pointed ribs springing from finely-carved caps. On the level of the
floor there are recesses in the thick walls, giving access to long loops
which descend far below the floor, so as to enable the defenders to
shoot down as close as possible to the base of the tower. The postern is
also seen from the inside (although now built up externally), with its
portcullis (or rather a modern imitation) _in situ_. The interior is lit
only by the narrow loop-holes, and is, therefore, very dark. A gallery
runs round in the thickness of the upper part of the walls of the hall,
with windows looking into the apartment from which it might be watched
and commanded. Between the recess of one of the loops and the postern a
fireplace is introduced, with an oven in the wall behind it. The hearth
is covered with a boldly projecting hood, supported on two brackets
carved with foliage. The angles of the hood have ornamental crockets,
and the hood itself is carved in imitation of tiles. The whole work is
massive and yet fine, and specially recalls, both in construction and
ornament, the style of Couci. It has evidently been the work of a
Northern architect brought with him by King Louis.
About two miles to the north of Aigues Mortes stands the “Tour
Carbonnière,” which formed an outpost of the town. It was erected at the
same time as the fortifications, and was placed so as to command the
approach, which was only practicable by one course through the marshes
and canals. It is a good example of a detached thirteenth century
tower, and in style strongly resembles that of Villeneuve, at the west
end of the bridge of St Bénezet, at Avignon.
* * * * *
We shall now return to Marseilles, and strike eastwards by the
Mediterranean Railway, along the Riviera.
For a considerable distance no architectural remains of importance are
met with. The line passes through a rocky and mountainous country, the
bare summits of the lofty peaks contrasting strongly with the rich
verdure and luxuriant growth of the valleys below them, in which the
subtropical vegetation of the Riviera now begins to shew itself.
After penetrating a mountain range by tunnel, the seacoast is reached,
and some lovely bays are passed before sighting the lofty peaks of the
mountains, each crowned with its fort, which surround and protect
Toulon, the great arsenal of France on the Mediterranean.
Architecturally there is little of interest in the town, but the harbour
with its narrow antique quay, lined with houses fronting the basin,
which is crowded with the peculiarly rigged trading vessels of the
district, is well worthy of a visit. It recalls in some respects the
Riva de’ Schiavoni at Venice, with its bustle and varied interest.
The railway to Hyères branches off the main line at La Pauline Station.
Just before reaching this, the ancient and picturesque town of La Garde
is passed. Its houses are clustered on the slope of a basaltic rock, the
summit of which is crowned with the ruins of an ancient castle, and a
church. The aspect of this old place forms a good introduction to the
picturesque and decayed character of the numerous ancient towns to be
met with all along the Riviera.
HYÈRES is the first reached in travelling eastwards of the great health
resorts of the Riviera. It stands on the southern slope of a hill facing
the sea, which is visible at a distance of about three miles off. The
rocky summit of the hill is crowned with the ruins of an ancient castle,
from which the steep and narrow streets of the old town radiate
downwards. The town was formerly surrounded with walls, which have now
been removed, and the space converted into a wide promenade, on which
flourish the palms, oranges, and other tropical plants for which Hyères
is famous. The modern houses and hotels are also situated on this fair
terrace, while some remains of the gateways connected with the old
ramparts are still preserved. Hyères stands high above the level of the
sea and the plain which extends between it and the foot of the hill. It
thus commands an extensive view to the south and south-west over the
peninsula of Giens, and the Mediterranean dotted with the groups of
Islands named after it, “les Iles d’Hyères.”
There is nothing remarkable in the history of Hyères. In Roman times a
fortress existed here called Castrum Aræarum.
In the thirteenth century the place was held by the Count of Fos, who
was dispossessed by Charles of Anjou. Thereafter the castle and town
passed through the usual assaults and changes, and during the sixteenth
century was in possession of the Catholics and Protestants in turn.
The enceinte of the castle (Fig. 120) is well preserved, many of the
towers which strengthen it being almost entire. These are for the most
part square and lofty, and have thus quite a Southern aspect. The
original crenellations still exist, together with the holes for the
short beams which carried the wooden hoardings for defence at the
summit. The openings are generally long narrow slits, but in the eastern
angle tower three small pointed windows occur. The keep is almost
entirely demolished. It occupied the summit of the rock, and from its
ruins a commanding and extensive prospect is obtained. The walls are
probably not older than the thirteenth century. Within the enceinte the
ground is laid out as a private vineyard.
