooden roof was a constant s ource of
.

danger The Romane s que churches wer e alway s getting

.

burned down At Tours the abbey of S M arti n and

. .

twenty two churche s were burned i n 9 9 7

-
C hartre s .

C athedral w a s burned i n 1 0 2 0 V ez elay in 1 1 2 0 wh e n , ,

eleven hun dred and twenty s even s oul s perished .

S Front at P é rigueux was consumed i n the s ame year

. .

N early all the C arolingian cathedral s w e re burned ,

many of them five or s ix time s — during a period of 2 00 ,

years S M artial at Limoges we are told was burned

. .
, ,

in 9 54 9 55 1 0 53 1 0 60 1 1 4 0 and 1 1 67
, , O n ev e ry , ,
2
.

ground both of s ecurity and dignity the Romanesque

architect felt that he mu s t have a stone vault .

H is firs t achievement was that of vaulting the aisle s ,

a n d it w a s long before he had s kill and cour age enou h

g
to vault the nave M any Romane s que churche s never .

did receive a vault over their nave s A t E ly the nave .

1
Th e d e ve o l pm t en o f t h e Go th i rd r
c o e s is f lly x pl
u e a in e d and ll str t d
i u a e

in m y R ea s o n in A r c it ec t u r e .

2
L a s t e y r ie , A r c /z it ec t u r e R elig ieu s e en
’
F r a n c e ( 2l E po g u e R o m a u e, p . 2 26 .
 T H E GO T H I C VA U LT
in the Roman Forum of which illu s tration s are to be ,

found i n mo s t book s on a r c h it e c t u r e I t con s i s ts of a l

.

vas t nave of th ree s quare bay s with a S pan of about

8 0 ft which a r e cro ss vaulted
. O n e a ch s ide are three -
.

chambers 56 ft deep forming s omething like ai s le s a n d

.
, ,

divided from one another by ma s s ive wall s pierced by ,

a n arch which buttre ss the central vault at the point s

,

where the thrust s a r e concentra ted Barrel vaults are .

turned over the s e s ide ch a mbers from wall to wall their ,

axi s being at right angle s to that of the mai n hall and ,

the s e vault s are kept low enough to leave the lunette s of

the nave vault s open a s a clere s tory I n this building .

the s ys tem of concentration of thrusts and s upport s and ,

articulation of the s tructure is al ready

per fectly developed a n d carried out ,

on a gigantic s cale .

The S implest form of a cro s s or ,

quadripartite vault is that gener a ted

,

by the inters ection at right angle s of

two s emi c y lindric a l v a ult s which
-
,

cut one another on two diagonal

pl a ne s The s e planes are r e p r e
.

s ented on plan by the two di a gonal

lines A D and B C ( Fig I ) drawn .

acro s s the bay compartment or , ,

a rticulation of the s tructur e These .

diagonal lines are the groin s which ,

form a proj ecting edge or arri s from ,

which the two cylindric a l s urface s recede on each h a nd .

The s e groin s obviou s ly can only lie s traight over the true
, ,

1
cg . F e r g u sso n , [ f is t o f A r c /i it ec t u r e, vo l 1
3 30 ;
. . im p . S p so n , H is t of
.

A r c lt it ec t u r a l D evelop m en t , vo l . 1 . p . 1 3 0 ; V io lle t le D u c L e c
,
- -
t . IV H is t of
.

E ng lislt Clz u r c li A r c nit ec t u r e, Pl t a e V, G G . co .

,
S tt J r
un .
CH . 11
] T H E GO T H I C VA U LT 2 1

diagonal lines when the two s emi cylindrical vault s a r e of -

equal s pan Were they unequal the line of inters ection

.

would not be s traight but wavy and not only un s ightly but , , ,

di fficult to construct and u n s ub s tantial when con s tructed .

The u s ual plan therefore w a s to make each bay of th e Sq r ua e

b ay s
ai s le s quare or s o nearly s quare that the intersecting
,

lines or groin s S hould be reg u lar A strong rib w a s .

generally thrown acro s s the aisle from pier to pier ,

A B and C D ( Fig I ) which d e fined the articulation and .

so gave e xpres s ion to the constructive idea though not ,

really n e c e s s a r y fo r the con s tructive method so long a s

‘

th e nave w a s not vaulted and between th e se ribs there

was no difficulty i n formi ng a s quare groined vault .

But the nave is generally about twice a s wide as the D iffi l ty cu ,

aisl e and ther e fore if it s bay were of the sam e length

,

b y
a s that of the ai s le the compartment of the nave vault
a

would be not square but oblong and one of the inter ,

s e c t in half cyli nder s of a cro s s vault would be twice as

g
- -

wide as the other and also a good d e al higher so that , ,

no true diagonal groi n would r e sult .

This di fficulty retard e d th e s cience of vaulting for

a long while I n s ome plac e s a s for in s tance in the
.
,

cathedral of Valence i n Burgundy the architect contented V l a en c e

t h d‘’ ca e a
him s elf with cros s vaulting the ai s les and barrel vaulting
-
,
-

the nav e The nave vault is s trengthened by transverse

.

arch e s and th e ai s l e vault s are kept high enough to

,

afford abut ment T hi s allowed of no clere s tory window s

‘
.
,

and indeed d id not challenge the di fficulty at all .

A s olution i n one way w a s found for perhap s the fir s t 5 A m b le

gi M il o, an

t ime at S A m b r o g I O I n MI Ia n Th e nav e there b e I n g

. .

1
v . i ll tr t i
us a on in m y By z an t in e an d R o m a n esq u e A r c h it ec t u r e, vo l . 11 .

p. 1 15 . Th e cons tr tu c io n a t S S . a vin is t h e sa m e e x pt th t th r
ce a e e a re n o

tr a n s ve s e r rib s, I ll t
us . do . p 5
. 2 .
22 T H E G O T H I C VA U LT [ GI L II
twice a s wide a s the ai s le is divided into s quare bays ,

A B C D ( Fig
, , ,
each of them a s long a s two bay s of
.

the ai s le which are al s o square C on s equently the cro s s .

vault s are regular and the groin s lie in true diagonal

,

plane s i n the nave a s well a s i n the ai s le s .

From the plan ( Fig 2 ) it will be s een th a t the re s ult

.

of thi s arrangement is that

the piers A B C D h a ve
, , ,

double work to do ; for they r e

c e iv e the concentrated charge

of the great v a ult s of the nave

a s well a s those of the le s s er

v a ults and arche s of the ai s le

and triforium above it ; while
the i ntermediate piers E and
F receive that of the le s s er
vaults and arche s alone T his .

inequality of s tre s s is well

provided for and expre s s ed
by the greater s ub s tance given
to the main piers A B C D , , ,

which are clu s tered and have ,

not only the member s that

carry the lower arche s but
a dditional members that ru n up to carry the arche s
of the nave vault The i ntermediate piers E and F
.
,

on the other hand which alternate with the great piers

, ,

a r e s m a ller and have only the members needed by the

,

nave arcades and the a i s le vault s ( Fig .

The con s truction of a cro s s vault on a s quare plan -

and on a s mall s cale is ea s y but on the s cal e of the nave ,

of S A mbrogio it is not s uch a s impl e matter The

. .

difficulty a s alway s is with the groin s

, , .
CH . 11 ] T H E G O T H I C V A U LT 2 3
24 T H E G O T H I C VA U LT [ CH . II

Let us take fir s t an example of a cro s s vault over -

a square bay of moderate s ize s a y that of the crypt at

,

Winchester which is about 1 4 x '

The four equal
bounding arche s are repre s ented by A B C D i n Fig 4 , , , .
,

of which one A E B is s e t up in elev a tion over its ba s e

, ,
.

Th e two half cylinders of the vault being equal i n span

-

the groin s will lie true in a s traight li ne between A C

and D B O n the base A C we s e t up the elevation
.

of the diagonal groin of which the crown M will of

,
’

cour s e be level with E Th e curve of the groi n is found

.

by what are c a lled ordin a te s The direct arch A E B

.
, , ,

which is the true section of the half cylinder is divided

-
,

on the ba s e line A B i nto equal part s at F G H I and , , , ,

the diagonal likewi s e at J K L M Then i f J— J is

, , , .
’
CH . 11
] T H E GO T H I C VA U LT 2 5

K to — K— — G , L— L
’ ’ ’ ’
made equal i n height to F F, G
to H H a nd M— M to I — E a line drawn through their
-
’
,
’
,

top s will give the true curve of the groin which will be ,

an ellip s e Thi s is the u s ual v a ult of N orman crypt s and Ellip se o f

r
.
,
th e g o m
N orman aisles and all Romane s que vault s of s mall dim e n
S ion s ; and the crown of the arche s being all on the

s ame level its convenience is obviou s for i n one ca s e ,

it carrie s the floor of the church and i n the other that of ,

the triforium .

A glance however tell s u s that the ellipse of the

, , Wea k n e s s
252
35
6
diagonal is not s o s trong a form a s the s emicircle of the ;
direct arche s O n a s m a ll scale it w ill do well enough
.
,

but on the s cale of the nave at S A m brogio it would be .

dangerou s I t is true that there w e re cro s s vault s with

.
-

a level crown and con s equently with elliptical groin s on

, ,

a much va s ter scale over the Basilica of Ma xe n t iu s at

Rome with it s 8 0 foot S pan : but they w e re moulded in
concrete and compacted into shells of enormou s S trength
, ,

and the Lombard architect had no such re s ource s at h is

di s po s al H is s olution of the problem w a s a bold one
. .

H e gave up the element a ry idea of a cro s s vault being -

the intersection of two equ a l half c y linders and drew his -

,

diagonal groi n s emicircular i n s tead of elliptical Thi s . S mi

e

1“
'

23 3
1
made an e nd of th e level crown for the wide s emicircle ,

of the diagonal ro s e much higher than that of the

narrower direct arche s a n d the four cell s or panel s of
,

the v a ult which repre s ented the elementary quarter

,
,

cylinders had to ri s e from the s ide to the centre T he

,
.

vault therefore became in a m a nner domical though of ,

cour s e without any re a l domic a l con s truction ( Fig .

Thi s w a s a daring in novation : a new departure i n

groining ; and it was accompanied by an in novation
p e rhap s still mor e novel Romanesque vaulting had .
2 6 T HE G O T H I C VA U LT
long been divided into bay s by strong transvers e rib s
Fig I s up ) even in the case of barrel va ults and
. . ,

wall rib s had been con s tr u cted i n th e s ide walls to

-

generate the cro s s half cylinder s B ut i n addition to

-
.

the s e the high vault s at S Ambrogio have diagonal rib s

.

or a rche s of brick laid under th e groi n s Whether they

.

were s ugge s ted by a wi s h to fortify the groin s or ,

whether they were a device to en s ure a true curve on

the di a gon a l line wh ich would have been uncertain if the
four ramping panel s or cell s of the vaulting s urface had
been s imply brought together I am not s ure Probably
, .
28 THE G O T H I C V A U LT
high vaults of the n ave which are concentrated on the
,

main piers are met a n d re s i s ted At S Ambrogio there

, . .

is no difficulty for there is no clere s tory and the vault s

, ,

of the triforium are high enough to s upport that of the

nave A S trong transverse arch of the triforium vault
.
,

on which a he a vy buttres s wall is raised meet s and ,

counterthru s t s the nave vault at th e main piers on which

the th rust is concentrated and is it s elf supported by the

,

outer wall which is strongl y buttre s s ed and forms the

, ,

ultimate p o in t d app u i s o that th e whole structure is in

’

equilibrium ( Fig .

I t is when the nave is rai s ed high above the ai s le s

with a cleres tory that further mode s of support have to
be devised and other countervailing thru s t s have to be
,

called in to n e utralize the di s ruptive force of the high

CH . 11
] T H E GO T H I C VA U LT 29

vault of the nave With this problem we s h a ll deal

.

pre s ently .

The construction of thi s Romane s que church of rl

G en e a

53231 3
5 1
1
S Ambrogio at M ilan of which the foregoi ng is a brief
.
, 1 1
A m b ro g ’o
anatomical account furni s he s an early and s imple example
,

of nearly all the eleme n tary pri nciple s of Gothic a rchi

tecture We find there in the firs t place that concentration Co n c en

x
.

“a n d
o f thru s t s on isolated point s and concentr a tion of resi s tance iii ,

a t tho s e point s to meet them of which the con s equence

“t io n
,

is th e articulation of the building into di s tinct s elf con -

t a in e d bay s ; and though thi s w a s not exactly a new

di s covery for there is s omething like it in Rom a n

,

building s it w a s carried much fa rther i n Romanesque

,

and the following s tyles We fi nd there s econdly that.

, ,
Su b

gigiiii
c t ’m
s ubordination of orders which play s almo s t a s important e s

a part i n mediaeval architecture a s the vault it s elf and ,

is an ev e n more di s tinctive characteri s tic : for the vault

is not a Gothic invention whereas nothing like s u b ,

ordination o f orders is found i n cla s sic architecture We .

have thirdly at S A mbrogio the free use of arch e s of

, . F re e
.

va u lt m g
different span and ri s e i n th e con s truction of the vault ,

in s tead of the regular cros s vault of the Ro man with -

level crown We have also the whole s y s tem of vaulting

.

ribs tran s vers e diagonal and wall rib which is foreign

, , ,
-
,

to Roman u s e A nd finally w e have the piers broken

. Co r r e

u
p into member s that corre s pond logically to the members

of the arch or vault they carry .

l d
oa

—
To the s e elementary principl e s I s t conc e ntration of , , rt l r
Pa ic u a
1 13
thru s t s and support s and consequent articulation of the 5133515
buil ding ; 2 n d s ubordination of orders ; 3 r d fre e dom
, ,

of v a ulting arche s and u s e of vaulting ribs and 4 t h ,

correspondence between members of arch and load ,

mo s t if not all the s ub s equent develop ment s of Gothic

 T H E GO T H I C VA U LT
archit e cture may be more or les s directly referred The.

construction of thi s s in g le Romane s que church h a s been

expl a ined a t s ome length bec a u s e if the reader h a s once
,

mastered it he will have a key to the full u nderstanding

of the later and more i ntricate problem s of Gothic
construction .
 C HA PTE R I I I

T H E G O TH I C V A U LT ( con t in u ed )

TH E scheme of S Ambrogio is logical and complete

.

so far a s it goes : but it r e quire s that all the bays s hall

be s quare and it was not alway s convenient or ev e n
,

pos s ible to make s quare bay s i n the nave occupying ,

two of those i n the ai s le The difficulty of cro s s vaulting

.
-

F ig 7
. .

an oblong bay had s till to be encountered and al s o that ,

of rai s ing the nave vaults high enough for a clere s tory .

An oblong b a y is s hown i n F ig 7 The lines A B . .

and D C repre s ent the transvers e arche s dividing the

bay s : A D is the wall arch : and A C a n d B D are the
-
 THE G O T H I C VA U LT 111

diagonal groi n s O n each ba s e li ne is s e t up it s a rch

.
,

which i n early work would of cours e be s emicircul a r .

I t will be s een at once th a t i t is no ea s y matter to form

a cro s s vault with three arche s s o di fferent i n height
-
.

B etw e en the tra n s vers e and di a gon a l arche s the differe nce
is not too great to be got over by making the vault
domical : but the cro s s v a ult genera ted by the wall arch
- -

is more difficult to de a l with .We m ight of cours e carry

thi s half cylinder horizont a lly to inters ect the main vault
-
,

making wh a t is called a Welsh or coal s cuttle vaul t

-

( Fig . That ho w ever c a n hardly be c a lled a cro s s

v a ult at all but is only a barrel vault with s ide pocket s
, .

M oreover it give s very little height for a clere s tory

window Another plan w a s adopted at Vezelay and
.
,

at S J ean in A utun where the cro s s h a lf cylinder is

.
,
-

S loped up tow a rd s the crown of the mai n v a ult but th a t

,

give s a very irregul a r line of i nters ection and leave s on ly

the s a me room a s the other plan for the clere s tory
window The next device was to stilt the s emicircul a r
.

wall arch in order to rai s e it ne a rer the level of the

-
CH . 1 11
] T H E G O T H I C VA U LT 33

other s but that made the s maller half cylinder encroach -

on the s urfa ce of the larger behind the true g r o in in g N ,

line and cau s ed an awkwardly wi nding s urfa ce like the

,

blade of a plough s hare or s crew propeller which it w a s - -

,

h a rd to con s truct s olidly even when the groi n w a s

s trengthened with a diagonal rib .

The whole difficulty a s will have been patent from D Ffi lty , I cu

what h a s been s ai d ari s e s from the use of the s em i c f d

, ”
un

circular arch which is i nelastic its height being half of

, ,

it s s pan and it s form therefore incapable of variation

, .

The s olution w a s found i n the adoption of the pointed

arch which could be ra i s ed to any required height and
,

made of any required curve .

I t is not worth wh ile to go at a n y length into the Th e

t
que s tion of the origi n of the pointed arch wh ich h a s 2312
1

, ,

been much di s cu s s ed Long before it c ame into u s e for .

con s truction it s form mu s t have been familiar for we ,

find it i n Greek tomb s though without the s tructure of ,

an arch I t w a s u s ed i n their buildings by the Arab s

.

long before it s a doption i n the We s t and w a s employed

by them or by those who worked for them probably I t ly
, , s ea r

Byzantine s in the D ome of the Rock and the M o s que

,

E l Ak s a at J eru s alem in the 7 t h century I t occurs i n .

the arcade s of the Coptic churche s of D air Anba Bis h o i ,

and Dair e s Suriani in Egypt which are attributed to

- -
,

‘
the 6t h century ; and the arche s of the mo s que of lb n
Toulou n at Cairo which w a s built i n 8 7 8 are pointed , , .

N or need we s tay to enquire whether its i ntroduct ion into

the W e s t w a s due to returni ng C rusaders who had s een it
i n the E a s t or whether it s employment w a s sugge s ted by
,

rea s on s of con s truction which is the more likely explana ,

tion F rom wh a tever source it came we fi nd it w a s i n u s e

.

1
A .
J . Bu tl r
e , Cop t ic Ch u r c h es , vo l
. 1 . ch . VI I .

J . 0 . A .
34 T H E GO T H I C VA U LT [ CH . 111

by th e Rom a ne s que builders early i n the 1 2 t h century both

for arche s and vault s They found it convenient to give
.

a pointed s ection to their barrel vault s which were con

,

s tructed i n one with the outside gabled roof becau s e in ,

that way they diminished the mas s of ma s onry which

loaded the crown ; and they further ob s erved that it s
thrust being directed more downward s the pointed arch
wa s ea s ier of abutm ent than the round arch which
exerted a more powerful lateral pres s ure At firs t it .

s eems to h a ve been adopted s omewhat grudgingly as a ,

u s eful but unwelcome expedient The round arch which

.

they had inherited from the Roman s s till had a firm

hold on the a ffection of the builders a n d long after ,

the advantages of the pointed arch had brought it into

general u s e in con s tructive features the round a rch was
employ e d for window s and doors a nd such feature s as
,

wall arcading which were purely decorative

-
.

At first the pointed form w a s used timidly and not ,

raised much above the s emicircle For the diagonal groi n

.

w a s generally made s emicircular and the tran s vers e arch

did not need to be rai s ed much to reach the same level .

O ver a s quare bay this cau s ed no irregularity the vault

w a s as s imple a s the Roman cro s s vault -
But over an.

oblong bay the narrow s ide arche s had to be more

acutely pointed and thi s caused difficulty F ig 9 s hows
, . .

an oblong bay of the s ame proportion s a s that in Fig 7 .

,

but with a vault of pointed arche s i n s tead of round one s .

The diago n al a rch rai s ed on the b a s e ED is s e micircul a r

, ,

and the tra n s vers e on the ba s e A B and the wall a rch on -

A D are poi nted and rai s ed to the same height a s the

di a gonal s o that the crown s of the cell s or panel s a r e
,

level .

A little con s ideration of s uch a vault a s this will

 3 6 THE GO T H I C VA U LT [ CH . 111

R ib a nd H enceforth vaulting was not heretofore a s y s tem

as
p l
an e
of inter s ecting surfaces but a system of ribs and panels
lti g
va u n ,

of a rches and fillin g in the ribs forming a framework or

-

s keleton and th e panel being a cov e ring or ceiling fitted

,

F ig . 10 .

in b e tween them po s sessing how e ver owing to it s

, , ,

a rched form an i ndependent strength of it s own .

The sy s tem of con s tructing vaults on the new s ystem

is expl a ined by F ig 1 0 where on e bay is s hown w ith the
.

s keleton of ribs only and others with the panel filled in .

CH . 1 11 ] T H E GO T H I C VA U LT 37

O ne advantage of the new con s truction w a s that it

di s pen s ed with a great part of the centering required for
the Roman vault To con s truct a vault without rib s it
.

is nece s s ary to form centering under the whole surface

fra med centre s mu s t be put in the line of the groin s and
the tran s vers e arche s with others bet w een on which
, ,

“ ”
lagging of planking or s lat s is laid to receive the
vault of s tone brick or concrete But in ribbed vaulting
, , .

centering is only neces s ary under the rib s and the ,

a s hlaring of the pa n el can be filled in cour s e by cour s e , ,

on a moveable piece of wood resting on the c e ntering of

the rib s and s h ifted as s oon as each course is finished .

F ig . 11 .

I t is of cours e obviou s that the rib s may be made to

contribute largely to the strength of the vault e s pecially ,

when laid under the diagonal groin and above all when ,

there is much wi nding i n the pan e l The tran s ver s e .

rib s might often be safely omitted and in fact are s o i n ,

each alternate articulation a t Durham B ut i n many .

cas e s the purpo s e fulfilled by the rib is really m ore that

of acting a s a centre by givi ng a true arched line than
, ,

that of support Often the rib w a s not bonded to the

.

filling i n a s it s hould be by a web on the back ( Fig 1 1 A )

, , .

but s imply laid under the a s hlari n g a s i n Fig I I B I t . .

is s o i n D e Lucy s retro choir at Winche s ter where the rib s

’
-

add but little to the s trengt h of the vault I t is s o al s o .

 T H E GO T H I C VA U LT [ CH . III

i n the va u lt at Lincoln wh e re i n one case the rib h a s

s unk away leaving the a s hlar vault s t a nding without it .

I n one of the great cro s s va u lts u nder the ruin s of the -

’
Bi s hop s P a lace a t the s ame place the rib s have peri s hed
from dec a y but the a s hlar groining s how s no S ign of
,

wea kne s s in con s equence The web I believe did not .

make it s appe a rance before the end of the I 3 t h century

till then the rib w a s S imply laid under the vault a s i n
Fig 1 1 B The web s eem s to occur generally in Decorated
. .

w ork a n d I think alway s in Perpendicular v a ults a s for

, ,

in s t a nce in the choir ai s le s and Wykeh a m s building at ’

Winchester and in the vault of the Lady chapel at C hri s t

C hurch Priory which I had occasion to repair and partly
,

recon s truct I a m told the s a me di s tinction of web or

.

no web occurs a t C he s ter S Patrick s D ublin H ereford , .

’

, , ,

‘
Ripon and H exham The e a rly 1 4 th century vault over
, .

the two we s tern bay s of the nave a t Worce s ter has rib s
without the web the rib s of the rest of the nave vault
, ,

dati ng from 1 3 7 7 h a ve it , .

Thi s s y s tem allow s of many libertie s being taken

with the form of the v a ulting s urfa ce s They could now .

be made to wind without d a nger s o a s to give more

room for a clere s tory The wall a rch in Fig 9 is very .
-
.

narrow and would cramp the clere s tory window The .

remedy w a s to s tilt it a s in the nave of Sen s C athedral ,

( Pl a te I
) where the wall rib s pring s from the c a pital of a -

s mall s haft that ri s e s from the cornice at the s pringing

of the main vault The pocket of the vault being taken .

up s traight with thi s s haft a s high a s the s pringing of

the w a ll rib is therefore left behind the main v a ult which
-
,

1
F i f rm t i
or n o t th al tt r i t
on I m i d bt d t
as o ese a e n s a n c es a n e e o

M r Th o m p f P t rb r gh w h h
so n o h d t d w ith th m ll
e e oH ouy o as a o o e a . e sa s

th t i
a n th e M ida en s
’
A is l e at C h t r ith r t h
es e e e e r ib or t h e va u lt had s l ipp de

fo r w a n t o f th e web .
T . O J . SE S C
N A T H E D R A L— l h e Na ve
'
 T H E GO T H I C VA U LT [ CH . III

other obj ect but th a t of giving more room for the

clere s tory window s .

Owi ng to thi s s tilting the panel B C ( Fig 1 2 ) h a s a .

s trongly winding s o ffi t in order to recover it s proper

po s ition a t the crown I n a quadripartite vault s uch a s
.
,

w e have hitherto been dealing with thi s po s ition would ,

be a t right a ngle s to the s ide wall and the axi s of the

building ; but at S en s we hav e not a quadrip a rtite but a
different kind of vault which require s explanation , .

I t will be remembered that at S Ambrogio the n a ve .

w a s divided i nto squ a re bay s twice a s wide a s tho s e of

the ai s le s o th a t one bay of the nave occupied the length
,

of two in the ai s le The s quare bay s of the nave were

.

covered with a s imple qu a dripartite v a ult a n d the piers ,

were alternately larger and s maller according to their

load Something like this w a s attempted at S E tienne
. .
,

or the Abbaye a u x H omme s in C a en which w a s built ,

by William the C onqueror in 1 0 66 Originally only the .

ai s le s were vaulted and the nave and triforium had ,

wooden roofs For s ome rea s on not very clear the

.
,

piers were a lternated as at S Ambrogio larger and .

,

s m a ller the larger having a pilas ter and s haft on the

,

front to the nave the le s ser only the shaft I n both

, .

cas es th e S haft s ran to the top of the wall to receive

the tie beam s of the wooden roof The rea s on for thi s
-
.

a lternation a t S Ambrogio has been expl a ined : but it

.

h a s no meaning in an unvaulted church and one wonders ,

whether Lanfranc of Pavia the firs t abbot w a s influenced , ,

‘
simply by recollection of a famili a r M ilane s e building .

I n the 1 2 t h century the w ooden roofs a t S E tien ne were .

s uperseded by v a ult s ; the w a ll s hafts were cut down and

1
M . h r
de L a st e y I ie , o we ve , m a in a in s t th t
a th e c u c h rh
a t C a en is t h e ea rl i r
e

o f the t wo A r c h it R elig en F r a n c e d l Efi o gu e R o m a n e,
. . .
’
2 60 p . .
CH . 11 1
] T H E GO T H I C VA U LT 4 1

the capital s r e fixe d a t a lower level to receive the

springing of the nave vaults and qu a drant barrel vault s
,

were turned over the triforium a s in the churches of ,

Auvergne to gi ve abutment The nave had a quadri

, .

partite vault over the s quare double bay like that at ,

S Ambrogio with re gular diagonal rib s but apparently

.
, ,

the architect did not tru s t it and from the intermediate

,

s haft he threw a tran s v e rs e rib meeting a t the crown the

i ntersection of the two diagonals O n the bac k of this .

F ig . 13 .

he raised a thin w a ll for s ome height and th e n s pread it

out with vaulting s urface s right and left to meet tho s e of
the main vault s The two pockets or cell s thu s formed
.

de s cribed an ellip s e on the m a in wall s and their crown ,

naturally ran obliquely towards the centre of the main

v a u lt where the variou s rib s met I n Fig 1 3 A D and . .

B C are the tran s ver s e arche s dividing the bay s and ,

AC and B D are the diagonals : E F is the intruded

tran s vers e arch G the common point of intersection and
, ,
4 2 THE G OT H I C VA U LT [ CH . 11 1

the dotted lines S how the direction of the crown s of the

s everal cell s or pocket s
. The effect of thi s con s truction
is s hown i n F ig 1 4 T he diagonal s cut very much i n
. .

front of the clere s tory all the more becau s e they are
,

F ig . 14 .

segmental s truck from a point below the s pringing a

, ,

d e vice no doubt to avoid a domical crown ; a n d the

s urface s of the panel s are very winding .

I n the vault of the Abbaye aux Dames at Caen

CH . 1 11
] T H E G O T H I C VA U LT 43

thi s is avoided by not turning any vault from the b y

fii
a e
l

i ntermedi a te tran s vers e E F but s imply building a D m ,

a e s,

c m a
thin wall on the back of the rib up to the s o ffi t of
a regul a r quadripartite vault Thi s however is more .

like s horing than v a ulting .

The s e a r e perhap s the firs t example s of the s expartite S en s

c th dr l a e a
vault which occurs frequently i n e a rly Gothic churche s
, ,

a s for in s tance at S en s v su
( p p 3 8 Plate I ) where
. the . .
,

a lternation of the pier s according to their office is very r e

markable The mai n piers a r e clu s tered a n d a r e m a s s ive

.
, ,

havi n g be s ides the members th a t c a rry the n a ve a rcade

a n d the ai s le vault s a group of s haft s i n front wh ich ri s e s

to receive the tra n s ver s e a n d di a gon a l rib s of the high

vault The i ntermediate piers on the contra ry con s i s t of
.

a pair of column s placed one behi nd the other like those

in S C o s tanz a at Rome which may po s sibly h a ve given
.
l
,

the s ugge s tion for them T he s e receive the nave arc he s

.

and the a i s le v a ult s and from their capital ri s es a S lender

,

s haft wh ich ru n s u to take the i ntermedi a te rib wh ich

p ,

convert s the quadrip a rtite vault into a s exp a rtite .

I n the compo s ition of the great pier s the rel a tion of R l t i e a on

‘ t
the s upport to the load is logica lly expre s s ed : each rib ffiii er "

of the vault h a s it s own S h a ft to c a rry it and e a ch of the ,

two orders of the nave a rc a de h a s it s o w n proper s haft

below .

I n no p a rt of the vaulting of a church w a s the new V l ti g au n

s y s tem of con s truction with rib a n d panel found more

convenient than in the circul a r ambulatory that s u r

rounded the ap s e and in the ap s idal chapel s opening
from it O n thi s irregul a r plan where no two arche s in
.
,

the circular wall s of the bay were equal and no two sets ,

of vaulting s urfa ce s were alike the inters ecting line s of ,

1
I ll tr t d i m y By
us a e ndR m e q . A h it t
an v l 1 pl t X L I V
o a n es u e rc ec u r e, o . . a e .
 T H E G O T H I C VA U LT [ C I L 111

unequal cylindrical and s om e time s conoid surface s were

distorted and twi s ted s o much a s to b e not only un s ightly
but in s ecure Fig 1 5 s hows the effect of the s e inter
. .

r d
B io u e penetration s i n the vaulting of the ambulatory at B rioude
i n A uvergne which could only be mad e safe by very
,

careful ma s onry at the groining line s invol ving di fficult

geometrical problem s for every s tone had to be accu rately
,

S haped to a different w i nding plane This di fficulty .

disappeared when rib s of a true arch form were turned

F ig . 1 5 fr o m V le D u c
.
- -
.

from point to point and the irregular wi nding of the

,

panel s between them w a s not only di s guised by the

regular curve of the rib s but became of little con s equenc e
,

for the panel s being relieved of a n y s truct u ral duty had ,

only to carry them s elve s and could repose s e curely on

,

the s keleton of the rib s .

I n Fig 1 6 is s hown the plan of one bay of the

.

ambulatory with it s ap s idal chapel a t S Denis where .

,
ca .
]
1 11 THE G O T H I C VA U L T

S 4
D E N IS .
1

F ig . 16 a d pt d fr
a e om V le D u
.
- -
c
46 T H E G O T H I C VA U LT [ CH . 111

there are two ai s le s round the gre a t p s e of the choir a ,

the outer one being i n fact ab s orbed into the chapel .

I t a ke the de s cription of the s e v a ult s from V io lle t le D uc - -

,

who re s tored the church i n 1 8 59 The circumference 1

.

of the interior circle which defi ne s the chapel meet s the

a bacu s of the cylindrical colum n at A s o th a t the di a gonal

arche s A C D C E C are equal H aving drawn the

, , .

tran s verse a rch F a n d the archivolt G ( which carrie s

“
the main ap s e of the choir ) the a rchitect take s the ,

middle of the axi s G F at I and draw s the two di a gonal s

B I K H I M and the tran s ver s e arche s H B B L I t is
, , .

clear that all the s e arche s are independent and the ,

architect may pleas e him s elf i n fixing their springing .

B ut —and here the nece s sary consequence s of the new

,

s y s tem S how them s elve s — had he made the s e arche s ,

semicircular their s pringing would h a ve had to be at

variou s height s if they were to come to a level at their
crown S ince they are of variou s s pan s a n d there would
, ,

have arisen the old trouble i n filling in the triangular

v a ulting s pace s Or a gain had the arche s a ll been made
.

to s pring at one level they would not have been level at

the crown The a rchitect therefore employed the poi nted
.

arch which give s him full liberty to bring the crown s to

the convenient level So the elevation S how s the tran s
.

vers e L B a t L B and B H at B H ; at C E one diagonal

’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’

’
rib of the chapel at O B the tran s vers e arch B F M and at
, ,

’
B 1 the rib B I
2
The result is that the cro w n s C F I a r e
.

level ; and the crown s of the tra n s vers e a rche s B H B L ,

are al s o level with one a nother though lower than C F I , .

I t remain s to fill in the tri a ngular vault s which repo s e on

the s e pointed arche s The line s of the crown s of thes e
.

fillin g s in nece s sarily a but on the point of each of the s e

-

V l D Di t R1
IX 5 5
.
-
e -
u c, e . a ts
'

. . 0 .
 48 T H E GO T H I C V A U LT [ CH . 1 11

halve s of the diagon a l need not lie in one plane but

might meet at a n angle a s BI — I K i n Fig 1 6 I t is . .

unnece s s ary to go into the s e experiment s in detail for

‘
our pre s ent purpo s e Wh a tever approach may have .

been made towa rd s a more s cientific s y s tem of vaulting

before it is a t S D eni s and in 1 1 4 0 that we find
, .
, ,

it perfected and the theory of Go thic vaulted c o n s t r u c

,

tion fully developed probably for the fir s t time unle s s ,

a s s ome s uppo s e the work at S en s which is s imilar is , ,

s lightly earlier .

To the i nvention of ribbed vaulting which allowed ,

the wall arch to be ra i s ed t o the level of the re s t —though

-
,

i n fa ct it w a s often kept s lightly lower cau s ing the ,

tran s ver s e section of the vault to be arched from s ide to

s ide — is due the po s s ibility of l a rge clere s tory window s
, ,

and this involved further provi s ion being m a de for exterior

s upport .

I n Romane s que buildings either there w a s no clere s tory

or it w a s of in s ignificant dimen s ion s At S Ambrogio . .

in M ilan nave and ai s le are under one unbroken slope of

,

roof a n d a c le r e s t o r y is impo s s ible ( Fig 6 v s up p

,
It .
, . . .

w a s the s ame i n the churche s of Auvergne a n d Toulou s e ,

where the barrel vaults of the nave are a butted by

qu a drant vaults in the aisle both being under one roof ,

A t V éz ela y as at S Ambrogio At V ezelay where perhap s the nave

. .
,

w a s cro s s vaulted for the firs t time a clere s tory window

-
,

is accompli s hed but it is kept low the w a ll a rch being ,

-

not s o high a s the re s t B ut now there w a s nothing to .

prevent the clerestory being of the fu ll w idt h of the w a ll

arch of the vault and a s high a s the s pace between the ,

V io lle t — “
tr t ” “
1
le D u c , D iet R a t s Co n s io n , vo l V o fit e ”
'

v .
-
. . vo l . IV . uc . 1X . .

Th eh i t ry f t h d l pm t
s o o e e ve o en o f va u lt i g
n in Fr anc e is ca e u r f lly tr ace d by
M r M r i h i D v l pm t
o o e, n s e e o en a n d c h a r a c t er o
f Go t h ic A r c h it ec t u r e .
 CH . 11 1 ] THE G O T H I C VA U LT 49

roof over the tri forium and the crown of the vault ,

provided only proper s upport could be given to the

upper s torey .

When there was no aisle it w a s ea s y enough to apply B ttr u ess

an exterior buttre s s aga i n s t each poi nt where the thru s t L fiifg n re

o a s
’
w a s concentrated a s w a s done at K ing s College Chapel , ,

Cambridge the S a inte C h a pelle i n Paris th e western

, ,

s ide of the great tran s ept at Sali s bury the ea s tern bay s ,

at S outhwell a n d Rochester and the ea s tern tran s ept at

Durham T he di fficulty aro s e when there w a s an ai s le
.
,

which removed the buttre s s pier from the mai n wall to

the out s ide wall of the ai s le Thi s diffi culty w a s met by .

the invention of the flying buttre s s to bridge acro s s th e

a isle and reach the m ain wall of the clere s tory s tage at

th e proper s pot to rec e ive and re s ist the thru s t of the

high vault s .

A diagram will explai n the nature of thi s s tructure Th flyi g e n

b ttre u ss

( Fig 1 The. dotted line A B s how s the direction of

the thru s t of the high vault outward s and C D that ,

of the ai s le vault inwards I f not resisted th e ir effect .

would be to force the upper p a rt of the wall out and ,

‘
the lower p a rt inward s A th rus t m ay be defeated in .

two ways : you may either an nihilate it or divert it The .

lower thru s t C D 13 an nihilated by the enormou s load of Thr t us

hi
the s uperstructure which overpowers it by direct vertic a l iit d
’ ’r

il a

pre s sure : the upper is partly diverted by me a n s of the Th r t u s

di rt d ve e
flying buttre s s to th e great buttr e s s pier E and partly ,

converted i nto a downward direction by the thru s t of ,

the flying buttre s s a t F E verything depends on the .

immobility of th i s great pi e r E which is the ultim a te I m m , o

bl
”

1
i
’

p o in t d a
pp u i n which all the confl icting forces find re s t .

pi re

1
T is h ac u a t lly h pp a en e d a t S Th.
’
om as s C h r h P rt
u c , o sm o u th w h i h
, c it
f ll t
e o m y lo t t
o r p ir e a .

J . G A . .
 THE [
2

50 GO T H I C VA U LT CH . 1 11

F rom thi s pier the nave vault might be s tayed by a ’

s ingle prop of timber without any flying buttre s s and in

,

fact when we a r e called upon to rebuild a flying buttre s s

what we do is to s upply it s place temporarily with j u s t
s uch a prop .But the s tone arch E F is s omething more
than a prop : for were the n a ve wall away it is obviou s

F ig . 18 .

the arch would fall i nward s tow a rds the nave by it s own
weight Thi s weigh t therefore constitutes a thru s t again s t
.

the nave wall —for thru s t after all is only a matter of

,

weight —a n d thi s help s to divert the thru s t A B into a

,

‘
more vertical direction which is o f cours e more e a sily
re s i s ted I t is curiou s th a t thi s i nward thru s t of the
.
CH . 111
] T H E G OT H I C VA U LT
flying buttre s s which s urely is of value does not s eem, ,

to have been appreciated by the F r e nch architect s who ,

often put a s m a ll s haft clo s e a gain s t the nave wall to

s upport the head of the flying arch at F thereby pre ,

venting it from exerci s ing any pressure on the wall and ,

treating it m erely a s a prop to conv e y the thru s t upon

the gre a t buttres s pier E 1
.

A rrived at thi s point Gothic architecture may be

con s idered to have s haken off th e last trace s of Roma n
tra dition I t w a s bound by no formula of module and
.

minute by no s tereotyped plan for house or temple by

, ,

no conventional rules of con s truction plan or de s ign , , .

I ts only law s were those of nature —o f statics and ,

geometry of c onvenience and e conomy I t ga ve free

, .

s cope to the individuality of the arti s t a s well a s to the

manner of the s chool i n which he was trained H e was .

a s free a s air to i ndulge h is own imagination to devi s e ,

e ver fre s h method s of con s truction and ever fre s h mode s ,

of expre s s ion The result w a s a s tyle which is ever

.

s urpri s ing u s with de s igns that are never s tale but alway s

fre s h and new a n d that constantly as tonish u s with their

,

infinite variety Th e a rti s t w a s bound only by obedience

.

to the three great canon s which all good s tyle s mu s t

obey : h is con s truction mu s t be s ound h is work be ,

economically contrived and h is de s ign mu s t reflect and ,

1 ri i t
A cu f t h i w rd thr t f fl y i g b ttr
ou s n s an c e o i ff rd d by e n a u s o a n u ess s a o e

w h t h pp
a d t B th A bb y Th
a en e a th gh d ig d f
a lti g w
e . e n a ve , ou es ne o r va u n , as

l ft i t h 7 th t ry w ith w d
e n e 1 c en il i g b t i 8 3 3 fl y i g b ttr
u a oo en c e n , u n 1 n u e s se s

im it t i g th
a f th
n h ir w r pl d b th id f t h
o se o e c w h i h it i
o id
e e ace on o s es o e n a ve , c s sa

b g t p h t h w ll i T h
e an o us eh d it pr a tf lt n .tr t d by e n a ve a s e se n a n va u cons uc e

S i G ilb rt S tt b
r et t h m iddl f h gt h t ry t r i t th i i w rd
co a ou e e o t e l c en u o es s s n a

thr t b t t h
us ,
lt b g t
u rp w r t h b ttr
e va u wh i h b
e an kl d do o ve o e e u es se s , c uc e an

thr t d d i t r O x m i t i I f d th y w r h l l w d h d t
ea e n e sa s e . n e a na on oun e e e o o , an a o

t k th m t d r
a e e tr t th m B t th gh t i firm f th ir w rk
ou an ec o n s uc e . u ou oo n or e o

th ir r i t d thr t h d b t m h f t h w ll
e un es s e us a een oo uc or e a s .
52 T H E G O T H I C VA U LT [ CH . 1 11

expre s s ae s thetically the condition s under which h e

worked From the s e g en er a l principle s applied to the
.
,

circum s tances of the M iddle Ages were evolved the

,

a r t ic u la r principle s which have been explained in the

p
preceding chapters and which differentiate the new s tyle
,

from a ll that had gone before it ; ( 1 ) concentration of

thrust s and s upport s and articulation of the s tructure
more fully developed than i n Roman work ; ( 2 ) s ubordi na
tion of orders which was an e ntirely novel feature ;
,

(3) freedom of arched con s truction by the introduction of

the pointed arch and the s y s tem of rib and panel vaulting ;
and 4
( ) corre s pondence between the lo a d and its support s

logically expre s s ed Thi s seems to m e to be a s near a

.

de fi n it i n of Gothic a rchitecture as the s ubj ect admit s

q .

H itherto we have de a lt almo s t entirely with con

struction becau s e without unders tanding that the s tyle
,

cannot be u nders tood at all I n no other s tyle h a s the

.

con s tructive problem played so large a part I t w a s .

nece s s ary to explain it in s ome detail before coming to

the more ae s thetic part of the subj ect becau s e th a t
,

depend s largely on the former and without s ome cle a r

knowledge of it would be uni ntelligible .
 C HA PTE R IV

EA R LY F RE N C H GOTH I C

THE T RA N S I TI O N A L P ER I O D
T HE 3 th
1 century i n which
,
G othic a rchitecture w as

fully developed and reached it s prime h a s been de s cribed ,

—
by one ph ilosopher I think it is Leibnitz a s the —
, ,

s tupid century .With I nnocent I I I at the b e g l n n l n g ,

and Bo n iface V I I I at the clo s e of the period it w a s the ,

time when eccle s ia s tical preten s ion s reached thei r zenith ,

and when the Church claimed s upremacy in every s phere

of public politic s a s well a s of private life when throne s
and dominion s were held to be at its di s po s al and when ,

the clergy were placed above the reach of the common

“
law I t w a s the a g e of wh a t Gibbon c a ll s the mo s t
.

s ignal triumph over s en s e and humanity the e s t a bli s h

,

ment of tran s ub s tantiation and the origi n of the I n q u is i

tion . I t w a s the age of Christian pers ecution of Chri s tian ,

of the inhum a n cru s ade a g a in s t the Albigen s e s which ,

deluged the mo s t flourishi n g and civilized part of France

with blood and reduced it to a de s ert
,
.

