RELIGION, EDUCATION, FINE ARTS. 



509 



spec ting the figures which are depicted upon 

 common china ware. Chinese roofs are con- 

 cave on the upper side, as if made of canvas 

 instead of wood. A Chinese portico is not un- 

 like the awnings spread over shop windows in 

 summer time. The veranda, sometimes copied 

 in dwelling houses, is a structure of this sort. 

 The Chinese towers and pagodas have concave 

 roofs, like awnings, projecting over their sev- 

 eral stories. Such structures are built with 

 wood or brick ; stone is seldom employed. 



The Saracenic, Moorish, and By- 

 zantine Styles. The Arabs, or Saracens, 

 as they are more usually called, and the Moors, 

 introduced into Spain certain forms of archi- 

 tecture which differed considerably from the 

 Grecian in appearance, though founded on its 

 remains in Asia and Africa. 



The chief peculiarity of this architecture j 

 was the form of the arch ; the Saracens are 

 understood to have made it of greater depth 

 than width, thus constituting more than half 

 a circle or ellipse, and therefore unphilosoph- 

 ical and comparatively insecure ; while the 

 Moorish style was principally distinguished 

 by arches in the form of a horseshoe or a 

 crescent. 



We associate with these styles another, 

 which arose at Constantinople, called the By- 

 zantine, likewise formed on the remains of 

 Grecian art, and partaking of a slightly East- 

 ern character. It became known in Western 

 Europe along with the Lombard, another de- 

 generate Grecian style, about the ninth and 

 tenth centuries. % 



Saxon Style. This style commenced at 

 the establishment of Christianity among the 

 Saxons in the sixth century, and is called 

 Saxon from its having prevailed during the 

 reigns of the Saxon and Norman kings in 

 England. 



Gothic or Pointed Style. The term 

 Gothic is a modern error, which, being now 

 impossible to correct, is suffered to remain as 

 the generally distinguishing appellation of the 

 kind of architecture possessing pointed arches. 

 This style originated in Germany about the 

 middle of the thirteenth century, and was 

 zealously pursued as the leading fashion for 

 ecclesiastical structures all over Europe. Ex- 

 ecuted by a class of skilled artisans, who wan- 

 dered from country to country, the finest 

 specimens of the pointed style are the cathe- 

 drals of Strasburg, Cologne, and Antwerp, 

 and the splendid abbeys of Melrose and West- 

 minster. 



In this fanciful and picturesque style of 

 architecture, the slender columns, always 

 united in groups, rise to a lofty height, re- 

 sembling the giants of the grove, in whose 



dark shade the ancient Teuton used to build 

 his altar. In the obscure depth of the dome, 

 the mind is awakened to solemn devotional 

 feelings. 



When the circular arch totally disappeared 

 in 1220, the early English style commenced. 

 The windows of this style were at first very 

 narrow in comparison with their height ; they 

 were called lancet shaped, and were considered 

 very elegant ; two or three were frequently 

 seen together, connected by dripstones. In a 

 short time, however, the windows became 

 wider, and divisions and ornaments were in- 

 troduced. Sometimes the same window was 

 divided into several lights, and frequently 

 finished at the top by a light in the form of a 

 lozenge, circle, trefoil, or other ornament. 



About the year 1300, the architecture be- 

 came more ornamental, and from this circum- 

 stance received the name of the decorated 

 English style, which is considered the most 

 beautiful for ecclesiastical buildings. 



The transition from the decorated to the 

 florid, or perpendicular, style was very grad- 

 ual. Ornament after ornament was added, till 

 simplicity disappeared beneath the extravagant 

 additions; and about the year 1380 the archi- 

 tecture became so overloaded and profuse that 

 it obtained the title of florid, which by some 

 persons is called the perpendicular, because 

 the lines of division run in upright or perpen- 

 dicular lines from top to bottom, which is not 

 the case in any other style. 



Norman, Tudor, and Modern Gothic. 

 Throughout England may be seen many 

 aged castles, some still in a state of good 

 preservation, but the greater number in ruins, 

 and occupying, with their picturesque remains, 

 the summit of a rising ground or rocky preci- 

 pice. These castles are of a style which pre- 

 vailed during the feudal ages in Europe, and 

 was brought to England by the Normans, 

 who erected them as fastnesses, into which 

 they might retire and oppress the country at 

 pleasure. 



The feudal castles in England, like those on 

 the Rhine, consisted for the most part of a 

 single strong tower, or keep, the walls of 

 which were from six to ten feet thick, and the 

 windows only holes of one or two feet square, 

 placed at irregular intervals. The several 

 floors were built on arches, and the roof was 

 flat or battlemented, with notches in the para- 

 pet, from which the inhabitants or retainers of 

 the chieftain might defend themselves with 

 instruments of war. The accommodations for 

 living were generally mean, and what would 

 now be called uncomfortable. Around or in 

 front of the main tower there was usually a 

 courtyard, protected by a high wall, and the 



