mp^^m^;"-- ■■^, //.fAni Miuvh i.iSoti. hv J.Tavhr ffuth Hpfborti . AN HISTORICAL SURVEY OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL ANTIQUITIES OF FRANCE; WITH A VIEW TO ILLUSTRATE THE RISE AND PROGRESS or GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN EUROPE. BY THE LATE REV. G. D. WHITTINGTON. OF ST. John's college, Cambridge. LONDON: PRTNTED BY T. BENSLEY, BOLT COURT, FLEET STREET; FOR J. TAYLOR, AT THE ARCHITECTURAL LIBRARY, 59, HIGH HOLBORN. 1809. PREFACE. The following work is printed conformably to a desire ex- pressed by the Author at his death: and his friends, in the execution of this duty, have proceeded under the conviction that it is far too valuable to be withheld from the press. Not- withstanding this favourable opinion, they are sensible that to the faults which may be inherent in the work itself, must be added those which are inseparable from publications of a posthumous nature; many such may possibly be discovered, which in the eye of candour will admit of extenuation. The unfinished state, however, of the following pages, and the premature deatli of their Avriter, appear to render necessary some prefatory information concerning both; in order that the proposed plan and objects of the work may be more clearly understood, and the qualifications possessed by the author for such an undertaking duly appreciated. The History of the Ecclesiastical Architectui'e of France occupied, at intervals, the last four years of the author's life. The first project of such a work, originated in the course of an extensive journey made with me through France and Italy in the years 1802 and 1803, during which he examined with minute attention the chief remains of early christian buildings in those countries. His previous study and knowledge of b IV Gothic architecture enabled him to do this -with accuracy and effect: on his return to England in the summer of the last- mentioned year, he began to arrange and digest the materials Avhich he had collected, and the observations which he had made during his journey abroad. His design, in its first con- ception, Avas limited to a refutation, from the history of existing monuments, of an hypothesis maintained by several writers and supported by the Society of Antiquaries, that the style usually called Gothic, really originated in this island, and ought there- fore in future to receive the denomination of English architcc- ture. From the various and extensive information which he obtained in the course of his inquiries into this subject, it was thought more expedient so to change the plan of the work, as to make it comprise, in a history of the rise and progress of the style in France,a detailed account of the most remarkable Gothic edifices in that country, with the view likewise of illustrating its origin and first introduction into Europe. By this alte- ration, that which had formerly been the principal aim of the undertaking, became only incidental to its completion, and a more ample field was opened for a display of the industry and talents of the author. This more extended project was divided into three parts, of which two only are finished, and now published; the first containing a review of the early christian buildings, and a general history of ecclesiastical architecture in France; and the second, a particular description of the edifices themselves. In these detached portions of the work, however incomplete V they may be found, many new and interesting tacts will be presented to the followers of architectural studies, and much general knowledge of these subjecls will be obtained from their perusal. The religious structures of the first christians, with the changes attendant on the growing wealth and dignity of the hierarchy, arc, I believe, for the fiist time presented to the English reader. In the course of a luminous view of the rise and progress of the Gothic style in Fi-ance, many impor- tant dates are ascertained, and historical notices aflforded respecting artists and their works, little known before, but highly necessary to a due illustration of the science. A com- parison is instituted between the contemporary buildings of France and England, and their characteristic difterences are pointed out. The prior excellence of the French style is clearly shewn, and the hypothesis, which it was a main object of the essay to combat, is entirely disproved by the result. The third division, of which unfortunately nothing remains, would have comprehended, amongst other matter of less im- port, ' An Inquiry into the Origin of Gothic Architecture.' The absence of this part is the more peculiarly to be regretted, as it would have led to the discussion of topics incomparably more interesting; and amidst the various and contradictory speculations entertained on the subject, it would have furnished an occasion requisite for the full exercise of that knowledge and accuracy of judgment which the author possessed. Not- withstanding this loss, I am, however, enabled to add his opinion, transcribed from another place, and which, although VI sLimmavily given, entirely coincides willi that which has al- ways appeared to nie, to be the supposition most consonant with reason and probability. " In the twelfth century a new character of building suddenly appeared and spread itself over the greater part of Christendom. This has in latter times been called the Gothic style, out of a silly contempt, though it did not arise till long after the Goths were melted down and lost among the nations of Europe. It has not the most distant similarity either to Grecian or Roman architecture, and its origin has been the subject of much controversy. I am of opinion that it is of eastern extraction, and that it was imported by the Crusaders into the west. All eastern buildings as far back as they go (and we cannot tell how far,) have pointed arches and are in the same style; is it not fair to suppose that some of these are older than the twelfth century, or that the same style existed before that time? Is it at all probable that the dark ages of the west should have given a mode of architecture to the east.'' I conceive therefore that the Crusaders introduced the fashion of the pointed arch and the first ornaments of the style, which are few, and simple; but the richness it gathered in process of time, and the improvements and alterations we observe in it from its first rise in the twelfth, to its extinction in the fifteenth century, arc owing to the munificent encouragement of the church, and the vast abilities of the freemasons of the middle ages. These scientific persons have great claim to our ad- miration from the richness and fertility of their inventive Vll powers; bj them this eastern style Avas transplanted into the west, and under them it was so much altered and amplified, that it assumed almost an entirely new appearance, from which circumstance the confusion and uncertainty which pre- vails respecting its origin has for the most part arisen." Without entering at any length into the discussion of this subject, or still less examining the various hypotheses by which the primary invention of Gothic architecture has been ex- plained with more ingenuil}' than apparent truth, a few ob- servations tending to confirm the probability of the above statement respecting the mode of its introduction into the Avest, may perhaps be permitted. Those who imagine with many writers that the style re- ceived its origin in Europe from the observation of the inter- mingled branches of lofty avenues," the intersection of cir- cular arches, " or who think with Mr. Walpole " that it arose solely from Avhat Avas conceived to be an improvement in the corrupt specimens of Roman taste then exhibited, and Avas afterAvards gradually carried to perfection, all seem to err in this; their vicAvs are confined to the form of the arch: if any plausible reason can be assigned for such a peculiarity, the difficulty is supposed to be overcome and no farther inquiry- necessary. This howcA^er is not the case; the pointed arch is unquestionably one of the striking characteristics of Gothic architecture, but there are other component features equally indispensable to its formation. We may refer to the inherent * Warbuiton on Pope. *> Milner Hist, of Winchest. Vol. 2 "^ Anecdot, of Paint, c. v. Vlll ornaiiienls of the style, however few and simple they may be, but above all, to the lofty and slender proportions so generally observed in the erection of these edifices. That the species of building wliich we call Saxon, or Anglo- Norman, and of which this island possesses the most magnifi- cent examples, was in fact intended as an imitation of Roman architecture, cannot be doubted: it is sufficienll}' proved by a close resemblance both in ornament and design to the structures of the later Emperors, which resemblance is espe- cially to be remarked in works of this nature in Italy, where the models M'cre more obviously presented to the attention of the artists. If, therefore, we could discover in any one country a gra- dual alteration of this style, beginning with the form of the arch, and progressively extending to the whole of the ornaments and general design: after which, if we could trace the new fashion slowly making its way, and by degrees adopted by the other nations of Europe, the supposition of Mr. Walpole would be greatly confirmed. Nothing of this however is the case. We find the Gothic style, notwithstanding the richness and variety it afterwards assumed, appearing at once with all its distinctive marks and features: not among one people, but very nearly at the same period of time, received and practised throughout Christendom. How will it be possible to acount for this general and contemporary adoption of the style but by a supposition that the taste and knowledge of all on this subject were drawn from a common source: and where IX can we look for this source but to the east, which during the Crusades, attracted a portion of the population, and in a great degree occupied the attention of the different states of Europe?^ This result receives confirmation from the cir- cumstance of there being no specimen of Gothic architecture erected in the Avest before the period in question. Never- theless in the statement of this fact it is necessary to except the occurrence, however rare, of pointed arches the date of whose construction may perhaps be placed higher than the twelfth century. Such instances indeed are mentioned in the course of the following work, and the cause of their existence Avill be there satisfactorily explained. It maybe sufficienthere to observe, that no people versed in the science of architecture could long remain ignorant of the pointed form of the arch, the most simple and easy m construction, as it might be raised without a centre by the gradual projection of stones placed in horizontal courses, and whether produced by accident or necessity, we may reasonably expect to meet with it occa- sionally in their works. Accordingly it is proved from actual remains, that the antients were by no means unacquainted with this mode of building, although it was neglected by them in their general practice. The insulated appearance of an arch merely pointed, without the addition of any other cha- racteristic of the style, is not a better argument for the preva- ^ Sir Christopher \\^ren has in a great measure adopted this opinion, al- though he appears chiefly to ascribe the origin of the style to the Moors of Spain. Parental. lence of Gothic archilccturc, than if we should atlirm, from the Corinthian capitals which are sometimes to be found in the Gothic cathedrals, that these merited the appellation of classical structures. "It has been repeatedly asked in what part of the east we are able to discover buildings constructed in the style alluded to, and of a date anterior to the erection of those in the west? It is certainly not so easy to answer this demand as the pre- ceding observations would seem to Avarrant; at the same time, a little attention will explain the cause of hesitation, and 1 think lead us to a satisfactory conclusion. I. It is impossible that the scantiness of authentic re- cord of particulars relating to these subjects amongst oriental nations, should not be felt by all, and the difficulty of at- taining to a knowledge of such as may exist, by most of those who engage in this or any similar inquiry. II. It is to be remarked, that so frequent and destructive have been the wars and revolutions of the east, as but too often to entail the same fate on works of art and utility which attended the princes and chiefs of the states subverted. This must of necessity greatly diminish the number of architectural specimens, especially those of early date. III. We may observe, that the people of the east with whom we are best acquainted, sacrificed, in a considerable degree, their peculiar and less durable mode of building, to that which they found adopted and established by the Greeks. * Beniham's Hist, of Ely Cath. § 5. Grose's Antiquit. of England. Pief. XI Thus, after the conquest of Constantmople, every mosque was constructed in imitation of the church of Santa Sophia: and the massive pile of Justinian, with the addition of their own lofty and slender minarets, has served as a model in the exer- cise of the piety and magnificence of each succeeding Sultan. Before the conquest of the metropolis the sarne practice seems to have been prevalent; and in their previous acquisition of many cities of the empire, the Christian edifices vrere converted to the purposes of Mahommedan Avorship. — Notwithstanding the operation of these and other causes which contribute to form the chief impediment to the possession of full information respecting the early state of architecture in the east, there appear still to exist facts abundantly sufficient to render the notion here contended for highly probable in the eyes of those who are content to vicAv it without the medium of prejudice or established system-. If a line be drawn from the north of the Euxine, through Constantinople to ^gypt, we shall discover