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_THE ARTS IN THE MIDDLE AGES,
AND AT THE PERIOD OF THE RENAISSANCE._
[Illustration: THE ANNUNCIATION.
Fac-simile of a Miniature from the “Hours” of Anne de Bretagne formerly
belonging to Catherine de Medicis
(Library of M. A. Firmin Didot.)]
THE ARTS
IN
THE MIDDLE AGES,
AND AT THE PERIOD OF
THE RENAISSANCE.
BY PAUL LACROIX
(Bibliophile Jacob),
CURATOR OF THE IMPERIAL LIBRARY OF THE ARSENAL, PARIS.
Illustrated with
NINETEEN CHROMOLITHOGRAPHIC PRINTS BY F. KELLERHOVEN
AND UPWARDS OF
_FOUR HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD_.
FOURTH THOUSAND.
LONDON:
BICKERS AND SON, 1, LEICESTER SQUARE.
[Illustration]
PREFACE OF THE EDITOR.
The aim and scope of this work are so explicitly set forth in the
appended Preface by its Author as to require for the book no further
introduction. The position held by M. LACROIX in the Imperial Library of
the Arsenal, Paris, is a sufficient guarantee of his qualifications for
undertaking a publication of this nature. How far his labours were
appreciated in France is evident from the fact that, when the first
edition made its appearance, it was exhausted within a few days.
It may fairly be presumed that THE ARTS IN THE MIDDLE AGES will find
equal favour in England, where so much attention has of late years been
given to the subject in all its various ramifications; and where,--in
our National Museum, Kensington, especially,--we are accumulating so
extensive and valuable a collection of objects associated with the
epochs referred to by M. LACROIX.
In preparing these sheets for the press, my task has been little more
than to put an excellent and conscientious _literal_ translation of the
French text into language somewhat in harmony with the construction of
our own. In so doing, however, it has been my object to retain, as far
as practicable, the peculiar--sometimes the quaint--phraseology of the
original writing. A few notes are added when they appeared necessary by
way of explaining terms, &c., or to render them more intelligible to the
general reader. But some words are used by the Author for which no
English equivalent can be found: these have been allowed to stand
without note or comment.
JAMES DAFFORNE.
BRIXTON, _February, 1870_.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
PREFACE TO THE SECOND FRENCH EDITION.
More than twenty years ago we published, with the aid of our friend
Ferdinand Séré, whose loss we regret, and with the co-operation of other
learned men and of the most eminent writers and artists, an important
work, entitled “THE MIDDLE AGES AND THE RENAISSANCE.” That work, which
consists of no less than five large quarto volumes, treated in detail
the manners and customs, the sciences, literature, and the arts of those
two great epochs, a subject as vast as it is interesting and
instructive. Thanks to the learning it displays, to its literary merit
and its admirable execution, it had the rare good fortune to attract
immediately the attention of the public, and even now it maintains the
interest which marked its first appearance. It has taken its place in
the library of the amateur, not only in France but also among
foreigners; it has become celebrated.
This exceptional result, especially as regards a publication of such
extent, induces us to believe that our work, thus known and appreciated
by the learned, may and ought henceforth to have still greater success
by addressing itself to a yet larger number of readers.
With this conviction we now present to the public one of the principal
portions of that important work, and perhaps the most interesting, in a
form more simple, easier, and more pleasing; within the reach of youth
who desire to learn without weariness or irksomeness, of females
interested in grave authors, of the family that loves to assemble round
a book altogether instructive and attractive. We would speak of the
“ARTS IN THE MIDDLE AGES, AND AT THE PERIOD OF THE RENAISSANCE.” After
having reunited the scattered materials on this subject, we have ranged
them each in its own rank, taking care to discard all crudity of
learning and to preserve in our work the brilliant colouring in which it
was first clothed.
All the Arts are interesting in themselves. Their productions awaken
attention and excite curiosity. But here it is not one Art only that is
treated of. We pass in review all the Arts, starting from the fourth
century to the second half of the sixteenth--Architecture raising
churches and abbeys, palaces and public memorials, strong fortresses and
the ramparts of cities; Sculpture adorning and perfecting other Arts by
its works in stone, marble, bronze, wood, and ivory; Painting,
commencing with mosaic and enamels, contributing to the decoration of
buildings jointly with stained glass and frescoes, embellishing and
illuminating manuscripts before it arrived at its highest point of
perfection, with the Art of Giotto and Raphael, of Hemling and Albert
Dürer; Engraving on wood and metal, with which is associated the work of
the medallist and the goldsmith; and after attempting to touch upon
Playing-cards and Niello-work, we suddenly evoke that sublime invention
destined to change the face of the world--Printing. Such are, in brief,
some of the principal features of this splendid picture. One can imagine
what an infinity, what variety and richness, of details it should
contain.
Our subject presents, at the same time, another kind of interest more
elevated and not less alluring. Here each Art appears in its different
phases and in its diversified progress. It is a history, not alone of
the Arts, but of the epoch itself in which they were developed; for the
Arts, regarded in their generality, are the truest expression of
society. They speak to us of tastes, of ideas, of character: they
exhibit us in their works. Of all an age can leave to the future
concerning itself, that which represents it most vividly is Art: the
Arts of an epoch revivify it, and bring it back before our eyes.
It is this which forms our book. Yet, we must remark, here its interest
is redoubled, for we retrace not only a single era, but two eras very
distinct from each other. In the first, that of the Middle Ages, which
followed the invasion of the Northmen, society was in a great measure
formed of new and barbarous elements, which Christianity laboured to
break up and fashion. In the second epoch, on the contrary, society was
organised and firmly established; it enjoyed peace, and reaped its
fruits. The Arts followed the same phases. At first rude and informal,
they rose slowly and by degrees, like society, out of chaos. At length
they nourished in perfect freedom, and progressed with all the energy of
which the human mind is capable. Hence the successive advances whose
history presents a marvellous interest.