But it w a s al s o the age of the growth of more liberal

opinion s and of civil l iberty I n our own country if it
, .
,

w a s di s graced by the s urrender of J oh n to the Pope ,

it wa s a l s o the age of S tephen L a ngton and the Great

C harter ; of G r o s t é t e ; of the you nger S imon de M ontfort
and the development of better j u s tice and more regul a r
54 E A R LY F RE N C H GOT H I C [ CH . IV

Parliamentary i n s titution s of the growth of Oxford ; of

Roger B acon and the beginning of s ecular learning I n
, .

I taly which then led the world i n art and letters it w a s

, ,

the age of F rederick I I s t up o r m u n di perh a ps the mo s t

, ,

intere s ting figure i n the middle age s to which i ndeed ,

he hardly s eems to belong The free commune s in the

.

p lain of the Po rej oicing in their libertie s won at

,

Legnano were rai s ing their town hall s and cathedral s

,

a s monument s of civic greatne s s rivalli n g and fighting

,

one another till fear of Frederick drew them together

into the s econd league of Lombardy Venice Genoa .
, ,

and Pi s a controlled the commerc e of the world Florence .

had rai s ed tho s e s econd wall s to enclo s e a larger city ,

which Dante bew a il s a s the beginning of her moral

decline ; and the S implicity of Be llin c io n Berti with h is
belt of leather and buttons of bone and h is wife who ,

could leave her mirror with face unpainted had begun ,

‘
to yield to the growth of wealth and luxury I t w a s the .

age of the birth of I talian poetry Dante trace s the .

origin of the true I t a lian l a nguage to the court of Frederick ,

who s e chancellor Peter D e Vi nea is s aid to have been

, ,

the father of the I talian s onnet ; and the end of the

century produced the hi s tory of Villan i and the Vit a
N u ova to be followed by the D ivin a Co m m edia it s elf
, .

A s in Lombardy s o in France E ngland Germany

, , ,

and Flanders the commune s h a d already in gre a t mea s ure

achieved municipal liberty during the 1 2 t h century ;
every where encouraged more or les s directly by th e
crown to bal a nce th e power of the feudal noble s I n .

F ra nce B eauvai s acquired communal right s i n 1 0 9 9 to ,

which the bi s hop took the oath A t N oyon the bi s hop

.

granted a ch a rter which h e a s ked the king to confirm

, .

1
P a r a dis e , XV . 1 12 .
56 E A R LY F R E N C H G O T H I C [ CH . IV

of power s local and general and of th e Church I t is by ,

.

th e emancipated bourgeoi s ie that the laic s pirit arrived

at modifying from top to bottom the character not only
of public powers and s ocial relation s but also of th e ,

literature and intellectual life of the country 1

I t w a s the begi nning of the reign of freedom in

thought as well a s i n politics T he ground thu s gained .

w a s never lo s t and in thi s period were s own the seeds of

,

th e great revolution s of the 1 6th century For though .

the preten s ions of the Church ne ver ro s e higher than in

the 1 3 th century they contained a lready the seed s of
,

decay .

I t w a s i n France and in the royal domain of the

,

I le de France chiefly that the tran s ition from Romane s que

,

to Gothic began and it is with that s chool that we had

,

best begin the account of the new style .

The importance of the crown had grown s teadily in the

1 2 th century under Loui s le Gro s and Louis le J eune , ,

and i n the 1 3 th century the new royalty was con s olidat e d

by Philip Augu s tu s who added to the old t e rritory of the
,

I le de France the province s forfeited by J oh n of E n gland .

Then took place that a s toni s hing bur s t of cath e dral

building which h a s no p a rallel except the great building
period i n E ngland that followed the N orman Conquest ,

or the development of railway s i n our own day D uring .

the reign of Philip from 1 1 8 0 to 1 2 2 3 were founded the

, ,

cathedral s of Pari s C hartres B ourge s Laon S oi s son s

, , , , ,

M eaux N oyon Amien s Rouen C ambrai Arra s Tours

, , , , , , ,

S eez C outance s and B ayeux and before the end of th e

, , ,

century they were nearly all fini s h e d .

What w a s the meaning of this e x traordinary move

ment ? I t h a d probably two c a u s es : the decline of
, ,

1
L a vis s e , H is t o ir e de F r a n c e, vo l . 11 . p .
3 56 .
ca . 111
] T HE T RA N S I T I O N A L P E R I O D 57

monastic influence and the ris e of the communes For

, . D ec in el o f

long there had been antagoni s m between the regular

and s ecular clergy Till the end of the I 2 th century the
.

monk s s tood first in popular e s teem The life of the .

C loi s ter was thought the higher life ; the monks had
charge of education and were the repositories of learning
, ,

and from their rank s men like Suger were cho s en to fill
great o ffices of s tate Pontifical bulls favoured them at .

the expen s e of the bishop s from who s e j uri s diction they ,

had obtained e x emption Thi s had alway s been a s ore . An t a go n

grievance and led to constant qu a rrel s The B i s hop of .

$55 ,

Orleans in 9 8 7 tried to gather the vintage from land $31 1 3 ,

claimed by the Abbot of S B enoit and when prevented .

,
Clergy
his men w aylaid the abbot and abused him killing s ome ,

of h is men F u lq u e s B i s hop of O rlean s i n 1 0 0 8 tried to

.
, ,

enter the monastery of F le u r i : the monk s re s i s t e d and ,

beat som e of h is men to death A n epi s copal council at .

S D eni s in 9 9 5 w a s routed by the va s s al s of the abbey

.
,

and the archbishop was wounded and barely e s caped

with life I n 1 0 69 H ugh B i s hop of Langre s burned the
.
, ,

abbey of Pothiere s to which he had been refu s ed a d ,

m iss io n The men of V ezelay with the cou n tenance of

l
.

the Count of N ever s s acked the monastery and the ,

Pope wrote to charge th e B i s hop of A utun with having

in s tigated the outrage ? Th e abbey s had becom e great E rl y
a
0

feudali s t s with e normous revenue s Thei r churches far .

$2233 ”

23 5;
1 1
outshone the cathedral s which till the end of the ,

1 2 t h century were of mode s t dimen s ion s like those of

Avignon A rle s Autun and other place s w here the old

, , ,

cathedral s have survived At P é rigu e ux the cathedral .

of S E tienne was a very humble affair compared with

.

1
L a vis s e , H is t o ir e de F r a n c e, vo l
. 11 . p
3 3 9, e t c
. .

2
D A c h e r y , Sp ic ileg iu m H is t
’
. Vilz el ia c en s is , L ib . 1 . E p i t X V II
s . .
58 E A R LY F R E N C H G O T H I C [ CH . Iv

the great abbey of S F ront N 0 church thi s s id e the . .

Alp s could compare with the va s t abbey of Cluny .

The bi s hop s were ready to tak e advantage of the

decline of mona s tic i nfluence and the ris e of the com ,

munes ga ve them their opportunity N ot that we are to .

cr e dit them with any democratic s ympathie s A s great .

feudal lord s the bi s hops were no le s s antagoni s tic to the

commune than the noble s and the abbey s But the .

achievement of civil liberty in s pired in the citizens

the pa s s ion to adorn their city with buildings that s hould
s urpa s s tho s e of their neighbour s S o it was we know .
, ,

i n I taly a n d s o it would s eem to have been in France .

The old c a thedral s were condemned and thrown down ,

and on their ruin s men s e t to work to build s omething

far fi ner With thi s obj ect i n V iew bishop and commune
.

could cooperate however much they differed otherwise

, .

Policy caused bi s hop s like thos e of B eauvais and N oyon

, ,

to grant charters and s wear to the commune however ,

much they may have di s liked it The bi s hop no doubt .

w a s th e m a i n mover in th e pious work and probably the ,

largest contributor to the expen s e : M aurice de Sully is

said by a contemporary to have built the cathedral of
Pari s much more a t h is ow n co s t than by gift s from
out s ide B ut i n most case s the bulk of the money must
.

have come from the people as it had done previously ,

in the rebuilding of the Abbeys The contemporary .

account of O r de r ic u s Vitali s implie s the cooperation of 1

“ ”
the monk s and the faithful i n the time of K ing
H enry I and there would s eem to have been the s am e
,

between bi s hop and people in the cas e of the s ecular

1
O m n is e n im o rd o R elig io s o r u m , p ace fr p r o s p e r it a t e, in o m n i u s
u en s e t b
q u a e a d c u lt u m D e it a t is e p rt i t n en o m n ip o t e n t iss im a e in u s e t et xt r
e iu s s u a m

dilig e n t ia m s a t a g it exh ib e r e . U d t pl n e em a do m o s u e fe r ve n s fi de liu m de vo t io

q
p r a e su m it pr t r ro s e n e e , e a de m q u e m e lio r a n da r e n o va n d it r r
o e a e .
’
b is t lib. .
X .
CH . I v] T H E T RA N S I T I O N A L P E R I O D 59

rebuildi ng Rebelliou s and turbulent L a on began the

.

new cathedral within 4 5 years from the confirmation of

‘
her libertie s Withi n a century after th eir achievement
.

of fre e dom all the great citie s in the royal domain had
rebuilt or were rebuilding their cathedral s and this must ,

b e s omething more than a coi ncidence I t is remark .

abl e and s ign ificant of the cooperation of bishop and

,

commune i n the piou s work that some of the gra nde s t ,

am ong th e new cathedrals are i n towns like Laon where

“
the bi s hop s had formerly been mo s t fi e rcely oppo s ed .

T h e architect s w ere now laymen ; in the early

Rom a ne s que period they had been monk s though not ,

nece s s arily nor perhaps u s ually in holy orders I n those

, , .

troublou s time s it wa s only in the s helter of the Cloi s t e r

that the art s could s urvive and the monk s had to be ,

their own builders B ut th i s had long cea s ed to be th e .

rule I t is tru e that only a few name s of architects

.

d u ring the 1 1 th and 1 2 t h centuries have been pre s erved ,

but those w ho s e name s have survived seem to have been

laymen I n the 1 3 th century it is s till rarer to find a
.

name for the monk s were the only hi s torian s and took
, ,

no intere s t i n s ecular building s or builders B ut in I taly .

,

where the artist s name m ore generally survive s they ’

,

are all l a ymen and s o are tho s e who s e names have be e n,

“
pre s erved i n F r a nce during thi s period .

1
Lu c h ira e sa y s b g b t I 7 th r p
it w a s e u n a ou 1 0, o e s u t it y r l tr
20 ea s a e .

I t i ri
2
s cu ou s th t M L h ir h ld dr w
ai . u c a e s ou a an o pp it los e conc u s on

fr m th i f t
o s ac .

M d L t y i m ti I m b d t B r y R
3
. e as e r e t T r en on s se ar us a e na ,
en c o n a ou n u s,

Umb t t S B
er u s it L ir ai th th. t ry d i t h
en o th su r o e, n e 1 l c en u ,
an n e 12 ,

Ren old t S S vi Br
u s a t S G ill G f d
. at Ch vig y G il b
n, t u nns a . es, o re u s a au n , e er u s

an d G ld i t S S r i T
e l
u nu s a W ill lm M rt i i t S A dre l b
. e n n o u o u se , e u s a n a . n e as

Vi C
en n e , t ti d J r t S Eti
o n s an P é rig x G ir d A d b t t
n e a nac a . en n e u eu ,
au u e er a

S H il ir d P
. a y R g e t C h rtr
e C th dr l
o u s sa M k i h rt i t h
, o er u s a a es a e a . on s a s s, e

sa y l w y tyl d F t t A / it R lig
s, a r e a a s s F d l Bp g
e ra er , e c . rc z . e . en r a n ce
’
o ue

R m
o p 37
a n e, . 2 .
 60 E A R LY F R E N C H GO T H I C [ CH . IV

S . D e n is I n the abbey church of S D ENI S ( Fig

. we firs t
.

find s omething like a fully developed Gothic con s truction .

F ig . 19 .

T hi s is s o well unders tood and the work is s o i ntelligently

,

planned on the new s y s tem that it is obviou s ly the out

,

come o f continued experiment and the climax of a s eries

,
CH . I v] T H E T RA N S I T I O N A L P E R I O D
of le s s perfect predece s sor s ; but the general opinion S D i . en s

cannot be far wrong th a t here for the first time at all ,

event s on a gra nd s c a le we find the development of ,

Gothic a rchitecture .

The old church of Dagobert fou nded i n 6 2 5 had , ,

been recon s tructed by Pepin le B ref and a pparently - -

,

aga in rebuilt in the n t h century I t w a s however s till .

s mall and i nconvenient S uger s ay s we would fai n hope

.
,

“
with picture s que e xa g g e r a t l o n that the women with ,

much p a in clamour and tumult ran to the altar over the

, ,

’
men s he a d s a s it were on a The new
church w a s built with extraordinary and a s it h a s turned ,

out inj udiciou s s peed V io llet le D uc s ugge s t s th a t S uger

, .
- -
,

con s ciou s of the decline of mona s tic i s m w a s i n a hurry ,

to show to the world an abbey i n the van of progress ,

inste a d of decrying the s plendour s of art with the a u s tere

Ci s tercian s H is rebuildi n g began at the we s t end which Th w t
. e es

d en
was con s ecrated with much ceremony i n 1 1 4 0 a s he ,

“ ”
recorded by what he calls an E pitaph concluding with ,

the l ine s
A n n u s m ille n u s et c en t en u s q u a dr a gen u s
Ann u s e atr V rbi
e , q u a n do rt f t
sa c a a ui .

I n the s am e yea r he began rebuilding at the ea s t

e nd which from crypt to topmo s t v a ult he fini s hed in
,

three years a n d three month s a s he recorded by a r e ,

etition o f h is E pit a ph s ub s tituti ng the word

q u a r tu s
p ,

for a n n u s i n the s econd line .

Th e body of the church w a s next a ttacked in order ,

Th e n a ve

th a t it might be conformable and worthy of the two new

end s B ut here I gather he did not entirely pull down
.

1
Ges t a S u g er z z A hha t is , cap . XXV .
 62 E A RLY F RE N C H GOT H I C [ CH . Iv
‘
th e old fabric This part of his work ho w ever h a s not
.
, ,

come down to us : the bulk of the church was rebuilt

from the de s ign s of Pierre de M ontereau b e tween 1 2 3 1
and 1 2 8 1 and of S u g e r s building we have only th e
,
’

eastern a mbulatory ai s le with the chapel s the crypt , ,

and th e we s t front with the two bays next to it The .

whole church has been so much pulled about by s u c

c e s s iv e restoration s and undoing of re s toration s and
, ,

restoring afresh that it is very di fficult to make sure

,

F ig . 20 . F ig . 2 1 .

of any detail or to found any argument upon it I n the .

part which can be referred with a n y certa inty to S uger

round and point e d arche s both appear and though the ,

pointed arch rules the construction of the upper part ,

th a t of the crypt is more primitive The bay s i n the .

crypt are divided by plain tran s vers e rib s which are

round arched and there are no diagonal s the arris of the
-
, ,

groin being slightly pinched up : but the longitudinal

arche s from pier to pier are pointed The central part .

under the choir is s urrounded by a s olid wall i n which is

1
R e se r va t a t a m e n q u a n t a c u m q u e p o r t io n e de p a r ie t ib u s a n t iq u is , q u i u s b
su m m u s P tfxJ
on ie e su s C hr t t t
is u s e s im o n io a n t iq u o r u m s c r ip t o r u m m a n u m
a p p o su e r a t . Ges t a S u g er ii, cap . XX I X .
 E A R LY F R E N C H G O T H I C [ CH . IV
capit a l s of the j amb s haft s of the window s however are , ,

untouched here a s i n the chapel s above ( Fig .

S u g e r s choir ends i n an apse ( Fig

’

rai s ed over
.

the crypt and reached on each s ide by a flight of s everal

step s The F rench type of c h evet with an ambulatory
.

F ig . 23 .

and radiating chapels is completely developed and the ,

vaulting is pl a nned and con s tructed with perfect know

ledge a n d S kill su
p .Fig 16 p
.
, The
. double
”
ai s le is divided by m o n o c y lin dr ic a l column s 1 8 5 in
diameter with tall wide —s preading base s ( Fig 2 2 A ) on a .
,
CH . I v] T H E T RA N S I T I O N A L P E R I O D 65

pli nth which is s quare with the corners cut off The s D i . . en s

toru s of the ba s e h a s very primitive toes at the angle s .

The capital s ( Fig 2 3 ) are very Byzantine i n character

.
,

with the leave s S harply r a ffl e d and laid withi n one ,

another The mai n columns of the ap s e on the other

.
,

‘
hand have capital s cc c r oc h et and ba s es mould e d li ke those
,

at Amien s a n d B eauvais ( Fig 2 2 D and E ) and have .

,

atta ched shafts triple i n the s tra ight bay and s ingle in
,
-

tho s e round the curve They run up to the later work .

above and are i n the s olid of the column from which I s u p ,

pose that P ierre de M ontereau i n s erted new a pse column s

’
in the place of S u g e r s when reb u ilding the upper part , .

The chapel s ( F ig s 1 6 and 2 1 ) hav e two plain wide T

gp 1
. le
C a e s
poi nted window s each with j amb s hafts which h a ve ,

pre s erved their original capitals of a B yzantine type

( Fig . The s haft s are detached and tied i n with

bronze rings I n the early narthe x between the towers

.

’
of the we s t front which is al s o S u g e r s work all the
, ,

capital s have Byzanti ne foli a ge The diagon a l rib s are .

s emi circular and heavily moulded with rolls

-
and the ,

Byzantine capita l s are s e t obliquely to receive them but ,

all the other arche s ar e poi nt e d .

The west po rtal s were richly carved with Rom a ne s que W t es

p rta l o s
scroll s diapers a n d figure s but though here and there
, , ,

an old fragment may be recognized the greater part is

modern i mitation and therefore of little h i s torical value
,
.

The middle a n d right hand portals were hung by Suger

with n e w doors of bronze modelled with s criptural s ubj ect s ,
.

I n the left hand portal Suger r e hung th e old doors -

,

“
underneath a mo s aic picture which he say s though , , ,

contrary to the new fa s hion I c a u s ed to be made here ,

”
and fixed i n the arch of the doorway Thi s mo s aic .

l a sted till the 1 8 1h century when it w a s displaced for

J . c . A .
 E A R LY F R E N C H GO T H I C [ CH . IV
‘
S D e n is
. a modern sculptur e by B run S u g e r s a im a s he .
’

el s ewhere tell s u s was to rival the s plendour of the ,

E a s tern ba s ilica s with their wealth of gold mosaic and 2

, ,

preciou s s tone s I n the M us é e de Cluny are s ome .

“
mos a ic s from S D eni s l a belled a r t [ t a lien s u r dess in.
,

‘
F r a n c a is X I ] s iec le There are g r iffi n s and mon s ter s
. .

within interlacing borders but th e interlacing pat tern s ,

a r e not like any i n Byzantine or I talo B yzanti ne art a n d -

,

th i s j u s tifie s the de s cription on the label They are a ll .

of gla s s from which a n d al s o from the fa ct that the

, ,

beast s are a ll one way up I conclude they were ,

mural a n d s ome of them may po s s ibly h a ve been in the

s
,

tympa n um of the doorway mentioned a bove Among .

the m within a circle is a kneeling figure of a monk i n

, ,

colour on a gold ground with an abbrevi a ted in s cription ,

which I read thu s : H O C PA T E R A L BR I CV S N O B I L E F E C I T

O PV S .On a border round the ci rcle is a nother i n s cription
i n two elegiac line s
Q VI TE D EV O T V S O RO CVI S E R V I O T O TV S
M A R TY R S CE D EI Q V ES O ME M EN T O M EI .

About 1 2 00 the north we s t tower which had till then -

,

a s pire of wood received one of s tone I t is to be s een , .

‘
in old pri nt s and is illu s tra ted by V io lle t le Duc who
,
- -
,

tell s u s that it w a s h is s a d lot to h a ve to t a ke it down to

prevent it s falling I t w a s never rebuilt a n d the only .
,

tower a t pre s ent is the s i s ter one at the s outh west angle -

1
M M V itry . and B r ie r e, L Bg lise A hha t ia le de
’
5 D e n is ,
. p
53 . .

2
C o n fe r r e c o n s u e vi c u m H ier o s o ly m it a n is , et g r a dis s im e a ddis c e r e
qu i b u s

C o n s t a n t in o p o lit a n a e p a t u er u n t g a z a e e t S tanc a e S o p h ia e o r n a m en t a, u tr mu

a d c o m p a r a t io n e s l llo r u m a ec a iq u i h l d lr va e e de b e r e n t . Ges t a S u g er ii
'

A bb o t t s , ca p . XXX II .

3
M M V itry . an d Br iér e ( op . c it . p . 67 ) su pp o se th em to h a ve b een in
th e p m t f
a ve en , or h h th y
w ic e a re qu i e t u n fit .

4
D ic t R a t s
.
'

. vo l v pp 4 3 5
. . .
—
43 8 .
P la t e [ 1

T . G .
J .
S EN L I S — T h e C ll O l r
CH . I v] T H E T RA N S I T I O N A L P E R I O D 67

of th e fa c ade T he vani s hed s p 1re had triangular taber

. S D e n is

n a c le s at the corners of the tower and gabled s pire lights ,

-

betwe e n The spirelet s of thes e eight s tructures had th e

.

front face upright and the bac k s loped This device .

occurs a lso in the s pire at S enli s which I imagine m u s t ,

F ig . 24 .

have been by the same architect with the very unhappy ,

e ffect of making the s e pinnacle s s eem to bulge outward s .

The church once a cathedral of N otre Dame at S l i

, , en s

‘
S EN L I S cannot differ much i n date from that of S D eni s .
,

and indeed s ome of it s detail s s eem more primitiv e .

The choir h a s an early ap s e with ambulatory from

.
,

1
V i ll t l D
o d t t h h ir b t w
e -
e- 1 5
uc d 1 1 65 H r m rk
a es e c o e een 1 0 an . e e a s

th a t t h e lpt r f t h p it l i l ittl b k w rd i d v l p m t D i t
sc u u e o e c a a s s a e ac a n e e o en . e .

Ra t s
'

. vo l V
. III p
. . 2 22 .
 68 . E A R LY F R E N C H G O T H I C [ CH . Iv
S li
en s which shallow chapel s proj ect ( Fig The triforium .

is vaulted and h a s wi ndow s above the chapel s

, The .

apse is polygonal but the outer wall of the ambulatory is,

round The clere s tory is fl a mboy a nt but the capital s

.
,

of the early vault rem a in at a lower level The nave .

and choir were once continuous but are now interrupted ,

by a transept With a magnifice n t flamboyant end to the

s outh The vaults are s e x p a rtite the principal piers
.
,

being clu s tered and very long I n plan alternating with ,

i ntermediate piers which are cylindrical All the arche s , .

are pointed The triforium has generally a n open n u

.

divided arch but i n one bay at the s pring of the apse it

,

is divided into two light s ( Plate I I ) The ap s e re s t s on .

s ix cylindrical colum n s the vaulting shaft s ri s ing from,

their capital s a s they do i n the i ntermediate column s

,

el s ewhere i n the main clu s tered piers they run down to

the floor I n the ai s le s the regu larity of the rib and panel
.

cro s s vault is s omewhat disturbed by the elongated plan of

-

th e mai n pier s which cau s e s a winding s urface between

,

the diagonal and long itudinal arche s Plate I I ) The .

we s t front h a s two towers and a centra l port a l with good ,

s tatuary ; and the s ide portal s are simple and intere s ting .

The two towers are alike u p to the belfry s tage where ,

the northern on e s top s and is fini s hed with a pyramidal

s lated roof The other was carried up in the 1 3 t h century
.
,

with a magnificent oct a go n lantern crowned with a spire ,

and with s hafted tabernacle s to fill out the angl e s of the

s quare Thi s s plendid s teeple h a s been much prai s ed
.
,

and h a s many be a utiful part s but it is not happily ,

compo s ed Th e be s t a s pect is th a t on the diagon a l as

.
,

I h a ve d rawn it ( Plate I I I ) S een i n direct elevation it .

is painfully le a n a n d at a di s tance loo k s like a huge

,

pinnacle or a lighthou s e on a s quare ba s e The angle

, , .
P la t e I V

T G J ,
S EN S
 P la t e V

T . G J .

S EN S
72 E A R LY F R E N C H GO T H I C [ CH . I

the west end and oth e rs at the transept which date

,

apparently fro m 1 1 4 5 when there s e ems to have b e en a

rebuilding T h e re s t is later i n the century All the
. .

arche s are pointed ; and there is a vaulted triforium gallery ,

with a second triforium abov e united to the clere s tor y

light s The sweep of the apse s tart s from the towers at
.

the transept Although th e vault is quadripartite there

.

is a s light alternation of the pi e rs M any of the capitals

.

are quite Byzantine in the character of their foliage ,

F ig . 26 .

though it is fair to say they s ee m to have been well

s cr a ped even if they have not bee n renewed O ther .

capital s are Roman e s que with wildly knotted foliage and

s croll work
-
The apse re sembles that of S Remi at
. .

Reim s with triple clere s tory lights and chap e ls O pening

, ,

to an ambul a tory with triple arches .

T he cathedral of N O Y O N ( F ig 2 6) w a s begun i n
.

1 1 50 after a di s a s trous fire which burned the older

church and the town in I 1 3 0 Th e new cathedral which
.
,
T. c .
J .
S . A LP IN — C H AL O N S S U R M A R NE
- -
T .
N OYO N CA TH EDRA L
CH . I v] T H E T RA N S I T I O N A L P E R I O D 73

was fini s hed with the exception of the we s t end about N y o on

1 1 90 or 1 2 00 is one of the finest i n France and ,

illustrates perhaps better than any other t h e tran s ition

from Romanesque to Gothic Bi s hop B a udoi n who r e .

built it w a s a friend of S B ernard and of A b b e Suger .

, ,

who had j u s t fini s hed his church at S D eni s in the .

new style ; and N oyon has many point s of re s embla n ce

to S D eni s and po s s ibly a s V io lle t le D uc sugge s t s
.
, ,
- -
,

w a s built by workmen released from the other building .

I t is on a grand s cale and h a s a vaulted triforium , .

When thi s occurs the triforium gallery no longer cor

re s pond s to the s pace between the back of the ai s le
vaulting and the lean to roof above it for the roof h a s to
-
,

be raised a s torey higher ; consequently i n many s uch

cas e s a s here at N oyon we find a s econd triforium
, ,

above the other repre s ented by a s unk arcade which

, ,

however is not always pierced with a pa s sage .

Th e choir and tran s ept are B i s hop Baudoi n s work ; ’

not only there however but i n the nave as well which

, ,

w a s later though fi ni s hed before the end of the century

, ,

round and poi nted arche s are u s ed i ndiscriminately The .

tran s ept s have rounded ap s idal end s like those at T ournay ,

which had been united with N oyon i n one see till I

M V it e t sugge s t s that the canon s of N oyon adopted
.

thi s plan a s a remini s cence of the s i s ter church they had

lost and a prote s t aga inst the recent s eparation
, .

The choir which is the olde s t part of the church h a s Th h ir

, ,
e c o

three straight bays and an ap s e of five bay s s em i

, ,

circul a r and s urrounded by a s emi circular ambulatory

,
-

from which radiate five semi circular chapel s between the -

great buttre s s es ( Plate V I I ) I n the columnar buttre s s e s .

between the windows we see a s urvival of Romane s que

1
v
. Ga llia Ch r is t ia n a , E l
cc . N o vio m e n s is .
74 E A R LY F R E N C H G O T H I C [ CH . IV

tradition V io lle t lo D uc ob s erves that the s e chapels

.
- -

anticipate what was the ultimate plan of a cathedral

c h evet for at P aris B ourge s Laon and C hartre s there
, , , , ,

were originally very few chapel s or none at all though ,

the s e churche s are later than that at N oyon ; and h e

sugg e st s that their pre s ence here is due to the example
‘
of S D eni s .

F ig . 2 7.

The firs t bay of the Choir is prepared w ith mas s ive

piers to r e ceive a tower on e a ch s ide which wa s never ,

b uilt I n thi s bay both the arcad e and the triforium

.

have plain round arche s the latter undivided They , .

have two orders The capitals of the further straight

.

bay s are very primitive and carry round arche s The .

apse columns are m o n o c y lin dr ic and carry arche s that

1
D iet . R o z s vo l
’

. . 11 . p .
30 3 . r g lly
O i in a th e c a e th dr l h d ith r a s a e e no

ch pl
a e s o r ve ry f w w h il t h bb y
e , e e a e s ha d m an y h y r dd d ft rw rd
T e we. e a e a e a s

i gr t
n ea nu m b r by d iff r
e s t f m il i e en a es fo r th ir w
e o d r d it
n u se a n c e .
P la t e VI I ]

T . G .
J .
NO YO N CATH E D R A L— Th N
e a ve
CH . I v] T H E T RA N S I T I O N A L P E R I O D 75

a re
'

p o and s tilted A blank arcade repre s ent s the N y

in ted . o on

upper triforium but th e a rche s here a r e trifoliated while

, ,

tho s e i n the nave are pl a in and round The ap s id a l .

chapel s have regular rib a n d panel vaults well devi s ed

and con s tructed : the di a gonal rib s cro s s one another i n
one plane and s eem s truck from an equal radiu s All
,
.

the window s i n thi s ea s tern end are pointed ( Plate V I I ) ,

with good moulding s and j amb S haft s The fine s weep .

of thi s end is very s triking and the renaissance buttre s s e s

,

of the upper part do not hurt the de s ign Rom a ne s que .

ta s te lingers in s ome of the capit a l s of the arche s i n to

the chapel s and of the wall arc a ding ( Fig
, .

The n ave ( Plate V I I I ) is rather more adv a nced than Th e n a ve

the choir The arcade is pointed a s well as the triforium

.
, ,

which is divided into two lights with piercings i n the ,

shield above but the upper triforium arcade and all the ,

window s a r e s till round arched The pier s are alternately .

clu s tered and cylindrical a s if prep a red for S exp a rtite

,

vaulting though the vault s are actually quadripartite

,
.

There w a s however a fire i n 1 2 9 3 and t h e vault s may

, , ,

have had to be recon s tructed then and the plan changed ,

.

That the s expartite form w a s originally intended is proved

by the greater s ub s tance given to the tran s vers e arches
res ting on the larger piers .

T he ap s idal tran s ept s have no ai s le s round them ,

thu s e s c a ping the heavine s s of tho s e at S M aria in .

Capitolio at C ologne .

The we s t front ( Plate I X ) is of a later date but ,

with it s great towers and proj ecting porch is quite among

the fine s t i n France nor need we regret the s te e ple s
,

which would have t a ken the place of the picture s que

roofs which now crown the tower s The 1 4 th century .

portal s have been ruthle s s ly defaced and s tripp e d of

7 6 E A R LY F R E N C H G OT H I C [ CH . IV

thei r s tatuary but retain S ome exqui s itely carved natura l

foliage.

F ig . 28
.

O n the north s ide of the nave w a s a s mall cloi s ter ,

said to have been built in 1 2 70 of which only the west

,
ca n ] T HE T RA N S I T I O N A L P E R I O D 77

walk remain s a n d that is much broken The carving is N y

, . o on

Th
naturale s q ue here a n d I n the fine chapter hou s e open ing l i ter C o s
e

out of it The foliage round th e in s ide of the entrance igft

.

er
p
archway is extraordi narily natural and remind s one of h ,
o u se

that at Southwell .

I n the choir of the church of S G E R M A IN D ES P RES at S G

.
. er

Pari s which was con s ec r ated i n 1 1 63 there is the s ame

, ,
1
1 21
( 5
1 5

mixture of round and pointed arches a s at N oyon The .

arc a de is round arched but the high vault s are pointed

-
.

The ai s le s have round tran s ver s e arche s with very domical ,

vault s I n the nave the piers are elongated like fragments

.
,

of a wall and have a ttached h a lf column s for the arche s

,

and one i n front running up to the high v a ult There is .

no triforium in the nave but i n the choir there is one

,

with s qu a re headed lights which are united by shaft s to

the clere s tory s o a s to form one compo s ition with it
( Fig. S ever a l of the c a pital s are quite cla s s ical ,

with the ac a nthu s leave s volute s and hollow abacu s of

, ,

the Corinthian type .

With the s e examples we may conclude the tran s itional E d f th n P e

period of F rench Gothic during which the a r t w a s

,

gradu a lly advancing s tep by s tep from the e a rly a n d ,

tentative work at S D eni s to the bolder and more

.

a s s ured con s truction of the 1 3 th century .

 C HA PTE R V

E A RLY F RE N C H G OT H I C ( c o n t in u ed )

T HE great French churches hitherto de s cribed s how

Gothic i n it s infancy I t is true the s y s tem of what
.

we under s t a nd by Gothic con s truction w a s thoroughly

developed in the art of Suger and Baudoin The va u lt s .

were turned with rib and panel the thru s t s brought t o ,

i s ol a ted point s a nd s cientific a lly s upported by cou nter

thru s t s and flying buttre s se s and the u s e of the poi nted
,

arch w a s fully appreciated B ut Romanesque tradition s

were not yet entirely forgotten We s till find round
.

arches mixed with pointed and primitive s culpture by

,

the S ide of c a rvi ng more directly ba s ed on n a ture .

N everthele s s the movement from th e old to the new

s tyle w a s unmi s t a keably there and V io lle t le Duc is
,
- -

tempted to a s k whether i n the church of S Deni s and .

,

the c a thedr a l s of N oyon and Senli s we may not s e e the ,

cradle of pointed architecture .

I n the c a thedral of N O T R E D A M E at P A R I S ( Fig .

which w a s begun by B i s hop M a urice de Sully i n 1 1 63 ,

and partly completed during h is lifetime we find the ,

tran s ition complete and Romane s que tra dition finall y

,

put a s ide H e demoli s hed the old church of S E tienne

. .

to m a ke way for the e a s tern p a rt of h is new building .

leavin g the mode s t cathedra l of N otre D a me for the

pre s ent s tandi n g The new choir ro s e ra pidly I n 1 1 7 7
. .

a tra veller Robert du M ont record s that he saw it

, ,
CH . v] EA R LY F R E N C H G O T H I C 79

fini s hed all but the great roof and in 1 1 8 2 the high
, ,

altar was con s ecrated by the papal leg a te At the de a th .

of M aurice de Sully i n 1 1 9 6 the choir and tra n s ept s were ,

fini s hed ; and the nave excepting the towers and three ,

we s tern bay s had begun to ri s e from the ground which

, ,

‘
had been cleared by pulling down the older cathedral
B efore the death of Philip Augu s tu s in 1 2 2 3 the n ave ,

was completed and the we s t front rai s ed to the b a s e

of the topmost gallery and the ga llery a n d the upper ,

N O TRE DA ME PA RIS .

HA L F P LA N A D 12 !

HA L F P L A M A E IM
I! ’ - W e “

S C A LE O F FEET E” a t

F ig . 29 .

part of the towers were fini s hed and the whole church
completed between 1 2 3 5 and 1 2 4 0 There were therefore .

three s t a ge s i n the construction ; first the choir and

tran s ept s 1 1 63 — 1 1 8 2 then the nave up to the la s t three
, ,

bay s 1 1 8 2 —1 1 9 6 and l a s tly the three western b a ys and

, ,

the towers 1 2 1 8— 1 2 2 3 , .

The origin a l plan ( Fig 2 9 ) was that of a s imple .

ba s ilica with a s hallow tran s ept and a double ai s le on

e a ch s ide carried round the east end There were no .

M M r l
1 . a ce Au b rt b l i v
e e e es t h e n a ve w a s fi ih
n s e d, a ll b u t th e r f oo ,

th f by 9 6
us ar I 1 . L a Ca t h edr a le N o t r e D a m e de P a r is ,
’
p . 10 .
 E A R LY F R E N C H G O T H I C [ CH . v

ch a pel s between the buttresses but only the princip a l ,

’
altar in the choir ap s e with the bi s hop s thro n e behind
,

it There w a s a s now a vaulted triforium gallery but it

. , , ,

had large window s behi nd for which the pocket of the ,

v a ult w a s tilted up and thi s only left room above its roof
,

for a s mall clere s tory The roof s pace over the triforium
.

ga llery w a s lighted from the nave by rose shaped light s -

,

taking the place of the s econd triforium at N oyon ,

Soi s s on s and elsewhere The flyi ng buttre s s e s were i n

, .

two flight s re s ting halfw a y on a middle pier .

Scarcely had th e canon s fini s hed their building before

they began to a lter it ( Fig Th e interior would have.

been imperfectly lighted by the clere s tory window s which

were very s mall and by tho s e of th e triforium A and
,

of the a i s le s which were remote

, A fire gave the .

opportunity for alteration and for following the example of

,

other churche s that had ri s en since N otre Dame w a s

de s igned with larger w indow s and ampler s pace for
,

painted gl a s s The ro s e s of the upper triforium J w e re

.

abolished a n d the clere s tory window s P le n gthened down

w a rd s widened and filled with s imple tracery : the
, ,

windows at the back of the triforium w e re s hortened a n d ,

the roof lowered The double flight of the buttre s s e s

.

w a s altered i nto a s ingle flight a s we now see them the ,

middle pier being removed ( Plate X ) I n 1 2 58 a further .

a lteration took place ; the tran s ept s were lengthened

one bay by the architect J ean de C helle s Lastly i n .
,

1 2 9 6 B i s hop de B ucy filled in the s pace s between the

,

buttre s s e s of the ap s e with chapel s opening by triple

arche s to the outer a mbulatory ai s le ; and thi s brought
the plan to wh a t we now s e e O f these chapel s th e .

architect w a s Pierre de Chelle s pre s umably a s o n of ,

J ean They do not seem to h a ve be e n fini s hed till 1 3 1 5

. .
P la t e XI

NO TR E I
D A M E— P A R S
 v] E A R LY F RE N C H G O T H I C 81

S ec o n d f rm
o x r g l f rm
O i in a o

F ig 3 0
. .
( V 1e D u c
.
- -
.
)
82 E A R LY F R E N C H G O T H I C [ CH . v

The choir which is the oldest part is five bays long

, ,

of which the firs t four are in pairs with sexpartite vaulting ,

and the fifth is slightly bowed outward forming part o f ,

the apse which is a horseshoe i n plan F ive narrow e r .

bays form the s emi circular ap s e which has rib s radiating

-
,

to the centre of the chord where they are m e t by t h e ,

ribs of the fifth b a y which work s in admirably with t h e

,

s expartite vault next to it The rib of the fifth bay

.

being longer than the other four is m a de s lightly

segmental .
V

Th e v aulting of the double aisle round the apse is

very i ngeniou s The arche s betwe e n the ai s le s are
.

doubled in number and at the O penings to P i e rre de

,
’
Chelles chapel s trebled so that i n the chapel bay ther e

are three arche s and i n the central ai s le arcade two t o

, ,

one in the mai n arcade of the choir Thi s m akes the .

vaulting irregular but the di ffi culty i s well got ove

,
.

( Fig.

All the column s are cylindrical and carry poi nte d

arche s with s quare s o ffi t and a s ingle roll on the edge .

The choir triforium h a s two —light openi ngs divided by a

column under a pointed arch with a s hallow order c o n
,

a te X I
s i s ting of a roll mouldi ng
( Pl ) I t is now lit b
y .

traceried window s i n the back wall which of cours e ,

is not the origin a l plan I n the tran s ept the s hield

.

a bove th e two light s is pi e rced with a circle I n the .

capit a l s we lo s e the Romane s que element : s ome of them

a pproach the type a c r o c h et though there are non e
‘

actually of that kind except near the we s t end which is ,

later F ig 3 1 show s o n e of the more elaborat e kind ;

. .

others are s impler I n tho s e carrying the main a rcad e

.

the abacu s is s qu are i n tho s e of the a rc a de dividing t il t

ai s le s the corners a r e chamfer e d off a s they are a t
84 E A R LY F RE N C H GO T H I C [ CH . v

found of the original de s ign ( Fig till th en all the .

‘
bay s were alike
The triforium of the nave has three light s divided by
column s under a pointed including arch and the mai n ,

arcade h a s two orders with roll moulding s i n s tead of

one as i n the choir The gallery is lighted by arched .

triangular window s s omething like tho s e at We s tmin s ter , ,

containing a s e xfo ile d circle The nave vaulting is s e x ”

.

p a rtite in five double bay s but no difference is made i n ,

the vaulting s h a ft s nor in the great cylindrical columns ,

of the arcade which are all alike though in the range

, ,

dividing the two ai s le s cylindrical columns alternate with

clu s tered piers .

The front ( Plate X I ) is perhaps on th e whol e the

mo s t s a ti s fa ctory of all the great Fr e nch fa c a de s I t is .

s impler than those of Rei m s and Ami e n s more compact ,

than that of B ourge s and it s three great s t a ge s d ivided by ,

two rich b a nd s of arcading have a magnificent breadth

of effect The towers no doubt were to have had lofty
.
, ,

s pire s of s tone but I think they are ust a s w e ll without

j ,

them T heir pre s ent s quare top s suit th e general hori

.

z o n t a lit of the de s ign which is s trongly empha s ized

y , ,

and i n which we may trace the la s t expre s s ion of

Rom a ne s que tradition T here is also no doubt a .

Romane s que feeling i n th e great colonnade s of the n a ve

a n d ai s le s withi n the church i n the low proportion of ,

the a rcade and the greater importance given to the

,

triforium gallery but thi s di s proportion would have been ,

1
T h ese r o sep i g w r f d by h im d ri g t h r t r t i
o en n s e e oun u n e es o a on, and

b tw
e e en th e p b l i t i f t h fir t d
u ca ond v l m f h i D i ti
o e s an sec o n o u es o s c o n n a ir e

R a is o n n e C m p r th l v t i i v l I p 9 w ith th i v
’

. o a e e e e a on s n o . . . 1 2, o se n ol . 11 .

pp . 2 90 , 2 9 1 .

h 2
T ese l ight s s e em d ig d by M M L
to be d V i ll t l D es ne . a s su s a n o e -
e- u c,

w ith t ou an y g id u ance fr m w h t th y f d
o M r l A b rt L C th t
a e ou n . 21 . a ce u e , a a
’
a r a le

N o t r e D a m e de P a r i p 5
s, . 2 .
 P la t e X[ I

T .
G J
. .
N O TR E DA M E— P A R I S — S th
ou A is l e of r
Ch o i
86 E A R LY F R E N C H GOT H I C [ CH . V

dra w the materi a l s but about 1 1 60 an entirely n e w

,

‘
building was begun by B i s hop Gauti e r de M ortagne .

