Architecture Part 5

The general appearance of the interior of a Gothic cathedral, with its long perspective of nave, aisles, and choir, its finely proportioned triforia and clerestories, and, above all, its graceful arches leading up to their points of union in the soaring roof, may justly be called a poem in stone, whilst its exterior is equally remarkable for the close correlation of all its parts, producing an impression of consistent unity of design. An added charm is given alike to the interior and exterior by the combined richness and quaintness of the decorative sculpture, in which is clearly ill.u.s.trated the delight in symbolism of the mediaeval craftsmen, who, working in close accord with architect and builder, supplemented effigies of heroes and heroines of the faith, royal patrons, &c., with emblematic animals, fruit, flowers, and foliage, welding the most incongruous forms into an elaborate and beautiful scheme of ornamentation.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Gargoyle]

It was in Northern France that the Gothic style was first developed, and there, as elsewhere, it pa.s.sed through three phases. The first, characterised by comparative severity of style and simplicity of decoration, prevailing in the 12th and 13th centuries; the second, to which the name of Rayonnant is sometimes given, on account of the ray-like window tracery, in the 14th; and the third, known as the Flamboyant, because of the flame-like tracery and general brightness of the ornamentation, in the 15th century.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Flying b.u.t.tress]

A hint of the coming change was, as has already been shown, given in many a Romanesque building, notably, to quote but two cases in point, in the Cathedral of Evreux, and the Church of S. Etienne, Beauvais, but it was in the Cathedral of S. Denis, near Paris, founded in 1140, that the full significance of that change was revealed. It retains, it is true, round-headed arches above some of its windows and a few projecting decorative mouldings, but in other respects it is essentially Gothic, its double aisles foreshadowing those of the later Notre Dame of Paris, which may justly be said to be an epitome of the development of the pointed style in France. Specially dear to the French nation on account of its intimate a.s.sociation with many thrilling episodes of its history, it remains, in spite of all the vicissitudes through which it has pa.s.sed, so far as its general structure is concerned, very much what it was when first completed in the late 13th century. The n.o.ble western facade, with its profuse and ornate ornamentation, and the fine square towers flanking it, each pierced with effective openings and adorned with grotesque gargoyles, contrast with the slender central spire--which, by the way, is modern--tiers of graceful flying b.u.t.tresses, and the numerous groups of pinnacles, whilst the long line of the great roof ridge brings into relief the comparative intricacy of the design of the rest of the building, especially of the extremities of the transepts with their fairy-like arcading, beautiful sculptures, and grand rose windows.

The most distinctive details of the interior of Notre Dame are the ma.s.sive piers and symmetrical arches of varying width of the nave, the simple but most effective vaulting of it, the double aisles and the choir; the shortness of the transepts, atoned for by the unusual length of the semicircular apse, with its circlet of chapels; the combination in the clerestory of pointed-headed and rose windows, and, above all, the exquisitely proportioned and s.p.a.cious triforium, which surmounts the whole of the double aisles and forms a circular gallery with arcaded openings, harmonising alike with those of the nave below and the clerestory above, and a stone vault of pointed intersecting arches springing from slender cl.u.s.tered columns.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Gothic Arcade]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Gothic Steeple]

Contemporaneous with Notre Dame is Laon Cathedral, the original and characteristic chevet of which was replaced in the early 13th century by a square termination, in imitation it is supposed of some English church, but which otherwise resembles the Cathedral of Paris, especially in its fine western facade and open vaulted triforium. In the Cathedral of Chartres, founded in the 12th century, but practically rebuilt in the 13th after its almost complete destruction by fire, the further progress of the style may be studied, its arches being more stilted and its nave and choir wider than those of its predecessors, whilst its closed-in triforium is significant of the ever increasing height of the roofs, necessitating the strengthening of the walls, a change that was, however, quickly succeeded and, to a great extent, neutralised by the piercing and filling in with gla.s.s of the wall behind the arcading.