[Illustration: FIG. 120. HYÈRES CASTLE.]
In the middle of the old town stands the picturesque church of St Paul,
approached from a terrace commanding a beautiful view seawards, by a
wide staircase crowned with a corbelled tower. It is originally of the
twelfth century, but has been altered. The walls of the east end have
had to be brought up from a considerable depth, owing to the great slope
of the ground, and the lower part of the buttresses shew work like that
of the thirteenth century, but the upper part is later. Internally the
church has four bays and an apse--all late--the caps of the piers being
of Renaissance work. The central nave and aisles are all groined. A wide
chapel crosses the building at the west end, and is surmounted with a
plain square tower (Fig. 121) of the type of the Italian campanile, of
which numerous specimens are to be met with at Grasse and elsewhere
along the Riviera. The upper round arched doorway, with its immense
voussoirs, indicates a style of work of which several examples are to be
met with in the town, and which is doubtless of Moorish or Spanish
origin.
[Illustration: FIG. 121. ST PAUL, HYÈRES.]
The Hôtel de Ville, on the place Massillon in the old town, occupies the
chapel of a Commandery of the Templars. It has been much altered and
renovated, but with its picturesque round tower at one side it has a
good deal of character. A few portions of old houses present some good
fragments of Mediæval Architecture here and there.
The main line of railway between Toulon and Fréjus makes a great curve
inland, so as to pass through the level and fertile valley lying between
the detached and rugged district of “Les Maures” on the south, and the
Alpines on the north. Half way along this valley is the station of Le
Luc, about six miles to the northward of which stands a structure of
great interest to the student of Architecture.
We have already explained the ascetic sentiments which actuated the
early Cistertians in the construction of their buildings. Without some
knowledge of the principles of these primitive reformers it would be
difficult to understand the origin and meaning of much of the
architecture of Provence. In the midst of the usually ornate structures
of the country, we come occasionally on some important and remarkable
churches, which, from the plainness and simplicity of their style,
present a complete contrast to the former. Such are the three early
daughters of Citeaux erected during the twelfth century at Senanque,
Silvacanne, and Thoronet. The churches of these monasteries are all
remarkably similar in design, and carry out to the letter the plainness
and absence of decoration required by St Bernard.
Of this Thoronet is a striking example. This abbey is situated in a
retired rural valley, about six miles north from Le Luc Station. On
leaving the station, the road, after passing a large monastery with its
chapel and cypresses, ascends by a steep footpath the hill on which
stands the ancient town of CANNET (Fig. 122) still partly surrounded
with its mediæval walls. A delightful walk of two or three miles through
a narrow and rocky valley clad with olives leads to the village of
Thoronet, two miles beyond which the monastery is reached. It stands
concealed by olive groves on the western slope of a narrow valley,
through which flows a small stream, a tributary of the Argens. The
church, with its plain apse and little spire, first meets the view,
followed, on near approach, by the ruinous but extensive buildings of
the monastery which disappear amongst foliage down the slope of the
hillside. The public road now runs through the upper part of the
enclosure of the abbey, and close along the south side of the church;
while part of the monastic buildings to the west are occupied as a
tavern or farmhouse.
[Illustration: FIG. 122. CANNET.]
[Illustration: FIG. 123. THORONET--CHURCH FROM S.W.]
THE MONASTERY OF THORONET was founded in the beginning of the twelfth
century, on ground granted by Raymond de Béranger, Count of Provence, to
the monks of Citeaux, and continued to be occupied by that order till
their property was secularised and sold at the Revolution. The plan is
that usual in Cistertian buildings of the period. The church has a nave,
with central and side aisles, crossed at the east end by a large
transept, from which, in the centre, a short choir having a circular
apse, and two smaller chapels with altars in each transept, extend
towards the east. At Thoronet the choir and chapels have apsidal
terminations, but in some Cistertian churches the east end is square.