S tarting as w a s the general plan at the ea s t end the ,

ea s t s ide of the tran s ept and the first three bays of the
choir wer e firs t built fini s hing ea s tward with a s emi
,

circular aps e and ambulatory N ext followed the nave . ,

the west front w ith the two towers and the lower part , ,

a s high a s the roof of the other five tower s originally

,

proj ected All this s eems to have been fi nished by 1 2 0 5

. .

LA ON

F ig 3 2
. .

The upper stage s of th e Tour de S Paul at the we s t .

s ide of th e north transept w e r e a dded before the year

1 2 2 5 and those of the corre s ponding Tour de l H o r lo e

’
,
g
at the s outh trans e pt rather later The other two towers .

flanking the tra nsepts on their ea s tern s ide nev e r rose

any higher At the s ame time that the nave was built
.

the choir was altered to it s pre s e nt form The ap s e was .

de s troyed and the ea s tern arm of the building wa s

,

prolonged till it w a s almo s t e qual to the nave and ,

fini s hed with a s quare ea s t end contrary to usual French

,

1
La on et s es E n vir o n s , Lu c ie n B r h
oc e .
CH . v] E A R LY F R E N C H G OT H I C 87

F ig 3 3
. .
( D ra win g by J . 0 . S tt )
co .
 88 E A R LY F R E N C H GO T H I C [ CH . V

‘
custom Lat e ral chapels were add e d i n the 1 4 th century
.

as at Paris and Am iens and th e s outh tran s e pt was ,

remodelled in th e s am e c e ntury D uring the last century .

the towers threat e ned ruin and exten s ive repairs had ,

to be underta ken i nvolving much recon s truction and ,

underpinning and the antiquity of the building has in

,

con s equenc e s uffered considerably The statuary of th e .

portals is modern .

Th e va u lt
s
Th e arches are pointed everywher e and rest on ,

mono cylindric column s as at Paris The vault s are

-
.

sexpartite the vaulting shafts ri s e from th e nav e capital s ,

i n groups of five shafts and three alternately corr e s ponding ,

to the alternation of the vaulting rib s T here is a vaulted .

triforium gallery and above it the second triforium of ,

N oyon and originally of Paris with a passage in the ,

wall ( Fig .

When rebuilding the choir on a s traight line the

colum ns of the apse w e r e used a gain and they bear ,

trace s of having b e en made to s uit a circular plan Th e .

capitals are very simpl e those carryi ng the five vaulting

s haft s of the main clu s ter of ribs are polygonal to fit their

load thos e carrying th e thre e s hafts of the i nt e rmediate

,

are s quare The foliage is very severe ; that s hown i n

.

Fig 3 4 h a s an abstract form of leaf common in Rutland

.

and N orthamptonshir e Th e bas e s are of the qu a s i

Attic type ( Fig 2 2 B p but without the delicacy of
.
, .

those at P a ri s ( Fig 2 2 C ) I ndeed throughout th e building . .

there is a kind of roughnes s v irile but a little clumsy ,

and heavy handed which has s omething in common with

-
,

N orm a n work The central lantern is unusual in the

.

I le de F rance but common in N ormandy and g e neral in

, ,

1
M . f r
Le ev e - P o n t a lis c i est a nu m br e o f squ a r e en d d h ir
e c o s in t h e I le de
Fr an c e . Br h
oc e, o p . c it . p . 21 .
P la t e X I V

LA O N — W t fr t
es on
 90 E A R L Y F RE N C H GO T H I C [ CH . V

Tho s e of the we s t front ( Plate X I V ) are extra ,

ordinarily ma s s ive with deep proj ecting buttre s se s up ,

to the roof l e vel Their proj ection is di sgui s ed by the .

pedimented gable s over the portals which are brought

forward to th e face of the buttre s s es Th e next s tage ”
.

has in the centre a rose window under a round arch

between two pointed S ingle lights all s im ilarly reces s ed ,

betw e en the buttre s s es T hen come s the u s ual arcaded .

gallery with which the nave gable is hidden a s at P a ri s ,

Chartre s and Reims Above thi s the towers break into .

Th e o x en octagon s with proj e ction s at the angle s carrying open

,

tabernacles on colonnette s s quare i n plan i n the first ,

s tage octagonal in the second

, I n one of the s e a spiral .

stair on colonnette s is managed and from between the ,

colonnette s of them all peep out the oxen which com

Th e s pir es memorate the legend A c r o c k e t t e d s pire between four .

spirelets surmounted each of the four towers and Wila r s s ,

’

S ketch shows the lower part of tho s e on the western

tow e r Th e y have now a ll disappeared but that on

. ,

the Tour de l Ho r lo g e la s ted till the Revolution when

’

it had to b e removed being dangero usly out of the ,

upright .

The con s truction of these openwork s tages is obviou s ly

unsuitable for carrying weight I n the later but s ome .
,

what similar tower a t S P ER E S O U S V EZ E LA Y i n Burgundy .

( Plate X V ) th e r e is only a wood e n ,spire Thi s charming .

s teeple which dates from about 1 2 4 0 is attached to a

, ,

humble church and the great gabl e with its niches and
,

statuary has nothing behind it The porch or narth e x .

,

J a i este lt ti r p r z tr r t li r
1
de e e s S i c o rn
’
en mu vo s o e o ve en c es v e . En
au cu n liu o n qu e s t el t o r n e vi c o m e s t c e e l de L o o n . Ed . Will i ps, .
57,
Pl t a es V I I LX V I I I
LX , .

11
Th p rh h wese o c es, o e ve r
, we r e en t ir ly r
e ec o n s tr t d by uc e th e a c r h it t ec

o f t h r t r ti
e M B
es o a on , . oes w illw a ld . Br h
oc pe, o . c it p.
4 . 2 .
 P la t e XV

T . c . J . S . P ER E— S O U S V EZ E LA Y
92 E A R LY F R E N C H GO T H I C [ ca
‘
v

The choir w a s e ntirely rebuilt at the same time with

point e d arches a triforium divided by s lender colonnettes
, ,

and a second triforium above All the column s are .

mono c y lindrical and have well carved capital s ( Fig

-
,
-
.

Fig .
35
.

Th e cler e s tory has triple light s the middle one high e r

,

than the others and thi s is repeated i n the triforium

, ,

where the light s are wider and the m iddle one break s
,

up through the cornice on the outside ( Plate X V I ) Th e

.

head of the flying buttre s s es is propped with a colonnette ,

‘

behind which is a pas s age on the top of the triforium

wall the clerestory bei ng s e t bac k to the inside
, .

The apsidal chapel s O pen to the ambulatory with a

tripl e arch .
 P la t e X V1

T .
G J
. .
S . R E M I — R EI MS
P la t e X V] !

T .
G J .
S O I SS O N S CA T H E D R A L — S th T r
ou a n se p t
CH . v] E A R LY F RE N C H GOT H I C 93

I n the s outh tran s ept of S O I SS O N S wh ich dat e s from S

,
o is s o n s

F ig .
36
.

1 we find the pointed s tyle completely developed

1 7 5, .

Like tho s e at N oyon it is apsidal b u t it is much more

, ,
 94 E A R LY F RE N C H GO T H I C [ CH . V

S o isso n s ad vanced in design S trong clustered piers divide the

.

b ay s with vaulting s h a ft s that ri s e to take the vaulting

,

ribs and each bay contai n s narrow arche s on s lender

,

columns openi n g to the ai s le and the triforium gallery

a te X V I I
( Pl ) Above is a second triforium with an open
.

arcade and a clere s tory with triple light s of which the

,

m iddle one is higher than the others like tho s e at ,

S Remy
. .

The present cathedral of B O UR G E S w a s begun at the

O pening of the 1 3 th century T h e g r o u n d plan ( Fig
. . .

but for the absence of a transept was like that of N otre

,

Dame before they were both altered by the addition of

,

chapel s Both had a nave with s ex partite vault s and

.

a double ai s le carried round the ap s e B ut the section .

at Bourge s is quite different Like S D emetriu s at

. .

Salonica both ai s les have a triforium open to the central

,

nave ; and n o t only that but the inner ai s le h a s al s o

,
‘

a clerestory of it s own above it s triforium i n order to ,

contrive which the outer aisle is k ept very low and th e ,

CH .
]
v E A R LY F R E N C H GO T H I C 95

inner one very high The inner ai s le there fore h a s th e Bo

ggj
.
r es

c at e 1al
tr iple s t a ge o f arcade t r l fo r l u m and clere s tory equa ll y
, ,
'

n ic a a o

F ig .
38 .
( V.le -
-
Du c .
)

with the n a ve The effect of thi s s urpri s ing interior at

.

firs t s ight is extremely fine but after a clo s er e x amination

,
 96 E A R LY F R E N C H G O T H I C
the impre s s ion makes it s elf felt that too much h a s been
sacrificed to thi s single effect and that the proportions of
,

the nave have s uffered by the importance given to t h e

a i s le
. The nave columns look unduly pulled out and ,

t h e triforium a n d clere s tory s eem cru s hed up again s t the

vaul t T here is a l s o a poverty i n the details resulting

. ,

prob a bly from in s u fficiency of m e ans which ran s hort ,

where the v a ult of the ai s le was reached The execution .

of th e work i n the crypt on the contrary which w a s ,

built while fund s were plentiful is excellent a n d thi s part

, ,

of the building is of remarkable beauty The ab s ence of .

a tran s ept give s a certa in cla s s ical dignity to the interior

of thi s cathedral with its long unbroken vaulted ceiling
,

from end to end .

There are two s ide portal s where the transept would

have be e n h a d there been one The doorways are
.

relic s of the older cathedral r e fixe d i n the new building

, ,

a n d are fi ne example s of Romane s que There are few.

more beautiful s croll s th a n that over the north doorway ,

and few more beautiful porche s tha n tho s e built i n the

1 3 th century over the entrance s on each side Th a t on .

the north is s hown by Plate X V I I I Round one of the

.

two arche s is a s erie s of little owls and round the other

,

one of little monkey s .

Le M ans T he s plendid choir of L E M A N S which was built a t

,

the end of the Romane s que nave a bout 1 2 2 0 is like that ,

at Bourge s with a double ai s l e round the ap s e of which

, ,

the i nner one h a s it s own triforium and clere s tory .

The original cathedral church of C H A R T R E S ( F ig .

w a s burnt i n the 1 1 t h century a n d rebuilt by B i s hop

Fulbert in 1 0 2 8 who a t the s ame time remodelled the
,

ancient crypt of the 9 t h century Between 1 1 3 4 a n d

.

1 1 4 5 the north tower w a s built detached and i n adv a nce

,
98 E A R LY F R E N C H GO T H I C [ CH . V

of the west front Th e s outh tower followed between

.

1 1 4 5 and 1 1 7 0 and the s pace between the towers and

,

the church w a s at the s ame time covered by a narthe x of ,

which the pre s ent royal portal s formed the fa c ade Thi s .

w a s placed at the back of the towers which s tood ,

‘
detached on three s ides B efore long however the s e .

doors were remov e d to their pre s ent place flush with the
'

front of the towers and to this probably the y owe their

,

e s cape from the fire in 1 1 9 4 which de s troyed Fulbert s ’

church with th e exception of the crypt The towers .

al s o w e re uninj ured The s outh tower always had its .

present magnificent s pire but the northern one had only ,

a s pire of wood which a fter being t w 1c e burn e d down

, ,

was replaced between 1 50 7 and 1 51 3 by the beautiful

s tone steepl e of J ehan le T e xie r of Beauce , .

The royal portal s of Chartre s ( Plate X I X ) form an

important link i n the s erie s of French decorative s culpture .

The three arche s are pointed and filled with carving , .

The j amb s are flanked b y s olemn mystic figure s atten ,

u a t e d to the proportion s of columns and drilled into ,

ranks of s acred im a gery T he tympanum of the left .

doorway h a s the A s cen s ion that of th e right the life of ,

the Virgin M ary and that of the centre a figure of Chri s t

,

withi n an a ureole s urrounded by the four apoc a lyptic

,

bea s ts El s ewhere i n the arche s are the s ign s of the

.

zodiac and the liberal art s and s ciences and the capitals
,

are filled with s cenes from the life of our Lord The .

s t a tue s i n the amb s have not the s emi cla ss ic grace of

j -

tho s e i n Provence : th ey are s trictly s ubdued to their

archit e ctural function which is further expres s ed by the
1 A pl an o f th i r ig i l rr g
s o na a an em en t i g iv by M M rl t M
s en . e e , o n og r a p h ie
de la Ca t h edr a le de Ch a r t r es
’
. Th e c r d it f t h d i v ry i
e o e sc o e s du e t o
M . f r
L e ev e P o n t a lis
-
.
P la t e X X

G .
J . C H AR T R ES C ATH E D R A L— N t h
or Po rh
c
CH . v] E A R LY F RE N C H GO T H I C 99

long and s traight B yzantine fold s of the dra pery ; but

the he a d s are full of characte r and individuality and that ,

of Chri s t is s uperb and may rank with h is portra iture at

,

Reim s and Ami e ns .

The rebuilding after the fire of 1 1 9 4 was carried

through with amazing energy and w a s practically com ,

p le t e d by 1 2 1 2 Who
. the a rchitect w a s is unknown for ,

though there w a s a labyrinth i n the nave floor a s at

Reims and Amien s the central figure s which would have
,

revealed h is identity are mis s ing Bound by the towers .

’
on the we s t and by Fulbert s crypt on the ea s t the
, ,

s anctity of which forbad any interference the architect had ,

to be s ati s fied with a s hort nave and h is ea s t end had to

,

’
stand on Fulbert s wall s and thi s i n many way s affected
,

h is plan The whole conception w a s magnificent : bes ides

.

the two we s tern towers th e re were to be two at each

tran s ept two more again at th e chord of the ap s e a n d
, ,

a central tower over the cro s sing The central tower .

,

however was never built and the other s ix only reached

, ,

the eave s of the church s o that of the nine that were

,

intended only the two origi nal western s teeple s exi s t .

The architecture of C hartre s is a s tep i n advance of

that at Pari s and B ourges The vault s are qu a dripartite
.

throughout th e vaulted triforium g a llery h a s di s a ppeared ,

and is replaced by a simple arcade on colonnette s with ,

four arche s i n the nave five i n choir and transept s

, ,

and two i n the ap s e The triforiu m h a s a pa s s age and

. ,

a back wall i n France it is rare to find it i n the E ngli s h

fashion open to the roof s pace behind The pointed arch .

has finally triumphed a n d the round arch di s appeared .

.

The window s of the ai s le s and of the ap s e clere s tory are

, ,

plai n wide s ingle lights but the other clere s tories have
-

two light window s with a circle of plate tracery in the

-

—
7 2
I OO E A R LY F RE N C H G OT H I C [ CH . V

lN S l DE
’
o WS I D E
(‘
10 2 E A R LY F R E N C H G O T H I C
.

[ ca v

new s cale of relation between the three s toreys The .

s uppre s s ion of the vault e d triforiu m gallery and the

con s equent reduction of height i n that s torey allowed
the enl a rg ement of the other two The clerestory is .

unu s ually lofty and h a s a fine effect in the a p s e and the

, ,

arcade is much higher than that at Pari s which is too ,

low a n d much lower th a n that in the nave at Bourge s

,

which is too high I f we divide the height from floor to

.

apex of v a ult into 3 2 parts we get the following com ,

a r a t ive table which s how s roughly the gradual incre a s e

p ,

i n importance of the lo w er s torey during thi s p e riod .

P a r is . Ch a r t r es . R eim s . A m ien s . B o u rg es n a ve .

1 4 1 53 1 6 1 8

41
2 1
4 4 11 5
1 4 1 2 1 1
1 9

32 32

I t would perh a p s have been an improvement at

Ch a rtre s to have made the arcade a trifl e higher and the
clere s tory a little s horter .

But the great glory here is the triple porch at

the end of each tran s ept which especially that on the , ,

north ( Plate X X ) may claim to be the fi ne s t work s of

,

1 3 th century Gothic i n France both in general de s ign ,

and in wealth of s culpture The south porch is said to .

have been begun i n 1 2 2 4 and the north in 1 2 50 C lassic

, .

tra dition probably dicta ted the horizonta l lintel s from

wh ich the barrel vault s of the triple arche s are turned ,

and which unh a ppily h a ve broken under their load and ,

a fter being in vain s trapped u with iron are now being

p
re s tored ( Fig. S tatu e s flank the doorw a y s circle ,

round the a rche s a n d a r e moulded into the piers a n d

,
:

their s upports are enriched with grote s que s m in la t u r e ,

CH . v] E A R LY F R E N C H G OT H I C 10 3

F ig .
43 .
( D ra w in g by M A d
. am s .
)
1 04 E A R LY F R E N C H G O T H I C fl [ CH . v
figure s fl u t in g s diapers a n d delicate natural foli a ge in a
, , ,

ma s terly way I t is s aid that there are over 700 figure s

.

i n the north porch a n d portal s a lone The s tatue s a tt a ched .

to the column s pre s erve s omething of the rigidity of

tho s e in the royal portal s a s befit s their function but . ,

they a r e modelled with much greater freedom and vari e ty ,

the head s are full of chara cter a n d s ome of the fi g ure s ,

‘
reach a high c la s s ical s t a ndard ( Plate X X I ) l t i s '

.
‘

i ntere s ting to compare the group of the S alut a tion of

M ary and E liz a beth i n the left h a nd door of the north -

porch with the s im ilar s ubj ect at Reim s .

The interior of the choir h a s been bruta lly di s figured

with Rococo work but fortunately the fine 1 6th century
,

s culpture s on the ambulatory S ide of the s creen w a ll have

been s p a red .

The o ld tower at the s outh west corner ( Plate XX I I ) -

date s a s we have s een from 1 1 4 5 and w a s de s igned to ,

s tand clear of the church which not only w a s s e t back , ,

but probably w a s much low er than the pre s ent building .

C onsequently it is s mothered by the pre s ent front and ,

doe s not do it s elf j u s tice when s een from the we s t an d ,

it s uffers e s peci a lly from the heavy arc a ded gallery that
j oin s the towers a cro s s the gable I t is a magnificently .

s tu rdy piece of work quite the fine s t 1 2 th century s teeple

,

in F rance if not anywhere I t ri s e s through three

, .

he a vily buttre ss ed s tage s each s horter than th a t below , ,

and then break s i nto an oct a gon with four gabled

s tructure s pl a ced diagonally to fill out the angle s on the

obliq u e fa ce s O n the four direct fa ce s a r e l a rge window s

.

u nder a steeply g a bled pedi m ent of a type with which ,

we are familiar in the s outh of Fra nce a t Le Puy , ,

1 Th e lpt r t C h rtr
sc u u e a a es is f lly ill tr t d by M r
u us a e and Mr s M rri g
a a e

in th ir b k b r i g th t t itl
e oo ea n a e .
cn . v] E A R LY F R E N C H G O T H I C 10
5

Br a n t Om e and el s ewhere a n d a l s o at V e n dOm e i n the C h rtr

a es
,
ca th dr l e a
north The a pex of thi s pediment cut s through the
.

cornice which fini s he s the octagon from which ri s e s ,

the s pire proper decora ted with a ngle a n d intermediate

,

roll s a n d covered with s c a li ng The whole de s ign is

, .

maj e s tic in the extreme but it is a little indeterminate a s ,

to the divi s ion between tower a n d s pire I n our E ngli s h .

s pire s there is never thi s doubt but here one may almo s t ,

as well mark the divi s ion a t the top of the octagon ,

where the t rue pyramid begin s a s a t the bottom of it ,

where it bre a ks from the s quare without a n y very particular

fe a ture to expre s s the tra n s ition Thi s uncerta inty is .

characteri s tic of m any other F rench s teeple s But wh a t .

ever we may think a bout thi s the old s teeple of C h a rtre s ,

:

is perfectly succe s sful in its outline whether s een directly ,

or obliquely ; and is a m a gnificent obj ect from every

point of view fa r or near .

We res erve the other s teeple for a l a ter ch a pter .

C hartre s cathedral which s ay s V io lle t le D uc is the

, ,
- -
, P l fa ce o

Ch rtr ia es n
mo s t s olidly con s tructed of all the cathedral s i n France , hi t ry f
s o o

s tand s midway b etween the earlier churche s s uch a s ar hi

c

t tr
ec u e

Senli s N oyon and N otre Dame a t Paris with their

, , ,

vaulted triforium and low n a ve arcade and the l a ter ,

buildings where the F rench type attained full perfection .

I t h a s s ome awkw a rdne s s i n the choir vaulting a n d i n ,

the pillars of the ambul a tory which a r e s paced unequally ,

‘
and fa il i n geo m etrical regularity s howing that the ,

builders were s till in a tentative s tage though they had ,

made a gre a t advance beyond anything that h a d been

done before .

1 h
T is is p rh p p rtly
e a s a du e t o t h e n e c es s i ty o f b ild i g
u n on F u lb e r t
’
s

su b tr t r
s uc u e .
 C HA PTE R VI

E A RLY F RE N C H GO TH I C ( c o n t in u ed
)

T HE cathedral of R EI MS carrie s the art a nother s tep

in adv a nce a n d m a y i ndeed be con s idered to have
,
.

brought the model of a French c a thedra l to perfection .

T he earlie s t c a thedra l w a s rebuilt by Archbi s hop E b b o n

i n 8 2 0 to whom the E mperor Loui s le D é bonnaire lent
,

one of h is s erfs s killed i n architecture named Ru m a u d

, , .

I t w a s fini s hed by H in c m a r afte r 8 4 1 and improved by

, ,

A da lb é r o n i n 9 7 6 who is s a id to h a ve filled the wi ndow s

,

‘
with p a inted gl a s s ; a n d it underwent m a ny other change s
before it w a s burned down in 1 2 1 0 O n the firs t anni .

ve r sa r
y of thi s c a t a s trophe the found a tion s tone of the

pre s ent building w a s laid by Archbi s hop A u b r i de

H umbert a n d for the next twenty ye a rs the work w a s
,

pu s hed on with vigour L a rge s um s were ra i s ed by

.

peripatetic que s t s of the clergy by Papal i ndulgences , ,

a n d by the form a tion of C onfraternitie s pledged to annual

contribution s a n d i n 1 2 4 1 the chapter was enabled to

,

t a ke po s s e s s ion of the new choir I n 1 2 51 not only were .

fund s exh a u s ted but the building w a s heavily i n debt ;

fre s h a ppeal s re s tored the fin a nce s b u t the church w a s ,

n o t fini s hed till the end of th e 1 4 th century nor the ,

upper p a rt of th e towers till 1 4 2 7 .

1
d r
ive sa s c o n t in e n t ib u s h i t ri
s o as .
’

L a Ca t h edr a le de R eim s , D e m a is o n .
CH . v1 ] E A R LY F R E N C H G O T H I C 10 7

I t has generally been s aid that Robert de C oucy w a s R im e s

the original archit e ct H e is s o s tyled by V io lle t le Duc Thg

d l i ra '

- -
. .

mh t ” a ’ ec
But it has been pointed out by later writers that the
epitaph of Robert de C oucy on h is monumen t in the
cloi s ter of th e abbey of S Denis at Reim s which exi s ted
.
,

in the 1 8 t h century de s cribing him as M a is t r e de

,

N o s t r e D a rn e et de S a in t N ic a is e gave the date of h is ,

d e ath i n 1 3 1 1 a century too late Fortunately p a r Th

, . e

h um ” ” C
.

t ic u la rs have been pre s erved of th e labyrinth i n the floor

of the cathedral which w a s de s troyed by the c a non s i n

,

1 7 7 8 becau s e children amu s ed them s elve s by running

round the maze At it s cor n ers were four comp a rtment s

.

containing figure s of four M a it r es de l ce u o r e e a ch holding ’

the square or compa s s of h is profe s s ion : Bernard de

“
Soi s s ons ma s ter for 2 5 years c in
,
’ ”
g u i
fi t e o o dl es et
,

ou o r a a l O Gaucher de Reim s m a s ter for 5 years

°

, ,

“
a u x vo u ss u r es e t p o r t a u x ; J ean d O r b a is
” ’

u i ou o r a
g ,

e de l B l is e
if l
’

g u i en c o m m en c a l a co
g and J ean e

Loup g u if u t m a it r e de l Eg l is e seiz e a n s et en c o rn rn en ca
,
’

As Robert de C o u c y s name did not appe a r ’

the pavement would nece s s a rily be older than h is con

n e xio n with the building a n d w a s probably coeval with
,

the s imilar labyri nth at Amien s which is dated in 1 2 8 8 .

I f by the w if e we s hould unders tand the c h evet where ,

we know the church bega n the credit of the general ,

des ign is due to J ean of O rb a i s a to w n i n C hampagne i

ii fi h i
n
,

h it z l
r
with a fine abbey church rather older th a n the cathedra l . a rc c

M D e m a is o n s ugge s t s that J e a n le Loup s ucceeded him

.

a n d made the tran s ept portal s and was himself s ucceeded ,

by Gauch e r who w a s followed by B ern a rd de Soi s s on s

,

who made the we s tern bay s of the nave and the great ,

L a Ca t h efdr a le dc R eim s , L D e m a is o n ; s ee a s o n o e s
1 . l t by Pr f o esso r
Wi is in h is e i io n o f t h e S h eleh B o o k of Wila r s de H o n eco r t ,
ll dt p 8
. 20 .
 108 E A R LY F R E N C H G O T H I C [ CH . v1

O or ro s e window of the fa c ade H e is mentioned i n a .

deed of 1 2 8 7 a s Ma ist r es B er n a r s de N o s t r e D a nu n e ‘
.

Robert de C o u c y s s hare i n the work i ncluded probably ’

the completion of the we s t front and other a rchitects ,

are mentioned a fter him down to the middle of the

1 5th century .

The de s ign therefore of thi s s plendid church the ,

ma s terpiece of F rench G othic s hould be credited to ,

’
J ean d O r b a iS whos e general s cheme mu s t have been ,

followed by h is s ucce s s or s with only s uch s light m o difi c a

tion s a s their age s ugge s ted .

T here is a difference of opinion about the date of the

upper part of the choir V io lle t le D uc ob s erve s that .
- -

the lower part of the wall s of the choir a n d of h a lf the

nave is of unu s ually ma s s ive con s truction up to the level
of the aisle vault s and th a t above that level the con ,

s truction s uddenly become s much s lighter At thi s point .

he believe s that fund s ran s hort a n d that work was ,

s u s pended from 1 2 3 0 to 1 2 4 0 and then beg u n again ;

but that the choir w a s not fi ni s h ed till nearly a hundred

years later during which period s ucceeding b uilders
,

followed loyally the de s ign of the original architect 2

Again s t thi s view is urged the improb a bility of th e

C hapter w a iting a century for their choir the record in ,

the chronicle of S N icai s e that the canon s occupied the .

1
M
D e m a is o n c a c u a e s t h e c a e e s o f
. l l t
e se r r th a r h it t th
c ec s us : J ea n

d O r b a is 1 2 1 1 —1 2 3 1 , ea n le L o u
’
J
h r d R im 4 7— 55
1 2 3 1 —1 2 4 7 , G a u c e p e e s 12 12 ,

r rd S
a n d Be n a de o is s o n s 1 2 55—1 2 90 y th i d p d
Bu t , a s h e s a
th . s, s e en s on e

d t f th l byr i th b i g rr tly pl d b t 9 I t ll w l
a e o e a n e n co ec ace a ou 12 0 . a o s a so an

i t r l f thr
n e va y r b t w J l L p d G h r Th i ript i
o ee ea s e e en ea n e ou an au c e . e n sc on

gi i g t h
v n mb r f y r e nu p i d by J edO b i w o f rt t ly ea s oc cu e ea n
’
r a s as un o una e

ill g ibl w h
e th
e py f t h l byr i th w
en m d
e co o e a n as a e .

2
C t q id ’
es a t é difi
ce m ur t er d it e i r m rq bl
onne ce ce u ca ac e
’
un s e a ua e,

iq il it f ll i l p r d ir l tr il j q x v fit h t
’ ‘ ’
quo u a a u u n s tec e ou con u e e a va u s u au o es a u es .

D t R t
ie . l II p 3
a s . vo . . . 21 .
1 10 E A R LY FR E N C H G O T H I C [ CH .

F ig .
44 .
( V le D u c
.
- -
.
)
 P la t e X X ] V

R E I MS CA T H E D R A L— A

R EI MS CA TH ED R A L — B
P la t e X X V

R EI M S CA TH ED RA L We s t fl o n t
CH . VI
] E A R LY F R E N C H G O T H I C 1 1 1

of the church has a m a gnificent e ffect with it s row of R im e s

th dr l ca e a
ma s s ive buttre s s pier s below and enriched stage s above
-
, .

A s tern simplicity reigns in th e interior w hich is very ,

nobl e and impre s s iv e e s pecially in the ap s e with it s ,

cylindrical column s and well s paced a rc h e s ( P la t e X X I I I )

,
-
.

The columns el s ewhere are cyli ndrical with four attached

colonnette s The capital s are in two course s marked I n Th e

p’t l
.
,
ca a s
the colonnette s alone by a necking i n the middle The .

foliage is more advanced toward naturali s m than that a t x/

C hartres or Pari s but i n the choir it s till retai n s s ome
,

thing of the s tiffnes s and artle s s arrangem ent of the ,

earlier type ( Plate X X I V A ) Ad vancing we s tward how .

,

ever we fi nd gradually increa s ing natur a l treatment in the

,

nave ( Plate X X I V B ) the foliage being s ometime s mixed ,

w ith figure s a s i n the famou s vintage capital

, The la s t .

three capital s westward belon ging to the latest s tage of ,

the building operations have foliage of 1 4 th century ,

character crowded confu s ed and inexpre s s ive The Th b

, , ,
. e a s es

difference is s hown i n their ba s es a s well a s in the

capital s for the qua s i Attic ba s e of the other column s
,
-
,

like that at Paris ( Fig 2 2 C ) with well modelled toe s at .

,
-

the angle s is exchanged for a s impler s ection without

,

th e s cotia or hollow moulding .

The v a ulting throughout is quadripartite the tra n s Th lt ,

e va u s

verse rib bei ng acc e ntuated a n d the arrangement of the ,

construction is ma s terly without the tent a tive efforts of ,

previou s example s The ritual choir is proj ected i nto .

the first three bay s of the choir westward of the tran s ept ,

a local peculiarity which occurs al s o at S Remy H ere . .

it w a s probably occasion e d by the great s pace needed at

royal coronation s for it w a s at Reim s that French king s
,

were crowned .

I n the chapel s of the choir c h evet J ean d O r b a is h a s

’
E A R LY F RE N C H GO T H I C [ CH . v1

F ig .
45
.
( V le D u c
.
- -
.
)
1 14 E A R LY F RE N C H GO T H I C [ CH . VI

the 1 4 th century The to w ers were intended to carry

.

s pire s of s tone on thei r central octagon b e twe en four

s pirelet s on the angle tabernacle s and the base of th e se ,

s pire s is actually s tarted B ut a s at Laon this open .

, ,

s tructure con s i s ting largely of s lender detached column s

, ,

s eem s quite unsuited to carry such a lo a d The front .

h a s the u s ual three great portal s but their tympana are ,

not s culptured and a r e filled with glazed tracery Above

, .

is the great O the ro s e window of B ernard de Soi s s on s

, ,

i n which geom e tric a l bar tracery is perfectly developed .

The j ambs and arche s of the portal s are filled with very
remarkable figure sculptures They are not all of one .

d a te and tho s e of th e s a me date are not all by the s am e

,

h a nd The figure s of the right j a mb of the right h a nd

.
-

door are archaic and are identical with some i n the ,

middle door of the north tran s ept at Chartres which are ,

dated between 1 2 2 0 and 1 2 2 5 I t m a y be debated which .

'

s e t is the original and which the copy and the explanation

, ,

offered for them here is th a t they were carved in advance ,

and laid by till they were wanted Another idea is that .

the we s t front was first built farther b a ck where the

break above noticed occurs and that these figure s were ,

removed thence when the church w a s lengthened by

‘
royal command to it s present e x tent T hey are in .

marked contra s t to the fig u re s i n the opposite j amb

which are very fine a n d inferior only to those i n th e ,

middle portal The s e are beyond all prai s e and the

.
,

fine s t mediaeval figure s I have ever s een The s culpture .

of the M iddle Age s culmin a te s in the four figures of the

Annunciation and the S alutation ( Pl a te X X V I ) I n the
, .

former the Virgin h a s an air of delightful s implicity and ,

1
M . D e m a is o nth i k th i n s s an I m p o s sib il ity , b u t it w a s d one as we k now
with t h e w es t fr t t Ch rtr
on a a es (o . su p . p .
cu . v1 ] E A R LY F R E N C H G O T H I C 1 1 5

the angel s mile s — the angel s at Reim s have an irresistible R im e s

,
at h e dral c
s mile that mak e s you s mile too — but the other group of

th e Salutation of M ary and E lizabeth is i ndeed by a

ma s t e r hand and is worthy to ran k with the masterpiece s
of antiquity The draperies are magnificently composed
.
,

and the heads which are obviou s ly taken from life are
, ,

beautiful and expre s sive i n the highe s t degre e ( Plate

X X V I I ) There a r e other figures in the seri e s s carcely
.

les s excellent What they want in technical perfection is

.

compen s ated by a character and a spirituality of expression

unknown to Greek s culpture I n a side doorway of .

t he north tran s ept on the t r u neea u is a s tatu e of C hri s t

of unu s ual beauty and dignity .

I t would t a ke too l ong to multiply exampl e s of early Ch él ons

Gothic buildings in oth e r parts of France A t C H AL O N S iii “ .

,

S U R M A R NE i n Champagne the church of N otre Dame

-

h a s poi nte d arche s a vaulted triforium gallery with a , ,

s e cond triforium above which is combin e d with the

clerestory windows and an apse with chapels resembling ,

that at S Remy I n Burgundy the fine choir of th e

. .

abbey of V EZ E LA Y was built betw e en 1 1 9 8 and 1 2 0 6 Vé l y -

, ze a

h w C o
for which the convent ran into debt and deposed its ,

‘
e x travaga nt abbot The apse is s upported on monolithic.

columns there are many traces of classic detail and

, ,

round arch e s are u s ed s ide by side with pointed ones .

The church of S Pierre at L I S I EU X is a fine e xample of

£ 332;
.
5

e arly pointed work in the north B ut it was in the .

I l e de France that the s tyl e first reached that full develop

ment which is described i n th e following chapt e r .

1 I ll tr t d by V i ll
us a e o e t - le - D u c . D iet R a t s
. . vo l 1
. . p . 2 3 1—2 3 2 , a n d in my
Rea s o n in A r c h itec t u r e, Pl t a e -
X III .
 C HA PTE R VI I

A MI EN S A ND B E AUV A I S

THE cathedral a t A M I EN S is regarded by most writers

a s the perfect flower of French Gothic I t is on an .

enormou s s cale and lavishly decorated and both in s ide

, ,

and out it is undoubtedly one of the mo s t remarkable

buildings i n E urope I t w a s b eg u n at the w e s t end
. .
,

in s tead of a s w a s usual at the e a s t the obj ect probably

,

being to s ave the ancient church of S F ir m in till a .

sufficient part of the new cathedral w a s built before ,

pulling it down to make way for the new choir The .

firs t s tone w a s laid by B ishop E vr a r d de P ouilly in ‘

I 2 2 0 and the nave s eem s to hav e been occupied i n 1 2 3 6

,

i n the time of h is succe s s or Geoffroy d Eu

, Thi s in ’
.

cluded the nave to the top of the vault s and the west ,

front with the s tatuary of the great portal s and the rose
window above them The choir followed and the radiating
.
,

chapel s of the a p s e wer e fini s h e d in 1 2 4 7 Fund s then .

ran s hort work was suspended till 1 2 58 and the choir

, ,

w a s not fini s hed till 1 2 69 a date which a ppears i n the

,

gla s s of the apse clere s tory The s ide chapel s of the

.

n a ve were added rather late i n the 1 4 th century and in ,

1 3 66 the completion of the we s t front from the gallery

above the ro s e w a s undertaken ; but the north tower was

not fini s hed till th e 1 5th century .
 CH . VI I
] A M I E N S A N D B E A U VA I S 1 1 7
“ ‘”
A labyri nth or h ou s e of D a edalus in the floor ,
,

which was de s troyed in the la s t century and is now ,

replaced by a copy had an in s cription in bra s s round the ,

centre giving the d a te 1 2 2 0 when the church w a s begun

,
,

a n d the name s of B i s hop E vr a r d K ing Loui s and the , ,

three architect s employed on the work the las t of whom ,

s ay s he placed thi s in s cription here in 1 2 8 8 .

3! flé is it ale

hl tr y r t de l oe v
C i q u i m a is e e
’
u re

tr R b rt t it m m
Ma is e o e es o no es

E t de L rh m mm uz a c es su o es

M i t Th m a s re f p re l y o as u a s u

D C rm e t t pé o on e a r s

S h l m i tr R g
es l t q i m ttr
z a s e e n au u e e

Fi t a h t p i t h y
s t l ttr
c es o n c c es e e e

Q l in c a rn a c io n va lo it
’
ue

X I I I° an s XII en fa lo it .

I n the centre were figure s of the bi s hop and the three

masters of the wor k i nlaid i n white marble ,
2

There is nothing to tell u s what part each of the

three took in the de s ign unle s s a n inscription over ,

the s outh tran s ept door of which the date 1 2 2 0 a mention , ,

of th e first s tone and the name Robert could alone be ,

l byri th gr d
1
A a p i r f t h p rt i f t h D m f L
n en a ve on a e o e o co o e uo o o u cca

h i
as an ript i b g i i g th
n sc on e nn n us :

H C Q EM C C S ED I T D D L S
I V ST L B N T H VS
R ETI V E A V E A ER I

Th f l byr i th i
e u se o h r hfl r h a t b n x pl i d V i ll t
s n c u c oo s as no een e a ne . o e

l D
e- Di t R i
u c, l egg t m
. a i s .ym b l i m
vo . d th y
VI, su es s a a so n c s o s : an as e

se em t d w ith t h e m
c o n n ec e d fig r f r h it t th t m y b na es a n u es o a c ec s a a e so .

H y th y d t
e sa s r b f r r h it t r p d i t l y h d T h y
e o no occu e o e a c ec u e a sse n o a an s . e

w r m t im ll d t h r d t J r l m d t h d v t tr d th
“ ”
e e so e es c a e e oa o e u sa e ,
an e e ou ace e

r t ou th ir k
e on b t l y f w l byri th w r l rg
e n ee s , u gh f th ton a e a n s e e a e en o u or a .

Th i
11
tr l p i m h m t il t d i id t b
s c en a ec e, w i th m m uc u a e s sa o e no n e u seu

t Am i C th d l d A m i G D r d th r p i t t
’
a L en s . a a Th e ra e
’
en s , . u an . e au o o n s ou

th t M t r R g lt d C rm t h m d
a as e e naul ip i h i hr l gy f e o on as a e a s n s c ono o , or

L i V I I I did
ou s t d t ill Th i no r ipt i m k h im k i g
su c c ee 1222 . e n sc on a es n

in 12 20 .
1 1 8 A M I E N S A N D B E A U VA I S [ CH . VI I

SC

F ig 4 6
. .
( V le D u c
.
- -
.
)
 A M I E N S A N D B E A U VA I S [ CH . VI I

v a ult has only the abacu s moulding round it ( F ig .

The capit a l s are rather more advanced than tho s e at

Chartre s but are s till simple Tho s e of the colonnettes
, .

are s horter than th a t of the main column unlike tho s e at

,

F ig 4 8
. .

Reim s ( Plate XX I V p , . and thi s feature became

the common arrangement i n later F rench Geometrical
Gothic Fig 4 8 s how s a cap ital of thi s kind in a later
.

s t a ge of development at A U X E R R E The bas e s ( Fig 2 2 D

. .
,

p 6 3 ) are well profiled and good e xample s of the

.
,
P la t e X X X

A M IEN S C A T H E D R A L — Th Ne a ve

D r w i g b y G G S tt j
a n . . co , i r
un o
CH . VI I
] A M I E N S A N D B E A U VA I S
medi a ev a l ver s ion of the A ttic ba s e The v a ult is A m i en s

t h dr l
.

ca e a
quadr ipart ite and the w all r l b s are much s t l lt e d to g l ve
ample room for the large clere s tory window s of four .

light s i n the nave and s ix i n the transept s and choir

,

( Plate X X V I I I ) .

The triforium i n the nave h a s three light s with s lender Th e

t f m r’ o n u
sh a ft s carrying a great trefoil of plate tracery with foliated
ti ps to the cu s p s and below it run s a s tring cours e of
,

be a utifully c a rved foliage ( Plate X X X ) The tri forium .

h a s a back wall i n which is a relieving arch and above it ,

is a terrace out s ide the clerestory window s wh ich a r e set ,

to the in s ide of the w a ll O n this terrace s tand colum n s .

carrying the head of the flying buttre s s e s leavi ng room ,

to pa s s beh ind them ( Pl a te X X I X ) The nave Th . e

b tt m u re s
buttre s s e s are ma s s ive with two tiers of S imple fly e rs ,

and the flank of thi s part would have been a s fine a s that
of Reim s but for the chapel s added i n the 1 4 th century
which s poil it .

There are two triforium openings of three light s each

i n the bay and here a s at S Germain de s Pr é s where
, , .
,

‘
it w a s done perhap s for the fir s t tim e the triforium a n d ,

cleres tory are connected by running the s h aft s of the

upper s torey down I nto the lower ( Pl a te X X X ) A s .

the s tyle progre s sed the s e two s torey s were more and
more closely a s s ociated till in s ome of the later churche s
,

both i n E ngland and France they are practically unit e d

i nto one compo s ition .

The choir which is later than the nave s eem s to Th h ir

, ,
e c o

be by a different and inferior hand Perhap s Robert de .

Luzarche s w a s dead and Thom a s de Cormont had t a ken

h is place T here is an attempt at greater splendour ;
.

t h e clerestory is i ncreased the triforium which h a s ,

1
su
p . p .
76 and F ig . 28 .
 A M I E NS A N D B E A U V A I S [ CH . VI I

doubl e tracery the outer face be i ng glazed is filled with

, ,

geometrical tracery and s urmounted by an u nmeaning

c r o c k e t t e d gable on th e in s ide and the two fl y e r s of the ,

buttre s s e s out s ide are united by trac e ry work which give s -

th e m a very heavy and ungraceful air The s pacing of .

the apse bay s is not so succe s s ful a s at Reims or even ,

at Chartres Th e column s are too near together and

.

the arche s are pinched up too narrow and too highly ,

stilt e d an d th i s i n a church of s uch enormously high

,

proportion s h a s a very unsati s factory effect The chapels .

of th e ap s e are very lofty and i n themsel ves beautiful , ,

e specially within ; but out s ide th e y dwarf the central

apse of the choir which is s till further smothered by the
,

double traceried flying buttre s s e s and can hardly be ,

se e n
.

Adequate s paci ng of the ap s e column s was the most

trouble s ome problem that the French architect of th e
1 3 th century had to solve i n s pite of the fact that he,

could make them slighter than the other col u mns as ,

they only received one vaulti ng rib in s t e ad of three .