Other characteristics of Chartres Cathedral are the n.o.ble sculptures of the west front, that are not only among the finest but the least injured in France, those of the south and north porches that are scarcely inferior, the dignified towers surmounted by beautiful and graceful spires of different but harmonious designs, and the double tier of flying b.u.t.tresses of the nave. The last named are moreover of unusual construction, each consisting of two parts, the upper strengthened by an arcade with round-headed arches, springing from ma.s.sive stunted piers, that seem to connect the advanced Gothic of the rest of the building, with the late Romanesque style.

The Cathedral of Rheims is another typical Gothic building with a western facade, the deeply recessed central portal of which is especially fine, resembling those of Notre Dame, Laon, and Chartres; a remarkably effective central tower that rises nearly sixty feet above the high-pitched roof; a well-developed chevet, a walled-in triforium similar to that of Chartres, a n.o.ble series of clerestory and several grand rose windows filled with very beautiful stained gla.s.s.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Gothic Cl.u.s.tered Column]

In the Cathedral of Amiens French Gothic architecture touched its highest point of excellence, before the over exaggeration of its distinctive peculiarities sounded the note of decadence. Begun in 1220, when all the structural problems of the pointed style had been finally solved, it was completed in 1272, and although it has more than once been seriously injured by fire, it has been so successfully restored that it still remains one of the n.o.blest churches of Europe, the one thing detracting from the solemn beauty of its general external appearance being the later Flamboyant spire, that is quite out of character with the rest of the building. Its great height and breadth; the symmetry of its proportions; the dignified simplicity of its vaulting, which in nave, aisles and transepts, chevet chapels and ambulatory is of similar design, the centre from which the ribs radiate being in every case so situated that these ribs are all of equal length; the grand sculptures and fine arcading of the great west front, the towers of which, though they differ in detail, harmonise well with each other; the exquisite statues and bas-reliefs of the transept portals; the combined strength and grace of the many flying b.u.t.tresses; the admirable system of lighting, windows occupying the whole of the s.p.a.ce between the main arcades of the nave and the roof; the beautiful and varied effects of perspective from many different points of view in the interior; with the minor detail of the marvellous carvings in the choir, justify the claim that Amiens Cathedral is the crowning glory of Gothic architecture and an ample vindication of its principles.

In the contemporaneous Beauvais Cathedral, that was intended to rival that of Amiens in its height and in the ethereal lightness of its stilted arches, a convincing proof was given of the danger of carrying those principles too far, for the vaulting of the choir collapsed before the completion of the building, which, though it was restored and added to later, still remains unfinished. With it may be mentioned the Sainte Chapelle of Paris, the window tracery in which is very fine; the Cathedral of Coutances, which has a very fine central lantern tower--that is to say, one with windows that throw a light upon the centre of the interior of a building--and a beautiful tapering spire; and the Cathedral of Lisieux, with a very characteristic chevet and vaulting resembling that of the Cathedral of Amiens.

The Cathedral of Le Mans, already referred to in connection with its n.o.ble Romanesque nave, has a most beautiful late 13th century Gothic choir, with one of the finest chevets in France. The aisles, that at the western end of the building are single, develop at the transepts into a double circlet, with chapels radiating from them, whilst the choir has exceptionally fine 13th and 14th century stained gla.s.s windows. The general effect of the interior, in which the solemn dignity of the nave contrasts with the almost ethereal beauty of the choir and its surroundings, is most impressive, whilst the exterior with its graceful flying b.u.t.tresses and pinnacles is equally fine.

The Cathedral of Bourges is another typical 13th century Gothic building which, though it is without the usual transepts, has a beautiful apse, the ambulatories of which have unusually wide s.p.a.ces between the columns, double aisles flanking the nave as well as the choir and chevet, producing a unique impression of vastness, whilst the exterior is equally effective with its five grand western portals, a long main roof unbroken by towers or spires, and a series of steeply pitched supplementary roofs above the chapels of the eastern end.