During the Middle Ages, Art generally followed the inspirations of that
Christian spirit which presided at the formation of this new world. It
arose to reproduce in an admirable manner the religious ideal. Only
towards the end of that period it searched out for beauty of form, and
began to find it when the Renaissance made its appearance: the
Renaissance, that is, the intellectual revolution, which, in the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, restored among modern nations the
sceptre to Literature and the Arts of antiquity. Then, with the
Renaissance, the Arts changed their direction, and especially the
principal Arts, those by which the genius of man expresses most forcibly
his ideas and his feelings. Thus, in the Middle Ages, a new style of
architecture is created that rapidly attained the highest degree of
perfection, the _ogival_ (later Gothic or flamboyant), of which we see
the _chefs-d’œuvre_ in our cathedrals: at the Renaissance, this was
replaced by architecture derived from that of the Greeks and Romans,
which also produced admirable works, but almost always less in harmony
with the dignity and splendour of worship. In the Middle Ages, Painting
chiefly applied itself to represent the _beau idéal_ of the religious
mind reflecting itself in the countenance; at the Renaissance, it is the
beauty of the physical form, so perfectly expressed by the ancients.
Sculpture, which comes nearer to Painting, followed at the same time all
similar phases, drawing the art of Engraving with it. Do not the
diversified changes through which the Arts passed, as retraced in this
book during two epochs, present to the intelligent reader a succession
of facts of the highest interest and a history most instructive?
Our work is the only existing one on this great and magnificent subject,
of which the materials are scattered through a multitude of volumes.
Thus for the success of this undertaking it became necessary to unite
with us in our task men most distinguished by their learning and
talents: we are permitted to cite the names of MM. Ernest Breton, Aimé
Champollion, Champollion-Figeac, Pierre Dubois, Duchesne, Ferdinand
Denis, Jacquemart, Arch. Juvinal, Jules Labarte, Lassus, Louandre,
Prosper Mérimée, Alfred Michiels, Gabriel Peignot, Riocreux, De Saulcy,
Jean Designeur, le Marquis de Varennes. After such a list we record our
own name only to acknowledge that we have gone over and recast these
various works, and presented them in a form which gives them more unity,
but owes to them all the interest and all the charm it may offer.
The numerous illustrations that adorn the work will engage the eye,
while the text will speak to the intelligence. The designs in
chromolithography are executed by M. Kellerhoven, who for several years
has made the art one of a high order, worthy to shine among the finest
works of our greatest painters, as is proved by his “Chefs-d’œuvre of
the Great Masters,” “Lives of the Saints,” and “Legend of St. Ursula.”
No one is ignorant of the attention given in these days to archæology.
Information about objects of antiquity is necessary to every instructed
person. It ought to be studied so far as to enable us to appreciate, or
at least to recognise, the examples of olden time in Architecture,
Painting, &c., that present themselves to our notice. Thus it has become
for the young of each sex indispensable to good education. The perusal
of this book will be for such an attractive introduction to that
knowledge which for too long a time was the exclusive domain of the
learned.
PAUL LACROIX
(Bibliophile Jacob).
[Illustration]
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Page
FURNITURE: HOUSEHOLD AND ECCLESIASTICAL 1
Simplicity of Furniture among the Gauls and Franks.--Introduction
of costly taste in articles of Furniture of the Seventh
Century.--Arm-chair of Dagobert.--Round Table of King
Artus.--Influence of the Crusades.--Regal Banquet in
the time of Charles V.--Benches.--Sideboards.--Dinner
Services.--Goblets.--Brassware.--Casks.--Lighting.--Beds.--Carved-wood
Furniture.--Locksmith’s Work.--Glass and Mirrors.--Room of a
Feudal Seigneur.--Costliness of Furniture used for Ecclesiastical
Purposes.--Altars.--Censers.--Shrines and Reliquaries.--Gratings and
Iron-mountings.
TAPESTRY 37
Scriptural Origin of Tapestry.--Needlework Embroidery in Ancient
Greek and Roman Times.--Attalic Carpets.--Manufacture of Carpets in
Cloisters.--Manufactory at Poitiers in the Twelfth Century.--Bayeux
Tapestry, named “De la Reine Mathilde.”--Arras Carpets.--Inventory
of the Tapestries of Charles V.; enormous Value of these Embroidered
Hangings.--Manufactory at Fontainebleau, under Francis I.--The
Manufacture of the Hôpital de la Trinité, at Paris.--The Tapestry
Workers, Dubourg and Laurent, in the reign of Henry IV.--Factories of
Savonnerie and Gobelins.
CERAMIC ART 53
Pottery Workshops in the Gallo-Romano Period.--Ceramic Art disappears
for several Centuries in Gaul: is again found in the Tenth and Eleventh
Centuries.--Probable Influence of Arabian Art in Spain.--Origin of
Majolica.--Luca della Robbia and his Successors.--Enamelled Tiles in
France, dating from the Twelfth Century.--The Italian Manufactories of
Faenza, Rimini, Pesaro, &c.--Beauvais Pottery.--Invention and Works of
Bernard Palissy; his History; his _Chefs-d’œuvre_.--The _Faïence_ of
Thouars, called “Henri II.”
ARMS AND ARMOUR 75
Arms of the Time of Charlemagne.--Arms of the Normans at the Time of
the Conquest of England.--Progress of Armoury under the Influence of
the Crusades.--The Coat of Mail.--The Crossbow.--The Hauberk and the
Hoqueton.--The Helmet, the Hat of Iron, the Cervelière, the Greaves,
and the Gauntlet; the Breastplate and the Cuish.--The Casque with
Vizor.--Plain Armour and Ribbed Armour.--The Salade Helmet.--Costliness
of Armour.--Invention of Gunpowder.--Bombards.--Hand-Cannons.--The
Culverin, the Falconet.--The Arquebus with Metal-holder, with Match,
and with Wheel.--The Gun and the Pistol.
CARRIAGES AND SADDLERY 107
Horsemanship among the Ancients.--The Riding-horse and the
Carriage-horse.--Chariots armed with Scythes.--Vehicles of the
Romans, the Gauls, and the Franks: Carruca, the Petoritum, the
Cisium, the Plastrum, the Basterna, the Carpentum.--Different
kinds of Saddle-horses in the Days of Chivalry.--The Spur a
distinctive Sign of Nobility: its Origin.--The Saddle, its Origin
and its Modifications.--The Tilter.--Carriages.--The Mules of
Magistrates.--Corporations of Saddlers and Harness-makers, Lorimers,
Coachmakers, Chapuiseurs, Blazonniers, and Saddle-coverers.