A S each bay of the aps e radiated from the centre through

the aisle to the chapel beyond if the apse column s were ,

too far apart the width of the bay at the outer ci r

c u m fe re n c e became too great for vaulting O n the other .
,

hand if the conv e nience of vaulting the ai s l e alone were

s tudied the ap s e column s would be drawn too near
tog e ther At Pari s the architect s ucceeded i n making
.

the bay s of the ap s e about a s wide a s tho s e of the

s traight part by the ingenious method explained above
, , ,

‘
of multiplyi ng the column s in the ai s le Where a s at .
,

Bourge s and V ezelay there are only five ap s idal chapel s

,

the trouble was le s s and more liberal space could be

,

1
u . su p . p .
79 ( F ig . p . 82 .
XXX ]

A M IEN S CA TH EDRA L
CH . V 11
] A M I E N S A N D B E A U VA I S 12 3

allowed : but at Amien s there are s even and the result ,

is that the ap s e arche s are cramp e d and the column s

crowded too clo s ely together .

Th e west front ( Plate X X X I ) which is the work of ,

West fr t
on

Robert de Luzarche s is a magnificent composition perhaps , ,

rather overdone with ornament but s till a ma s terpiece , .

Compared with Reims I think on the whole Amien s h a s

the finer fa c ade The towers h ere are more s olid : at
.

Reims the s t a ge above the portals is pierce d and y o u ,

look through and s e e the flying buttres s e s of th e nave

beyond and thi s give s an air of we a kne s s : at Amien s
,

the openings do not begin till above the roof level The .

pediment s al s o over the porta l s a r e better managed here ,

for the clu s tering tabernacle work on the middle gable at -

Reim s is unhappy I n both front s the pediment s conce a l .

more or le s s the lowe r part of th e tower buttre s s e s and ,

‘
this according to M C o lfs put s them both out of the .

pale of Gothic archit e cture b u t this is le s s t h e case at , ‘

Amien s than at Reims I n s plendour of s culpt ure there .

is not much to choo s e between them but if Amien s can ,

s how sculptured tympana wh e re Reim s h a s only wind o w s ,

there is nothing at A mi e n s to equal the group s of the

Annunciation and Salutation at the other church ( Plate
XXVI p , .

Th e figure s here are by different b a n ds and of ,

various degrees of merit T he s tatuary on the whole .

fared pretty w e ll at the revolution owing to the pride ,

the people of Am ien s took i n their cathedral and their ,

effort s to s ave it from mutilation M any head s and .

hands however were knocked off and have been r e

, ,

U p r il r é lt t d é m
1
n tr a l d r ier evid
a e su a q l r h it t e
on e a e n e en c e ue es a c ec s

de tt th é dr l
ce e ca t j m i l tyl g th iq pr pr m t dit
a e n on
’
a a s connu e s e o ue o e en .

L ‘c l G t h iq d p 9 2 J F C lf ( Br x ll H l l it
’
e o e A llo u e en z a n e, .
, . . o s u e e s, e ca s

lpt r w rk t r h it t
sc u o
’
s o , no a c ec
’
s .
 1 24 A M I E N S A N D B E A U VA I S [ CH . VI I

placed but n o t m u c h re s toration w a s needed i n the great

,

portal s That of the s outh tran s ept la P o r t e de la

.
,

Vierg e do r ee h as on the t r u nc ea u or centr a l pier the

’

figure charming i n it s natural expre s s ion of the Virgin

, ,

smiling at the C hild on h e r arm while three little angel s ,

flutter round her he a d But the s tatues i n the j ambs are

.

poor work s ; the face s are clownish and the whole very ,

s econd rate-
Po s s ibly they have been a good deal mended
. .

The s culpture i n the arch and tympanum is superior .

Far finer is the work i n the gre at we s t portal s

X X X s figure of C h r iS t — le hea u
( Plate I I ) with the famou, ,

D ieu d A rn ien s — o n the central pier

’

,
I n its sublime .

ab s traction i t has as M D urand s ay s the , .

,

maj e s ty of the Egypt ian s tatue s or the Greek primiti ves , ,

and that apparent rudene s s which a t firs t s ight is dis

The fine early C hrist of t h e royal port a l
at C hartre s is s terner and more powerful and that on , ,

the north tran s e pt at Reim s more human and s ympathetic

the three together combine to make a wond e rful present
ment of our divine Lord and Saviour .

I n comparing the s e great Gothic churches together it

“
would a s M D urand very wi s ely s ay s be childi s h to
, .
,

“
enquire which to place firs t Still he continues what .
, ,

nobody will deny to the cathedral of Amien s is that ,

it is the monument in which Gothic a r t h a s di s pl a yed the

plenitude of it s s y s tem and its re s ource s where it h a s ,

mo s t clo s ely approached it s ideal where decisive solution s ,

have been found and where in a word w e have the

,

type of Gothic
All thi s is quite true We have h e re in perfection .

all the s y s te m of thru s t and counterthru s t nece s s ary to ,

s a ti s fy M r M oore The point s of s upport are i s olated

.
,

1
p
o . c it . p .
51 .
CH . VI I ] AM I ENS A ND B E A U VA I S 1 2 5

and the w a lls between them are reduced to mere curtain s A m ien s
ca th dr l
e a
to enclo s e the building m ade mostly of glas s E ach , .

vaulting rib d e s cend s s eparately on it s capital clear of

the re s t a n d h a s it s own separate s haft to carry it The
, .

whole con s truction is vi s ibly expres s ed by the architectural

form E very problem i nvolved i n building a great Gothic
.

church is s olved a n d there s eem s nothing further to be

,

done in the w a y of i mprovement .

I t is perhaps thi s very perfection that to s ome e x tent I ts

robs it of it s intere s t You mi s s that re s tle s s energy that

.
,

forward pu s h that ye a rning and s triving for s omething

,

better which characteri s e s all the work of the Romane s que

,

period and all the e a rlier Gothic work we have till now
,

been engaged in de s cribing For their youthful vigou r .

is sub s tituted a cl a s s ic a l repo s e which is alien to the

northern temper Revi s iting the idol s of our youth after
.

a long interval one look s at them with a fre s h eye and

, ,

I mu s t confe s s th a t when I s a w Amien s agai n the oth e r

da y I failed to ri s e to t h e level of it s ard ent a dmirers .

I t s s pl e ndid s cale it s va s t height and s paciou s ne s s im

,

pre s s e s you with a feeli ng of s a ti s faction and s ucce s s ful

achievement and yet s omehow it left me cold The
,
.

fa c ade with it s gloriou s s culpture i ndeed leave s little to

be de s ired but the interior s eem s too fi n e s p u m— too
,
-

much drawn out — too lofty for it s width T h e p r o p o r t ib n

-
,
.
-

of the arcade to the s u pers tructure s trike s me a s di s a gree

ably high though the s a me prop ortion at We s tmi n s ter
,
’

on a s cale one third s maller is agreeable The triforium

-
. .

i n the nave with it s s hallow including arch and it s plate

'

-
.
,

tracery is very poor and s hadowle s s and h a s a thi n

, ,

papery look while th a t i n the choir I think ill de s igned

,
-

and almo s t ugly I have alre a dy mentioned the crowding

.

together of the ap s e column s and the consequent pinched

12 6 A M I E N S A N D B E A U VA I S [ CH . v1 1

loo k of those bay s and thi s is the more observable on

account of the i mmense spr e ad of the clerestory window s
i n the nave a n d the straight bays of the choir which ,

almo s t provoke a feeling of in s ecurity .

I n all the s e particulars the i nterior of Amien s mu s t

yield to that of Reim s where the construction is s carc ely
,

le s s s cientific but is not pu s hed to the verge of peril

, ,

and the whole de s ign is vi rile and reas s uring .

From Amiens it is n a tura l to go to B E A U VA I S to s e e ,

the great church which w a s de s igned not merely to rival

but to eclip s e it s neighbour .

B ishop s exi s ted at B eauvai s i n the 9 t h century and ,

one of them w a s killed by the N orman s in 8 51 The .

nave of an early cathedral known a s the B a sse q re

s till remain s , though it h a s been restored to death and ,

only a few patche s of the original facing remain I t .

has b e en variou s ly d a ted i n the 6t h 7t h and 9 t h century

, , ,

but it is now s uppo s ed to be the church of which the

found a tion w a s laid by B ishop H erv e i n 9 9 0 I t was .

inj ured by fire i n 1 1 8 0 and 1 2 2 5 and in 1 2 2 7 B i s hop

,

M ilon de N anteuil re s olved to build a new cathedra l .

The pre s ent choir was begun in 1 2 4 7 .

By thi s time the nave of Amien s was fi ni s hed and

the choir well adv a nced and it s m a gnificence provoked
,

the men of B eauv a is to do s omethi ng s till finer From .

firs t to l a s t they suffered from megalomania which r e

e a t e dly brought them i nto trouble The vault of Amiens
p .

w a s 1 4 1 ft high ; their s s hould be 1 3 ft higher

. . The .

construction at Reim s w a s light and daring theirs s hould ,

be s till lighter and more audaciou s B ut no s ooner had

.

their ambitiou s dimen s ion s been reached than the vault s

fell in for w a nt of proper abutment I n 1 2 7 2 they were
.

rebuilt only t o fall agai n in 1 2 8 4 and then the builders

,
 AM I E NS AN D B EA U V A I S E
CH . VI I

s ign of a common and low imagination N 0 work of .

art c a n be great but a s it deceive s ; to be otherwi s e ,

”
is the prerog a tive of nature only For me Beauvai s .
,

is m a ny degree s more be a utiful than Amien s for where

‘
A mien s is coldly correct B eauvai s is lovely The .

double wi ndow s i n the clere s tory re s ulting from the s e x ,

p a rtite vault here while th a t a t Am ien s is qu a drip a rtite , ,

a r e fa r more beautiful than the gre a t s ingle window s a t

the other church ; a n d the s traight bay s narrowed by ,

the intruded colum n s c a rry on the s c a le of tho s e round ,

the ap s e a n d a void the original abrupt pa s s age from

.

n a rrow arches to wide All thi s of cours e re s ult s not .

from the original de s ign but from the a lterations m a de

after the fa ll of the vault s in 1 2 8 4 when the s tra ight ,

bay s were h a lved by the intruded column s B efore then .

th ey were 2 8 ft wide centre to centre the vault w a s .

, ,

quadripartite a n d the clere s tory window would have ,

s pr a wled a s W idely a s tho s e at A mien s For the narrow .

bay s i n the clere s tory a r e i ncon s i s tent with the origin a l

wide a rch of which the outline may s till be traced in the
,

wall the middle vaulting s h a ft de s cending to the intruded ,

'

column cut s it i n two ( Pl a te X X X I V ) N ever w a s an

, .

accident more fortunate for it is the narrowne s s of the ,

bay s a n d the new proportion given to the triforium a n d

,

clere s tory that make s thi s interior unlike any ot h er and ,

1
t h lp q t i g l tt r I h d i 896 fr m
I cann o e w ith w h
uo n a e e a n 1 o one o se

j dg m t I h
u enl w y b gl d t fi d m y lf i
a ve a rd m y l t fri d
a s e en a o n se n acco , a e en ,

R i h rd N r m Sh w I m p l d t h r th t y l ik B v i
“
c a o an a . a so ea se o ea a ou e ea u a s

so m h I l ik it
uc ,
as h t it f efift ix t y r a ve n o s ee n or ee n or s ee n e a s,

b t I k
u w th t id f t h d m im m ly A d w h y it i fi
no e ou s e de c e e en se . n s so n e, a n

wh y C l g ( th t I w
o o l k i g t t h th r d y ) i
ne a h id i tas oo n a e o e a s so eo u s , s no

ea s y t y x pt th t it l k ll r ight t B
o sa , e ce i d ll w r g t
a oo s a a e a u va s an a on a

C l g
o o Str t w ld
ne . r li t t B ee i — id it w
ou t t b n e ve s en o e a u va s , sa as no o e

co m p r d t Am i
a e — d h t mo p h rp I h ll g gi d
en s , an it s u e u s a . s a o a a n an se e

p rh p th i y r ; I h b w t i g t g f v r l g
e a s s ea a ve e en an n o o or e e so on .
”
B EA U V A I S CA T H EDRA L
Fla re XXXI V

T . G J
. .
B E A U VA I S CATH ED RA L
CH . VI I
] A M I E N S A N D B E A U VA I S
give s it it s peculiar beauty The s ame re a s on explain s
.

the s expartite vault because the choir being over 50 feet

,
'

wide from centre to c entre of the column s and t h e le n g t h

‘

of the bay being n o w reduced to I 4 a quadrip a rtite v a ult ,

over s uch a long a n d narrow bay was hardly conceivabl e .

0 10 20 3 0 4o $0
h u h

o
d -h d —— HI
h
SO/« E
A
O
or F EET
—L
w
—
v

S C A LE O ' M E T R ES .

Fig 4 9
. .

Fig 4 9 is a plan of t h e choi r i n which the original

.
,

and intruded pier s are di s tingui s hed, a s well as th ose

which were r e b u ilt a ft e r the fall of the to wer in the
a

1 6t h century O nly one of the original four piers at the

.

cro s sing remain s that at the s outh e a s t corn er ; the re s t

,
-

J . G . A .
9
 A M I E N S A N D B E A U VA I S [ CH . vu

were rebuilt in the flamboyant s tyle a s well as the first

intruded pier on the north s ide The area of the original .

pier is barely 64 s quare feet and the load on it at a ,

rough calculation i n which I am probably below the ,

mark is not le s s th a n I 2 ton s per s quare foot To h a ve

,
.

added that va s t tower to thi s w a s little s hort of m a dne s s 1

F ig 50
. .

The u s e m a de of the i ntruded piers in the ai s le s is

curiou s The or igin a l quadrip a rtite v a ult of the wide
.

bay is ret a ined though i n th e choir it is turned i nto s e x

,

partite but a t the intruded pier a s keleton rib ( Fig 50 )

, .

is thrown acro s s the ai s le t o s upport the crown of the

1
rd i g t
Acco n o mod r r l t h l d th t
e n u es f ly b pl d
e oa a c an sa e e ace on

ord i ry t pna s o n e, e r sq u a e r f t ri fr m 5 t 8 9 t
oo , va es d
o P rtl d o or on s an on o an

t
s one 4 t B
1 on s . u t I h d bt th i i
a ve n o out tl y x d d i gr t
s s cons an e c ee e n ea

m di v l h r h
e ae a c u c es .
 A M I E N S A N D B EA U VA I S [ CH . VI I

vault with a s quare top a n d pierced s pandril s This is

,
.

omitted in the two bays next the cro s s ing which ar e

ra ther narrower th a n the others and in another b a y only
,

half of it exi s ts the outer half being omitted Where

, .

thi s rib is complete it naturally cut s i n half the outer

clere s tory window of the a i s le above the chapels Room .

is m a de for this a i s le clere s tory by keeping the chapel s

low Thi s is a great gain out s ide for they do not dw a rf
.
,

the central ap s e like tho s e at Amiens .

Th e a p se The a p s e thou gh polygon a l within is round out s ide ,

but the bay s being narrow the di s tortion of the window

a rche s is not obtrusive The flying buttre s s e s are much
.

le s s crowded than at A mien s and much s impler and the ,

exterior of thi s part is extremely s ucce s s ful ( Fig .

There a r e no flying buttre s s e s to the intruded piers for ,

which i ndeed there is no room but only a flat s hallow

,

buttres s between the two wi ndow s i n each bay .

I n 1 2 3 1 the monk s of S D ENI S s e t about r e

.

building the bo dy o f their church ret a ining of S u g e r s ,

’

work only the we s t front with the n a rthex and the ,

lower part of th e eas t end with the crypt below it

, ,

which h a s alre a dy been de s cribed I t w a s les s than a .

’
century s ince the completion of S u g e r s s tructure ; but
whether the new proj ect w a s due to the fa ilure of h is too
has ty buildi ng or to the de s ire of Loui s I X at W ho s e
, ,

i n s t a nce the work w a s undertaken to provid e a more ,

s plendid s hrine for the royal burials we are not told , .

The a rchitect w a s Pierre de M ontereau who is de s cribed ,

in a deed of 1 2 4 7 relating to the purcha s e of s tone fro m

,

‘
near Charenton a s Cem en t a m u s d e S a m z o D z b ny s zb a n d
’
’
, ,

to whom al s o are a ttributed though without ab s olute

,

proof the S t e C h a pelle of the Roy a l Palace th a t of

, ,

S G ermain en L a ye and the refectory of S Martin des

.
, .
cu . VI I
] S . DEN IS 1 33

C hamp s at Pari s Pierre s new choir nave and tran s ept s s D i

.
’

, . en s .

are i n the fully developed Gothic s tyle The arcade s 533 33n .
, ,

are lofty the piers s lender and compo s ed of group s of

,

shaft s the vaulting s hafts r i s ing from floor to s pringing

, .

The clere s tory is s pread a s widely from pier to pier a s

that at Amien s and the clere s tory and triforium are com
,

b in e d by running the mullion s of the windo w s down to

tho s e of the triforium The idea of the glazed triforium Th gl d e az e
tr f ri m
.

i o u
i n fact amount s to a continuation of the clere s tory wi ndow
into the s torey below it on the out s ide a s well a s on the
i n s ide ; on the i n s ide the tracery of the triforium had
already at Amiens been united with the window above .

The device had it s i nconvenience s for the ai s le could no I t i ,

s n co n

m m ve e e
longer h a ve a pent roof again s t the main w a ll a s hereto
fore but had to be covered either by a flat or by a s pan
,

roof wh ich made it difficult to get the water away from

,

the i nterior gutter B ut it give s an extraordinary effect L ight

. n e ss

of lightne s s to the con s truction and of thi s t h e t r a n s e p t

, _

end at S D eni s is an extrem e example the W hole being

.
,

occupied by a n enormous ro s e wi ndow re s ting on a ,

delicate arcade r a nging with that of the triforium and ,

pierced with a conti nuou s range of windows I t is .

impo s s ible to conceive a more airy con s truction than thi s

go s samer web of m a sonry .

This glazing of the triforium of which S D eni s R , ry . ec o ve

t
perhap s s e t the example w a s a recovery of the light s that Pif i m
, r or u

wm d w o s
had illuminated the great vaulted triforium gallerie s of
Pari s N oyon and Laon When the s e gallerie s were
, .

given up for a mere pa s s age i n the w a ll a s at Reim s and

Chartre s the s e wi ndow s di s a pp e ared with them for the ,

pent roof of the triforium cover e d the out s ide of th e

triforium s torey They now re a ppeared but instead of
.
,

being over the outer wall of the a i s le they were brought

 1 34 S . DE N IS [ CH . VI I

S . D en is forward to the main wall of nave or choir Thi s was .

another logical deduction from the principle s of Gothic

vaulting according to which the wall between the s keleton
,

of piers is only a curtain which may be pierced and

,

reduced to the margi n of mer e s tability .

T he apse of which the plan of cours e is S u g e r s is

’

, ,

very e ffective both in s ide and out and th e flying but ,

tre s s es are extremely well de s igned ( Fig 1 9 p 60 m p ) . , . .

The apsidal chapel s were covered by D ebret i n the 1 9 th

century with fl a t s l a b s of s tone originally they no doubt
ha d high pitched timber roofs
-
The whole effect of the
.

i nterior which h a s a great deal of painted glass is fine

, ,

but it is verging toward s the attenuation of the 1 4 th

century Pierre de M ontereau did not live to fini s h
.

h is work H e died i n 1 2 6 7 and the building seems to

.
,

have been fini s hed i n 1 2 8 1 according to his design

,
.

Pierre de M ontereau is generally supposed to have

been the architect of the S C H A P E L L E at P A R I S which
te
,

w a s built by Loui s I X between 1 2 4 5 and 1 2 4 8 to ,

receive the ine s timable relic of the Crown of Thorn s .

The king had bought thi s at an enormou s price from

Constantinople a n d the rival crown which the monks of
, ,

S D eni s pretended to s how w a s entirely thrown i nto

.
,

the s hade by thi s new acqui s ition The Sainte C hapelle .

( Plate X X X V ) w a s the priv a te chapel of the Royal Palace

which is now incorporated in the modern Palai s de J u s tice .

I t has an upper and lower s torey : the lower one depre s s ed ,

and vaulted with an interior row of columns served the ,

royal retainers the upper contained the sacred relic s

, ,

and w a s u s ed by the Court A W i nding s tair i n a turret

.

at the corners con nect s the two together .

The upper ch a pel which mea s ure s 1 1 5 ft x 3 6 ft and . .

6 6 ft i n height is very s im ple in plan c o n s i s ti ng of four

.
, ,
CH . VI I
] STE C H A PE LLE 1 35

s traight bays with large four light window s and s even -

,

narrow bay s with two light s form ing the ap s e ( Fig .

There being no ai s le s the vault s which are quadripartite

, , ,

are s u s tained directly by buttre s s e s The s e buttre s s e s .

are in fact wall s s e t a t right a ngle s to the i nterior a n d ,

there are no others from the window cill s upw a rd s : th e

whole s tructure is a lantern of gla s s divided by very ,

s lender s par s or pier s of ma s onry .

I n the wi ndow s we find the s y s tem of G othic tracery

perfectly developed without any of the tentative attempt s
th a t we s e e at Reim s But the s ubj ect of window
.

F ig 52
. .
( V le D u c
.
- -
.
)
tra cery will be more fully de a lt with i n a s pecial chapter
hereafter .

At the we s t end is an out s ide porch and in the ,

gable a large rose w indow wh ich w a s i n s erted at a

later date i n place of the original de s ign of Pierre de
M ontereau .

Th e whole chapel h a s been a good deal re s tored but ,

it retain s mo s t of it s fine original gla s s among other ,

modern work ; for the old gla s s w a s partly di s per s ed ,

and two of the light s may be s een i n our mu s eum at

South K en s ington The walls have been painted i n
.

modern time s with mock mediaeval pattern s and with - .

an unhappy re s ult .
 C HA PT E R V I I I

T HE P R O V I N C I A L S TY L E S IN F RA N C E

N O R MA NDY
W E have n o w traced the history of Gothic architecture
i n F rance to it s full dev e lopment i n the Royal Domain ,

of which the typical in s tance s are Amien s and B e auvai s .

B ut the art follow e d a rath e r different course in the

province s and though the influence of the central s chool
,

affe ct e d all the local s tyles mor e or less many of them

,

never fully yielded to it .

N ormandy is so near our shore s and was long so

,

clo s ely attached to the E ngli s h crown that it is not

,

surpri s ing that of all the Gothic s chool s in France the

N orman school should be mo s t like that of E ngland .

I n many way s it was formed a mid circum s tances like our

own N e ither i n E ngland nor in the north of Franc e
.

were there any remain s of Roman architecture com

parable to tho s e of Provence and B urgundy ; and of all
Romane s que s chool s the N orman on both s ide s of the
,

Channel is lea s t affected by cla s s ic example For want .

of good model s such a s tho s e that in s pired the sculptors

,

of A rle s and S Gille s N orman carvi ng was rude and

.
,

barbarous during the 1 1 t h and earlier part of the

1 2 th centurie s ; ornament w a s generally confined to
1 3 8 N O R M A N DY [ CH . vii i

A ugu s tu s w a s reflected by the a s toni s hing outburs t of

architectural art i n the royal dom a i n which we have
already reviewed I t is s aid that during the 1 2 t h century
.

Bayeux Cathed ra l w a s the only great buildi ng erected in

N ormandy .

With the French conq u e s t at the opening of the

1 3 th century art revived i n N ormandy and came naturally ,

under the i nfluence of the French s chool The great .

churches of that period at C aen Rouen Seez C outance s , , ,

and others are mainly in the new Gothic s tyle though ,

the N orman s s eem a lway s to have worked with a s pecial

m a nner of their own M oulding s were elaborated more
.

than w a s u s ual in central Fra nce where i n the 1 3 th century

,

they s eldom advanced beyond a s imple roll on the angle ,

and the greater development of mouldings is a n E ngli s h

characteri s tic The proj ecting label or hood —mould which
.

is u s u a l over the interior arche s i n E ngli s h Gothic is not

uncommon i n N ormandy but s o far a s I know it doe s
,

not occur el s ewhere i n F rance At Rouen S eez B ayeux .

, , ,

C outance s D 0 1 a n d Le M a n s we find piers a n d column s

, ,

with a round abacu s in s tead of the s qu a re or polygonal

form u s ual in French Gothic and thi s too is an E ngli s h
,

feature I n many of the fa c a de s a s for i nstance at Li s ieux

. , ,

S eez and Coutance s the ro s e window s o typical of French

de s ign is wanting : i n the front of the cathedral of Rouen
it is comparatively in s ignificant and there is none in the ,

flamboyant fa cade of S M aclou N ormandy al s o s eem s

. .

to h a ve been the cradle of s expartite vaulting the origin ,

of which we h a ve s een at the Abbaye a u x H omme s at

C aen whence it s pread far and wide into the I le de France
, ,

to P a ri s and S en s Among minor N orman peculiaritie s

.

m a y be mentioned the balu s trade s to the tri forium gallery ,

of which there a r e i n s tance s in the Abb a ye a u x H omme s ,

 XXX VI

T . G J . BA Y E UX CA T H E D R A L — Th e r
Ch o i
N O RM A N DY [ CH . V II I
CH . V 1 11
] N O RMA N DY
‘
w hich are more richly de s igned T he four s traight b a ys
2322 121
.

of the choir are similar The triforium h a s two light s .

under an i ncluding arch : the s hield is blank except i n

the two ea s tern bay s of the choir where it is pierced with
a trefoil The c é evet con s i s t s of s even n a rrow b a y s ;
.

the firs t two straight the re s t i n a semicircle The work

,
.

i n thi s part s eem s later and I s hould im a gine is p a rt of

the restoration by B i s hop Pont de l A r c h e after the fire - -
’

of 1 2 2 6 who added th e s ide chapel s of the ambul a tory

,
.

The arche s are richly moulded wherea s i n the choir and ,

nave they have only a roll on the angle of the order and ,

the det a il of the triforium with it s s lender colonnette s ,

a n d the quatrefoil piercing s i n the s h ield

is much more delicate and advanced th a n
that of the rest of the building The apse .

columns are doubled with s mall shaft s s e t

‘

b e t w e e n t h e m on each s ide ( F ig and .

the radiati ng rib s are continu e d i n a

curious w a y beyond the central bo ss up
F ig 54
to the firs t tran s vers e arch .
' °

I n the earlier nave a n d choir there are triple vaulting

s haft s with base s re s ti ng on the m a i n capital s a s at ,

N otre Dame in Pari s All the vaulting is quadripartite .

,

and all the a rche s are pointed and th e v a ult a good deal ,

domed up The central tower is open a s a lantern

. .

The i nterior of thi s church is a s fi ne a s anything

in French Gothic The only point about it which is .

especially N orman is that the gables of the front and the

two transept s have mullioned wi ndow s in s tead of a ro s e .

The cathedral of B A Y EU X is an architectural puzzle B y x . a eu

t h dm 1 ca e
O r de r ic u s V ital is s ay s Odo the C onqueror s half brother
O 0
2
-
,

1
I ll tr t d by V i ll
u s a e o e t - le - Du c , D z c t B a zr
’

.
’

. vo l V
. III p
. . 229 .

2
o r d Vz t L ib v1 1 1
'

. . . .
 N O RMA N DY [ CH . V III
As it is impo s s ible that the carving of the capital s
can be of the s ame date a s the arches they carry I can ,

only s uppose one of two thing s : e ither that they were

left in block when the arcade was built i n 1 1 59 and not ,

F ig .
56
. F ig .
57 .

c a rved till the 1 3 th century or that the a rcade s were

,

rebuilt i n the 1 3 th century u s ing again the ma s onry of

,

the early arche s and s pandril s A s be a ring on the latter

.

theory I ob s erved th a t while the piers have a very early

,

ba s e ( Fig 57 A ) the clu s tered re s pond s oppo s ite them in

.

the ai s le w a ll have good Gothic ba s es ( F ig 57 B) with .

angle toes .

At Bayeux and the neighbourhood alone in France ,

s o far a s my ob s ervation goe s do we find that typical ,

early E ngl i s h leaf which played s o great a part in the

foliaged capital s of our native Gothic during the 1 3 th
century from York a n d Lincoln i n the north to
,

Wi nche s ter and Chiche s ter i n the s outh and from We s t ,

min s ter in the e as t to S D a vid s in th e we s t I n both

. .

the e xa mple s here given ( Figs 56 and 58 ) it appears .

,

and in one ( Fig 58 ) the whole capital is compo s ed of it

. .

There is no di s ti nct triforium i n the nave but there ,

CH . V111
] N O RM A N D Y 145

isa pa s s age in the wall below the t a ll clerestory window s Ba y x

eu

ca th dr l
e a
which have inner tracery in the E ngli s h manner I n , .

F ig .
58 .

one b a y a s hallow gallery is bracketed out for a platform

on which the organ would have been placed ( Fig .

All vaults throughout the church are qu a dripartite .

The or n ament a tion is conventional and s culpture in s ide ,

the church is confined to head s on brackets under th e

gallery the capit a l s and a few rude panels with figure s
, ,

in the s pandril s of th e a rcade The we s t portals which .

,

are later have s culptured tympana and th e u s ual figure s

, ,

in t a bern a cle s in the orders of the arch The we s t front .

and tran s ept have tra ceried window s but no ro s e .

Of the 1 2 t h century cathedral at R O U EN nothing r e

main s but the Tour S Romain and the two s ide port a l s
.

of the we s t front dedicated to S j ean and S E tienne

,
. . .

The main part of the building is s ub s equent to a de s t r u c

tive fire in 1 2 00 and the nave w a s probably fini s hed
,

before 1 2 4 0 The two s ide port a l s that of L a Ca len de

.
,

at the s outh tra n s ept a n d that of L es L ibr a ir es on the

,

north were fini s hed at the end of the I 3 t h century about

, ,

J . c . A .
 1 46 N O RM A N DY [ CH . V III
1 2 80the Lady chapel w a s built in the 1 4 th century the
; ,

foundations being l a id in 1 3 0 2 the Tour du B eurre in ,

1 487 and the gorgeou s we s t fr o nt between 1 50 9 and

,

1 53 0 .

Th e n a ve The nave ( Plate X X X V I I ) h a s eleven bays of pointed

arche s restin g on clu s tered piers very deeply moulded .

Above is a s econd arcade al s o on clu s tered j amb s a fal s e

, ,

triforium open to the ai s le l ike tho s e at Lucca Geno a , , , ,

and Roche s ter A way along the top of the arcade w a ll

.

where the tri forium floor s hould have been is carried

very queerly round the pier on the sid e tow a rd s the ai s le
by a s ort of balcony s upported on colonnette s which re s t
,

on a wide capit a l from which the vault of the ai s le would

,

have s prung had the triforiu m been a real gallery I t .

’
would s eem that the architect s origin a l de s ign w a s to
make the u s ual gallery s uc h a s those at Pari s N oyon
, , ,

and S enli s and that he prepared h is a rcade s i n two

,

s torey s a ccordingly but that when the time came for

,

turning a Vault over the firs t s torey of the ai s le he

ch a nged h is plan for the pre s ent one and devi s ed the s e ,

balconie s to avoid lo s ing the pa s s age along the wall

1
.

There is a real triforium a bove with a pa s s age through

the piers under a s egmenta l arch from pier to pier with
, ,

a balu s trade of little a rche s on colonnette s Above is a .

clere s tory of four light s with late geometric a l tracery .

I n the four ea s tern bay s the triforium is enclo s ed by a

s creen of 1 4 th cent u ry open work mullion s of which run
-
,

up i nto tho s e of the clere s tory Thi s construction a llows .

of very lofty and fine window s i n the s ide ai s le occupying ,

the height of two s torey s in the nave .

Th e c h ir
o The choir is s impl e r and more in the regul a r F rench
s tyle I t h a s five s tr a ight b a y s with lofty m o n o c y lin dr ic
.

I ll tr t d by V i ll t l D D i t R v l V I p 1 8
1
us a e o e -
e- u c, e . a zs
’

. o . . . .
 P la t e X X X VI / l

T . G .
J . S EE Z CA T H E D R A L— N a ve
 N O RMAN DY [ CH . V II I
two light s each ( Plate X X X V I I I ) the middle one the ,

narrowe s t the others divided unequally by the colonnette

, ,

s o that the outer light is narrower th a n the i nner ; and

a s th e point of the i ncluding arch is brought over the

centre of the colonnette it is awry The lancet lights of

‘

.
,

the ai s le a l s o have their point s out s ide the centra l line in

the s a me way The clere s tory h a s two enormously wide
.

light s and i n s te a d of advancing the gla s s and tracery

,

to the i nner wall face a s a t A mien s and el s ewhere i n

-

the I le de France it is s e t i n the N orm a n way on the

,

out s ide w a ll face Con s equently we h a ve the clere s tory

-
.

pa s s a ge i n the wall thicknes s and th e s econd tracery on ,

the in s ide of the w a ll which were inherited from the ,

Romane s que s tyle and which are almo s t univers al in the

,

great Gothic churche s of E ngland .

T he choir is more thoroughly F rench i n s tyle with ,

a gl a zed triforium and gablet s in s ide over th e main

‘
arc a de s omething like tho s e over the choir triforium
,

a t Amien s .

T here is another church a t Seez with a s imple and

pretty E ngli s h looking tower and s pire
-
.

The choir of the A BBA Y E A UX H O MMES at C a en which ,

w a s rebuilt i n the 1 3 th century has a vaulted triforium ,

ga llery s omething like that in the nave of N oyon but ,

with more elabora te mouldings a cleres tory of two l a ncet s ,

a a —
with w ll pa s s a ge a n d triple arched inner tracery in the -

E ngli s h fa s hion and a round abacu s to the vaulting

,

sh a ft There is a label moulding al s o over the arche s

.
,

which is u s ual in E ngli s h interiors but doe s not occur i n

the s tri cter French Gothic churche s of the I le de France .

The carving is s tiffer th a n the contemporary work i n

Fr a nce . Fig 59 s how s the ornamented s tri n g cours e
.
-

I ll tr t d by V i ll t I D D i t R v l 1 x p 2 9 6
1
us a e o e -
e- u c, e .
'

a ts . o . . . .
 P /a fe XXXI X

T . G .
J . A B BA YE A UX HO MM E S — C A EN — S a c r is ty
 N O RMA N DY [ CH . V III
The neighbourhood of Caen abounds in charming
V illage churches Th e tow e r and s pir e of I fs are mag
.

n ifi c e n t ; the lower stage s are Romane s que s urmounted ,

by a fine belfry s t a ge of early pointed work that might

almost be i n E ngland but the s pire with its angle , ,

pinnacle s and s hafted lights is di s tinctly French , .

M any of the towers have a s addle back roof : at -

S André de F ontenay and at H erouville it is of wood

.

with s tone gables ; at Louvigny i t is of s tone At .

A U T H IE is a very pretty one i n the centre of the church ,

between n a ve and chancel ( Plate X L ) which are in an ,

earlier s tyle I n E ngland there is a s addle back tower at

.
-

Tinwell i n Rutland and another at M aidford i n N orth ,

‘
a m p t o n s h ir e but the form is rare with u s
, Pyramidal .

s tone s pire s a l s o occur Tho s e at S M ichel de Vaucelle s 2

. .

and S C onte s t are Romanesque but there is a charming

.
,

1 3 th century tower with a s hort s quare s pire at S Gille s

-
.

i n C a en ; and there is another more lofty and with ,

shafted s pire light s at La B a ss e Allemagne Other , .

s addle b a ck tower s occur in the department of C alvados

-

at F o r m ig n y Rye s and Crepon , , .

N rr y
o e N O R R EY between Bayeux and Caen has a splendid
, ,

fragment of a church which would be m o re a t home i n

a town than in a remote V illage of two hundred soul s .

The nave is low and aisl e l e ss with tran s itional window s , .

Thi s is s ucceeded by a fine central tower of the 1 3 th

century with transept s and a s hort a n d high choir which ,

has t h e triple elevation of arcade triforium and cleres , ,

tory like a s m a ll cathedral There is a e/z evel of five

, .

1
Mr Bo n d ill tr t us a es o th r e s at I k f rd i O xf rd h ir
c o n o s e, Wa d en h o e in
N o rth a m p t o n s h ir e a nd Br e n t in g b y in Li l h ir E g l /
nco ns e . n
’

zs z Ch a r a/z A r ek i

t eet n r e, vo l 11 . .

I ll t
2
u s . in m y By z an t in e and R o m a n es q u e A r e/z it eet u r e, vo l . 11 . Pl t
a e

CX X V I I I .
 P la t e XL

T . G J
. .
A U T H IE
 N O R M A N DY [ CH . VI I I
The magnificent cathedral of C O U TA N C E S ( Plat e X L I )
shows most of the peculi a ritie s
of N orman Gothic N othing .

remains to be s een of the older

church built between 1 0 3 0 and
,

1 0 83 ,
though th e core of the
fou r huge piers of the central
tower and that of many of the
wall s is probably of that con
s truction enca s ed i n later work
,
.

The whole church is now i n the

pointed s tyle of the 1 3 t h century ,

except the long Lady chapel and

the side ch a pel s of the nave ,

which are addition s of the 1 4 th .

Th e n a ve The nave which dates from ,

1 208 ,
has clu s tered piers with F ig 62 . .

squar e a baci deeply moulded

,

arche s and triple vaulting s haft s ri s ing from the floor .

The triforium which is now blocked h a s s hallow mould

, ,

ings a ra ther co a rs e p a rapet of large quatrefoil s and a

, ,

circle i n the shield of the head sunk with geometrical

patterns The clere s tory con s ist s of a plain s ingle light
.

with a wide s o ffi t a n d j amb on the i n s ide cut s quare ,

thro u gh the wall allowing a wall pa s s age in front of the

,
-

window The nave h a s a s ingle a i s le on e ach s ide with

.
,

later chapels beyond between the buttre s ses and the ,

party wall s which form the buttres s es are p ierced with

traceried O penings .

Th e c h ir
o
The ea s tern part of the church dat e s from between
1 2 38 a n d 1 2 48 The choir has three s traight b a y s with
.

clu s tered pier s and a clere s tory with double tr a cery like
,

that of the nave at Bayeux ( F ig 55 s up ) The apse of . .

1 54 N O R M A N DY [ CH .

The outside of the ene vet is very pleasing and the ,

buttre s se s which as a t N otre Dame at Paris go in one

, , ,

flight o ver both a i s le s are effective There is a curiou s

,
.

d evice in roofing the radiati ng chapel s I n the F rench .

efi evet the chapel s had each it s own roof polygon a l a s ,

at Amien s or round a s at N oyon a ccording as the

, ,

chapel w a s round or polygonal The s e often rose u p .

into pyramidal roofs (v p 7 3 s ap Plate V I I ) B ut the

. .
, .

N orman plan at C outance s the Abbaye au x H omme s ,

at Caen S L 6 and Bayeux w a s to bring th e eave s to a

, .
,

s traight line or a curved line if the ap s e were semicircular

, ,

F ig . 64 .

from buttre s s to buttre s s a s s ho w n i n Fig 64 by turn ing

, .
,

an arch fro m a — b and from e— a with a s mall vault ’

,

behind it covering the triangular rece s s Thi s enabled .

the ai s le to be covered by a simple lean to -

The glory of C outanc e s howev e r is it s three great

, ,

towers two at the we s t end with s pire s and one over

, ,

the cro s s ing which s a dly want s a spire too The two .

w e s tern towers have e a ch a s quare ba s e changing to an ,

octagon above the nave roof and with a s tair turret ,

-

standing clear at the outs ide front a ngle of the main

tower and only j oining it angle to angle ( Pl a te X L I I I ) .

This smaller tower a l s o ch a nges from s quare to octagon

 P la tt e XL i] !

T . G .
J . CO U TA N CE S CA T H E D RA L
 C HA P TE R I X

THE P R O V I N C I A L S TY L E S , con t in u ed

B UR GU N D Y T O UL O US E
, , A NJ o u

To u r
nus H E R E and th e re in different parts of France e c c e n
t r ic it ie s occur in the con s truction of the vault s which are

a lw a y s intere s ting. Perhaps the mo s t curious is that at

T O U R N U S i n Burgundy where the di fficulty of combining
,

a large clere s tory window with a b a rrel vault is met by

placing a barrel vault transvers ely over each bay at right
angles to the axis of the church spri nging it from arches
,

thrown acro s s the church from s ide to s ide The long .

section of the vault therefore look s like the el e vation of

a bridge with several arche s The re s ult is not beautiful
.
,

and the pl a n doe s not s eem to have been followed

e l s ewhere on a large s cale .

A t the cathedra l of M A N T E S how e ver —M a n ies la ,

ie — a s omewhat s imilar method is adopted with better

j o /
,

re s ult on a s mall s cale in vaulting the triforium This .

belongs to the cla ss of large triforium gallerie s like thos e

a t N oyon Senl i s
, , Laon and Pari s I t is vaulted with a
, .

s erie s of barrel vault s placed like tho s e at Tournus at

right a ngle s to the axi s and s pringing from lintel s acros s

,

the gallery s upported by a row of colonnette s ( Fig .

As the gallery round s the ap s e the s e cro s s vaults radiate

CH . I x] P RO V I N C I A L S TY L E S I S7

F ig . 65
.
1 58 F RA N C E [ CH .

conic a lly from the n a rrow s p a n of the choir bay to the

gre a ter s pan on the ai s le wall ; thi s give s room for a
huge round window i n each bay a n d thes e form a very ,

u nu s ual and rather s urpri s ing feature in the exterior

,

view The church s eem s to date from the end of the

.

1 2 t h century a n d the west front h a s some admirable

,

‘
carving with a s trong remini s cence of cl a s s ic work A ll .

the arches are pointed the vaulting is s exp a rtite and , ,

the piers are alternated with columns The fa c ade with .

it s twin towers is a fine compo s ition .

The we s tern n a rthex which w a s a feature in the

Romanesque churches of B urgundy as for in s tanc e at ,

V ezelay Autun and Pontigny occurs al s o in th e Gothic

, , ,

churche s of th a t province One h a s b e en shown already .

at S P ere s ou s V ezelay ( Plate X V p 9 1 s up ) which is

. . .

now imperfect if indeed it w a s ever completed There is

,
.

another ( Fig 66) in the fine church of S E M U R E N A U X O I S

.
'
- -
,

one of the mo s t picture s que a n d romantic town s in that

part of Fra nce .

The s plendid s tone found in C h a mpagne provoked

the architect s of that provi nce to d a ri ng feat s of m a sonry
which would otherwi s e h a ve been impo s s ible The .

church of S U R BA I N at T R o vE s whic h w a s begun i n

.

1 2 6 2 and fini s hed about 1 2 7 6 and look s l a ter than it is , ,

con s i s ts of the choir and tran s ept s of wh a t was to have

been a larger building of which the nave is unfini s hed
“
, .