Dating from the same period as the cathedrals just noticed is the fortified Abbey of Mont St. Michel, that has been again and again rebuilt, and in which the gradual evolution of the Gothic style in France can be well studied, especially in the lovely chapel justly called the Merveille or the Marvel, that, with its cloisters, is still much what it was when finished in 1228, whilst the Chatelet or Gate-house, with its ma.s.sive round towers and the various abbatial buildings, such as the Salle des Hotes or Guest-Hall, are equally characteristic of French domestic architecture of the same period. On the other hand the Abbey Church, that crowns the mount, has been so much-restored and modified that little of the original structure remains, except the crypt which, with its ma.s.sive piers and arches and many supplementary chapels, is practically the same as that from which uprose the famous abbey, the building of which was a labour of love to so many successive abbots.

The Church of S. Pierre, Caen, which has a fine tower with a beautiful pierced spire, is a good example of the second period of the Gothic style in France, and at Rouen the Rayonnant and Flamboyant phases are exceptionally well ill.u.s.trated. The Abbey Church of S. Ouen was built entirely in the 14th century, and, with its characteristic high-pitched roofs over each bay of the aisles, its lofty towers--those at the west end with tapering spires--its delicately sculptured portals, double tiers of flying b.u.t.tresses, triple division of arcades, triforium, and clerestory in the nave, the number and beauty of its stained gla.s.s windows, its graceful cl.u.s.tered piers, that rise without a break from the ground to the springing of the vault, and its beautiful chevet, with its circlet of eleven chapels, is an epitome of all the most characteristic features of Gothic architecture.

The Church of St. Maclou in the same town is a fine gem of Flamboyant work, with its stilted arches, tapering spires and pinnacles, and lavish internal and external decoration, whilst in the Cathedral of Rouen can be recognised details of each of the three stages of French Gothic, combined with those of the later Renaissance. The western facade, lateral portals, towers, spires, and fine rose windows are typically Flamboyant, and the general view of the interior, with its long vista of nave and choir, its slightly pointed arcading, two tiers of which divide the nave from the aisles, and, above all, its simple but most effective vaulting, is essentially that of an early example of the pointed style, that of the Lady Chapel being especially effective.

Good secular examples of the Gothic style in France are the Palais de Justice and Hotel de Bourgtheroulde, both at Rouen, the Chateau of Coucy near Laon, the Hotel de Cluny, Paris, the Chateau de Pierrefonds in Normandy, and, most characteristic of all, the House of Jacques Coeur at Bourges. It was, however, in Belgium that Gothic munic.i.p.al and domestic architecture reached its n.o.blest development, the great halls of the towns being remarkable for their dignified and ma.s.sive appearance, and, except in the latest examples built after the decadence had set in, for the severe restraint of their ornamentation. Of rectangular plan, and several stories in height, with steeply pitched roofs, the gable ends adorned with many pinnacles, and the long sloping sides broken by dormer windows, contrasting with the rows of pointed-headed lights in the walls beneath, and lofty central tower of ornate design, these n.o.ble buildings, of which those at Ypres, Bruges, Brussels, Ghent, and Tournai are the best, are the chief pride of the cities to which they belong. They rival in the affections of the people even the cathedrals of contemporary date, although those of Antwerp, specially noteworthy for its seven aisles, Louvain, the nave and transepts of which, as already stated, are Romanesque, whilst the choir is a fine specimen of Early Gothic, Brussels, Ghent, Louvain, and Liege are all n.o.ble structures, resembling those of France in general plan, though most of them are shorter and of greater width.

In Spain, as in France, Gothic architecture pa.s.sed through three phases: the first, that prevailed in the second half of the 12th and the first of the 13th century, to a great extent the outcome of the Romanesque; the second that succeeded it and lasted until the beginning of the 15th century, distinguished by great dignity of structure and appropriateness of ornamentation; the last, that prevailed until nearly the middle of the 16th century, corresponding to a great extent with French Flamboyant, though it lasted longer and was considerably modified by Moorish influence.