Nothing could exceed the unadorned nature of the design, both externally
and internally. The west end (Fig. 123) shews the principal entrance,
which is a plain round-headed doorway, without even a moulding. The tall
windows and the round one in this gable are treated equally simply.
These, and a round
[Illustration: FIG. 124. ABBEY CHURCH OF THORONET.]
window over the apse, give the principal light in the church, which,
like the other Southern churches vaulted on the same principle, has no
clerestory. There is an alcove for a tomb in the exterior of the wall of
the south aisle, but it is now empty. The interior (Fig. 124) presents,
as it were, the bare skeleton of the other churches of Provence which we
have already considered, without any of their ornamentation. The piers
of the nave are simply portions of a side wall set on square slabs as a
base, with a plain break to sustain the inner member of the nave arch.
Above these rises the perfectly plain, pointed, barrel vault,
strengthened with simple square-cut transverse arches, which spring from
round attached vaulting shafts, resting on the plainest possible
corbels, and having caps of a very simple form.
The vault of the central nave is buttressed by half vaults in the side
aisles, which are of the same design.
The tiles of the roof, both of the central nave and the side aisles,
rest directly on the outside of the vaults without any wooden
construction. This, as we have seen, is the usual arrangement in the
churches of Provence, such as Notre Dame des Doms, Avignon, and St
Trophime, Arles.
The cloister, and some of the monastic buildings adjoining, are well
preserved. A similar simplicity reigns throughout these. The cloister
consists, as usual, of four arcades enclosing a garth on the north side
of the church. The arcade next the nave is on a higher level than the
other three, owing to the slope of the hill, and is only one story high,
there being no rooms on this side for an upper gallery to give access
to. The other three sides of the cloister had originally an upper floor,
with open arches next the garth, and an open timber roof. These
galleries gave access to the dormitory and other apartments on the upper
floor. The arcades of the cloisters (Fig. 125) are of a very
[Illustration: FIG. 125. THORONET--CLOISTER.]
[Illustration: FIG. 126. THORONET--CAPS IN CLOISTER.]
simple form, consisting of plain round arches in the wall, filled in
with a single solid shaft supporting two smaller round arches, and a
circular eye above. The arches are absolutely without mouldings. The
caps and bases of the central shafts (Fig. 126) are of very simple
design--a small leaf or uncarved set-off being all that is allowed to
cover the passage from round to square, and any such enrichments are
most elementary, both in design and execution. It will, however, be
observed that these primitive ornaments, although simple, are
_original_. They show no trace of Roman traditions, which, as formerly
pointed out, were entirely renounced by the Cistertians in their
reformed Provençal art. These very elementary forms are thus the
prototypes of the new and natural style of ornamentation above referred
to in Part V. as having been introduced by the Cistertian Order. The
small arches rest on an impost formed of a plain string course, which,
together with the plain splay of the base, are cut off at the outer face
of the wall, and do not return round it. This mode of cutting off
strings, etc., is of frequent occurrence in buildings of this type.
The cloister walks are covered with plain, pointed, tunnel vaults,
strengthened at intervals with square transverse ribs resting on plain
corbels, which are inserted in a string course, formed of a simple
ovolo.
At the intersection of the cloister walks the pointed vaults meet, and
the junction is covered with a pair of square diagonal ribs intersecting
one another in the angle.
Opening from the north side of the cloister is a hexagonal chamber,
which served as the lavatory of the monks. It projects into the garth
from the arcade (_see_ Fig. 125), and has five windows, three of which
are plain round-headed openings, and the two others are each finished
with two small arches and a circular eye like those of the cloisters. A
double doorway gives access from the cloister walk. The basin or vase
for washing, which formerly stood in the centre, now lies broken in the
garden.
The chapter-house opens into the eastern side of the cloisters by a
doorway with a pointed arch, and two side windows, with three openings
in each. These openings were for the purpose of enabling the monks in
the cloister to hear what passed in the chapter-house. The latter is
vaulted with groined-pointed vaults--the ribs being square with bead on
angles, supported by two short and dumpy pillars, with spurred bases and
remarkable caps, somewhat more ornamental than the others. In the east
wing, over the chapter-house, the dormitory still exists, roofed with a
wide barrel vault, strengthened with transverse ribs.