in every country to the eastward of this boundary frequent examples of the pointed arch, accompanied with the slender proportions of Gothic architecture. In Asia Minor, Syria, Arabia, Persia; from the neighbourhood of the Caspian, through the wilds of Tartary; in the various kingdoms, and throughout the whole extent of India, and even to the furthest limits of China : it is true, that we are unable for the most part to ascertain the precise dates of these buildings.; but this in reality is not very important, it being sufficient to slate the fact of their c Xll ■comparative antiquity: which joined to the vast diffusion of the style, appears adequate to justify our conclusion. Seeing then the universal prevalence of this mode in the east, which is satisfactorily accounted for by the extensive revolutions and conquests effected by eastern warriors in that part of th^ world, it can scarcely appear requisite to discuss the pro- bability of its having been introduced from the west, or still less, further to refute the notions of those who refer the origin of the style to the invention of English artists. Had it been adopted from the practice of the west, such a peculiarity of taste and knowledge must have been imparted by some gene- ral communication: this has only occurred at one period, during which no building of the species in question existed in Europe. The inhabitants of the west could not convey a knowledge which they did not possess; but as it became pretty general amongst them shortly after the epoch alluded to, it is reasonable to infer that they acquired it from those nations whom they are said to have instructed. On the whole, it is probable that the origin of the Gothic style, notwithstanding the occasional imitation of a corrupt and dco-raded species of Roman architecture, is sufficiently in- dicated by the lofty and slender proportions, by the minute parts, and the fantastic ornaments of Oriental taste. Havintr given a summary of the work, and pointed out the different objects embraced in its design, something yet remains to be added respecting the author. However strong may be the temptation to dwell on the execution of this part XI 11 of my duty, it cannot be desirable long to detain the reader by a recital of virtues unknown, and of talents unexercised in public; or to expatiate on the life of an individual, concerning whom no general interest has been excited by exalted station or distinguished actions. Private worth can but claim private acknowledgement; and after all, the testimony of a friend to such a character, will be regarded at least with suspicion. Yet it is not unfit that all who peruse the following pages in their present state, should be aware of the extent to which their writer was calculated to engage in such a pursuit, and to perform the task which he had prescribed to himself. The author of this Historical Smvey died on the 24th of July, 1807, at the age of twenty-six years. Educated at Eton, he there acquired a love of classical literature, and a distin- guished correctness of taste, which tempered his keen relish for all works of imagination. During a subsequent residence at Cambridge, without deeply engaging in the studies peculiar to the place, the advances which he made in different branches of learning were rapid and extensive. To the following work, therefore, he brought a cultivated mind, confirmed habits of industry, a most retentive memory, and a freedom from pre- judice and pre-established opinion all his own. Before the publication of this survey nothing has appeared with the sanction of his name, excepting only a prize essay on the in- ternal evidences of Christianity, written while an under gradu- ate at the University. This little composition is to be admired for that display of good sense, moderation, and liberality of sentiment, which seldom fails to confer on works of this de- scription the charm of truth. These productions may perhaps seem insufficient to justify what has already been said of the extent of his mental powers^ had his life, however, been spared, there is no doubt that his industry would shortly have enabled him to accomplish those literary undertakings of general interest and importance, which he had for some time meditated. To affirm generally that his talents and acquirements were equal to his virtues, would be to place them on a scale of ex- cellence, to which even party zeal and private friendship have scarcely ventured to raise those of any individual; the persons, however, who were best acquainted with the native modesty and candour of his mind, will be the best enabled to appreciate their variety and extent. Although his virtues might defy even the exaggerations of friendship, I shall proceed no further in their enumeration. For those who are alike indifferent as to the author or his character, too much may already have been said: and by all who knew both intimately, that which might here be added would probably be found insufficient to express a just sense of Lis excellence. Quo nunquatn pietas nisi rara, fidesque Altus amor vcii, et purum spirabat honestum. Respecting the fate of the following pages, I entertain no apprehension. The subject is not in itself very generally inte- resting, nor, from the accurate and detailed manner in which XV it is treated, can we reasonably expect that it sliould be ren- dered more popular: but to all who have made Gothic archi- tecture an object of attention and inquiry, this work cannot but prove acceptable, from the curious and authentic information which it contains, and from the manner in which it is afforded. From all such readers, notwithstanding the state in which it is unavoidably presented to the public, we may confidently anti- cipate an acknowledgement of its being highly creditable to the industry, the acuteness, and the candour of its Author. ABERDEEN. CONTENTS. PART I. CHAP. I. The Churches of ComtaiUine. Decay of the Roman Arts— Palace of Dioclesian — Form of the ancient Basilicae — Conjecture respecting the Church of S" Croce— The Introduction of Transepts — Shape and Distribution of the first Christian Churches— Degraded State of Archi- tecture p. 1 CHAP. n. The Churches of the Gauls. The Assemblies of the Christians — Churches of the third Century — Roman Churches of Constautine imitated — Remains of Paganism / CHAP. in. The Progress of Architecture from Ctovis to Charlemagne. The Form and Ornaments of Churcties — The Arts practised and encouraged by the Clergy — Names of several Architects Wooden Towers Stone Towers introduced 1 3 CHAP. IV. Progress of Architecture. From Charlemagne to Robert the Pious — Buildings at Aix-la Cliapelle — State of Architecture in Italy — Oiher Works of Charlemagne — Buildings of Louis le De- bonnaire — Incursions of the Normans — Distracted State of France — Expectation of the End of the World M CHAP. V. The Progress of Architecture from Robert the Pious to Philip Augustus. French Churches rebuilt and repaired — The Norman Churches — First Crusade- Introduction of the pointed Arch — ^Tlic Bridge of Avignon — Total Change of Style in Architecture • 37 CHAP. VI The Progress of Architecture from Philip Augustus to Louis XII. Flourishing State of the Art — Names of Architects — Churches of St. Louis- Bridges — Wars of the English in France — their Effects — Works of the Four- teenth Century — Alterations in Taste — Churches of the Fifteenth Century — The Alts in Italy — The Gothic Style entirely abandoned 51 68 PART XL CHAP. I. The Alihey Church of St. Germain des Prez. First Church founded in honour of tlie Relics of St. Vincent, in 557 — Description of it — Takes tlie Name of St. Germain — Pillaged and burnt by the Normans Rebuilt by Abbot Morard in 99O— New Cloister 1227 — Refectory and Virgin's Chapel by Pierre de Montereau, 1244— Repairs and alterations 1644 — Original Cliaracter and present State of the Building p. 6ft CHAP. II. The Abbvy of St. Genevieve. The Church founded by Clevis, and dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul— Subsequently dedicated to St. Genevieve — Rebuilt by Stephen of Tournay, in 1 1 77 — Descrip- tion of the Building CHAP. Ill, St. Dent/s. Foundation of the Cliurch by Dagobert — Its restoration by Stiger in 1140; repairs under Eudes Clement 1231, and Matthew de Vendosme in 1281 — Description of the Church, and first instance of the pointed Arch — Remarks on the comparative State of Gothic Architecture in France and England — Present Situation of the Church — The Crosses on the Road to St. Denis from Paris 95 CHAP. IV. The Cathedral of Notre Dame, at Paris. Founded by Childebert, in 522 — The present Building begun by Robert the Pious, A. D. 1010 — Continued under Maurice de Sully and the succeeding Abbots, and completed in the course of the fourteenth Century — Examination of the different Parts of the Building 1 15, CHAP. V. Rheims. Cathedral and Abbey Church of St. Nicaise. The Cathedral founded by Ebo, A. D. 618 — Burnt, A. D. 1210— Rebuilt and con- secrated in 1241— Survey of the Merits of the Building — Architect, Robert de Coney — Comparison of the Progress of Architecture in the two Countries, founded, on the Forms of the Windows, and Style of Sculpture — St. Nicaise supposed to have been founded in the fourth Century — Rebuilt in 1356, and again in 1229 — Methods used by the Monks to obtain Funds to answer the Expense of building — Description of the Church, its Lightness and Elegance characteristic of an advanced State of Architecture on comparison with the Cathedral of Notre Dame 121 CHAP. VI. Amiens. Amiens Cathedral — Its Dates — Comparison with the contemporary Cathedral of Salisbury— Description of the present State of the Building — Comparative Mea- surements 142 Editors' Note _ 171 Appendix 125 AN HISTORICAL SURVEY, &c. &c. CHAP. I. THE CHURCHES OF CONSTANTINE. Decay of the Roman Arts— Palace of Dioclesian— Form of the ancient Basilicae— Conjecture respecting the Church of S^^. Croce.— The Introduction of Transepts— Shape and Distribution of the first Christian Churclies— degraded State of Architecture. It has been remarked that the more we examine the edifices which remain of ancient Rome, and compare them with the testimonies of historians, the more we shall be confirmed in this general reflection, that the national taste followed the progress of national manners, and became successively grand, magnificent, gaudy, and barbarous.* A very little inquiry 'Barthelemy Mem. sur ies Anc. Monumens de Rome. Ap. Voy. en Itahe — No. IX. p. 349. 2 will render the truth of this observation sufficiently apparent. The flourishing a'ra of Roman architecture has been commonly allowed to extend from the accession of Augustus to the age of Hadrian and the Antonines; but in its progress during that j)eriod, the simplicity of its Grecian original was gradually cor- rupted by an increased love of ornament, and its decline im- mediately afterwards was still more visible and rapid. The palace of Dioclesian, at Spalatro, affords a striking proof of the debasement of the art at the end of the third century:^ indeed in many parts of that vast and cosll^^ structure arc to be dis- covered the first traces of that barbarous style of building which is now known to us by the names of Lombard and Saxon. The establishment of Christianity by Constantine, was fol- lowed by the foundation of churches in all the provinces of the empire, which occasioned a wide diffusion of the mode of architecture at that time prevalent at Rome; but we must lament that previous to this event, the taste as well as skill of the Romans, had undergone a further deterioration, and the disorders which produced this change still continuing to affect • Fortis Viaggio in Dalmazia, p. 40.— Gibbon Hist. I. xiii. ,i9l. *■ Appendix A. 3 society, we shall observe in the buildings of Italy, during the six succeeding centuries, increased marks of rudeness and ignorance. Constantine founded several churches at Rome, Byzantium, and in other places, but we are unable to refer to any perfect example of the manner of building practised in his reign, as most of them have been rebuilt, and the rest entirely altered. It is certain, however, from the descriptions of them, that they were constructed on the model of the Roman Basilicae,' which were particularly calculated to receive great crowds of people ; and it is probable that some of these buildings were devoted by him and his successors to the purposes of Christian worship." A conjecture has been entertained, from an accurate in- spection made towards the close of the seventeenth century, of the church of Santa Croce at Jerusalem, the only spe- cimen remaining -of the architecture of Constantine, that the Basilicae which that emperor erected for the Christians, like the buildings from which they were copied, were open at the sides.' ^ There were, according to Victor, nineteen Basilica; at Rome which were used as Courts of Justice and Exchanges of Merchants. " Appendix B. ' Appendix C. 4 The ancient walls of the church of S'*. Croce at that time consisted of two ranges of wide arches, one over the other, which at a subsequent period had been filled up with mate- rials different from the original structure.' Each of the aper- tures of the upper range, which sened as windows, were divided by a slender marble pillar into two smaller arches.'' It must be remarked that the descriptions of Constantine's churches represent them as being particularly light;' we know- also that the Basilicae, from which they were copied, had open porticoes on each side; it may not therefore be improbable that some of the first Christian churches had open arcades, and were similar to their models in this respect, as well as in shape. But if such an arrangement ever did exist, it did not long continue; the church of St. Paul without the Avails of Rome, was built in its present form under Valentinian, Theo- dosius, and Arcadius,"" at the end of the fourth century: it is • See Appendix D. '" Antea diximus guinas fenestras in singulis lateribus obtinere, latas palm. 20. altas 40. harum unica tamen hodie priscam retinet amplitudinem et a coliimna maimorea bifariam dividitur. Vet. Mon. cix. p. 76. a Roman Palm contains IOtV inches. * Eusebius. Hist. lib. x. c. 4. ^ See their Letter to Sallustius, prefect of Rome. Ciampiui de Sac. CEd. c. V p. 1 10. also Vet. mon. c. 1. p. 10 & cxxiv. 