GOLD AND SILVER WORK 123
Its Antiquity.--The Trésor de Guarrazar.--The Merovingian and
Carlovingian Periods.--Ecclesiastical Jewellery.--Pre-eminence of
the Byzantine Goldsmiths.--Progress of the Art consequent on the
Crusades.--The Gold and Enamels of Limoges.--Jewellery ceases to be
restricted to Purposes of Religion.--Transparent Enamels.--Jean of
Pisa, Agnolo of Siena, Ghiberti.--Great Painters and Sculptors from the
Goldsmiths’ Workshops.--Benvenuto Cellini.--The Goldsmiths of Paris.
HOROLOGY 169
Modes of measuring Time among the Ancients.--The Gnomon.--The
Water-Clock.--The Hour-Glass.--The Water-Clock, improved by the
Persians and by the Italians.--Gerbert invents the Escapement
and the moving Weights.--The Striking-bell.--Maistre Jehan des
Orloges.--Jacquemart of Dijon.--The first Clock in Paris.--Earliest
portable Timepiece.--Invention of the spiral Spring.--First appearance
of Watches.--The Watches, or “Eggs,” of Nuremberg.--Invention of the
Fusee.--Corporation of Clockmakers.--Noted Clocks at Jena, Strasburg,
Lyons, &c.--Charles-Quint and Jannellus.--The Pendulum.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 187
Music in the Middle Ages.--Musical Instruments from the Fourth to the
Thirteenth Century.--Wind Instruments: the Single and Double Flute, the
Pandean Pipes, the Reed-pipe.--The Hautboy, the Flageolet, Trumpets,
Horns, _Olifants_, the Hydraulic Organ, the Bellows-Organ.--Instruments
of Percussion: the Bell, the Hand-bell, Cymbals, the Timbrel, the
Triangle, the _Bombulum_, Drums.--Stringed Instruments: the Lyre,
the Cithern, the Harp, the Psaltery, the _Nable_, the _Chorus_, the
_Organistrum_, the Lute and the Guitar, the _Crout_, the _Rote_, the
Viola, the _Gigue_, the Monochord.
PLAYING-CARDS 223
Supposed Date of their Invention.--Existed in India in the Twelfth
Century.--Their connection with the Game of Chess.--Brought into Europe
after the Crusades.--First Mention of a Game with Cards in 1379.--Cards
well known in the Fifteenth Century in Spain, Germany, and France,
under the name of _Tarots_.--Cards called _Charles the Sixth’s_ must
have been _Tarots_.--Ancient Cards, French, Italian, and German.--Cards
contributing to the Invention of Wood-Engraving and Printing.
GLASS-PAINTING 251
Painting on Glass mentioned by Historians in the Third Century of
our Era.--Glazed Windows at Brioude in the Sixth Century.--Coloured
Glass at St. John Lateran and St. Peter’s in Rome.--Church-Windows of
the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries in France: Saint-Denis, Sens,
Poitiers, Chartres, Rheims, &c.--In the Fourteenth and Fifteenth
Centuries the Art was at its Zenith.--Jean Cousin.--The Célestins of
Paris: Saint-Gervais.--Robert Pinaigrier and his Sons.--Bernard Palissy
decorates the Chapel of the Castle of Ecouen.--Foreign Art: Albert
Dürer.
FRESCO-PAINTING 269
The Nature of Fresco.--Employed by the Ancients.--Paintings at
Pompeii.--Greek and Roman Schools.--Mural Paintings destroyed by the
Iconoclasts and Barbarians.--Revival of Fresco, in the Ninth Century,
in Italy.--Fresco-Painters since Guido of Siena.--Principal Works of
these Painters.--Successors of Raphael and Michael Angelo.--Fresco
in _Sgraffito_.--Mural Paintings in France from the Twelfth
Century.--Gothic Frescoes of Spain.--Mural Paintings in the Low
Countries, Germany, and Switzerland.
PAINTING ON WOOD, CANVAS, ETC 283
The Rise of Christian Painting.--The Byzantine School.--First Revival
in Italy.--Cimabue, Giotto, Fra Angelico.--Florentine School: Leonardo
da Vinci, Michael Angelo.--Roman School: Perugino, Raphael.--Venetian
School: Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese.--Lombard School: Correggio,
Parmigianino.--Spanish School.--German and Flemish Schools: Stephen
of Cologne, John of Bruges, Lucas van Leyden, Albert Dürer, Lucas van
Cranach, Holbein.--Painting in France during the Middle Ages.--Italian
Masters in France.--Jean Cousin.
ENGRAVING 315
Origin of Wood-Engraving.--The St. Christopher of 1423.--“The Virgin
and Child Jesus.”--The earliest Masters of Wood-Engraving.--Bernard
Milnet.--Engraving in _Camaïeu_.--Origin of Engraving on Metal.--The
“Pax” of Maso Finiguerra.--The earliest Engravers on Metal.--Niello
Work.--_Le Maître_ of 1466.--_Le Maître_ of 1486. Martin Schöngauer,
Israel van Mecken, Wenceslaus of Olmutz, Albert Dürer, Marc Antonio,
Lucas van Leyden.--Jean Duret and the French School.--The Dutch
School.--The Masters of Engraving.
SCULPTURE 339
Origin of Christian Sculpture.--Statues in Gold and Silver.--Traditions
of Antique Art.--Sculpture in Ivory.--Iconoclasts.--Diptychs.--The
highest Style of Sculpture follows the Phases of
Architecture.--Cathedrals and Monasteries from the year 1000.--Schools
of Burgundy, Champagne, Normandy, Lorraine, &c.--German,
English, Spanish, and Italian Schools.--Nicholas of Pisa and
his Successors.--Position of French Sculpture in the Thirteenth
Century.--Florentine Sculpture and Ghiberti.--French Sculptors from the
Fifteenth to the Sixteenth Century.
ARCHITECTURE 373
The Basilica the first Christian Church.--Modification of
Ancient Architecture.--Byzantine Style.--Formation of the Norman
Style.--Principal Norman Churches.--Age of the Transition from
Norman to Gothic.--Origin and Importance of the _Ogive_.--Principal
Edifices in the pure Gothic Style.--The Gothic Church, an Emblem of
the Religious Spirit in the Middle Ages.--Florid Gothic.--Flamboyant
Gothic.--Decadency.--Civil and Military Architecture: Castles,
Fortified Enclosures, Private Houses, Town-Halls.--Italian Renaissance:
Pisa, Florence, Rome.--French Renaissance: Mansions and Palaces.
