AUVERGNE.
CONTENTS.
Church at Issoire—Clermont—Fortified Church at Royat.
THE last of the Southern provinces which requires to be distinguished is
that of Auvergne, one of the most beautiful as well as one of the most
complete of the round Gothic styles of France. The country in which it
is found is as distinctly marked out as the style, for no naturalist can
cross the frontier of the territory without at once being struck by the
strange character of its scenery. It is a purely volcanic country, to
which the recently extinguished craters impart a character not found in
any other province of France. Whether its inhabitants are of a different
race from their neighbours has not yet been investigated. At all events,
they retain their original characteristics less changed than any other
people inhabiting the South of France. Their style of architecture is
distinct, and early reached a degree of perfection which no other in
France had then attained; it has, moreover, a greater resemblance than
we have hitherto found in France to the Lombard and Rhenish styles of
architecture. The other styles of Southern France—whatever their
beauties may be—certainly never reached that degree of independent
completeness which enables us to class that of Auvergne among the
perfected styles of Europe.
[Illustration: 592. Church at Issoire. (From Mallay.) Scale 100 ft. to 1
in.]
In the department of Puy de Dome there are at least four churches of the
typical form of this style, which have been edited by M. Mallay—those of
Issoire, of N. D. du Port at Clermont, of Orcival, and of St. Nectaire—
which only differ from one another in size, and in the arrangement of
their apsidal chapels. That of Issoire has a square central chapel
inserted, which is wanting at Clermont and Orcival, while St. Nectaire
has only three instead of four apsidal chapels.
The largest of these is that of Issoire, of which a plan is here given,
from which it will be seen that, though small, it is beautifully
arranged. The transepts are just sufficiently developed to give
expression to the exterior, and to separate the nave from the choir,
which are beautifully proportioned to one another.
[Illustration: 593. Elevation of Church at Issoire. (From Mallay.) Scale
50 ft. to 1 in.]
They all possess central towers, raised on a mass of masonry extending
to the whole width of the church, which gives them a breadth of base
found in no other style. The want of this is painfully felt in most of
our own central spires, all of which need something more to stand upon
than the central roof, out of which they seem to grow; but I do not know
that any attempt was ever made to remedy the difficulty anywhere but in
Auvergne. All these churches were intended to have western towers, the
massive foundations for which are found in every example, though there
does not appear to be a single instance in which these exist in a
complete state.
[Illustration: 594. Section of Church at Issoire, looking East. (From
Mallay.) Scale 50 ft. to 1 in.]
The side-aisles are always covered by intersecting vaults, but that of
the nave is invariably a simple tunnel-vault, as in the Southern styles,
ornamented by occasional transverse ribs, and which in the church at
Issoire is slightly pointed.
To support this great vault, a semi-vault is carried over the
side-aisles—as shown in the section—which forms a massive and perfect
abutment to the thrust of the great arch, besides, as before pointed
out, rendering the vault independent of a wooden covering, which, though
in some instances supplied, was certainly not originally intended. The
defect of this arrangement is of course evident, as compared with the
Northern styles, inasmuch as a clerestory was impossible, and the only
effective light that could be admitted was through the side-aisles.
These churches, however, have an approach to a clerestory not found in
that at Fontifroide, before quoted, in having a triforium or range of
arches opening into the gallery, which gave a lightness of character to
the superstructure, and admitted to a certain extent a borrowed light.
[Illustration: 595. Elevation of Chevet, Notre Dame du Port, Clermont.
(From Chapuy.) No scale.]
Externally, the projection of the buttresses is slight, and they are
connected by arches, struck from the same centres as the windows, above
which three small arches relieve and ornament the upper part of the
nave. The central arch of these is pierced with the small window which
lights the upper gallery. Above this is a cornice of more elegance and
of greater projection than is usually found in churches of this age.
The most beautiful and most admired feature of the style is the
arrangement of the chapels of the chevet externally.
In the view given above of St. Sernin, Toulouse (Woodcut No. 578), as in
almost all the churches of that style, it will be observed how awkwardly
these chapels are stuck on, as if they were afterthoughts, and
altogether foreign to the main lines of the building. Here, however, all
the parts are pleasingly subordinated one to the other, and the whole
are so grouped as to form a design equal, if not superior, to the
galleried apses of the German and Lombard churches. The place of these
galleries is here supplied by a mosaic decoration formed with the
different coloured lavas of the extinct volcanoes of the district, which
gives not only a pleasing local character to the style, but is
interesting as the only specimen of external polychromatic decoration
now to be found so far to the north. In effect, this is perhaps hardly
equal to the open galleries of the German churches; but the expense must
have been considerably less, and the variety of the outline of the
chevet arrangement, as compared with the simple apse, gives to these
churches some advantages over the contemporary buildings on the Rhine.
Indeed, as far as external decoration is concerned, it may be questioned
whether the French ever surpassed these; and had they been carried out
on the same scale as those of Amiens and Chartres, they would probably
be thought more beautiful. It is true the flying buttresses and
pinnacles of the pointed style enabled the architects to introduce far
larger windows and gorgeous decorations of painted glass, and so to
improve the internal effect of their churches to an immense extent; but
this was done at the sacrifice of much external simplicity of outline
and propriety of effect, which we cannot but lament could not be
reconciled with the requisite internal arrangements.
[Illustration: 596. Plan of Chevet, Notre Dame du Port, Clermont. (From
Chapuy.) No scale.]
The age of these churches is not very well ascertained. M. Mallay is
inclined to place them principally in the 10th century, though the
pointed form of the vault at Issoire induces him to bring that down to
the 12th century; but we have seen enough to know that such a pointed
form, on the contrary, is more likely to be ancient than the rounded
one, which requires better construction, although in that age it was
thought more beautiful. My own impression is, that they belong generally
to the 11th century, though some were no doubt commenced in the 10th,
and probably continued to the 12th; but their uniformity of style is
such, that not more than one century could have elapsed between the
first and the last. Only one circular church, so far as I know, is found
in the district. It is a sepulchral chapel in the cemetery at Chambon,
small in size, being only 26 ft. wide over all, but elegant in its
proportions, and showing the same style of decoration as the apses of
the larger churches.
[Illustration: 597. Fortified Church at Royat. (From Gailhabaud.)]
Among the exceptional churches of this district, one of the most
interesting is that of Royat, illustrated in Woodcut No. 597, being a
specimen of a fortified church, such as are sometimes, though not
frequently, found in France. That at Maguelonne, quoted above (p. 57),
is another, and there are several others in the South of France; but
none probably either so complete or showing so many castellated features
as this. In its ruined state we lose the western, or possibly the
central tower, which might have somewhat restored its ecclesiastical
character; but even as it is, it is a singularly picturesque and
expressive building, though it speaks more of war and bloodshed than of
peace and goodwill to all men.