modified classic art imported from Byzantium. Thence came the dome which
forms one of the most important elements in the mediæval architecture of
Aquitaine and the South, as well as numerous details and ornaments which
served as the foundation or motive for much of the architectural
decoration of the West, especially in Provence. How strongly these
influences produced their impress on the architecture of the region we
are to traverse, will be apparent; and it will probably be agreed by all
that although the art of Provence was thereby advanced at first, the
chief tendency of these classic reminiscences was to encourage an
adherence to traditional forms, which prevented such a free growth and
development as was afterwards displayed in the Northern districts, where
the classic elements were less abundant. But in one respect at least the
architecture of Provence deserves our gratitude and admiration, for,
amidst all its classic surroundings, it boldly adopted and adhered to
the true principle of arcuated construction, and introduced the use of
the pointed arch. Although in its earlier stages this important feature
was accompanied and encumbered with the revived details of Roman work,
still, as we shall see, in its later phase, it entirely and completely
discarded them; and in the twelfth century, under the guidance of the
Cistertians, Provence produced a simple and natural style of arcuated
architecture in which every feature is regulated by strict adherence to
the genuine principles of stone construction. Of this simple but strong
and impressive style we shall meet with many fine examples.
Up to this time the Provençal architects had led the way, but the period
had now arrived when their principles were to be taken up and carried
out with the boldness and energy of the Northern kingdom of France, then
in its youthful prime. The lay architects of the North, seizing on the
Provençal principle of the pointed arch, which they at once perceived to
be so flexible and easy of application to every requirement, soon
developed from it the magnificent system of the perfected Gothic of the
thirteenth century. This was at once felt and acknowledged on all hands
to be an immense step in advance of anything hitherto attempted in the
West, and was speedily allowed to overshadow, and finally to supersede
all other varieties of mediæval development. Of this result numerous
illustrations will occur in the course of our journey; but we shall also
observe how tenaciously the original forms of construction and plan were
adhered to in the South, even after the Northern Gothic had been
accepted as supreme in all minor details.
[Illustration] VI.
Having now glanced rapidly at the general history and various phases of
the architecture of Provence during the Middle Ages, we shall recommence
our journey at Lyons, and visit the various places on our route
southwards to Marseilles, and thence westwards and eastwards along the
Riviera, where architectural subjects are to be found, giving a more
detailed account of each in its turn, and specially noting those of the
MEDIÆVAL PERIOD.
At LYONS the traveller is at once introduced to the local style in the
Church of the Ainay, which however is much modernised and restored. Some
portions of the walls may be as old as the tenth century, but the
consecration of the existing building (barring subsequent restorations)
took place in 1107. The four granite columns of the choir are possibly
antique.
The church has the Basilican form, with central nave and side aisles.
The square lantern over the crossing, which forms a dwarf tower
externally and cupola internally, is peculiar to this part of the
country. The square tower at the west end (Fig. 35) with its successive
stages of small windows, has a far-off resemblance to the ancient brick
campaniles of Italy--a resemblance which we shall find more strikingly
illustrated in more Southern examples. The peculiar incrustations in red
and other coloured stones, which have a pleasing and Eastern effect, are
a feature of common occurrence in the churches of the Auvergnat, not
far distant from Lyons towards the south-west. The pointed doorways are
modern, but are reproductions of a restoration of the twelfth century.
[Illustration: FIG. 35. THE AINAY, LYONS.]
The cathedral is a fine specimen of the mixed style of this part of the
country, the choir being partly Romanesque of the end of the twelfth
century. The flat arcades of the interior (Fig. 36), composed of large
trefoiled arches, resting on fluted pilasters, are very characteristic
of the Burgundian style. The idea of these pilasters is derived from
those of the Roman gates at Autun. In the cathedral there as well as at
Tournus, and other towns of Upper Burgundy, such pilasters are of
frequent use. The form of the clerestory windows seems to have been
borrowed from these arcades. The choir has an apse, but no aisle running
round it, as invariably happens in the North. Externally it presents a
curious gallery with twisted shafts and inlaid coloured stones, like
those of the Ainay. The towers at the transepts are a remarkable
feature. The nave is Nothern Gothic work of the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries,--but the vaulting is sexpartite, a form entirely
abandoned in the North at that date. Some of the carving on the west
front is very vigorous and fine, recalling the splendid work on the
portals of the north and south transepts of Rouen.
