Photo, Neurdean.
FIG. 65.--BURGOS CATHEDRAL.
Photo, F. Frith & Co.
FIG. 66.--ST PAUL'S, LONDON.
Photo, F. Frith & Co.
FIG. 67.--ELY CATHEDRAL.
Photo, F. Frith & Co.]
Reference has already been made to the eaves-galleries of the apses of
the Lombard churches. A similar gallery was carried across the main
front, rising with the slope of the roof, as in San Michele, Pavia;
also on the west fronts of San Pietro in Cielo d'oro and San
Lanfranco, at Pavia; and in the cathedrals of Parma and Piacenza. In
all these cases the galleries are not quite continuous, vertical
buttresses or groups of shafts or single shafts being carried up
through them to the corbel tables. In S. Ambrogio at Milan the central
original lantern is surrounded with two tiers of galleries. The finest
example of their employment, however, is in the magnificent central
tower of the Cistercian church at Chiaravalle, near Milan, where the
two lower storeys form the drum of the internal dome, the two storeys
above are set back, and the upper storey consists of a lofty octagonal
tower with conical spire.
One of the serious defects in the front of the church of San Michele
at Pavia is that it forms a mask, and takes no cognizance of the aisle
roofs, which are at a lower level, and the same is found in San
Pietro-in-Cielo d'oro at Pavia. This mask is carried to an absurd
extent in the church of Santa Maria della Pieve at Arezzo, in which,
above the ground storey of the arcades, are three galleries forming
strong horizontal lines, which suggest the numerous floors of a civic
building instead of the vertical subdivisions of a church. This defect
is not found in the church of San Zeno at Verona, which is one of the
finest of the Lombard churches; the church is basilican in plan, the
nave being divided into five bays with compound piers, as in Sant'
Ambrogio, as if it were intended to vault it; this, however, was never
done, but stone arches arc thrown across the two westernmost bays of
the nave as if to carry the roof (now concealed by a wooden ceiling).
The facade is of marble and sandstone, with pilaster-strips rising
from the base to the arched corbel table, and the outline of the nave
and aisles is preserved in the front, in which all the mouldings and
carving arc of the utmost delicacy. Both here and in the cathedral are
fine examples of those projecting porches, the columns of which are
carried on the backs of lions or other beasts. At Piacenza, Parma,
Mantua, Bergamo and Modena are porches of a similar kind, and in the
cathedral of Modena the columns which support the balcony on the
entrance to the crypt are all carried on the backs of lions. The
cathedral of Verona has suffered so much from rebuilding and
restoration that little remains of the earlier structure, but the apse
of the choir, decorated with a close set range of pilaster-strips,
with bases and Corinthian capitals and crowned with a highly enriched
entablature, is quite unique in its design.
Among circular buildings, the Rotonda at Brescia was at one time
considered to date from the 8th century, owing to its massive
construction and the simplicity and plainness of its external design.
Later discoveries, however, have shown that the early date can only be
given to the crypt of San Filasterio situated to the eastward of the
Rotonda. The church of Santo Sepolcro at Bologna, as its name implies,
is one of those reproductions of the church of the Holy Sepulchre at
Jerusalem which were built by the Templars during the crusades. Of
much earlier date is the circular church of San Tommaso-in-Limine, an
early Lombard work of the 9th century, to which period belong also the
baptisteries of Albenga, Arsago, Biella, Galliano and Asti. One of the
most beautiful examples is the baptistery of Santa Maria at Gravedona,
at the northern end of the lake of Como, built in black and white
marble. The plan is unusual, and consists of a square with circular
apses on three sides.
_Byzantine Romanesque._--Although in the first basilican church of St
Mark at Venice, erected in 929 to receive the relics of the saint
recovered from St Mark's in Alexandria, the capitals of the columns
and other decorative accessories showed Greek influence, its
transformation into a five-domed Byzantine structure was not begun
till about the middle of the 11th century. The date given by Cattanco
is 1063, the same year in which the cathedral of Pisa was begun; it is
probable, however, that the scheme had already been in contemplation
for some years, as the problem was not an easy one to solve, owing to
the restrictions of the site, and to the desire to reproduce in some
way the leading features of the church of the Holy Apostles at
Constantinople. This church was destroyed in 1464, but its description
by Procopius is so clear, and corresponds so closely with St Mark's,
completed towards the end of the 11th century, as to leave little
doubt about the source of its inspiration. From what has already been
said with reference to the great changes made when it was proposed to
vault the early Lombard basilican churches, those of equal importance
which were carried out in St Mark's will be better understood. The
nave was divided into three square bays (fig. 37), with additional
bays on the north and south to form transepts; the five square bays
thus obtained were covered with domes carried on pendentives, as in St
Sophia at Constantinople, and on wide transverse barrel vaults; the
domes over the north and south transepts and the choir were of
slightly less dimensions than those over the nave and crossing, in
consequence of the limitations in area caused by the chapel of St
Theodore on the north, the ducal palace on the south, and the ancient
apse of the original basilica which it was desired to retain. In the
reconstruction, many of the old columns, capitals and parapets were
utilized again in the arcades carrying the galleries and in the
balustrades over them. Externally the brick walls were decorated with
blind arcades and niches of Lombard style, and all the roof vaults
were covered with lead as in Constantinople. The subsequent decoration
of the exterior took two centuries to carry out, not including the
florid work of later date. There is no precedent in the East for the
superimposed columns and capitals exported from Constantinople and
Syria which now decorate the north, south and west fronts (Plate I.,
fig. 63), though the materials were all of the finest Byzantine type.
Internally, the mosaic decoration of the domes, vaults and the upper
part of the walls, was carried out by Greek artists from
Constantinople, who probably also were employed for the marble
panelling of the lower part of the walls. The marble casing of the
front was certainly executed by Constantinopolitan artists, since the
moulded string known as the "Venetian dentil" is a direct reproduction
of that in St Sophia. At a later date the domes were all surmounted by
lanterns in wood, covered with lead, and the roofs were all raised. So
far, therefore, the building departs from its prototype, the church of
the Apostles. A similar transformation took place in the church of
Santa Fosca at Torcello, where a single large dome was contemplated
over the centre of the original basilican church, but was never built.
The cathedral of Torcello and the church at Murano are richly
decorated with carved panels, capitals, choir screens and other
features, either imported from the East or reproduced by Greek artists
or Italians trained in the style. The influence of St Mark's in this
respect extended far and wide on the east coast of Italy; and at
Pomposa, Ancona, and as far south as Brindisi, Byzantine details can
be traced everywhere. The designs of the churches of San Ciriaco at
Ancona and of Sant' Antonio at Padua were both based on St Mark's.
Sant' Antonio's had six domes, there being two over the nave; and in
all cases the domes were surmounted by domes in timber like those of
St Mark's.
[Illustration: FIG. 37.--Plan of St Mark's, Venice.
From R.P. Spiers's _Architecture, East and West_.]
In domestic work, Venice is richer in Byzantine architecture than
Constantinople, for with the exception of the Hebdomon palace the
continual fires there have destroyed all the earlier palaces and
houses. The Fondaco-dei-Turchi, built probably in the 11th century, is
one of the most remarkable; the front on the great canal is 160 ft.
long, having a lofty arcade with ten stilted arches on the ground
storey and an arcade of eighteen arches above; the pavilion wings at
the east end are in three storeys, with blind arcades and windows
pierced in the central arcade. The whole was built in brick encased
with marble, with panels or disks enriched with bas-reliefs or
coloured marbles. A second example is found in the Palazzo Loredan,
having similar arcades, stilted arches and marble panelling; and
there are two others, one on the Grand Canal and the other on the
Rio-Ca-Foscari. Throughout Venice the decoration of these Byzantine
palaces would seem to have influenced those of later date; for the
Venetian dentil, interlaced scroll-work and string courses, with the
Byzantine pendant leaf, are found intermingled with Gothic work, even
down to the 15th century, and the same to a certain extent is found at
Padua, Verona and Vicenza.
_Central Romanesque._--The builders in the centre of Italy would seem
to have followed more closely the Roman basilican plan, for in two of
the earliest churches, Santa Maria Fuorcivitas at Lucca and San Paolo
a Ripa d'Arno at Pisa, the T-shaped plan of St Peter's and St Paul's,
with widely projecting transepts, was adopted; the difference also
between the north and central developments is very marked, as in the
place of the massive stone walls, compound piers, and internal and
external buttresses deemed necessary to resist the thrusts of the
great vaults, and the low clerestory of the northern churches, those
in the south retain the light arcades with classic columns, the wooden
roofs, and the high clerestory of the Roman basilicas. Instead of the
vigorous sculpture of the Lombards in the Tuscan churches, marbles of
various colours take its place, the carving being more refined in
character and much quieter in effect.
The earliest church now existing is that of San Frediano at Lucca,
dating from the end of the 7th century. Originally it was a
five-aisled basilica, with an eastern apse, but when it was included
within the walls in the 11th century the apse and the entrance doorway
changed places, and a fine eaves-gallery was carried round the new
apse; the outer aisles were also transformed into chapels. So many of
the churches in Pisa and Lucca had new fronts given to them in the
11th or 12th century, that it is interesting to find, in the church of
San Pietro-in-Grado at Pisa, an example in which the external
decoration with pilaster strips and arched corbel tables is retained,
showing that in the 9th century, when that church was built, the
Lombard style prevailed there. Other early churches are those of San
Casciano (9th century), San Nicola and San Frediano (1007), all in
Pisa.
Of early foundation, but probably rebuilt in the 11th century, are two
interesting churches in Toscanella, Santa Maria and San Pietro; they
are both basilican on plan, but the easternmost bay is twice the width
of the other arches of the arcade, and is divided from the nave by a
triumphal arch. In both churches the floor of the transept is raised
some feet above the nave, and a crypt occupies the whole space below
it.
One of the earliest and most perfect examples of this subdivision is
the church of San Miniato, on a hill overlooking Florence. The church
was rebuilt in 1013, and some of the Roman capitals of the earlier
building are incorporated in the new one. It is divided into nave and
aisles by an arcade of nine arches, and every third support consists
of a compound pier with four semi-detached shafts, one of which, on
each side of the nave, rises to the level of the summit of the arcade
and carries a massive transverse arch to support the roof. The east
end of the church, occupying the last three bays of the arcade, is
raised 11 ft. above the floor of the nave, over a vaulted crypt
extending the whole width of the church and carried under the eastern
apse. The interior of the church, which is covered over with an open
timber roof, painted in colour and gilded, is decorated with inlaid
patterns of black and white marble of conventional design, and the
same scheme is adopted in the main facade, enriching the panels of the
blind arcade on the lower storey, and above an extremely classic
design of Corinthian pilasters, entablature and pediment.