I t a fford s a n extreme in s t a nce of the hazardou s lengths

to which G othic con s truction c a n be pu s hed The whole .

church is a mere lantern of gorgeou s s tained gla s s framed

i n s le n der s pars of s tone The mullion s are s light like .

b a rs of iron the piers are mere s haft s and a s the floor of

, ,

t h e triforiu m is only twelve or fourteen feet from the

I ll tr t d i m y By
1
us a e d R m A h it t
n v l 1 1 p 2 64
z . an o . rc ec u r e, o . . . .
 1 6o F RA N C E [ CH . i x

ground the whole apse which h a s no ai s le or ch a pel s , ,

s eem s to be of gla s s C lere s tory and triforium are .

practically one windo w with two plane s of tracery and

a pa s s age between them the outer tracery being glazed ,

i n the triforium and the i nner i n the cleresto r y N ever .

w a s anything more s cientifically de s igned : n othing in

the construction is s uperfluou s and i ndeed but for the ,

s ple n did quality of the stone of which full advantage h a s ,

been t a ken the building co u ld not have l as ted i n it s

,

pre s ent s tate of perfec t ion The tra cerie s are cut in single .

s lab s of s tone s lid into chase s between the buttres s e s and ,

the two plane s a r e bonded togeth er by gutter cours e s

of the s ame material I n point of lightnes s and hardi
.

hood thi s church outdoe s the mo s t extravagant work of

the Flamboyant or Perpendicular period The tracerie s .

a r e a ll of s evere and vigorou s geometrical forms and

I do not remember an ogee curve The moulding s a r e .

delicate and pure in detail tho u gh s omewhat s lender ,

and wiry a s the proportion s of the mullion s and tra cery

bar require but s till s u fficient and effective and the
, ,

de s ign h a s escaped that monotony and tamene s s which

ch a racterize s s o much of the 1 4 th century work in
France 1

Th e g l a ss N early all the windows are filled with p a inted gla s s

of the date of th e church a n d on a con s i s tent s cheme , ,

forming an harmoniou s s y s tem of decoration A b a nd .

of figure work bounded by s traight lines form s a zone

of s plendid colour round the building on a ground of
rich gri s a ille which s parkle s like a ti s s ue of s ilver .

I n the s outh and west of France Gothic architecture

ultimately made it s w a y but it never quite effaced the ,

1
Th e ch r h i f l l y d rib d
u c s u e sc e an d i ll tr t d by
us a e V io lle t Ie D u c in h is
- -

a rt i l
c e on C tr t i
on s Di t R t
uc on . e . a s . vo l . IV .
1 62 F RA N C E [ CH . 1 x

A N GI: R S
"

HUT EI D I E U f

F ig . 68 .
CH . I x] P RO V I N C I A L S TY L E S
example s of it The a ncient H oT EL D IEU founded in
.
,

1 1 53 by our K ing H enry I I is a magnificent s tructure ,

con s isting of a v a st three ai s led hall mea s uring about

7 5 feet at the end of which is a beautiful chapel
, ,

with a Romane s que cloi s ter and a s plendid granary i n ,

two s torey s not the l e as t i ntere s ting member of the

,

group ( Fig .

Th e great h a ll ( Pl a te X L I V ) where the patient s were ,

lodged w a s occupied according to it s original purpose till

,

a modern ho s pital w a s built s ome 50 or 60 yea rs ago .

I t is divided by two row s of s lender pillars with s imple

capital s c a rrying vault s of poi nted arche s h ighly domical
, , ,

with rib s con s i s ting of only a s mall roll like tho s e at the
c a thedral H alf column s form the wall re s ponds and at
.
-
,

’ ”
the spri nging 1 8 5 above the floor a S imple s tring
, ,

run s round the room above which i n each b a y is a round ,

arched single light window -

.

The chapel adj oining at on e end is a little later

V io lle t le Duc date s it a bout 1 1 8 0
- -
I t is a square .

building divided by a c e ntral colum n into four s quare

,

bays with a s h a llow ap s e i n one of them the eastern ,

bays being ag a i n s ubdivided with a n extra c olumn .

The colum n s capit al s and re s pond s are like tho s e in

, ,

the hall but are s urmounted by a plai n block from

,

which springs the groining much domed up and with ,

the s ame s imple roll for a rib a s tho s e i n the great hall .

These rib s a r e very s light and owing to the very great ,

doming of the vaults are not really meces

s ary to the con s truction I n fact they .

are not re a lly developed at all a s inde

pendent ribs but are embedded in t h e ,

vault merely marking the li ne s of the

, 0

F g 69 l
groi n by a roll moulding ( Fig
’ °

I I—2
1 64 F RA N C E [ CH . 1 x
The window s are round he a ded between round headed
-

,
-

blank panel s forming a triplet in each b a y reminding

, ,

one s lightly of the fene s tration of the Temple church

in London .

The gra nary or s torehou s e ( Fig 7 0 ) is in two s torey s

. .

The lower is a v a ulted crypt hewn partly out of the rock

F ig .
70 .

the upper is magnificent with two row s of column s

dividing it into three ai s le s a n d roofs of open timber
,

fra m ed with curved ra fters O ne of the arc a de s h a s

.

coupled column s be a ring a common impo s t through the

thickne s s of the w a ll
.

I n the s ame Pl a ntagenet s tyle is the fine abbey church

P la t e XL V/

T .
G J
. . I IE R S
PO T CA T H E D RA L
 1 66 F RA N C E [ CH . 1 x
imilar arcade with a gallery but the arche s are pointed
iiii i
Pc i s s , .

C3 . i e m
Th is 18 a purely Romane s que feature and may be s een
o

i n the domed churche s of Solignac and Cahors The .

con s truction of these aislele s s churche s —for Poitiers ,

F ig .
71. V io llet le- D u c
-
.

isreally a church not of nave and ai s le s but of three ,

‘

nav e s —depend s a great deal on the s e I nterior buttre s se s

, ,

and though at Angers there are con s iderable buttre s s e s

out s ide C ahors and Fontevrault have on ly s hallow out s ide
,
T . G J
. . TO U LOUSE
CH . 1 x] P R OV I N C I A L S TY L E S 1 67

proj ections a n d deep pier s in s ide between which the P i i r o t e s

th d l ca e ra

lower part O f the wall is brought out and carrie s the

gallery that I have de s cribed .

The great hall of the old palace of the Count s of P it i r o e s .

Poitou now the Palais d e j ustice at Poiti e rs h a s

, ,

arcading round the upper part of the wall s like that at

the cathedral i n which the window s are pierced
, .

The Angevi n style of Gothic peculiar to the domain s of Th Pl e an

the Plantagenet kings of E ngland has a stro n g individual E

t
iyl
g en e

, e

character and very little relation to the Gothic work

,

which we have been describi ng in the centra l and ea s tern

part s of the country where the royal power was s upreme
, .

I t is a s tyle of great beauty and well de s erve s s tudy I t .

has an extraordi nary delicacy and r e finem e nt considering

it s e arly date and looks much lat e r than it really is
, .

I n the neighbourhood of Toulou s e little or no stone

is to be found and during the middle a ges brick was the
,

u s ual building material I t was used with nice discern

.

ment of it s propertie s a s di s tinct from tho s e of m a s onry .

The tower of the j acobin c o n g e n t at T O U L O US E dating T l o u o u se .

from the end of the 1 3 th century ( Plate X LVI I ) is a

typical e x ampl e The a rchitect h a s avoided the trouble
.

of getting moulded bricks a s much as pos s ible and h a s ,

economi s ed s tone to the utmost The only masonry .

consist s i n the capital s and s tring cours es The s haft s at

-
.

the corners of the octagon and e l s ewhere are O f s haped

brick s but for the wi ndow h e ads ordinary plain brick s
,

are ingeniously made to serve by m e ans of straight s ided -

arche s i nstead O f curved T he effect is excellent and

.

give s the tower a character of it s own Th e stag e s .

dimini s h a s they rise the outline leav e s nothing to be

,

de s ired and th e de s ign is altogether delightful There

, .

doe s not s eem ever to have been a s pire on thi s tower ,

 1 68 F RA N CE [ CH . Ix
To u l o u se but V io lle t le D uc s ays there are others of the s ame s ort
- -

which have S hort spires of brick We s hall come to .

brick s pire s later in I taly There is another tower i n.

Toulouse at the Augustine convent now the mu s eum , ,

very like that of the j acobin s but it is imperfect and the ,

lower s tage differs .

I n the di s trict of the Limou s in are s ome fine tower s

with a peculiar arrangement of octagon a l s tage s s uper
impo s ed o n a s quare sub s tructure A n early example is .

afforded by the I mpo s ing s teepl e O f S L E O N A R D between .

,

Limoge s and C lermont The two lower s torey s are .

s quare with two a rches i n the s ide and the lower s tage
, , ,

which is open and serves as a porch has a central ,

colum n from which vault s S pring to the outer wall s

( Plate X LV I I I ) The third and. fourth s tage s are al s o

s quare ,
and are a good deal s e t back from the face of
tho s e below The fourth s torey has on each face a
.

window with a s teep gable over it like those in the

s teeple s of C hartre s V end ome and some early tower s in
, ,

Aquitaine at B rant ome a n d el s ewhere The upper part

, .

is octagonal i n two receding s tages but the peculiarity is ,

that the octagon is not s e t with s ide s parallel to the

s quare below but obliquely so that an angle come s in
,

the middle of each face O f the s quare and at each ,

corner of it The general outline is not very s ati s

.

factory nor are th e s tage s very well proportioned to

,

one another .

T here are three steeple s i n L I M OG E S with the octagon

s e t obliquely i n the s ame way O bviou s ly a local fa s hion , .

They have h owever the addition of an octagonal or

round pier over e a ch angle of the s quare Two of them .
,

that of S M I C H E L A UX L I O N S ( Plate X L I X ) and that of

.

S Pierre have s pire s : that O f the cathedral built from

.
,
T .
G J
. . CA EN— S S A U V E UR
.
1 70 F RA N C E [ CH . 1 x

and s hafted on the angle s of the s quare s ometime s

, ,

st a nding on a broach s ometime s without The three at

, .

Caen have a parapet with s mall outer pin nacles and ,

they are perhap s a little lat e r than the O thers That at .

N O R R BY ( Plate L I ) is imp e rfect but room se e m s to have

been left there for a s imil a r p a rap e t The upper part O f
.

the s pire w a s de s troyed by lightning and is completed in

wood and S lated The neighbouring church of B retteville
.

l O r g u e ille u s e h a s a fine modern belfry and s pire O f the

’

s ame type on a N orman ba s e I do not know whether

.

th ere were any trace s of an old one of the ki nd which

g ave the de s ign for it . I n the s t eeple at N o r r e y all the

capital s have a round abacu s .

Further we s t in N ormandy at C outance s and S L O .

we get a different type : the octagon begin s lower down

below the belfry s tage and the angle s are filled with
,

enormou s ly long hollow and s haft e d pi nnacle s or taber

, (
n a c le s each of which h a s it s s pirelet v s u
p Plate. X L.I I I ) .

Both type s have their di fferent method s but to an ,

E ngli s h eye perhap s prej udiced that O f the Caen district

, , ,

more like our own s eem s to m a ke the better compo s ition

,

and to give the finer outl ine .

 P la t e L 1

T . G J
. . NO R R EY
 1 72 F RA N C E [ CH . x
further and French Gothic in the 1 4 th century unle s s
, ,

where affected by provincial difference s follo w ed the ,

lead of the 1 3 th without it s life and progre s s declining ,

in origi nality a n d growing more and more attenuated

,

a n d feeble till the Flamboyant style appeared to give it

,

fresh life and intere s t .

A very few ex a mple s of later French Geometrical

Gothic mu s t s u ffice .

S .
Q u en ti
n The va s t c h u r c h o f S Q UEN T I N on the way from , .
,

Pari s to Bru s s el s with a vault 1 2 7 feet h igh date s from

, ,

the later h a lf of the 1 3 th century and is s uppo s ed I do ,

not know on what authority to have been de s igned by ,

Wila r s de H o n e c o r t I t has two tran s ept s the only .

,

remaining in s tance of which I am aware in France ,

though there had been two at C luny The nave which .

is a good deal l a ter though s till I n the geometrical s tyle

,

( Plate L I I ) i s very s tri king

,
with a fine clerestory to ,

which the tri forium is united a s h a d now become the ,

fa s hion and a great effect of height is given by the

,

vaulting s h a fts which ri s e from the floor The capitals .

are poor with detached s prigs of foliage planted round

,

the bell There is a s ingle ai s le to the nave but th e

.
,

choir which is dated i n 1 2 57 h a s two ai s les divid e d by

, ,

cylindric a l column s with better foliage The triforium of .

thi s p a rt con s i s ts of four pointed arche s on colonnette s

as at Reim s and C hartre s The e a s tern tran s ept is at .

the end of the choir and the a p s e s tart s directly from ,

i t The c aevet h a s chapel s ranging with the outer ai s le

.

and opening by triple arche s to the ambulatory .

There is no tower though preparation w a s made for ,

a pair at the we s t end which h a s now a poor Renai s sance ,

1 Mr P rt r ( p
o e o . c it . 11 .
3 2 9) gi
ve s t h e d t
a e of th e b ild i g
u n o f t h e n a ve

fr om 1 4 00 t o 1 4 7 0 , b u t th e d e s ig n c a n n o tb e so l t
a e .
 P la t e L l ]

T . G J
. . S . EN T IN — N
QU a ve
I 74 F RA N C E [ OH . x

F ig .
72 .
CH . x] LAT E R G E O M E T R I C A L 1 75

is filled h a s few rival s I n the we s tern part the window s

.

are gl a zed alternately with figure subj ect s and with a ,

mixture O f figure and gri s aille two figure s being pl a ced

,

in pale a s an upright band O f colour between s pace s

of gri s aille I n the four light window s O f the ea s tern
.
-

p a rt the lights a r e alternately s toried and i n gri s a ille ,

which with an even number of lights h a s an O dd effect .

The late 1 3 th century cathedral of C H AL O N S S U R -

M A R NE h a s some remains of the older Romanesque

church and a magnificent i nterior ; and the flank having
, ,

no chapel s h a s s omething O f the grandeur of that at

,

Reim s The ap s e h a s only thre e b a y s s o that the

.
,

arches are much more open than u s ual and the effect is ,

good The nave h a s cylindrical column s with octagonal

.

capital s but the foliage is poor The triforium is glazed

, .

and united to the clere s tory which h a s four light window s

,
-

with a cu s ped circle in the head and two s maller circle s

with quatrefoil s i n the sub —order The w hole sy s tem of .

Gothic con s truction is logically carried out and the ,

i nterior of thi s church is very plea s ing .

I t would be ea s y to multiply ex a mple s did space ,

perm it or if further illu s tratio n were nece s s ary The

, .

tendency was con s t a ntly to diminish the s olid s on the

floor and increa s e the void s and to return to S implicity
,

O f plan of which the church of S

, O U EN at R O UEN is a .

typical example ( Plate L I I I ) The pre s ent building was

.

begun in 1 3 1 8 on the s ite of a Romane s que predece s s or ,

O f which a s m a ll fragment remain s on the north s ide It .

is on a m a gnificent s cale a n d s how s i n perfection the

,

final t y pe of a great French church I t has a nave with .

s ide ai s les and no lateral ch a pel s and thi s h a s a good ,

effect The tran s ept s are s hort and only outrun the
.

ai s le by one b a y and thi s also is good ; and the ap s e

,
 1 76 F RA N C E [ CH . x
with it s ambulatory and chapel s is pl a nned with only
three cant s which give s a very agreeable proportion
, .

The whole plan in s hort is S imple and excellent The , , .

detail on the contrary is di s appointing The ea s tern

, , .

part only is of the 1 4 th c e n t u r y a n d in the late s t French l

,

geometric a l s tyle : the nave w a s a dded i n the 1 5t h century ,

and the we s t front is modern There is a central tower .

,

which however is not open a s a lantern

, , .

Th e whole con s truction is extremely s lender The .

choir h a s a clere s tory of six light window s combined with -

a s qu a re triforium b a which h a s double tracery glazed

y ,

on the out s ide The v a ulting shafts ri s e from the floor

. .

The main arc a de is s tarved and thin and the s hafts a r e ,

meagre with poor l ittle capital s The a i s le window s a r e .

enormou s a n d th e s uppo rt s generally a r e reduced to a

,

minimum All the vault s are quadripartite

. .

We s t of the tran s ept all the wi ndow s are flamboyant ,

the nave d a ting from the 1 5th a n d 1 6th centurie s with ,

reedy a n d thi n mouldings and the a rcade s have capit a l s ,

only to the central s haft of the group the other members ,

being continuou s with the moulding s of the arch .

The general effect of the interior from the we s t end ,

owing to the s implicity O f th e plan and the excellence of

the proportion is fine ; and a s the arche s are thin and ,

the vaulting s haft s a good deal proj ected the effect of ,

the nave is columnar the a rche s being h a rdly s een B ut ,

.

beyond the general effect there is nothing to i ntere s t

one the detail s being poor and monotonou s
,
.

I n s culpture during thi s period the tendency w a s

1
Th e e p it ph f t h
a O e a bb t w h b il t it r
o o u un s as f ll w h d i d i 3 39
o o s : e e n 1

H ic j a c et fr t r j h
a e o a n n es M d g t li
a rc ar en a as Rou l q d m bb i t i
ss e u on a a as s u s

m o n a s t er ii q u i in c e p it is t a m e c c le s ia m a e difi c a r e d t f it
e n o vo , e h rm t ec c o u e

ca p ll
e as p il ri t i
et a a u rr s et m agn a m p rt a em c r i m
u c s t ii t di t i
o n a s er an e c .

Dom . P m m r y C it d
o e a e, e Po rt r
e ,
11 .
3 17 .
Pla t e L ] V

T . G J
. . N O YO N
1 7 8 F RA N C E [ CH . x
nearly uniform over all the territory s ubj ect to the royal
power ; the plan s may so to s peak be clas s ified accord , ,

i ng to the dimension of the edifice and they follow ,

without notable differences th e arrangem e nt and mode

of con s truction adopted a t the end O f the 1 3 th
I confe s s I find the later F rench Geometrical Gothic
monotonou s a n d the great church e s built during that
,

period very much a like B ordeaux has a fine Gothic .

c a thedra l with good s culpture and a t N arbonne is another ,

dating from 1 2 7 2 which V io lle t le D uc prai s e s for it s - -

admirable construction I t is on a grand scale 1 3 1 feet .

,

high S imple in design with no carving and glazed

, , ,

mos tly with gri s aille B ut he s ays the a s pect is bare .

“
a n d cold the work p lu t Ot d un s avant que d a r t is t e
,
’ ’ ” 2

Thi s indeed is the character of the 1 4 th century Gothic -

generally i n F rance a s it is well described by the s ame,

“
writer H e say s at the end of the 1 3 th century we
.

no longer find the individual s tamp which mark s each

building at the beginning of it The general arrange .

ment the con s truction and the ornamen t take already a

, ,

monotonou s a s pect which favours m e diocrity at the co s t

,

of geniu s S cience carrie s the day over art and ab s orb s

.
,

it S olid s are reduced to the least pos s ible window s

.
,

enlarged to the greatest extent s pires ri s e on supports ,

that s eem incapable of carrying them mouldings are ,

divided into an infinity of member s a n d piers are com ,

po s ed O f bundle s of colonnette s a s numerous as the arch

mouldings they s upport S culpture lo s e s its importance .
,

s t a rved by the geometric a l combination s of the a r c h it e c

ture I n s pite O f the exce ss ive s kill and logic which

.

pre s ide s over the architecture it leave s y o u cold i n ,

pre s ence of it s effort s i n which one finds more calculation ,

1
D iet R a ts
. . vo l 1
. . p . 2 39 .
2 ’
I b ia . vo l 1 1
. . p .
3 78
.
 P la t e L V

RO UEN CATH E D R A L — P rt i l
o a de s L ib r ir
a es
P la t e L V]

RO UEN CAT H E D R A L— N th E t
or n ra n c e Sr
c ee n
CH . x] LA T E R G E O M E T R I CA L 1 79
” ll
than in s piration I t was not till Gothic woke to fresh
.

life in the Flamboyant s tyle that it achieved any further

s ignal artistic triumph s i n France .

O ne of the mo s t s ucce s s ful work s of the lat e r French

Geometrical s tyle is the north tran s ept of the cathedral at
Rouen with the P O R T R A I L D ES L I BR A I R E S which is dated
, ,

about 1 2 8 0 and of wh ich j ean D avi is s aid to have been

,

the architect ( Plate LV ) I f thi s is compared with the

.

earlier fa c ades it will be s een how attenuated all the

detail s had become at the end of the 1 3 th century how ,

thi n and wiry the mouldi ng s and how s h allow the ,

recessing of the plane s .

A long n a rrow court le a d s u p to this porta l entered ,

from the street at the other end through a magnificent

double gateway or s cre e n erected i n 1 4 8 4 where we find, ,

fully develop e d the next and final s tage of French Gothic

( Plat e LV I ) B ut to
. the Fl a mboyant s tyle we s hall return

in a later chapter .

1
D iet R a is
. . vo l
. I p . . 1 54 .

I 2— 2
 C H A PT E R X I

E N GL A N D

TH E T RA N S I T I O N AL P ER I O D
THE native archit e ctur e of Saxon E ngland which ,

was highly int e resting and had a di s tinctive character of

,

it s own was practically wiped out by the foreign style

,

imported from N ormandy M any O f its buildings were .

large and important and even won th e admiration of

,

the conquering N orman : and for a short period i n

N orthumbria the school produced sculpture O f remarkable
excellence scarcely equalled by any contemporary work
,

i n Southern E urope The Saxon s tyle bore s tronger

.

trace s of Roman influence than the N orman which super

s e de d it a n d which O f a ll the Romane s que s tyle s is lea s t
,

affected by Roman tradition The first introduction of .

the foreign s tyle into E ngland by E dward the C onfe ss or ,

— a style as William of M alme s bury s ay s never before

, ,

seen there —w a s followed a fter the C onque s t by s uch a

,

burs t of pulling down and reconstruction a s was only

equ a lled by the great period of cathedral building in
F rance during the reign of Philip Augustu s ; and no
great s tructure O f Saxon ti me s has s urvived it .

I n a former volume I have traced the progre s s of ]l

E ngli s h Rom a nesque from the C onque s t to 1 1 7 0 or 1 1 8 0 ;

1
a n t in e a n d R o m a n es q u e A r c l ut eet u r e, vo l
’

By z . 11 .
CH . KI
J THE T RA N S I T I O N
from the rude and s emi barbarous though impres s ive -
,

’
s implicity of Winchester and S Alban s to the more .
,

refin e d N orman of E r n u lf and Conrad at C anterbury ,

the nave s of Peterborough and E ly and the delicate ,

arcade s of the Galilee at D urham I n all the s e the round .

arch s till held it s own and if the aisle s were vaulted the
,

nave w a s still ceiled with wood I n F rance meanwhile .

pointed architecture had appeared at S D eni s which was .

begun i n 1 1 4 0 at S en s wh ich w a s begun i n 1 1 4 3 and

,

fini s hed in 1 1 68 at N oyon and Paris which were begun

,

i n I I 50 and 1 1 63 The pointed arch had already made

.

it s appearance in E ngland a s e a rly a s the middle of the

1 2 th century . The nave arcade s of Fount a in s Abbey ,

built bet w een 1 1 4 0 and 1 1 50 are pointed though sur ,

mounted by a round arched clere s tory The tran s itional .

nave of W O R C E ST E R C athedral of which only the two ,

we s t e rn bay s remain di s played a mixture O f point e d

,

arche s and round ( Fig The great arcades dating

.
,

from about 1 1 7 5 have pointed arche s on well developed

,
-

clu s ter e d piers ; the clerestory triplet h a s two pointed

arche s flanking a round arch oppo s ite the s ingle round
arched window ; and the triforium has round arched -

openings surmount e d by a pointed arch The Roman .

esque square abacu s s urvive s and the arches of triforium ,

and clere s tory are decora ted with the N orman zigzag and
other primitive ornament s The high vaults of the s e .

two bay s of the nave are later dating probably from ,

early i n the 1 4 th century but the clu s tered wall s haft

,

of N orman work in front of the pier implie s that a

vault over the nave had been intended from the firs t .

Thes e b a y s at Worce s ter form a very important link i n

the early development of E ngli s h Gothic i ndep e ndently
of any French i nfluence .
 E N G LA N D

F ig 7 3
.

Fr om T/t e B u ilder
1 84 E N G LA N D [ CH . x1

chronicle of the abbey s t a te s that a t the death of B i s hop

Flambard in 1 1 2 8 the nave w a s built u sq u e t es t u a in em ’
,

and that i n the i nterval before the election of the next

bi s hop in 1 1 3 3 the monk s fi ni s hed the church But a s .

’
M r B ond a n d M de L a s t e y r ie point out t es t u a o doe s
1
.
,

not nece s s arily mean a s tone vault I t might m e an a .

wooden roof a n d i n fact the exi s t e nce O f wall s haft s

,
.
-

i n the s outh tran s ept running up to the top of the wall

implie s that s uch a covering w a s originally intended
there There are other s ign s that the nave vault was an
.

afterthought and not intended originally The tran s vers e .

arche s are pointed and in order not to ri s e above the

,

height given by the N orman clere s tory they are de

pre s s ed and s egmental which s eem s to S how the work ,

w a s not prepared for vaulting a n d the builder s were i n

a difficulty The diagonal rib s do not S pring from the
.

main group of c a pit a l s but from corbel s i n s ert e d i n the

wall be s ide them which they would h a rdly do had they
,

been intended at firs t M oreover a s Flambard only built

.

’
up to the t est u a o if the t est u a o be the pre s ent vault he
,
’

would not have built the clere s tory for the vault S prings ,

below it B ut the clere s tory is evidently coeval with

.

the part below .

M y own impre s s ion is that at the death of Flambard

i n I 1 2 8 the wall s including the clere s tory were ready for
’
a wooden roof or t es t u a o and that i n the interval between ,

1 1 2 8 and 1 I 3 3 the monk s put on thi s wooden roof ; that

about the middle of the 1 2 t h century the s tone vault w a s

con s tructed the capital s O f the v a ulti ng shaft s being
,

r e fixe d lower down to receive the rib s a s we know w a s

done at S E tienne C aen and corbel s bei ng in s erted to

. , ,

t a ke the diagonal rib s for which there w a s no provi s ion

,

1
Mr B d i on n j ou r n a l f
o a b o ve c td
ie .
 P la t e L V1 ] !

D URHAM CA T H E D R A L — Th N
e a ve
 P la t e L I X

T . G .
J . WE L L S C A TH E D RA L— Th N
e a ve
CH . x1 ] T H E T RA N S I T I O N
in the group Of s haft s i ntended originally for the timber
ro o f
l
.

But whatever be the date of the exi s ting vault s of

the nave a n d transept s it would s eem that the choir had
a s tone vault of s om e kind even earlier in date which
had become ruinou s i n 1 2 3 5 a n d w a s then replaced ,

by another The chronicle s peak s of it a s an anci e nt

.

structure erected over the shrine of S Cuthbert by the .

piety of former generations ?

The n a ve of W E L L S cathedral ( Plate L I X ) is now
attributed to Bi s hop Reginald de Bohun ( 1 1 7 4 — 1 1 9 1 )
who con s ecrated the late Romane s qu e Lady C hapel of
Gla s tonbury i n 1 1 8 6 though M r F reeman a n d older ,

writer s give the credit of it to B i s hop j ocelin ( 1 2 0 6— 1 2 4 2 )

the builder of the very different we s t front B ut though s
.

the whole nave is i n the s ame early s tyl e the three , ,

p e rhap s four we s tern bay s appear to be by a di fferent ,

and later hand th an t he re s t a n d the s e may be the ,

work of j ocelin who s peak s not only of building but ,

O f enlarging the church for it is hard to s e e where ,

1
M . de L a s t e y r ie s ee m s to be o f t h e sa m e O pi in on : m em e en c o n c éd t an

a M Bil . giv so nt p rm i l pl
qu e ses o i d A gl t ll es so n a es u s a n c en n es
’
n e er r e , e es

so n tt t pl
ou t m p r i d ll d S i t D y M d L t y i
au u s con e o a n es e ce es e a n en s . . e as e r e

th i k
n ths on tr gth f S pri g r w h i h d
e s t m t b l
en g t th O a n e c o es n o see o e on o e

t l lt th t t h rigi l id w t thr w
ac u a va u a r h d w ll r t h
e o na ea as o o an a c e a ac o ss e

na v t
e a h f t h l rg r l t r d p i r th t lt r t w ith t h yli dri l
eac o e a e c u s e e e s a a e na e e c n ca

co ul m A h it t
ns R l gi
. F re a l Ep q R m
ec u r e pp 4 97 5 3 e z eu s e en r a n ce
’ ‘
o u e o a n e, .
,
0 ,

Th i w s th pl t S M i i t F l r
as e d t h N rm
an a h r h f C ri y
. n a o , o en c e , a n e o an c u c o e s

l F r et
a o I t w ld xpl i t h lt r t i f t h gr t d l r l m
. ou e a n e a e n a on O e ea an e sse co u ns .

“2
bi pr u r m il l i p l h m d
su tia t m l p id
sa c u xit ns se u c ru e vo o ve e r u a ea s er e

t t di q j m
es u n es, pl fi i t
u ae i i di al ti m i i di
nunc t en a e s su r s e ru n s sso u on e su n can

im m i I d lg
n er e f Bp N t h w ld f E ly
.
”
n d u 35 en c e o . or o o a . . 12 .

3
C t h d l Ch a h f W ll E A Fr m
e ra ; C Ch r h
u rc y th r o e s, . . ee an anon u c sa s e e

i
s no d ir t r rd f R gi l d w rk t h th dr l b t
ec ec o o r ld m t e na
’
s o on e ca e a , u s e ve a ocu en s

a ll d t b il d i g g i g d ring h i t im A d d pp r tly f 94
u e o u n o n on u s e . ee a a en o 11

t i gift d
con a n s a
“
t ti m i p ri & aE ly H i t y of t h
c o n s ru c one n ov O e s, c .
”
ar s or e

Ch u rch f W ll p 8 o e s, . 2 .
 1 86 E N G LA N D [ CH . x1
‘
el s e h is enl a rgement could have been The difference .

between them and the we s t front s uppo s ing both to be ,

j ocelin s work may be explained by suppo

,
s ing him to
’
have fini s hed th e l as t th ree bays of Reginald s nave in
the local s tyle early i n h is long epi s cop a te probably ,

about 1 2 1 9 after s ettling th e di s pute with Glastonbury ;

,

a n d to have built the fr ont toward s the end O f h is l ife i n

the new manner of S ali s bury and Lincoln

‘

S t a te
qff e et .

F ig .
75
.

Th e n a ve H ere we have extraordinaril y ma s s ive pier s ( F ig 7 5) .

O f clu s tered S h a ft s c a rryi ng pointed arche s richly mould e d

in several orders s urmounted by a triforium of pointed ,

O pening s re s embling that at S David s which is con ’

.
,

temporary and m a y perh a p s be the work of Somers et

mas on s The s ize of the s e piers a t Well s may be a p p r e
.

c ia t e d by comparing them with tho s e of Sali s bury which ,

1
E c c le s ia m S an c ti A n dr ea e We llen s is , qu ae p ri l m i
e cu u ru nae
p a t ie b a t u r
pr a e su a c o e p im u s et a m pli r
a e D d f
. ee O 1 2 42 , c i e td
by C an o n C h rh
u c . E a r ly H is t o ry of t h e Ch u rch f W ll p 5
o e s, . 1 1 .
 P la t e L X I

T . G .
J . W EL L S CA T H ED RA L —
Th e N th
or Po rh
c
 E N G LA N D
i nter s ecting one another give s the motive of mo s t of the
capital s 1

T he nave and north porch at Well s are the first

re a lly Gothic buildi ng s of import a nce i n E ngland and ,

they show remarkable original ity differing not more from ,

what preceded than from what followed under French

i n fluence at Canterbury and from the early E ngl i s h of
Lincoln and Sali s bury .

T . G .
J .

F ig .
76
.

From these i n s tance s it is plain that at the end of

the 1 2 t h century architecture here a s well as i n France , ,

w a s pa s s ing out of the tran s itional s tage The pointed .

arch had come i nto vogue a n d though here and there ,

N orman Romane s que s till held the field e s pecially in ,

mona s tic buildings yet even there it had begun to give

,

way to a lighter kind of de s ign I n the Galilee at .

D urham i n 1 1 7 5 we s till find round arche s with zigzags ,

but they were carried origi nally on pairs of marble

im il r i t r ti t N y i N r m a dy p F ig 62 p 1 52
1
For s a n e sec on s a o rre n o n 71 . su . .
, . .
 T H E T RA N S I T I O N 1 89

column s s o s lender that they had to be s trengthened

‘
afterwards The monk s at Peterborough s till clung with
.

mona s tic fervour to the round arch and to Romane s que

bulk and proportion i n their nav e and tran s epts which ,

were not finished till I 1 9 3 but the round C hurch of the

Temple con s ecrat e d i n 1 1 8 5 h a s pointed arche s on
, ,

clustered S haft s of marble though the triforium above ,

has an arcad e of i nterlacing round arche s Above all .

,

the architects had s eriou s ly u ndertaken to vault their

)
7
”0 0 "
W e r
t i
e re
f 5 a
r

F ig 7 7. .

nave s and not only their ai s le s and thi s i nfluenced their

con s truction radically i n the future .

The artist s of the day were con s equently i n a receptive

s pirit
,
ready for any movement in a new di rection and ,

open to any fre s h s ugge s tion .

I n 1 1 7 4 for the s econd time a foreign influence

, ,

cro s s ed th e channel i nto E ngland and e s tabli s hed it s el f ,

at C A N T E R B U R Y ( Fig .

I n September 1 1 7 4 four years after th e murder of

,

B ecket the gloriou s choir of prior s E r n u lf and C onrad

, ,

which had s tood only forty four years s ince its de dic a t io n
-
z
,

1
u . m y By e a n a R o m a n es q u e A r c h it
.
’
. vo l . 11 . Pl t
a e CX L VI I I .

2 It bg
w a s e u n in 1 09 3 .
 E N G LA N D [ CH . x1

caught fir e and w a s reduced to ruin The monk Gervase .

who saw the c o n fl a g r a t io n and has left an account of it

and O f the rebuilding tells u s how the people were ,

astoni s hed that the Almighty s hould have allowed s uch

things and how they tore their hair and beat the wall s
, ,

with their head s and hand s bl a spheming the Lord and ,

H is s aint s the patrons of the church for not better

, ,

‘ ’
protecting it O nly L a n fr a n c s nave with part s of the
.
,

exterior walls of Conrad s building as we n o w s e e them ’

and h is c rypt s urvived .

From among a number of architect s both French ,

and E ngli s h the monk s entru s ted the work of rebuilding

,

’
to one William of S ens the place of B ecket s exile , ,

where the new cathedral had been complet e d only s ix

years before the fire at C anterbury When he had con .

ducted the work for four years William the Frenchman

fell from the s c a ffolding a n d was s o much hurt that
though he w a s able for s ome time to direct the building
operations from h is bed he went home to F rance in 1 1 7 9 , .

“
H is s ucces s or w a s William an E ngli s hman s mall in ,

“
body a s Gerv a s e s ay s
,
”
but in workm a n s hip of many ,

kind s acute and hone s t By this ti m e the new choir .

had been built and vaulted a s far a s the eas t side of the
,

ea s tern tran s ept ; and the next four bay s as far as the ,

n a rrowing of the s tructure cau s ed by the retention of ,

the N orman chapel s of S A ndrew and S A n s elm had . .

,

been erected up to the s pringing of the groining ( Plan

I t w a s a vast improvement even upon C onrad s
’
Fig .

“
gloriou s choir Gerva s e poi nt s out the difference
.
”
.

The pill a rs of the ol d and new work are alike in

1
D St l y y h o w f m re l ik t h d ript i f N p l it
ea n
“
an e sa s ar o e e esc on o a ea o an

m o b in d i pp sa o in tm t en at th e l
s ow l iq f t i u e ac on Of th e bl doo of S .
j a n u a riu s
th an Of t iz
th e c i en s of a qu e i t C th dr l t
a e a o wn in t h e C o u n ty of K en t .
”

M em o r ia ls of Ca n t er b u ry .
CH . x1] T H E T RA N S I T I O N 19 1

form and thickne s s but different i n length for the new ,

pillars were almo s t twelve feet longer E xqui s itely .

s culptured c a pital s replaced the O ld pl a in one s and ,

wherea s the O ld arche s and other feature s of the ma s onry

were plain and wrought with an a xe the new work w a s
, ,

well chi s elled and appropriately carved The new choir .

had innumera ble marble columns but the old had none ,

the plain groining of the ai s le s i n the ambulatory w a s

re placed by fine ribbed and keyed vault s ; and a beautiful
vault of s tone and light tufa took the pl a ce O f the wooden
‘
ceiling of the choir .

Thi s rai s ing of the nave arcade by s ome twelve feet

involved an entirely new proportion of the three s torey s .

The lower one w a s heightened at the expen s e of th e

upper I n the old choir of E r n u lf and C onrad and the
.
,

s till O lder choir of Lanfr a nc the three s torey s h a d been ,

proportioned in the N orman fa s hion with a triforium ,

almost a s high a s the arcade below it We s e e thi s .

proportion i n the N orman tran s ept s of Winche s ter a n d ,

in the nave s of N orwich E ly and Peterborough At , , .

the contemporary cathedra l O f Tournay i n B elgium the

triforium s eem s the larger of the two At S E tienne . .
,

the Abbaye aux H omme s at Caen where Lanfra nc w a s ,

the firs t abbot which s eem s to have been the model

,

for h is cathedral at Canterbury if the whole height is ,

divided into 3 2 part s 1 3 go to the arcade 1 0 to the

,
,

triforium and 9 to the clere s tory Wherea s i n William

,
.

’
the F renchman s choir a t C a nterbury s imilarly divided , ,

the a rcade ta ke s 1 8 part s the triforium 5 and the , ,

clerestory 9 A glance at the two elev a tion s will S how

.

the enormou s improvement effected by the new proportion

( Fig .

1
Ge rv a s e, c t di
ie n W illis s ’
Ca n t er b u ry , p .
59 .
1 92 E N G LA N D [ CH . x1
 E N G LA N D

on the capital of the great column But at S en s the "

.

piers are a lternately larger and smaller expre s s ing their ,

di fferent fu nction a s supporting the main rib s and the

intermediate re s pectively At Cant e rbury except at the .
,

points a bove mentioned they are all S imple columns ,

mono c y lindric or polygonal and the difference between

-
,

the mai n and intermediate rib s is expre s s ed on ly by the

alternation of clustered and S ingle marble colonnette s
that stand on the capital s O f the great columns .

The mo s t striking in s tance of resembl a nce how e ver

is i n the coupled column s which at S en s alternate with
the great piers and at Cant e rbury carry the s tructure of
,

T r in it y C h a p e l a n d the gr e at a p s e ( Plate L X I I I ) Curi .

o u s ly enough the s e are not the work of French William ,

who had gone home before they w e re built but of E nglish ,

W illiam who s ucceeded him William of S en s had ind e ed .

used coupled column s i n one pl a ce under an i ntermediat e

rib j ust where the bend in the s tructure begins but he
, ,

had combined with them a pair o f marble sh a fts which

alters their character E ngli s h William s coupl e d s hafts
.
’

are much more like tho s e at S ens than those of his

predece s s or but in s tead of alternating them with larger
,

piers a s a t S en s to expre s s their different load he h a s ,

u s ed them i ndifferently throughout The idea of the .

coupled column s w a s no doubt given him by French

William but he u s ed it in h is own way and probably not
, ,

a s h is predece s s or would have done I n the e a s tern part .

of the crypt which is also the work of E ngli s h William

, ,

the column s are round and have the round abacu s with ,

a s imple flat member below undercut at bottom and with ,

a necking though i n the upper church h is s hafts all have

,

the s quare abacu s .

1
Th e l r t ry w i d
c e es o n o ws a t S en s a r e n o t p rt
a of th e o r igi l d ig
na es n .
 we E N G LA N D
tr
Ca n e settlement or the rigid marbl e would have be e n crushed
,

E
ztli d
r '

e r al and s plit being i ncapable of s inki ng with the ashlar

,

.
. Dr js y .

F ig .
79 .

cours es I n s tance s of s uch an accident have com e under

.

my own O b s erv a tion Thi s form of polychrome ma s onry

.

is distinctly E nglish and h a s no counterp a rt in Franc e

,
 THE T RA N S I T I O N 1 97

wh e re when colo u red m asonry w a s introduced a s for , Ca ntr e

i nstanc e in A uvergne the treatment is quite different

,
.
5:3 d 6

But however s tron gly E ngli s h taste show s it s e lf i n G rl

en e a

eff t i
ec s
the deta il s th e general effect of the I nter ior of Canterbury Fr h en c

choir with its ap s idal e nd is quite F rench and belongs

,

to a type of early Gothic church with which we are

familiar on the other s ide of the Channel .

I n nothing is its F rench p a rentage S hown more Th e

sc u l pt r du e
strongly than i n the s culptured capital s T he foliage of
.
ca pit la ,

F ig .

the coupled column s put up by E nglish William ( Fig 7 9 ) .

might have been carved by the s ame craft s man who cut
that at S Leu d E s s e r e n t ( F ig
.
’
which is almo s t
.

exactly coeval with it The s e capital s must be the

.

work of F rench c a rver s whom William of Sens brought

over and left behind him B ut it is curiou s that they
.

have no re s embl a nce to the capital s at Sens where those

,

of the great colum n s are very ab s tract and s evere and ,

those of the wall arcades hav e foliage of a quasi B yzantin e

- -
 E N G LA N D
‘
type mixed in many cases with bird s I n the angular .

knots of foliage that s upport the corners of the s quare

abacu s at C anterbury ( Fig 7 9 ) and i n the di s tinct expre s .

s ion of the bell we see the s urvival of cla s s ic tradition and ,

of the C orinthian capital though the hollow Corinthian ,

abacu s that s o long s urvived a s a mere unmeaning

,

orn a ment below the real abacu s (a Fig 2 3 p 64 s up ) . .

, .
,

is lo s t both h ere and at S Leu The s ame motive runs . .

through a ll the c a pit a l s of the choir resulting in the ,

smaller capitals in something like the French c at a -

c r o c h et .

Thi s type O f c a pital did not long s urvive in E ngland ,

for the round abacu s which s oon made its appearance

required a very different treatment of the foliage but we
find s omething like it at Well s where the s quare a bacus
is retained a n d i n the C a s tle H all at O A K HA M ( Fig
, .

a building which is exactly coeval with E ngli s h William s ’

work at C a nterbury a n d may perhap s have had the u s e

,

of s ome of h is workmen ( Plate L X I V ) I t is one of the .

mo s t intere s ting dome s tic buildings in E ngland and one ,

of the be s t example s of the tran s ition from Romanesque

to Gothic I t con s i s t s of a nave with a n ai s le on both
.

s ide s divided by an arc a de of four round arche s of a

single order carried by three pill a rs a n d a r e s pond

,

bra cket at each end O n the ab a cus there is room on .

the s ide next the nave for a little s eated figure holding a
mu s ic a l in s trument The ai s le wi ndows are O f two light s
.

with poi nted arche s out s ide united on the in s ide under a ,

s ingle round a rch ornamented with the dog tooth a nd -

,

the s ame ornament is u s ed i n th e windows and the

arcade s .

1
hr T e e is an ll tr t i
i us a on of o ne of th es e in m y R ea so n in A r c h it ec t u r e,
Pl t I I
a e .
 E A R LY ENGLI S H [ CH . x1 1

nav e in ston e after a fire had d e stroy e d th e original

‘
wood e n roof I n 1 1 8 6 when H ugh a Burgundian from
.

