RHEINGAU 



RHENISH ARCHITECTURE 685 



interest from its having been the scene in 496 of 

 the baptism of Clovis and his chief officers by the 

 bishop, St Remy (c. 438-533). In the 8th century 

 it became an archbishopric, and from 1179, when 

 Philip Augustus was solemnly crowned here, it 

 became the place for the coronation of the kings of 

 France, who were anointed from a vessel of sacred 

 oil, called the Sainte AmpotUe, which a dove was 

 said to have carried to St Remy from heaven. 

 Joan of Arc brought the dauphin hither, and the 

 only sovereigns in the long series, down to 1825, 

 not crowned at Rheims were Henry IV., Napoleon 

 I., and Louis XVIII. In 1793 the cathedral was 

 attacked by the populace, and the sainte ampoule 

 smashed by a sans-culotte ; and in 1830 the cere- 

 mony of coronation at Rheims was abolished. 

 The cathedral, although the towers of the original 

 design are still unfinished, is one of the finest extant 

 specimens of Gothic architecture. It was built 

 between 1212 and 1430, and in 1877 the govern- 

 ment voted 80,000 towards restoration. Its nave 

 is 466 feet long by 99 in breadth, with a transept 

 of 160 feet, and the height is 144 feet. Its grandest 

 features are the west facade, which is almost un- 

 rivalled, with its magnificent doorway (figured in 

 Vol. IV. p. 59), and the so-called Angel Tower, 

 which rises 59 feet above the lofty roof. The 

 stained glass is remarkable for its beauty ; the 

 organ is one of the finest in France ; and two sur- 

 vive out of six magnificent tapestries. The Roman- 

 esque church of St Remy (mainly 1160-80), with 

 the saint's shrine, is nearly of equal size, but of 

 less architectural pretension. Also noteworthy 

 are the h6te! de-ville (1627-1880); the ancient 

 ' Maison des Musiciens ' and arch [episcopal palace ; 

 the Porta Mart is, a Roman triumphal arch ; the 

 Lycee, representing a former university ( 1547- 

 1793) ; and statues of Louis XV. and two natives, 

 Colbert and Marshal Drouet. Rheims is one of 

 the principal entrepots for the wines of Champagne 

 (q.v.), ana the hills which surround 

 the town are planted with vine- 

 yards. It is one of the great centres 

 of the woollen manufacture in 

 France, and its manufactures, em- 

 bracing woollen goods (especially 

 merinoes), mixed fabrics in silk and 

 wool, &c., are known in commerce 

 as Articles de Reims. Pop. (1872) 

 71,397; (1891) 101,699. See the 

 article DoUAY ; and Justinus, 

 Rheims, la mile des sacres ( 1860). 



KIlHimail, a district, 14 miles 

 long, stretching along the right bank 

 of the Rhine, from opposite Mainz 

 to the village of Lorch, 8 miles 

 below Bingen, formerly belonged to 

 the archbishopric of Mainz, and now 

 forms part of the administrative 

 district of Wiesbaden in Prussia. 

 Protected by mountains from the 

 north and east winds, and exposed 

 to the mid-day sun, the Rhemgau 

 produces wines of the best quality, 

 as Johannisberger, Riideslieimer, 

 Marcobrunner, Assmarisliatiser, &c. 



Rhenish Architecture, the 



style of the countries bordering on 

 the Rhine when the arts first revived 

 after the fall of the Roman empire. 

 They and Lombardy being at the 

 time of Charlemagne part of the 

 same empire, Lombard Architecture (q.v.) has con- 

 siderable affinity with those north of the Alps. 

 Some very early examples of this style are still 

 to be found in Switzerland. Architecture received 

 gr?at encouragement from Charlemagne and his 



successors, and the Rhenish style made great pro- 

 gress up to the beginning of the 13th century, 

 when the fashion of copying the Gothic architec- 

 ture of France superseded it. It is, however, 

 a well-marked style, and is 

 complete and perfect in 

 itself. Like the Lombard 

 style, it is round-arched, 

 and has some remarkable 

 peculiarities. Many of the 

 earliest churches seem to 

 have been circular (like 

 the cathedral at Aix-la- 

 Chapelle, built by Charle- 

 magne), but in course of 

 time the circular church 

 was absorbed into the 

 Basilica, or rectangular 

 church (see ROMANESQUE 

 ARCHITECTURE), in the 

 form of a western apse. 

 Most German churches 

 thus have two apses an 

 eastern and a western. 

 They also have a number 

 of small circular or octa- 

 gonal towers, which seem 

 to be similar in origin to 

 the Round Towers of Ire- 

 land. They exemplify in 

 a remarkable manner the 

 arrangements of an ancient Fig. 1. Plan of Church 

 plan of the 9th century, at Laach. 



found in the monastery of 



St Gall, and supposed to have been sent to the 

 abbot, as a design for a perfect monastery, to aid 

 him in carrying out his new buildings. The arcaded 

 galleries at the eaves, and the richly -carved capitals, 

 are among the most beautiful features of the style. 

 Examples are very numerous from about 1000 to 



Fig. 2. Elevation of Church at Laach. 



1200 A.D. The three great specimens of the style 

 are the cathedrals of Mainz, Worms, and Spires. 

 The last is a magnificent building, 435 feet long by 

 125 feet wide, with a nave 45 feet wide, and 105 

 feet high. It is grand and simple, and one of tlui 