As none of the facades of the Pisan churches was built before the
middle of the 11th century, it is possible that Buschetto, the
architect of the cathedral of Pisa, may have profited by the scheme
suggested in the lower storey of San Miniato; if so he departed from
its classic proportions. There are seven blind arcades in the lower
storey of the Pisan cathedral, the arcades are loftier, and the
position of the side doors which open into the inner aisle on each
side is of much better effect. The cathedral was begun in 1063, the
year following the brilliant capture of Palermo by the Pisans, when
they returned in triumph with immense spoils. In plan it consists of a
Latin cross, with double aisles on either side of the nave extending
to the east end, a central apse, transepts with single aisles on each
side, and north and south transepted apses (fig. 38). The nave arcade,
with its Corinthian capitals and monolith stone columns, is of
exceptional boldness, and as it is carried across the transept up to
the east end (a length of 320 ft.) it forms a continuous line greater
than that in any other cathedral. The crossing is covered by a dome,
elliptical on plan, being from east to west the length of the transept
and aisles. The result is unfortunate, and detracts both externally
and internally from its beauty, otherwise the exterior decoration,
which must have been schemed out in its entirety from the beginning
(with the exception of the dome, which is of later design), has the
most satisfactory and pleasing effect. The lofty blind arcade of the
lower storey and the open gallery above on the facade (the latter
represented by a blind arcade), are carried round the whole building,
and the horizontal lines of the galleries of the upper storeys accord
with the roofs of the aisles and nave respectively and the blind
arcade of the clerestory. The walls are faced within and without with
white and grey marble, and the combination of sculpture and inlay
which enriches the arcades of the facades gives an additional
attraction to the building. The cathedral is sometimes quoted as
Byzantine in style, but its plan and design are of widely different
character from those of any building found in the East, and the
mosaics, which constitute the finest decorative element in that style,
were not added till the 14th century, and formed no part of the
architect Buschetto's scheme.
The Baptistery, begun in 1153, was not completed till towards the
close of the 13th century, when important alterations were made in the
design to bring it into accordance with the new Gothic style. The
crocketed gables, and the upper gallery, substituted for the arcades,
which followed on the lines of those in the cathedral, have taken away
the quiet repose found in the latter; the lower storey, however, with
its lofty blind arcades, similar to those of the cathedral, and the
principal doorway, are of great beauty. The central area of the
baptistery, which is surrounded by aisles and triforium gallery, is
covered by a conical dome; internally as well as externally this can
never have been a beautiful feature, and the additions of the 13th
century have made it one of the ugliest roofs in existence.
[Illustration: FIG. 38. PISA
Companile, or Leaning Tower, 1174-1350
Cathedral, 1067-1250, restored after fire 1596.
Bapistery St Jean, 1153-c 1300.
Cemetery (Campo Santo), 1278-1465.]
The Campanile or leaning tower was begun in 1174. Owing, however, to
the treacherous nature of the ground, the piles driven in to support
the tower gave way on the south side, so that, when only 35 ft. above
the ground, a settlement was noticed, and slight additions in height
were made from time to time in order to obtain a horizontal level for
the stone courses; but this was without avail, and on the completion
of the third gallery above the ground storey the work was suspended
for many years. In 1350 it was recommenced, three more gallery storeys
were added, and the upper or belfry stage was set back in the inner
wall. The tower is now 178 ft. high, and overhangs nearly 14 ft. on
the south side; its design is made to harmonize with the cathedral,
but shows much less refinement and grace.
The Campo Santo, an immense rectangular court 350 ft. long by 70 ft.
wide, surrounded by a cloister 35 ft. wide, was begun in 1280; the
details are refined, but the poverty in the design of the tracery with
which the arcades were fitted in at a much later date detracts from
its interest, which is now mainly concerned with the beautiful
frescoes which decorate its walls.
As might have been expected, the cathedral of Pisa set the model not
only for the restoration of existing churches but also for new ones,
in Pisa itself and also at Lucca, Pistoia and Prato. In Pisa, the
church of San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno was rebuilt about 1060, possibly by
the architect of the cathedral; San Pietro-in-Vincoli and San Nicola
date from the early years of the 12th century. At Lucca the churches
of Santa Giuha, San Giusto, San Martino, San Michele, and the restored
front of Santa Maria Fuorcivitas, are the principal examples in which
the Pisan cathedral has suggested the design, and at Pistoia we can
point to the cathedral, Sant' Andrea, San Pietro and San Giovanni
Fuorcivitas, the latter with a south wall decorated with three stages
of blind arcades of great richness. The cathedral of Lucca was either
restored or rebuilt at the beginning of the 14th century, and has a
distinctly Gothic effect. The lower storey of the facade presents the
unusual feature of an open porch across the whole front with three
great archways. This porch with the three galleries above was added to
the cathedral at the beginning of the 13th century.
_Southern Romanesque._--The influences exerted in the early
development of the Romanesque style in the south of Italy are much
more complicated than in the north, since two new elements come into
the field, the Norman and Saracenic. Of early work very little
remains, owing to the general rebuilding in the 11th century; what is
more remarkable, there is scarcely any trace of the result of the
Byzantine occupation for so many centuries; the only exception being
the church of San Gregorio at Bari, a small basilican structure in
which the arches of the arcades separating the nave from the aisles
are stilted like those of the Fondaco-dei-Turchi at Venice.
[Illustation: FIG. 39.--Plan of S. Nicola at Bari.]
One of the chief characteristics noticeable in the plan is the almost
universal adoption of a transept projecting north and south slightly
beyond the aisle walls, and in some cases raised over a crypt, as in
the churches at Toscanella. Since, however, there is no choir bay, and
the central apse opens direct into the transept, the plan is not that
of the Latin cross. The most complete development of this arrangement
is found in the cathedral and in the church of San Nicola at Bari
(fig. 39); both being basilican churches with a triumphal arch opening
into the transept,--in this respect similar to the churches of St
Peter and St Paul at Rome, except that the transepts project only
slightly, beyond the aisles. There is one peculiarity in both these
churches, as also in that of the cathedral at Molfetta. East of the
transept, and at the north and south sides, are towers, between which
is carried a wall which hides the apse, the only indication of its
existence being the round arched window which lights it. A similar
arrangement exists in the cathedrals of Giovenazzo, Bitetto and
Bitonto. The central bay of the transept of the cathedral at Bari is
surmounted by an octagonal drum, the dome within which is carried on
squinches; a similar dome was projected in San Nicola, but never
built. In the cathedral at Bari, as also in San Nicola, the lofty nave
is covered with a timber roof, and has an arcade on the ground storey
and a fine triforium and clerestory windows above.
Externally these churches depend for their effect more on their fine
masonry than on any decorative treatment; the blind arcades of the
lower storey have very little projection, and the pilaster strips
which in the Lombard churches break up the wall surface are not found
here; the arched corbel table is freely employed but rarely the open
gallery. There is one remarkable example in Bitonto cathedral; above
the aisle chapels, and approached from the triforium, is an open
gallery, the arches of which rest on widely projecting capitals
sculptured with animals and foliage, half Lombardic and half Byzantine
in style. The small shafto supporting these capitals are of infinite
variety of design, with spirals, chevrons, fluting and vertical
mouldings of many kinds.
The cathedral at Molfetta is in plan quite different from those
already described, and consists of square bays with aisles, transept
and apse, having domes over the nave and crossing. The Byzantine
influence here comes in, but it is much more pronounced in La Cattohca
at Stilo, a small church square on plan with four columns carrying the
superstructure, which consists of a central and four domes on the
angles. Other domed churches are those of the Immaculata at Trani; San
Sabino, Canosa; and San Marco, Rossano. The lower part of the
cathedral at Troja shows the direct influence of the cathedral at
Pisa. The cathedral at Trani has the same plan as the churches at
Bari, except that the earlier apses are not enclosed. The cathedral of
Salerno retains still the fine atrium by Robert Guiscard in 1077. In
the cathedrals of Acerenza, Aversa and Venosa, the French chevet was
introduced towards the end of the 12th century.
In the magnificent octagonal tower which encloses the dome on the
crossing in the cathedral of Caserta-Vecchia, we find the interlacing
blind arcades of the Norman architecture in Sicily, as also in the
cathedral at Amalfi. The porches, entrance doorways and windows being
the chief decorative feature of the south Italian churches, were
enriched with splendid sculptures. So were the pulpits of the
cathedrals of Sessa, Ravello, Salerno and Troja, the rich mosaic
inlays at Sessa, Ravello and Salerno according in design with the
Cosmati work in Rome, though they possibly had an earlier origin in
Sicily.
_Sicilian Romanesque._--Although the earliest remains in Sicily date
from the Norman occupation of the island, they are so permeated with
Saracenic detail as to leave no doubt that the conqueror employed the
native workmen, who for two centuries at all events had been building
for the Mahommedans, and therefore, whether Arab or Greek, had been
reproducing the same style as that found in Egypt or North Africa.
It is possible that, so far as the Norman palaces of the 12th century
are concerned, they were based on those built under the Saracenic
rule, but the requirements of a mosque and of a church are entirely
different, and therefore in the earliest church existing (San
Giovanni-dei-Leprosi, at Palermo, built by Robert Guiscard in A.D.
1071) we find a completely developed Christian structure, having nave,
aisles and transepts, with a dome over the crossing and three apses.
The next church, at Troina (1078), was similar on plan, but had three
square wings at the east end instead of apses. The next two churches,
La Martorana and San Cataldo (1129), at Palermo, followed the plan of
the Greek church, with four columns carrying the superstructure and
three domes over the nave bays carried on Saracenic squinches, similar
to those in San Giovanni-dei-Leprosi. San Giovanni-degli-Eremiti
(T-shaped on plan) has no aisles, but carries domes over the nave and
three smaller domes on the transept. The most important feature found
in all these churches is the pointed arch, of Saracenic origin
imported from the East, which was employed for the nave, arcades, the
crossing, and in the squinches carrying the domes. The blind arcades
which decorate the walls of San Cataldo and of the Norman palaces--La
Favara, the Torre della Ninfa, La Ziza and La Cuba (all in or near
Palermo),--in two or three orders, and sometimes (as in the Favara
palace) of great height, have all pointed arches and no impost
mouldings or capitals. The distinguishing characteristic of these
blind arcades (and the same is found in the open arcades) is the very
slight projection of the outer order of arch.
The finest early example of Norman architecture in Sicily is the
Cappella Palatina, at Palermo, consecrated in 1140, and attached to
the palace. The plan consists of nave, aisles, transept and triple
apse, the arches, all pointed and stilted, being carried on monolith
columns of granite and marble alternately. The nave is covered over
with a timber roof with stalactitic coves and coffered ceiling, richly
decorated in colour and gilded, the borders of the panels bearing
Arabic inscriptions in Cufic characters. Similar inscriptions exist on
the upper part of the walls of the Cuba and Ziza palaces, proving that
they were built by Saracenic workmen. The plans of the cathedrals of
Palermo, Messina (destroyed 1908), Cefalu and Monreale are all
similar, with nave and aisles separated by arcades, in which the
arches are all pointed and stilted, transepts projecting north and
south beyond the aisle walls, and square bays beyond, with apsidal
terminations. That of Palermo has much suffered from restorations, but
the cathedral of Monreale is in perfect condition. It was begun in
1176 and consecrated in 1182. The proportions of the arcade are much
finer than in the Cappella Palatina, where the stilted arch was of the
same height as the shaft of the columns, whereas here it is only half
the height. The columns are all of granite with extremely fine
capitals, some of which were taken from ancient buildings. All the
roofs are in wood, with coffered ceilings richly decorated in gold and
colour. The walls to a height of 22 ft. are all lined with slabs of
marble with mosaic friezes, and all the surfaces of walls and arches
are covered above with mosaics representing scenes from the Old and
New Testaments, while in the apse at the east end a gigantic figure of
Christ dominates the whole church. The same is found at Cefalu, where
the mosaic decorations, however, are confined to the apses. Externally
the walls are comparatively plain, the decoration being confined to
the east end, where the three apses are covered with a series of blind
intersecting arcades of pointed arches. This class of enrichment
prevails throughout the great Sicilian churches, and extends sometimes
to the smaller churches, as that of the Chiesa-dei-Vespri. Of the
conventual buildings attached to the cathedral of Monreale, which
occupied an immense site, there remain only the cloisters, about 140
ft. square, enclosed by an arcade with pointed arches carried on
coupled columns, the shafts of which are elaborately carved and inlaid
with mosaic; the capitals are of the most varied design and of
exquisite execution.