PARCHMENT AND PAPER 413
Parchment in Ancient Times.--Papyrus.--Preparation of Parchment
and Vellum in the Middle Ages.--Sale of Parchment at the Fair of
Lendit.--Privilege of the University of Paris on the Sale and Purchase
of Parchment.--Different Applications of Parchment.--Cotton Paper
imported from China.--Order of the Emperor Frederick II. concerning
Paper.--The Employment of Linen Paper, dating from the Twelfth
Century.--Ancient Water-Marks on Paper.--Paper Manufactories in France
and other parts of Europe.
MANUSCRIPTS 423
Manuscripts in Olden Times.--Their Form.--Materials of which
they were composed.--Their Destruction by the Goths.--Rare
at the Beginning of the Middle Ages.--The Catholic Church
preserved and multiplied them.--Copyists.--Transcription of
Diplomas.--Corporation of Scribes and Booksellers.--Palæography.--Greek
Writings.--Uncial and Cursive Manuscripts.--Sclavonic
Writings.--Latin Writers.--Tironian Shorthand.--Lombardic
Characters.--Diplomatic.--Capetian.--Ludovicinian.--Gothic.--Runic.--
Visigothic.--Anglo-Saxon.--Irish.
MINIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS 443
Miniatures at the Beginning of the Middle Ages.--The two “Vatican”
Virgils.--Painting of Manuscripts under Charlemagne and Louis
le Débonnaire.--Tradition of Greek Art in Europe.--Decline
of the Miniature in the Tenth Century.--Origin of Gothic
Art.--Fine Manuscript of the time of St. Louis.--Clerical and Lay
Miniature-Painters.--Caricature and the Grotesque.--Miniatures in
Monochrome and in Grisaille.--Illuminators at the Court of France
and to the Dukes of Burgundy.--School of John Fouquet.--Italian
Miniature-Painters.--Giulio Clovio.--French School under Louis XII.
BOOKBINDING 471
Primitive Binding of Books.--Bookbinding among the Romans.--Bookbinding
with Goldsmith’s Work from the Fifth Century.--Chained
Books.--Corporation of _Lieurs_, or Bookbinders.--Books bound in
Wood, with Metal Corners and Clasps.--First Bindings in Leather,
honeycombed (_waffled?_) and gilt.--Description of some celebrated
Bindings of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries.--Sources of Modern
Bookbinding.--John Grollier.--President de Thou.--Kings and Queens of
France Bibliomaniacs.--Superiority of Bookbinding in France.
PRINTING 485
Who was the Inventor of Printing?--Movable Letters in ancient
Times.--Block Printing.--Laurent Coster.--_Donati_ and
_Specula_.--Gutenberg’s Process.--Partnership of Gutenberg and
Faust.--Schœffer.--The Mayence Bible.--The Psalter of 1457.--The
“Rationale” of 1459.--Gutenberg prints by himself.--The “Catholicon” of
1460.--Printing at Cologne, Strasbourg, Venice, and Paris.--Louis XI.
and Nicholas Jenson.--German Printers at Rome.--_Incunabula._--Colard
Mansion.--Caxton.--Improvement of Typographical Processes up to the
Sixteenth Century.
[Illustration]
TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
I. CHROMOLITHOGRAPHS.
Plate To face page
1. The Annunciation. Fac-simile of Miniature
taken from the “Hours” of Anne
de Bretagne, formerly belonging to
Catherine de Medicis FRONTISPIECE
2. Distaff and Bedposts of the Sixteenth
Century 20
3. Adoration of the Magi. Bernese Tapestry
of the Fifteenth Century 46
4. Paris in the Fifteenth Century. Beauvais
Tapestry 50
5. Encaustic Tiles 58
6. Biberon of Henri Deux Faience 64
7. Casque, Morion, and Helmets 82
8. Entrance of Queen Isabella of Bavaria
into Paris. From Froissart’s
“Chronicles” 118
9. Jewelled Crosses of the Visigoths, found
at Guarrazar. Seventh Century 124
10. Drageoir, or Table Ornament. German
work 154
11. Clock of Damaskeened Iron of the Fifteenth
Century; and Watches of the
Sixteenth Century 180
12. Francis I. and Eleanor his Wife at their
Devotions. Sixteenth Century 266
13. The Dream of Life, a Fresco by Orcagna 276
14. St. Catherine and St. Agnes, by Margaret
van Eyck 300
15. Clovis the First and Clotilde his Wife 352
16. Decoration of La Sainte-Chapelle, Paris 386
17. Coronation of Charles the Fifth of
France. From Froissart’s “Chronicles” 464
18. Panel of a Book-cover of the Ninth
Century 472
19. Diptych of Ivory 474
II. ENGRAVINGS.
Page
Abbey of St. Denis 416
Alhambra, Interior of the 405
Alphabet, Specimen of Grotesque 327
Altar-cloth of the Fifteenth Century 30
“ Cross ascribed to St. Eloi 137
“ of Gold 130
“ Tray and Chalice 31
Arch, Restoration of a Norman 343
Archer of Normandy 79
Archers of the Fifteenth Century, France 88
Arles, Sculptures on St. Trophimus 384, 385
Armour, Convex, of the Fifteenth Century 84
“ Knights in complete 89
“ Lion 90
“ of the Duc d’Alençon 92
“ Plain, of the Fifteenth Century 83
Arms of the Cardmakers of Paris 250
“ Goldsmiths of Paris 160
Arquebus with Wheel and Match 103
Arquebusier 102
Atelier of Etienne Delaulne 158
Bagpiper, Thirteenth Century 199
Banner of Paper-makers of Paris 422
“ Printers-Booksellers of Angers 479
“ Printers-Booksellers of Autun 484
“ Saddlers of Tonnerre 121
“ Sword-cutlers of Angers 105
“ Tapestry Workers of Lyons 51
Banners of Corporations 161
Banquet in the Fifteenth Century 12
Basilica of Constantine, at Trèves 374
Basilica of St. Peter’s, Rome, Interior of 407
Bas-relief in carved wood 34
Battle-axe and Pistol, Sixteenth Century 104
Bed furnished with Canopy and Curtains 19
Belfry of Brussels 404
Bell in a Tower of Siena, Twelfth Century 206
Bells of the Ninth Century, Chime of 208
Bolt of the Sixteenth Century, with Initial 23
Bombards on fixed and rolling carriages 96
Bookbinders’ Work-room 482
Bookbinding for the Gospels 474
“ in an Unknown Material 480
“ in Gold, with precious Stones 474
Borders:--
Bible, called Clement VII.’s 463
Bible of St. Martial of Limoges 450
Book of the Gospels, Eighth Century 446
Book of the Gospels, Eleventh Century 451
Book of the Gospels in Latin 451
Employed by John of Tournes 519
Froissart’s “Chronicles” 465
Gospel in Latin 456
Lectionary in Metz Cathedral 448
“Livre d’Heures” of Anthony Vérard 516
“Livre d’Heures” of Geoffroi Tory 517
Lyons School 518
Missal of Pope Paul V. 467
“Ovid,” Fifteenth Century 465
Prayer-book of Louis of France 461
Sacramentary of St. Æthelgar 453
Bracelet, Gallic 124
Brooch, chased, enamelled, &c. 167
Cabinet in damaskeened Iron, inlaid 22
“ for Jewels 21
Cameo-setting of the time of Charles V. 140
Cannon, Earliest Models of 98
“ Hand 99
Caparison of the Horse of Isabel the Catholic 117
Capital of a Column, St. Geneviève, Paris 392
“ “ St. Julien, Paris 392
“ “ The Célestins, Paris 393
Carruca, or Pleasure-carriage 108
Cart drawn by Oxen, Fifteenth Century 109
Castle of Marcoussis, near Rambouillet 397
“ Coucy, in its ancient state 399
“ Vincennes, Seventeenth Century 399
Cathedral of Amiens, Interior of 391
“ Mayence 388
Censer of the Eleventh Century 32
Chains 165
Chair called the “Fauteuil de Dagobert” 3
“ of Christine de Pisan 9
“ of Louise de Savoie 10
“ of Louis IX. 7
“ of the Ninth or Tenth Century 4
Chalice of the Fourth or Fifth Century 31
“ said to be of St. Remy 135
Château de Chambord 409
Chess-Players 225
Chest shaped like a Bed, and Chair 20
_Choron_, Ninth Century 211
_Chorus_ with Single Bell-end with Holes 199
Church of Mouen, Remains of the 378
“ St. Agnes, Rome 377
“ St. Martin, Tours 377
“ St. Paul-des-Champs, Paris 381
“ St. Trophimus, Arles, Portal 384, 385
“ St. Vital, Ravenna 376
Clock, Astronomical, of Strasburg Cathedral 184
“ of Jena, in Germany 183
“ Portable, of the time of the Valois 178
“ with Wheels and Weights 177
Clockmaker, The 170
Cloister of the Abbey of Moissac, Guyenne 386
Coffee-pot of German Ware 72
Concert; a Bas-relief (Normandy) 193
“ and Musical Instruments 194
Cooper’s Workshop, Sixteenth Century 16
Crossbow Men protected by Shield-bearers 85
Cross, Gold-chased 163
_Crout_, Three-stringed, Ninth Century 217
Crown of Suintila, King of the Visigoths 125
Crozier, Abbot’s, enamelled 138
“ Bishop’s 138
Cup, Italian Ware 62
“ of Lapis-lazuli, mounted in Gold 152
Diadem of Charlemagne 127
Diptych in Ivory 345
Dish, Ornament of a 74
Doorways of the Hôtel de Sens, Paris 403
Dragonneau, Double-barreled 101
Drinking-cup of Agate 134
Dwelling-room of a Seigneur of the Fourteenth
Century 26
Enamelled Border of a Dish 63
“ Dish, by Bernard Palissy 71
“ Terra-cotta 57
Engine for hurling Stones 95
Engraving:--
Columbus on board his Ship 325
Ferdinand I. 335
Herodias 329
Letter N, Grotesque Alphabet 327
Lutma, of Groningen 337
Isaiah with Instrument of his Martyrdom 323
Maximilian, Coronation of 321
Phalaris, Tyrant of Agrigentum 333
Repose of the Holy Family 334
St. Catherine on her Knees 319
St. Hubert praying before the Cross
borne by a Stag 331
The Holy Virgin 338
Engraving:--
The Prophet Isaiah 323
The Virgin and Child 318
The Virgin and Infant Jesus 316
Ensign of the Collar of the Goldsmiths of
Ghent 144
Escutcheon in Silver-gilt 145
Escutcheon of France, Fourteenth Century 470
Ewer in Limoges Enamel 157
Fac-simile of a Bible of 1456 503
“ “Catholicon” of 1460 506
“ Engraving on Wood 487
“ Inscription _Ex libris_ 441
“ Miniature drawn with a pen 450
“ Miniature of a Psalter 455
