in those of Ireland. The tower at Egilsay (_q.v._) is rude in style of
masonry, but as
[Illustration: FIG. 12.--Irish Round Tower at Devenish. (From _Scotland
in Early Christian Times_.)]
it enters from the church on the level of the floor, it is evidently of
the late type above referred to. The towers at Brechin and Abernethy
(_q.v._) are built with more carefully selected and wrought materials,
and both have the door, which is built with inclined jambs, set some
feet above the ground. The latter has the four upper windows covered
with semi-circular arches, showing a considerable amount of Norman
character in the mouldings and enrichments, as well as in the style of
masonry. That at Brechin has a door with sloping jambs, having a
Crucifixion carved above it and dragonesque sculptures at the base, and
other details connecting it in a marked manner with the style of the
round towers of Ireland. There can be no doubt that these are outlying
examples of the Irish class of towers, while they exhibit also some
features of the Romanesque architecture which, in the eleventh and
twelfth centuries, had penetrated thus far northwards.
The next step in architectural progress consists of another structure,
comprising a tower of a character somewhat related to the above, but
having the Norman character more fully developed. This is the church of
St. Regulus at St. Andrews (_q.v._), the tower of which is lofty and
square. This tower may be compared to the square tower of Cormac’s
Chapel at Cashel, in Ireland, which is stated by Dr. Petrie, on good
authority, to have been finished by 1135.[47] They both possess Norman
features, well developed, and their square form and close attachment to
a church are elements which distinguish them from the other and older
round towers. Probably, however, they were also intended, like the
latter, to form places of secure retreat as well as belfries. Both bear
the signs of being late buildings of their class.
The dates of all the Irish round towers are somewhat uncertain, but
probably extend from the ninth to the twelfth centuries, having, as
already stated, been erected at the time of the invasions of the
plundering Northmen. The dates of the destruction of several are
recorded, and have been collected by Dr. Petrie, who also shows that
many churches which had been destroyed by the Northmen were repaired and
rebuilt about 1150.[48]
It is believed that in Ireland a form of Romanesque was introduced
before the Anglo-Norman invasion,[49] and many of the early ornamented
churches show a style of carving in which the Irish interlaced work and
other special details are introduced. But in Scotland there are no
traces of churches containing any similar work, although, possibly, some
may have existed and been swept away in the great rebuilding epoch which
followed the Norman Conquest.
The earliest examples of anything like ornament in Scottish churches
within the historic period are undoubtedly the outcome of the Roman
influence introduced under the Normans. We have already referred to the
effects of early Roman influence at St. Regulus; and the next earliest
building, the date of which is thought to be recorded, is the Reilig
Oran at Iona (_q.v._), a simple single-chambered structure, with a west
doorway containing Norman ornament. This is said to have been erected by
Queen Margaret before 1093.[50]
The chapel in Edinburgh Castle bearing St. Margaret’s name is also
attributed to her, and is supposed to have been erected during her
lifetime, or shortly afterwards. It would, in that case, be the first
example in Scotland of a church terminating with an eastern apse (which,
however, is square on the exterior).
Whether these buildings were actually erected in Queen Margaret’s
lifetime or not, they certainly belong to a period not long subsequent.
The life of that Queen and Saint marks the period of transition in
Scotland from the old system to the new, not only in building, but in
every other department.
Edgar Aetheling, the heir of the old Saxon kings, having been driven out
by the Conqueror, found refuge, along with his mother and sisters, in
the Court of his relative, Malcolm Canmore. There Margaret, having
become Malcolm’s wife, soon introduced many of the reforms and
ameliorations she had learned in England. Particularly, she gave a
distinct impetus to the Roman influence, then very strong in the South,
and encouraged the hosts of Saxon refugees who now crowded to Scotland,
bringing their advanced notions with them. The same tendency was
manifested by Margaret’s sons, Edgar and Alexander, who followed her
footsteps in endeavouring to assimilate the Scottish Church to that of
England.