[Illustration: FIG. 36. ARCADES IN CATHEDRAL, LYONS.]
Altogether this building presents in the choir and transepts a singular
mixture of the styles of Upper Burgundy, with those of the Rhine on the
East, and Auvergne on the West; while the nave is an example of a
transplanted design of Nothern Gothic.
In descending the Rhone the valley soon narrows, and we pass into the
gorges amongst the mountains. On one of the rocky heights which jut out
into the valley, the ancient spires of Vienne, and the summit of Mont
Pipet, crowned with its Roman citadel, stand boldly out against the sky.
The town occupies a strong position and commands the pass, hence it was
occupied as a fortress by the Allobroges from early times. Afterwards an
important city under the Romans (as already mentioned in Part IV.), it
continued so during the Middle Ages. But it suffered severely from the
attacks of invaders, being first ravaged by the Lombards, and afterwards
by the Saracens.
In the ninth century Boson, King of Burgundy and Provence, made Vienne
his capital. After the fall of that kingdom, the city declined, and
became the possession of the Dukes of Albon, who governed under the
title of Dauphins of Viennois, till 1349, when Humbert II. ceded the
country to the King of France.
[Illustration: FIG. 37. ST ANDRÉ-LE-BAS, VIENNE.]
The towers of the two most ancient churches, viz., St André-le-bas and
St Pierre (Figs. 37 and 38), are very fine examples of the
campanile-like designs of the South, and strikingly resemble that of the
Ainay at Lyons. The former is ornamented with the arcading so
characteristic of the churches of the Rhine and Lombardy, some of the
miniature arches resting on corbels carved with grotesque heads. The
tower of St Pierre has the large trilobed arch, also common in the
region to the eastward.
St Pierre is very ancient and shews masonry constructed somewhat after
the Roman manner, with courses of brickwork dividing the rubble. The
west entrance is preceded by a porch or narthex in an early style.
St André-le-bas was the chapel of the Duke of Burgundy. This church has
a single nave (in the style of the south-west provinces), with groined
vaulting and heavy buttresses, but the interior has been completely
restored. An inscription fixes its date as 1142. There are also some
remains of a fine cloister adjoining.
[Illustration: FIG. 38. ST PIERRE, VIENNE.]
The cathedral of St Maurice is, like that of Lyons, a mixture of
different styles, and has few of the merits of any. It was begun in the
eleventh century, and not completed till the sixteenth. The plan is that
of a basilica with an apse at the east end of the choir. There are a
central nave and side aisles, but the latter stop at their eastern
extremity with square ends, and are not continued round the central
apse. The eight eastmost pillars of the nave belong to the twelfth
century, and are partly decorated with fluted pilasters in the style of
Upper Burgundy. The caps are “historied,” or carved with
[Illustration: FIG. 39. ST MAURICE, VIENNE.]
figures after the Romanesque style; while the arches are pointed and
ornamented with billet mouldings. Above and below the triforium gallery
is a course of red stone containing sculptures of all sorts of subjects,
like the inlaid work of Auvergne. The vaulting is of the fourteenth
century. In the sixteenth century the proportions of the cathedral were
found defective, the building being considered too short for its length,
and several bays were then added to the west end in the florid Northern
style of the period. The west portal (Fig. 39), with its richly carved
tracery and sculpture, standing as it does at the top of a lofty flight
of steps, rendered necessary by the slope of the ground to the westward,
must have been a fine example of its style before the statues and
carving, which so profusely adorned it, were destroyed during the wars
of religion, by the Baron des Adrets, in 1562. The cathedral is 300 feet
long by 100 feet wide, but, owing to the mixed character of its design,
it is somewhat heavy in effect.
A remarkable example of a double round tower of Renaissance art (Fig.
40) stands close to the ancient Forum, and several specimens of antique
houses of all ages are to be seen in the busy and picturesque streets.
[Illustration: FIG. 40. HOUSE IN VIENNE.]