5 entirely enclosed with walls, the windows are small, and the disposition of the ground plan alone, (with the exception of the transept which was introduced at this period,') is borrowed from the ancient Basilicse, New churches were founded at Rome and Ravenna, and many of those erected by Constantine, rebuilt during the fifth century; they are all constructed on the same plan," and are equally remarkable for deficiency of taste and meanness of execution. The Senate of Rome had given the first example of plundering ancient monuments to adorn the arch which they erected in honour of Constantine;' the early Christians zea- lously pursued the same practice, and every where despoiled the temples and mausoleums of their ancestors. The edifices of Rome were considered as a vast and various mine, the me- tals were purified and re-cast, the marbles were hewn and polished:'' columns and ornaments were thus readily procured, but taste was wanted to arrange them : the art of sculpture fell into disuse, and was succeeded by a rude skill in mosaic work; and the science of architecture was reduced for several ages to ' Appendix E. '' Appendix F. ' Ciampini Vet. Mon. c. ii. p. 13. Gibbon, I. xiv. 430. " Gibbon, VI. Ixxi. 629. See also 631. 6 building walls, composed of incongruous heaps of ancient ma- terials, constructing heavy timber roofs, and forming arches without any regard either to symmetry or proportion. The first churches of the other Christian countries of Eu- rope were imitated from this debased Roman style; it is neces- sary therefore for us to understand in the first place the form and arrangement of the religious structures of Constantine and his successors of the fourth and fifth centuries, before we pursue our inquiry into the early history of the architecture of France. Several ancient fabrics still remain at Rome to illustrate this subject, amongst which St. Paul's may be selected as the best specimen of the mode of building, and St. Clement's of the in- ternal disposition of the first Christian churches.' » Ciampini \ et. Mon. c. i. 11. c. ii. 13. et seq. CHAP. II. THE CHURCHES OF THE GAULS. The Assemblies of the Christians— Churches of the third Century — Roman Churches of Constantine imitated — Remains of Paganism. The Christian religion appears to have been introduced into Gaul in the course of the second century,* about which time several small assemblies of Christians were established in the southern provinces, and Lyons even at that early period could rank among its bishops Irenaeus, the disciple of Polycarp, one of the most celebrated writers of his age; but the new faith had still to contend with the power of the state as well as the rudeness of the people, and it consequently made but a slow progress. In the third century seven bishops were sent from Rome to extend its influence in the districts of Tours, Orleans, Thoulouse, Narbonne, Paris, Limoges, and Auvergne;" yet, notwithstanding the success which is said to have attended their preaching, and the zeal of their disciples, we find that * Appendix G. •• Gregorii Episc. Turoii. Hist. France, I. 2S. 8 the churches or meetings of the Christians were chiefly held in the houses of the more opulent converts.* It should seem, liowever, that edifices were erected in some places expressly for the purposes of Christian worship, for we read that when Crocus, king of the Alamanni, made an irruption into Gaul about the middle of the third century, he destroyed at Auvergno, a church built with the utmost solidity, which was covered with a leaden roof, and ornamented internally with marbles, mosaics, and a marble pavement:^ but as this account is given by an historian who lived three centuries after its destruction, it may perhaps be justly suspected of exaggeration, and the description may have been rather taken from the manner of building which prevailed in his own time. It is probable, however, that the Christians had already begun to erect edifices expressl}'^ for ecclesiastical purposes;' and many of them are said to have been destroyed during the persecution of Dioclesian.'' The form of these structures cannot now be exactly ascertained; although inferior in extent and splendour, perhaps they were not much unlike in shape ' Appendix H. " Greg. Tur. Hist. Franc. I. SO. ' Appendix I. '' Appendix K. and arrangement to the religious buildings of the following century. Each is described as containing the church and a lodging for the " officiating priest. The conversion of Constantine in the fourth century produced a new aera in the religious edifices of the Christians. A church was erected by that emperor at Auvergne, in a stile of consi- derable magnificence;" and from this time the Gaulish churches were built after the plan which had already been adopted at Rome and in the rest of Italy, St. Martin of Tours, raised a church in that city in honour of St. Peter and Paul, and having destroyed the Pagan temples in several villages, he baptized the inhabitants and erected churches.' Briccius and Eusto- chius, his successors, were actuated by the same zeal, and built several in Tours and its neighbourhood;" but the Christians as yet were not very numerous nor opulent, and their churches appear to have been, in general, constructed on a small scale." * Domus Ecclesiae Greg. Tur. Hist. Franc. I. 39. and other places— ipsi sacerdoti in ipso, quod mode salutatorium dicitur, inansio erat II. 21. ^ Greg. Tur. de Gloria Martyrum I. 9. The columns of this church were pf a great size. « Greg. Tur. Hist. Franc. X. 31. ■' lb. ib. ' Briccius aediiicavit ecclesiatn ^arrw/aOT super corpus beati Martini, ib. ib. C 10 In the fifth century the Roman manner of buildmg seems to have been practised in Gaul with considerable splendour. Gregory of Tours relates that Perpetuus, Bishop of Tours, in the reign of Childeric, thinking the small church Avhich Bric- cius had erected over the tomb of St. Martin, unworthy of so distinguished a saint, rebuilt it in the form in which it re- mained in his time; his description of it therefore is curious and authentic. It was one hundred and fifty-five feet in length, sixty in breadth, and forty-five in height. In the whole edifice there were fifty-two windows, one hundred and twenty co- lumns, and eight doors, namely, three in the sanctuary, and five in the body of the church." The same prelate also rebuilt the church of St. Peter and Paul, in which he deposited the marble shrine which had formerly enclosed the relics of St. Martin, and which was greatly adniired for the beauty of its workmanship.'' He besides constructed several churches in the city and neighbourhood of Tours." Eufron/us, a priest of the same place, erected the church of St. Symphorien:'' and about this lime Namatius, bishop of Auvergne, seems to have rivalled, and even surpassed Perpetuus, by the magnificent » Greg. Tur. Hist. Franc. II. 14. " II..— ib. 'Ib.-X. 31. "Ib.-II. 15. 11 manner in which he rebuilt his cathedral. It was constructed in the form of a cross, with aisles ^ on each side, and termi- nated by a round apsis; the walls of the sanctuary were en- crusted with various marbles, and the whole church was per- fumed with aromatic odours/ His wife also founded a church in honour of St. Stephen, and is related to have sat Avith a book in her hand reading ancient histories to the painters while they were ornamenting its walls.'' Churches were very generally established in the villages of the southern districts of Gaul during the fifth century; and idolatry, which had till then retained its influence in many places, began finally to disappear." In the north Christianity made a slow and diflScult progress, and though some churches * Ascellae. * Greg. Tiir. Hist. Franc. It. l6. This church appears to have been con- structed entirely under the direction of the bishop. Ecclesiam suo studio fa- bricavit, is the expression of the historian, wViich is similar to the phrase oftea used by old English writers, to build by his counsaille. The fabric was one hundred and fifty feet long, sixty wide, and fifty high ; it contained forty-two windows, seventy columns, and eight doors. ' lb.— II. 17. ^ Many remains of Paganism existed in the south at the beginning of the fifth century. See a curious dissertation, sur le Cervulus & Vetula, by the Abbe Lebeuf. Kecueil, Tom. I. 282. 300. 12 had been founded before this period by the zeal and exertions of tlie propagators of the gospel, the remains of Paganism were not entirely extirpated from that part of the kingdom till se- veral centuries afterwards/ • Appendix L. 13 CHAP. III. THE PROGRESS OF ARCHITECTURE FROM CLOVIS TO CHARLEMAGNE. The Form and Ornaments of Churches — The Arts practised and encouraged by the Clergy — Names of several Architects — Wooden Towers— Stone Towers introduced. The invasion of the Franks in the sixth century was at first accompanied by the destruction of ecclesiastical buildings, but the triumph and baptism of Clovis established the cause of Christianity on a stronger foundation than before. Actuated by the ardent zeal of a new convert, and filled with gratitude for his successes, the French monarch founded several churches and monasteries; the chief of which were the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, (now St. Genevieve) without the walls of Paris, which was begun in 507; the church and abbey of St. Peter, (or St. Pere), at Chartres, and that of St. Mesmin, near Orleans: others also were constructed by his order, &c. during his reign. Upon the division of his empire after his death, Childebert, one of his sons and successors, built in the neighbourhood of Paris the church and abbey of St. Vincent, afterwards called 14 S'. Germain des Prez; and Clothaire I, the brother of Childe- bert, began the church of St. Medard, at Soissons/ which was finished by his son Sigibert." Hardly any remains of the build- ings of this age have reached our limes, though it has been conjectured that the ancient tower of S'. Germain des Prez, and that of St. Pere at Chartres, are part of the works which we have just mentioned. The monks of succeeding times, and even those who were contemporary, have been guilty of considerable exaggerations in their descriptions of the churches of this period; but though small in size, and barbarous in taste, they were frequently built with great solidity, and at a considerable expence : like the religious edifices of the preceding century, from which they were generally copied, they continued to exhibit, on a contracted scale, the form of the Roman churches of Constantine and his successors; their shape was oblong, with a semicircular ter- mination at the eastern extremity; and occasionally, but per- haps rarely, it assumed the figure of a cross; the roof was supported by internal porticoes of stone and marble columns, ' Recueil Hist, de la vie & des Ouvrages des plus celebres architectes par J. F. Felibien, liv. III. 144. '• Greg. Tur. Hist. Franc. IV. ]g. 15 and externally covered with lead, or, in some insiivnces, with gilt tiles/ The sanctuary and the coved ceiling of the apsis were encrusted with marbles and mosaic Avork, and a similar decoration was sometimes given to the western front. The walls were not unfrequently embellished, and the sculpture relieved by painting: the windows, which were often glazed, '' were narrow and round-headed, like those of the contemporary churches of Italy ; and the pediment of the western front was generally perforated with a circular aperture, a simple orna- ment, which was afterwards expanded into the beautiful rose windows, so much admired in the cathedrals of later times. It has been doubted " whether at this early period these were professed architects in France, and it must be confessed that the state of the country is not much in favour of such a sup- position: the inhabitants of the towns, as well as the peasants attached to the soil, when not engaged in the perpetual con- tests of their feudal masters, were consigned to the most menial employments, and deprived of the commonest rights of hu- • Appendix M. *> Gregory of Tours mentions some thieves having entered the church of St. Martin, by breaking the glass of one of the windows— effracta vltrea sunt in- gress!. Hist. Franc. VI. 10. ' Felibien, Arch. ill. 145. 