It was King Alexander who, being driven by a storm on the Island of
Inchcolm, in the Frith of Forth, was rescued and sustained by a hermit,
who then occupied a primitive cell, built on the island, similar to
those of the Columbans above referred to. The king vowed, in
thankfulness for his deliverance, to found a monastery on the spot, and
in 1123 he here introduced a colony of Canons Regular. He also
endeavoured to bring the Episcopacy of St. Andrews into conformity with
the Roman model.
Under Alexander,[51] Turgot, the Prior of Durham, and biographer of St.
Margaret, was appointed to the long vacant See of St. Andrews. This king
also founded the Bishopric of Moray, and restored that of Dunkeld. In
the former wild Diocese the churches of Birnie, Spynie, and Kinedor
appear to have existed, but it was not till 1203 that Bricius, the sixth
bishop, was able to fix his cathedral at Spynie.
In 1115 Alexander introduced a colony of Canons Regular to Scone, from
Nastley Abbey, in Yorkshire, and some years later he brought canons to
the Diocese of Dunkeld, and in 1122 he founded a Priory of Canons
Regular on an island at the east end of Loch Tay.[52]
Alexander was succeeded by his brother, David I., who carried out
vigorously the same ecclesiastical policy. While still Prince of
Cumbria, he, about 1115, appointed an inquisition of the elders and wise
men of Cumbria to inquire into the lands and churches which formerly
belonged to the See of Glasgow. The Prince appointed his tutor John to
the revived bishopric, and in 1147 a dean and chapter, after the model
of Sarum, were introduced. On his accession to the throne David
proceeded diligently with the establishment of bishoprics and
monasteries. It is said of him by Ailred of Rivaux[53] that, “Whereas he
had found in the whole kingdom of Scotland three or four bishoprics
only, what with ancient ones which he restored and new ones which he
founded, he left nine at his death.” The bishoprics which existed at his
accession were those of St. Andrews, Moray, and Dunkeld. Those he
founded were the Dioceses of Rosemarkie, Ross, Aberdeen, and Caithness.
Glasgow, as we have seen, he re-established, and the See of Galloway was
also restored.
Under King David I. a final effort was made to suppress the Culdees, or
rather to absorb them into the general system as approved by Rome. Those
of St. Andrews were with difficulty dispossessed. The Culdees of
Lochleven were suppressed. Those of Monymusk, in Aberdeenshire, were
brought under the control of the Bishop of St. Andrews. Not only were
the old establishments suppressed, but new monastic orders were
everywhere introduced, Dunfermline Abbey was remodelled and Benedictines
brought to it from Canterbury. The same order was introduced at Urquhart
in Inverness-shire. After Moray had been brought into subjection, the
Monastery of Kinloss was founded and peopled with Cistercians from
Melrose. Of other monastic institutions throughout the country many
others were re-established on a new footing and received the
benefactions of the king. In 1113 he had (as Earl) founded a monastery
at Selkirk for Benedictine Monks of the Order of Tyron. This was
afterwards removed to Kelso, while the establishments of Melrose,
Dundrennan, Newbattle, Coldingham, Holyrood, Cambuskenneth were fostered
and strengthened.
The efforts of King David in the first half of the twelfth century
carried out vigorously in Scotland the system inaugurated by St.
Margaret, which was, indeed, the distinguishing feature of the period
throughout Europe. He, no doubt, had policy as well as religion in view,
and believed that in importing numerous bands of educated monks into the
border lands of his kingdom, both in the North and South, he was doing
the best possible to spread the benefits of education and civilisation
in those unsettled localities, and was thus consolidating his dominion.