Avalon near Gr e nobl e becam e bishop he found th e

church half ruin e d by an earthquake and in 1 1 9 2 he ,

began the new choir which marks an e ra i n th e history

of E nglish architectur e .

Though S H ugh of Avalon did not live to compl e te

.

his scheme the plan of the present choir and transept s is

,

his Like Cant e rbury h is church had t w o trans e pts on e

.
,

at the central cro s sing and th e great tower and another ,

at the east end of h is choir beyond which he built an ,

aps e with an ambulatory and radiating chapel s i n the , ,

manner of a French c h evet though with c e rtain differences , ,

of which the foundation s have been traced below the

floor the ap s e it s elf having been de s troyed i n 1 2 55
,
2

s name is for a wond e r pre

(
’
Fig .The architect
s erved ; he w a s Geoffrey de N O ie r s who appears to ,

have b e en an E nglishman though perhaps of Fr e nch ,

or N orman e x traction .

We s t of the work of Bi s hop H ugh of Avalon r e mained

the central tower of the N orman church and the nave of ,

Remigiu s with the s tone vault of Bishop Alexand e r I n .

1 2 3 7 or 1 2 3 9 the old tower fell cru s hing i n it s fall it is , ,

’
s aid the vault O f B i s hop H ugh s choir and in uring some
, j ,

of h is piers A nd this introduce s the controversy that

.

has ra ged over the date and original construction O f thi s

part of the building I t h a s been maintained by M r Bond .

1
C o n sec r a t u s e st Ca n t u a r ia e vic e s im o s e c u n d o j u ln 1 123 . A n n o de in de
se q u e n t e e c c e s ia l e usj Ca t h edr a lis , p er c o n s t r u c t a
nu et vix du m a b l t
so u a ,

f rt it
o u o in c e n io d c on fl a g r a vit . Q u a m r e fe c it i e , e t ll con tr a s im l
i es c a su s

m u n ivit , ri ddit f m i t l a q u ea a o o ca o .

2
Th pl i g i d iff r tly by d iff r t w rit r
e an s ve n e en e en e s . I t k th t by
a e a

M r W tki p b l i h d i t h j
a l f th R y l I
n s, u s e n e ou r n a o e o a n s t it u t e of B r it ish
A h it t v I X V II I 3 d
rc ri p 3 5
ec s , o . . r se e s, . .
CH . x1 1 ] E A R LY ENGLISH 20 1
202 E A R LY EN G LIS H [ CH . x1 1
’
and M r Watkins that H ugh of Avalon s choir was not1

intended to be vaulted but w a s to have a wooden roof ; ,

and that not only is the present vaul t w ith its flying
buttre s s e s later than h is time a point on which all ,

authoritie s se e m agreed but that his tri forium and ,

clerestory were quite different from what we now s e e .

Their argument re s t s on the exi s tence of a row of small

triangular arched opening s in th e back wall of th e
clere s tory pa s s age which now look into the triforium
,

chamber These it is pretended are the s urviving head s

.

of a row of tall lancet op enings which once pierced the ‘

b a ck wall of a triforium with a S imilar row of mor e ,

decorated lancets in front leavi ng a space or passage ,

’
between the two rows M r Watkin s conj ectural r e s t o r a .

tion of thi s de s ign not only s ub s titut e s a row of lancets

,

of uniform height for th e pre s ent clerestory but on th e ,

s trength of a s unk panel now exi s ting in the bac k wall of

the clere s tory actually pierces the wall over the piers ,

which on all account s ought to be s olid with a wide lancet ,

light i n both storey s between a

pair of w a ll S haft s that run up to tu n — L u p e

the roo f Thi s de s ign will hardly

.

pa s s muster with a n architect on

the score either of s t a bility or
architectural propriety 2
.

There can be little doubt but

th a t when B i s hop H ugh laid th e
foundation of his choir he in
tended to vault it and it s ai s les
F ig 8 2 . .

also What other meaning can

.

1
j ou rn a l o b v it d
f th e a o e c e .

2
Th m e i g f th
ea n nri p ig io es e c u ou s O en n s s no d bt b r ; th y m
ou o sc u e e ay

h a ve b i t d d f r l i vi g r h b t if
een n en e or e e n a c e s, u so th y q it p r fl
e a re u e su e u o u s,

a n d e ven m i hi v sc e ou s .
CH . x11] E A R LY ENGL I S H 203

we attach to the plan of his piers ( Fig 8 2 ) with the four .

channelling s made to receive fou r marble colon nette s of ,

which the back one took the ai s le vault and the two s ide ,

one s th e arcade while the front one of which the lower

, ,

part w a s cut away for the stall s about 1 3 70 but of which ,

the base rem a in s could have h a d no oth e r purpo s e than

,

that of s u s tai ning the high vault of the choi r .

’
The ai s le wall s of S H ugh s work have a curious
.

double arcade The inner arcading con s i s ts of pointed

.

arche s well mould e d and carried on deta ched s h a ft s the

,

outer of not very gra ceful trefoiled arche s a l s o carried on ,

detached s h a ft s with a l a bel moulding and carved figure s

in the span dril ( Fig .

A great point is made of thi s wall arcade by those

who hold that S H ugh did not intend to v a ult h is aisl e s
. .

They contend that the front arcade was put on when by ,

a change of purpo s e vaulting was propo s ed i n order to

, ,

s trengthen the wall for the additional weight The back .

arc a ding which is i n the s olid of the wall they con s ider
the original s tructure ; a n d the front arcading which is
not concentric with the b a ck but alternate s with it so, ,

that the front s h a ft s s t a nd oppo s ite the middle of the

back arche s th ey con s ider to be an addition a s it is not
, ,

bonded to the back but worked i ndependently of it and

,

s imply s tand s ag a in s t it O n the other hand there is the

.

fact that the wall above containing the window s is solid

over both thickness e s of arcading s o that there can be no ,

appreciable difference of date between them M oreover .

the additional s trength given by a thin arcading re s ti ng

”
on 6 marble colonnettes is too trifling to be of any
account and la s tly a s to the ab s ence of bond I fail to s e e
,

how th e work could have been con s tructed differently ,

for there is no O pportunit y of bonding the two arcades

2 04 E A R LY ENGLI S H [ CH .

F ig . 83 .
 E A R LY E N G L I S H [ CH . xi1

that of C anterbury ( Plate L X I I ) for purpos e of com

pari s on. The bay s a t C anterbury a r e narrow about ,

1 4 ft
. from centre to centre of the column s ; tho s e of
Lincoln a r e about 2 2 ft The great arcade at Canter
.
l
1

bury is more than h a lf the total height of the bay ; that

at Lincoln much less than half I f the total height is .

divided as before i nto 3 2 parts the two choirs compar e

thus
L in c o ln . Ca n t er b u ry .

1 5 1 8
61 5
10
1 9

32

I n width the bay a t Lincol n is 9 5 parts of the height ,

a n d Canterbury The column s at C anterbury are

simple cyli nders or polygons tho s e at Li ncol n are ,

clu s tered with det a ched s h a ft s The s imple triforium of .

Willi a m of S en s is repl a ced at Lincol n by a richly shafted

arc a de with piercings of plate tracery in the tympanum .

The wide s ingle clere s tory window of C anterbury is

repre s ented at Li ncoln by a triple group of light s with ,

an i nterior arcade carried on marble s haft s which s eems ,

to be a refined vers ion of the N orman clere s tory a t

W inches ter D urham N orwich or Peterborough where
, , , ,

a wide a n d high central light O ppo s ite the window is s e t

between two s maller a n d lower opening s The feature .

wh ich the two choirs h a ve mo s t di s tinctly in common is

the group of marbl e colonnette s in two tiers at the angle
of the le s s er tran s ept which is s hown in both Pl a te s L X I I
,

and L X V I but it is difficult to s e e how otherwi s e i t could

,

h a ve been done a n d the difference in their c a pita l s and

,

their foliage interfere s with the re s emblance For at .

1
I t k tha e es e d im e n s io n s fr om th e p bl i h d pl
u s e an s .
 CH . x11] E A R LY E N G L I S H 207

Lincoln the abacus is round instead of being s quare a s

at Canterbu ry and thi s ch a nge ca rrie s with it a n entirely
,

‘
fresh motive i n the s culpture .

With the s quare abacu s a way go e s all tr a dition of the

clas s ic Cori nthian capit a l and with the round one com e s ,

i n the typic a l Engli s h foli a ge which con s ti t ute s quite a

F ig . 84
. F ig . 85 .

fres h departure i n sculp t ured decor a tion F ig s 8 4 8 5 8 6 . .

, ,

’
S how three capital s from S H ugh s work at Lincol n .
,

which are quite free from any trace of Romane s que

i nfluence and are de s igned on quite o rig i n al line s unlike
, ,

any French s culp t u re E xcept at B ayeux where E n gli s h .

,

influence might be expected I k now no ex a m ple of ’

,

thi s kind of foliage acros s the channel I t is diffic u lt to .

1
Thr e e is a muc h tr g r r
s on e esem bl b tw Li
ance e ee n n c o ln a n d Ho ly
r oo d

than b tw
e ee n it an d C t b ry
a n er u . Ho lyr d i ill tr t d i
oo s u s a e n St r in
g Ga r de n s
S he t c h B o o h , vo l . I .

2 v
. su
p . p . 1 44 .
 E A R LY E N G L I S H x1 1 t
20 8 E
CH .

say on what natural leaf it is bas ed : clov e r or scurvy ,

grass or columbine may have given the s ugge s tion but

, , ,

it is severely ab s tracted and conv e ntional and imitates ,

none of them exactly With thi s leaf th e carver played

.

for s ome seventy or eighty years producing capital s of ,

infinite variety and consummate grace expre s sing with ,

truth by their springing upright line s below the curling

knots of foliage the function of the capital as a member

F ig . 86
. F ig . 87 .

of s u pport Fig 8 7 S how s a later and more fully developed

. .

example from the presbytery at Lincoln Thi s model .

spread throughout the length and breadth of the land ;

it is to be found from Lincoln to S David s from Salis .
’

bury Winche s ter and Chiche s ter to Westmin s ter ; to

,

E ly where perhap s the strong s pringing line is rath e r

,
 E A R LY E N G L I S H [ CH . x1 1

but the re s t is very eccentric ( Fig The plan is.

really quadripartite but i n s tead of the di a gon a l s meeting

,

i n the middle of the crown they are d raw n to s eparate

point s A and B two superfluou s ribs A C and BD are drawn
,

from tho s e point s to the s pringing and a s the diagonals

,

do not meet it is nece s sary to i nsert a ridge rib to

recei ve them The re s ult is a lozenge sh a ped panel laid
.
-

obliquely acro s s the bay from corner to corner C to D , ,

with a somewhat perplexi ng and di s turbing effect to

the eye .

F ig . 88 .

NO such whim s y diverted the archit e ct of the nave at

Lincoln ( Plate L X V I I ) who worked with a s urer hand and
with a magnificent re s ult I t s eem s to have been begun by
.

B i s hop H ugh of Well s 1 2 0 9 — 1 2 3 5 and fini s hed i n the

time of the gre a t B i s hop G r o s t é t e who died i n
The l ightne s s of the s tructure is remarkable and according ,

to M r Penrose the proportion of void to s olid i n the

plan is greater th a n in any l a rge vaulted building i n
Europe The piers are clu s tered s urrounded by marble
.
,

colonnette s the central colum n be ing I n mo s t ca s es of

,

marble as well The b a y s a r e very wide s caling on t h e

.
,

publi s hed plan s about 2 7 feet from centre to cen tre of

t h e columns which as the n ave is 40 fe et wide g ives
,
 E A R LY E N G L I S H [ CH . x1 1

laid in cours e s parallel to the ridg e lin e s ; that is to say

-
,

i n the longitudinal vault they ar e parallel to the a x is of

the church and perpendicular to the transverse arch and
, ,

i n the cross vault they are parallel to the tran s vers e

section and perpendicular to the axis of the church and
to the wall rib They thus meet at a right angle against
-
.

F ig 90
. .

the di a gonal rib ( Fig . I n E ngli s h vaulting on the

,

contra ry the bed s of the as hlaring i n the panel s are l a id

,

square with a line more or les s nearly bi s ecting the

p a nel and they therefore meet at an obtu s e angle against
,

the diagonal rib ( Fig . I n s etting out a French

vault the transverse or the wall rib would b e divided
-

i n t o so m an y e q ual pa rts to mark t h e Wid t h o f t h e a shl a r

CH . x11] E A R LY EN GL I S H

courses and the diagonal would be divided into the same

,

number of part s but th e se would each be longe r than

,

thos e on the direct arche s because the diagonal lin e is

,

longer I f th e s e divi s ion s ar e proj ected ( Fig 9 0 ) from

. .

th e elevation on to the transverse and diagonal lines i n

plan line s drawn to j oin th e points so mar ke d will give
,

F ig .
91 .

the b e ds of the ashlaring of th e panel which will of

,

cours e be parallel to the ridge line s becau s e the division s

,

of the two arch e s are equal i n number though not in

length O n th e other hand i n s etting out an E ngli s h
.
,

vault th e divi s ions on the diagonal are mad e of the

s ame length as tho s e on the direct arche s and therefore
,

th e re will be more divi s ion s marked on the diagonal rib

 E A R LY E N G L I S H [ CH . x1 1

than on the others becau s e it is long e r Con s e quently .

if the division s are proj ected ( Fig 9 1 ) and the points .

j oined i n the same way as before it will b e found that ,

the beds of the a s hl a ring l ie obliquely and not parallel

to the ridge s b e cause the division s are equal i n length
,

but not i n number I n the French v a ult the dire ct ribs

.

and the diagonal all receive the same numb e r of cours es ;

i n E ngli s h vaulting th e diagonal receives more cours e s
than the others Con s equently at the crown of th e vault
.

the F rench a s hlar course s meet naturally on the s ame

straight line but the E ngli s h meet obliquely on a s e rrated
,

line The awkwardne s s of thi s j unction s uggested the

.

ridge rib wh ich is one of the features that distingui s h

-

’
E ngli s h from French vaulting I n D e Lucy s work at .

Winche s ter th e re is no salient ridge rib but there is a -

straight cours e i n the ashlar down the middl e of w hich ,

runs the line of the apex of th e vault Thi s cours e may .

it s elf be s e rrated to fit the abutting ashlar s tone s .

O ne re s ult of the E ngli s h s y s tem is that the pan e l s

are commonly curved i n one direction only that following ,

the ribs and cannot very well be arch e d laterally from

,

rib to rib as is common in F rench work

, .

The E nglish s y s tem s eem s to di s tribute the weight

more uniformly on the s keleton of rib s for the Fre nch ,

plan throw s mo s t of the weight on the diagonal I n .

theory the tran s verse rib might be removed from a

French vault with impunity a n d we should then have ,

a c ontinuou s barrel vault into which the cro s s vault s

would cut on a mitre line fortified by the diagonal rib ; -
,

where a s in an E ngli s h vault the transv e rs e arch is as

much required a s the dia g o n a l l
.

1
Fo r s im pl i ity
c Of e x pl t i t h v lt i F ig
ana on e au s n s .
90 and 91 a re s hw
o n

o ve r a squ a r e b a y, an d so th y id t h m pl i t i
e a vo e co ca on s a ri i g fr
s n om s t ilt d
e
 E A R LY E N G L I S H [ CH . x1 1

to int e rior work where i t has an admirable effect than

, ,

to ex terior where it holds water detrimentally .

B e fore the end of the 1 2 t h c e ntury arch itecture both

i n France and E ngland had emerged from that transi
t io n a l pha s e which we call Romane s que and taken on ,

it s elf fre s h forms which after a period of fusion b e cam e

, , ,

at th e end of th e period crystallized i nto the n e w style

F ig .
92 .

which we call Gothic B ut i n each country the new

.

style had already taken a di s tinct national form and th e two

diverged constantly farthe r from one another The great .

work at C a nterbury brought into E ngland for the s econd

time a foreign i nfluence which had it s e ffect on the art
,

of the country : but it w a s not s trong enough to b e nd

the native s chool to the foreign type I t s effect was to .
CH . x1 1] E A R LY E N G L I S H 2 1 7

provoke to emulation rather than to imitation a n d what ,

the E ngli s h arch itects borrowed from the French w a s

s oon a ss imilated and cha n ged into an E ngli s h form .

Lincoln where the influence of C anterbury is generally

,

s aid to be mo s t s trongly marked is s ingularly unlike the ,

great church in K ent a s I have already pointed out , ,

both i n proportion and detail C anterbury may have .

s upplied the i ncentive to cover the centra l ar e a with rib

and panel vaulting tho u gh it is s aid the nave had previou s ly

,

been vaulted by B i s hop Alexander ; but except i n the ,

ea s tern tran s ept which has a regular s expartite vault the ,

other vaults took a line of thei r own an eccentric one in ,

the choir and i n the nave a new s y s tem of multiplying the

,

ribs which never obtai ned i n France a n d was the beginning ,

of a d ifferent and purely E ngli s h kind of vaulting .

V io lle t le D uc who vi s ited Lincoln in 1 8 60 or 1 8 6 1 V i ll t I

- -
, , o e - c

“ D u c on
said : I expected from what I had heard in E ngland to L i l nco n

fi nd at Li ncoln the F rench s tyle of

after the mo s t careful examination I could not find in
any part of the Cathedral neither in the general de s ign , ,

nor in any part of the s y s tem of architecture adopted ,

nor in th e details of ornament any tra ce of the French ,

school of the twelfth c e ntury ( the lay s chool from 1 1 70

to 1 2 2 0 ) so plainly characteristic of the cathedral s O f
Paris N oyon S e nlis Chartre s S en s and ev e n Rou e n
, , , , , .

The part of the Cathedral of Lincoln in which the

influence O f the French S chool h a s been s uppo s ed to be
found has no re s emblance to thi s I s peak of the choir . .
”

H e goe s on to say the vault con s truction is unlike the

F rench and the slender arch moulding deeply undercut
,
-
,

the round abacus the tooth ornament are quite unlike

,
-

anything at Pari s S en s or S D enis H e concludes

, ,
. .

“
the construction is E ngli s h the profile s of the mouldings ,
 E A R LY E N G L I S H [ CH . x1 1

are E nglish the ornaments are English the e xecution

, ,

of the work belong s to the E ngli s h s chool of workmen

of the beginning of the thirteenth
The architect Geoffrey de No ie r s w a s claimed by , ,

the C ount de M ontalembert a s a B urgundian of Noyers , ,

No ie r s or N O er s in the D epartment of Yon ne M r D imock .

s ay s there is another N o ie r s i n N ormandy but cl a im s

'

Geoffrey a s an E ngli s hman H e mention s a Gilbert de .

N o ie r s at B oarhunt i n H ant s i n 1 2 1 6 and a Robert ,

de No ie r s and h is brother Almeric in N orthant s i n

,

1 1 9 9— 1 2 00 s on s O f a Ralph de No ie r s
, together with ,

others of the s a me name who seem to have belonged to

N orton in N orthampton s hire M any familie s of N or m an ?

des cent that s ettled i n E ngland after the C onque s t kept

, ,

their French name s and our a rchitect probably belonged to ,

one of them H ad he come directly from France h is work

.

would no doubt have been more di s tinctly French .

The early divergence of the two s tyle s French and ,

E ngli s h illu s trate s on one hand the force of loc a l sentiment

,

by which the conquered population influenced the ir con

u e ro r s and in the end as s imilated them ; and on the
q
other the s trength of native craft s manship which though ,

affected by the foreign fa s hion s imposed upon it gradually ,

diverted them into a fre s h channel and developed a ,

national and independent s tyle .

Twice duri ng the n t h and 1 2 th centurie s a di s tinct

importation of foreign architecture was brought into
E ngland At the C onquest N orman a rchitecture almo s t
.

1
V io lle t le D u c
- -
. Le tt r e to th e Gen t lem a n ’
s M ag a z in e, 1 861 , P rt I
a ,

p . d t d P r i A p 5 86
551 , a e a s, . 1 , 1 1 .

S rr p d
2
ee coi th es on en c e n e Gen t lem a n ’
s M ag a z in e fo r P rt I
1 8 61 , a ,

pp 8 —674 T h i rry m t i
. 1 0 . e en on s a Will ia m N yr de o e s, o n e o f thr N rm
ee o an

k ight wh ppr d t h it iz
n s o o e sse e c en s o f N rwi h ft r t h
o c a e e Co n q t Hi t f
u es . s . o

N m C q
or t B
an kVon u es , oo .
2 20 E A R LY E N G L I S H [ CH . x1 1

mason ry w a s a s good a s th a t of the N orman s often ,

much b e tt e r and w e xk n o w that th e y surpa s sed their

,

conquerors i n some of the decorative arts Consequently.

the N orman s tyle i n E ngli s h hands soon began to

ch a nge it s ch a racter Thi s will b e better unders tood
.

when we re member how much larger a part i n buildin g

w a s left to the individual workman i n the M iddle Ages ,

when there were no working drawi ngs wh e n there was

,

no profe s s ional architect s itting i n his o ffice a hundred

mile s away directing the work by plan and letter and
, ,

when the mas ter mason — the real arch itect— made th e
-

de s ig n followi ng the i nstructions O f the bishop lord or

, ,

abbot by whom he was e mployed but following them

, ,

i n his own manner s etting th e building out on the

,

ground and directing the con s truction on the s pot but

, ,

leaving the details i n a great mea s ure to b e filled in by

the a r t iz a n s in each craft under h is gen e ral direction .

Thus th e N orman s tyl e i n E ngli s h hand s soon b e gan

to take a di s tinctly national form j ust as th e N ormans
,

th e m s elve s gradually were as s imilated by th e nativ e race ,

and from being naturalized F renchm e n became naturalized

E ngl ishmen .
222 E A R LY E N G L I S H ( on .

a re of cours e u nequal ; that the gabl e s have not the

slighte s t rel a tion to the roof contours and that the com ,

po s ition is a s unhappy i n arch itectural effect a s illogical

i n it s adj u s tment to the
Thi s criticism s o far a s relates to the construction
, ,

se e m s to me s ingularly ill found e d The front certainly

-
.

doe s not corre s pond to the ai s le s — how could it

because they do not reach it but are intercepted by the ,

w e stern transept which is of the full height of the

building The three gable s are obviou s ly the natural
.

way of roofing the three bays of the Portico ; I fail to

see how it could have b ee n done oth e rwise I t is of .
,

cours e a matter of ta s te whether the whole design is

,

unhappy or not To mo s t people the audacity of the

.

conception and it s s plendid breadth of light and s hade

, ,

together with the richne s s of the many s hafted piers and -

the traceries and niches of the upper part will s eem to

place the front of Peterborough high amo n g the triumph s
of G othic a rchitecture w here it would stand in no need
of apology .

Ru s kin s omewhere s ay s thi s fa c ade would have been

almo s t unrivalled had not the middle arch been narrower
than the others T his critici s m leaves out all con s idera
.

tion of the two flanking towers and regard s only the ,

three bay s between them Bu t I like to regard the .

composition a s one not of three but of five part s of ,

which the three alternate bay s are nearly equ a l and are ,

divided by two th a t are wider a n d thi s I think is how , , ,

the a rchitect meant it to be con s idered S o rega rded .

the difference in width seem s re a s onable enough .

I n the ro s e or wheel wi n dow s of the ga bles which ,

rem ind one of P a trixbourne the detached patera e of the ,

1
D evel op m en t and Ch a r a c t er f
o Go th ic A r c h it ec t u r e, C H . . M r p
oo e, . 23 1 .
 P la t e L X I X

q
‘
. G J
. . R IEVA U L X A BB E Y — Th e Ch O I r
2 24 EA R LY EN G L I S H [ CH . x11 1
CH . x1 1 1] E A R LY E N G L I S H 22 5
‘
chapel s of Lincoln and Chri s tchurch A Galilee or .

we s tern porch — a s ort of narthex — w a s a C i s tercian

, ,

feature of which there a r e tr a ce s at Byland Fountain s

, , ,

and Rievaulx There is one s till remaining at the

.

C i s tercian church of Pontigny in B urgundy .

The s trict C i s tercian rule forb a d all ornamental detail s

but s u ch a s were of the mo s t a b s tract form There w a s .

to be no car ving except under the mo s t rigid re s triction s .

I n the e a rlier example s s uch a s B uildwa s a n d Furne s s , ,

the capita l s were of the fluted cu s h ion type ; a n d when ,

a s at A bbey D ore and Valle Crucis a nything further -

w a s allowed the foliage w a s of the s evere s t and mo s t

conventional ki nd The E n gli s h moulded c a pit a l lent
.

it s elf well to C i s tercian requirement s and in th e later ,

—
churche s N etley Rievaulx and Tintern — the capital s , , ,

are all of that sort .

But though like the M u s s ulm a n the C i s tercian w a s

, ,

deprived of the resource s of s culpture a n d confined to ,

purely architectural form h is arti s tic gift s found ample ,

room for thei r di s play within tho s e limit s Like the .

Arab he learned to tru s t for effect to dignity of s cale ,

nicety of proportion and beauty of line and he elaborated ,

h is building with delic a te moulding s enriched them with ,

graceful s haft s capit a l s of refined profile arc a dings a n d

, , ,

i n the l a ter example s tracerie s of wondrou s bea uty The .

choir of Rievaul x ( Pl a te L X I X ) begu n s oon after 1 2 0 3 , ,

s how s wh a t may be done with pure a rchitectur a l form ,

without the help of s culptured orn a ment The re s ult is .

no doubt marked by a cert a in dry s everity : it breathe s

an air of hars hne s s and coldne s s very different from the
genial Romane s que or the more indulgent G othic of ,

1 W ila r s de H o n e c o r t h a s a sk t h pl w h i h h t ll
e c an c e e s us is fo r a

C is tri e c an c h r h It
u c . h as a s
q ua r d Pl t X X V I I E d
e en . a e . . Will is .

J G . . A . 15
 E A R LY E N G L I S H [ CH . x1 1 1

Bea u t
y Well
of s and Peterborough B ut Ci s tercian architecture .

Sii
’ er c ’a n

s h a s a charm of its own enhanced by the lovely s ite s ,

in which it is generally found The C istercian houses .

were to be pl a ced in valley s far from the madding ,

crowd and the haunt s of m en in lo c is a c o n o er s a t io n e ,

h o m in u m sem o t is They are to be looked for in bo s ky

.

dell s or wi de watered valley s lying embo s omed i n

,
-
,

ancient wood s be s ide cry s tal s treams where they now

, ,

Or m na t make the most romantic ruin s i n our land A bove all

en

t r hi
.

no a c
t tr
ec u ethey teach the I nv a lu a ble le s s on s o much needed a t ,

the pre s ent day th a t architecture doe s not con s i s t i n

,

applying orn a ment to building but i n building be a ut i ,

fully which m a y be done without a n y applied ornament

,

whatever .

SS i r
. av o u N early contemporary with the choir of Rievaulx but
’
s ,

ilriéilk rather le s s advanced i n s tyle is the choir of S S A V I O U R S

t d
E
’ ’ ’
.

cathedral S O U T HWA R K which w a s built after a fire i n 1 2 1 3

, ,

( Plate L X X ) The con s truction is extrem ely ma s s ive

. .

The pier s alternately circul a r and polygonal have clu s tered

, ,

S h a ft s attached to all four S ide s tho s e carrying the arcade ,

corbelled O ff j u s t below the capital the others ri s ing to ,

carry the vault s of nave and ai s le re s pectively The .

articulation o f the bay s is well defined by these v a ulting

s haft s The triforium of four equ a l arche s to a bay h a s
.
, ,

a s olid wall a t back in s tead O f being open a s u s ual in

E ngl a nd and there is no pa ss a ge in the thickne s s of the
,

wall from bay to bay The clere s tory like that i n .

,

Lincoln choir is a refined vers ion of the N orman triple

,

arched cleres torie s but it h a s only one lancet light ,

i n s tead of the th ree at Lincoln A ll the capitals are .

moulded The wall rib of the vaul t is much s tilted and

.
-

the panel wind s a gre a t deal in order to give room for

the arc a de of the clere s tory The vaulting is qu a dri .
CH . x1 1 1 ] E A R LY E N G L I S H 22 7

partite and s u s tained by flying buttre s ses over the ai s le

,

roofs with ma s s ive piers .

B eyond the ea s t wall of the choir which is faced with ,

a reredo s of many s toried niche s like tho s e a t Winche s ter ,

C hri s tchurch and S Alban s is a retro choir three bay s

, .
’

,
-

long and four bay s wide one bay o n each s ide corre ,

s o n din
p g to the ai s le and two to th e choir Four , .

chapel s originally occupied the ea s t end All four ai s le s .

are of one height and have quadripartite vault s with ,

rib s of the s ame s ection throughout and a s the a s hlars ,

are laid E ngli s h fa s hion the conoid s s eem more than

‘
half way toward s the fan vault s of Glouce s ter
-
Thi s .

retro choir is ch a rming but it is now made dete s tably

-

dark by modern glas s .

C ontemporary with S S aviour s is the ea s tern part of .

’

S O U T H WE L L Cathedral which was begun by Archbishop

Walt e r de Grey i n 1 2 1 5 The architect here had a .

lighter hand a n d though the c a pit a l s of the main arcade

,

a r e moulded we have carved con s ole s and carved c a pital s

,

for the vaulting s haft s The church being low did not .

admit of divi s ion into three s toreys on the in s ide there

are but two triforium and clere s tory being both contained
,

withi n a pair of lofty l a ncet arches The choir at .

Pers hore h a s a s imilar compo s ition but with a triple

arch All the capital s at S outhwell are round and the
.
,

arches have deeply undercut mouldings The exterior .

h a s s omethi n g of the acute s everity of the choir at

Lincoln The vault is quadripartite with a ri dge rib
.
,

but the eastern bay both i n choir and ai s le s is quinque

1 T lt h w ll
e se th f th
va u h ir w r I b l i r t by
s as e as o se o e c o e e, e e ve , e se

M r G w il t b t 8 5 B t it m y b
a ou m d th t th y h
1 2 . r t ly u a e a ss u e a e a ve a c c u a e

f ll w d t h ld pl
o o e I r m m b r m y m t r S i Gilb rt S tt yi g
e o an . e e e as e ,
r e co , sa n

th t M r Gw ilt t k t h g r t t p i t k p t h rigi l d ig
a oo e ea e s a ns o ee e o na es n .

1 —
5 2
 E A R LY E N G L I S H [ OH . x1 1 1

partite having a central groin springing from the middle

,

pier of the ea s tern group of four lancet s to meet the ,

ridge rib .
Q ui nquepart ite vaults occur al s o i n the
choir ai s le s a t Lincoln and i n the beautiful s acri s ty of
,

C hiche s ter cathedral I n earlier work we have the s ame

.

feature at the ea s t end of the C hurch of the H o s pital of

S C ro s s i n H amp s hire
. .

I n 1 2 0 1 B i s hop Wulfs tan who had been dead a ,

hundred a n d s ix years s uddenly began to work miracle s

,

and a ttra ct pilgrim s to h is cathedral at W O R C E S T E R and ,

he w a s promptly canonized M any wonders are recorded .

in 1 2 2 0 and 1 2 2 1 and the monk s with equ a l promptitude

set to work to pull down the whole eastern limb of
Wu lfs t a n s church i n order to build it l a rger keeping
’

only the beautiful crypt which s till remain s The new .

work w a s begun i n 1 2 2 4 All arches a r e pointed and 1

.

well moulded : the origi nal wi ndo ws were s imple lancets ,

tho s e in the clere s tory i n group s of three light s of which

the m iddle one is the highe s t ( Fig The triforium .

h a s two arche s in each bay each s ubdivided by a colon ,

nette into two light s and in s tead O f being O pe n backward s

,

to the roof s pace a s is u s ual i n E ngland it h a s a s olid

b a ck to a pa s s age i n the thickne s s of the wall decorated ,

with arcading and with a small doorwa y to the roof

s pace over the a i s le A t S outhwark al s o a s I have
.
,

s aid the triforium is closed by a b a ck wall but there is

, ,

no pa s s age in the wall At Worce s ter the clere s tory .

a l s o h a s a pa s s age in the wall which has a total thicknes s

of 5 feet The v a ult is quadripartite with tran s vers e

.

diagon a l a n d w a ll rib s and a longitudinal ridge rib with

,

bos s e s but no ridge rib to the cro s s vault s The latter -

.

ri s e con s ider a bly from the wall to the centre the wall rib ,
-

1 Pr f
o . Will is , A r ch a eo log ic a l [ o u r n a l, vo l
. xx .
 E A R LY E N G L I S H [ CH . x1 1 1

being lower than the tran s ver s e There were originally

.

no flying buttre s s e s but only the s hallow flat buttre s s

,

s hown on Fig 9 4 .
, though there is a S ign of s omething
O f th e kind having been contemplated under the ai s le

roof There are n o w two ma s s ive buttre s s e s put up i n

.
,

1712 ,
to arre s t a s eriou s bulging of the clere s tory w a ll .

S AL I S B U R Y cath e dral setting a s ide the upper part of

,

the tower and the s pire is one of the very few mediaeval
,

buildings which were built at one time with one con s i s ten t ,

de s ign and therefore S how but one style throughout I t

, .

mark s the final development of E a rly E ngli s h architecture

a s yet untouched by the traceried window which soon ,

after appeared and revolutionized the art .

The s e e w a s firs t founded by O s mund on a lofty hill

a few mile s away at S a rum with an establi s hment of a
,

D ean and thirty two Canon s : a n d h is cathedral was

-

con s ecra ted i n 1 0 9 2 in the presence of Bishop Wa lk e ly n

who s e new cathedral at Wi nche s ter w a s con s ecrated i n
the following ye a r and Bi s hop j ohn de Villula who w a s
,

j u s t beginning a va s t cathedral a t Bath .

Bu t S a rum w a s a royal fortre s s ; the s oldiers and

clergy did not a gree and the C anon s h a d to put up with
,

i nsult a n d a nnoyance O n returning from a proces s ion

.

out s ide the wall s they found them s elve s locked out .

A h u ll of Pope H onoriu s recite s their grievance s : they

had to buy water at the price of ale to a s k leave of the ,

C as tellan to reach their church to hire houses of the ,

townsmen having n one of their own and the laity were ,

excluded from the pl a ce on the plea that the fortre s s

would be endangered if they were admitted Peter de .

Bloi s describe s the s ite a s barren dry and solitary , ,

expo s ed to the rage of wind s ; and the church a s a

c a ptive like the ark of God s hut up i n the profane hou s e
,
CH . X I I I] E A R LY E N G L I S H 23 1

’ “
of Baal Let u s i n God s name he continues de s cend
.
, ,

into the level T here are rich champain field s and fertile
.

vallies abounding in the fruit s of the earth and profu s ely

, ,

wat e red with the living s tream .

”

Accordingly i n the time of Richard I B i s hop H erbert

, ,

Poore fixed on a s ite in a plea s a nt valley called Me r r y fie ld

’

‘
,

and in 1 2 2 0 h is brother a n d s ucce s s or Rich a rd laid the

firs t s tone of the present cathedral of S a lisbury The .
;

s uperintendence of the work w a s entru s ted to E li a s de

D erham into who s e ch a rge the bi s hop placed the fund s

,

“ ”
for i n him he repo s ed the greate s t confidence and
Leland h a s pre s erved the name of Robert the m a s on ,

who w a s employed for 2 0 years and who would be the ,

re a l architect ?
The plan is s ymm etrical a n d regul a r ( Fig for .

the a rchitect w a s not controlled like F rench William at

C anterbury by con s ideration for older building s to which
h is work w a s to be j oined H e had a clear S ite a n d
"

. ,

perfect freedom of de s ign and he h a s therefore been ,

able to S how u s in perfection what in h is time w a s the

mediaev a l conception of a cathedral O n the other h a nd .

there is none of that v a riety which i nve s t s many of

our gre a t C hurche s with a ch a rm of their own Their .

picture s quene s s is a ccidental not de s igned for no one , ,

c a n de s ign a n a ccident When the Roman s laid out a .

new town or E dw a rd I built a Ba s tide of cour s e a ll the

, ,

s treet s were s tr a ight uniform i n width a n d at right angle s : , ,

the crooked a n d irregular s treet s of London C a nterbury , ,

1 I n q u o da m u n o , f d t t x t iq f dmi Mi yf ld u bi nunc un a a es , e an uo no ne r e e .

L l
e d
an
’
s I t int f N i l W dh m t I lt f d r f th ll g
Th e s ea . o co as a a a on, ou n e o e co e e

th t b r h i m w
a ea l l d M ifi ld T h w rd i id t m
s s na e,
“
th as ca e er e . e o s sa o ea n e

b d ry fi ld f t h m r B tt
oun a e S th S m
O t M r e ano .
”
a en s
’
ou o er se . e e or

M r i b d ry
ea
”
l d m rk — N w E g D i t
s a ou n a ,
or an a e n . e .

Cit d D d w rth S li b y C t h d l
2 ’
e o s o s a s u r a e ra .
2
32 E A R LY E N G L I S H [ CH .
2 34 E A R LY E N G L I S H [ CH . x1 11

the triforiu m 6 and the cler e story about

, The i nterior
( Plate L X X I ) is lit by immen s e S ingle light s le s s acutely ,

pointed than t h e lancets of the north varying from ,

4 or 5 ft to 6 ft i n width
. . N 0 church is more generou s ly
.

lighted but the glare w a s tempered by adm irable gri s aille

,

glas s of which notable example s remain Built on a vas t .

scale and with excellent stone and carefully finished ,

within a n d without S ali s bury S hows the high water mark

,
-

of the fully developed E arly E ngli s h style There is .

indeed i n the body of the church but little sculptured

orn a ment a n d the effect is produced by delicat e mouldings
,

in a rch and capital but otherwi s e all the resources of

,

arch itecture were exhausted upon it and there wa s ,

-

nothin g left for after age s to do but the mighty central

tower and S pire for which the s ubstructure w a s never
,

i ntended and which h a s s orely tried the fabric Purbeck

, .

marble is lavi s hly employed almo s t too lavi s hly — it s u s e , ,

almo s t amount s to an abu s e The dark marbl e shaft s of .

the triforium do not S ho w well again s t the dark bac k

ground a n d i n the Lady Ch a pel the rigidity of the
,

material is exhibited almost painfully i n the extreme

attenuation of the column s that carry th e vaults .

The chapel is four bay s i n length and is divided into ,

a nave with narrow aisle s The two ea s ternmo s t pair .

of column s are of Purbeck marble about 1 1 inche s in

diameter The we s ternmo s t pair con s i s t each O f five
.

detached Purbeck S haft s only 55 inches i n diameter 4

standing o n a common bas e ri s ing to a great height ,

and j ointed halfw a y up where they are united by a ,

bronze s o c k e t t e d band Their s tability re s t s on the

.

accuracy O f their s etting for the lea s t movement out ,

of the upright by bringing the load on one edge of the

,

s haft would mean rui n

,
They s tand however perfectly
. , , .
P la t e L X X I I
'

I U RY
SA L S B CA TH EDRA L
CH . x11 1] E A R LY E N G L I S H 23 5

M as ter Robert was enamoured of detached s haft s .

I n the tran s ept th e column s are of s tone and consi s t ,

of four s ub s tantial S haft s grouped closely together but

not touching I n the nave the col um n s are of s tone
.

with detached S hafts of Purbeck on four s ides ( F ig 7 5 .

,

p 1 8 6 s ub ) The e ffect of the s e is very s ati s factory

. . .

The vaulting throughout is quadrip a rtite the rib s ,

s pringing from S hort clu s tered s haft s bracketted out from

the s pandril of the triforium C oncealed below the ai s le

.

roof is a regular serie s of flying buttres s e s abutting too low

to be of much use The architect relied on h is s u b
.

s t a n t ia l clere s tory wall which is nearly 6 feet thick like

,

tho s e in the earlier building s A few flying buttre s s e s

.

were added later e s pecially near the tower ; but with that
,

exception there are none a pparent above the ai s le roofs ,

the clerestory bays bei ng divided by s hallow external

buttres s e s not more pronounced th a n i n N orman work ,

or in the nave of Well s which is s imilarly constructed .

The weake s t part of th e interior is the triforium

which in s tead of having two distinct window openings
as at Li ncol n h a s a S ingle opening O f four light s
grouped i n pairs under s u b arche s and enclo s ed by
-

an upper arch a s wide a s the bay The height being .

not enough for a full arch all the s e arche s are depres s ed
,

i nto s egmental curve s with a di s tre s s ing effect the ,

ugline s s of which is not compensated by the s plendour

of moulding a n d marble S h a fts with which they are
adorned T h e S hield s over the head s of the light s in
.

this triforium are pierced with a s imple kind of plate

tracery foretelli ng what w a s to come
,
.

The north porch is a magnificent piece of work I t . Th e prh

o c

is very lofty a n d the s ide s ar e beautifully arcaded and

,

lined with S hafts carrying plate tracery ( Fig .

 2 36 E A R LY E N G L I S H [ CH . x1 11

There is about Sali s bury a monotony and a rather ,

cast i ron s everity at firs t repellent but it grows on the ,

imagination the better i t is known The compo s ition .

of the exterior w ith its broken outline and varied eleva

,

tion leading up to the gloriou s central steeple is perhap s

,

W ithout a rival : there is certainly no cath e dra l a bro a d

that make s s o complete and perfect a picture fini s hed ,

s o fully in every detail so well massed and compo s ed ,

( Plate L X X I I ) .

Th e fr t
on The we s t front which is rather lat e r than the nave is
, ,

the le a s t s ati s fa ctory part of the exterior The critici s m .

aimed at the front of Peterborough applie s with more

truth here for there is no we s tern tran s ept to account
,

for the lofty fl a t fa cade between two flanking towers .

I rre s pective of that the high s houldered effect of the

,
-

s creen wall is di s agree a ble and the ornament is too

-

evenly S pread over the whole s urface .

Far more s ati s factory is the front of W E L L S ( Plate

L X X I I I ) which is very like it i n detail but much better
, ,

i n general de s ign Built by B i s hop j ocelin perhap s

.
,

included i n the con s ecra tion of 1 2 3 9 at all event s ,

probably fini s hed before h is de a th i n 1 2 4 2 it is in a ,

“
style entirely different from the nave The we s t .

front s ay s Freeman
, is built in that form of E arly
,

Gothic which is common i n other part s of E ngland the ,

s tyle of E ly Lincol n a n d Sali s bury The re s t of the

, , .

early work is built i n a s tyle which in E ngland is

almo s t peculiar to Somer s et s hire S outh Wale s and the , ,

neighbouring countie s and which is much more like ,

F rench There is evidenc e that the western

bays of the nav e were also built by j ocelin but a s they ,

f Wells Fr ly th i g
1 Th e Ca t h edr a l Ch u r c h o , E A
. . ee m a n . Bu t t h e on n

a b t th t
ou it a se e m s t o m e i l k Fr
e en c h w rk i
o s t h e sq u a e a r b acu s .
2 38 E A R LY E N G L I S H [ CH . x11 1

though differing in s ome re s pect s from the part s ea s tward ,

are in the s ame m a nner the difference between his work ,

there and in the we s t front can only be accounted for

by his havi ng brought i n workmen from Salisbury then ,

being built by B i s hop Poore or from the s ame source ,

whence h is friend got them instead of continuing the ,

local ma s on s whom he had employed in the early part

of h is e p is c O p a t e l
.

