ARCHITECTURE OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY.
Transition from Norman to Gothic Architecture--The Period of
Change--The Early English Style--Examples and Characteristics of
the Style--Towers--Windows--Doorways--Porches--Buttresses
--Pillars--Arches--Mouldings and Ornaments--Fronts.
The history of architecture is the history of change, sometimes gradual,
sometimes sudden, but always change. People and nations change; new
ideas spring up among them; new wants are created, and Architecture has
to minister to these wants. A necessity arises and has to be met; this
suggests a new idea, which, carried out, leads to still further changes.
The direction being once given, new forms of beauty are elicited, which
are eagerly followed out, until at length scarcely a trace remains of the
form from which they sprang. This was pre-eminently the case with Gothic
Architecture. The necessity arose from the vaulting of spaces of unequal
sides; the Norman semicircular arch could not meet this difficulty; and
it could be met only by using a semicircular arch for the longer side,
and a pointed one for the shorter. The pointed arch was thus introduced,
and it was soon seen that it offered great facilities for construction,
and also for beauty of form. A change was thus commenced which ended only
with the entire disuse of the semicircular arch, and the establishment of
what we now call Gothic Architecture. This has been divided into three
distinct styles, answering to certain periods of time, as below:--
EARLY ENGLISH, or Thirteenth Century, extending from the
commencement of the reign of John to the close of that of Henry
III.
DECORATED, or Fourteenth Century, from the commencement of the
reign of Edward I. to the end of that of Edward III.
PERPENDICULAR, or Fifteenth Century, from the commencement of the
reign of Richard II. to the end of that of Henry VII.
The latter part of each of these periods was one of transition, and
therefore the terms Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Century must be
taken only in a general sense.
In the last chapter on architecture (_See p._ 214), we slightly traced
the transitions from the heavy masses of the pure Norman buildings, to
the comparatively light ones which succeeded; but it will be necessary
here to enlarge a little more on the subject. The change commenced
in the latter part of the reign of Henry II., continued to increase
partly through that of Richard I. when, towards the end of his reign,
it emerged into the succeeding style; the heavy Norman architecture
gradually gave way, greater lightness and loftiness were introduced in
the piers, the capitals were richly covered with foliage more closely
resembling the Corinthian form, the angles of the abacus were frequently
cut off, the mouldings lost much of their Norman character, and the tooth
ornament, which is so characteristic of the next style, began to be
introduced. The pointed arch was used along with the round one, both in
pier arches and in windows and doors, and throughout this period we find
a mixture of the two styles, the new growing, as it were, from the ruins
of the old, until, in the beginning of the thirteenth century, it rose
in all its purity, and the cumbrous Norman disappeared. Of the buildings
of the Transition period, the following may be mentioned. Canterbury
Cathedral (1175 to 1184) was alluded to before as the most valuable, in
showing the gradual change from one style to the other. The round portico
of the Temple Church, London (1185), displays many of the characteristics
of both styles, the pointed arch being used for the piers, but the round
arch for the clerestory windows and arcades. The hall of the castle of
Oakham, now used as the County Hall, shows in its capitals and corbels
some of the finest sculpture we possess of this period. Oxford Cathedral
is of this date, and exhibits a curious example of the alternate use of
the pointed and round-headed arch in the windows, and for the support of
the central tower. Rothwell Church, Northamptonshire, is also of this
date, the west door being a good example of a pointed arch with Norman
ornaments, while the capitals of the shafts display more of the character
of the Early English.
In the buildings of this transition there is frequently much picturesque
beauty, the sculptures are executed with great freedom and variety of
design, and the details of the two styles harmonise well together. The
abandonment of Norman forms and the adoption of the new style were so
gradual, that we can scarcely determine when the latter begins, for we
see in the earlier examples of Early English some Norman feature or other
occasionally remaining, but about the beginning of the thirteenth century
these seem to have disappeared.
The style which succeeded the transition was named by Beckman the Early
English, and by that name it is commonly known. Many of the finest
buildings we have are in this style; most of our cathedrals have
portions of it, and one at least--Salisbury--is built entirely in it.
The earliest building of pure Early English is the choir of Lincoln
Cathedral, and it is curious to find that at this early date, 1195, the
Norman ideas had been entirely laid aside. This building exhibits the
style not only in its utmost purity, but in its greatest beauty; all
its details are conceived and executed with the greatest delicacy and
freedom, and all who wish to see this style in perfection should view the
choir of Lincoln. The nave is in the same style, but is about fifty years
later, and is much plainer.
The cathedral of Salisbury is, with the exception of the spire, almost
wholly in this style; but it is much plainer in its details than Lincoln,
for which reason, and from its lancet windows being wider than usual, it
is not so pleasing in its general appearance as most buildings of this
order.