16 nianity; the barons were uncivilized and ferocious; commerce had not yet begun to raise the lower orders in the scale of so- ciety, and the arts had made lillle progress among the higher ranks:'' ihe clergy were the depositaries of the feeble remains of knowledge, and the only persons capable of attending to pursuits which depended upon leisure and science; and it was chiefly through their exertions that the art of building was re- vived in France and the northern countries in Europe. The ancient writers often mention instances of an abbot giving a plan, which his convent assisted in carrying into exe- cution. In succeeding times the most difficult works in Mo- saic, carving, smelting, and painting, were frequently executed by ecclesiastics,'' and when we find the cloister the abode of the arts in later times, we may be certain that the more remote the antiquity, the more this was likely to be the case. The edifices of religion owed their first existence to the zeal of the clergy, the more enlightened prelates invented, or procured ' Tlie wretched picture wliich Gibbon has drawn of the state of the pea- sants of Gaul under Dioclesian and Maximilian in the tliird, is applicable to their descendants of the sixth centurj', with even perhaps darker colours; no event had occurred to improve their condition : on the contrary, they had passed from the dominion of the more civilized Romans into that of the rude and savage Franks. Gibbon Hist. I. 36l. •> Appendix N. 17 the plans, and carried them into execution by their own assi- duity: skill would naturally follow endeavours thus repeated and thus encouraged, and when proper models had been intro- duced, the imitations of them would become easy and frequent. But although from record, as well as probability, we may con- clude that the arts in this age were principally cultivated by the clergy, it is no less certain that there were persons who practised them as a profession:" what that powerful order found necessary to promote by their own exertions, they did not fail to patronise in others, and to the common masons and carpenters who might be found in the different cities of France, persons of superior skill and intelligence were added, who were invited from distant quarters by the enterprising libe- rality of the bishops. The superstition of the times, and the authority of the church, secured them employment and pro- tection; they gradually increased in numbers, and improved * Felibieii seems lo think that France, at this time, contained no artists superior to the common masons, who, he says, "■ knew little more than to mix the mortar and prepare the materials," iii. 146. The bishop of Tours, how- ever, speaks of his artificers in terms which might be used by a prelate of a much later and more civilized period. — Basilicas adustas incendio reperi, quas in illo nitore vel pingi vel exornari ut prius fuerant artificum nostrorum oppfe imperavi ; he afterwards says, Baptisterium edificari pracepi. Hist. Franc, x. ,SI. D 18 in science, till at length at a subsequent period ihey produced the most able artificers from among themselves. France, in fact, at this time was not without professional artists, but they seem to have been neither numerous or eminent; and the clergy were frequently left to their own exertions and re- sources. Gregory of Tours speaks of several of his {prede- cessors as if they had superintended the building of their churches, particularly Oy«wflf/»s, who rebuilt the church of St. Gervase and Protasius, and began that of St. Mary;' and he expressly affirms that Leo, bishop of Tours, was an artist of great skill, particularly in works of carpentry, and that he built towers Avhich he covered with gilt bronze,'' some of which had lasted till his time.'' One general spirit indeed seems to have prevailed among the French bishops of the sixth century to establish new churches, and improve the towns of their dioceses. St. Germain, bishop of Paris, is reported to have given the design for the church which Childebert founded near that city in honour of St. Vincent, and he was also sent to " Greg. Tur. Hist. Franc, x. 31. As in many places in his Catalogue of Bishops, he says, hnjus tempore Ecclesia — edificata est, when he writes ipse construxit, ipse exaltavit, it seems probable that he means to denote that the prelate of whom he is writing, was himself the architect of the work. *• Turres holochrifso tectas. "^ Hist, Franc. HI. 17. X. 31. 19 Angers by the same monarch to construct a church there, de- dicated to St. Germain, Bishop of Auxerre. He afterwards erected a monastery near Mans, and other buildings of the same nature in difterent places." We have before mentioned Eufronius, a priest of Tours, being appointed a bishop of that city; he repaired two churches which had been destroyed by fire in 564, and afterwards rebuilt the cathedral, on which the munificence of Clothaire the son of Clovis, enabled him to place a covering of tin, or pewter." Avitits, bishop of Cler- mont in Auvergne, erected the church of Nostre Dame du Port, the church of St. Genes de Thier, and repaired that of St. Anatolien.' The church of St. Martin at Brie, a building of considerable magnificence, which was supported by marble columns, and the sanctuary adorned with marble, having been burnt, was rebuilt about this lime by Ferrol, bishop of Li- moges, but it appears uncertain whether he performed the office of architect on this occasion.'' Dalmatius, bishop of Rhodez, studied the science of architecture, and began several * Felibien Arch. »• Stanno. Hist. Franc. X. 31. As Gregory of Toms, on other occasions, when he mentions the covering of churches, makes use of plumbum, this must signify a metal, or composition of a difierent nature. « Felibien Arch. ^ Hist, Franc. VH. 10. 20 times to rebuild his catliedral, but being disappointed in the effect of his plans, he died without completinGj it/ Agricola, bishop of Chalons sur Saone, took upon himself to direct the building of several churches and other edifices, particularly his cathedral, which he ornamented with colunms, and en- crusted with mosaic and marble." Gregory, bishop of Tours, though he does not appear to have been an architect himself, caused tiie church of St. Martin, and the otlier churches of Perpetuus, to be i*ebuilt in a more splendid manner," and esta- l)lished several other in liis diocese. The three last prelates flourished at the time that France was governed by Chilperic I, Childebert II, and Cuutran, who reigned in Neustria, Auslrasia, and Burgundy. These princes protected the arts and founded a number of churches, among which we may mention that which was built by order of Gun- tran, at Chalons sur Saonc, in honour of St. Marcel, and ano- ther dedicated to St. Lucien, which was erected by Childebert, near Beauvais. The works of Chilperic are most remarkable: " Ecclesiam constiuxit, sed dum earn ad emendationem ssepius destruxit, iq compositam derelinquit. Hist. Franc. V. 47. *' Multa in civitate ilia ajdificia fecit, domos composuit: ecclesiam fabricavit quam columnis fulcivit, variavit mannoie, musivo depinxit. lb. V. 46. "^Ib. X. 31. 21 he founded a circus for public shows at Paris, and another at Soissons/ The science of architecture continued, in some measure, to improve during the seventh cenhinj: Clothaire II, in 6"13, united in his own person the various sovereignties into which France Avas divided; an event which, as it produced internal tran- quillity, was highly favourable to the cultivation of the arts. It was about this time that St. Eloy rose into notice, whose skill as well as holiness, have acquired him the greatest cele- brity. " Having been brought to court to make a saddle for the king, his extraordinary talents soon made him an object of royal favour, and after exercising the employments of gold- smith and architect during the reigns of Dagobert and Clovis II, he embraced the ecclesiastical profession, and was appointed bishop of Noyon by Clothaire III. St. Ouen has given a pleasing description of the monastery which he erected at So- lognac, near Limoges ; he also built a convent for nuns, and the churches of St. Paul and St. Martial at Paris: both of which were covered with lead ; and his biographer mentions that he * Felibien Arch. '' Aurifex peritissimus atque in omni arte fabricandi doctissimus — Audoen : Vita S. Eligii Episc. Noviomensisj Lib. I. c. v. apud Spicileg. T. V. <2% was paid for his trouble. When he became bishop of Noyon, he constructed a house for nuns in that city, and several mo- nasteries in other parts of his diocese, some of which were exe- cuted by his pupils under his direction. Though he seems to have ranked high as an architect, he is chietiy celebrated for the magnificent shrines of gold, silver, and precious stones, which he constructed in different churches, particularly those of St. Denis and St. Martin of Tours, which procured liim the greatest reputation. He died in Q6S^ The greatest work of this century was the building the church of St. Denis by Dagobert, the son and successor of Clothaire, Avhich is said to have exceeded in size and decora- tion all the religious structures of the preceding age. Other works were carried on by order of this monarch, among which, the tower of Strasbourg deserves to be mentioned; it was prin- cipally composed of wood, and was begun, it is said, by Clovis in 510, but, according to the archives of the cathedral, it was not finished until 643." We can meet with no further record of any considerable buildings, or of tiie names of the architects who flourished under Dagobert, and the later monarchs of the * lb. — lib. I. cap. V. xv. xvii. xviii. xxxii. II. v. " Felib. Arch. III. 159-— IV. <2.31. 23 first race; it is probable, however, that they continued to be chiefly ecclesiastics. Si. Elo}^ however, properly belonged to the class of" professional artists; and we may learn from his history that persons of that description were magnificently pa- tronized, and held in high estimation. In the eighth century Pepin began to rebuild the abbey church of St. Denis, which was completed by his son Charle- magne, and consecrated in 77-5. ' A part of this ancient edifice is still remaining, namely, the vault, or crypt, under the eastern end of the preseiit church, wliich before the revolution w^as used as the burial place of the Bourbons. It is built in a strong, but heavy manner, and with great rudeness of exe- cution ; a capital, however, of one of the columns should be noticed, as it affords an illustration of the architecture of the times. This piece of sculpture exhibits the section of a church, in which a priest, assisted by some others, is performing his de- votions before an altar, which is covered with a clotli. It is ^ Felibien t]ist. St. Denis, c. ii. 10. — Organs were introduced into some of the churches of France about this time ; the first which was seen in that country was sent from Constantinople as a present to Pepin. — Burney, Hist. Mus. II. c. 2. St. Dunstan appears to have been the constructor of one of the first organs in England, in the tenth century.— VVil, Malmesb. de Pont. Anglor. ]ib.V. 24 divided by a range of columns which support round arches; the artist has contrived in the same piece to shew the west front of the building, which is flanked by two towers, a little higher than the church, full of small roundheadcd windows like the Lombard towers at Rome, and finished, like them, with low roofs. The space between the towers is occupied by another Avindow in the same style, but of larger dimensions.' The great entrance of the present church of St. Denis, which is round-arched, and of high antiquity, is also asserted to be a remnant of the structure of Pepin and Charlemagne.'' The mode and taste in building during the seventh and eighth continued the same as in the preceding century, though the features were somewhat enlarged and enriched ; and it appears that in the course of the eighth century stone towers and belfries became common appendages to the churches of France. • A representation of this curious capital is given in le Mus6e des Monu- mens Fran, par Alex. Lenoir, Tom. I. pi. 39. '' Felibien Hist. St. Denis, c. ii. 25 CHAP. IV. PROGRESS OF ARCHITECTURE. From Charlemagne to Robert the Pious — Buildings at Aix-la-Chapelle — State of Architecture in Italy — Other Works of Charlemagne — Buildings of Louis le debonnaire — Incursions of the Normans — Distracted State of France — Ex- pectation of the End of the World. The character of Charlemagne produced an eera in the arts as well as in the empire of France. Uniting to a disposition sin- gularly active, resolute, and enterprising, a mind of superior intelligence, and filled with the loftiest views, he desired to emulate the greatest of the Caesars, not only in his camp, but in the splendour and refinement of his court: he considered the advancement of literature and the arts as essential to the glory of his reign, as the triumphs of his arms ; and the power and wealth which he had acquired in war were wisely applied to the encouragement of the arts of peace. At Rome his attention had been struck, and his admiration excited, by the magnificent remains of more civilized ages; he enabled the popes Adrian I and Leo III to repair the walls and aque- 26 ilucts, and ussisLed by large contributions the restoration of many of the churches." " If Charlemagne," sa3^s Mr. Gibbon, " had fixed in Italy the seat of the western empire, his genius would have aspired to restore, rather than violate, the works of the Coesars; but as policy confined the French monarch to the forests of Germany; his taste could be gratified only by destruction, and the new palace (and church) of Aix-la-Chapelle were decorated with the marbles of Ravenna'' and Rome." These structures of the ninth centurj- arc celebrated as the wonders of the age in Avhich they were erected, and are de- scribed by contemporary writers in terms of unbounded admi- ration. The halls of the palace were decorated with the most costly ornaments, and marble basons were formed to receive the warm springs, in which the emperor delighted to bathe."* The magnificence of the church was so extraordinary as to give a new distinction to the name of the city.' " Felibien Aich. III. l64. Besides the churches of St. Lawrence, St. Vin- cent, &c. which were rebuilt about this time, tlie Basihca of St. Paul was repaired, and a portico added to it by Adrian, who entrusted the superintend- ance of the works to Januarius, one of his officers. ''Appendix O. "^ Appendix P. '' Eginhard, c. 22. *= The same writer mentions, that from the churcii which was commonly called Capella, the town came to be distinguished by the name of Aix-la- Chapelle. 27 We must indeed believe" that the buildings at Aix-la- Cliapelle far exceeded both in taste and extent the works of the preceding French monarchs; it is probable also that Italian artists were employed in their construction,'' and that Charle- magne would order them to imitate, as much as possible, the monuments of ancient Rome;" but ihe depraved taste which in this age prevailed in Italy and Rome itself, will prevent us from conceiving they exhibited any thing beyond a barbarous splendour. The Roman architecture had fallen into the lowest state of degradation since the fourth century ; the churches of Constantino were still imitated, but the new edifices were on a smaller scale, dark, and irregularly built; in this manner the arts continued to languish in the seat of their former greatness till the eleventh century, when they began in some measure to revive under the Greek artists, who were invited from Con- stantinople by the commercial states in the north of Italy. ^ Appendix Q. •> The monk of St. Gaul after describing the palace, observes. Basilica, an- tiquis Romanorum operibus praeslantiore, brevi ab eo fabricata, ex omnibus cismarinis regionibus magistris S)- opijicibus advocatis. Legend, lib. I. c. xxxii. ■^ Fecit ibi etPalatiuin quod Lateranis nominavit. lb. 1. xxx. After the La- teran palace at Rome, Aix-la-Ciiapelle is called by contemporary writers secunda Roma, ventura Roma, alta Roma. V^alesii. Not. Gall. p. 28. 