_Italian Gothic._--Italy is poorer than any other country in examples
of the transition from round arched to pointed arched buildings. The
use of the pointed arch was accepted at last as a necessity, and
cannot be said ever to have been welcomed. The first buildings in
which it is seen worked out fully in detail are those of Niccola
Pisano, and but few examples exist of good Gothic work earlier than
his time. The elaborately arcaded and sculptured west front of Ferrara
cathedral is a screen to an early building. The cathedral and other
churches at Genoa are certainly exquisite works, but they appear to
owe their internal design rather to the influence of (perhaps)
Sicilian taste than north Italian, and the exquisite beauty of the
west front owes a good deal, at any rate, to French influence,
softened, refined and decorated by the extreme taste of an Italian
architect. The feature which most marks all Italian Gothic is the
indifference to the true use of the pointed arch. Everywhere arches
were constructed which could not have stood for a day had they not
been held together by iron rods. There was none of that sense of the
unities of art which made a northerner so jealous to maintain the
proper relations of all parts of his structure. In Niccola Pisano's
works the arch mould rarely fits the capital on which it rests. The
proportions of buttresses to the apparent work to be done by them are
bad and clumsy. The window traceries look like bad copies of some
northern tracery, only once seen in a hurry by an indifferent workman.
There is no life, or development, or progress in the work. If we look
at the ground-plans of Italian Gothic churches, we shall find nothing
whatever to delight us. The columns are widely spaced, so as to
diminish the number of vaulting bays, and to make the proportions of
the oblong aisle vaulting bay very ungainly. Clustered shafts are
almost unknown, the columns being plain cylinders with poorly
sculptured capitals. There are no triforium galleries, and the
clerestory is generally very insignificant. In short, a comparison of
the best Gothic works in Italy with the most moderate French or
English work would show at once how vast its inferiority must be
allowed to be. Still there were beauties which ought not to be
forgotten or passed over. Such were the beautiful cloisters, whose
arcades are carried on delicate coupled shafts,--e.g. in St John
Lateran and St Paul's at Rome. Such also were the porches and
monuments at Verona and elsewhere; and the campaniles,--both those in
Rome, divided by a number of string-courses into a number of storeys,
and those of the north, where there are hardly any horizontal
divisions, and the whole effort is to give an unbroken vertical
effect; or that unequalled campanile, the tower of the cathedral at
Florence by Giotto, where one sees in ordered proportion, accurately
adjusted, line upon line, and storey upon storey, perhaps the most
carefully wrought-out work in all Europe.
The Italian architects were before all others devoted to the display
of colour in their works. St Mark's had led the way in this, but,
throughout the peninsula, the bountiful plenty of nature in the
provision of materials was seconded by the zeal of the artist. They
were also distinguished for their use of brick. Just as in parts of
Germany, France, Spain and England, there were large districts in
which no stone could be had without the greatest labour and trouble;
and here the reality and readiness which always marked the medieval
workman led to his at once availing himself of the natural material,
and making a feature of his brickwork.
The Gothic of Italy has, it must be admitted, no such grand works to
show as more northern countries have. Allowance has to be made at
every turn for some incompleteness or awkwardness of plan, design or
construction. There is no attempt to emulate the beauties of the best
French plans. Milan cathedral, magnificent as its scale and material
make it, is clumsy and awkward both in plan and section, though its
vast size makes it impressive internally. San Francesco, Assisi, is
only a moderately good early German Gothic church, converted into
splendour by its painted decorations. At Orvieto a splendid west front
is put, without any proper adjustment, against a church whose merit is
mainly that it is large and in parts beautifully coloured.
The finest Gothic interiors are of the class of which the Frari at
Venice and Sant' Anastasia at Verona are examples. They are simple
vaulted cruciform churches, with aisles and chapels on the east side
of the transepts. But even in these the designs of the various parts
in detail are poor and meagre, and only redeemed from failure by the
picturesque monuments built against their walls, by the work of the
painter, and by their furniture. In fine, Gothic art was never really
understood in Italy, and, consequently, never reached to perfection.
Whilst the Pointed style was almost exclusively known and practised in
northern Europe, the Italians were but slowly improving in their
Gothic style; and the improvement was more evinced in their secular
than in their ecclesiastical structures. Florence, Bologna, Vicenza,
Udine, Genoa, and, above all, Venice, contain palaces and mansions of
the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, which for simplicity, utility
and beauty far excel most of those in the same and other places of the
three following centuries. The contemporary churches do not exhibit
the same degree of improvement in style that is conspicuous in these
domestic works, for there are no works in Europe more worthy of study
and admiration than the Ducal Palace at Venice, and some of the older
works of the same class, and even of earlier date. The town halls of
Perugia, Piacenza and Siena, and many houses in these cities, and at
Corneto, Amalfi, Asti, Orvieto and Lucca, the fountains of Perugia and
Viterbo, and the monuments at Bologna, Verona and Arezzo, may be named
as evidence of the interest which the national art affords to the
architectural student even in Italy, as late as the end of the 14th
century; but after this it gradually gave way to the new style, though
in some instances its influence may be traced even when it had been
overborne by it. (R. P. S.)
ROMANESQUE AND GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN FRANCE
Most generally, Romanesque art is thought of as that period of art which
followed and partook of the nature of Roman art and yet was too far
removed from it to be classed as Roman. The difference, however, was not
merely one of decay; it is rather in positive factors that we shall find
the true characteristics of the style. Its formation was parallel to the
development of the Romance languages, and like them it acquired barbaric
elements.
In Rome itself hardly any, if any, contributions were made to its
growth, and there as late as the 12th century the early Christian form
of basilican church continued to be built. It may, perhaps, best be
conceived as a Germano-Roman product, for even in Spain and north Italy,
which became such strong centres of the art, the Visigoths and Lombards
provided the Teutonic element. Besides this change of "blood" in the
style, there is another element of change in the influences obtained
from the more rapidly developed art of the East. This influence indeed
was so strong and constant that, having it in view, we might almost
describe the Romanesque style as Germano-Byzantine.
In the 6th and 7th centuries we have, on the one hand, the almost pure
traditional early Christian art of Rome and indeed of western Europe,
and on the other the direct establishment of matured Byzantine art at
Ravenna, Parenzo, Naples and even in Rome. Then followed the mixture of
these and of barbaric elements in the formation of several
pre-Romanesque varieties, one of which has been named Italo-Byzantine.
It was not until the age of Charlemagne that a centre was established
strong enough for the formation of a new western school which should
persist. From this time a progressive style was developed which led
straight forward to the Gothic, and it is this movement which is best
called Romanesque. This art was a perfect ferment of striving and
experiment, of gathering and even of research; Roman, Byzantine and
Saxon elements entered into its composition. It is probable also, as a
result of Saracenic pressure on Syria, Asia Minor, North Africa and
Spain, that artists, "bringing their crafts with them," drew together
from still remoter parts to gain the protection of the great ruler of
the West and to help in the formation of Carolingian art. With the
disintegration of the empire of Charlemagne many local schools arose in
Germany, France and Lombardy, which--especially after the year 1000,
when there appears to have been a renewed burst of building
energy--resulted in considerable differentiation of styles. The centre
of energy seems to have been now here, now there, yet with all the
differences there was a general resemblance over the whole field. Until
the exact date of a very large number of monuments is more perfectly
established, it will be impossible to trace out exactly the intricate
windings of the line of advance. In fact there are two conflicting sides
to the question presented by Romanesque art. In the first place we have
to consider the several schools in regard to a standard of absolute
attainment, and in the second as relative to the line of persistence and
to the formation of Gothic, which was so largely the culmination, and
then the decay, of the forces present in Romanesque art. Some of the
most beautiful and complete of the Romanesque schools contributed least,
some of the most inchoate gave the most, to that which was to be.
The most important existing monument of the age of Charlemagne is the
cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle (see fig. 44), which was being built in
the year 800. It has an octagonal central area, covered by a dome and
surrounded with two storeys of aisles both completely vaulted. The
interior surface of the dome was encrusted with mosaic. Another
important work of about the same time is the church of
Germigny-des-Pres near Orleans, which also is of the "central type,"
having a square tower above four piers surrounded by an aisle with
semicircular apses in the centre of each external wall, the apse to
the east having a mosaic.
[Illustration: PLATE III.
FIG. 68.--ST PETERS, ROME.
_Photo, Brogi._
FIG. 69.--INTERIOR OF ST PETER'S, ROME.
_Photo, Alinari._]
[Illustration: PLATE IV.
FIG. 70.--TOWN HALL, BREMEN.
_Photo, Koch._
FIG. 7l.--VENDRAMINI PALACE, VENICE.
_Photo, Brogi._]
From the 9th to the 11th century the great problem worked out was that
of perfecting the standard plans of large churches. In the MS. plan of
the monastic church of St Gall, drawn about 820, we find a great nave
with aisles, apsidal terminations both to the east and the west,
transepts and probably a central tower (cf. the abbey church of
Saint-Riquier near Abbeville, built _c_. 800, of which a slight
representation has been preserved). In St Martin at Tours was probably
evolved the most perfect type of plan, that with an ambulatory and
radiating chapels surrounding the eastern apse. A magnificent church
of this form was built here at the beginning of the 11th century, but
not for the first time. Excavations have shown that the plan was
probably suggested by a still earlier church in which five tomb-niches
surrounded the central apse and tomb of St Martin. At Jumieges (begun
1040) it has recently been found that the plan terminated to the east
with parallel apses, as at St Albans in England; this is a second
important type. A third type is that in which the transepts as well as
the east end are finished with apses, like St Mary-in-the-Capitol at
Cologne.
When we come to the developed Romanesque of the end of the 11th
century, we find not only several French varieties, but strong schools
in Lombardy and on the Rhine. Without distinguishing too minutely,
four broad types representing schools of the east and west, north and
south (or rather north-east, north-west, south-east and south-west) of
France, may be spoken of, and all of these were engaged in the task of
completely covering with vaults large churches of basilican plan--the
typical problem of this period. In the east of France we have a school
represented by the monastic church of Tournus, where the nave was
vaulted by a series of compartments placed transversely to the axis of
the church. This church, which has a plan of the type of St Martin's
at Tours, was begun in 1019, but the nave vaults were not reached
until after 1066. This style of vaulting persisted in Burgundy, and
from thence it spread to Fountains Abbey in England, where it is found
over the aisles. The most beautiful class of buildings in eastern
France is that of which the church at Issoire is the most perfect
example. The external walls are here ornamented with patterns
countercharged in light and dark stone. The wonderful church at Le Puy
also belongs to this group, but here strong Moorish influence is to be
traced. The inlays were probably derived from a late Gallo-Roman
source. Countercharging of stones of two colours was a favourite
method of building in Romanesque churches erected between 1100 and
1150. We find it at Vezelay, a magnificent abbey church of Burgundy,
at Le Mans cathedral, and as far north-west as Exeter and Worcester.