The fa c ade is expand e d laterally by the towers which

s tand out beyond the a i s les and thus give a fine breadth ,

of front to what is really one of our s maller c a thedral s .

D eep buttre s s e s proj ect from the towers both in front

a n d at their side s which are filled with niche s tier above
, ,

tier for a population of more than 3 0 0 figure s M any

,
.

of the s e have di s appeared but enough remain to make

thi s the fine s t collection of figur e sculpture in the ki n gdom
a te L X X I V
( Pl ) .

I n the general de s ign the horizontal line is s trongly

accentuated and thi s is one characteristic of the earlier
,

s tyle s of E ngli s h Gothic and to s ome extent tho s e of

France a s contra s ted with the German school I t is .

s o a t York and Sali s bury notably at Winche s ter and

, ,

’
S Alban s and indeed i n mo s t of our great churche s
.
, .

H ere at Well s in the upper part of the towers which

,

date from the end of the 1 4 th and the 1 5th centurie s the ,

vertic a l line is more s tro n gly expressed ; but below in ,

’

j ocelin s work the band of little niche s with fig u re s of

the las t j udgement form s a level fr e iz e from side to

S ide and i n the middle there i s not even a g a ble but a
, ,

1 T h e wo k r at L in c o l m y l
n a a so h a ve in fl u e n c e d th t a in t h e fr t
on Of

W ll f e s, or Hu gh o f We ll b i h p
s, s o of L in c o l n 1 20 9 — 1 2 3 4, wa s J li
oc e
’
n s

br th r
o e .
P la t e L X XI V

T . G J
. . WE L L S CA TH E D R A L— V i ew fr
om C l itr
o s e
CH . x1 1 1] E A R LY E N G L I S H
compo s ition of nich e s in s everal s torey s fini s hing square w ll
ti ; 1 ca e ra
at top .

B oth at Well s and S ali s bury the doors form a very Th e

in s ignificant featu re i n the de s ign of the fa c a de D uring l,3?t

.

13
.

the Gothic period a great we s t portal never formed p a rt

’
of the architect s s cheme in E ngl a nd a s it did i n F ra nce ,

where the utmo s t re s ource s of the a r t were lavi s hed upon

it I n the earlier churche s o f the N orman s tyle more
.

was made of it than afterward s in R e m ig iu s s cathedral ’

at Lincoln and in many s maller churche s s uch a s C a s tle

,

Ri s ing and I ffl e y the we s t door s were treated with ,

dignity : but the main entrance w a s u s ually by a side Th e

‘
door with a porch and the west door w a s s eldom u s ed , .

d P m"
E ven i n the N orman time it w a s so : mo s t of the fine an o

N orman doors of our village churche s are a t the s ide

and in many case s there is no door at all a t the w e s t -

end D urham h a d origin a lly fine we s tern doorw a y s but

.
,

they were masked as early as the 1 2 th cent u ry by the

Galile e A t W e ll s S ali s bury Chri s tchurch Worce s ter
.
, , , ,

Glouce s ter and C anterbury the side door is the principal

,

entranc e and is preceded by a beautiful porch which is

,

one of the mo s t important features of the exterior The .

mo s t S plendid N orman porch and doorway i n the kingdom

are at M a lme s bury and they are on the s outh s ide of ,

the church We s tmin s t e r alone h a s a great portal i n

.

the French fa s hion but it is at th e tran s ept and not at ,

the we s t end and the mo s t beautiful entrances at Lincoln

,

are by the G a lilee attached to the s outh tran s ept and by

1 E gl i h l im t h d d bt g d d l t d w ith it Th r i
Ou r n s c a e a no ou a oo ea o o . e e s

t th i L rd G im t h p h m r if gr m m t i l r m rk lth gh
ru n o r or e s
’
u o ou s un a a ca e a ,
a ou a

w t t w r d
es r i ry m m
o e d l k w ll
oo t id th r i d y i g
s ve co on, a n oo s e ou s e, e e s no en n

th t it i pr t i l ly l m t
a s i ac d i g r l l y d i d fr m
ca a os a nu s a n c e, an s en e a s u se , o

al l wi g t h w i d t bl w tr ight i t t h h r h d th r f r it i
o n e n o o s a n o e c u c , an e e o e s no

b ild th m b ildi g p 55 W l S ri ) ’
(A b h
”
u se t o u e so . oo on u n ,
. 2 . ea e s e es .
2 40 E A R LY ENGLIS H [ CH . x1 1 1

the magnificent s outh door of the presbytery Peter .

borough alone by it s s plendid portico emphasizes the

we s tern approach i n a worthy manner .

The s ame preference for a S ide entrance and the ,

s ame or even gre a ter neglect of the we s t approach is

char a cteri s tic of German churche s even i n the Roman

esque time .

E L Y h a s a fi ne we s t entra nce though s till on a ,

moderate s cale erected by B i s hop E u s t a ce between

,

1 1 9 7 a n d 1 2 2 0 together with a we s tern porch or Galilee

i n front of it of remarkable be a uty The S ide wall s are .

a rcaded i n two storey s of which the lower is rece s s ed

w ith two plane s of arche s j oined by a narrow vault .

S Alban s h a s a beautiful we s tern porch very like thi s at

.
’

E ly and of the s ame date .

I n S E t h e ldr e da or A udrey E ly had a popular s ai nt

.
, , ,

who s e S hrine w a s much frequented by pilgrims for ,

who s e accommodation more s pace w a s wanted and i n ,

the 1 3 th century a great ea s t w ard exten s io n w a s made ,

a s wa s done al s o for a S imilar reason at C a nterbury ,

Worce s ter Winchester a n d D urh a m

,
The N orman , .

choir a t E ly s eems to have fini s hed eas tward with a

s imple s emi circul a r ap s e having no circumambient ambu
-
,

la t o r y like that built by Abbot Simeon s brother at

’

‘
Winche s ter Thi s N orman ea s t end w a s pulled down
.

by B i s hop N o r t h w o ld and between 1 2 3 5 and 1 2 51 the ,

pre s ent pre s bytery w a s built which is perhap s the mo s t

s plendid example of pure Early E ngli s h work i n the
kingdom U nlike Winche s ter a n d Sali s bury where the
.
,

eas tern p a rt s a r e at a lower level the roof is carried ,

1
r
C u io u s ly en o u gh the f d ti whi h h b
oun a x pl r d
o n s, c a ve e en e o e ,
see m to
Sh w th t
o a a t so m e t im e a ft r t h m i ir l h d b b ilt t h
e e se -
c t
c e a ee n u e ea s en d wa s
alt r d t
e e o a sq u a r e .
CH . X I II ] E A R LY E N G L I S H
of its full height to the extrem e ea s t end where it ,

fi ni s he s with a magnificent compo s ition of th ree huge

S ingle light s below s urmounted by five light s above , ,

ri s i ng to the centre and three light s higher s till to ,

illumine the roof s p a ce s e t between two blank arche s ,

.

The flanki ng buttre s s e s h a ve niches a s at Well s but

have lo s t their figure s .

I t would be di fficult to overprai s e the i nterior of thi s

lovely pre s bytery I t is much more s a ti s factory than.

that of S a li s bury H ere s culpture come s to the aid of

.

architecture and though a generou s u s e is m a de of

,

Purbeck marble it is employed with much gre a ter

j udgement ( Pl a te L X X V ) The main colum n s a re .

cylinders of thi s material s urrounded by four l a rger

and four s maller colonnette s of the s a me attached to the ,

main s h a ft by moulded band s The c a pit a l s are well .

carved with E arly E ngli s h foli a ge the a rche s a r e richly ,

moulded i n s ever a l order s of which the outer is enriched

with dog teeth The triforium h a s two trefoiled light s
-
.

under an including arch with ro s ette s a n d plate tra cery

i n the S hield the j amb s being deeply s pl a yed and s e t
,

thick with Purbeck S haft s between which vigorou s ,

crocket s of E arly E ngli s h foliage S prout forw a rd The .

cler e s tory h a s three l a ncet light s with a p a s s age in the

wall a n d an i nner a rcade of three arche s on Purbeck
,

s haft s the middle on e the highe s t

,
the others cu s ped i n ,

the outer sweep of their arch The v a ult is of the .

E ngl ish type now fully developed with level crown , ,

ridge rib s a n d i ntermedi a te s ,

I t s pri ng s from wall .

s h a ft s of Purbeck ri s ing from be a utifully c a rved con s ole s

,

of the s ame m a rble in the s pandril s of the m a in arc a de .

T he as hlar of the vaulting panel s is laid E ngli s h fa s hion ,

and there a r e regular flying buttre s s e s expo s ed out s ide .

J . G . A . 16
 E A R LY E N G L I S H [ CH . x1 11

The cult of S C uthbert at D U R H A M dem anded a

.

s imilar e a s tward extension to contain the s hrine of the

s aint and a ccommodate the crowd of pilgrim s The nature .

of the s ite forbad any long addition ea s tward s a n d the ,

new building took the form of an ea s tern tran s ept the ,

chapel of n ine a ltars like that completed j u s t before a t

,

F ount a ins Abbey The e a s t wall is s u s tained by four

.

enormous buttre ss e s with two s maller between each pair ,

on which the vaulting rib s converge Two tier s of .

wi ndow s fill the i ntervals e a ch with a pas s age i n the

,

wall an air of tremendous s trength being given by

,

their plain square cut j amb s and the s everity of the ,

great lancet lights A rich wall arcade runs round below

.
-

the wi ndow cill s agai n s t which on the east wall s tood

,

the nine a ltars ( Pl a te L X X V I ) .

T he work w a s begun in 1 2 4 3 five y e ars after the ,

death of B i s hop Richard Poore the builder of Sali s bury ,

cathedral who had been tra n s lated to D urham i n 1 2 2 9

, ,

and though not s tarted i n h is lifetime the proj ect was no

doubt due to him A s it w a s not fini s hed till 1 2 8 0 thi s
.

chapel of the nine altars is the la s t a s it is a l s o i n it s ,

way the gra nde s t example on a large s cale of the E arly

Engli s h style which before it s completion had already
,

begun to pa s s into geometrical Gothic The new .

’
addition involved the removal of S C a r ile f s ap s e and .
,

the recon s truction of the choir vault which is de s cribed

i n Prior Me lsa n b y s appe a l a s ruinou s and dangerou s
’
‘
.

A piece of good fortune h a s pre s erved the architect s ’

n a me : a conveyance O f a piece of l a nd in the Bailey is

witne s s ed by M ag is t er R iea r a u s a e F a r in h a m t u n e
“ ’ ’
,

a r c h it ec t o r n o va e f a b r ic a e D u n elm and a s tone on a ,

buttre s s at the ea s t end is in s cribed with the n a me of

1 v s up
. . p . 1 8 5, n o e t .
CH . xi1 1] E A R LY E N G L I S H 243

a mason P os u it h a n e f eir a m Th o m a s M o ises N icol a s

, .

de Farnham w a s bi s hop of Durham from 1 2 4 1 to 1 2 4 9 ,

and the architect a s Canon Greenwell s ugge s t s may

, ,

‘
have been h is brother The great round window filling .

the middle bay i n the upper part is the work of Wyatt :

Canon Greenwell s ay s it replaced i n I 79 5 not the original
window but one put there i n the 1 5th century At the .

north end is a fine geometric a l traceried window a p

a re n t l an e a rly alteration from the lancet window
p y
design of the original architect B ut we mu s t leave .

tracery to be dealt with in another chapter .

The vaulting is pecul iar I t s prings from clu s tered .

s haft s s ome of which are of m a rble and the rib s impinge

, ,

on circular eye s or ring s which are beautifully carved .

The general con s truction is a kind of quadripartite but —

,

an eccentric rib cut s irregularly acro s s the two S ide bay s

very awkwardly .

I n thi s s plendid chapel as a lso in Lincol n Ripon , , ,

H exham and the York s hire abbey s a nd farther s till a t

, ,

Gl a s gow a nd E lgin one find s a different feeling from the

contemporary e a rly E ngli s h of the South T here is a .

s h a rpne s s here and a vigour in the acute lancet head s ,

the n a rro w er light s th e more trenchant mouldings and

, ,

the bolder form s which contra s t s with the more elega nt

grac e of E ly and the front s of Peterborough and Well s .

E ven S a li s bu r y i n spite o f it s a voidance of sculptured

,

orn a ment a n d a certa i n hardne s s i n it s S harp undercut

det a il s breathe s a gentler a ir i n her wider light s a n d her
,

le s s s harply pointed lancet s .

At Y O R K c a thedral the E arly E ngli s h s tyle is confined

to the tran s ept north and s outh which w a s built i n the
, ,

tim e of Archbishop Walter Grey ( 1 2 1 5— 1 2 55) who lie s

1
W
. G r een we ll , D u r h a m Ca t h edr a l, p .
58 , st h ed .

16 —2
 E A R LY E N G L I S H [ CH . x1 1 1

buried in the ea s tern ai s le of the south transept i n the

chapel of S M ich a el H is tomb may challenge com
. .

p a rison with tho s e of B i s hop Bridport at S ali s bury and

Aymer de Valence at We s tmi n s ter a s one of the mo s t
,

beauti ful monument s i n Gothic architecture .

The south tran s ept w a s fini s hed i n 1 2 4 1 ; th e north

tran s ept w a s built and i n 1 2 4 7 fi n i s hed by j oh n le
Romain c a non and tre a s urer from 1 2 50 to 1 2 60 a
, ,

Roman who s e s o n afterwards succeeded to the a rch

“ ”
bi s hopric Th e well known group of the fi ve s i s ters
.
- -

needs no de s cription I n S pite of many beauties how

.
,

ever the proportion s of the three s torey s in the s e

,

tran s ept s is not a greeable D ividing the elevation into

.

3 2 part s a s i n former cases they are apportioned as

follows °

A r c de ro u gh l y
a ,

rf r
T i o iu m ,
C l r t ry
e es o ,

The triforium too l a rge a n d reduce s the cl e re s tory

is
to in s ig n ific a n c e The de s ign very closely re s emble s
.

that of the triforium at Rievaulx ( Plate L X I X p 2 2 3 , .

su
p )
. which i n deed m a
y have been taken for a model ,

for it h a s one b a y next the cro s s ing in which a semi

circular arch enclo s e s the pair of two light openings a s -

at York T he tran s ept s a t York have wooden roofs

.

of a waggon form ornamented with rib s and with side

, ,

pockets over the window s The effect of the s e is good

.

and preferable to the wooden imitation of s tone rib and -

panel vaulting i n the nave a n d choir For except in the .

a i s les there is no s tone vaulting at York .

The ea s tern p a rt of the great collegiate church i n

the plea s ant town of B E V E R L E Y incorrectly like the
,
2 46 E A R LY E N G L I S H [ CH . x1 1 1

cathedral of York called a min s ter is of early E nglish ,

date . This part include s the choir the two tran s ept s ,

and one bay of the nave The plan is on the s cale of .

a cathedral the great transept has aisle s on both side s ,

the eastern tran s ept one on it s eastern S ide and prepara ,

tion w a s made by four m ighty pier s for a central tower

th a t w a s never achieved The window s are all s ingle .

light lancet s and the foliage of the capit a l s is of a s imple

,

early type lik e that i n S H ugh s work at Lincoln The .

’
.

three s toreys are well proportioned with a lofty arc a de ,

and a fine clere s tory ( Fig There is no open .

triforium but bl a nk arcading of four trifoliated arche s

,

on Purbeck marble colonnette s behind which and touch ,

ing it is a s econd arcade on colonnette s that s tand i n the

m iddle of the front arche s the two arcade s alternating ,

’
like the wall arcading i n S H ugh s work at Lincoln .

( Fig 8.
3 p 2 0 4 su
, p) The
. back wall is very
, thin and .
,

behind it a deep s emi circular arch is turned from pier -

to pier F or the s e arche s i n the s econd a n d third bay

.

we s tw a rd and therefore beyond the E arly E ngli s h part

, ,

some N orman s tone s with zigzags on th e m a r e u s ed ,

relic s employed at s econd hand a s I conc e ive of the old -

‘
N orm a n nave arcade Thi s double arcading instead .

of a real triforium evidently caught the local fancy for ,

it w a s carefully imitated and continued in the 1 4 th

century n a ve we s twa rds though with s tone colonnette s ,

instead of marble .

1 It h b as ee n supp o se d at Beve rl y th t th
e r lly N rm r h
a e se a r e ea o an a c es

i p it i
n os ; b
on u t th y e a re fa r t o o h igh p f th t d th y
u orr i th a , an e occ u n e

14 th t ry
c en u n a ve a n d s pr i g fr
n om m ry f th t d t
a so n o a a e .
 C HA PTE R X IV

TH E E A R LY P O I NT ED R C H I T E CTU RE
A OF F A NC R E
A ND E N GL A N D C O MP A RE D

THE account of the Early Gothic s chools of France

and E ngland h a s now been brought up to the time
when both in con s truction a n d de s ign they had been
developed on original li ne s free from trace of Romane s que
,

i nfluence I t will have b ecome evident that by th e middle

.

of the 1 3 th c e ntury they had so far diverged a s to fall

into distinct national s tyles with many points of difference
,

between them and as ti me w e nt on thi s difference w a s

,

accentuat e d While i n the 1 4 th century E ngli s h Goth ic

.

melted i nto th e g r a c e fiI l curvilinear D ecora ted s tyle of

the Lady Ch a pel at E ly Selby and the choir s creen at
, ,

Southwell the French pers i s ted i n geom etrical form s

,

which i n the later example s b e came attenuated and wire

drawn triumphs less of art than of engi neering i n stone
, ,

as for in s tance i n S U rbain a t Troye s B efore thi s pha s e

. .

ended E ngli s h architecture had again pa s s ed into a new

pha s e and stiffened i nto the Perpendicular of the ea s tern
part of Glouce s ter i n 1 3 3 7— 1 3 7 7 ; and it w a s not till
the 1 5th century that France broke out into th a t wild
luxuriant Flamboyant s tyle which h a s given u s S M aclou .

at Rouen the north we s t s teeple a t C hartres and the

,
-
,

gorgeou s church o f B rou e n B re s se which may be con

- -
2 48 F R E N C H A N D E N G L I S H GO T H I C [CH x1V .

t ra ste d with the contemporary Perpendicular— onc e more

b e come luxuriant — o f H en r y V I I S chap e l at We s tmin s ter
,
’
.

Both countrie s had mas tered the s cience of con s tructing

vault s over wide s pans w ith rib s and panel s i n s tead of , ,

the plain cro s s groining of the crypts at Winchester and

-

Canterbury or the barrel v a ult s of Arle s and Autun I n

, .

both the s ystem of resi s tance to the thrust of vaulting

was unders tood and succe s s fully applied but at first the ,

French pu s hed it to it s extreme logic a l con s equences

more thoroughly than w a s done on thi s s ide of the
C hannel .

The con s tructional theory of a Gothic church in per ,

fe c t io n is thi s
, Support s hould be given at tho s e point s
.

in the articulation of a building on which the thrust s are

concentr a ted by large buttre s se s at right angle s to the
wall either directly applied to it a s i n the Ste Ch a pelle and
,

K ing s C ollege Chapel at C ambridge or when removed

’

out beyond an ai s le bridging acro s s it by a flying arch .

T he s e buttre s s pier s may be regarded a s s ections of the

s ide wall wheeled round at right angle s to the axi s of
,

the building The s pace vacated by them is filled by

.

curtai n w a ll s wh ich receive no thru s t have only them

, ,

s elve s to carry and may therefore consist mainly of

,

window s A t Amien s and Beauvai s we s e e thi s theory

.

of construction thoroughly worked out The lower .

wi ndow s of the ai s le s are enormou s ly wide and reach

from pier to pier : the pier s that divide them a r e very
little wider than the out s ide buttre s s the triforium con
s i s t s of two thi n wall s with a p a s s age between them the ,

i nner wall bei ng pierced with traceried openings : and

,

the whole width of the s pace above which clo s e s the S ide
v a ult is occupied by a n im men s e window who s e outer
arch form s the wall rib of the vault The piers between -
.
 2 50 F RE N C H A N D E N G L I S H G O T H I C [C H x1V .

En glish at Lincoln N orwich B ath M a lme s bury not to say at

th
G o ic
, , , ,

d
a vo i s Canterbury and We s tmin s ter w here French influ e nce
lg l
o ic a
comes in and at many other plac e s yet it w a s at firs t
extr m e e , ,

s eldom pu s hed i n the s am e way to it s full logical e x tr e me .

I t is perhap s our way not to do this in anything We .

are a p e ople given to compromis e ; to think that som e

time s the half is bett e r than th e whole We have a .

natural s u s picion of theory and put a hig her value on

,

practice .I t is thi s temper that has saved us from

French revolution s : our political reforms have b ee n
worked out gradually and tentatively not through blatant ,

political club s nor by following doctrinair e teaching or

, ,

gos pel s according to j ean j acques We do not there .

fore find in the earlier Gothic of E ngland that t r iu m

phant di s pl a y of con s tructive s cience which we se e at
Amien s For one thing our church e s though covering
.
,

a s much or perh a ps more ground are never s o high a s

, ,

tho s e French chu rche s where this construction is mo s t

thoroughly developed and there was not the s ame
,

E gli h
n s need O f economy B ut independently of the s e motive s
d I t li
.

an a an

ri
a ve s o n the E ngli s h like the I talian s se e m to have had a n
fr m t h
o e
, ,

fl yi g n aversion from the flying buttre s s and to have s u p ,

b ttr
u ess
pre s s ed it a s much a s they could The I talian s rather .
,

than support a vault or an arch by a buttres s prefe rred ,

to confine the thru s t by an iron tie at or near the

s pringing ; and the E ngli s h when they did u s e the flying

buttre s s tried wh en po s sible to hide it under the ai s le

roofs Thi s in many case s mad e it u s eles s for the head
.
,

of the buttre s s w a s too low to receive the thrust of the

vault ; the proper place for abutment bei n g about one
third up the curve of the arch I n many cas e s they are
.

not wanted at a ll a s for in s tance wh e re the vault s took

the pl a ce of an old N orman ceiling of wood and where the ,
CH . x1 vJ F R E N C H A N D E N G L I S H G O T H I C 2 51

N orman wall s w e re retain e d though r e cased or otherwi s e -

Gothicized I n the nave at Wi nche s ter thi s is so th e walls Wi

.
, n

h tr C es e
in th e clerestory bei n g 7 ft 6 in thick or inclu ding the v l t . .
, na e va u

flat N orman buttre s s out s ide 9 feet ( Fig 1 69 Ch a p xx 1 .

, .

f ) O n thi s William of Wykeham s vault m ight have

’
in .

been trusted to re s t s ecurely H is a rchitect William .

,

W y nford however did construct flying buttre s s e s acro s s

, ,

the ai s le which are curiou s ly combined in one with the

,

transver s e arch of the ai s le vault and ar e hidden under ,

the roof T hey are quite usele s s a butting far too low
.
, ,

and i n fact they take no th ru s t from the n a ve vault for ,

the ai s le wall on which they bear h a s s ettled outwards ,

drawi ng them with it and leaving the nave walls upright , .

I n con s equence the flying buttre s s e s had s unk their ,

j oint s had opened and th e y were doi ng harm rather

,

‘
than good .

At Glouce s ter in the s ame w a y the thick N orman Gl tr o u c es e

lt n a ve va u
wall remain s i n the nave to which a Gothic vault ,

w a s a ffixed in the 1 3 th century and here there are ,

occa s ional flying buttre s s e s hidden under the roof three ,

on one s ide and two on th e other pl a ced apparently ,

where s ign s of movement h a d appeared At Worce s ter W r t r . o c es e

it is the same T he choir v a ult h a s no flying buttres s es

.
l t va u

except two mas s ive con s truction s of mas onry built i n

1 7 1 2 when movement of the choir wall s had given alarm .

A t Tewkesbury there ar e none at all and i t may be i n T wk , e es

b ry lt u va u
order to e s cape the need of any that the s pringing of
the vault is kept s o low i n the wall a s to cramp the
upper s toreys .

Our nation a l s quare east end also gave no opportunity

for flying buttre s s e s like the F ren ch c h evet round which ,

1
I th r n t r p ir I h v r i e d d w dg d th m p b t th y
e ec e n e a s a e a s an e e e u u e a re

o l ttl
f i e u se . Th e ou e t r w ll h b
a as ee n s e c u r l y b ttr
e u e s se d .
2 52 F R E N C H A N D E N G L I S H G O T H I C [ C H x1 V .

they clu s ter thickly on radiating line s a s at B eauvai s and

Cologne and form one main feature of the design
,
.

La s tly at S Paul s S ir C hri s topher s flying buttre s s e s

, .
’

,
’

are carefully hidden beh ind the great ma s king wall of

the ai s le a deception for which it is di fficult to find an
,

e x cu s e .

I n con s idering the s y s tem of vaulting and it s s upports

at Winche s ter Glouce s ter a n d Tewke s bury it should b e
, ,

remembered that in each of th e m the vault was applied

to a N orman wall of great thickne s s carried up without ,

diminution to the top with pa s s age s in the thickne s s of

,

the wall both i n the triforium and except at Winche s ter ,

w here t h e de s ign h a s interfered with it i n the clere s tory ,

also I t is the s ame i n the other great N orman churche s

.
,

C hiche s ter D urham E ly Peterborough and S D avid s

, , , ,
.
’

i n none of which origi nally vaulting over the nave w a s

s eriou s ly attempted Tho s e o f them to which a nave
.

vault was added in a later s tyle re a lly hardly needed

buttre ss es at all and s ome have done entirely without
,

them .

But even in tho s e E ngli s h churche s of the 1 2 t h and

1 3 th centurie s which were built with a V iew to being
vaulted we find the clere s tory pa s s a ge of the N orman
s tyle s till retained giving a thick clere s tory w a ll like
,

that of the O lder building s Thi s is the case at Canterbury .

though built by a Frenchman in 1 1 7 4 and i n the choir of ,

S H ugh a t Lincoln i n the early pointed work at S outh

.
,

wark a n d Well s at B everley Sali s bury and Roche s ter

, , ,

and even i n building s of fully developed decorated work

at C arli s le and the a ngel choir at Lincoln I n the Pre s .

b y t e r y at Y O R K built between 1 3 6 1 and 1 3 7 3 though the

, ,

window of the clere s tory is s e t in the in s ide of the wall ,

the a rchitect would not forego h is thick wall and h a s

2 54 F R E N C H A N D E N G L I S H GO T H I C [ C H x1v .

conj oin e d i nto a s ingle window With separat e l ight s

.

s uch a s the s e of cour s e a good deal of solid wall n e c e s

s a r il remained i n the clere s tory I t remained also when

y .

window s of decorated tracery appeared there I t was not .

till later that the clere s tory p a s s a ge di s appeared and that ,

the wi ndow s expanded to the width of the b a y a s i n the

“

French perfected s y s tem a n d a s at the choir of N orwich

, ,

the tra n s ept of Che s ter at E xeter B ath K ing s C ollege

, , ,
’

C h a pel at C ambridge and the contempora ry chapel s at

,

We s tmi n s ter a n d Wind s or forming the upper s torey i nto

,

a lantern of gl a s s ,glazed between s lender pi e r s carrying

vault s s upported by buttre s s ing on the out s ide .

I t is plai n therefore that in E arly E ngli s h work ,

down to the latter part of the 1 3 th century the science

of con s tructing vaulted building s w a s not pushed to the
s ame logical result a s i n the contemporary buildings
of France The a r t of oppo s i ng thru s t to thrust was
.

under s tood a s we s e e by the work i n the nave and by

,

the v a ult and flying buttre s s e s which were added to

’
S H ugh s choir at Lincoln between 1 2 3 9 and 1 2 55 ; bu t
.

it w a s applied imperfectly The E ngli s h architect s did

.

not choo s e to t a ke full adv a ntage of it by reducing th e

thick n e s s of the cleres tory a n d curtain wall s between one
buttre s s pier and a nother ; they s till liked to s e e s u b
s t a n t ia l w a ll s and perh a ps valued the con venience of a
,

clere s tory pa s s a ge in c a s e of rep a irs .

For thi s reluct a nce of the E ngli s h s chool to purs ue

their s y s tem of con s truction to the s ame logical re s ult a s
th a t a chieved a t A mien s M r M oore s ay s it is not Gothic
a t a ll . Re a l G othic according to him is only found in
ai s led and vaulted churche s where equilibrium is a tt a ined
,

by counter thru s t and by counter thru s t a lOn e T here

-
,
-
.

mu s t be a c h eo et with radi a ting chapel s The vaults .

CH . x 1 v] F R E N C H A N D E N G L I S H G O T H I C 2 55

mu s t re s t on transver s e diagonal and w a ll rib s but must

, ,
-
, Mr
on no account be i ncorporated with them The rib s of .
£ 33132 ,
0 ’ GOt h ’
the high vault s mu s t s pring from s h aft s ri s ing from the C

floor a n d grouped with the piers of the a rcade together ,

with other s haft s carrying the m a i n arche s a n d the ai s le

vault s There mu s t be an out s ide buttre s s i n the triforium
.

rising into the clere s tory and expo s ed aga inst which the ,

“
flying buttres s abuts Wall s proper a r e a lmo s t entirely
.

omitted Those that are retai ned are the low enclo s ing
.

wall s of the ground s tory and the s pandril s of the variou s

,

arcade s The space s between th e pier s are e n tirely O pen

.
,

like the intercolumniation s of a colonn a de They are .

formed into va s t window s divided by mullion s a n d tracery

which s upport the iron b a rs to which the g la z m g 18
‘
attached
Thi s is an a dmirable de s cription of a 1 3 th century I t s ih
a d eq u a c y
French c a thedral s uch a s Amien s and a pparently little
, ,

el s e for even Reim s does not s eem q uite to s a ti s fy the

,

writer B ut to s a y thi s a n d nothing el s e is G othic is not

.

only i nconvenient for there is no other word to de s cribe

,

the s tyle gener a lly but al s o quite mi s leading bec a u s e

,

it limit s the s tyl e to only one of it s manife s t a tion s .

Amien s m a y S how the m os t perfect development of

Gothic principle s a s applied to v a ulted con s truction But .

it only illu s trate s one chapter of the art th a t of vaulting , ,

and vaulti ng however import a nt doe s not cover the whole

ground Gothic art is s omething fa r wider
. .

’
E xception might even be taken to s ome of M r M oore s E xc ep

325?
1 11 1
condition s o u the ground th a t an architectura l fe a ture is
, 11 01

dim “
only j u s tified by a structural meaning For in s t a nce the .

w a ll rib doe s not really belong to the vault at all but to

-
,

the wall into which it is bonded I t is rather ornamental .

C H M 1
r Go th i h it t p 2
. . oo e, c arc ec u r e, . 0 .
2 56 F RE N C H A ND E N G L I S H GO T H I C [ C H x 1 v .

than nece s s ary I t is often omitted and the S ide panel

.
,

‘
re s t s on a chase or s e t off i n the wall j u s t a s well
-
.

Agai n there is no s tructural reas on for carrying the

shaft s that s upport the rib s of the high vaults down to
the ground ; for a s V io lle t le D uc point s out the thrust
- -
,

and weight fall mo s tly on the back of the pier toward s

the ai s le and the front may be retired without danger
,
.

Thi s j u s tifie s the common E ngl i s h habit O f corbelling out

the vaulting s haft s from the spandril s of the great arcade ,

a s in the choir of E ly the nave and pre s bytery at Lincoln

, .

and the n a ve and choir at E xeter or even from the ,

triforium s pandril s a s at Wells Again if a eh eo et is .

,

es s enti a l what become s of Laon and other s quare ended -

F rench churches like S S erge a t A nger s P

.

“ ”
This attempt to limit the term Gothic is not a s
might be s uppo s ed a mere matter of word s I t touche s .

the whole conception of Gothic a r t by attempting to

confine it to one of it s phenomena What other word is .

there to cover the whole of mediaeval art through the

whole period a n d i n all its branche s which all reflect ,

equ a lly the medi a eval mind whether the medium be ,

wood or s tone gl a s s or iron p a inting or sculpture prose

, , ,

or poetry I n all we s e e the s a me re s tle s s energy the

.
,

s ame s triving for more perfect mode s of e x pre s s ion the ,

s ame di s content with what h a d been done and the s ame

'

ru s h ever onw a rd to s omething new I t w a s the time of .

the youth a lmo s t of the childhood of E urope I f it w a s

, , .

the age of faith it was al s o the age of credulity and

s uper s tition .Like children the men of that time were
“
alway s a s king why a n d not s ati s fied with an answer
,

th a t was not po s itive and authorit a tive The world of .

unseen powers w a s ever near them — good and evil , ,

Pl t V I p 7 p
1
a e ,
. 2 , su .
 2 58 F R E N C H A N D E N G L I S H G O T H I C [C H . X IV
‘

a whole not piecemeal a s i n fa ct the language by which

gigggz
he
, ,

of th e the mind of the M iddle Ages found outw a rd and visible

expre s s io n in every field of a r t .

A S for the artist s and thei r craft s men it h a s been the

fashion to imagine the m working with a piety and
devotional fervour now unknown But I fancy they .

were very like the workmen a n d artist s of the present

day allowing for difference of educ a tion and knowledge
, .

Art and religion I fear do not alway s go hand i n hand ,

and if Fra Angelico ro s e from h is knees to paint his

picture s Perugino who s e work breathe s the tendere s t
,

religiou s feeling w a s according to Vas ari little better

, ,

th a n an infidel The art workers of the M iddle Ages

.
-

s hared of cours e the religiou s beliefs a s well a s the

s uper s tition s of the day I n the Rom a ne s que period we
.

read of diaboli c i nterruption s of the h o ly w o r k and of .

,

mira culou s a s s i s tance by s a i nt s and angel s but the s e are ,

confined to th a t period when the cloi ster w a s the crafts

,

man s s chool and monki s h h a nd s and br a in s were employed

’

on the building When the art pa s s ed into the hand s

.

of lay m en we hear no more of the s e s upernatural inter

v e n t io n s and the chronicle s a r e s ilent about the triumph s
,

of the Gothic s chool which no longer had the s ame

,

intere s t for a monki s h h i s torian The s culptors of the .

l a ter s chool s a mu s ed them s elve s with ridicule of the holy

fa thers of rival orders and the B enedictine s of N orwich
, ,

like the re s t m a de no obj ection to caric a ture s of monk s

,

and friars in the mi s erere s of their s tall s .

M di l
e a eva N or I regret to s a y w a s the work alwa y s as well
m pi g
, ,
sc a n
done I n the M iddle Age s a s it s hould have been There .

w a s bad building a n d s c a mping then a s now N ot to .

go beyond my own experience I have constantly been ,

surpri s ed by the carele s s ne s s of the O ld builder s about

CH . x 1 v] F R E N C H A N D E N G L I S H G O T H I C 2 59

their foundations At Winchest e r the y ar e laid on a

.

peat bog and stand in wat e r Fortunately t h e walls are .

unusually well built for that time or the settlem e nts , ,

dreadful as th e y w e re would have b e en worse and the

, ,

cathedral would long ago have b e en i n ruin A t Christ .

church prior y the s outh side o f th e nav e h a s had to be

underpinned At S Cross the foundations are on s oft
. .

wet ground and serious s e ttlement s have t a ken place

,
.

A t A s hbourne the s ub s oil is a s b a d as at Winche s t e r ,

and the foundation s are only of r o ugh ston e loo s el y pil e d

’
together without any mo rtar At B i s hop s Waltham the .

footings a r e l a id on the top of the ground which is of

cl a y The mortar is O ften mere rubbish T he lovely
. .

’
E arly E ngli s h towe r of S M ary s at S tamford to wh ich
.
,
’

Si r Walter S cott used to take off h is hat w h e n p o s t in g

through the town northward s is put together with nothing ,

but dirt s craped off the ro a d containing very little lime ,

if any I t is the s ame a t the pretty l ittle 1 3 th century

.

tower and s pire of D uddington a few mile s a way a n d ,

is probably no better i n mo s t of the fine church e s of

N o r t h a m p t o n s h ir e At Chiche s ter b e fore the s pire fell
.
, ,

the mortar of the i nterior of the piers ran out like water
when a ston e w a s withdrawn a n d I am told it w a s j ust ,

the s ame at Peterborough For all the s e si ns of our .

mediaeval mas ters we are now paying the penalty I t .

seem s to have been much the s ame in France fo r ,

V io lle t le D uc remark s that the e x ecution of Gothic

- -

work with a few e xceptions is far inferior to that of

, ,

the Romanesque builders who s howed much greater ,

care and deli b e ration than their s ucces s ors in preparing

for their masonry and i n carrying it out .

But though the m e n of the M iddle Ages had their

defe cts and their s hortcomings like ourselves they had ,

1 7— 2
2 60 F R E N C H A N D E N G L I S H G O T H I C [ C H x1V .

wh a t we have i n a great me a s ure lost a lively and free ,

arti s tic temperament which made it natural and eas y

,

for them to do th ings beautifully bec a u s e they did them ,

uncon s ciou s ly For they h a d the i ne s timable advantage

.

of having no choice they knew no other s tyle but their

own and had no more ide a of a n y other w a y of expre s s ing
themselve s i n s tone or wood gla s s or metal than th ey , ,

h a d i n word s Where a s we with our knowledge of all

.
,

the s chool s and all the age s are h a mpered by it : we ,

cannot forget it if we would we ought not to try to do ,

s o if we could for it is the condition of our day and

, ,

therefore s hould enter i nto the conception of our art if

it is to repre s ent us Bu t thi s doe s not mean imitation
. .

So long a s our work is con s ciously imitated from what

w a s done in other day s and under other conditions s o
long w ill it be unreal The only modern work that will
.

have a n y intere s t for our children will be s uch as has

come nat u rally a n d uncon s cio u s ly to the arti s t to meet
the occa s ion U nfortunately there is little of it
. .

B efore closing the s ubj ect of F rench Geometrical

Gothic let u s briefly review the final re s ult at which it
arriv e d I t is the outcome a s I have tried to S how of
.
, ,

a s trict logical progre s s ion from s tage to s tage and we ,

cannot b ut a dmire the s teadi ne s s a n d s ure ne s s of its

advance Advantage was taken of every accident of
.
,

every experiment to econom i s e material reduce o b s t r u c

, ,

tion s and s uppres s a ll that did not form part of the

,

con s tructional s keleton B ut however much we may .

admire the s cience di s played i n the perfected s tyle the

que s tion obtrude s its elf whether it did not go too far .

I n buildings where everything depen ds on the equilibrium

of force s where thru s t must bal a nce th ru s t and nothing
,

is i n repo s e where no margin is l e ft for s a fet y and

, ,
 C H A PTE R XV

WE S TMI N ST ER A BB Y E A ND T H E ME D I A EV A L
A R C H I T ECT

THE N orman ch u rch of the abbey of Westmi nster

wa s begun by E dward the Confes s or in 1 0 55 and the ,

choir w a s con s ecrated i n 1 0 65 w hen he w a s too ill to

attend j u s t before his death The name of h is architect
,
.
,

“
Godwin called G re a t Syd ma s ter c em en t a r iu s of the
, ,

‘
church h a s been pre s erved
,
”
By h is name and that .

of h is son A e lfw in he must have been a Saxon and it ,

is curiou s th a t he s hould have been the architect of what

William of M alme s bury calls the fir s t church built in
E ngland after the Norman manner The nave seem s .

not to have b e en begun till after the Conque s t in 1 1 0 0 , .

Thi s church stood till the middle of the 1 3 th century ,

in the reign of H enry I I I That prince Dante s king .

,
’

of s imple me was the greate s t virtuoso of h is time : he

,

had an unbou nd e d pa s s ion for architecture and the S i s ter ,

and th e n s ub s idiary arts of painting and s culpture and , ,

for collecting b e autiful stuffs j ewellery and not lea s t o f all , ,

relic s O f the last article on this li s t there w a s no lack

.

of s upply at that age and we hear of a phi a l of the H oly ,

1
C h rt r
a e in 2 9t h Re p rt
o of t h e R ec o rd fi
Of ce . Ci e td W . R L e t h a b y,
.

Wes t m in s t er A b bey an d Cr af t s m en , p . 102 .

2
V d t il R d ll m pl i it
e e e e e a se ce v a

S d r Ia l A rrig d I gh ilt rr
e e so o , o
’
n e a,

Q ti h u es r m i i m igl i r
a ne
’
a su o o e u sc i a t .

P u rg a t . VI I . 1 30 .
 P la t e L X X VI I

W E S TM IN S T E R A BB EY
 2 64 T H E M E D I A E VA L A R C H I T E CT [ CH . xv
de s ign commanded such resp e ct that both h is succe s sors ,

i nst e ad of working i n the style of their own day a s was ,

.

usual i n th e M iddle Ages kept to the de s ign of their ,

predece s sor with only a few minor differences of detail

,
.

T he s e all held the o ffice of K ing s M a s on for th e work ’

w a s done by the king and not by the monk s the church ,

having alway s been regarded a s a s ort of royal fo u n da

tion and to this day at the tim e of a coronation the s tate
,
v

official s tak e po s s ession of it for that ceremonial .

I n contra s ting the modern architect with tho s e men

to who s e g e niu s we owe the architectural tr iumph s of the
M iddle Ages the po s ition of the latter h a s been much
,

mi s under s tood When it came no longer to b e believed

.

that great prelate s like William of Wykeham were the

real archit e ct s of thei r buildings we were taught that ,

these building s were not the work of i ndividual architect s ,

but of a s chool of craft s men whose very name s are

unknown Full credit must no doubt be allowed to the
.

i nfluence of the school but it is neverthele s s obviou s ,

that ev e ry one O f the great works we admire must have

be e n de s igned by s ome one member of that s chool to ,

whom its characteri s tic features are due There can be .

no arti s tic conception without an author and it is ab s urd

to s uppo s e that the design of any great building i n the
M iddle Age s came of it s elf from the a ss ociated labour of
a group of builders without a s ingle hea d over them to
direct a s s ome fanciful people would have u s believe
, .

A great work of architecture can no more com e i nto

being i n that way than a great picture from a committee ,

‘
of painters or a great poem from one of poet s There is
, .

no great building of the M iddle Ages which h a s not an

1
L
’
on
’
n a g er v
u e u ju squ
’
apr é t s en un c h fd
e -
’
ce u vr e d prit
’
es qu i t
so i

I
’
O u vr a g e de pl i r
u s eu s . LA B R U Y ERE .
 CH . x v] T H E M E D I A E VA L A R C H I T E C T 2 65

i ndividual character of it s own ; the expre s sion of an

individual m ind ; of a single artist working of cours e i n ,

the style of h is day — what el s e could he do — but who ,

nev e rthel e ss put h is per s onal s tamp on h is work N or is .

th e re any my s tery a s to who these men were They .

have indeed rarely put their n a me to their work Vas ari P o ssib l e

is a s tonished at the stupidity and i ndifference to fame ggt

S hown by their not doi ng so
‘
But Profe s sor L e t h a b y .
nam e s

gives u s the names of all the M a s ter M a s on s and other -

chief craftsmen at Westmin s ter and believ e s it po s s ible ,

to do the sam e for C anterbury Li ncol n York D urham , , , ,

Sali s bury Well s and E xeter by diligent s earch among

, ,

th e archives of tho s e place s 2

.

