BURGUNDY.
CONTENTS.
Church of St. Martin d’Ainay—Cathedral at Le-Puy-en-Velay—Abbeys of
Tournus and Cluny—Cathedral of Autun—Church of St. Menoux.
THE province of Burgundy was architecturally one of the most important
in France during the Middle Ages, but one the limits of which it is
difficult to define. This is partly owing to the extreme fluctuation of
the political power of the kingdom or dukedom, or whatever it might be,
but more to the presence of two distinct peoples within its limits, the
one or other of which gained the ascendancy at various intervals, and
according as each was in power the architectural boundaries of the
province appear to have changed. In Provence the Roman or Classical
element remained superior down to the time when Paris influenced that
province as it did all the rest of France; but this event did not take
place till very nearly the end of the Gothic period. In Burgundy, on the
other hand, the Classical and Barbarian streams flowed side by side—at
times hardly mingling their waters at all, but at others so amalgamated
as to be undistinguishable, while again in remote corners either style
is occasionally found to start up in almost perfect purity.
It would add very much to the clearness of what follows if we could tell
who the Burgundians were and whence they came: neither of which
questions appears as yet to have received a satisfactory solution. That
they differed in many respects from the other Barbarians who assisted in
overthrowing the Roman Empire will probably be admitted; but in the
present stage of ethnographic knowledge it may seem too daring to assert
that they had Turanian blood in their veins, and were Buddhists in
religion, or belonged to some cognate faith, before they settled on the
banks of the Saône or the Rhone. Yet if this were not so, it appears
impossible to account for the essentially monastic form which
characterised this province during the whole Gothic period.
From the time at least when St. Gall and Columban settled themselves at
Luxeuil till late in the Middle Ages, this country was the first and
principal seat of those great monastic establishments which had so
overwhelming an influence on the faith and forms of those times. We must
go either to India in the flourishing period of Buddhism, or to Thibet
in the present day, to find anything analogous to the monastic
establishments of the 11th century in this district. All these
monasteries have now passed away, and few have left even any remains to
attest their former greatness and magnificence. The great basilica of
Cluny, the noblest church of the 11th century, has been wholly removed
within the present century. Clairvaux was first rebuilt in the style of
the Renaissance, but has been finally swept away within the last few
years. Citeaux perished earlier, and little now remains to attest its
former greatness. Luxeuil is an obscure village. The destruction of the
church of St. Benigne, at Dijon, has already been referred to, and it
would be easy to swell the catalogue of similar consequences of the
great Revolution.
Tournus still remains, and at Vezelay fragments exist. Charlier,
Avallon, Autun, Langres, and Besançon, still possess in their cathedrals
and churches some noble remnants of Burgundian architecture. Besides
these, there are numerous parish churches and smaller edifices which
would easily enable us to make up a history of the style, were they
carefully examined and drawn. The architecture of Burgundy, however, has
not yet been examined with the attention it deserves, and it would
require long and patient personal investigation to elucidate its
peculiarities.
[Illustration: 598. Façade of St. Martin d’Ainay. (From a drawing by J.
B. Waring.) No scale.]
The church of St. Martin d’Ainay at Lyons is an early and beautiful
specimen of the style when used without any classical influence; yet
four Roman pillars support the intersection of the nave and transept.
Its western front (Woodcut No. 598) was erected probably in the 10th
century, and is decorated with colours and patterns which are
characteristic of the style. Nor does there seem any reason for doubting
but that the pointed arch of the entrance doorway belongs to the period
to which the church is assigned.
The cathedral of Le-Puy-en-Vélay is another example of the same
style.[343] The east end and the two first bays of the nave belong to
the 10th century. The church progressed westward at the rate of two bays
in a century till the last two were completed with the wonderful
cavernous porch under them about the year 1180. The whole length of the
church is 215 ft., and its width across the nave is a little over 80.
Externally its most remarkable feature is the façade of the south
transept, which is perhaps the richest and most elaborate specimen of
the Ainay style of decoration existing. On the north side is the
cloister, which is a singularly elegant specimen of the style, but very
classical in detail. The pillars are almost Corinthian in outline
(Woodcut No. 599), but the blunder the Romans made when using pillars
with arches has in this case been avoided. If reference is made to
Woodcuts 211 and 213, or to any others representing the classical form,
the difference will be at once perceived. In both instances the pillars
were used merely as ornaments, but with the Romans they were nothing but
useless additions, without even the pretence of utility. In this
cloister they support the arches, and are veritable parts of the
construction. It would be difficult to find any apter illustration of
Pugin’s famous antithesis than these examples of Roman and Burgundian
architecture—the one is constructed ornament, the other ornamented and
ornamental construction—and notwithstanding its rudeness, the Burgundian
example is far more pleasing than the Roman, and, if used with classical
details, this arrangement might now be introduced into any Italian
design with the most satisfactory effect.
[Illustration: 599. Cloister of Cathedral of Le-Puy-en-Vélay. (From a
Photograph.)]