From the simple design of the cloister it is apparent how completely the
Cistertians renounced the fine shafts and delicate carving of the
cloisters of the early Provençal type like those of Aix, with their
light wooden roofs, and gave preference to vaults, as being more
enduring, while at the same time they rejected all sculpture and
ornament. Although simple and plain to a degree, there is a unity of
purpose and an originality of character in this new and vigorous style
which commands respect if not admiration.
Senanque, Silvacanne, and Thoronet were all built in the severe style of
the first fervour of the Cistertians early in the twelfth century. By
the end of the century this first enthusiasm became an affectation of
simplicity and was gradually tempered by the preponderating influence of
the Clunisiens, who were more in harmony with the spirit of the times
than the rigid Cistertians,--the general tendency of the age being to
great richness in architecture.
At a later period the monastery of Thoronet seems to have been enclosed
with walls, within which the grounds were laid out with taste and
elegance. Few examples of this refinement have escaped destruction; but
a fountain, with its basin set in an alcove in the outer wall, still
survives (Fig. 127), and serves to refresh the traveller on the dusty
highway which now passes through the pleasure gardens of the monks.
At ST MAXIMIN, which lies considerably to the west of Thoronet and is
most conveniently approached by the railway between Aix and Carnoulles
by Brignoles, there exists a church of a totally different character. It
is said to be the most perfect specimen in Provence of a building in the
pure Gothic style. The design has evidently been imported directly from
the
[Illustration: FIG. 127. THORONET--FOUNTAIN IN GROUNDS.]
North, and is precisely such an edifice as one would expect to meet with
in the Ile de France. Its presence here therefore strikes one with
surprise, and with a sense of incongruity with its surroundings. This
church was begun towards the end of the thirteenth century by Charles of
Anjou, but was not finished till the close of the fifteenth
[Illustration: FIG. 128. CHURCH OF ST MAXIMIN.]
century. The plan shews a central nave with side aisles, each terminated
to the east with an apse. There is no transept. The vaults are pointed
and simple in form. The central vault (Fig. 128) is lofty, being about
90 feet to the apex. When complete the aspect of the church must have
been extremely light and fairy-like. The lofty windows of the clerestory
and apse, which are all pointed, fill up with their traceries nearly the
whole visible space, the masonry being reduced to its smallest limits.
The same idea was carried out in the side aisles, where the windows were
originally brought down almost to the pavement. When these windows were
all filled with stained glass, as they are believed to have been
(although it is now completely gone), the effect must have been very
fine, and all the more splendid from the remarkable contrast it would
present to the usually somewhat dark and gloomy character of Southern
churches. Side chapels have now been added, and the aisle windows shut
up by them; and it is stated that the structure is generally very much
destroyed. Unfortunately the west façade has never been completed.
From Le Luc the railway follows the course of the wide and fertile
valley of the River Argens to Fréjus, the ancient Roman _Forum Julii_,
so rich, as we have already seen, in Roman remains; and its Mediæval
buildings will be found to be not less interesting.
[Illustration: FIG. 129. PLAN OF FRÉJUS CATHEDRAL.]
The Cathedral of Fréjus, erected probably in the twelfth century, is a
prominent example of the adoption in Provence of the “single-hall” style
of church, which (as explained in Part V.) was so universal in the south
and west of France. The original church (Fig. 129) consists of
[Illustration: FIG. 130. FRÉJUS CATHEDRAL.]
[Illustration: FIG. 131. FRÉJUS--WESTERN ENCLOSURE AND CATHEDRAL
BUILDINGS.]
a nave of three divisions or bays, each covered with round intersecting
vaults, strengthened with large square groins, and terminated at the
east end with a circular apse, the whole extending to 120 feet in length
by 28 feet in width. The vaults spring from piers, which are really
large internal buttresses, with recesses between them 7 feet deep (Fig.