That their name s are O ften lo s t is due partly to the

illiteracy of the age and perhap s more to th e etiquette ,

which required that the buildi ng s hould be de s cribed

as the work of thi s or that abbot or bi s hop A nd yet .

we do find now and then the craft s man who really

, ,
Ar hit t
c ec s
nam es
de s igned the work in s cribing h is name on h is ma s ter r rd d
ec o e

piece a s i f he were anxiou s to s ecure th e credit of it and

, ,

did not wi s h to be forgotten G is le b e r t u s h a s put h is .

name on the tympanum at A utun ; G a u fr e du s on the

doors of Le Puy ; T homa s Mo y s e s h a s cut h is name
on the S tone he set at D urham ; and at Reim s and
A mien s the figure s a n d name s of the architect s appe a red
with tho se of the bi s hop in the labyrinth on the floor .

We have the names of E dward the C onfe s s or s architect

’

at We s tmin s ter O f Pierre de M ontereau at S D e ni s and

,
.

1
I qu a l i t tt iu e difi z i h a ve n d ti d o io ve u e e non hv d a en o

tr o va o t m ai non l
ch e a cun a m m ri d M tri m
e o a e
’
a es , a n e anc h m lt v lt
e o e o e

in che ll
m i e s im o fu ss e r o f tt i a p , n onm o ss o se n on a r a vig lia r m i d ll g fe a o

f zz
e a e p oco dis ide r io di gl r i d gl i ho m i i di q
a lle uo n ue
’
et a
. V ri Vit
a sa ,
a
’
d A r n ol o f di L ap o .

2
0p . c it . pr f e ace .
2 66 T H E M E D I A E VA L A RC H I T E C T [ CH . xv
Pari s of fourteen architects employed on the cathedral
,

of Rouen between the end of the 1 2 th and th e m iddle

‘
of the 1 6th century we have that of William j o y th e , ,

ma s ter —mason who built the chapter house at Wells for

D ean G o dle e ; that of Richard of F a r n h a m the archit e ct
2
,

of the chapel of nin e a ltars at Durham and at Lincoln ,

is the gravestone of Richard of Gainsborough builder ,

of the c e ntral tower and th e C loisters Str ee t give s a .

list of no les s than 1 3 7 architect s sculptors and builders ,

i n S pai n from 1 1 2 9 onwards H e s ay s he found that .

“
almo s t all the archit e ct s were laymen and j u s t as much ,

s ”
a di s tinct cla s s a s arch itects of the pre s ent d a y .

A s early a s the 1 3 th century the m aster mas ons s eem -

to have had an education rare at that age among laym e n .

I n s ome ca s e s they were entrusted with the management

of the building account s Wila r s de H o n e c o r t could .

write and write a s beautifully as any s cribe as we see

, ,

not only by the notes appended to h is s ketche s but by ,

a whole page of manu s cript at the end of his volum e

in which he give s recipe s for a m e dicine to cure wou nds ,

and for pre s erving flower s H e understood Latin also .

,

and write s again s t h is s ketch plan for a large church -

,

’ ’
I st u d p r e sb it eriu in ve n e r t u la r du s d h o n ec o r t
’

p e u str d e c o d i pu t do
r b eia ir se
'

s an

I t appears that the M as ter M ason acted to s ome -

extent much like a modern architect with the important ,

difference that he w a s con s tantly on the work in s tead of

’
directing it from a di s tance The king s ma s on s had .

charge of all the roy a l buildings M as ter H enry while .

engaged at We s tmin s ter was al s o employed at Wind s or

L i l L C the
1
p 9 ’ '
o se , a l d R a ara e e ou en , . 12 .

C2
Ch r h E
an o n ly H i t y f t h Ch
u c , h f W ll p 96
ar s or o e urc o e s, . 2 .

G E Str t G t h i
3
. . ee h it t
, i Sfi i
o C h p XX I
c a rc ec u r e n a n , a . .

P l t X X V I I I E d Wil l i
4
a e , . s .
 68 T HE M E D I A E VA L A RC H I T E CT xv
2
[ CH .

‘
when they had to travel j oh n of B everley in 1 2 75 .

had 1 2 d a day which w a s incr e as e d to 1 6d when he

.
, .

travelled and the king gave him a tun of wine Twice

, .

a year they received furred robe s a curiou s form of ,

well Geoffrey de C arlton c o m en t a r ia s to the king at

.
,

’
Wind s or in 1 3 7 8 recei ves 6a a day a n d z o s a ye a r for . .

robe a n d s hoe s I n 1 3 51 a M a s ter M a s on w a s paid

2
.
-

2 6s 8 d over h is wage s which were from 1 s 8 a

. . to 2 s a .
’
. .

week and 1 6s 4 d for h is dre s s and s hoe s but i n 1 3 54

, . .
,

he refu s ed the dre s s in a pet becau s e he had been kept ,

waiting for it H enry Y e ve le K ing s M ason i n 1 3 8 9

s
.
,
’

w a s promi s ed a robe yearly of E s quire s degree ; i n 1 3 9 0

’

he w a s exempted from s erving on j uries and the manors ,

of F r e m w o r t h and Van nes i n K ent were granted him in

‘ ’
lieu of h is pen s ion of I s a day William V irtue s robe . .

i n 1 5 1 0 w a s to be li ke the suit of E s quire s of the

H ou s ehold and h is contemporary William D ra w s w e r d
"
, , ,

one of a famou s family of image makers at York was ,

Sheriff M ember of Parliament and Lord M ayor of h is

, ,

“
native city The grave s tone of Richard of Gain s
.

borough at Lincoln A D 1 3 0 0 repre s ent s him under a , . .

,

rich triple c a nopy equal to those of the canons I t ,

.

would really s eem that i n the 1 3 t h and following centurie s ,

far from being the humble unknown mechanic that h a s

been s uppo s ed the M a s ter M as on architect fa red socially
,
-

as well as the architect who repre s e nts him at the

present day .

Though s ometimes the M as ter M a s on s a s h a s been -

,

"
s aid already had charge of the account s they were
, ,

1
L e t h a b y, p
o . c it . p . 1 64
2
I b id . p . 197 .

3
I b id p . . 202 .
5
I bid . p . 2 29 .

6
I bid pp . . 2 3 3- 4 .
CH . x v] T H E M E D I A E VA L A R C H I T E C T 2 69

genera lly controlled by a S urveyor or Tre a surer At , .

’
We s tmin s ter he w a s called K eeper of the K i ng s Work s .

At the begi nning of the work thi s office w a s held by Odo

the Gold s mith a n d h is s o n E dw a rd I n the roll of 1 2 4 9 .

occur the name s of Dominu s E dw a r du s Cler ic u s a n d , ,

‘
M a gister H enricu s Cem en t a r iu s
,
I n 1 3 7 8 Geoffrey de .

Carlton w a s Cem en t a r iu s a t Wind s or a n d Willi a m of ,

Wykeham who w a s s ucceeded i n 1 3 8 9 by C haucer w a s

, ,

Cler ieu s Again i n 1 3 62 we find the name s of Mis t r e

.

William H erland chief carpenter H enry Y e ve le devi s er

, , ,

of ma s onry and William of Wickham clerk

, , .

1
Cem en t a r iu s is t h e u su a ltr
e m in E gl d I I t l i
n an . n a an con tr t
ac s th e
M t rM
as e -
tyl d
a s o n is s e L ap ic ida At . V i t h r h it t
en c e e a c ec Zu a n e Bo n in
14 3 tr
0 l t th i i t T j
a n s a es s n o a a p ier a , V t i f t g li p i t
en e an or a a e ra .
 CHA PTE R XV I

WE S TMI N S T ER A BB Y, E c o n t in u ed

Fr hen c H EN R Y I I I had French sympathie s and he seem s

r r f ,

to have determ ined that h l s new church s hould follow

IH ec l i tbtbfl fi tlfl;
'

-
13 5@ - 142 ® DEEIRX I IE

0 13 0 0 0 0 0

o e o e o o e m

F ig .
99 .

th e s tyle of the cathedral s then either j u s t fini s hed or i n

progress i n the French royal domain The cathedral at .
2 7 2 WESTM I N STE R A B B EY [ CH . xv1
E ngli s h architect or master of th e work s w a s commi s sioned
to vi s it the great cathedral s then in proce s s of erection
in France with the V iew of m a king h is design on the
,

genera l idea s ugge s ted by them Would that like his .

contemporary Wila r s de H o n e c o r t he had bequeathed to

‘ ”
u s h is S ketch book -

I t w a s evidently the practice then for architect s to

tra vel about a n d s e e what was going on el s ewhere i n
,

the w a y of their profe s s ion Thi s explains th e remark .

able way in which changes of s tyle took place con

currently in distant part s of th e s ame country .

Wila r s de H o n e c o r t made h is tour among the gre a t

buildings then rising and we have his S ketch of the new ,

ap s id a l chapel s at Reim s and h is note that thi s w a s how ,

the ch a pel s at C ambrai S hould be done N o doubt ”

.

M a s ter H enry of W e s tmin s ter filled his album with

s imilar rough note s of what he h a d seen at Reims Paris , ,

and Amiens .

The eastern arm at Westmin s ter is much s horter

than the u s ual E nglish proportion for it w a s bounded by ,

the Lady Chapel which had j ust been fini s hed and the ,

ap s e therefore occupie s th e area O f that O f the C onfes s or s ’

’
church K ing H enry s buildi ng included the ap s e a n d
.

c h evet and the S hort pre s bytery the transept s and the , ,

two lower s toreys of the first bay of the nave We s t .

ward O f this remai ned the rude E arly N orman nave of

1 1 00 E dward I fin i s hed the clerestory of the first
.

nave bay which has one j amb O f his work and one of
, ,

1
Glea n ing s f r o m Wes t m in s t er p
A bb ey , . 20 .

2
Wila r s de H o n ec o r t . F ac s im il by M
e .l t d d d it d
L a s s u s, tr ans a e an e e

by Pr f o e s so r Will i Pl t s . a es L I X , LX . Et l tr p g p v v ir
en c e e a u e a en e oes us e

les m o n t ee s de s c a p ie le s de le gl i d se e R i p d h r
a ns tr l m ar e o s . es e co en c e

m en td e sc i e n le fi n e n s i m
co l e es t d t t l m i r d i t tr
su n . au re e an e e o ve n es e

l
c e es de Ca m br a i s o n lo r f it dr it
a o .
CH . xe WE ST M I N ST E R A B B EY 2 73
‘
h is
’
father s as S ir Gilbert S cott has s hown ; and he
,

rebuilt i n the n e w s tyle the next four bay s of the nave .

The remaining s even bay s were built between 1 3 50 a n d

1420 and afford a rare in s tance of medi a eval re s pect
,

for a previou s style ; the genera l de s ign of the choir

being faithfully followed though the detail s and capit a l s ,

“
betray the Perpendicular ma s on .

From the date s i n the F abric roll s it may be a s s umed

th a t the original de s ign is due to M a s ter H enry a n d ,

that the s econd part under E dward I though begun by

him w a s fi ni s hed or nearly fini s hed by h is s ucce s s or s
, ,

j oh n of Glouce s ter and Robert O f B everley The com .

p le t io n of the nave in the Perpendicul a r period is due

to M a s ter H enry Ye v e le the K ing s ma s on who w a s ,

’

al s o employed at the Palace and the Tower of London 2

.

Owing to the S hortne s s of the pre s bytery the choir , ,

Th e c h ir
o

i n s tead of being a s u s ual i n B enedictine churche s u nder

the central cro s s ing is moved entirely i n to the nave ,
.

I t is the s ame at R eim s wh ich is cert a i nly one of the ,

churche s V i s ited and studied by M a s ter H enry .

Westmin s ter though the loftie s t of E ngli s h churche s

, ,

m e asuring 1 00 feet to the crown of the v a ult is surpa s s ed ,

in magnitude by its continental rival s The out s ide .

,

corroded by London fog and s oot patched refa ced and , , ,

remodelled by frequent r e storation h a s only it s fine pro ,

portion and general feature s of con s truction to recommend

it But the in s ide h a s no rival i n Gothic architecture
.

for richne s s a n d b e auty ( Plate L X X V I I ) N owhere .

el s e is there s uch delicacy of detail s uch grace of propor ,

tion s uch wealth of marble column s s uch S plendour

, ,

of diapered wall N owhere el s e is there a triforium

.

1
u . ill tr t i
us a on, Glea n in g s , Pl t a e X, p .
32 .

t h b y pp 1 6 — 2 14
2
Le a ,
.
5 .

J . G A
. .
2 74 WE ST M I N ST E R A B BEY [ CH . X VI

comparable with thi s with it s lovely double traceries and

,

richly moulded and s culptured arche s nowhere else are

there vault s more fai rly devi s ed or banded s o choicely ,

with s tone s of various colours C o mpared with a bay .

of We s tmin s ter one of Amien s s eem s poor a n d thin the ,

triforium bald and s hadowle s s the mouldings S light and

,

i neffective T here is no fi ner compo s ition in Gothic

.

architecture than the tran s ept end s with the huge ro s e ,

window above the return of t h e triforium beneath it

, ,

pierced a n d glazed at back and filled with angelic ,

s culpture i n the s pandrel s And nowhere do we find

.

wall arcading to s urpas s that which run s ro u nd t h e lower

-

part of the wall s with it s m a rble s hafts a n d grac e ful

,

carving .

The proportion s of the bay s at A m ie n s a n d West ~

min s ter a r e very S imil a r D ividing the height a s i n

.

former case s into 3 2 parts we get thi s re s ult

A m ie n s Wes tm in st e r

I n both the arcade take s half the height but at ,

Westmin s ter the triforium I S I nscribed in a square while ,

that at Amien s is wider than it is high The w idth of .

the bay at We s tmin s ter is 5% part s at Amien s a little ,

more .

I n on e more point of importance it is probable th a t

F rench influence s howed it s elf We s tmin s ter contain s
.

either the firs t or at all eve nt s almo s t the first example s

, ,

i n E ngland of perfected b a r tracery The window s are

-
.

s imple in the pres bytery a n d ap s e where the work began ,

but by the time the tran s epts were reached s ome s e ven ,
 CH . x v 1] WES T M I NSTE R A B B EY 2 75

or eight years l a ter the el a borate tra cery of the great

,

ro s e window s S howed that the mason s h a d nothing more

to learn in that cla s s of work The S C hapelle which .
te

w a s ri s ing a t the s a me time a s We s tmin s ter h a s traceried

window s completely developed s ome of which s eem to ,

‘
have s e t the p a ttern for wi ndow s at We s tmin s ter But .

I defer the s ubj ect of tra c ery to a nother chapter .

With the s e point s the re s emblance to F rench work E gl h n ls

d t il e a
end s The Purbeck column s with thei r detached marble
.
,

colonnettes and the round moulded c a pital s a r e all purely

,

E ngli s h ; s o is the vaulting which is qu a dripartite with

,

the a s hlar of the p a nel s fill ed i n E ngli s h fa s hion and ,

h a n de d with s tone s of two colours ; S O are the acute

arches of the main a rcade which are s truck with a radiu s
,

twice the length of their s pan ; S O is the carvi ng for the ,

French arti s t who s e touch S ir Gilbert S cott thought

he detected in s ome of the capital s of the wall arc a de is -

the exception which prove s the rule Thi s la s t inv a s ion .

of foreign ta s te had even le s s i nfluence th a n the former

on the current of E ngli s h art N 0 more a p s idal churche s
.

were built nor except i n a few in s t a nce s which will be

,

noted by and by w a s the example of We s tmin s ter i n

other re s pects followed el s ewhere Above a ll even at .

Westmin s ter it s elf the ide a s taken from the French were
tran s lated i nto E ngli s h .

A ccording to the more u s ual fa s hion in E ngland the Th e

tri f ri m o u
triforium at We s tmin s ter is O pen b a ckw a rd s to the s pace
over the ai s le v a ult s in s tead of being clo s ed by a wall
,

a s at A miens and a t Southwark or glazed with window s ,

a s at Beauv a i s and a s I t 18 here when it return s a cro s s

,

the tran s ept end The ai s le v a ult s a r e levelled up and

.

a paved floor formed making a s p a ciou s gallery round

,

1
Glea n ing s , p . 19 .

18 —2
2 76 WEST M I N ST E R AB BEY [ CH . xv
the church ( Plate L X X V I I I ) capable of accommodating
a gre a t multitude of s pectator s T he s e triforium gallerie s
.

were common i n Romane s que churche s and in France ,

they were O ften covered with an upp e r vault s o that ,

the roof s p a ce above required a s econd trifori u m making

four s torey s a s at Tournay N oyon L a on Paris and
, , , , ,

S Remi at Reim s The Gothic triforium was not alway s

. .

made u s e o f and at Lincol n and Sali s bury it is not

,

floored but you w a lk on plank s over the ridge and furrow

of the ai s le v a ulting At Westmi n s t e r pain s w e re t a ken
.

to make it s erviceable by flattening its roof s o that the

outer wall could be rai s ed high enough to contain a row
of tri a ngular window s I t a l s o has the S ingularity of
.

being continued not only round the c h eo et but al s o over

the ap s idal chapel s m a king a n upper s torey O f them
, .

The extreme be a uty of thi s triforium both i n detail and ,

in proportion mu s t s trike everyone,

I t is a faultle s s .

ex a mple of E ngli s h Gothic at it s be s t and i n my O pinio n ,

h a s no rival anywhere ( Fig Fig 1 0 1 s hows the

. .

det a il of the shaft .

The clere s tory is carried up to the level of the side

vault and quite fill s the bay thu s s ati s fyi ng the s trict
, ,

logic of Gothic constr u ction by oblitera ting the curtain

wall the wi ndow arch forming the wall rib of the
,

vaulting O wing to the narrowness of the bay the

.

wall arch is s tilted to s uch a degree that the panel of

the vault h a s to wind a gre a t deal and for s ome way ,

up there is little but a thin wall on the back of the ribs

next the S ide wall The clere s tory pas s age h a s dis
.

appeared and the wi ndow is brought well towards the

,

inside fa ce .

We s tmin s ter is one of the places in E ngland where

polychrome ma s onry rare on thi s s ide of the Alps is
, ,
2 78 WESTM I N ST E R A B B EY [
CH . X VI

employed There are trace s of chequer work in the

.

early N orm an building and the vaulting of the nave and

,

of the cloi s t e r s is b a nded with ston e of two different

colours with charming effect .

’
K ing H enry s foreign inclination s were not limited
to F rance H ere alone in E ngland till the time of the
.

Ren a i s s ance do we find sp e cimens of I talian art I t was .

F ig . 10 1.

required of a newly elected a bbot that he s hould go

to Rome for confirmation and Abbot Ware went there
,

in 1 2 58 the year of h is election and it is said al s o

, ,

in 1 2 67 From Rome he brough t with him the material s

.

for a p a vement of op u s A lexa n dr in u m and an arti s t ,

Odericu s to la y it for him i n front of the H igh Alt a r .

Twenty fi ve years later i n 1 2 8 3 he w a s buried under the

-
CH . X VI
] WESTM I NSTE R A B B EY 2 79

north side of h is own p a vem e nt i n a place chosen by

himself where as h is epitaph s ay s he now bears up , ,

‘
the s tone s which once he bore from the City .

A bb as R ic a r du s de Wa ra qu i r e q u e sc it i
H ic p o rt at l a pi es d q u o s h u c p o r t a vit ab U rb e .

For the perfection O f the s e pavement s it is nece s s ary

to u s e the material s of the I talian workmen red ,

Porphyry green Porphyry or as they call it S erpentino

, ,

and P a lombino an O paque creamy white s tone s ome ,

-

thing like that u s ed by lithographers NO other s tone s 2

.

will do a s well a s those know who have tried to do ,

without them Th ey were only to be had i n I taly for .

,

till modern time s the porphyry quarrie s were unknown ,

and all the mo s aic of the M iddle Age s is made from

antique fragment s s awn into thi n slab s from th e ruin s , ,

of Roman buildings M any of the circles in these .

pav e ment s are S lices of antique colum n s cut horizontally .

I n I taly the di s cs and s lab s and interlacing border s , ,

of mo s aic are s e t i n white marble but the only marble ,

at the command of Odericu s and the Abbot w a s our

Dors etshire Purbeck which fail s to do full j u s tice to ,

the colours of the inl a y and h a s moreover s tood wear ,

and damp rather badly Another local peculiarity is the .

1 “
Ex p rt b r l i j— x t
a e o ea u a t lI b a m
'

Dni O d om a ri de V a le n E c o it is de
p en b r o k e .
”
S p o r le y , MOI 1 2 We s t m : Co mp ila t io b r eo is fre e fre e , . p .
54, in
rt
B i Mu s . M S Cl d A 8 . . au . . .

Th p it ph i w l t T h r i
e e a d m ir bl w d t f t h
s no os . e e s an a a e oo cu o e

p m t i Gl i g p 96 w ith C h pt r t h m i by W B rg
a ve en n ea n n s, .
, a a e on e o sa c . u es .

C t rb ry h
an e up m t f p A l x d i m i fr t f t h it
as a a ve en o o u s e an r nu n on o e s e

o f B k t echri b t it d
e
’
s s t f rm t t h I t l i p tt r l ik th t
n e, u o es n o c on o o e a an a e n e a

a t W tm i t r es d t h v b l id by I t l i
ns e ,
an I t i ill tr t d
canno a e e en a a ans . s us a e

to al rg l i l r by F w l r
a e sc a e n co ou o e .

2
I h v h rd th i ll d
a e l by I t l i
ea w rk m wh m I h v
s ca e cocco a a an o en o a e

e m pl y d f o th i ki d f w rk B rg ( Gl i g p 9 7 ) y it i ll d
e or s n o o . u es ea n n s, . sa s s ca e

L t m
ac e i S i ily
u sa O th r m rb l
n d c i lly w ith P rphyry
. e a es a r e u se occas ona o

an d S rp t i e b t then th pr i ip l m p
n o, u t f t h d ig l w y
ese a r e e nc a co o n en s o e es n a a s .
 WE STM I N STE R A B B EY [ CH . xvr

u se of bra s s letters for the in s criptions let into the ,

marble borders of which unhappily mo s t have dis ,

appeared The text however can be recovered partly

.
, ,

from what remain s partly from the casement s i n the ,

s tone but mainly from the manuscript liv e s of the

,

‘
Abbot s written by the M onk S p o r le y about 1 4 60
C amden s eem s to have followed S p o r le y but not alway s ,

exactly 2
.

Rou nd the great square within the outer border s till

remain part s of an in s cription i n Lombardic letters giving
the date 1 2 68 and the names of the king the abbot and , ,

the arti s t in three hexameter lines and a pentameter

,

with needle s s fal s e prosody

>I< X PI E NTE N O DU O DE N O
M I LL E N O BI S C
C U S E X A G E N O S UBD U C T I S Q UATU O R A N N O : :
3

T E RT I U S H E N R I C U S R E X U R B S O D E R I C U S ET : : A B BA S
H O S C O M P E G E R E P O R P H I R E O S LA P I D E S .

Round the i nterior quatrefoil of i nterlacing band s c ir c u

la r it er sc r it t i were five hexameter lines

SI P O S I TA P R U D E NT E R C NTA R E U O L U A T
LE CT O R
H I C F I N E M P R I M I MO BI L I S I N U E N I E T .

S E P E S T R I N A CA N E S E T E Q U O S H O I E S Q S U P A D D A S .

CE R U O S C O R U O S A Q U I L A S I MMA N I A C E T E
M U N D I OB OE S E Q U E S P E U N T I S T R P L I CA T A NN O S .

“
S p o r le y
explains th a t by the s e lines the writer from some
fancy of h is own by a triple i ncrea s e of numbers calculates,

”
the end of the world Thu s three hedge s s tand for three .

1
S p o r le y , o f . c it .

2
Ca m , d
R eg es , R eg in a e,
en n o b iles Cas e
. in E c elos ia Co ll . B . P et r i
Wes tm o n s epu lt i, 1 60 3 .

3
Leth a b y and th e pl i an n Glea n ing s r d
ea su b du c t u s , b u t t h e c a s e m en t
rbl i
in t h e m a e s d i t i tly I
s nc h ld b
a s it s o u th e . In e s e in s c i io n s r pt Ig
ive
th e a bbr i t i ev a ons as in S p o r le y ’
s m r ipt I t d
a n u sc . o es n o t f ll w th t th y
o o a e

we r i th p
e so n e a ve m e n t .
2 82 WES T M I N S T E R A B B E Y [ CH . xv
P et r u s to wor k it Th is s hrine accord
c ie ls R om a n u s , .
,

i ng to the i ns c ription of which only part s r e main was , ,

‘
not fini s h e d till 1 2 8 0 after the d e ath of H enry I I I , .

E ANNO : MI L L E N O B NI CU S E P T UA G E N O
ET BI S C E N TE N O
M P L E T O Q U A S I D E NO CU CO :

H O C O PUS E S T F A CT U Q U O D P ET R U S D U X I T I N A C T U
: :

RO MA N U S C IVI S H O M O CA U S A M N O S C E R E S I V I S
: : :

R EX FU I T H E N R I C U S S C I P R E S E N T I S A M I C U S : .

I t con s i s ted as w a s usual of a s tructure of s tone with

an altar and r e table at the we s t end and above was ,

the S hrine proper of gold and j ew e llery which formed ,

a s ort O f lid to the receptacle i n the s tone s tructure

i n which the body w a s laid Thi s s plendid shrine was .

u s ually hidden by a wooden covering hung to counter

balancing weight s I n 1 2 69 the C onfes s or s body w a s 2
.
’

s olemnly removed to th is new s hrine of which illustra ,

tions are given in a M S at C ambridge written for .

E leanor the queen of H enry I I I

, I t s e x traordina r y ’
.

“
S plendour is mentioned by many travellers I sa w .

“
one da y s ay s Tr e vi s ano an I talian in 1 4 9 7
,
”
the , , ,

tomb O f K ing E dward in the church at We s tminster and ,

truly neither S t M artin of Tours nor anything else that ,

I have seen can be put i nto any compari s on with

The s hri ne was des troyed at th e Reformation and th e
body buri e d el s ewhere but in Sir G G S cott s opinion ,
. .
’

the lower part wh ich still remain s w a s n o t taken down .

’
At Q ueen M ary s counter reformation th e body w a s -

1
M tth a ew P ri
a s sa y s th e g ld hri
o s ne was o rd r d by
e e H en ry in 1 241 .

Glea n ing s , p . 1 2 7, &c .

2
In Er a sm u s s c o
’
ll q y — P g i t i R
o u ,
er e r na o eli gio n is er g o , -
is a d e sc ripti on

o f th e s hri ne of S T h m t C t rb ry
. o as a an e u . A u r ea m t h ec a m t h eca c o n t eg it
lig n ea ea f u n ib u s s u b la t a p
a es n u da i in a s t im a b iles .

3
T wo of th e ll
i u m in a io n s t a re i ll tr t d i
us a e n Bu rg es s
’
ppr
a e , Glea n ing s ,
pp .
—8
1 36 .

‘
1
Ci e t dL et h a b y, p .
9 .
CH . X VI
] W E S T M I N S T E R A B B EY 2 83

replaced in the pre s ent wooden case erected by Abbot

Feckenham who al s o repaired the low e r part with
,

painted pla s ter to i mitate mo s aic and put a painted ,

i n s cription of h is own over the original one which was ,

worked with dark blue gla s s on a gold ground .

The s hrine is of Purbeck marble s labs on edge ,

forming three rece s s e s on each s ide where S ick pilgrim s

su ffering from the king s evil could place themselve s ’

i n hope of the miraculou s cure which the s aint is s aid

‘
to h ave effected i n h is lifetime by h is touch The .

’
whole w a s covered and li ned with Roman Peter s glas s
mo s aic O f which littl e now remains I n the s piral S haft s
, .

and their inlay like tho s e in the cloi s ter of S Giovanni

, .

L a terano and S Paolo fuori le M ura a n d in the quasi

, .
,

cla s s ic ent a blature we trace the I talian hand ; but i n

the trefoiled head s of the niche s and the tracery panel s ,

at th e ir back s we may detect an E nglish motiv e .

I n the time of E dw a rd I there w a s a fre s h importa

tion O f I talian work H e w a s s till i n Palestine when .

he heard of h is father s death i n 1 2 7 2 s hortly after the ’

“ “ ”
death of h is own s o n H enry God s aid he may .
, ,

give me more s on s but not another father and he , ,

brought hom e with him do fi a r t ibu s Ga llic a n is according

to the record s but more likely from I t a ly the material s
, ,

for the S plendid tomb in which H enry I I I now repo s es

on th e north s ide of the C onfe s s or s s hrine I t is the ’ ’
.

first of the long serie s of royal monument s Plantagenet ,

and Tudor and of royal burial s i n the Abbey which

,

“We w e
1
St l y r m i d
D ea n f th
an e e n s us o e p g
a s sa e in t h e S p ec t a t o r , r e

th h w E d w rd t h C f r t
en s o n a e o n ess o
’
s o mb p, u o n w ic h h
S ir R o e gr td
a c q u a in e

u sth t h w t h fir t w h t h
a e as e s o ouc e d f th
or e e vil .
”
M em or ia ls of Wes t
mi t A bb y p
n s er Sp t te ,
N . 1 12 . ec a or , o .
329 .

H ry w
2 fir t b ri d b f r t h
en as s u e e o e e h h lt r i
ig a a n th e gr a ve w h r E d w rd
e e a

the C f r h d l i b f r h i tr
o n es s o a a n e o e s an s a l ti on .
F ig . 102 .
( Fr om Glea n in g s .
)
 86 WE STM I N STE R AB BEY [ CH . XVI

the 1 3 th century was not behind that of I taly and ow e d ,

nothing to it .

N ext to thi s s plendid monument is that of Q ueen

Eleanor of Ca s tile th e wife of E dward I a princ e ss , ,

of Romance H er exquisit e bronze e ffigy like that of

.
,

her father in la w only hal f i n the round is al s o by

- -
,

William Torel one of three which he made for her the , ,

others being at Lincoln and i n the Blackfriars London , ,

where her vi s cera and her heart were buried The panel .

of the lower part towards the ai s le w a s pa inted by

M aster Walter of D urham but there is v e ry littl e of ,

his work now V i s ible Above is the S plendid grille of .

wrought ironwork by M a s ter Thomas de L eg h t o n e ,

which is one of the triumph s of m e diaeval smithery .

H e w a s paid £ 1 2 for it and 2 o s more for carriage and .

‘
fixing .

O ne more monument of thi s time may be mentioned .

The C O R O N A T I O N C HA I R ( Fig which contains the .

fatal s tone which E dward brought from Scone on which ,

Scotti s h king s had been crowned and which we are ,

to believe s erved j acob for a pillow at M ahanaim The .

ch a ir w a s at firs t to be made of bronze and w a s partly ,

fini s hed in metal before the king altered his mind and
paid I o o s to M a ster W a lter the painter for a chair
.
, ,

of wood The fa mous s tone is under the seat e nclosed

2
.
,

within pierced quatrefoil s of which the front piece is ,

lo s t The four leopard s or lion s below are not a ncient

. .

Th e woodwork w a s covered with ge s s o gilt and , ,

prick e d with patterns of foliage and diapers of which ,

1 p 9 d D igby Wy tt M t l m h
S e e Glea n ing s , . 0, a n a
’
s e a or .

2
N d m p tr i q d m th dr d l ig f t
unc ea e e a n ua a ca e a e no ac a per Ma g is t r u m
Wa lt m pi t
eru m R gi l di t th dr q pri
c o re e s oco c ae ca e ae u ae us o rd i t f it
na a u

de cu pr W rdr b
o .
”
t it d Gl i g pa o e accou n c e ea n n s, . 122 .
CH . X VI
] WESTM I N STE R A B B EY 2 87

only patches remain O n the bac k was the figure of Th C r e o o

ti
.

na on
a king s eated and with h is feet on a lion ; on the in s ide h ir c a

of the elbows are patterns of which one is s hown in

Plate L X X X The ornament is very indi s tinct ; my
.

full size drawing was made more than 50 years ago

-
,

with the help of a candle and working on the s e a t of

,

the chair ; the uphol s tering and v a rni s hing which the
chair h a s undergone for two sub s equent coronation s m a y
have completed the obliteration of the d e sign The .

tracery panels on the out s ide of the arm s may a s

Burge s sugge s t s have been filled with coloured glas s
on gilt or s ilver grou nd s T here is some decoration
.

’
of that kind in the canopy of the prior s seat i n the
chapter hou s e at C anterbury Though now s habby a n d
-
.

ruined the C oronation chair was originally a s uperb piece

of furniture .

There ar e few place s w here the past comes home A i sso c a

ti t ons a
to one a s it doe s in We s tmin s ter Abbey To stand in W t .
es
’ mi t r ns e
the Confes s or s chapel where s plendid tomb s i n which
,

kings and queen s have s lept undi s turbed for centurie s

are s e t round about the Confes s or s s h rine is to have ’

,
’
all E ngli s h hi s tory brought before one s eye s N 0 other .

country has been s o fortunate There is the I mperial .

group I n th e D uomo of Palermo of H enry V I and ,

Con s tance and their wondrous s o n but the monum ent s

, ,

have be e n shifted about a n d are not in their proper

place S D eni s may once have rivalled We s tmin s ter
. .

before the royal du s t wa s s cattered and the tomb s s wept

aw a y at t h e Revolution but it s antiquitie s a r e n o w
,

modern restoration s S S ophia has many memorie s

. .

but no monum e nt s and the only place where a few

,

bone s of Roman emperors a n d empre s s e s s till lie is

the little chapel at R a venna N o church north of the .
2 88 WE STM I NS TE R A B B EY [ CH . X VI

Alp s can compare with We s tminster in the po s s e s s ion

of s o many royal and hi s torical monument s i n which
the illu s triou s dead s till repo s e H ere the returning
.

Stuart s dug up and dishonoured the remains of th e

Great Protector whom living they had feared but it
, ,

h a s not generally been our E ngli s h way to war with

the dead a n d V iol a te thei r gr a ve s
, .

I t is not only in hi s torical a s s ociation however that

,

We s tmin s ter is s upreme I t is unrivalled a s a s torehou s e

.

of variou s ki nd s of art The a rchitecture is th e very

.

flower of E ngli s h Gothic I n th e tomb s both early

.
,

and late we have the very fine s t mediaeval craftsman

,

’
s hip in s tone wood and metal
,
Abbot Ware s pavement
,
.

cannot be matched thi s s ide of Lucca The mo s aic s .

of H enry I l l s tomb are a s fine a s any in Rome

’
.

Limoge s enamel s a dorn the monument of h is half

brother E dmund de Valence and i n the wonderful
, ,

retable now removed to the j eru s alem C hamber we

have an almo s t unique example of early media e val
painting .

W e s hall return to We s tmin s ter Abbey when we

come to the later chapter s of E ngli s h Gothic Thu s far .

we have been dealing only with the earlier phas e of ,

which We s tm in s ter mark s the final s tage For West .

min s ter is the la s t of Early E ngli s h and the firs t of

Geometrical D ecorated buildings H ere we have the.

firs t beginnings of window tracery i n the choir of

H enry I I I and from thi s begin ning we follow on
,

s te a dily to a ll the s ub s equent s plendour of the Decorated

period .
 2 90 APPE N DI X
b a tte r in g o f a n a n gl e t h e s p a c in g o f a n in te rc o l u m n ia t io n t h e
, ,

c u r va t u e in t h e h o r i o n t a l l in e s o f t h e P a r t h e n o n
r z a ll h a ve it
,

fo r t h e ir e n d t o m a k e t h in gs l o o k s t r a igh t a n d r e g u l a r w h ic h
if b u il t r e a lly s tra igh t a n d r e g u l a r w o u ld n o t l o o k s o No w .
,

t h e c u r ve o f a va u l t m ee t in g a n u p r igh t w a ll m igh t c o n c e iva bly

m a k e t h e w a ll s ee m t o l e a n o u t w a r d s I f t h is w e r e o b se rva bl e
. ,

a n d w e re o bj e c t e d t o it m igh t b e c o r r e c t e d by m a k in g t h e
,

w a ll l e a n a t r ifl e in w a r d I t h in k it l ik e ly t h a t t h e E n gl is h
.

a rc h it e c t s h a d so m e t h in g l ik e t h is in t h e ir m in d s a n d pra c,

t ise d a r e fi n e m en t w h e n t h e y c o r b e ll e d o u t t h e ir v a u l t in g s h a ft s
a b o ve t h e a r c a d e in s t e a d o f c a r r y in g t h e m d o w n t o t h e g r o u n d .

O n t h e o t h e r h a n d t o m a k e t h e w a ll l ea n o u t w a r d s in s te a d
, ,

o f c o r r e c t in g t h e O t ic a l ill u s io n w o u ld m a k e it w o r se Th e
p ,
.

e y e n a t u ra lly e xp e c t s a w a ll t o b e u p r igh t a n d is d is tre sse d

,

if it is n o t S O S t a n d in g n o t l o n g a g o in t h e n a ve a t A m ie n s
.

a n d l o o k in g w e s t , w it h o u t t h in k in g o f Mr G o o dy e a r I w a s ,

str u c k by a n a p p a r e n t d ive r g e n c e o f t h e w a ll s a n d S h o r t ly ,

a ft e r w a r d s I n o t ic e d t h e s a m e t h in g a t L a o n Wh e t h e r t h is
.

w e r e in t e n t io n a l o r n o t it w a s n o t a g r ee a b l e b e c a u se it g a ve
, ,

an im p r ess io n o f in s t a b il ity A r e fi n e m e n t t o c o r r e c t t h is
.

w o u ld b e in t e ll ig ib l e : I c a n n o t c o n s id e r it a re fi n e m e n t t o
e m pha s i e z it . Mr G o o dy e a r s e e m s t o h a ve p r o ve d by a
p l u m b l in e t h a t t h e d ive r ge n c e is r ea l a n d n o t a n ill u s io n : it
-

r e m a in s fo r u s t o e x l a in it B u t if t h e re w e r e a n ill u s io n
p .

Mr G o o dy e a r w o u ld h a ve u s b e l ie ve t h a t s o fa r fro m wis h in g
t o c o rre c t it t h e a rc h ite c t w o u ld h a ve l ik e d it a n d s o u gh t t o
e x a gge r a t e it .

T h er e a r e o t h e r fa c t s w h ic h s ee m t o t e l l a g a in s t Mr Go o d
y e a r s t h e o r y A t R e im s h e s a ys t h e in c l in a t io n is g r e a te s t
’
.

in t h e m iddl e o f t h e n a ve t h e w a ll in fa c t d e s c r ib in g a c u rve
, .

T h is is e xa c t ly w h a t o n e wo u ld e x p e c t if t h e w a ll h a d y ie ld e d
t o a t h r u s t fro m t h e h igh va u l t s Be in g h e ld by c r o s s w a ll s
.

a t e a c h e n d t h e w a ll w o u ld b e w e a k e s t in t h e m iddl e o f it s
,

l e n gth a n d m o s t l ik e ly t o g ive wa y t h e re I h a ve s e en m a n y
, .

c a s e s o f t h is in m A g a in a t A m ie n s a n d P a r is
y o w n e x p e rie n c e .
,

t h e t o w e r p ie r s do n o t c o n fo r m t o t h e h o r s e S h o e s e c t io n b u t
-
,

a re u
p r igh t ; it is n a t u r a l t o s u p p o s e t h a t t h is is so b ec a u s e t h e
 A PPE N D I X
we i gh t a b o ve s tea d ie d t h e m T h a t t h e q u e s t io n o f t h r u s t d o e s
.

c o m e in t o t h e m a tt e r o n e g a t h e r s fr o m Mr G o o dy e a r s s t a t e
’

m e n t t h a t s o m e o f t h e n a ve c o l m n s a t A m ie n s l e a n in in s t e a d
u

of out . U n l e s s t h e r e is a d e fe c t in fo u n d a t io n t h is im p l ie s t h a t
t h ey h a ve y ie ld e d t o t h e t h r u s t o f t h e a is l e va u l ts ; m a y it n o t
b e t h a t t h e h igh va u l t s h a ve b e e n o p e r a t ive o n t h e u p p e r p a r t
o f t h e w a ll s in t h e O p p o s it e d ir e c t io n ? d ia g r a m Fig 1 8 , .
,

p . A t A m ie n s I n o t ic e d m a n y c o n s id e r a bl e c r a c k s in t h e
n a ve va u l t im
p ly in g s o m e y ie ld in g in t h e s id e w a ll
, .

L a s t ly a ll h it h e r t o k n o wn r e fi n e m e n t s h a vin g it fo r t h e ir
, ,

o bj e c t t o c o r r e c t ill u s io n a n d m a k e a p e a r a n c e a g r ee w it h w h a t
p
t h e e y e d e m a n d s a r e n o t a p p a r e n t a n d c a n o n ly b e d e t e c t e d
, ,

b y c a r e fu l m e a s u r e m e n t B t t h e s e d ive r ge n c e s s t r ik e t h e ey e
. u

at o nce , e ve n w h e n o n e is n o t l o o k in g fo r t h e m a n d to my , ,

t a s t e t h e y s t r ik e d is a gr e ea bly
, .

T h e s u bj e c t is in t e r e s t in g a n d w ill c e t a in ly b e a r d isc u ss io n
r .

Bu t t h e in a c c u ra c y in s e tt in g o u t b u ild in g s in t h e Middl e A g es
is s o g r e a t a n d s o va r io u s t h a t it is d iffi c u l t t o b a s e a n y t h e o r y
u po n t he m I h a ve h a d t o m e a s u re a g r e a t n u m b e r o f O ld
.

c h u r c h e s a n d h a ve n e ve r fo u n d t h e m q u it e re g u l a r
, V e r y fe w .

t o w e rs a r e r e c t a n g u l a r ve r y fe w a r c a d e s e ve n ly s p a c e d o r
,

O pp o s it e o n e a n o t he r ve y fe w n a ve s o r c h a n c e l s h a ve t h e ir
,
r

s id e s p a r a ll e l ve r y fe w q u a d r a n gl e s a r e s q u a r e a n d ve r y fe w
, ,

c o l u m n s a r e u p r igh t .

Wh e n V e r re s w a n te d t o fl e ec e a n u n fo r t u n a t e m in o r in
S ic ily w h o se g u a r d ia n s h a d s a t is fa c t o r ily c a r r ie d o u t t h e r e p a ir
,

o f a c e r t a in t e m p l e fo r w h ic h t h e y w e r e l ia bl e h e wa s a t a ,

l o s s h o w t o m a n a g e it t ill o n e o f h is s a t e ll it es s a id Th e r e is
,
“
,

n o t h in g h e r e V e r r e s t h a t y o u c a n la y h o ld o f u n l e s p e r h a p s
, , ,
s

y o u s h o u ld r e q u ire h im t o m a k e h is c o l u m n s u p r igh t V e r res .

”
,

w h o k n e w n o t h in g a b o u t s u c h t h in g s a s k e d w h a t w a s m e a n t b y
,

m a k in g t h e m u p r igh t H e w a s t o ld t h a t s c a rc e ly a n y c o l u m n
.

can b e re a lly u p r igh t a n d f r n is h e d w it h t h is a r g u m e n t h e

,
u

s u c c e e d e d in h is n e fa r io u s p u r p o se .

E ND OF VOL UME I
 Qt a mb t tng t
P RI N T ED BY JO H NC Y M LA ,
. A .

AT T H E UN V I E R I Y RE SS
S T P