The church of St. Bénigne at Dijon, mentioned above, was one of the
oldest in Burgundy, and was probably an excellent type of the style of
that country. But its total destruction and the insufficiency of the
plates published by Dom Plancher[344] preclude anything like a
satisfactory study of it. The abbey church of Tournus (Woodcut No. 600)
is perhaps nearly as old, its antiquity being manifested by the rudeness
both of its design and execution. The nave is separated from the aisles
by plain cylindrical columns without bases, the capitals of which are
united by circular arches at the height of the vaults of the aisle. From
the capitals rise dwarf columns supporting arches thrown across the
nave. From one of these arches to the other is thrown a transverse
tunnel-vault, which thus runs the cross way of the building; being, in
fact, a series of arches like those of a bridge extending the whole
length of the nave. This is, I believe, the only known instance of this
arrangement, and is interesting as contrasting with the longitudinal
tunnel-vaults so common both in this province and in the South.
[Illustration: 600. View of Interior of Abbey at Tournus. (From Taylor
and Nodier.)]
It is a curious instance of an experiment, the object of which was the
getting over those difficulties afterwards removed by the invention of
the intersecting vault. In the meantime this Tournus roof offered some
advantages well worthy of consideration. The first of these was that the
thrust of the vault was wholly longitudinal, so that only the supporting
arches of the transverse vaults required to be abutted. These being low
and in a well-defined direction were easily provided for. Another
advantage was, that it allowed of a large and well-defined clerestory,
which, as we have seen, was impossible with the longitudinal vaults. On
the other hand it might seem to be a fatal objection that the eye
instead of being conducted pleasingly along the vault was continually
interrupted by a series of cross barrel vaults; this objection, however,
is more theoretical than practical, for, owing to the abundant light
which enters through the clerestory windows (not suggested at all in the
woodcut), and the fact that from the west end looking down the nave the
barrel vaults are scarcely seen, the general effect is most pleasing,
and it is singular that so happy a solution of the problem, both
artistically and constructively, should not have been followed, or that
this should be an unique example. The columns in the apse are carried on
a podium 6 ft. high, similar to that found in the Holy Sepulchre, which
was built by the Crusaders, and constitute a pleasing variety to the
ordinary apsidal termination. A crypt of much earlier date exists under
the whole choir, and is specially interesting as showing in its vault
the rough centering on which it was apparently built.
[Illustration: 601. Plan of Abbey Church at Cluny. (From Lorain’s
‘Histoire de l’Abbaye.’) Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.]
In the nave of this church all the arches are circular; in the choir,
which dates early in the 11th century, if not before, and which is
perhaps older than the nave, the great transverse arches are slightly
pointed, and support at the intersection a dome (the pendentives of
which are formed of squinches carried on wall-shafts), which forms the
most beautiful feature in the church. Similar features are found in the
churches of le Puy-en-Vélay, St. Martin d’Ainay at Lyons and elsewhere.
The pride of Burgundy was the great abbey church of Cluny, which, with
its narthex or ante-church, measured 580 ft. in length, or considerably
more than any other church erected in France in any age. Its nave was
throughout 37 ft. 6 in. in width, and it had double side-aisles, making
the total internal width 120 ft., while the whole area covered by it was
upwards of 70,000 sq. ft. But colossal as these dimensions are, they
convey no adequate idea of its magnificence. The style throughout was
solid and grand, and it must have possessed a degree of massive
magnificence which we so frequently miss among the more elegant beauties
of subsequent erections.
The semi-dome of the chevet was supported by eight noble columns,
through which was seen in perspective a circle of five apsidal chapels.
Externally the roof was crowned by five larger and three smaller towers;
and the whole was carried up solidly to a height unrivalled among the
buildings of this age. What added to its interests was, that the church
at least was at the time of its destruction an almost unaltered specimen
of the architecture of the 11th and 12th centuries, having been
commenced in 1089 by St. Hugues, and dedicated in 1131. The narthex or
ante-chapel, though somewhat more modern, was probably completed within
the limits of the 12th century. These dates have been disputed, but
principally on account of the theories prevalent regarding the origin of
the pointed arch. This feature was used here, as it is found elsewhere,
in all the pier arches separating the nave from the aisles—the vaulting
of the aisles having probably been also pointed, while the great vault
of the church is a plain tunnel-vault with transverse ribs on its
surface. That of the narthex is a transverse vault of a later date, but
of singularly clumsy construction. Whether it had a clerestory or not,
is not quite clear from such drawings as we possess; but if not, it
undoubtedly had a double gallery throughout, the upper range of which,
if not both, served to admit light.
We should hardly be able to make out, from the representations we
possess, what the exact ordinance of this church was were it not that
some other contemporary churches in the same style still remain to us.