“ Miniature, Thirteenth Century 457
“ Page of a “Livre d’Heures” 510
“ Page of a Psalter of 1459 505
“ Page of the “Ars Moriendi” 495
“ Page of the most ancient
Xylographic “Donatus” 491
“ Xylographic Page of the
“Biblia Pauperum” 493
Fiddle, Angel playing on the 220
Flute, Double 197
Fresco-Painting:--
Christ and his Mother 273
Creation, The 278
Death and the Jew 281
Disciples in Gethsemane 275
Fra Angelico, of Fiesole 282
Fraternity of Cross-bowmen 280
Group of Saints 277
Pope Sylvester I. 274
Gargoyles in the Palais de Justice, Rouen 372
Gate of Moret 401
“ St. John, Provins 402
Glass-Painting:--
Citadel of Pallas 262
Flemish Window 265
Legend of the Jew piercing the Holy
Wafer 260
St. Paul, an Enamel 264
St. Timothy the Martyr 255
Temptation of St. Mars 267
The Prodigal Son 257
Window, Evreux Cathedral 261
Goblet, by Bernard Palissy 69
Goldsmiths of Paris carrying a Shrine 162
Goldsmiths’ Stamps:--
Chartres 159
Lyons 159
Melun 159
Orleans 159
Gutenburg, Portrait of 492
Harp, Fifteen-stringed, Twelfth Century 214
“ Minstrel’s, Fifteenth Century 216
“ Triangular Saxon, Ninth Century 214
Harper of the Fifteenth Century 215
Harpers of the Twelfth Century 215
Helmet of Don Jaime el Conquistador 80
“ of Hughes, Vidame of Châlons 82
Henry VIII. in the Camp of the Field of
the Cloth of Gold 119
Horn, or _Olifant_, Fourteenth Century 201
“ Shepherd’s, Eighth Century 201
Hour-glass of the Sixteenth Century 173
Hour-glass, Top of 186
Initial Letter, Ninth Century 476
Initial Letters from Manuscripts 445
Initial Letters extracted from the “Rouleau
Mortuaire” of St. Vital 454
Jacquemart of Notre-Dame at Dijon 176
Key of the Thirteenth Century 23
King William, as represented on his Seal 77
Knight armed and mounted for War 114
“ entering the Lists 111
“ in his Hauberk 81
Knights, Combat of 89
Lament composed shortly after the Death of
Charlemagne 188, 189
Lamps of the Nineteenth Century 17
Lancer of William the Conqueror’s Army 77
Library of the University of Leyden 475
Lute, Five-stringed, Thirteenth Century 216
Lyre, Ancient 209
“ of the North 209
Mangonneau of the Fifteenth Century 97
Miniatures:--
Anne de Bretagne’s Prayer-book 468
Book of the Gospels of Charlemagne 447
Consecration of a Bishop 449
Dante’s “Paradiso” 466
Evangelist, An, transcribing 415
Four Sons of Aymon 458
Les Femmes Illustres 461
Margrave of Baden’s “Livre d’Heures” 469
Miniature of the Thirteenth Century 457
Missal of the Eleventh Century 452
Order of the Holy Ghost, Instituting the 464
Psalter of John, Duke of Berry 462
Psalter of the Thirteenth Century 455
“Roman de Fauvel,” from the 459
“Virgil,” in the Vatican, Rome 444
Mirror for Hand or Pocket 25
Monochord played with a Bow 221
Musician sounding Military Trumpet 202
Musicians playing on the Flute, &c. 198
“ “ Violin 219
_Nabulum_, Ninth Century 211
Notre-Dame la Grande of Poitiers 383
“ Paris 390
“ Rouen 379
Organ, Great, of the Twelfth Century 204
“ Pneumatic, of the Fourth Century 203
“ Portable, of the Fifteenth Century 205
“ with single Key-board 205
_Organistrum_, Ninth Century 213
Oxford, Saloon of the Schools 396
Painting on Wood, Canvas, &c.:--
Baptism of King Clovis 286
Christ crowned with Thorns 304
Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci 292
Princess Sibylla of Saxony 305
St. Ursula 302
Sketch of the Virgin of Alba 312
The Holy Family 294
The Holy Virgin, St. George, and St.
Donat 300
The Last Judgment 311
The Patriarch Job 290
The Tribute Money 309
Paper-maker, The 420
Pendant, adorned with Diamonds, &c. 164
“ after a Design by Benvenuto Cellini 150
Playing-Cards:--
Ancient French 236
Buffoon, from a Pack of _Tarots_ 230
Charles VI. on his Throne 233
Engravings, Coloured, analogous to
Playing-Cards 227
From a Game of “Logic” 245
German Round-shaped 247
Italian Tarots 242
Justice 231
King of Acorns 244
Knave of Clubs 238
Knight from a Pack engraved by
“The Master of 1466” 249
_La Damoiselle_ 248
Moon, The 231
Roxana, Queen of Hearts 242
Specimen of the Sixteenth Century 236
Three and Eight of Bells 243
Two of a Pack of German Lansquenet 245
Two of Bells 244
Porte de Hal, Brussels 410
Pottery Figures, Fragments of 68
“ Ornamentation on 67
Printers’ Marks, Arnold de Keyser, Ghent 511
“ “ Bonaventure and Elsevier,
Leyden 520
“ “ Colard Mansion, Bruges 512
“ “ Eustace, W. 483
“ “ Fust and Schœffer 511
“ “ Galliot du Pré, Paris 513
“ “ Gérard Leeu, Gouwe 511
“ “ Gryphe, Lyons 515
“ “ J. Le Noble, Troyes 515
“ “ Philippe le Noir, &c., Paris 514
“ “ Plantin, Antwerp 515
“ “ Robert Estienne, Paris 515
“ “ Vostre, Simon, Paris 513
“ “ Temporal, Lyons 514
“ “ Trechsel, Lyons 512
Printing-office, Interior of a 499
_Psalterion_, Performer on the 212
“ Twelfth Century 211
Psaltery, Buckle-shaped 211
“ to produce a prolonged Sound 210
Reredos in Carved Bone 363
Rebec of the Sixteenth Century 221
Reading-desk of the Fifteenth Century 33
Reliquary, Byzantine 129
“ Silver-gilt 143
Rings 165
_Rote_, David playing on a 218
Saddle-cloth, Sixteenth Century 118
Salt-cellar, Enamelled 155
“ Interior base of 156
_Sambute_, or Sackbut, of the Ninth Century 202
Sansterre, as represented on his Seal 79
_Saufang_, of St. Cecilia’s at Cologne, The 206
Scent-box in Chased Gold 142
Scribe or Copyist in his Work-room 432
Sculpture:--
Altar of Castor 340
Altar of Jupiter Ceraunus 341
Bas-relief of Dagobert I. 347
Citizens relieving Poor Scholars 351
Coronation of the Emperor Sigismund 360
Fragment of a Reredos in Bone 363
Francis I. and Henry VIII. on the
Field of the Cloth of Gold 369
Gargoyles on the Palace of Justice,
Rouen 372
Roman Triumphal Arch 342
“Le Bon Dieu,” Paris 364
St. Eloi 366
St. John the Baptist preaching 368
St. Julien and his Wife conveying Jesus
Christ in their boat 362
Statue of Philip Chabot 370
Statue of Dagobert I. 347
Statue said to be of Clovis I. 353
Statues on Bourges Cathedral 357
Statuette of St. Avit 361
Stone Tomb 343
The “_Beau Dieu d’Amiens_” 355
The Entombment 371
Tomb of Dagobert 349
Seal of the Goldsmiths of Paris 159
“ King of La Basoche 419
Seal of the University of Oxford 478
“ University of Paris 417
Seals 166
Seats, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries 8
Sedan Chair of Charles V. 120