In the west (south-west) the most prominent school was that of
Perigord, of which the church of St Front, Perigueux, may be taken as
the example. St Front was rebuilt after a fire in 1120, but there are
many earlier specimens, two of the most important being at Angouleme
(1105-1128) and Fontevrault. This school applied a series of domes of
eastern fashion not only at the centre but over the whole extent of
the church. St Front so closely resembles St Mark's, Venice, that it
must be derived from it or from some similar eastern church. The
method largely influenced the Angevin school of vaulting, but it does
not seem to have been effective as a protection from the weather. Some
examples were covered by external roofs, as was St Front itself at a
late time. St Ours at Loches, originally a small church covered by
domes, had spire-like pyramids substituted for them when the church
was enlarged about 1168.
The third class of vaulting we may for symmetry's sake associate with
the south, though it is found widely distributed. The chapel in the
Tower of London is an example, and its true centre seems to be the
Auvergne. The vaults of this type run along with the axis of the space
to be covered. In the case of large churches the central span is
frequently supported by quadrant vaults leaning against it on either
side. One of the most noble churches in which the central span is
covered by such a barrel vault is that of St Savin near Poitiers,
where very much has been preserved of the complete series of paintings
which once adorned it and the walls beneath.
The most characteristic buildings of the south are the churches of
Moissac, St Trophime at Aries, St Gilles near Nimes and St James of
Compostella, where there is much sculpture of a Lombardic type. There
was a great revival of sculpture, going together with a study of the
antique, in Lombardy at the end of the 11th century. Wiligelmus, who
later worked at San Zeno, Verona, signed some sculptures at Modena in
1099.
Of the schools of the north, Normandy took the lead. It was
adventurous, if somewhat barbaric. It derived much from Germany and
gave much to the Gothic style. About the middle of the 11th century
the Normans began to experiment with cross-groined vaults and their
application to the church problem. This from the first contained an
important possibility of future development, in that it allowed of
windows of considerable height being placed in the lunettes of these
vaults. Soon a very great step in advance was made by the invention or
application of diagonal ribs under the intersection of the plain
groined vault. This association of strengthening ribs in a cross form
to each bay of the structure forms the _ogive_, the characteristic
form from which the alternative name to Gothic, "ogival," has been
derived. The first instance we know of the use of this system is at
Durham cathedral, where the aisles of the east end were so covered
about 1093, and where the high vault erected about 1104 was almost
certainly of the same kind. Another outcome of the genius of Norman
builders seems to have been the donjon or keep type of castle.
The word "Gothic" was applied by Italian writers of the Renaissance to
buildings later than Roman, which in some cases (e.g. Theodoric's works
at Ravenna) might be properly so named. What we now call Gothic the same
writers called Modern. Later the word came to mean the art which filled
the whole interval between the Roman period and the Renaissance, and
then last of all, when the Byzantine and Romanesque forms of art were
defined, Gothic became the art which intervened between the Romanesque
era and the Renaissance.
As remarked above, Gothic architecture is to a large extent the crown of
Romanesque. It is agreed that its chief element of construction was the
ogival vaulting which was being widely used by Romanesque builders in
the first half of the 12th century; and pointed arches appeared as
early.
The eminent architect, G.E. Street, writing[3] of what we have called
the standard plan of great 12th-century churches, says, "In whatever way
the early _chevets_ (as the French term them) grew up there is no doubt
that they contain the germ of the magnificent _chevets_ in the complete
Gothic churches of the north of France." Architecture of the middle ages
having been continuously developed, it is necessarily somewhat arbitrary
to mark off any given period; all are agreed, however, that about the
year 1150 there was a time of rapid change towards a slenderer and more
energetic type of building, and the forms which followed for about four
centuries we now call Gothic. The special character which the
architecture of this period took was partially conditioned by the fact
that the expanding power of the French kingdom, with its centre at
Paris, was situated in a particular artistic environment. The body of
ideas on which it for the most part worked was furnished by the
Romanesque art of north France, the German borderland and Burgundy. A
great contributory cause was the immense monastic activity of the time,
and the need of accomplishing large results with limited means resulted
in a casting aside of old ornamental commonplaces and in innovations of
planning and structure. This was especially the case with the Cistercian
order, which carried certain transitional Gothic forms of building into
England, Germany, Italy and Spain. If, however, we make the transition
to Gothic date from the first use of "ogival" vaults in north-west
Europe, then Durham cathedral is, so far as we now know, the earliest
example of the transitional style. The next step, the appearance of
Gothic itself, may best be held to date from the systematic but not
exclusive use of pointed arches in association with ogival vaults about
the middle of the 12th century.
At this time was waged a war of domination amongst the styles, a war
which resulted not necessarily in the victory of the most beautiful nor
even of the strongest, but one in which political and geographical
considerations had much to do with the decision. When the French kingdom
took the lead in western civilization, it was settled that a northern
form of art, one which had perforce to make a chief element of the
window, should be followed out. The consequent development of the window
is, after all, as the first observers thought, the great mark of the
mature style. As to the position of France in the movement, Mr Street
may again be quoted:--"When once the Gothic style was well established,
the zeal with which the work of building was pursued in France was
almost incredibly great. A series of churches exists there within short
distances of each other, so superb in all their features that it is
impossible to contest their superiority to any corresponding group of
buildings. The old Domaine Royale is that in which French art is seen in
its perfection. Notre Dame, Paris, is a monument second to nothing in
the world; but for completeness in all its parts it would be better to
cite the cathedral of Chartres, a short description of which must
suffice as an explanation of what French art at its zenith was. The plan
has a nave with aisles, transepts with aisles on each side, a choir with
two aisles all round it, and chapels beyond them. There are two immense
steeples at the west end, two towers to each transept and two towers at
the junction of the choir with its apse. The doorways are triple at the
west end, whilst to each transept is a vast triple porch in front of the
three doorways. The whole of these doorways are covered with sculpture,
much of it refined, spirited and interesting in the highest degree. You
enter and find the interior surpassing even the exterior. The order of
the columns and arches, and of all the details, is so noble and simple
that no fault can be found with it. The whole is admirably executed;
and, finally, every window throughout its vast interior is full of the
richest glass coeval with the fabric. As compared with English churches
of the same class, there are striking differences. The French architects
aimed at greater height, greater size, but much less effect of length.
Their roofs were so lofty that it was almost impossible for them to
build steeples which should have the sort of effect that ours have. The
turret on Amiens cathedral is nearly as lofty as Salisbury spire, but is
only a turret; and so throughout. Few French churches afford the
exquisite complete views of the exterior which English churches do; but,
on the other hand, their interiors are more majestic, and man feels
himself smaller and more insignificant in them than in ours. The palm
must certainly be given to them above all others. There is no country
richer in examples of architecture than France. The student who wishes
to understand what it was possible for a country to do in the way of
creating monuments of its grandeur, would find in almost every part of
the country, at every turn and in great profusion, works of the rarest
interest and beauty. The 19th century may be the consummation of all,
but the evidences of its existence to posterity will not be one-tenth in
number of those which such a reign as that of Philip Augustus has left
us, whilst none of them will come up to the high standard which in his
time was invariably reached."
The remarks which have been made as to the variation in style visible in
various parts of the same country, apply with more force, perhaps, in
what we now call France than to any other part of Europe. For the
purposes of complete study it would be necessary to keep distinct from
each other in the mind the following important divisions:--(1) Provence
and Auvergne; (2) Aquitaine; (3) Burgundy; (4) Anjou and Poitou, (5)
Brittany; (6) Normandy; (7) the Ile-de-France and Picardy; (8)
Champagne; and, finally, (9) the eastern border-land (neither quite
German nor quite French in its character), the meeting-point of the two
very different developments of French and German art. Speaking
generally, it is safe to say that Gothic architecture was never brought
to its highest perfection in any portion of the south of France.
Aquitaine, Auvergne and Provence were too wedded to classic traditions
to excel in an art which seems to have required for its perfection no
sort of looking back to such a past. Hence there is no Gothic work in
the south for which it is possible to feel the same admiration and
enthusiasm as must be felt by every artist in presence of the great
works of the north. In Anjou this is less the case; but even there the
art is extremely inferior to that which is seen in Normandy and the
Ile-de-France. Brittany may be dismissed from consideration, as being,
like Cornwall, so provincial and so cut off from neighbours, that its
art could not fail to be very local, and without much influence outside
its own borders.
There are examples of true Gothic outside its proper habitat, almost
pure French works being found as far south as Laon and Burgos, as far
east as Strassburg and Lausanne and as far north as Canterbury and
Cologne. Westminister Abbey was profoundly influenced by direct study of
French work. Normandy, Burgundy, and the land as far north as Tournay
seem to have shared in the work of transition; but the Gothic area
proper is the Ile-de-France with Picardy and Champagne, then Burgundy,
Normandy and England.
Four remarkable buildings best represent the early phase of the Gothic
style, the abbey church of St Denis, and the cathedrals of Noyon,
Senlis and Sens. The first was begun in 1137, and the choir was
consecrated in 1143. The few parts of this work which remain are
sufficient to show how stately and yet fresh the whole work must have
been. Noyon cathedral, begun after a fire which occurred in 1131, had
its choir consecrated in 1157. The cathedral of Senlis was begun in
1155. Sens cathedral, begun about the same time, or even earlier, is
the first of the great cathedrals. Many other buildings belong to the
first years of the style; such are the abbey churches of St Remi at
Reims, Notre Dame at Chalons and St Germain-des-Pres, Paris. The choir
of this last was consecrated in 1163, and in the same year Notre Dame,
Paris, was begun. This mighty building, although very complete, was
altered as to its effect by the substitution, early in the 13th
century, of large two-light windows for the earlier lancets of the
clerestory. The sculptures of the west front are exquisite. Laon
cathedral, another of the great churches, is of about the same age as
Notre Dame. It also has beautiful sculpture in its western porches,
but its most marked characteristic is the group of six great and
romantic towers which flank the fronts to the west, the north and the
south. In the 13th century, the church was extended to the east and
the original _chevet_ was destroyed. From the evidence furnished by
fine double-staged chapels to the transepts, it is most probable that
three similar chapels were set about the ambulatory of the apse, the
upper chapels opening from the fine vaulted triforium. Such an
arrangement existed at the noble church of Valenciennes, now
destroyed, but well recorded. At the end of the 12th century Chartres
cathedral was begun, perhaps its most notable constructive feature
being the high development that the flying buttresses have here
attained. It was followed in the early years of the 13th century by
Rouen cathedral, which derived much from its prototype. St Omer, a
fine early church, in turn, followed Rouen.
[Illustration: FIG. 40.--Plan of Cathedral at Amiens.]
The second stage of Gothic, introducing the traceried window, was
opened by the building of the cathedral of Reims, begun in 1211. This
is in every way one of the most perfect of cathedrals, as well for its
sculpture and glass as for its structure. Reims was followed by the
still greater cathedral at Amiens (fig. 40), which was begun in 1220
at the west front, so that the superb sculpture (Plate II., fig. 64)
of the porches is earlier than that of Reims. Beauvais cathedral was
begun in 1247 on a still vaster scale, and with an ambition that
o'erleaped itself. Auxerre cathedral, and the very beautiful
collegiate churches of St Quentin and Semur, also followed Reims. Two
other cathedrals of the first rank which must be mentioned are those
of Bourges and Le Mans, each of these having double aisles about the
apse, with a large clerestory to the inner one of the two, above which
rises the great clerestory. This scheme is one of the great feats of
Gothic construction. Le Mans again furnished the most highly developed
form of _chevet_ planning (fig. 41). On this point Mr Street may again
be cited. "It was in the planning of the apse, with its surrounding
aisles and chapels, that all their ingenuity and science were
displayed. A simple apse is easy enough of construction, but directly
it is surrounded by an aisle or aisles, with chapels again beyond
them, the difficulties are great. The bays of the circular aisle,
instead of being square, are very much wider on one side than the
other, and it is most difficult to fit the vaulting to the unequal
space. In order to get over this, various plans were tried. At Notre
Dame, Paris, the vaulting bays were all triangular on plan, so that
the points of support might be twice as many on the outside line of
the circle as on the inside. But this was rather an unsightly
contrivance, and was not often repeated, though at Bourges there is
something of the same sort. At Le Mans the aisle vaulting bays are
alternately triangular and square; and this is, perhaps, the best
arrangement of all, as the latter are true and square, and none of the
lines of the vault are twisted or distorted in the slightest degree.