To the first period of Gothic architecture in Spain belong the Cathedrals of Santiago de Compostella, of cruciform plan with a vaulted roof, semicircular headed arcades and windows, and an ornate western facade recalling that of Chartres; Zamora, Taragona, and the older of the two at Salamanca, the three last retaining the characteristic cimborio, or low dome, already referred to in connection with Romanesque work in Spain, rising from the intersection of nave and transepts, but of more complex structure than in earlier examples, the ribs of the vaulting being upheld by pendentives and the whole surmounted by a secondary dome of considerable height pierced with windows, and at Salamanca flanked by four circular towers. Unfortunately, in later Spanish ecclesiastical architecture this beautiful feature was abandoned, and the Cathedrals of Toledo, Leon, and Burgos are of the French type, with chevets, double aisles, cl.u.s.tered pillars upholding pointed arches, vaulted roofs, ornate decorative arcading, fine open triforia, and lofty clerestories. The exterior of that of Burgos is especially ornate, with three pinnacled towers, tapering open-traceried spires rising from those at the western end. In the 14th century the cruciform plan, which had so long prevailed, was replaced in Spain by one without either aisles or transepts; the b.u.t.tresses that had previously been introduced outside the building to resist the thrust of the vaulting, were brought within the walls so as to make the nave one vast vaulted hall, flanked by lateral chapels as in the fine Cathedral of Gerona and the Church of S. Maria del Pino at Barcelona. Later, however, this comparatively simple mode of structure was superseded by vast complicated buildings such as the Cathedral of Salamanca and that of Segovia, both dating from the 16th century, the vaulting of which is especially complicated, with very ornate ribs, whilst the towers closely resemble those of contemporaneous Moorish mosques.

The Gothic style, that was alike alien to the Italian temperament and unsuited to the Italian climate, never really took root in Italy, the soil of which was thoroughly impregnated with cla.s.sic traditions. The horizontal cornice, so characteristic of Greek and Early Roman architecture is of frequent occurrence, the round arch was long retained in combination with pointed highly-pitched roofs, and spires are rare, whilst the beautiful groined vaulting, the flying b.u.t.tresses, and the exquisite window-tracery, that lend so great a charm to the cathedrals and churches of France and England, are very seldom met with. There was no gradual evolution in Italy from Early to Late Gothic, and for this reason it is usual to treat Italian buildings in the pointed style in three geographical instead of chronological groups, namely, the northern, central, and southern. To the first belongs the Cathedral of Milan, the largest Gothic building in Italy, the exterior of which is somewhat spoiled by its over-decorated western facade, though the effect of the long rows of lateral pinnacles, the numerous flying b.u.t.tresses, the low conical dome and lofty spire is very fine. The interior, with its vast nave, double aisles, and complex apse, its lofty piers, with capitals consisting of life-sized figures in niches, and its n.o.ble clerestory, presents an appearance of grandeur unequalled by any other Gothic church in Italy. The Certosa or Carthusian Monastery, the facade of which is a century older than the rest of the building; the Churches of S. Maria del Carmine and S. Michele, both at Pavia, the latter with a very typical campanile; the Cathedral of Genoa; the Churches of S.

Anastasia and S. Zenone at Verona, are all good examples of Italian-Gothic, whilst amongst secular buildings in the same style in Northern Italy, the Ducal and other palaces at Venice, such as the so-called Ca' d'Ora are remarkable for the beauty of their proportions, the effectiveness of their window-grouping, and the general appropriateness and grace of their decorative details, especially of their balconies.

In Central Italy the Cathedrals of Florence and Siena are specially typical, the former, with its dome of considerably later date than the rest of the building, contrasting with the Campanile or Bell Tower named after Giotto, the latter being noteworthy for the combination of a dome with pointed arcading and horizontal cornices, and the a.s.sociation on the west front of rounded with stilted arches, the last a peculiarity also of the cathedral at Orvieto, the facade of which is one of the most beautiful in Italy.

The Gothic work of Southern Italy is far more florid than that of the rest of the peninsula, and this is equally true of that of Sicily. In the churches of both, as in the earlier Romanesque buildings already noticed, Saracenic, Greek, and Roman influences are alike noticeable, especially in those of Naples and the Cathedrals of Palermo, Monreale, and Messina, the three last named combining the pointed arch distinctive of Gothic, with the elaborate surface decoration so characteristic of the Norman style.