28 'I'he churches therefore of the age of Charlemagne which still remain, exhibit, it must be allowed, the most striking ex- amples of barbarous deformity/ The architects of them employed the most costly and beautiful colunms to support dinunutive arches, and high masses of wall disfigured with uncouth painting, ** or covered with glittering, but frightful mosaic work. Pillars of different forms and proportions were sometimes placed in the same line/ The narrowness of the windows admitted but a feeble glimmering light;" the pave- ments were composed of various and uneven fragments/ and the timber of the roof was generally left without ceiling or or- nament/ Yet the importation of so many pieces of ancient ' The churches of St. Vincent and Anastasius, of St. Lawrence in Verano, and St. Agnes without the city, erected about this time at Rome, are perhaps the most striking instances of debased art which any where exist. *> The internal walls of the old church of St. Peter at Rome were painted in the rude manner of the age under Formosus I, in the year 890. Ciamp. de sac. ^d. IV. 34. <" Appendi.x R. ^ In Augusta Basilica Veronensi, quam Uivo Lenoni ejus urbis Episcopo, Pipinus Caroli magni filiiis extruxit, tanta est fenestranim Angustia ut V. C. Octavianus Roboretus testatus sit, illarum lutitudinem ad duos circiler pal- mos, altitudinem vcro ad sex tantum pertingere. — Ciamp. Vet. Mon. ix. 77. In other places also he speaks of the "fenestra arctiores" of this age. ' Pavimentum partim sacris, partim profanis inscriptionibus, qua mutilis, qua integris stratum, lb. II. 13. ' x\ppendix S. 29 sculj5ture could not but have produced some effect on the arts of Fiance. The prelates Avho visited the court of their mo- narch would return home with new and improved ideas of beauty; a zeal was excited to imitate ancient models, and France in most of her provinces containing remains of Roman architecture, the rising genius of her artists naturally produced a nearer resemblance to the classical style and proportions in the Lombard columns of that country, than can be found among the Saxon and Norman buildings of our ancestors. We may remark in the tomb of Charlemagne a curious instance of the taste for imitating the antique which prevailed at this time; it is copied from a Pagan sarcophagus, and is ornamented with an alto-relievo of the Rape of Proserpine, which, though rudely executed, is finished with considerable distinctness and effect.* The wooden bridge of five hundred paces in length, which Charlemagne built across the Rhine at Ma3'ence, deserves to be reckoned among his great works. When it was destroyed by fire, he determined to rebuild it with stone, but was pre- vented by his death. His palaces at Ingelheim, near Mayence, at Nimeguen on the Wael, and in other places, Avere esteemed the most magnificent structures which had been raised for more ■' A representation of it is given in the Musee des Mon. Fran. I. PI. 24. 30 than four centuries. This magnificence extended to every part of his empire, he assisted the inhabitants of Florence to repair the pubhc works in their city, and conceived the grand pro- ject, which he began to execute, of opening the comnnnii- cation between the ocean and the Blaclc sea by unilinc ilie Danube and the Rliine." The plunder afforded by his successful campaigns enabled him freely to indulge his magnificent disposition; and it cannot be doubted, that his various works, and the intercourse which his government produced between France and the rest of Eu- rope, Avere very favourable to the progress and improvement of the arts; as not only the number of artists was greatly increased, but they were in many instances furnished with betler models for imitation. A short time before his death, Charlemagne called his sons together, and recommended to them the care of the works with which he had adorned his empire; desiring them to add to them, and in every thing to ])romote the public advantage: a command which was not neglected by Pepin and Louis, the kings of Italy and Aquitaine. Louis, who outlived his brother, and succeeded to the crown • Felibien Arch. III. I63~l65. 31 of France and the empire of the West, would perhaps have emulated still further the magnificence of his father's example, had not the dissensions in his family prevented the completion of his desiuns. The catalogue of relio;ious structures which he built is very extensive: the chief of which are the churches and monasteries of St. Philibert, St. Florent sur Loire, of Karoffe, Conches, St. Maixant, Menat, Manlieu in Auvergne, Moissac, St. Savin in Poitou, Nouaille, St. Theotfroy, St. Paixant, So- lognac near Limoges, St. Marie, St. Radegonde d'Agnane, St. Laurent and Cannes. Louis also endeavoured to reform the manners of the clergy, whom he censured for the ostentatious splendour of their habits, which were covered with silver and gold, and precious stones; he prohibited them from exercising any trade unsuitable to the dignitj^ of their profession, and enjoined them particularly to maintain the church property, and to repair the churches and monasteries'' which were in- trusted to their care. It was during the reign of this monarch that Ebo, bishop of Rheims, began to rebuild his cathedral, on which occasion the king sent his own architect Rumalde to carry on the work:"" it is not said whether he was an ecclesiastic, but perhaps not, ' Felibien Arch. III. 171—173. b Piodoaid, Lib. III. c. IQ. 32 as the professional arlists were become numerous at this lime, and it is clear that he practised the art as a profession. The distracted state of France at the end of the reign of Louis, and under his successors of the Carlovingian race, im- peded for a lime the advancement of the arts, and swept away many interesting monuments. The progress of the Normans, who now began their irruptions, was every where marked with fire and desolation. A body of these barbarians under Hast- ings, destroyed a great number of cliurches. St. Olien at Rouen, fell a prey to their fury in 842, and the town and ca- thedral of Chartres were burnt by them in 850. A few years afterwards they demolished the church and monaster}' of St. Genevieve at Paris, set fire several times to the abbey of St. Germain dcs Prez, and ruined the church of St. Martin at Tours, with many otliers. The Saracens, on the oilier side, made an incursion into France, in which they pillaged the abbey of Mont St. Michael, and ravaged a considerable tract of country." During this distressing period Charles the Bald in vain en- deavoured to fortify his cities and recruit his armies: he was reduced to the misery of seeing his kingdom crumble away > Felibien Arch. III. 174, 175. 33 around him, and to lament the defection of his nobles, who seized the moment of his misfortunes as a favourable oppor- tunity for asserting their own independence. Several works, however, were carried on under his government, particularly at Compiegne, which he ornamented with the abbey of Nostre Dame, (afterwards called St. Corneille,") and other structures, and dignified the town with the title of Charle-ville. He re- built also the church and abbey of St. Benigne at Dijon, and many edifices of the same kind were erected during his reign. The nobles, who had acquired the sovereignty of Provinces, soon began to distinguish themselves by the monuments of their piety, among Avhom Baudoiiin, the first Count of Flan- ders, and his descendants were the most remarkable. A castle was raised at Blois by Hastings the Norman chief, who was now acknowledged Count of Chartres by the French monarch. The Norman princes moreover, after they were established in Neustria, yielded to tlie spirit of the age, and founded many churches and monasteries.'' The buildino;s of the ninth and tenth centuries were imi- tated from the works of Charlemaone; but his feeble succes- * See Mon. Hist, sur Charles le Cliauve. Lebeuf, Rec. I. 356. ''Felibien Arch. III. 177. F 34 sors, deficient both in rirlics and power, were unable to equal them in magnitude or beauty of materials. France; during the greater part of the ninth century, was a scene of conster- nation and bloodsluxi: the traces of civilization disappeared amidst battles and cruellies, and the human intellect sunk still deeper in the darkness of ignorance and superstition. At this period (the tenth century) so hostile to the progress of the arts, an idea was adopted, Avhich proved more fatal to them than the terrors of war or the devastations of the Nor- mans. It was believed that the thousand years mentioned in the Apocalypse would be completed at the <^lose of the tenth ccntur}^, and thai the end of the world would happen at that time: notwithstanding the opposition of a few churchmen, the notion spread with extraordinary rapidity in France, and the neighbouring countries. The corruption of manners which ever}' where prevailed, and more especially among the clergy, the consequence of the disordered and barbarous state of so- ciety, seemed to justify the apprehension that the reign of Anti-Christ was come, and that the dissolution of all things was at hand; and so strong and so general was this impression, that scarcely a single building of note was undertaken during this period, and the churches already erected were suffered to 35 fall into decay. As the time for the accomplishment of the prophecy drew near, many devout persons hastened to the east to meet their Saviour at Jerusalem, while the lower classes of the people, sunk in the grossest ignorance, neglected the offices of religion, and sought relief from tlieir uncertainty in the illusions of magic and witchcraft/ The most celebrated, and almost the only foundation of consequence which took place during this dreary period, Avas the abbey of Clugny. It was built about the year 910 by Berno, abbot of Balme, Avith the assistance of William Duke of Ac- quitaine and Auvergne." Odo, the second abbot, introduced, among the monks assembled here, the rule which afterwards became famous throughout Europe, and the construction of the present church has also been attributed to him;" but there is little doubt that this edifice Avas the work of the succeeding century. Having established the discipline of his convent, Odo visited Rome in 936, and died in 942.'' Maignaud, a canon of St. Genevieve at Paris, is recorded as the builder of the entrance of that church in the reign of ' Glaber. Rodulphi Hist. Lib. II. c. (i. III. c. 4. Baronius Ann. Eccles. Tom. XI. An. 1001. 1003.— and Le Sueur. Hist, de I'Eglise, Vllt. p. 478. " Glaber. Hist. III. c. 5. ^ Lenoir. Mus. des. Mon. Fran. Tom. II. 6. ^ Cave. Hist. Litt. p. 496. 36 Hugh Capet ;° we arc also able to discover the name of another arcliitcct Avho flourished in this dark century (Austh, a monk of Gorzc), who seems to have enjo3'ed a considerable repu- tation, though said to have had but few opportunities of exer- cising his talents.'' We must lament however in general, that the historians of these early times have either wholly neglected to mention the names of artists, or have made use of such equivocal terms' in speaking of them, that it is difticult to determine whether they mean to express the architect under whose di- rection, or the founder at whose expense the building was constructed. » Millin. Antiquites Nationales, Tom. V. No. 60. *" Lebeuf. Etat des sciences dep. Chailem. jusqu'a Roi Robert Rec. II. l.jy. •: The terms, Structor, Extractor, iEdificator, fecit, jedificavit, constru.xit, &c. which accompany the mention of building in the archives and records of ancient churches, render it often impossible for us to come to any certain deci- sion respecting the meaning of the writer. 37 CHAP. V. THE PROGRESS OF ARCHITECTURE FRO:\I ROBERT THE PIOUS TO PHILIP AUGUSTUS. French Churches rebuilt and repaired— the Norman Churches— fust Crusade- Introduction of the pointed Arch-The Bridge of Avignon-total Change of Style in Architecture. The Christians at the beginning of the eleventh century, reheved from their mistaken apprehensions, hastened to rebuild and repair their ecclesiastical structures: the various cities and pro- vinces, especially of France, vied with each other on this occa- sion in a display of enthusiastic devotion. On all sides new and more stately edifices of religion arose, and the world, ac- cording to the expression of a contemporary writer, seeming to cast off its ancient appearance, every where put on a white mantle of churches.'' Robert the Pious encouraged by his example and assist- ance the zeal of the clergy and the people, and in the peace- ful interval of his reign the science of architecture, no longer obstructed by violence or fanaticism, began to display itself • Appendix T. 38 with superior majesty and effect. The contributions of this monarch enabled Morard, the abbot of St. Germain des Prez, to rebuild the church of his convent on a larger scale :^ St. Genevieve was also restored, and a cloister added to it by his order, and he made preparations for erecting a cathedral at Paris, in a style of the utmost magnificence the times would allow. *■ Orleans, the place of his nativity, was particularly distin- guished by the marks of his piety; he built there the churches of Nostre Dame de bonnes nouvelles, St. Peter, and St. Aignan, which last was consecrated with great solemnity in 1029: he made several donations to the cathedral, which Arnoul, the bishop, had almost wholly rebuilt by means of a treasure which he accidentally discovered in digging the foundations.'' Many other religious structures'* owed their existence to his liberality, particularly the churches of St. Nicholas des Champs, near his palace, without the walls of Paris, and Nostre Dame des Champs, near the same city. St. Rieule at Senlis, • Bouillait Hist. St. Germain des Prez. III. 2. *■ See Part II. c. iii. « Maroles Hist, des Roys de France, p. 157- •• Helgaud, moine de St. Denis, auteur de la vie du Roy Robert, nomme quatorze monasteres et sept eglises que ce Roy fit construire de neuf ou rebastir de son terns. D. M. Felibien Hist, de Paris, HI. 38. 