The Galilee, or western porch, of Ely Cathedral (1215) is one of the
richest and most beautiful examples of Early English in the kingdom. The
choir of Rochester (1225) and a great part of Worcester Cathedral are
also good examples. Wells Cathedral is a well-known example, and its west
front, with its gorgeous display of statuary, is the finest design of the
kind we have (1239). Another magnificent front, entirely different from
anything else, is that of Peterborough Cathedral, with its three splendid
and lofty arches (1238). The body of the Temple Church, which was added
to the more ancient round church in 1240, and the Chapter Houses of
Lichfield and Oxford, also belong to the style under consideration, as do
also numerous parish churches in all parts of the kingdom.
Many of our finest monastic remains belong also to this period.
Of the domestic buildings of this epoch, examples still remain in
various parts of the kingdom either of entire houses or portions of
houses, of which the following are some of the principal:--Aydon Castle,
Northumberland; Little Wenham Hall, Sussex; and Stoke Say, Shropshire;
the last being a rather late example.
Early English buildings are chiefly distinguished from the Norman by
their greater comparative lightness, and the prevalence of vertical lines
instead of horizontal. Externally, we find the buildings much more lofty,
and lighted by long, narrow-pointed windows; the buttresses, instead of
being little more than pilasters, as in the Norman style, have a bold
projection, and, being generally finished with either pediments or
pinnacles, add greatly to the effect of the building.
The roofs, too, in consequence of the greater facility of vaulting, are
considerably higher in pitch than the Norman; and the towers, being
usually surmounted by spires, add further to the appearance of loftiness,
and make the contrast between them and the Norman still more marked.
Internally, we find that the heavy masses of piers are replaced by
bundles of slender shafts, which support pointed arches and light and
lofty vaulting, instead of the round arches and flat ceilings or heavy
vaults of the Norman style. The architects having found the power which
the new principle gave them, seem to have run to the opposite extreme of
their former work, and to have carried out the new idea with the utmost
temerity.
TOWERS.--Early English church towers, as was said above, are generally
surmounted by a spire, which is sometimes very lofty, and either plain or
ribbed at the angles, and sometimes crocketed. It sometimes rises from
a parapet, and at others fits on the top of the tower, when it is called
a _broach_ spire. In the best specimens of towers, an arcade runs along
the upper belfry storey, some of the arches of which are pierced for
windows. There is usually a richly-moulded door on the west side, and the
middle storey has, in general, only a plain window. The buttresses either
overlap the angles or project at right angles to the side.
WINDOWS.--The single light windows are, almost without exception, of the
kind known as lancet windows, that is, long and narrow, and with pointed
heads. They are quite plain as a rule, and are so characteristic of the
style that it has been called the _lancet style_. They are sometimes in
pairs, threes, fives, or sevens, with a general dripstone extending over
all. The window in the transept of York Cathedral, well known as the
"Five Sisters," is a beautiful example of the combination of five very
long and graceful lancets, and, being filled with elaborately-pencilled
stained glass, has a fine and solemn effect. Some good examples also
occur in the south transept of Beverley Minster. These are all richly
moulded, and have shafts in the jambs; but in small churches the windows
are frequently quite plain, having only a simple dripstone. Circular
windows are also used, as well as windows of an acutely-pointed oval
form. Both these forms are found in the transept of Beverley Minster, to
which we have already had occasion to allude. Where only two lancets are
used, there is frequently a small circle or a lozenge pierced in the wall
above the lancets, but under the dripstone, and which, in the inside,
formed one window. These openings were in time enlarged, and, by an easy
transition, regular tracery was formed; and we find in the later period
of this style, when it was verging on the next, windows of two or three
lights, with circles of tracery in the head. This was the origin of the
tracery which was afterwards to form so conspicuous a feature, and on
which the chief beauty of the succeeding styles mainly depended.
DOORWAYS.--These are almost universally deeply recessed and richly
moulded, having shafts with capitals and bases on the jambs, and
frequently ornamented with the tooth and other ornaments in the head.
They are almost always pointed, but the round arch is still, in some few
instances, retained, particularly in double doors when two arches have to
be combined in one; but, in all cases, they may be distinguished from the
Norman by their deeply-cut round and hollow mouldings, as well as by the
capitals and bases of the shafts.
PORCHES.--The Early English porch differs from the Norman in being
brought forward from the wall, leaving a considerable space between that
and the front of the porch. This space is generally lighted by open
windows on the sides, and ornamented in the interior with arcades, and
having a stone bench running down each side. The front usually terminates
in a very acutely-pointed gable, sometimes plain and sometimes moulded,
and having a rich doorway, which is in general elaborately moulded
and ornamented with the tooth ornament. The jambs have rows of shafts
with capitals and bases, similar to the doorways before described, but
frequently much more rich.