German architects did not adopt the pointed arch until considerably later than those of the south and west of Europe, but to atone for this they delighted in highly pitched roofs with stilted gables, and lofty towers, with pointed roofs and tapering spires. The exteriors of their buildings differ very greatly from the interiors, in which the round-headed windows and semicircular arches of the Romanesque style are retained, enriched, however, with beautiful and ornate carving. The term round-arched Gothic is therefore often applied to the earliest phase of the style in Germany, of which good examples are the Churches of the Holy Apostles, of S. Martin and S. Maria in Capitolo, all in Cologne, the Abbey Churches of Arnstein and Andernach and the Liebfrauenkirche at Treves, the last built on the foundations of a much earlier chapel.

The second phase of Gothic architecture in Germany, in which the pointed arch was subst.i.tuted for the semicircular, did not begin until the second half of the 13th century. To it belong the greater part of the Cathedral of Strasburg, which combines, with much beautiful Romanesque work, a typical Gothic facade with a fine open tracery spire, a companion to which was designed but never erected. The Cathedral of Freiburg, with a graceful and ornate spire, the Church of S. Stephen at Vienna, with aisles almost as lofty as the nave, portions of the Church of S. Sebald, Nuremberg, the decorative sculpture of which is remarkably fine, and, above all, the Cathedral of Cologne, the n.o.blest example of German Gothic, with an exceptionally symmetrical plan, which in spite of the fact that the building extended over more than a century, and that the west point was only completed in the 19th century, was not departed from, so that it remains a unique specimen of mediaeval design. It has a n.o.ble nave, double aisles, one of which is continued round the eastern apse and is divided into seven chapels, forming a picturesque chevet.

Ma.s.sive towers with a tapering central spire and many pinnacles flank the western entrance, elaborately decorated b.u.t.tresses break the long lines of the walls, and from the intersecting nave and transepts rises a slender but most effective spire.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plan of Cologne Cathedral]

To the third period of Gothic architecture in Germany belong Ulm Cathedral, which has a nave of exceptional height; the unfinished Church of S. Barbara at Kullenberg, with a very picturesque chevet, the exterior of which is most lavishly decorated, and a steeply pitched roof of unusual height, with soaring towers and pinnacles; S. Catherine at Oppenheim, the over ornate complex decorative carvings of which are specially typical; and the parish Church of Thaun, the western portal of which is remarkably fine.

With these ecclesiastical buildings may be named the town halls of Lubeck, Brunswick, Munster, and other German towns, which, though they are neither so beautiful or so characteristic as those of Belgium, are of n.o.ble and symmetrical proportions, whilst a word of recognition must also be given to the beautiful domestic architecture of Germany, especially that of Prague, Nuremberg, and Frankfort all rich in survivals of mediaeval times.

CHAPTER IX

GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN GREAT BRITAIN

[Ill.u.s.tration: Early English Lancet Window]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Early English Window]

Gothic architecture in England and Scotland followed to some extent the same lines as in France, with, however, certain notable differences that were the outcome of the national feeling which had begun to make itself felt as early as the close of the 11th century. Until then the Normans had remained a distinct and alien element in what appeared to them a foreign land, but now they had become fused with the natives of that land, sharing their aesthetic as well as their political aspirations. The note of change was first sounded in the architecture of the now united races in a rebellion against the heavy ma.s.siveness of the Norman style, and a desire for a greater redundancy of what may be called structural decoration in place of extraneous surface ornamentation. The general proportions of buildings gradually became slenderer, the walls loftier, the windows longer, the piers and columns slighter, and the arches more pointed, these peculiarities becoming more and more accentuated as time went on, till they culminated in the n.o.ble and exquisitely beautiful cathedrals and churches that vied even with the best of those of Northern France.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Early English Capital]

It is usual to divide the development of English Gothic architecture into three periods: the Early English, the Decorated, and the Perpendicular--the first prevailing from about 1189 to 1307, the second from the latter date to 1380, and the third from 1380 to 1485, whilst the name of Tudor has been given to the transitional time between the last phase of Gothic and the introduction of the Renaissance style, lasting from 1485 to about 1546. It must, however, be added that hardly any buildings exist belonging entirely to one period, architects having in almost every case been compelled to be content with adding to or modifying the work of their predecessors.