39 St. Hilaire at Poictiers, St. Cassian at Autun, Nostrc I)amc at Estampes, St. Leger in the forest of Ivelinc, and St. Mark at Vitri : * the monastery of Nostre Dame at Poissy , was founded by Constance his queen: it is probable also that he rebuilt or repaired the church of Fleury, now called St. Benoit sur Loire, where he had received his education under the abbot Gcrbert, who was afterwards Pope Sylvester II. ; on the portal of this edifice is inscribed VIVBERIUS ME FECIT. We meet with a similar record on the gate of the church of St. Ursin at Bourges, which appears to have been built about the same time. GRATVLFVS FECIT.' It were to be wished that other artists of these times had adopted this effectual mode of making their names known to posterity. Besides the edifices we have already mentioned, Robert surrounded Montfort and Espernon with walls and towers, and erected several palaces and castles in different parts of France.'' Durino; the reio;n of this monarch a new church was con- structed at the abbey of St. Benigne at Dijon; the foundations were laid in 1001, by the abbot William, who directed the work • Du Tillet Chionique, p. 38. ^ Lebeuf. Etat des Sciences. Rec. II. 140. ■= Felibien Arch. IV. 192. Du Tillet Chron. 38. 40 himself, with the assistance of Hunaldus, a young monk, whom lie had selected on account of his expertness in the arts." This buildiii'i; was considered an excellent imitation of Roman architecture, but its celebrity seems, in a great measure, to have arisen from the columns of marble and stone which Bruno bishop of Dijon, had procured for its embellishment, from some other place. *" The abbot William erected also several monasteries in the neis;hbourhood.'' The cathedral of Chartres, one of the grandest works of the age, was rebuilt about the same period by Fulbert, its bishop. This church, which is said to have been originally founded in the third century, had been frequently burnt, and particularly by lightning in 1020; upon which Fulbert undertook its entire reconstruction, and the great reputation he enjoyed in France and the rest of Europe, enabled him to execute it iu a manner till then unknown in his country/ Kanute, King of England, » Appendix U. ^ Lebeuf. Etat ties So. Rec. II. 140. ' Vet. Chion. Divion. Spicileg. I. 142. ^ The length of this church is 420 feet, the height 108; the nave is 48 feet wide, with aisles 18 feet and a half wide, and 42 high : on each side of the choir the aisles are double, and the transept, which is 210 feet long, contains aisles, which seems to have been the first instance of this magnificent arrange- ment in France. There are seven chapels in the Chevct, and the Crypts and lower church are built with great art and regularity. Felib. Arch. IV. igo. 41 and Richard Duke of Normand}^ were among the princes who assisted him with contributions; some accounts mention that he had the gratification of seeing the work finished before his death, which happened in 1028 : this, however, is disproved by the epitaph upon Thierri, or Theodoric, his successor, still existing in the church of St. Pere, which ascribes the comple- tion of the fabric to that prelate, who died in 1048. ' The northern part was erected afterwards in 1060, at the ex- pence of Jean Cormier, a native of Chartres, and physician to the king." In the reign of Henry I, the church of St. Remi at Rheims, founded by the Abbot Hermer, was consecrated in 1049, with great pomp, by Leo IX, and the new cathedral, which was com- pleted at Seez in 1050, under the direction of Azon, a monk, having been burnt to the ground by the citizens in an attempt to drive from it a troop of robbers, who had taken refuge there; the same pontiff engaged Yves, Count of Belleme and Alenpon, the bishop, to rebuild and restore it to its former * Complevit ecclesiatn cathedralem.— See Lenoir, (Musee desMon. Fran. II. 128.) who has drawn this account from the archives of the city of Chartres, preserved in the national library, and seems on this occasion to deserve the praise of accuracy as well as diligence. ^ Appendix X. O 42 splendour/ Humbert, Archbisliop of Lyons, erected in 1050, a stone bridge across the Saone in that cit}', and it is expressly mentioned that he was himself the architect, besides defraying the whole expence of this great work." In 1056, Girard, the first prior of La Charite sur Loire, began to construct the church of his convent, which was con- secrated by Pascal II, in 110?. It appeal's, however, from an ancient record, that the fabric was completed by Girard before he resigned his office in 1084/ The abbey church of Clugny, the largest and perhaps the most interesting of the ancient ecclesiastical monuments of France, was erected about this time. The Abbot Odilo, at the liesinninor of this centurv, by means of the Rhone and Du- ranee, transported thither a number of marble columns, with which he is said to have constructed a cloister."* The present church, which contains several curious antique marble pillars, was perhaps began by the same prelate, but the chief part of » Felibien Arch. IV. 194. ^ lb.— ib. ' Richard i Cluniac. Hist. deOiigin.Monast.Chaiitatis. Lebeuf.Rec.Tom.il. Richard of Clugny seems to have hved in the latter part of the twelfth centur}-. •' Monachus ignoti nominis sed vetus in libello de Vila S. Odolonis scribit Odilonem Claustium stru.xisse, columnis marmoreis ex ultiuiis partibus pro- iincia;, &,c. &c. Valesii Not. Galliarum, p. 148. 43 it was built by Hugh, his successor, about the year 1069;' it was finished by this abbot, and the ceremony of its dedication was performed in 1130 by Innocent II, who had formerly been a monk of Clugny.'' The church of St. Lucien at Beauvais, was rebuilt about 1078, by two artificers who are denominated Cementarii. In the old record, one of these, named Wimmbolde, appears to have constructed the body of the fabric, and the other, Odo, was only employed upon the tower/ In two ancient registers of the abbey of Villeloin, we find the following notices, which labour under the diflSculties we have already mentioned, Kal. Jan. obiit Maynardus aedificator nostri hujus loci, and 8. Idus Augusti obiit Mainerius aedificator nostri hujus loci/ It is impossible for us to decide whether these persons Avere the founders or the architects of the build- ings in question, though it is very probable that they were both. The style of architecture in the eleventh was the same as in ' Alien Priories, Vol.11, p. 104— The length of the church of Clugny is 620 feet ; it has two transepts, the upper 200, the lower 120 feet long. The toinb of St. Hugh, and the painting of the Apsis, a work of the twelfth century, but designed with great freedom and spirit, are remains of antiquity particularly worthy attention. See Musee des Mon. Fran. Tom. II. PI. 57, 58. Bower. Lives of ihe Popes^ VI. p. 29. ' Felibien Arcb. IV. 193. "^ lb.— ib. 44 the preceding centuries, though the churches were constructed on a larger scale, and in a more solid manner. With a few exceptions, the oldest buildings now existing in France, are to be traced to this eera: the venerable fabrics of St. Germain des Prez, St. Benigne at Dijon, of Chartres, La Charite sur Loire, Clugny, and many others, still remain to illustrate the history of the arts of this period. The fashion in practice all over Europe continued to be a barbarous imitation of the Roman manner, but from various circumstances, in different countries, it partook of different features. The Saxon churches of England were in- ferior in elevation, massiveness, and magnitude, to those of the Normans, and the Norman mode differed considerably from that which was adopted in the neighbourhood of Paris, and further to the south. The Norman churches were in some instances larger, but exhibited a greater rudeness of design and exe- cution. The columns, in particular, were without symmetry, and shewed but little skill in the art of sculpture, while those of the French artists, whose taste had been improved by the remains of Roman architecture, frequently imitated with suc- cess the Corinthian capital, and sometimes the classical pro- portions. Both styles are wholly deficient in correctness of taste, but the barbarous massiveness of a Norman structure has 45 a more decided air of originality, and its ludeness when on a large scale, serves greatly to enhance the sublimity of its effect. The abbey church of St. Stephen, which was raised by Wil- liam the conqueror at Caen, and that of the Ploly Trinity, founded in the same city by his Queen Matilda,'' are the prin- cipal examples on the continent of that peculiar manner of building, which was introduced into England by the Norman prelates at the end of the eleventh century. The crusades, which now began to arrest the attention, and employ the exertions of Christendom, produced the most im- portant consequences to the arts and manners of Europe: they roused mankind from the intellectual lethargy into which they had been plunged for so many centuries; they brought the dif- ferent people of Europe together, and carried them into more civilized regions : the intercourse which this promoted among themselves, and the accession of light which they derived from a communication with Italy, Constantinople, and the East, gradually effected a general and visible improvement. The first crusade was soon followed by a change in the arms, dress, and architecture, of every nation of Europe. ' See Ducarrel's Anglo-Norman Antiquities. 46 In the course of the txcdfth century the pointed arch began to shew itself in the edifices of France and the neighbouring countries; an innovation which was so universally admired and adopted, that in a short time the ancient Roman, or Lombard method, was entirely discontinued, and a new character of building, conceived in a different taste, and founded upon other principles, sprung up and spread itself over the greater part of Christendom. Among the earliest instances of the appearance of this new style in France, we may remark the works of the celebrated Siiger, abbot of St. Denis, which were begun in 1 137- This prelate was greatly skilled in architecture, and under his direction the church of his convent was almost wholly rebuilt with unexampled rapidity, about the middle of the twelfth cen- tury." Nearly at the same period we may place the foundation of the church and monastery of the Knights-Templars at Paris. This body, which was instituted at Jerusalem in 1118, was in- corporated in Paris in 1148,*" and it seems probable that their buildings, which bear the marks of the earliest gothic character, were commenced immediately afterwards." The tower, which • Dom. Felibien Hist. St. Denis, IV. 7- See Part II. c. iii. ^ D. Felibien— Hist, de Paris, IV. 37. ' lb. — ib. Theatre des Antiquitez de Paris. 47 was perhaps the last part of their edifice, was erected by Hu- bert, treasurer of the order, who died in 1222/ Hilduard, a Benedictine monk, deserves to be classed anions" the scientific architects of this age; he was employed about the year II70 by Foulcher, abbot of St. Pere at Chartres, to rebuild the church of his convent, which is still admired for the excel- lence of its construction. As Hilduard passed a great part of his life in this monastery, it has been doubted whether he was engaged in any other works of consequence. About this time also flourished Boiliviis, a celebrated architect of Provence: we are not however acquainted with any of his buildings except the church of Maguelonne, an inscription on which bears his name, and the date 11?8, when it was finished.' It may be curious to mention that Henry II of England, who appears at last to have been awed into repentance for the murder of Becket, besides enriching several of the churches in his French dominions, founded in the neighbourhood of Fontevrault, where he was buried, the monasteries of Baugerais Villiers and St, Jean du Liget, in expiation of his crime.'' The great bridge across the Rhone between Avignon and • Felibien Hist. IV. 57. p. 181. >• FeKbien Arch. IV, 200.. ' Marotes Hist, des Roys, p. 182, 48 Villencuve, one of the grandest efforts of architectural skill which France has ever produced, was erected in the twelfth century ; many extraordinary circumstances are related of St. Benedict, or Betiezet, its founder, who is described as a shep- herd inspired by God to undertake this vast enterprise. How- ever we may feel inclined to doubt his inspiration, we must allow him to have possessed uncommon skill and great public spirit; and considering the extent and novelty of the plan, it may be suspected that he designedly had recourse to the aid of superstition. He laid the foundation of his work in 11?1, and completed it after eleven years labour in 1188. Having repaired one of the arches, which had accidentally given way, he proceeded to erect near the entrance of the city an hospital of religious persons, who were denominated les Freres du Pont, their office being to preserve the fabric, and to afford succour to travellers. In this retreat he resided till his death, which happened before the year 1195, when he was buried in a chapel on the third pier of die bridge on the side of Avignon." If we reflect on the boldness and utility of this undertakino-, as well as the permanency he ensured by annexing to it a reli- gious foundation, we cannot fail to attribute to Benezet a more • Felibien Arch. IV. 201 . 