The arrangement of the chapels round the apse was equally varied.
Usually they are too crowded in effect; and, perhaps, the most
beautiful plan is that of Rouen cathedral, where there are only three
chapels with unoccupied bays between, affording much greater relief
and variety of lighting than the commoner plan which provided a chapel
to every bay. The planning and design of the _chevet_ is the great
glory of the French medieval school. When the same thing was
attempted, as at Westminster, or by the Germans at Cologne, it was
evidently a copy, and usually an inferior copy, of French work. No
English works led up to Westminster Abbey, and no German works to the
cathedral at Cologne."
The variety in the planning of the _chevets_ must be remarked. There
might be only one chapel opening from the semicircular ambulatory, as
at Langres, Sens, Auxerre, Bayeux and Lausanne. Canterbury cathedral,
designed by William of Sens, is perhaps the most perfect example.
There were three separated chapels, as at Rouen, St Omer, Semur, &c.,
or there might be five filling the whole space, which became the
general later scheme. Chartres furnishes an intermediate plan, in
having the alternate chapels much shallower than the others. The
chapels might be circular or polygonal or alternately square and
round. Of the last the cathedral of Toledo is a wonderful example. The
plan with parallel apses also continued in use, as at the beautiful
abbey church at Dijon and St Urbain at Troyes. Apsidal transepts were
built at Noyon, Soissons and Valenciennes.
Another stage of development was reached with the building of the
Sainte Chapelle in Paris, begun in 1244. With this work the Gothic
system reached complete maturity. Here for the first time large
traceried windows seem to have been perfected, and, moreover, the
structure was so organized into a series of wide window spaces, only
divided by strong far-projecting buttress piers, that the stained
glass ideal found full expression and the building became a lantern
for its display.
[Illustration: FIG. 41.--Cathedral of Le Mans. East end and Chevet.]
During the next half-century the influence of the Sainte Chapelle is
to be traced everywhere, and its system of construction was developed
to the furthest possible point in St Urbain at Troyes, begun in 1260.
Exploration of the Gothic theory of structure could be carried no
further. From this point the style turned in on itself, becoming more
unreasonably intricate, artificial and mannerized. One of the finest
examples of the style of the early 14th century is the eastern limb of
St Ouen, Rouen; Troyes cathedral is also an important example of later
work. As Mr Street says: "Later French architecture ran a very similar
course to that in England. The 13th century was that in which it was
seen at its best. In the 14th the same sort of change took place as
elsewhere; and art was beautiful, but it was too much an evidence of
skilfulness and adroitness. It was harder and colder also than English
work of the same age; and when it fell, it did so before the inroads
of a taste for what has been called Flamboyant architecture,--a gay
and meretricious style which trusted to ornament for all its effect,
and, in spite of many beauties, had none of the sturdy magnificence of
much of our English Perpendicular style."
M. Enlart has recently accepted the view that the germs of flamboyancy
in the later French Gothic are to be found in the flowing curvilinear
forms of early 14th-century work in England.
Up to the middle of the 16th century, magnificent works in the
national style were still being executed. St Vulfran at Abbeville, St
Maclou in Rouen, and the facade of the cathedral of Rouen, may be
mentioned; some of the last works were the immense transepts of
Beauvais cathedral and the facade of Tours.
We have necessarily spoken most of churches, but the palaces, castles
and civic buildings form another great class hardly less interesting.
The castles of Coucy and Chateau Gaillard may rival any cathedral.
Among civic buildings may be mentioned the palais de justice at Rouen
and the hotel de ville at Compiegne, both late but beautiful and
impressive types. The royal palace of Paris is now represented by the
Sainte Chapelle, but accounts of its splendid hall and general
arrangements have been preserved. At Poitiers is still extant the hall
of the palace of the counts of Poitou; at Laon the episcopal palace is
almost entire; there are considerable remains of the bishops' palaces
of Beauvais, Evreux, Rouen, Reims: and the pope's palace at Avignon
must also be mentioned in this connexion. The most perfect existing
great houses of the middle ages are those of Jacques Coeur at Bourges
and of the abbot of Cluny in Paris. A large number of fine houses on a
small scale, dating from the 12th and 13th centuries, are still
preserved at Beauvais, Auxerre, Chartres, Cordes, &c. The house of the
musicians at Reims, c. 1280, is adorned by a series of seated
life-sized figures playing instruments, in sculpture of a very high
order. A good and concise account of the smaller houses in France is
given in Hudson Turner's _Some Account of Domestic Architecture_, and
in C. Enlart's _Manuel d'archeologie_, the best and most recent survey
of the whole field of medieval antiquities in France. (W. R. L.)
ROMANESQUE AND GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN SPAIN
What strikes the architectural student most forcibly in Spain is the
concurrent existence of two schools of art during the best part of the
middle ages. The Moors invaded Spain in 711, and were not finally
expelled from Granada until 1492. During the whole of this period they
were engaged, with more or less success, in contests for superiority
with the Christian natives. In those portions of the country which they
held longest, and with the firmest hand, they enforced their own customs
and taste in art almost to the exclusion of all other work. Where their
rule was not permanent their artistic influence was still felt, and even
beyond what were ever the boundaries of their dominion, there are still
to be seen in Gothic buildings some traces of acquaintance with Arabic
art not seen elsewhere in Europe, with the exception, perhaps, of the
southern part of the Italian peninsula, and there differing much in its
development. The mosque of Cordova in the 9th century, the Alcazar and
Giralda at Seville in the 13th, the Court of Lions in the Alhambra in
the 14th, several houses in Toledo in the 15th century, are examples of
what the Moors were building during the period of the middle ages in
which the best Gothic buildings were being erected. Some portions of
Spain were never conquered by the Moors. These were the greater part of
Aragon, Navarre, Asturias, Biscay and the northern portion of Galicia.
Toledo was retaken by the Christians in 1085, Tarragona in 1089,
Saragossa in 1118, Lerida in 1149, Valencia in 1238 and Seville in 1248.
In the districts occupied by the Moors Gothic architecture had no
natural growth, whilst even in those which were not held by them the
arts of war were of necessity so much more thought of than those of
peace, that the services of foreign architects were made use of to an
extent unequalled in any other part of Europe.
Of early Christian buildings erected from the 9th to the 11th century
remains of some twenty to thirty are known, and there are probably
others which will be found when the communications in the country
become more extended. The most interesting of these is Santa Maria de
Naranco near Oviedo, originally built in 848 as part of a palace. It
consisted of a rectangular hall, 42 ft. long and 16 ft. wide, with
entrance doorways in the centre of each side, and at each end an
arcade of three arches, carried on piers and coupled columns, which
led to an open loggia from which the hall was lighted. Fifty to sixty
years later it was converted into a church by blocking up the end of
the east loggia. The church is remarkable for its barrel vault, built
in fine masonry, and for the knowledge that is displayed in meeting
its thrust. Internally, in order to lessen the span, the upper part of
the walls is brought forward and carried on a series of arches on each
side, which are supported on piers consisting of four coupled columns,
virtually constituting an interior abutment. Externally, the thrust is
met by buttresses, features not found in France until about a century
and a half later. All the columns are spiral-fluted, and a
twisted-cord torus-moulding decorates the capitals and other features
in the church. The transverse ribs of the hall, which are of slight
projection, are carried on broad bands with disks in the spandrils of
the arches, the disks having badges in the centre, and being bordered,
as well as the bands, with twisted cords. Underneath the church is a
spacious vaulted crypt, which was built as a cellar or basement
storey, to raise and give more importance to the palace. The twisted
cord seems to have been a favourite device in all the early churches,
and is extensively employed in the decoration of San Miguel de Lino, a
small church about a quarter of a mile from Santa Maria de Naranco and
coeval with that church. Externally the church of San Miguel has all
the character of a Byzantine church; the windows in the front are
pierced with Moorish tracery, probably brought there by those
Christians who were flying to the sanctuaries of Asturias from the
incursions of the Moors. In another church, about 15 m. south of
Oviedo, Santa Christina de Leon, all the attached staffs are decorated
with spiral fluting. The choir is raised, and approached by steps on
either side through a screen of three arches, of the type known as
Transennae in the earlier Christian of Rome. Here, as in Santa Maria
de Naranco, the church is covered with a barrel vault with similar
constructive and decorative features. Externally the buttresses are in
great profusion, there being two to each bay. The screen, the pierced
marble slabs between the columns carrying it, and the decoration of
the capitals, all show Byzantine influence. Other early churches are
those of San Pablo del Campo (930) and San Pedro de las Puellas, both
in Barcelona, the fine church at the village of Priesca near
Villaviciosa (915), the monastery of Valdedios (893) and that of San
Salvador (1218), in which, notwithstanding its late date, there is a
distinct Moorish influence. This influence is also to be noticed in
the north of Spain, although it was never occupied by the Moors. Thus
in the earliest church known, at Banos de Cerrato near Palencia
(founded in 662, but restored in 711), there is a horse-shoe barrel
vault over the square apse. Again in San Miguel de Escalada (913) near
Leon, there are horse-shoe arches in the nave, and the three apses are
horse-shoe on plan. San Pedro at Zamora is a vaulted church with
horse-shoe arches in the nave, but otherwise Byzantine in style. In
the church of Corpus Christi at Segovia the nave is Moorish in style,
and the octagonal columns of the nave have capitals with fir cones, as
in the well-known Santa Maria la Blanra at Toledo, originally a
synagogue. The most remarkable church of all, so far as Moorish style
is concerned, is the church of the monastery of Santiago de Penalva,
near Villafranca del Vierzo, built between 931 and 951, and therefore
coeval with Cordova. The church is 40 ft. long by 20 ft. wide, covered
by a barrel vault with transverse horse-shoe arch in the centre
carrying the same. At each end is an apse with horse-shoe arches
carried on marble shafts with Byzantine capitals. Though of later
date, there is another interesting Romanesque example in the Templars'
church of La Vera Cruz at Segovia (1204), which is twelve-sided with
three apses, and in the centre has a chapel built in imitation of the
Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem.
The buildings which come next in point of date are all evidently
derived from or erected by the architects of those which were at the
time being built in the south of France. These churches are uniform in
plan, with central lanterns and three eastern apses. The nave has
usually a waggon or barrel vault, supported by quadrant vaults in the
aisles, and the steeples are frequently polygonal in plan. If these
churches are compared with examples like that of the cathedral at
Carcassonne on the other side of the Pyrenees, their identity in style
will at once be seen. A still more remarkable evidence of similarity
has been pointed out between the church of St Sernin, Toulouse, and
the cathedral of Santiago. The plan, proportions and general design of
the two churches are identical. Here we see a noble ground-plan,
consisting of nave with aisles, transepts, central lantern and chevet,
consisting of an apsidal choir, with a surrounding aisle and chapels
opening into it at intervals. This example is the more remarkable,
inasmuch as the early Spanish architects very rarely built a regular
_chevel_, and almost always preferred the simpler plan of apsidal
chapels on either side of the choir. And its magnificent scale and
perfect preservation to the present day combine to make it one of the
most interesting architectural relics in the country.