The next town of importance reached is VALENCE, which, however, is not
very rich in architectural subjects. The cathedral (St Apollinaire) is
of the twelfthcentury, and shews some special features indicative of the
influence of the style of Auvergne, such as an arcade on the outside of
the nave, with alternate round and straight sided arches. The caps of
the nave piers are very Corinthian in character, and the roof is a
tunnel vault. The apse is round, and is strengthened with buttresses in
the form of small shafts, a feature very common in Auvergne. But this
and the other churches have all been reconstructed in Renaissance times.
The Maison-des-Têtes (Fig. 41), near the Place des Clercs is a well
preserved and telling specimen of a florid domestic façade of 1534.
[Illustration: FIG. 41. MAISON-DES-FETES, VALENCE.]
In descending the Rhone the traveller cannot fail to notice that the
precipitous mountains which bound the plain on the west side of the
river are frequently crowned with the shattered remains of mediæval
castles. Of these one of the most striking is the CASTLE OF CRUSSOL
(Fig. 42) opposite Valence. This great castle, now reduced to a mere
fragmentary heap of ruins, was formerly the stronghold of the family of
Crussol, Ducs d’Uzès. It forms a fine feature in the landscape, and
commands a splendid view of the course of the Rhone and the valley of
the Isère, with the Alps to the eastward. But it is now so ruined that a
closer inspection is somewhat disappointing to the architect.
A few miles lower down the very interesting ruins of the MONASTERY OF
CRUAS are seen on the same side of the river. This may be conveniently
reached by the railway on that side, or from Montélimar. The latter
course forms a beautiful drive, without taking the traveller going south
far from his direct line. Crossing the Rhone by the bridge of boats not
far from the station, the ruins of what once was the powerful castle of
Rochemaur meet the view, crowning the rocky height in front, and
extending great walls of enceinte down to the village at the base. The
detached tower forming the keep, which could only be approached by a
draw-bridge, now stands a shattered ruin on its isolated peak.
[Illustration: FIG. 42. CASTLE OF CRUSSOL.]
A drive of a few miles along a level road, above which on the left rise
great masses of basaltic rock forming fantastic figures not unlike the
ruins we have just passed, brings us to the village of CRUAS, where we
discover two architectural subjects of some importance. On the hill
above the village stand the ruins of the ancient monastery, now greatly
dilapidated, and having the space between the walls choked up with the
steep and irregular streets of a small town.
The monastic buildings have almost entirely disappeared, the materials
having doubtless served for the construction of the shabby houses which
now occupy their place. Some portions of the enclosing walls, however,
still survive, together with one very interesting edifice, which
remains
[Illustration: FIG. 43. ABBEY OF CRUAS FROM S.-W.]
[Illustration: FIG. 44. MONASTERY CHURCH, CRUAS.]
tolerably entire. This is the ancient chapel of the abbey, originally a
building of the twelfth century, but which in the fourteenth century was
engulphed by the enclosing walls and fortifications then erected, and
heightened so as to be converted into a keep (Fig. 43). The interior
has, however, been preserved untouched, and shews the simple style of
the Cistertians of the twelfth century (Fig. 44). The plan consists of a
single nave with plain pilasters set against the side walls, from which
spring the flat transverse arches which strengthen the _round_ tunnel
vault. The east end is terminated with a semi-circular apse roofed with
a spherical dome, and ornamented with the small arcaded pattern so
common at that period. On the left or northern side wall arches are
introduced, as if for a side aisle, but there is no appearance of any
aisles ever having existed. The plain round arched west doorway still
exists, and the line of the original gable above it is distinctly
observable in the masonry (_see_ Fig. 43).
The keep built round and over the church is of remarkable design. Large
round buttresses have been added at the outer angles, with square
buttresses at the sides, and both are carried up so as to receive the
arches which support the parapet on the top. These arches spring from
bold corbels projecting from the buttresses, and are set well forward
from the face of the walls, so as to leave a space between the main wall
and the parapet. This space forms a long opening or machicolation, by
means of which the base of the walls could be defended against hostile
operations. We shall see by and by that this is the same form of
machicolation as was adopted in the Pope’s Palace at Avignon, and
elsewhere in the South.
The parapet is crenellated, and, from the beam holes still visible in
the walls, we may infer that it was provided with wooden hoardings for
defence.