BUTTRESSES.--Unlike those of Norman buildings, the buttresses of this
period project boldly from the wall, and tend greatly to shake off the
flatness of appearance so observable in the former style. They are
commonly finished by pediments, and are sometimes connected by arches
with the clerestory, when they are called _flying buttresses_.
PINNACLES are now used, but they are more like turrets, being much larger
than those of the succeeding styles. They are in general ornamented with
small shafts and arches.
PIERS AND PILLARS.--It is in these, more perhaps than in anything else,
that we see the difference between a Norman and an Early English
building. In the former, the architects, being deficient in mediæval
skill, sought to remedy this defect, and to give strength to their
buildings, by piling together large masses of masonry; while in the
latter period, trusting to their scientific knowledge and the new
principle of vaulting which they had just developed, they gradually
reduced the strength of their piers, first by cutting their heavy round
mass into a bundle of pillars all connected together, and afterwards
separating these pillars, so that at the last the piers frequently
consisted only of a central pillar, surrounded by a number of small
detached shafts connected with the central one merely by the capital
and base, and by bands placed at intervals on the shafts. Some fine
specimens of this kind of pillar occur at Salisbury, where the lightness
is carried to such excess that it seems wonderful how such slender shafts
can support such heavy weights. These elaborate pillars are found only
in the cathedrals or large churches; in smaller buildings the pillars
are generally plain, either round or octagonal; but they may always be
distinguished by the moulding and foliage of their capitals, and by their
bases.
[Illustration: THE CHOIR OF LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. (_See p._ 315.)
(_From a photograph by Frith and Co._)]
CAPITALS, FOLIAGE, AND BASES.--These differ in many essential particulars
from those of the Norman period, though in early buildings some of the
Norman characters still remain. The abacus, the upper moulding or member
of the capital, is in Norman work square; in _pure_ Early English it
is circular; its section in the first is square, sloped with the lower
edge, or chamfered off; in the last it is moulded, having two bold round
mouldings, with a deep hollow between them. The foliage of this period
is very different from that of any other. It consists of a kind of leaf
rising, with a stiff stem, from the neck-moulding of the capital, and
turning over in various graceful forms under the abacus. It is from
the circumstance of its rising from a stem that it is sometimes called
_stiff-leaved foliage_; but nothing can be farther from stiffness, the
utmost grace and elegance being displayed in its design and execution.
It sometimes takes the form shown in the specimen from Salisbury, and
sometimes that of a trefoil, as in the one from Lincoln. The _bases_ are
well moulded, the general section being that of two round mouldings, the
lower projecting beyond the upper, with a deep hollow between.
[Illustration: CAPITAL FROM SALISBURY CATHEDRAL.]
[Illustration: CAPITAL FROM LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.]
ARCHES.--These are in most cases acutely pointed, but no general rule
can be given, as much variety in form prevailed at this period. The
round arch is still occasionally used, particularly in triforiums, as
at York. In plain parish churches the pier arches are frequently only
plainly chamfered, but in large buildings they are commonly deeply and
elaborately moulded, and relieved with lines of tooth ornament.
MOULDINGS AND ORNAMENTS.--These are of the greatest importance in all
the styles of Gothic architecture, as they serve to distinguish one
style from another when other tests fail. In the Early English they
are particularly distinct and striking, and consist chiefly of bold
rounds separated by deep hollows, thus producing an effect of light and
shade much more remarkable than that produced by the Norman mouldings.
Intermixed with these mouldings, and frequently occupying one or more
of the deep hollows, is an ornament known as the "tooth ornament" or
"dog's-tooth," which is as characteristic of the Early English style as
the zigzag is of the Norman. It consists of a series of small pyramids
cut into the form of four leaves, and these, when acute and seen in
profile, have somewhat the appearance of a row of teeth. It is profusely
used in all situations where ornament can be introduced. Flat surfaces
are frequently ornamented with foliage, or cut into small squares, each
of which is filled with a flower. This kind of work is called _Diaper_.
[Illustration: TOOTH ORNAMENT FROM LINCOLN CATHEDRAL.]
The FRONTS of Early English buildings are, in general, very fine
compositions, and though plainer in detail than those of the succeeding
styles, they have more elegance of proportion. A good idea of their
general arrangement may be formed from the south transept of Beverley
Minster. As compared with the fronts of the buildings of the Norman
period, they are remarkable for the increase of the space devoted to
windows; and stained glass has by this time become a necessary feature in
church decoration.