At this period the Saxon refugees were followed into Scotland by large
numbers of Norman knights. These were well received by King David and
presented with lands in the outlying districts, which he had subdued, as
well as throughout the country. The number and extensive possessions of
these Norman immigrants are most apparent in the names of the
proprietors settled in every part of the country.[54]
The policy of colonising the outlying and turbulent districts with these
trained knights is apparent. They would in self-defence help to keep the
country in order, and defend it from the attacks of the still unsubdued
regions of the North and West. It also had the effect of facilitating
the spread of the Roman ecclesiastical system which the king had so much
at heart. The country, being parcelled out in the hands of Anglo-Normans
already imbued with the principles and practices of that system, would
soon be brought into conformity with it. Each proprietor would, as soon
as possible, raise a hamlet round his castle for his retainers, and a
village church for their religious requirements. Thus there speedily
arose, instead of the ancient tribal arrangements, a new distribution of
the land into parishes, each with its parochial church and priest, and
each tithed to its own manor.
Evidences of these early parish churches still survive in many places,
and they will be illustrated in the sequel.
But “this goodly framework of a parochial secular establishment was
shipwrecked when scarcely formed.”[55] Monachism was then in the
ascendant in Europe. New Orders were constantly being created, to spread
the banner of Roman supremacy. Their monasteries soon drew to themselves
all that was worth having in the Church. The Lords encouraged them and
presented them with lands and churches, and the people were attracted by
their zeal and asceticism. They soon became rich and were able to
indulge their taste in the erection of noble monasteries and churches,
the illustration of which, erected during the three succeeding
centuries, forms a most important part of the following pages.
Having traced the course of the influences which affected the primitive
ecclesiastical structures of Scotland till the period when the Irish
influence was superseded by that of Rome, it is now proposed to glance
shortly at the origin and development of the Norman style which, as we
have seen, was introduced into this country in the twelfth century, and
of the various styles of Gothic architecture which succeeded it.
ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE.
After the fall of the Roman empire in the fifth century, a debased style
founded on Roman models prevailed over Western Europe, and
[Illustration: FIG. 13.--Roman Arch--Pont du Gard.]
as the various waves of barbarians swept over the empire and settled in
different parts of it, they adopted the Roman system of construction
which they found in existence, and imported into it gradually ideas of
their own. In course of time a method of building was thus developed
which is known as the Romanesque style. This style varied greatly in
different localities, according as it was influenced by the presence or
absence of Roman structures to serve as models for imitation; but over
the whole empire it retained a certain amount of resemblance to Roman
forms.
The Roman principle of an arched, as distinguished from a trabeated,
style of building was preserved everywhere, but was for long applied in
a very simple and merely imitative manner. When, however, nationalities
came to be settled, and law established, and when at the same time the
regulating and disciplining influence of the Church made itself felt,
some elements
[Illustration: FIG. 14.--Romanesque Arch.]
of order and regularity were introduced into the system of construction.
The large and massive building materials employed by the Romans not
being usually available by the builders of the Middle Ages, smaller
materials had to be utilised, and this led to the introduction of new
ideas in their application. For instance, the arches supporting walls
were, under the Romans, constructed with large materials, and had a
broad soffit or under surface going through the wall (Fig. 13); but with
the smaller materials in use in the tenth and eleventh centuries,
arches, for the same purpose, were more conveniently built in rings, one
within the other (Fig. 14). These rings were placed so as to present to
the eye, instead of a flat soffit, a series of arches arranged in stages
or steps towards the centre, and each bearing a part of the load of the
wall. This subdivision of the original plain soffit is called the
“subordination” of arches, and was the first step in the long process of
advance which led finally to the perfect Gothic architecture of the
Middle Ages.
The next step was to divide the solid square piers which had been
originally employed to support the arches into a number of distinct
parts corresponding to the rings of the arches, thus forming “orders” in
the piers, as well as in the arches they carried. (See Fig. 14.)
[Illustration: FIG. 15.--St. Trophime, Arles.]
Owing to the occurrence of frequent fires in the wooden roofs of early
churches, the builders aimed at carrying out the Roman practice of
fireproof vaulting. This was at first done timidly and with many
failures. The round barrel vault of the Romans was that generally
employed; but in Provence the pointed barrel vault (Fig. 15) was
adopted from an early period, being a form which exerted on the side
walls a less horizontal thrust than the semi-circular arch, and was the
best shape for supporting a stone roof laid upon it. In order to
strengthen this vault, a projecting ring or inner arch was constructed
under the main vault, and extended across the nave between each pair of
the main piers.
