90 



KNOWLEDGE, 



[Apbil, 1903. 



On enteriug from the Grand Gate, the first impression 

 is one of vastuess, as all the wide and aerial expanse of 

 the vaults and the gorgeousness of the colonnades is at 

 once embraced from the door. But it is espociallj' from 

 the centre of the west gallery, seat of the empress, that 

 the view of the interior assnmes all its grandeur. The 

 amazed observer is at a loss as to what to admire most : 

 the extreme beauty of the marble decoration ; the harmony 

 of the lines ; the constantly receding surfaces of the 

 vaulting, which carry the supporting parts to remoter 

 backgrounds ; or the subordination of all this to 

 the crowning idea of symbolizing the heavens by the 

 central dome, where Christ was depicted ruling the 

 universe. 



An unpretending attempt at a restoration of the view 

 in question, giving a remote idea of the structure as first 

 devised by Anthemitis, will be found in Plate I., in the 

 February number of Knowledge. The polygonal 

 building shown in the foreground, to the left of that Plate, 

 and inspired by the fine " Capitello " of St. Mark's, 



KiG. 7. — Cover of a Q-ospel from St. Sophia. 



Venice, marks the month of the cistern extending under 

 the church The water in this well is reported to always 

 stand at the same level, some two yards under the tioor. 

 There is much to confirm the suspicion of Byzantios that 

 a priest used to stand here on Sundays, blessing the people 

 with holy water. Meantime the images of saints whose 

 name-day it was, ought also to have been daily exposed 

 somewhere in this part of the nave. 



Grand as the present lighting of the mosque is at night 

 time during the Rhamazan, it can scarcely stand comparison 

 to what it was before the Latin conquest of Constantinople. 



The Jewish rabbi, Benjamin of Tudela, who visited St. 

 Sophia towards 1171, after asserting that "there is no 

 temple in the universe possessing so many riches as this 

 one," says : " In the middle of the church are columns of 

 gold and silver, and candelabra of the same metals in so 

 great numbers that it is impossible to count them."* It 

 was in three successive circles that the ])olycandela hung 

 over the nave. The majority of the lamps had the form of 

 the discs represented by Messrs. Lethaby and Swainson.f 

 and repeated by the writer in his restorations, while the 

 others were shaped into huge crosses. J Two series of 

 openings, pierced circlewise in the vault, mark the 

 suspension of the inner circles, while the larger circumfer- 

 ence, almost 100 feet wide, hung from a multitude of 

 metal hooks, which one can still see projecting from the 

 cornice of the dome. 



We are informed by Agathias that the original design 

 of the lateral arches was different from what is now seen. 

 However, the obscure text of the historian had led astray 

 many a writer, so that great credit is due to Messrs. 

 Lethaby and Swainson for having been the first to put 

 meaning to it, and for showing what must have been the 

 original appearance of the north and south walls of the 

 nave.§ The writer considers the conclusions of these two 

 authors on this point, as well as on the primitive design of 

 the row of niches over the central colonnades of the 

 galleries, to constitute two very important truths added to 

 our knowledge of the church. He thought, therefore, that 

 the best way of doing full justice and honour to Messrs. 

 Lethaby and Swainson was to utilize their discovery in his 

 restoration, and to cheerfully acknowledge the fact in this 

 description of his Plate of the interior, published in the 

 February number of Knowledge. 



Theophanes tells us that the original dome was flatter 

 by 20 feet than the present one, and Zonaras increases this 

 to 25. To render these data intelligible, the investigator 

 should consider the probable requirements with which the 

 architect must have been confronted. These seem to have 

 been : — 



(a) The desire of having an "aerial" dome, i.e., borne 

 on pendentives, but not constituting their continuation ; 



(b) The advantage of a cornice at its base for the lamp- 

 lighter ; 



(c) The placing the centre of the dome's curvature at 

 the height of some important architectural feature of 

 the design ; and 



(d) The necessity of giving the total altitude of the 

 church a round number of Byzantine feet. 



A continuous pendentive cupola is most unlikely, as it 

 would be some 29 feet flatter than the present one — a 

 value which historical data contradict — and also for the 

 reason that it could not satisfy (a) and {b) of the pre- 

 ceding reqiurements. Of the two historians mentioned, 

 Theophanes is the more trustworthy. It will be seen that 

 Zonaras makes the height of the building 156 feet ; but, 

 though his dome becomes parallel to the spherical surface 

 generated by the i)endentives, the fact that the cornice is 

 rendered impossible is a grave objection to the veracity 

 of his value. On the contrary, the dome of Theophanes 

 fills all the above conditions : it rests on the pendentives, 

 wthout forming their continuation ; it leaves room for the 

 lamplighter ; has its centre at the level of the culminating 



* Voi/age de Rabbi Benjamin, FiU de Joiia de Tiidele, transl. 

 by Baratier, Amsterdam, 1734, pp. 46-47. 



t .S-. So^fiia, p. 112, Fig. 16. 



X TEe splendid cross under the west dome of St. Mark's, Venice, is 

 of Greek workmanship, and, moat probably, comes from St. Sophia. 



§ S. Sophia, pp. 212-214. 