Amongst the characteristics of Early English architecture are groined vaulting with main diagonal ribs only, long narrow lancet-headed windows, cl.u.s.tered piers with capitals consisting generally of delicately carved foliage, pointed arcading, the archivolt or arched portion enriched with mouldings, in which the ornament known as the dog-tooth is of frequent occurrence, ornate yet dignified western facades with deeply recessed doorways decorated with slender columns and beautiful bas-reliefs, high-pitched roofs with stilted gable ends, lofty towers and spires, and plain b.u.t.tresses ranged in pairs at the angles of buildings.

The Early English lancet window has a unique significance in the development of Gothic architecture this side of the Channel, for it inaugurated an important structural change, its constantly increasing length aiding greatly in the breaking up of the triple division of walls--supposed by some to have been emblematic of the Holy Trinity--with arcading, triforium, and clerestory. By slow degrees the triforium was first reduced to a mere decorative feature, and then eliminated altogether, whilst the clerestory usurped its place in addition to its own.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Early English Capital]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Early English Capital]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Base of Early English Pillar]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Capitals of Early English Cl.u.s.tered Pillar]

In Decorated buildings the windows are larger and divided into a greater number of lights than in Early English, the heads being filled with tracery of geometrical design; the facades are more complicated and at the same time less effective, the towers and spires are loftier and supplemented by many pinnacles and finials, flying b.u.t.tresses are multiplied; parapets with pierced openings, canopied niches containing figures and other purely decorative features give to the exteriors a great richness of general appearance. In the interiors the simple Early English vaulting is superseded by roofs divided into a great number of different compartments, the points of intersection being marked by stone bosses or ma.s.ses of carving, whilst increased lavishness of decoration characterises every portion of the building, mouldings of a great variety, amongst which the ballflower is of frequent occurrence, being introduced wherever possible.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Early English Ornaments]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Early English Ornaments]

In Perpendicular Gothic, as its name implies, the vertical tendency became ever more and more marked; towers, spires, and pinnacles became more and more numerous, all decreasing in bulk and increasing in height.

Turrets with many airy finials, springing from flying b.u.t.tresses that were adorned with figures of lions, dragons, and other symbolic creatures, rise above equally ornate parapets, the dignified single-centred arch was replaced by a four-centred form, and rectilinear lines superseded the beautifully flowing tracery of earlier windows. It was, however, the complex and exquisitely delicate groined roofing that chiefly characterised the Perpendicular style, lending to the interior of the buildings in which it was employed an ethereal charm that has never been surpa.s.sed. In the so-called fan-tracery roof, that was the culmination of this distinctive form of vaulting, the entire surface of the roof is covered with radiating ribs resembling the sections of an outspread fan, connected by bands of trefoil or quatrefoil ornament known as cusping, and, in some cases--notably in that of Henry VII's chapel at Westminster--with pendant stalact.i.te ornaments drooping from the point of intersection of the groins. In some Perpendicular buildings, as in the Churches of S. Stephen and S. Peter's Mancroft at Norwich, ornate open timber roofs, enriched with beautiful carving, take the place of those of stone, and in the final or Tudor phase of the style such roofs, to which the name of hammer beam has been given, and of which those of Wolsey's Great Hall at Hampton Court and of Westminster Hall are good examples, were almost as elaborate as the fan-tracery variety. Characteristic features of secular Tudor buildings are the extensive use of panelling, the bow or projecting window rising direct from the ground, the oriel window or window supported by a corbel of stone often finely carved, battlements with open tracery work and richly decorated gables, fine specimens of all of which are to be seen at Hampton Court Palace.