CIVIL ARCHITECTURE. 



515 



Three eras 

 f architec- 

 ture. 



Earlier ex- 

 amples 

 f pointed 

 arches than 



oldest ornaments in France. 2d, Lower church, beneath 

 the chape! <.f St Denis, is part of the fabric by Pepin 

 a:--l Ch :! -.uugne. 3d, The pointed arch. The chapels 

 of !.r,e Chcvt and western front, are the work of Suger; 

 also the pavement and painted glass. In his time, the 

 columns were Lombard, but the pointed arch appears in 

 every part of his works, which were about the middle of 

 the 12th century, nnd are earlier examples than any to 

 be found in England, St Cross, near Winchester, built 

 in 1132 and 1136, being considered as too dubious to be 

 admitted as an instance. In England, the earliest mixed 

 style appeared in 1 1 54, under Henry 1 1. The first used in 

 vaults was begun by Roger of York in 1171 ; the ves- 

 tibule of the Temple church in 1184 ; the western tower 

 of Ely 1189 ; the choir of Canterbury 1175 and 1180; 

 and two western towers of Durham in 1233; the latter 

 being exactly in the style of Suger, at St Denis. 



The nave, choir, and transepts of St Denis, by Eudes 

 Clemont, and Mathieu de Vendosine, between the years 

 1231 and 1281, are equal to Amiens in magnificence and 

 delicacy. The bold elevation which distinguishes the edi- 

 ices of the French architects, is remarkable in thischurch, 

 the nave being 90 feet high, and only .'59 in width. The 

 workmanship of the buttresses and tracery, i superior to 

 Westminster. The upper range of windows fills up the 

 space between the great arches and the vaulting, and are 

 perfectly similar throughout ; they are each 4O feet high, 

 and each divided by four perpendicular mullions, termi- 

 nated in arches, which support three six foils or roses ; 

 the distance between each is three feet. These are su- 

 perior to any thing at that time in England. The French 

 had introduced the pointed arch before the middle of the 

 12th, and constructed broad magnificent windows be- 

 fore the middle of the 13th century. This fine structure 

 had fallen into decay in 1802: the vaultings had tumbled 

 in, and the pavement was destroyed. 



The crosses erected in 1285, on the road between St 

 Denis and Paris, where Philip III. stopped with the re- 

 mains of his father Lo;- s, have also been all destroyed. 

 Queen Eleanor, on whose account Edward I. erected 

 crosses, did not die till 129G. 



The church of Notre Dame at Paris, was founded by 

 Childebert in 522, and became the cathedral of the dio- 

 cese of Paris. Fortunatus says, it anciently had 30 co- 

 lumns, it was destroyed by the Normans, and the pre- 

 sent church was founded by Robert the Pious in 1010. At 

 his death it was neglected. Maurice de Sully has the chief 

 merit of the present church. Pope Abu III. laid the 

 first stone ; and in 1181 the eastern part was consecra- 

 ted. Pierre de Nemours, who died 1220, finished the nave 

 and west front; the south was begun in 1257. The 

 building of the chapels continued the greater part of the 

 14th century ; so that the whole was completed in two 

 centuries. The exterior has an excess of ornament in 

 some parts, and a want of it in others. The buttresses are 

 thick, plain, and heavy. The interior is heavy, from a 

 mixture of styles. The body is divided into five aisles, 

 by four ranges of Lombard columns of gross propor- 

 tions. The Gothic work is without ornament or beauty ; 

 and its size alone produces effect. The eastern end is of a 

 triagoiial form, and very plain, and it h probably one of the 

 earliest Gothic structures in France. The west front is 

 a striking proof, that the French, at the end of the 12th 

 century, has added great richness to the Gothic, which 

 the English were at leat half a century afterwards in 

 producing. The three marigold windows, with their 

 painted glass, are the most magnificent to be met with 

 in any country. 



