98 ENGLISH PLEASURE GARDENS 



The last The last of the castle gardens retaining a mediaeval 



of the 



mediaeval character were those surrounding the great French 

 chateaux. The difference between them and the new 

 order of arrangement arising from the Renaissance was, 

 that each section was more or less isolated, and treated 

 as sufficient unto itself, instead of being connected with 

 a series of enclosures all symmetrically disposed about 

 the castle. But the approaching transition is apparent 

 in the increasing symmetry of the plan as a whole. 



In " Les Plus Beaux Bastiments de France," written 

 and illustrated with many views and plans, Androuet 

 du Cerceau gives an excellent idea of these gardens 

 as they appeared when upon the point of being 

 superseded by the forerunners of Le Notre. Accord- 

 ing to his testimony there were, especially at Blois, 

 "quantities of large and fine gardens, differing from 

 each other. Some having large alleys surrounding 

 them, others covered with carpentry, others with nut 

 trees, others with vines trained over them." 



Gaiiion. Gaillon, constructed under Louis XII for the 



Cardinal d'Amboise, is perhaps the most interesting 

 of these gardens, as can be seen from the illustration. 

 Near the dwelling were two fine gardens separated by 

 a terrace, adjoining "a gallery of sufficiently good 

 arrangement in the antique style, which looks out 

 over the valley." One of these gardens was finished 

 with " another fine and pleasing gallery worthy of being 