The church in the village at the base of the hill (Fig. 45) has also
some points of special interest. It is of early twelfth century design,
and has a vaulted subterranean crypt with numerous sculptured caps. The
upper church has a square tower at the west end, and a transept with
three circular apses opening out of it to the east,--the central apse
forming the choir, and the side apses lateral chapels. Over the crossing
rises an octagonal lantern, containing a dome crowned with a smaller
circular lantern. The
[Illustration: FIG. 45. CHURCH AT CRUAS.]
whole composition and style of ornamentation strongly recall the
architecture of the Rhineland and Lombardy. The thin strips of pilasters
on the apses and lantern, with small arcade-enrichment between, together
with the general form of the lantern, strikingly recall the churches of
Bonn and Cologne. The western tower again is similar to those we have
left behind at Vienne and Lyons. This church, like many others we shall
encounter, illustrates what has above been stated as to the universality
of the one style which prevailed over the “Empire,” before it was broken
up into separate nationalities.
Soon after leaving Montélimar with its frowning citadel, in which there
are some ancient Romanesque details, and a great tower of the fourteenth
century called the “Tour de Narbonne,” we observe on the opposite side
of the Rhone the picturesque town of VIVIERS, clustering on a pyramidal
rock, and appropriately crowned with the cathedral and spire. The church
is of the fourteenth century, a single nave without aisles. It is said
that the crowded and narrow streets contain some old houses, but the
place is apparently more picturesque than architectural.
We now approach the country in which the peculiar elements of the
Provençal style become distinctly apparent. About four miles north-east
from Pierrelatte, the ancient town of Garde Adhémar may be seen towering
aloft on the crest of a bold promontory about 500 feet high. This town
contains a Romanesque church with an eastern and western apse, after the
German fashion, a rather remarkable feature here, but showing, like the
ornaments already referred to, an influence from the Rhine. The side
aisles are vaulted with quarter-circle arches, and the exterior is
finished with a small belfry and steeple.
About six miles to the south-east of Pierrelatte lies the village of ST
PAUL-TROIS-CHÂTEAUX, where another very remarkable church is found. The
town was of some importance from Roman times downward, and retained its
bishop’s see till the Revolution. Several fine Roman sculptures have
been found in the locality, and are preserved in the Calvet museum at
Avignon; and a few remains of Roman structures and columns are still to
be seen. But the most interesting edifice in the town is the ancient
cathedral of the twelfth century. As this is the first building we have
met with which is characteristically Provençal in style, so it is also
one which preserves in a very distinct and marked manner the traditional
Roman
[Illustration: FIG. 46. ST PAUL-TROIS-CHATEAUX. _Part of Exterior (from
Révoil)._]
features of that style. The annexed geometric view of one of the
exterior bays (Fig. 46.) shews how close is the imitation in the
Provençal architecture of the twelfth century of that of the Roman
structures which no doubt then existed on the spot. The pilasters,
crowned with their complete entablature of architrave, frieze, and
cornice, and filled in with an intermediate arcade, might be part of a
Roman amphitheatre (such as those at Nimes and Arles); and indeed it is
supposed that traces of an ancient amphitheatre have been discovered at
St Paul. Every detail might belong to the Lower Empire. The ornaments of
the cornice are directly imitated from the modillions and leaf
enrichments of Roman work; and the egg and dart, and other classic
details are freely used throughout. The interior ornament is equally
Roman in design. The east end is terminated with an apse, which has
eight fluted columns. The two side aisles are covered with half wagon
vaults, and the nave, which is unusually high, with a simple tunnel
vault.
This locality brings us for the first time into contact with a tradition
of which we shall find many traces in various parts of Provence, viz.,
that the Gospel was introduced into this country by the family of
Lazarus, and some other contemporaries of Christ, who had been driven
hither by persecution. At St Paul the story goes that the first bishop
was the blind man whose sight was restored, and who assumed the name of
Restitutus.
About three miles from St Paul may be seen the monument of this saint,
said to be of very ancient and curious construction. It is partly built
into the church, and is ornamented with a remarkable frieze, containing
a rude representation of the last supper.