Rheims, the most celebrated cathedral in France, was 

 founded by Ebo in 818. Louis I. granted the walls and 

 gates of the city, and sent his own architect Rumalde to 

 carry on the work. The pediment over the entrance is 

 ornamented with statues of Louis I. Pope Stephen V. 

 and Ebo himself. Some additions were made by Arch- 

 bishop Hincmar, who dedicated it in 862, in presence of 

 the king. It was burnt on the 6th May 1210, the crypt 

 of Ebo only beingleft. In the same year the foundation of 

 a new one was laid, and the altar was dedicated 18th Oct. 

 1215. It was finished in 30 years, that is to say, the 

 body of the church ; for the ornaments of the grand fa- 

 gade were put up between that and the English war in 

 1295. The west front has long been the boast of France. 

 The diminishing or pyramidal form, is more suitable in 

 the Gothic than the square fronts of English cathedrals. 

 It has no mixture of designs ; it is rich and light ; all 

 that is massy is below, and every thing lightens as it as- 

 cends ; the architecture is preserved delicate and light, ai 

 a relief to the sculpture. The portal is particularly 

 magnificent. In this fine feature the English style is 

 very deficient ; even at York, Salisbury, Wells, Litch- 

 field, Westminster, King's College Chapel, &c. In 

 Rheims, the minute beauties are singularly fine ; the pin- 

 nacles are decorated, and finished with figures, flowers, 

 and crosses ; and the fleurs-de-lis spread along the roof, 

 as at Amiens and Abbeville, has a fine effect. The name 

 of the original architect is lost ; but Robert de Coucy 

 directed the work during the 13th century. He died 

 in 1311. 



The Abbey of Nicaise at Rheims, was founded by 

 Henry de Brainc, Archbishop of Rheims, in 1229. The 

 west end, portal, and front of the nave, were built under 

 Hugh Libergici, who died in 1263. Robert de Coucy 

 was employed to complete it. The transepts must have 

 been left in an unfinished state, also part of the cloisters. 

 These must have been the work that was carrying on from 

 1 322 to 1 328, after which nothing more is heard respect- 

 ing it. This edifice, though not large, is admired for its 

 proportions, lightness, and delicacy of execution, and for 

 its decided Gothic character. Its merits consist more of 

 perforation and relief, than sculptured ornaments. Like 

 Rheims and Amiens, its outline of front is pyramidal ; 

 the portal, though small, is prominent and bold, and the 

 rose window over it enriches the fagade ; the perforation 

 of the towers has a peculiar effect, the unadorned but- 

 tresses of which required relief. The whole is decorated 

 with double rows of slender columns on each tower, and 

 the fine arcades with which they are united. 



The windows and perforations of the work of Hugh 

 Libergici, performed in 1229, have the same width, and 

 mullions were used in England for the first time in West- 

 minster Abbey, but which were at this time unknown in 

 this country. Nicaise had western towers, of which, at 

 that period, there were no instances in England. Rose win- 

 dows were not equalled here for half a century afterwards. 

 Trefoils, arches in half relief, and opus reticulatum, were 

 then common to churches in both countries. 



With regard to the cathedral of Amiens, go remark- 

 able for beauty and lightness, the date is ascertained to 

 correspond nearly with that of Salisbury ; they were 

 both begun in the same year, and, in both, the same plan 

 was adhered to throughout : they are, therefore, fair 

 subjects of comparison. 



The former cathedrals of Amiens had been consumed 

 by fire. The present edifice was begun in 1220 by Bi- 

 shop Evrard, and is reported to have been finished under 

 Bertrand d'Abbeville in 1269, but it was not quite com- 



Hiltory, 



Descrip- 

 tion. 



Compari- 

 son with 

 English 

 edifices. 



Abbc-y of- 

 Nicaisc. 



Decrip- 

 tion. 



Compari- 

 son witli 

 English. 



Amiens. 



History. 