Among the more remarkable buildings of the 12th and the beginning in
the 13th century are San Isidore, Leon; San Vicente, Avila; several
churches in Segovia; and the old cathedral at Lerida. They are much
more uniform in character than are the churches of the same period in
the various provinces of France, and the developments in style, where
they are seen at all, seldom have much appearance of being natural
local developments. This, indeed, is the most marked feature of
Spanish architecture in all periods of its history. In such a country
it might have been expected that many interesting local developments
would have been seen; but of these there are but one or two that
deserve notice. One of them is illustrated admirably in the church of
San Millan, Segovia, where beyond the aisles of the nave are open
cloisters or aisles arcaded on the outside, and opening by doors into
the aisles of the nave. A similar external south portico exists in San
Miguel de Escalada, already referred to, Santo Domingo, Burgos, and
San Esteban at Segovia. It would be difficult to devise a more
charming arrangement for buildings in a hot country, whilst at the
same time the architectural effect is in the highest degree beautiful.
The universality of the central tower and lantern has been already
mentioned. This was often polygonal, and its use led to the erection
of some lanterns or domes of almost unique beauty and interest. The
old cathedral at Salamanca, the church at Toro and the cathedral of
Zamora, all deserve most careful study on this score. Their lanterns
are almost too lofty in proportion to be properly called domes, and
yet their treatment inside and outside suggests a very beautiful form
of raised dome. They are carried on pointed arches, and are circular
in plan internally and octagonal on the exterior, the angles of the
octagon being filled with large turrets, which add much to the beauty
of the design, and greatly also to its strength. Between the
supporting arches and the vault there are, at Salamanca, two tiers of
arcades continued all round the lantern, the lower one pierced with
four, and the upper with twelve lights, and the vault or dome is
decorated with ribs radiating from the centre. On the exterior the
effect is rather that of a low steeple covered with a stone roof with
spherical sides than of a dome, but the design is so novel and so
suggestive, that it is well worth detailed description. Nothing can be
more happy than the way in which the light is admitted, whilst it is
also to be noted that the whole work is of stone, and that there is
nothing in the design but what is essentially permanent and monumental
in construction. The only other Spanish development is the
introduction, to a very moderate extent, of features derived from the
practice of the Moorish architects. This is, however, much less seen
than might have been expected, and is usually confined to some small
feature of detail, such, e.g. as the carving of a boss, or the filling
in of small tracery in circular windows, where it would in no way
clash with the generally Christian character of the art.
The debateable period of transition which is usually so interesting is
very sterile in Spain. A good model once adopted from the French was
adhered to with but little modification, and it was not till the
13th-century style was well established in France and England that any
introduction of its features is seen here; and then, again, it is the
work of foreign architects imported for the work and occasion,
bringing with them a fully developed style to which nothing whatever
in Spain itself led up by a natural or evident development. The three
great Spanish churches of this period are the cathedrals of Toledo,
Leon and Burgos (Plate II., fig. 65). Those of Siguenza, Lerida and
Tarragona, fine as they are, illustrate the art of the 12th rather
than of the 13th century, but these three great churches are perfect
Early Pointed works, and most complete in all their parts. The
cathedral of Toledo is one of the most nobly designed churches in
Europe. In dimensions it is surpassed only by the cathedrals of Milan
and Seville, whilst in beauty of plan it leaves both those great
churches far behind. The _chevet_, in which two broad aisles are
carried round the apse with chapels alternately square and apsidal
opening out of them, is perhaps the most perfect of all the schemes we
know. It is as if the French _chevets_, all of which were more or less
tentative in their plan, had culminated in this grand work to which
they had led the way. The architectural detail of this great church is
generally on a par with the beauty and grandeur of its plan, but is
perhaps surpassed by the somewhat later church at Leon. Here we have a
church built by architects whose sole idea was the erection of a
building with as few and small points of support as possible, and with
the largest possible amount of window opening. It was the work of men
whose art had been formed in a country where as much sun and light as
possible were necessary, and is quite unsuited for such a country as
Spain. Nevertheless it is a building of rare beauty and delicacy of
design. Burgos, better known than either of the others, is inferior in
scale and interest, and its character has been much altered by added
works more or less Rococo in character, so that it is only by analysis
and investigation that the 13th-century church is still seen under and
behind the more modern excrescences.
The next period is again marked by work which seems to be that of
foreigners. The fully developed Middle Pointed or Geometrical Gothic
is indeed very uniform all over Europe. Here, however, its efforts
were neither grand in scale nor interesting. Some of the church
furniture, as, e.g. the choir screens at Toledo, and some of the
cloisters, are among the best features. The work is all correct, tame
and academical, and has none of the dignity, power and interest which
marked the earlier Spanish buildings. Towards the end of the 14th
century the work of Spanish architects becomes infinitely more
interesting. The country was free from trouble with the Moors; it was
rich and prosperous, and certainly its buildings at this period were
so numerous, so grand and so original, that they cannot be too much
praised. Moreover, they were carefully designed to suit the
requirements of the climate, and also with a sole view to the
accommodation conveniently of enormous congregations, all within sight
of the preacher or the altar. This last development seems to have been
very much the work of a great architect of Majorca, Jayme Fabre by
name. The grandest works of his school are still to be seen in
Catalonia. Their churches are so vast in their dimensions that the
largest French and English buildings seem to be small by comparison,
and being invariably covered with stone vaults, they cannot be
compared to the great wooden-roofed churches of the preaching orders
in Italy and elsewhere, in which the only approach is made to their
magnificent dimensions. The cathedral of Gerona is the most remarkable
example. Here the choir is planned like the French _chevet_ with an
aisle and chapels round it, and opens with three lofty arches into the
east wall of a nave which measures no less than 73 ft. in the clear,
and is covered with a stone vaulted ceiling. In Barcelona there are
several churches of very similar description; at Manresa another, but
with aisles to its nave; and at Palma in Majorca one of the same plan
as the last, but of even much larger dimensions. Perhaps there is no
effort of any local school of architects more worthy of study and
respect than this Catalonian work of the 14th and 15th centuries. Such
a happy combination of noble design and proportions with entirely
practical objects places its author among the very greatest architects
of any time. It is one thing to develop patiently step by step from
the work of one's fathers in art, quite another to strike out an
entirely new form by a new combination of the old elements. In
comparison with the works just mentioned the other great Spanish
churches of the 15th century are uninteresting. But still their scale
is grand and though their detail is over-elaborated and not beautiful,
it is impossible to deny the superb effect of the interior of such
churches as those of Seville, Segovia and Salamanca (new cathedral).
They are very similar in their character, their columns are formed
by the prolongation of the reedy mouldings of the arches, their window
traceries are poorly designed, and their roofs are covered with a
complex multitude of lierne ribs. Yet the scale is fine, the admission
of light, generally high up and in sparing quantity, is artistic, and
much of the furniture is either picturesque or interesting. The _tout
ensemble_ is generally very striking, even where the architectural
purist is apt to grumble at the shortcomings of most of the detail.
[Illustration: PLATE V.
FIG. 72.--DOOR OF SAN MICHELE, PAVIA.
_Photo, Alinari._
FIG. 73.--UNIVERSITY, SALAMANCA.
_Photo, Lacoste._
FIG. 74.--TOWN HALL, SEVILLE.
_Photo, Lacoste._]
[Illustration: PLATE VI.
FIG. 75.--BANQUETING HOUSE, WHITEHALL.
_Photo, F. Frith & Co._
FIG. 76.--WOLLATON HALL.
_Photo, F. Frith & Co._
FIG. 77.--HAMPTON COURT.
_Photo, Stuart._]
The remarks which have been made so far have been confined to the
fabrics of the churches of Spain. It would be easy to add largely to
them by reference to the furniture which still so often adorns them,
unaltered even if uncared for; to the monuments of the mighty dead; to
the sculpture which frequently adorns the doorways and screens; and to
the cloisters, chapter-houses and other dependent buildings, which add
so much charm in every way to them. Besides this, there are very
numerous castles, often planned on the grandest scale, and some, if
not very many, interesting remains of domestic houses and palaces; and
most of these, being to some extent flavoured by the neighbourhood of
Moorish architects, have more character of their own than has been
accorded to the churches. Finally, there are considerable tracts of
country in which brick was the only material used; and it is curious
that this is almost always more or less Moorish in the character of
its detail. The Moors were great brickmakers. Their elaborate
reticulated enrichments were easily executed in it, and the example
set by them was, of course, more likely to be followed by Spaniards
than that of the nearest French brick building district in the region
of Toulouse. The brick towers are often very picturesque; several are
to be seen at Toledo, others at Saragossa, and, perhaps the most
graceful of all, in the old city of Tarazona in Aragon, where the
proportions are extremely lofty, the face of the walls everywhere
adorned with sunk panels, arcading, or ornamental brickwork, and at
the base there is a bold battered slope which gives a great air of
strength and stability to the whole. On the whole, it must be
concluded that the medieval architecture of Spain from the 12th
century is of less interest than that of most other countries, because
its development was hardly ever a national one. The architects were
imported at one time from France, at another from the Low Countries,
and they brought with them all their own local fashions, and carried
them into execution in the strictest manner; and it was not till the
end of the 14th century, and even then only in Catalonia, that any
buildings which could be called really Spanish in their character were
erected. (R. P. S.)
ROMANESQUE AND GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN ENGLAND
_Pre-Conquest._--The history of English architecture before the Norman
Conquest is still only imperfectly known. Its parentage is triple:
Roman, Celtic and Teutonic. To the first belongs the general building
tradition of the Romanized West, and the influence of the mission of
Augustine at the end of the 6th century, and of such men as Wilfrid in
the 7th. The Celtic element is due to the Scottish (Irish) church, which
never gained much hold on the south of England, while the Teutonic
influence shows itself in the later developments, which are allied to
the early buildings of kindred peoples in Germany. Fragments of existing
early churches have been attributed to the time of the Roman occupation,
but all are doubtful, with the exception of the remains of what is
believed to have been a Christian church excavated at Silchester in
1892. This was a basilica of ordinary form, comprising an apse with
western orientation, nave and aisles, transepts of slight projection,
and narthex. Augustine's cathedral church of Canterbury, which he had
learned was originally constructed by the labours of Roman believers
(Bede), was also a basilica with western apse; its eastern apse and
_confessio_ beneath were probably a later addition. Remains of early
churches are found on several sites where churches are recorded to have
been built during the missionary period. Of these, Reculver (c. 670) and
Brixworth (c. 680) have aisled naves and eastern apses. At Brixworth a
square bay intervenes between the apse and the nave. St Pancras,
Canterbury, of the time of Augustine, Rochester (604), and Lyminge
(founded 633), show unaisled naves of relatively wide proportion, with
eastern apses of stilted curve. In some of these churches there was a
triple arcade in front of the sanctuary, in place of the usual
"triumphal arch." The technique shows Roman influence, and Roman
materials are largely used. The existing crypts of Hexham and Ripon were
built by Wilfrid, c. 675. The description of Wilfrid's church at Hexham
gives the impression of an elaborate structure (_columnis variis et
porticibus multis suffultam_). Wilfrid also built at Hexham a church of
central plan, with projections (_porticus_) on the four sides, a type of
which no example has survived in England. Escomb (Durham) and parts of
Monkwearmouth and Jarrow, which are attributed to the same period, have
plans of an entirely different type--a relatively long and narrow nave,
with small square-ended chancel--a plan, usually attributed to Celtic
influence, which is most extensively represented in churches recognized
as Saxon.