The station of La Croisière is the nearest to a very remarkable specimen
of mediæval construction, the PONT ST ESPRIT. This celebrated bridge was
planned and begun in 1265 by Jean de Tensanges, the abbot of the order
of Cluny, in the district of St Savourin du Port, which belonged to the
abbey. It was thirty years in building, but we have proof that the work
was well planned and skilfully executed, in the fact that it subsists
till the present day. The length of the bridge is about 3000 feet, and
the width of the roadway is 16 feet. There are twenty-two arches, all
semi-circular in form, and constructed with carefully wrought courses of
arch stones, forming separate rings set together side by side, but not
bonded into one another. This mode of construction was probably borrowed
from the bridge of St Bénezet at Avignon, which again derived it from
the Roman Pont du Gard. Over the piers are smaller arched openings to
allow the water of the high floods of the Rhone to pass freely through.
Like the Pont St Bénezet at Avignon the Pont St Esprit does not run
straight across the river, but is bent at an obtuse angle against the
current so as to resist its pressure. The bridge was fortified at both
ends by castles erected by the suzerains on the opposite sides of the
river. These remained till the seventeenth century, when one of them was
brought into connection with the citadel of the town constructed by
Louis XIII. This was the last bridge erected by the “Frères hospitaliers
pontifes” (of whom we shall hear more at Avignon). After the thirteenth
century neither Communes nor Nobles found it necessary to apply to the
monks for their aid as architects and engineers. By that time the lay
architects had superseded them, in the manner above described (Part V.)
Passing next close under the rocky heights crowned with the picturesque
ruins of the castles of Montdragon and Mornas, the massive wall of the
theatre of Orange rising high above the plain arrests the eye.
A little further on the ramparts and gates of the small walled town of
COURTHÉZON are visible close to the railway; soon after passing which,
the bold outline of the great Palace of the Popes discovers itself to
view towering on its rock above the town of AVIGNON.
On nearer approach, the city walls and gates, surmounted with bold
corbels and machicolations, and the numerous towers and spires of the
churches, unite to give a striking first impression of the city. As it
is _chef-lieu_ of the department of Vaucluse, and the See of an
Archbishop, Avignon is a town of some business and prominence. The
traveller will here find better accommodation than he generally meets
with in the country towns. This may therefore be regarded as a good
place to establish one’s headquarters for a few days, both for the
purpose of seeing the very splendid monuments of the town, and also as a
convenient centre from which excursions may be made to the interesting
Provençal churches of early date, which abound in the vicinity.
Although Avignon was an important Roman colony, it has already been
remarked how barren it is in Roman remains. After the fall of Rome, it
passed successively through the hands of the Burgundians, the Franks,
and the Visigoths: it was twice taken by the Saracens (730 and 737), and
twice delivered by Charles Martel. Afterwards it became part of the
Kingdom of Arles, and subsequently capital of the Marquisate of
Provence.
In the twelfth century the community declared itself a free and
independent city, and erected new walls and fortifications. Avignon
ranged herself on the side of the Albigenses; and, as previously
mentioned, she was besieged and taken, and in 1251 became subject to the
Count of Provence.
In 1308 an event happened which had a very important bearing on the
subsequent history of the city. Pope Clement V., finding his position in
Italy insecure amidst the dreadful factions which rent that country,
judged it prudent to retire to Avignon, where he would be under the
protection (if also under the power) of the King of France. Avignon
thereafter continued for more than a century the Holy See, and during
that time seven Pontiffs and two Anti-Popes reigned in this new Rome.
As already narrated, Pope Clement VI. purchased the suzerainty of
Avignon and the control of the Venaissin from Jeanne, the Queen of
Naples and Countess of Provence, in 1348. Successive Popes used every
exertion to render the place secure, and especially built themselves,
on the Rocher-des-Doms, the immense Palace, which still forms the most
prominent feature of the town. The walls and fortifications were begun
in 1349, and finished in 1368.
When the Popes returned to Rome, Avignon was governed for them by a
Legate, who was displaced in favour of the Republic in 1797.
The Palace of the Popes is well situated for defence. It stands on the
top of an abrupt rock, round the base of which, on the north, sweeps the
deep and rapid current of the Rhone. The rock is perpendicular all round
the east and south sides, and is thus cut off from the town; while on
the west, where alone the site is approachable, the access is steep, and
is protected by the lofty and menacing walls of the Palace (_see_ Plan,
Fig. 49).