Carrying out the principle of subordination already introduced, each of
these strengthening rings had a shaft with cap and base placed so as to
receive it, thus indicating to the eye the principle on which it
acted--viz., that of carrying the weight of the strengthening rib down
to the foundation.
[Illustration: FIG. 16.--Groined Vault.]
By the eleventh century the principle of subordination had been carried
out into every part of the structure, and some refinement was beginning
to be attempted; shafts were substituted for the plain orders of the
piers, and a cap and base provided for each (see Fig. 14), and the sharp
angles of the orders of the arch were softened by having large roll
mouldings wrought upon them. The next step in the progress of
development was the subdividing or groining of the vault, so as to admit
of windows for the purpose of lighting the upper part of the building,
which, with the barrel vault, was found to be very dark. (Fig. 16). Many
different plans were tried to improve the lighting of the vault, but
without satisfactory result, till recourse was had to the intersecting
vault of the Romans, still visible in many structures then surviving.
This mode of vaulting consisted in the introduction of a vault crossing
the structure between each set of piers at right angles to the main
vault, and it had at once the desired effect, as it enabled the side
walls containing windows to be carried up as high as the top of the
vault, thus giving ample light. Other very important consequences
followed from this improvement of the vaulting. Hitherto, with the
barrel vault, the pressure had been uniform over the side walls, which
were made very solid to resist it; but with the introduction of the
groined vaulting, the weight of the vault was concentrated on the points
where the groins rested. This necessitated the strengthening of these
points, which was managed by means of buttresses. These are simply
portions of wall set at right angles to the building in order to receive
the weight and thrust of the arches and carry them down to the ground.
The portion of the side wall between the buttresses was thus relieved
from any pressure beyond its own weight. It is evident that an entire
change in the principles of the construction of the edifice would thus
be created. The buttresses now became important members both in the
construction and the appearance of the building. The side walls, being
now mere enclosing screens, might be reduced from their previous massive
condition, and made as thin and light as desired, while the windows in
them might be enlarged to any extent. The same remarks apply to the side
aisles, the vaulting of which was also groined and supported on
buttressed points like the main vaults. With the solid materials of the
Romans, the groins or lines of meeting of the intersecting arches formed
simple curved lines or angles; but with the smaller materials of the
mediæval architects this construction could not easily be accomplished,
and it became usual to construct the groins with a solid stone rib, at
first plain, but in later examples enriched with a roll moulding.
The development of mediæval architecture reached the point above
described during the course of the twelfth century. The Romanesque
architecture of Lombardy, Germany, and Burgundy had wrought out the
arrangement of the groined vaulting and the distribution of the forces
arising therefrom, and the designing and construction of the necessary
buttresses. The subordination of the various members, the division of
the piers and arches into orders, each performing a distinct function,
the erection of a vaulting shaft at each pier to receive the ribs of the
vaults, the construction of ribs to form the groins and carry the panels
of the vaults, had all been fully accomplished. Each shaft was supported
on a base and crowned with a cap to receive its load, and each order of
the arches received an appropriate moulding or enrichment. Thus far were
the constructional features of a genuine arched style of construction,
in stone, wrought out during the course of the eleventh and early part
of the twelfth centuries.
The forms of the ornament kept pace with the development of the
construction. In the earlier centuries the Romanesque style had become
stereotyped, the general features being regarded as wrought out, and
invention limited itself to the elaboration of details and ornaments.
Hence it arose that much of the Romanesque ornament was overloaded and
inapplicable to its position. But as advances were made in the direction
of improving the vaulting and other constructional elements, the
builders’ energies were also directed towards improvement of the
decorative features, the heavy unsuitable ornaments were discarded, and
lighter and more appropriate forms introduced.
This new phase of architecture was adopted by the Normans with their
usual energy, and during the twelfth century was carried out by them,
both in Normandy and England, to an advanced state of development, thus
constituting the well-known Norman style.