Shrine in Copper-gilt 132
Shrine in Limoges 131
“ of the Fifteenth Century 147
Soldiers, Gallo-Romano 76
Spurs, German and Italian 113
Staircase of a Tower 398
Stall of the Fifteenth Century 33
Stalls in St. Benoît-sur-Loire 35
Sword of Charlemagne 126
Syrinx, Seven-tubed 197
Table of King Artus of Brittany 5
Tapestry:--
Construction of Boats for the Conqueror 44
Hunting Scene 49
Marriage of Louis XII. and Anne of
Brittany 46
Mounted Men of Duke William’s army 45
The Weaver 50
_Tintinnabulum_, or Hand-bell 206
Toledo, Gothic Architecture at 393
Tour de Nesle, Paris 400
Tournament Helmet, screwed on the Breastplate 82
Tournament Saddles, ornamented with
Paintings 116
Tree of Jesse. From a Miniature 195
Triangle of the Ninth Century 222
Trumpet, Curved, Eleventh Century 200
“ Straight, with Stand 200
Tympanum of the Thirteenth Century 208
Vase of Rock-crystal, mounted in Silver-gilt 152
Vases of ancient shape 54, 55
_Vielle_, Juggler playing on a 220
“ Oval 220
“ Player on the 220
Watches of the Valois Epoch 181
Water-jug, Four-handled 72
Water-marks on Paper 421
Window with Stone Seats 398
Wood-block cut in France, about 1440 488
“ Print cut in Flanders 486
Writing Caligraphic Ornament 442
“ Cursive, of the Fifteenth Century 439
“ Diplomatic, of the Tenth Century 438
“ of the Eighth Century 436, 437
“ of the Fifteenth Century 442
“ of the Fourteenth Century 440
“ of the Seventh Century 435, 436
“ of the Sixth Century 435
“ of the Tenth Century 437
“ Tironian, of the Eighth Century 437
“ Title and Capital Letters of the
Seventh Century 435
[Illustration]
THE ARTS IN THE MIDDLE AGES,
AND AT THE PERIOD OF
THE RENAISSANCE.
FURNITURE:
ORDINARY HOUSEHOLD, AND APPERTAINING TO ECCLESIASTICAL PURPOSES.
Simplicity of Furniture among the Gauls and Franks.--Introduction
of costly taste in articles of Furniture of the Seventh
Century.--Arm-chair of Dagobert.--Round Table of King
Artus.--Influence of the Crusades.--Regal Banquet in the time of
Charles V.--Benches.--Sideboards.--Dinner
Services.--Goblets.--Brassware.--Casks.--Lighting.--Beds.--Carved
Wood Furniture.--Locksmith’s Work.--Glass and Mirrors.--Room of a
Feudal Seigneur.--Costliness of Furniture used for Ecclesiastical
Purposes.--Altars.--Censers.--Shrines and Reliquaries.--Gratings
and Iron-mountings.
We shall be readily believed when we assert that the furniture used by
our remote ancestors, the Gauls, was of the most rude simplicity. A
people essentially addicted to war and hunting,--at the best,
agriculturists,--having for their temples the forests, for their
dwellings huts formed out of turf and thatched with straw and branches,
would naturally be indifferent to the form and description of their
furniture.
Then succeeded the Roman Conquest. Originally, and long subsequent to
the formation of their warlike republic, the Romans had also lived in
contempt of display, and even in ignorance of the conveniences of life.
But when they had subjugated Gaul, and had carried their victorious arms
to the confines of the world, they by degrees appropriated whatever the
manners and habits of the conquered nations disclosed to them of refined
luxury, material progress, and ingenious devices for comfort. Thus, the
Romans brought with them into Gaul what they elsewhere had acquired.
Again, when, in their turn, the semi-barbarous hordes of Germany and of
the Northern steppes invaded the Roman empire, these new conquerors did
not fail to accommodate themselves instinctively to the social condition
of the vanquished.
This, briefly stated, is an explanation--we admit, rather concise--of
the transition connecting the characteristics of the society of olden
days with those of modern society.
Society in the Middle Ages--that social epoch which may be compared to
the state of a decrepid and worn-out old man, who, after a long, dull
torpor awakes to new life, like an active and vigorous child--society in
the Middle Ages inherited much from preceding times, though, to a
certain extent, they were disconnected. It transformed, perhaps; and it
perfected, rather than invented; but it displayed in its works a genius
so peculiar that we generally recognise in it a real creation.
Proposing rapidly to pursue our archæological and literary course
through a twofold period of birth and revival, we cannot indulge the
belief that we shall succeed in exhibiting our sketches in a light the
best adapted to their effect. However, we will make the attempt, and,
the frame being given, will do our best to fill in the picture.
If we visit any royal or princely abode of the Merovingian period, we
observe that the display of wealth consists much less in the elegance or
in the originality of the forms devised for articles of furniture, than
in the profusion of precious materials employed in their fabrication and
embellishment. The time had gone by when the earliest tribes of Gauls
and of Northmen, who came to occupy the West, had for their seats and
beds only trusses of straw, rush mats, and bundles of branches; and for
their tables slabs of stone or piles of turf. From the fifth century of
the Christian era, we already find the Franks and the Goths resting
their muscular forms on the long soft seat which the Romans had adopted
from the East, and which have become our sofas or our couches; changing
only their names. In front of them were arranged low horse-shoe tables,
at which the centre seat was reserved for the most dignified or
illustrious of the guests. Couches at the table, suited only to the
effeminacy induced by warm climates, were soon abandoned by the Gauls;
benches and stools were adopted by these most active and vigorous men;
meals were no longer eaten reclining, but sitting: while the thrones of
kings, and the chairs of state for nobles, were of the richest
sumptuousness. Thus, for instance, we find St. Eloi, the celebrated
worker in metals, manufacturing and embellishing two state-chairs of
gold for Clotaire, and a throne of gold for Dagobert. The chair ascribed
to St. Eloi, and known as the Fauteuil de Dagobert (Fig. 1), is an
antique consular chair, which originally was only a folding one; the
Abbé Suger, in the twelfth century, added to it the back and arms.