The evolution of the characteristic features of pre-Conquest
architecture was slow, and was doubtless greatly hindered by the
invasions of the Northmen from the end of the 8th century onward, but
germs of the fully developed style are to be found in the earliest
buildings. The western tower, usually of tall and slender proportion,
was developed from the western porch found at St Pancras, Canterbury,
and Monkwearmouth; sometimes, as in the latter church, actually raised
over the older porch. The lateral chapels of St Pancras, which existed
also in the Saxon cathedral of Canterbury, were developed into a
transept, culminating in the cruciform plan with central tower. The
characteristic "long-and-short" work, which consists of tall upright
stones alternating with stones bedded flat bonding into the rubble
work of the wall, has its prototype in the western arch of the porch
of Monkwearmouth, and in the jambs of the chancel arch at Escomb.
Sometimes the flat stones are cut back on the face, so that the
plaster which covered the rubble extended up to the line of the
upright stones, thus giving the quoin the appearance of a narrow
pilaster. The repetition of these pilasters on the face of the walling
constitutes rib-work, and these ribs are frequently connected by
semicircular or so-called "triangular" arches, forming a land of rude
arcading (Earls Barton, Barton-on-Humber.) Windows in the earliest
Saxon work are generally wide in proportion, and splayed on the inside
only; in the later work they commonly have splays both on the inside
and outside. Doorways have square jambs, without splay or rebate;
sometimes the jambs of doorways and windows are inclined, as in early
buildings in Ireland. Imposts to doorways, tower arches or chancel
arches are often square projecting blocks, sometimes chamfered on the
lower edge. The mid-wall shaft is a characteristic feature in the
belfry openings of Saxon towers; it supports an impost or
through-stone, of the full thickness of the wall, which receives the
semicircular arches over the openings. The method is analogous to that
commonly found in northern Italy and the Rhineland. Sometimes the
mid-wall shaft is a baluster, turned in a lathe. In some of the later
belfry openings, a capital intervenes between the mid-wall shaft and
the impost. The dating of buildings of this style is at present a
matter of considerable difficulty, but certain points, such as the
development of the cruciform plan, are useful for comparison. A fully
developed cross church was built at Romsey in 969, having also a
single axial western tower, and this seems to have been the normal
type of a large church in the later years of the style. Cruciform
plans, not yet fully developed, are found at Deerhurst, Breamore and
St Mary in the castle at Dover, and fully developed at Norton (Durham)
and Stow (Lincolnshire). The most advanced detail which occurs in
pre-Conquest buildings is the recessing of arches in orders. But for
the Conquest, English architecture might have developed somewhat on
the lines of contemporary work in Germany. It must be remembered,
however, that, although the Norman Conquest marks the beginning of a
new epoch in English architecture, the Norman manner had already been
introduced into England under Edward the Confessor, as is proved by
the considerable remains of that king's work at Westminster Abbey.
The succeeding periods of English architecture have been divided into
so-called "styles" or "periods," though it should be recognized that all
such hard and fast divisions are purely artificial, and that, apart from
the objection that they exaggerate the importance of mere details, they
tend to obscure the fact that the history of Gothic architecture is a
history of continuous development. The following classifications, those
of Thomas Rickman and Edmund Sharpe, are in most general use for the
present by such students as are not content with a nomenclature based on
simple chronology:--
Rickman. Sharpe.
1066-1189 Norman. 1066-1145 Norman.
1145-1190 Transitional.
1189-1307 Early English. 1190-1245 Lancet.
1245-1315 Geometrical.
1307-1377 Decorated. 1315-1360 Curvilinear.
1377-1546 Perpendicular. 1360-1550 Rectilinear.
_Norman Conquest to c. 1150._--At the time of the Conquest of England,
the Norman school was already one of the most advanced Romanesque
schools of western Europe. Its marked individuality and logical
character are clearly expressed in the abbey churches of Jumieges and St
Etienne and Sainte-Trinite at Caen, and it quickly supplanted the less
advanced Romanesque manner of the conquered English. As soon as the
conqueror had made himself master in his new kingdom, cathedral and
abbey churches were rebuilt on a scale hitherto unknown either in
Normandy or England. As the effect of the Norman Conquest was to
incorporate the church in England more closely with western Christendom,
so its effect on architecture was to bring it into line with the best
continental achievement of its time. The immense energy of the Norman
bishops and abbots gave such a stimulus to architecture that by the
close of the 11th century, England, rather than Normandy, had become the
real _foyer_ of the Norman school.
The plans of the larger churches show greater development in the
length of choir, transept and nave than was usual in Normandy. Many
follow the type of choir plan generally represented in the
contemporary churches of Normandy which have survived--a central apse,
flanked by an apse terminating each aisle, but the two bays usual in
the Norman churches frequently became four in England. The Confessor's
church of Westminster seems to have had an ambulatory with radiating
chapels, a plan which, although rare in the surviving churches of
Normandy, was adopted in several of the more important English
churches (St Augustine's, Canterbury; Winchester; Worcester;
Gloucester; Bury St Edmunds; Norwich; Tewkesbury). Some of these have
great vaulted crypts extending under the choir and its aisles. The
transept, generally of considerable length, has one or more apsidal
chapels on the east side of each arm, or an eastern aisle, or even (as
at Winchester and Ely) both eastern and western aisles. The
lantern-tower over the crossing was a characteristic feature in
England, as in Normandy. Frequently the nave was of great length,
extending to twelve bays at Winchester, thirteen at Ely, and fourteen
at Norwich. Some churches, as Ely, Bury St Edmunds, and later
Peterborough (Plate VIII., fig. 81), show a western transept, with
corresponding development of the west front. Two western towers are
most usual, but Ely (Plate II., fig. 67), and originally Winchester,
had the single western tower, a survival from pre-Conquest times,
which is found also in numberless parish churches. In their general
design, the Norman churches show great skill in composition, and in
the logical expression of structure, and sure grasp of the problems to
be solved. The subordination of arches (arches built in rings, or
orders, recessed one within the other) was carried further than in
other Romanesque schools, and with this went the subordination of the
pier, planned with a shaft to receive each order of the semicircular
arch. Sometimes the shafted piers of the great arcades alternate with
cylindrical (or later with octagonal) pillars; sometimes, as at
Gloucester and Tewkesbury, all the pillars are cylindrical. The
triforium usually has a single wide semicircular arched opening,
enclosing two or more minor semicircular arches springing from
detached shafts. Usually the aisle wall is carried up to form a
complete triforium storey, unvaulted, and lighted by windows in the
outer wall. The clerestory has a single window in each bay, with a
wall passage between the window and an internal arcade, usually of
three semicircular arches on shafts, the central arch being wider than
the side arches. Most frequently naves and transepts were unvaulted,
and finished with wood ceilings, while the aisles were covered with
groined vaults of rubble, on transverse arches. The general design of
the greater churches indicates, however, that the Norman builders were
aiming at a completely vaulted structure. The half-barrel vault over
the triforium of Gloucester, and the transverse arches over the
triforium of Chichester, seem to be constructed to afford the
necessary abutment to vaults over the choir, such indeed as still
exist over some choirs in Normandy built before the end of the 11th
century. The problem was only successfully solved by the introduction
of the diagonal rib, which completed the structural membering of the
vault. Durham, begun in 1093 (fig. 42), is the earliest example in
England of this important innovation, and it precedes by some quarter
of a century the earliest ribbed vaults of the Ile-de-France. The
abutting arches under the roof of its triforium are actually
rudimentary flying-buttresses, and we have here all the essential
elements of Gothic architecture, except the pointed arch, which is
only systematically used in English vaulted construction from about
the middle of the 12th century. The decorative forms of the earlier
buildings of the Norman school are severely simple. Arches, which at
first were usually unmoulded, soon received effective mouldings of
rolls and hollows, continuing a tradition of the latest pre-Conquest
architecture. Two types of capitals are found in the earlier buildings
after the Conquest; the volute capital, descended from the Corinthian,
which was the normal type in Normandy; and the cubic or cushion
capital, formed by the penetration of a segment of a sphere, or
segments of cones, with a cube, a type which, appearing earlier in
England than in Normandy, was doubtless derived from pre-Conquest
models, and in the 12th century developed into the scalloped capital.
The decoration of wall-surfaces by arcades, frequently of intersecting
semicircular arches, is characteristic of the Norman school. Windows
are splayed in the interior, and in the more important buildings are
enriched with shafts and moulded arches. Ornamentation is frequently
concentrated on the doorways, which are often of many orders, with a
shaft under each order. Based chiefly on geometric forms, such as the
chevron or zigzag, star, fret and cable, the decoration becomes richer
and more refined as the 12th century advances, though in sculpture the
Norman was less advanced than some other Romanesque schools.
[Illustration: FIG. 42.--Plan of Durham Cathedral.
From Rickman's _Styles of Architecture_, by permission of Parker &
Co.]
The foregoing generalization applies more particularly to the greater
churches, but numberless parish churches present similar
characteristics. Chancels are sometimes apsidal, but by far the most
prevalent type of plan is the aisleless oblong nave and square-ended
chancel, with or without a western tower. Other types of aisleless
plans are the cruciform church with central tower, or simply nave and
chancel with central tower. Even where subsequent alterations and
rebuildings have destroyed almost everything, the influence of these
plans on the later work is the key to a right understanding of the
history of the greater number of English medieval churches.
_12th Century (second half)._--The second half of the 12th century is
the period of transition _par excellence_--of transition from Romanesque
to Gothic. The school of the Ile-de-France, which up to c. 1120 was one
of the most backward of the Romanesque schools, had made enormous
progress when the ambulatory of Suger's church of Saint-Denis was built
(1140-1144), and thenceforth it continued to lead the way. There is no
doubt that, from the middle of the 12th century, English architecture
was continuously influenced by the Ile-de-France, for the most part
through Normandy, but it must be considered to be a development on
parallel lines, with strongly marked characteristics of its own, and not
merely as an importation of forms already developed elsewhere. At the
same time, the influence of the Cistercian revival was considerable, not
so much in the introduction of foreign forms as in the direction of
simplicity and severity, which acted as a valuable check to the
prevalent tendency to exaggerate the importance of surface decoration.
The substitution of the square east-end for the apse in the plans of
the greater churches, already effected at Romsey, was furthered by the
simple plans of the Cistercian churches. The altar spaces provided by
the radiating chapels of the French chevet were in England obtained by
returning the aisles across the square east-end of the choir, or by an
eastern transept. The latter occurs first here in "the glorious choir
of Conrad" of the beginning of the 12th century at Canterbury which
affords also the first example of the eastward extension of the choir
which became so characteristic a feature of English planning. The
reconstruction of Conrad's choir after the fire of 1174 led to a
further extension eastward with the eastern chapel which was adopted
in many of the greater churches, either in the form of a lower
building, sometimes of three spans eastward of the east gable or of an
extension of the choir itself to its full height. The work of William
of Sens at Canterbury (1175-1178) was naturally more French in
character than other contemporary works in England, but the work of
his successor, William the Englishman (1179-1184) shows the beginnings
of what became the characteristically English manner of the 13th
century.