Among these, one of the most perfect is the cathedral at Autun, formerly
the chapel of the dukes of Burgundy, commenced about the year 1090, and
consecrated 1132. The arrangement of its nave is extremely similar to
that of Cluny, with these differences, that at Autun, the great vault is
slightly pointed, and attached to the piers of the nave are pilasters
instead of three-quarter columns. In the ante-church, however, at Cluny,
the same pilastered arrangement occurs. This is the characteristic of
the true Burgundian style, and so peculiar is it, and so classical, that
some antiquaries have not hesitated to consider it as a bad imitation of
Gothic forms belonging to the 15th or 16th centuries. In fact the fluted
columns or pilasters, their Corinthian capitals, and the whole
arrangements are so eminently classical, as almost to justify the doubt
in those who are not familiar with the history of the southern styles of
France. There can, however, be no doubt as to the age of these examples,
and as little as to the models from which they are copied; for in this
very city of Autun we have two Roman gateways (one of which is
represented in Woodcut No. 218), and there are others at Langres and
elsewhere, which, except in the pointed arch and other constructive
peculiarities, are almost identical with the style of these churches.
Whether from want of familiarity with this style, or from some other
cause, it certainly is not pleasing to our eyes, and we therefore turn
with pleasure to the ruder but more purpose-like inventions of the
purely Gothic architects of the same age.
[Illustration: 602. View in Aisle at Autun. (From Chapuy, ‘Cathédrales
Françaises.’)]
[Illustration: 603. View in Nave at Autun. (From Chapuy.)]
Among these the province affords no more beautiful specimen than the
nave of the church of Vezelay, which possesses all the originality of
the Norman combined with the elegance of the southern styles. In this
specimen the pier arches are wide and low, there is no triforium of any
sort, and the windows are small. The vault is formed by immense
transverse ribs, crossing from pier to pier, and forming square
compartments, each divided by plain intersecting arches, without ribs,
and rising considerably in the centre. This certainly is an improvement
on the vault at Cluny, though it cuts the roof too much up into
divisions. Perhaps its greatest defect is its want of height, being only
60 ft. in the centre, while the total width is 86 ft. from wall to wall.
But the details of the whole are so elegant as in a great measure to
redeem these faults.
[Illustration: 604. Section of Narthex at Vezelay. (From Didron’s
‘Annales Archéologiques.’)]
The narthex, or ante-church, resembles that at Cluny both in its
importance and in being somewhat more modern than the church itself. At
Vezelay (Woodcut No. 604) it dates from the beginning of the 12th
century, while the nave seems wholly to belong to the 11th. It is an
extremely instructive example of the progress of vaulting. It has the
bold transverse ribs, and the plain intersecting vaults, which are here
in accordance with the southern practice, abutted by the arches of the
galleries. In the walls of the galleries are windows large enough to
admit a considerable amount of light. But the vaults are here fast
losing their original purpose. The arch construction supports the solid
external roof over the side-aisles, but the central vault is covered by
a wooden roof, so that the stone vault has become a mere ceiling,
leaving only one easy step towards the completion of the plan of Gothic
roofing. This step was to collect the vaults of the side galleries into
a mass over each pier, and use them as flying buttresses, and to employ
wooden roofs everywhere, wholly independent of the vaults which they
covered.
Vezelay is one of the most beautiful of the remaining churches of its
age in Burgundy, notwithstanding that the choir, which is a chevet in
the early pointed style, like those in the northern province, rather
disturbs the harmony of the whole.
Among the remaining churches of this class, the cathedral at Besançon is
one of the few double-apse churches of France, and is, in plan at least,
very much more like those we find on the banks of the Rhine.
The cathedral at Vienne, mentioned above (p. 58), might, from some of
its details, particularly the form of the pier arches, be fairly classed
with this style, showing as it does the fluted pilasters and other
classical adjuncts found here. These peculiarities are common both to
this and the Provençal style, but the boundary between them is by no
means clearly defined.
[Illustration: 605. East End, St. Menoux. (From Allier, ‘L’ancien
Bourbonnais.’)]
On the northern border of the province we find the church of St. Menoux
(Woodcut No. 605), belonging certainly in many of its details to the
style we are now describing. This is most distinctly observable in the
exterior of the apse of the chevet, a feature which is seldom found
unaltered; here it is surrounded by a series of pilasters of rude
classical design, which give to it a peculiar local character.
Internally too, its chevet (Woodcut No. 606) is remarkably elegant,
though less Burgundian in style. It shows to what an extent the stilting
of round arches could be used to overcome the difficulty of combining
arches of different spans, but all requiring to be carried to the same
height. Like all the old churches of the province, it possesses a large
and important narthex, here the oldest part of the church, and a rude
and characteristic specimen of a style of architecture that can hardly
be later than the 10th century.
[Illustration: 606. Chevet, St. Menoux. (From Allier.)]
These few specimens must suffice to define a style which well deserves a
volume to itself, not only on account of its own architectural merit,
but from the enormous influence exercised both by the order itself and
by its monastic founders on the civilisation of Europe in the age to
which it belongs. During the 11th and 12th centuries Cluny was more
important to France than Paris. Its influence on the whole of Europe was
second only to that of Rome—civilising barbarians by its missionaries,
notwithstanding the feudal nobility, and in many ways counteracting the
ferocity of the times.