49 than ordinary share of genius, and esteem him one of the en- lightened benefactors of mankind rather than a fanatic. The former repairs, which were slight and insufficient, having left the church and monastery of St. Genevieve in a ruinous condition, Stephen, who was elected abbot in 1177, determined to undertake the complete restoration of the whole fabric, which he effected before he was appointed bishop of Tournay in 1192.' The upper stories of the tower were rebuilt under the direction of Thibault, the precentor of the convent." At this time also Maurice de Sully, bishop of Paris, was en- gaged in erecting the eastern part of the cathedral of Nostre Dame," a work which was carried on with great spirit by his successors, though it was not entirely completed for the space of nearly two centuries afterwards. The choir of the cathedral of Lyons seems to have been constructed about this period," and the collegiate church of St. Nicolas at Amiens was begun about 1192, and the portal finished in the year 1200.° We have already remarked that the architecture of France underwent a total change in the course of the twelfth century ; » D. Felibien, Hist, de Paris, V. 30. See Part II. c. ii. »" Millin, Antiq. Nationales, Tom. V. p. 58 ^ D. Felib. Hist. Paris, V. 10. See Part II. c. iv. '' Appendix Y. ' Millin, Ant. Nat. V. No. 51. H 50 (luring lliis period it exhibited three distinct characters; at the beginning of the century the old Lombard mode was in prac- tice; towards the middle this became mixed with the new fashion of the pointed arch; and before the end the ancient heavy manner was every where discontinued, and the new 7*" iiiry unmixed Gothic universally adopted. r 51 CHAP. VI. THE PROGRESS OF ARCHITECTURE FROM PHILIP AUGUSTUS TO LOUIS XII. nourishing State of the Art— Names of Architects— Churches of St. Louis- Bridges— Wars of the English in France— their Effects— Works of the Four- teenth Century— Alterations in Taste— Churches of the Fifteenth Century— The Arts in Italy— The Gothic Style entirely abandoned. We now approach that sera, the thirteenth cejitury, in which the Ecclesiastical Architecture of France arrived at the utmost point of excellence which it was destined to attain in the course of the middle ages; an excellence which in its charac- teristic merits was never surpassed in any other age or counlry. Every thing seemed to conspire, in the circumstances of the nation and of the world, to produce an interval favourable for the cultivation of the arts; and genius and talents were not wanting to make use of the happy opportunity. The thir- teenth century found the French artists, a numerous and pro- tected body, in possession of a new and beautiful style of building; the religious enthusiasm of the times, fanned by the spirit of the crusades, was at its height, and the throne of 52 France was filled by monarchs equally distinguished by their piety and magnificence. The dissensions between the barons and their sovereign which agitated England during the greater part of this century, increased the power and ensured the tran- quillity of France.* Thus were external circumstances no less favourable to the prevailing taste, and its triumph was propor- tionably brilliant. The most sumptuous churches, which now adorn the French cities, are the works of this age; and while their extraordinary beauty renders them interesting objects of curiosity, the accurate knowledge we are able to acquire of their dates and the names of their architects, is singularly im- portant to the illustration of our own antiquities, and the general history of Gothic architecture. We learn from the Chronicle of the Abbey of Bee in Nor- mandy, that Ingelramne, who had lately been employed on the church of Nostre Dame at Rouen, was engaged in 1212, by the abbot Richard, to rebuild the church of his monastery; a great part of which he raised in the space of a year and a half, Avhen he retired, and another artist, named Waultier de Mculan, ' Henry III. renounced by treat}', in 1259, bis claim to tbe French provinces possessed by bis father, excepting tbe duchy of Aquitaine, for which he did homage before St. Louis. — Du Tillet.— Recueil des Traitcz, p. 25. 28. 53 continued the work, which he finished in less than three years. Little however of this ancient edifice remains, it having been burnt twice within the century, and was renewed in its present form, under the abbot Pierre de Caniba, about the year 1273/ At this time churches, almost without number, and rivalling each other in magnificence, were rising in every part of France: at Rheims, the cathedral began to display the graceful light- ness of the new style, '' the church of St. Nicaise, in the same city, was commenced by Hugues Liber-gier;" at Lyons the body of the cathedral was completed; the cathedral of Amiens, the pride and boast of Gothic architecture, was reared by Ro- bert de Lusarches, Thomas de Cormont, and his son Regfiault ;" the works of Nostre Dame were carried on by Jean de Chelles;' and the celebrated Pierre de Montereau, who seems to have en- joyed a higher reputation than any of his contemporaries, was employed in the smaller, though not less beautiful, fabrics of the chapel and refectory of St. Germain des Prez,' and the Sainte Chapelle of the palace at Paris. ^ Eudes de Montreuil ' Felibien Arch. IV. 205. *< Marlot Met. Rem. Hist. Tom. II. p. 470. See Part II. c. v. ' Epit. Chron. S. Nic. Rem. p. 636. See Part II. c. v. * See Part II. c. 6. « See Part II. c. iv. ' Bouillart, Hist. Abb. St, Germ. III. 51. 54. s See Part II. c. vii. 54 also flourished at this period, an artist equally remarkable for his scientific knowledge and the boldness of his conceptions; he accompanied St. Louis in his expedition to the East, where he fortified the city and port of Joppa, and on his return to France was engaged by the king in the construction of several religious buildings, amongst which were the churches of St. Catherine du Val dcs Ecoliers, St. Croix de la Bretonnerie, les Quinze-Vingts,' tlie Wiiite Monks, the Marthurins, the Car- thusians, the Cordeliers, and the Hotel Dieu at Paris.'' He likewise erected the church of Nostre Dame at Mantes, which affords a striking proof of his genius and skill.' It is disco- vered from the inscription on his tomb, wdiich formerly existed in the nave of the church of the Cordeliers," that he died in the year 1289, and that he had two wives, one of whom, named • An hospital founded by St. Louis, in the truest spirit of charity, for three hundred blind knights, after he had ransomed them from the Saracens, who had put out their eyes. •> Felibien Arch. IV. 210. ' The vaulting of the roof is pitched with an extraordinary boldness, that astonished Souflot and Gabriel, in their scientific survey of the French churches; it is related, that when the building was originally finished, the workmen refused to remove the centering, till Eudes, by sending his nephew to assist them, quieted their apprehensions. The height of the roof from the pavement is ninety-six feet. Millin, Ant. Nat. Tom. II. No. I9. ^ Tills church was almost entirely destroyed by fire in 1580. 65 Mahault," attended the Queen on her voyage to Egypt and the Holy-land.'" Another artist, called Jouselin de Courvault, accompanied the king to the crusade, and invented several warlike machines." The number of religious edifices, which were erected in France during the reign of St. Louis, exceeds all former or sub- sequent example; in addition to those which we have already mentioned, and many others which were founded by indivi- duals, ■* the church and abbey of St. Antoine near Paris, the churches of the Fdles Dieu, the Jacobins, the Carmelites, and the Cordeliers of the Fauxbourg St. Marcel, were built by the orders of the king: nor were the marks of royal piety confined to the metropolis; the abbies of Lis near Melun, of Long- champ near St. Cloud, and St. Mathieu near Rouen; the greater part of the abbey church of St. Denis;' the Hotels Dieu of Vernon, Pontoise and Compiegne; the church and abbey of * The same name as Mathilde, Mahaud, or Maud, so common in the French and English histories. '' Felibien, Arch. IV. 210. ' Joinville, Hist. St. Louis. ^ The church of St. Stephen at Troyes, and some others, were founded by Nanry Count of Champaign. Joinville, Hist, par Du Fresne, p. IQ. Note p. 47. ' See Part U. c. iii. 56 Manbuisson, the church of the Nuns of Poissy," and the mo nastery and church of Royaumont,'' are to be recorded among the magnificent monuments of this prince ; who joined to the fervour of superstition, which he derived from the enthusiastic turn of his mind, and the character of the times, a poUlical sasacitv that enabled him to check and reduce within narrower Hmits, the exorbitant power of his nobles, and acquire an ab- solute command over the resources of his empire. A bridiie across the Rhone at Lyons was erected about the year 1244, and the Pont St. Esprit, another vast structure, the result most probably of the useful example of Beneret, which in some respects it resembles, was undertaken in the course of the same century. The first stone was laid with great cere- mony in 1265, by Jean de Tianges, the prior of the monastery of St. Esprit,' and the whole of the fabric, which is above three thousand feet '' in length, was completed in 1309- The build- » Lenoir mentions this as the work of PieiTe de Montereau. Musee des Mon. Fran. Tom. II. p. 18. " Felibien Arch. IV. 212. ' Felibien Arch. IV. 202. ^ The width of this bridge is fifteen feet ; it is carried over nineteen great arches^ and is besides pierced with four of a smaller size, to give a passage to the waters of the river when it overflows ; in this it resembles the bridge of Avignon: for the purpose of resisting the extraordinary rapidity of the current, instead of being built in a straight direction, it forms an angle against the stream. A chapel is constructed on one of the middle piers. 57 ing of bridges was justly esteemed a work of cliarily in tlie middle ages; the situation of travellers, especially merchants, journeying with their goods to distant fairs, was no where so exposed and liable to the attacks of robbers, as at the passages of rivers. The Confraternite des Fonts, by whom the Pont St. Esprit was constructed, is represented as a company of free- masons, who engaged in works of this nature from motives of religion and humanity. The religious associations of artists for such purposes affords at once a proof of the actual bar- barism and of the increasing civilization of the age. The abbots of the Cistertian Order, who rebuilt the church of Nostre Dame des Dunes in Flanders, must be reckoned among the architects of the thirteenth century. The founda- tions were laid in 1214 by Pierre, the seventh abbot of the convent, but he dying the same year, the work was continued by his successors, Amelie, Gilles de Ste'e'n, Salomon de Gand, Nicolas de Belle, Lambert de Kenle, and Theodoric, the last of whom completed the fabric, which was dedicated in 1262." The whole of this edifice was erected by the monks themselves, assisted by the lay-brothers and servants, amounting in all to more than eighty persons; and it deserves to be mentioned, » Felibien AjcIi. IV. 213. I 58 though not strictly a French building,' as a curious instance of the arts being generally studied and practised in a monastery at so late a period. The name of Robert de Coucy, who completed the church of St. Nicaise and the cathedral of Rheims, an artist who equalled, and probably surpassed, his numerous contempo- raries in richness and fertility of genius,'' is the last to be recorded amono; the brilliant constellation of talents which adorned France in the thirteenth centur}', and who by a sin- jiular combination of boldness with symmetry, and lightness with ornament, produced the most majestic and sublime mo- numents of Ecclesiastical Architecture.' But this triumph of the Gothic style in France was of short duration, and seems in a great measure to have ceased at this period (about the fourteenth ceuturi/ J. 'i'he two succeed- ing ones were distinguished by no architectural efforts, of • The culbedral of Strasbourg also, from its celebrity, and its situation in the neighbourhood of France, deserves to be noticed. It was finished in 1275, from the designs of Erwin de Steinbach. Two years afterwards the same artist began to raise the tower, which after his death, in 1305, was carried on by John Hilts of Cologne, and completed in 1449, by an architect of Sv?abia, whose name is not known. See the Abbe Grandidier's History of the Church of Strasbourg, and Felib. Arch. IV. 231. 234. " See Part II. c. 5. ' Appendix Z. 59 equal excellence with those which we have already enumerated. It is remarkable, among the churches whose history and anti- quities will be minutely inquired into in the course of the fol- lowing pages, that scarcely a part, and certainly no material part of any of them is to be referred to those ages. The cause of this, however, can be readily assigned in the wars which the English carried into the heart of France, and the divisions and factions of the French nobility rendered that kingdom durino; the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries a theatre of blood- shed and desolation; the unfortunate sovereigns sometimes in captivity, and generally defeated, without finances, at the head of an exhausted state, had as little means of promoting, as their subjects had leisure for the cultivation of the arts.^ The strongest expressions are used by the French writers'" to de- scribe the terror and misery which pervaded the country. The * Lenoir, mentioning the decline of the arts during the fourteenth centur}-, makes this judicious remark: — Les croisades reprisent faveur mais les nouvelles emigrations au heu d'etre favorable aux arts comme elles I'avoient ete sous Louis IX. ne servirent qu'a eloigner les suc'ces. Musee, Tom. IL p. 43. *> An old writer laments Bellorum turbines quibus post pugnam Creciacam misere quassata est et attrita Gallia. — Chron. S. Nic. Rem. p. 638. Les Anglois, dit le Sage, jettassent la peur & la frayeur jusques dans le occur de la France aussi bien que dans le coeur des Francois. Du Chesne Recherches des Villes &c. de la France, p. 114. 