The second half of the 12th century was a period of rapid development
of architectural forms in the direction of increased elegance and
refinement. The pointed arch employed at first for the arches of
construction entirely superseded the semicircular arch in doorways,
windows and arcades by the end of the century and its adoption finally
solved the problem of vaulted construction. The abutting arches under
the triforium roofs of the earlier churches were developed into flying
buttresses above the roofs springing from buttresses of increased
projection and weighted by pinnacles. Mouldings became more graceful
and subtle in their profiles. Capitals reverted to the volute type,
transformed and refined. The massive Romanesque pier was gradually
developed into the lighter Gothic pier in which detached shafts were
extensively adopted. The use of Purbeck marble for these shafts must
be considered in relation to the painted decoration of the wall
surfaces which although now almost entirely lost was an important
factor in the internal effect.
_13th Century_ (_first half_).--The last decade of the 12th century
marks the achievement of a fully developed Gothic style, with strongly
marked national individuality. During the 13th century, English Gothic
follows the same general course of evolution as that of northern France,
but the parallelism is less close than in the preceding century.
St Hugh's choir at Lincoln (begun 1192) had indeed an apse, with
ambulatory and radiating chapels though its plan does not appear to have
been controlled by the vaulting as in the French chevets and what there
is of French influence seems to have come rather through Canterbury than
by a more direct route. This choir has the eastern transept which
characterizes several of the greater churches of the first half of the
13th century--Salisbury (fig 43), Beverley, Worcester, Rochester,
Southwell. The square eastern termination, the less ambitious height,
and the comparatively simple buttress-system combine to give the English
Gothic cathedral an air of greater repose than is found in the
magnificent triumphs of French Gothic art. In its structural system,
too, English Gothic retained something of the Romanesque treatment of
wall surface, the suppression of the wall and the concentration of the
masonry in the pier was never carried so far as in the complete Gothic
of France. The general tendency during the 13th century, as in the 12th,
was in the direction of increased lightness and elegance. The employment
of detached shafts and the extensive use of marble (generally Purbeck)
for these shafts is a distinguishing feature of the first half of the
century. The vaulting system is fully developed, the most usual form is
the simple quadripartite but the tendency to introduce additional ribs
(tiercerons) and ridge ribs already makes its appearance in the nave of
Lincoln and the presbytery of Ely (Plate VIII., fig. 82) to be yet
further developed in the second half of the century. Capitals are either
simply moulded an elaboration of the plain bell capitals of the latter
part of the 12th century, or finely sculptured, with conventional or
stiff leaved, foliage of the crocket type. The use of the circular
abacus begun in the preceding century entirely supersedes the square
abacus which was retained in France. Mouldings are profiled with great
refinement, the alternation of rounds and hollows producing effective
contrasts of light and shade, and the far more complicated profiles of
arch mouldings provide another feature which distinguishes English work
of this period from French. Windows of single pointed lights the so
called "lancet," though frequently by no means sharply pointed are the
prevalent type, grouped in pairs triplets &c. and arranged in tiers in
the large gables or sometimes with only a single group of tall lights,
like the "five sisters" of the north transept of York. Few works are
more admirably designed than some of the towers of this period. Probably
the greatest excellence ever attained in English art of the 13th century
was reached in the great Yorkshire abbeys, for purity of general design
excellence of construction, and beauty of detail, they are unsurpassed
by the work of any other period.
_13th Century_ (_second half_).--The grouping together of "lancet"
windows, the piercing of the wall above them with foiled circles, and
the combination of the whole under an enclosing arch, soon led to the
introduction of tracery, for which the design of earlier triforium
arcades had also afforded a suggestion.
[Illustration: FIG. 43--Plan of Salisbury Cathedral.]
Bar-tracery appears just before the middle of the 13th century, and
the great tracery window filling the whole width of a bay, or the
entire gable end, soon becomes a most characteristic feature. The
earlier tracery windows show only simple geometrical forms, foiled
arches to the heads of the lights and foiled circles above, of which
the abbey church and the chapter houses of Westminster and Salisbury
afford most beautiful examples. In some particulars, such as its
chevet plan and its comparatively great height, Westminster approaches
more nearly to the French type than other English churches of the 13th
century, but its details are characteristically English and of great
beauty. In the last quarter of the century, pointed trefoils or
quatrefoils are largely used in tracery, and the foliations frequently
form the lines of the tracery, without enclosing circles. Contemporary
with this change is the gradual absorption of the triforium into the
clerestory, of which Southwell and Pershore are precocious examples.
Contemporary also was the adoption of an excessively naturalistic type
of foliage. The art of masonry and stone cutting was rapidly
developed. The detached shaft, always structurally weak, was abandoned
for the pier with engaged shafts separated by mouldings. The mouldings
of arches become less deeply undercut, and the greater use of the
fillet tends to give a more liney effect. The whole practice of art
was growing more scholarly, perhaps but at the same time it was more
conscious, and the cleverness of the mason was almost as often
suggested as the noble character of his work.
_14th Century_ (_first half_).--The juxtaposition of the foliations
without enclosing circles in tracery windows produced curves of
contraflexure, which led insensibly to the complete substitution of
flowing lines for geometrical forms in tracery.
Flowing tracery makes its appearance in England about 1310, and lasts
some fifty years. Up to the end of the 13th century, window tracery
had developed in France and England on parallel lines though the
English work was always slightly behind France in point of date. All
this is changed with the adoption of flowing tracery in England its
development was purely national, and owed nothing to France. Indeed,
the French flamboyant only makes its appearance at the time when
flowing tracery was being abandoned in England. Not only window
traceries, but mouldings, carvings and other details are changed in
character. The ogee form is used in arches in wall arcades of great
beauty and elaboration, as in the Lady chapel at Ely, and in the
canopies of tombs, such as the magnificent Percy tomb at Beverley.
Niches and arcades are richly ornamented, and small decorative
buttresses are used in the jambs of doorways, windows and niches. The
moulded capital is still used, along with the capital with a
continuous convex band of wavy foliage. Many of the most beautiful
English towers and spires date from this period, the work of which is
perhaps seen at its best in the parish churches of south Lincolnshire.
_From Middle of 14th Century._--The over-elaboration of flowing tracery
inevitably led to a reaction. The beauty of the lines of the tracery had
controlled everything, and the resulting forms of the openings, which
presented serious difficulties for the glass painter, had been a
secondary consideration. Hence an endeavour to return to a simpler and
more dignified, if more mechanical, style of building. The splendid
exuberance of the earlier 14th century style gave way to the
introduction of vigorous, straight, vertical and horizontal lines.
The beginnings of the new manner are to be seen in the south transept
of Gloucester before 1337. After the great interruption of building
works caused by the Black Death of 1349 and its recurrence in
following years, the so-called "Perpendicular" style became general
all over the country. The preference for straight in place of flowing
lines became more and more developed. Doorways and arches were
enclosed within well-defined square outlines; walls were decorated by
panelling in rectangular divisions; vertical lines were emphasized by
the addition of pinnacles, and buttresses were used as mere
decorations, while horizontal lines were multiplied in string-courses,
parapets and window transoms. Capitals were frequently omitted, and
the mouldings of arches were continued down the piers. The use of the
depressed "four-centred" arch became common. Vaulting, which had
already been enriched by the multiplication of ribs, was further
complicated by cross-ribs (liernes), subdividing the simple spaces
naturally produced by the intersection of necessary ribs into panels;
these, again, were filled with tracery. The fan-vault was developed by
giving to all the ribs the same curvature; the outline of the fan is
bounded by a horizontal circular rib, and its effect is that of a
solid of revolution upon whose surface panels are sunk. The cloister
of Gloucester presents the earliest and perhaps the most beautiful
example. Finally, the builders displayed their mechanical skill by
introducing pendants, as in Henry VII.'s chapel at Westminster. This
latest period of English Gothic was a purely national development of
which it has been too much the fashion to speak disparagingly; for it
is futile to call such works as the nave of Winchester or the choir
and Lady-chapel of Gloucester "debased." Perhaps the worst that can be
said of this period is that there was too great a love of display, and
too much mechanical repetition, but it is none the less true that it
is to the 15th century that a very large number of English parish
churches owe their fine effect. East Anglia and Somersetshire possess
some of the choicest examples, and few things can be more beautiful
than the central towers of Gloucester and Canterbury, and the towers
of the Somersetshire churches. The open timber roofs, as, for
instance, those of the East Anglian churches, are superb, while many
of the churches of this period are still full of interesting furniture
and decoration. Finally, a word must be said of the wealth of
interesting examples of domestic architecture, which yet count among
the ornaments of the country.
After the middle of the 16th century the practice of Gothic
architecture virtually died out, though traces of its influence,
especially in rural districts, were hardly lost until the end of the
17th century. Good, sound, solid and simple forms, well constructed by
men who respected themselves and their work, and did not build only
for the passing hour, were still popular and general, so that the
vernacular architecture to a late period was often good and never
absolutely uninteresting.
_Scotland._--A few words will suffice for Scottish and Irish
architecture, since the development in these countries followed much
the same course of change as in England.
The earliest ecclesiastical structures which still survive in Scotland
follow the same general type as those of Ireland. The monastic
foundations of Queen Margaret and her sons introduced into Scotland
the Norman manner then universal in England. The best examples, such
as the nave of Dunfermline, which is an obvious inspiration from
Durham, Kelso of the later 12th century, and the parish churches of
Dalmeny and Leuchars, present the same characteristics as are found in
English churches of somewhat earlier dates than the buildings in
question, and some Romanesque forms survive to a later period than in
England. In the 13th century, too, the style of the Scottish churches
corresponds very closely with that of England, though the details are
generally simpler, and the structures are smaller. It is naturally
allied most closely with the north of England, where Cistercian
influence in the direction of simplicity and severity had been
exercised with the best results. The transept of Dryburgh, the choir
and crypt of Glasgow cathedral, the nave of Dunblane, the choir of
Brechin, and later Elgin cathedral, exhibit the style at its purest
and best. The disturbed condition of the country during the 14th
century was unfavourable to architecture, and when building revived at
the beginning of the 15th century its style became more national.
During the first half of the 15th century, it shows a certain
borrowing from English architecture of the flowing-tracery period.
Later, many features are borrowed both from England and France, and
architecture develops in picturesque and interesting fashion. Melrose
is one of the most characteristic, as it certainly is one of the most
charming of Scottish buildings; its earlier parts bear a close
resemblance to the earlier 14th-century work at York, while its later
parts show more similarity to English "Perpendicular" than is common
in Scotland. One of the most characteristic features of Scottish
architecture in the 15th century is the pointed barrel vault, which
directly supports the stone flagged roof. French influence is seen in
the employment of the polygonal apse for the termination of choirs,
and in some approaches to Flamboyant tracery. The details of the later
Gothic churches have but slight connexion either with France or
England, and show a curious revival of earlier motives. The
semicircular arch is in frequent use, and the "nail-head" and
"dog-tooth" ornament, as well as the use of detached shafts, are
revived. One of the most remarkable buildings of the 15th century in
Scotland is the collegiate church of Roslin, which has a pointed
barrel vault over its choir, with transverse barrel vaults over the
aisles, and is distinguished by the extreme richness of its
decoration.
The domestic remains in Scotland are full of picturesque beauty and
magnificence. They are a distinctly national class of buildings of
great solidity, and much was sacrificed by their builders to the
genius of the picturesque. They can only be classed with the latest
Gothic buildings of other countries, but the mode of design shown in
them lasted much later than the late Gothic style did in England. The
vast height to which their walls were carried, the picturesque use
made of circular towers, the freedom with which buildings were planned
at various angles of contact to each other, and the general simplicity
of the ordinary wall, are their most distinct characteristics.