Artistic display was equally lavished on the manufacture of tables.
Historians tell us that St. Remy, a contemporary of Clovis, had a silver
table decorated all over with sacred subjects. The poet Fortunat, Bishop
of Poitiers, describes a table of the same metal, which had a border
representing a vine with bunches of grapes.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.--The Curule Chair called the “Fauteuil de
Dagobert,” in gilt bronze, now in the Musée des Souverains.]
Coming to the reign of Charlemagne, we find, in a passage in the
writings of Eginhard, his minister and historian, that, in addition to a
golden table which this great monarch possessed, he had three others of
chased silver; one decorated with designs representing the city of Rome,
another Constantinople, and the third “all countries of the universe.”
[Illustration: Fig. 2.--Chair of the Ninth or Tenth Century, taken from
a Miniature of that period (MS. de la Bibl. Imp. de Paris).]
The chairs or seats of the Romanesque period (Fig. 2) exhibit an attempt
to revive in the interior of the buildings, where they were used, the
architectural style of contemporary monuments. They were large and
massive, and were raised on clusters of columns expanding at the back in
three semicircular rows. The anonymous monk of Saint-Gall, in his
chronicle written in the ninth century, alludes to a grand banquet, at
which the host was seated on cushions of feathers. Legrand d’Aussy tells
us, in his “Histoire de la Vie Privée des Français,” that at a later
date--referring to the reign of Louis le Gros, in the beginning of the
twelfth century--the guests were seated, at ordinary family repasts, on
simple stools; but if the party was more of a ceremonious than intimate
character, the table was surrounded with benches, or _bancs_, whence the
term banquet is derived. The form of table was commonly long and
straight, but on occasions of state it was semicircular, or like a
horse-shoe in form, recalling the Romanesque round table of King Artus
of Brittany (Fig. 3).
[Illustration: Fig. 3.--Round Table of King Artus of Brittany, from a
Miniature of the Fourteenth Century (MS. de la Bibl. Imp. de Paris).]
The Crusades, bringing together men of all the countries of Europe with
the people of the East, made those of the West acquainted with luxuries
and customs which, on returning from their chivalrous expeditions, they
did not fail to imitate. We find feasts at which they ate sitting
cross-legged on the ground, or stretched out on carpets in the Oriental
fashion, as represented and described in miniatures contained in the
manuscripts of that period. The Sire de Joinville, the friend and
historian of Louis IX., informs us that this saintly king was in the
habit of sitting on a carpet, surrounded by his barons, and in that
manner he dispensed justice; but at the same time the practice of using
large _chaires_, or arm-chairs, continued, for there still is to be seen
a throne in massive wood belonging to that period, and called _le banc
de Monseigneur St. Louis_, embellished with carvings representing
fanciful and legendary birds and animals. It is unnecessary to add that
the lower orders did not aspire to so much refinement. In their abodes
the seats in use were settles, chests, or at best benches, the supports
of which were, to a slight extent, carved.
This was the period when the practice commenced of covering seats with
woollen stuffs, or with silk figured on frames, or embroidered by hand,
displaying ciphers, emblems, or armorial bearings. From the East was
introduced the custom of hangings for rooms, composed of glazed leather,
stamped and gilt. These skins of the goat or sheep were called _or
basané_, because plain gilt; or embossed leather, in gold colour, was
made from them. _Or basané_ was also used to conceal the bare look of
arm-chairs. Towards the fourteenth century, tables of precious metals
disappeared, in consequence of fashion ruling in favour of the stuffs
which covered them; tapestry, tissues of gold, and velvets thenceforth
formed the table-cloths. On great occasions, the place of the principal
guests was distinguished by a canopy, more or less rich, erected above
their seats, as represented in the account of the sumptuous feast given
by King Charles V. to the Emperor Charles of Luxemburg, in the great
hall of the palace. M. Fréguier thus describes the banquet from
contemporary documents in the “Histoire de l’Administration de la Police
de Paris:”--
“The dinner was served on a marble table. The Archbishop of Rheims, who
had officiated that day, first took his place at table. The Emperor then
sat down, then the King of France, and the King of Bohemia, the son of
the Emperor. Above the seat of each of the three princes was a separate
canopy of gold cloth, embroidered all over with fleurs-de-lis. These
three canopies were surmounted by a larger one, also of cloth of gold,
which covered the whole extent of the table, and was suspended behind
the guests. After the King of Bohemia, three bishops took their place,
but far removed from him, and near the end of the table. Under the
nearest canopy the Dauphin was seated, at a separate table, with several
princes or nobles of the Court of France, or of the Emperor. The hall
was adorned with three buffets, or dressers, covered with gold and
silver plate; these three dressers, as well as the two large canopies,
were protected by a railing, to prevent the intrusion of the crowds of
people who had been permitted to witness the magnificence of the
display. Finally, there were to be seen five other canopies, under which
were assembled princes and barons round private tables; also numerous
other tables.”
It is noteworthy that from the time of St. Louis these same chairs and
seats, carved, covered with the richest stuffs, inlaid with precious
stones, and engraved with the armorial bearings of great houses, issued
for the most part from the workshops of Parisian artisans. Those
artisans, carpenters, manufacturers of coffers and carved chests, and
furniture-makers, were so celebrated for works of this description, that
in inventories and appraisements of furniture great care was taken to
specify that such and such articles among them were of Parisian
manufacture; _ex operagio Parisiensi_ (Fig. 4).
[Illustration: Fig. 4.--Louis IX. represented in his Regal Chair,
tapestried in fleurs-de-lis, from a Miniature of the Fourteenth Century.
(MS. de la Bibl. Imp. de Paris.).]
The following extract, from an invoice of Etienne La Fontaine, the royal
silversmith, affords, in terms which require no comment, an idea of the
costliness lavished on the manufacture of an arm-chair, then called
_faudesteuil_, intended for the King of France, in 1352:--
“For making a fauteuil of silver and of crystal decorated with precious
stones, delivered to the said seigneur, of which the said seigneur
ordered the said goldsmith to make the framework, who ornamented it
with several crystals, illuminated pieces, many designs, pearls, and
other stones.... VIIᶜ LXXIIIIᵐ (774 louis).