NORMAN STYLE.
This style is easily recognised by its simple and massive forms and its
semi-circular arches. The exterior (Fig. 17) is generally plain, with
broad and slightly projecting buttresses attached to the building, and
sometimes
[Illustration: FIG. 17.--Church of St. Cross, Hampshire. Elevation of
the East End. (From Britton’s _Antiquities_.)]
crowned with pinnacles. The doorways are, however, generally treated in
a more ornamental manner. They are often deeply recessed, and have the
jambs decorated with a series of round shafts set in square nooks or
recesses, and furnished with richly-carved caps and bases. The arch
[Illustration: FIG. 18.--Durham Cathedral. The Nave. (From Billings’
_Durham Cathedral_.)]
mouldings, which are also numerous, are arranged in square steps or
orders, and frequently ornamented with much carving of special kinds of
enrichments. Of these the chevron, or zig-zag, is most abundantly used,
together with the billet, the bird’s head, &c. The windows are wide in
proportion to their height, and are covered in with round arches.
In the interior (Fig. 18) the Norman piers consist of simple cylindrical
columns of great size, frequently carved with large zig-zags or spiral
lines carried round them, and finished with bold caps and bases. The
most frequent caps are of the “cushion” form, which resembles one or
more spherical figures having portions cut off perpendicularly. The caps
are also sometimes carved with human or other figures. The abacus is
always solid, and generally square in shape. In some examples,
especially in France, the capitals of the piers are frequently carved in
rude imitation of the Corinthian form and foliage.
Late examples show the piers subdivided into the clustered form, which
became universal in the subsequent periods. In the transition from
Norman to Early Pointed, many of the features of the latter style are
gradually introduced. Hence a mixture of the round and pointed arch, and
a lightening of the mouldings, and a new kind of carving of foliage are
observable in the latter half of the twelfth century. The earlier Norman
edifices are extremely plain, scarcely any ornament being used. The
figure sculpture is almost entirely confined to the period after 1135.
NORMAN STYLE IN SCOTLAND.
Of the cathedrals, monasteries, and churches erected in Scotland during
the twelfth century, only a few portions now exist, nearly all of them
having been reconstructed or altered at later times.
The Cathedral of Dunblane still retains a tower of the foundation of
King David; and in the nave of the Cathedral of Kirkwall, commenced
1136, we yet possess a noble Norman structure, which, however, we owe to
the piety of the Norwegian occupants of the Orkneys.
Of the monastic foundations of St. Margaret and her sons we still retain
the venerable Norman nave of Dunfermline, and portions of the Norman
edifices of Holyrood, Dryburgh, and Jedburgh.
Kelso Abbey Church, although only a fragment, is a fine specimen of the
late style of the twelfth century. Arbroath Abbey, founded by William
the Lion in 1178, still shows in its ruins some late work of the same
period. Holyrood, Jedburgh, and St. Andrews contain much work of the
period of transition from the Norman to the First Pointed style, which
came into use about the beginning of the thirteenth century.
Of the twelfth century parish churches, those of Dalmeny and Leuchars
are nearly complete and very beautiful examples, the former having nave,
choir, and apse, and both exhibit much of the arcaded and ornamental
work of the more florid period of the style. Portions of Norman work are
found, as was to be expected in this great church-building epoch, in
every county, and are represented here by a tower, there by a chancel
arch, elsewhere by a door or a window, or other fragmentary
relic--rarely by a whole nave or chancel. In some examples the Norman
plan is still complete so far as the outline of the walls is concerned,
but these are generally considerably altered and interfered with, as,
for example, at Duddingston, Stobo, and Uphall. The parish churches were
usually of small size, and consisted of an oblong nave and chancel,
separated by a chancel arch generally ornamented with chevron
enrichments. Frequently there was a semi-circular apse beyond the
chancel, also entered by an enriched semi-circular arch. Side aisles
were rarely introduced. The only Norman parish church of cruciform plan
was that of St. Nicholas, Aberdeen, now greatly altered.
FIRST POINTED STYLE.