130). The north side wall has, however, been cut out, and a side aisle
added at a later date, with still later chapels beyond. The string
courses, caps, etc., are all of the same simple forms employed in so
many buildings of the period. Nothing could be plainer or more devoid of
ornament than
[Illustration: FIG. 132. FRÉJUS CATHEDRAL, EASTERN TOWER AND BISHOP’S
PALACE.]
this massive and impressive edifice. The exterior of the cathedral has
undergone many changes. The Bishop’s Palace adjoins it on the south, and
covers a large part of the south wall. The whole series of buildings
connected with the cathedral, have at one time been enclosed with a
strong wall, built in regular courses, left rough on the surface. Some
portions of this work are visible in the outer wall next the street at
the west end. There, intermingled with a great deal of modern addition
and alteration, may still be traced the remains of two windows (Fig.
131) of the twelfth or early thirteenth century, with circular arches
springing from carved caps. In the jambs of one of these windows the
caps still surmount projecting shafts standing on corbels, but they have
disappeared from the other. The details are given in Fig. 133. Several
of the original small windows of the basement, however, remain
unaltered. They have the circular heads and the deeply splayed external
ingoing of the period.
The east end of the cathedral (Fig. 132) is very remarkable. The apse,
which is circular within, is only slightly rounded externally, and is
carried up to a considerable height as a tower of defence, and armed
with an embattled parapet at the top, supported on bold corbels with
machicolations between them.
Fréjus Cathedral is thus another instance of the numerous fortified
churches so characteristic of the South, and formed part of the general
fortified enclosure which protected the Bishop’s Palace and the other
ecclesiastical buildings connected with the see. Adjoining the apse
considerable remains of the ancient Bishop’s Palace may still be traced,
shewing (amidst modern alterations) work similar to that of the west
end, and containing coupled pointed windows and doors with round arches.
The enclosing and fortifying of the precincts seem to have been carried
out at a time subsequent to the erection of the cathedral. This explains
the peculiar form of the tower over the apse, and likewise the manner in
which the ancient baptistery is enclosed in a similar mural envelope.
The work was probably executed, to judge from the style, early in the
thirteenth century. In that
[Illustration: FIG. 133. FRÉJUS CATHEDRAL--SOUTH OR ENTRANCE FRONT.]
century too the tower at the west end of the church seems to have been
erected over what was probably the original narthex or anti-church.
Internally the lower portions are executed in the style of the Gothic of
the North, and the heavy tower above (Fig. 133) may possibly be of the
same date. The coloured tiles, which give the spire a special character,
are no doubt much more modern. We also find here other examples of work
of different kinds and various periods. Of these the ancient baptistery
(Fig. 134) is a structure of great interest. It stands at the west end
of what seems to have been originally, although now covered in, a small
open court, such as generally existed in front of the western entrances
to the early churches. The plan of the baptistery is octagonal, being
the same as that adopted for the primitive baptisteries in Italy.
Octagonal or circular edifices such as this are frequently called Roman
temples; but, although they very closely resemble Roman work, they are
found, on an examination of the details, to be only imitated from
classic design, and are clearly of Christian origin.
At Fréjus, the baptistery is ornamented with a granite monolithic column
in each of its eight angles, provided with caps of white marble. The
caps and bases (Fig. 134) are varied in design, and are all closely
imitated from the Corinthian, although none of them are exactly after
that pattern. The massive fragment of stone, moulded on the front, which
is placed over each, is probably a survival or reminiscence of the
entablature which was always thought necessary in classic times. The
upper portion, which was most likely an octagonal dome in the original
building, is now modernised. The plan shews an attempt to make the floor
as square as possible, by means of four deep niches introduced in the
four angles. The central font is peculiar in form, and stands on a
fragment of an ancient column.
In connection with this baptistery it may be interesting here to call
attention to the fact that a monument in the same style, but superior in
size and design, still exists at
[Illustration: FIG. 134. FRÉJUS CATHEDRAL, BAPTISTERY.]
RIEZ, an ancient Roman colony instituted under the patronage of
Augustus, some distance to the north-west of Draguinon. The original
town was built on the plain watered by the river Colastre (a tributary
of the Verdon), but the inhabitants have long abandoned the low ground,
and the houses now stand an the slope of the Mont Saint-Maximin above.
In the deserted plain are to be found four Corinthian columns of grey
granite from the Esterel with caps, bases, and architraves of marble.
These, according to Texier and Pullan, formed the façade of a prostyle
temple.
[Illustration: FIG. 135. THE “PANTHEON,” RIEZ (_From Texier and
Pullan_).]