60 peasants were forced from their labours, whole districts were laid waste, and the tOAvns impoverished by the heaviest im- posts and exactions," In the midst of these evils, which were aggravated by the sufterings of famine and pestilence, we cannot wonder that the piety of the nation was unable to display itself in the construction of religious buildings. The princes of France had more occasion to fortify their cities than to found monasteries; and when their treasuries were insufficient to main- tain their armies, it is not extraordinary that they afforded but few proofs of ostentatious devotion. In the earlier part hoAvever of the fourteenth century, be- fore the invasion of Edward III, and in those provinces of France which were more remote from the scene of hostilities, several buildings were undertaken. The church of St. Ouen at Rouen, a work justly admired for the delicacy with which the ornamental parts are executed, was begun to be rebuilt by the Abbot, Jean Marc d'Argent,*" in 1318, and the collegiate church of Ecouis, near the same city, was commenced in 1310, and dedicated in 1313.' The cathedral of Bourgcs was erected ' Du Tillet, Chion. p. 63. G?. 75. •> John Roussel.— Alien Prior. Vol.1, p. 2. « Millin Ant . Nat. Tom. III. No. 28. 61 in its present form about the year 1324, by the Bishop Gil- laume de Brousse, who rendered it one of the most magnificent churches in Europe/ The collegiate church of St. Sepulchre at Paris, was begun in 1326, and finished so as to have mass said in it in the succeeding year, by Guerin de Lorcignes, Avhose name we discover in an inscription above the portal,'' and who seems from his work to have been an artist of considerable talents. The Pope Benedict II founded the college, and built part of the church of the Bernardines in the same city, about 1335. It appears that Jean Ravi/, an architect and sculptor, was employed for twenty-six years, at the beginning of this century, at the cathedral of Nostre Dame. The chapels on the north side the nave are supposed to have been erected about this time ; it is probable, therefore, that he completed what Jean de Chelles left unfinished, and perhaps he even enlarged his design; it is certain he was engaged on the sculpture of " Telibien Arch. IV. 230. ^ L'an de grace MCCCXXVII le vendredi devant Noel fut chantee la premiere messe de cette Eglise et les fondemens levez: si comme il appeit, par Maistre Guerin de Lorcignes qui eregea ce portail et le fonda premierement. This church is in the Rue St. Martin. Millin, Ant. Nat. Tom. III. No. 27. 6^ the enclosure of the choir, which was afterwards completed by his nephew, Jean le Boutelier, in the year 1351.' During the more favourable aspect of affairs which the valour and policy of Charles V procured for France, several considerable buildings were accomplished. The monasteries of the Augustins, and the Celestins at Paris, and the convent of the Trinity near Mantes, were erected by his order, and he augmented by his benefactions the Chartreuse of St. Jean de Liget in Tourraine.'' The principal edifices, however, which were raised b}' this prudent monarch were of a civil and mili- tary nature. The Baslile and the castle of Vincennes' were finished b}- him, in the last of which he founded, about the year 1379» ft magnificent chapel, on the model of the Sainte Chapelle at Paris." The Chatelet, the petit Pont, the Pont de St. Michel, and the walls of the city near the Porte St. Antoine, were likewise of his construction, and he made many important » Felibien Arch. IV. e27. ^ Maroles, Hist, des Roys, p. 248. 'This castle was founded by Philip Augustus, about the year 1185; the great tower was begun by Philip de Valois in 136), and carried by King Joha to the third story; it was Jinhhed by Charles V, as appears from some ancient verses engraved on a tablet in the wall. Du Chesne, Antiq. des Chateaux, &c. de la France, p. 197. •^ Dom. Felibien, Hist, de Paris, VII. 37. 63 additions and improvemenls at the Louvre," and the Chateaux of St. Germain en Laye, Montargis and Creil." In the reign of his successor, Charles VI, the abbey of Bon- port was erected about the year 1387,' and some other edifices; but the great work of art which distinguishes the gjinals of this prince is the fleet and the wooden fortifications which were constructed for the invasion of England. The account of this transaction is particularly curious. Every vessel in the ports from Seville to Prussia was seized upon for the purpose, and a vast number built on the French coast: the whole when col- lected at Sluys amounted to fifteen hundred sail."' The con- stable of France prepared on board his division, " a town of frame-work, of large timber, which was to be put together on their landing in England, for the lords to retreat to as a place of safety." It was so contrived, that " when they were dislodged, it could be taken to pieces, roofs and all:" but in his passage from Tregueir in Brittany to join the king at Sluys, his fleet, con- '■ Charles V was the founder of the Royal Library of France; he placed about an hundred and twenty volumes in one of the towers of the Louvre, which was from hence called la tour de la Librarie. >> Felibien Arch. 230. "^ Millin Ant. Nat. * According to the speech of the Duke of Berry, by whose advice the expe- dition was abandoned. Johnes's Froissart, Vol. IlL c. 67. 64 sisling of seventy-two vessels, was dispersed in a storm oft' Mar- gate : " some," saj's Froissart, " Avere blown into the Thames, M'here they were captured by the English, and among them was one that had two or three parts of the wooden town on board, and, the workmen who were to erect it. They and the town were sent to London, which much delighted the king and citizens." The architecture of France in the fourteenth century dif- fered in many of its features from that of the thirteenth. The latter style was not immediately disused ; several alterations of character however gradually appeared, particularly with regard to the mullion-work of the heads of windows, which in the last century were ornamented with six foils or roses, [in general three in each window ;] they now branched out into the form of leaves, and the compartments of the round windows at the ends of churches assumed the same fanciful appearance." In some places we may also observe a richer decoration given to the vaulting of roofs. Similar alterations took place about the same time in England, where, from more fortunate circum- * See tlie whole account of this interesting event. Jolines's Froissart, Vol. III. c. 58, 59. 65, 66, 67- * Appendix AA. 65 stances they were carried to a higher state of perfection and magnificence. The greater part of the fftcenth century was equally hostile to the practice of architecture as the fourteenth. It is pro- bable that few buildings, and that none of any grandeur and importance, were undertaken during the incessant and san- guinary contests which ended in the expulsion of the English from France, and restored the monarchy of that nation from the most abject degradation to a state of vigour and prosperit3^ During this period, however, it appears that the church of St. Ouen at Rouen, was finished by Alexander de Berneual, who died in 1440, and is buried in that edifice, with an inscription on his tomb, declaring that he had been master of the works, there/ The building of the abbey of Beaubec m Normandy, seems to have been delayed and interrupted by the troubled state of the times. Although it had been burnt in the year 1383, its restoration was not attempted till the middle of this century, and by the steeple not having been began till 1668 b 5 ' Cy gist M= Alexandre de Berneval, Maistre des oeuvres de messonnerie aa Baillage de Rouen ec de cette Eglise, qui trepassa a I'an de grace 1440 le 5 Janvier. Hist. Abb. Roy. de St. Ouen, Lib. II. p. 197. " Alien Prior, Vol. I. p. 41. K 66 we may suspect that the work proceeded with more than ordi- nary sh)wness. The collegiate church of Nostre Dame at Clery, near Orleans, was erected by Louis XI, who also founded the first convent of Minimes in France, in the park of his Cha- teau of Plessis, and another at Amboise/ The archilcctural taste of this age resembled the contemporary style of England and other countries. INIany instances of tracery may be re- marked, especially in sepulchral monuments" and chapels;' but the distracted condition of France attbrded little leisure to her inhabitants for works of piety and genius, and prevented them from adding to the sumptuous structures of their ances- tors any great example of that superlative beauty or richness which characterizes the architecture of England at this period. The time now arrived, when this beautiful species of archi- tecture, which had been successfully cultivated for the space of three centuries, and which has left fabrics that arc still the boast and wonder of the principal cities of Europe, was no » Maroles, Hist, dcs Roys, p. 277. *" Appendix BB. ' The chapel of Charles de Bourbon, Archbishop of Lyons, in the cathedral of that city, is a beautiful instance of this sort, and one of the latest works in the Gothic taste wliich were produced in France. Charles de Bourbon died in 1478, and what remained to be finished in the chapel was completed by Duke Pierre bis brother after his death. Hist. Litt. de Lyon, II. c. v. p. Gj. 67 longer to be practised: a new vera in the arts was arising in Italy; the gothic manner in painting, sculpture, and building, began to disappear, and a taste for imitating the works of an- tiquity Avas universally diffused. The Italian artists, struck with the noble remains by which diey were surrounded, had for some time laboured to throw off the fantastic style of the middle ages; gothic architecture, from A^arious causes, had been practised among them with less effect than in other parts of Europe, and they were possessed of better models to excite and assist them in restoring the taste of ancient Rome. Bru- naleschi was the first who endeavoured to reform his country- men in this respect, and the great minds which were devoted to the arts in the fifteendi century, produced a total revolution in all their branches. Painting and sculpture soon arrived at excellence, but although the Gothic mode in building was laid aside, the style by which it Avas succeeded had little or no pre- tensions to classical beauty. Its chief and characteristic fea- ture consisted in carved imitations of the Arabesque designs with Avhich Raffael had adorned the galleries of the Vatican; an idea Avhich he derived from the frescoes in the baths of Livia and of Titus. The richness and variety of these fanciful decorations Avere Avell suited to the eyes of those avIio had been 68 too much accustomed to a profusion of ornament to relish at once a purer and more simple taste. The political intercourse which at that time connected France and Italy, facilitated the transmission of these innovations, and the reign of Louis XII Avas marked by the total abandonment of the Gothic manner, and the adoption of the new, which at the beginning of the sixteenth century was successfully practised by a numerous and able school of French artists.* • Appendix CC. AN HISTORICAL SURVEY, &c. &c. PART II. CHAP. I. THE ABBEY CHURCH OF ST. GERMAIN DES PREZ. First Church founded in honour of the Relics of St. Vincent, in 557 — Descrip- tion of it — Takes the Name of St. Germain — Pillaged and burnt by the Nor- mans — Rebuilt by Abbot Morard in 990 — New Cloister 1227 — Refectory and Virgin's Chapel by Pierre de Montereau, 1244 — Repairs and Alterations 1644 — Original Character and present State of the Building. The history of the abbey of St. Germain begins with a curious instance of a treaty of the sixth century. Childebert having declared war against Teudis king of the Visigoths, and over- run the kingdom of Arragon, invested Zaragoza with his troops, and reduced its inhabitants to the last extremity: before how- ever they opened their gates to the enemy, these unfortunate people determined to implore Divine assistance, and for this 70 purpose they made a solemn procession round the walls of the city, chanting litanies and carrying the shirt of St. Vincent, who having been their fellow countryman, they flattered themselves would be interested in their situation. The procession attracted the attention of the French camp, and it was immediately judged that the besieged had some stratagem in view for their I'elief. A peasant, who was seized in endeavouring to escape from the town, and conducted into the presence of Childebert, explained the cause of tliis unusual appearance, and declared the reliance of the citizens in the efficacy of the sacred shirt. The French princes were so struck by this, that they directly granted them peace upon the following conditions: First, that Arianism should be extirpated from Spain, and secondly, that the shirt of St. Vincent should be surrendered to the French." Satisfied with this achievement," Childebert returned m triumph » Hist de I'Abbaye Royale de St. Germain des Prez par Dom. Jacques Bouil- lait, No. I. i. Greg. Tiir. Hist. France, HI. c. 10. *> The story is related with more probability in Gest. Reg. France, c. 26, and Aimoin, Hist. Lib. H. c. 2. It appears from these, that Childebert having pressed the inhabitants of Saragossa with a long siege, and wishing to retire without dishonour, sent for the bishop, and demanded of him the relics of St. Vincent, preserved in the cathedral, as the price of withdrawing his army. The bishop immediately delivered up the holy shirt, and the French king returned with his trophy to Paris. 71 to Paris, carrying with him the holy shirt and a large cross which he had taken at Toledo. Soon after his arrival, St. Ger- main, the bishop of Paris, persuaded him to build a church in honour of these sacred trophies. The site was chosen in a meadow on the banks of the Seine, near the metropolis, in which it is said some remains of a temple of Isis still existed." The church was begun about the year 557, and finished in 558; Childebert added a monastery to it, over Avhich St. Ger- main appointed Droctovius the first abbot. The church is described in terms of considerable magni- ficence. The cruciform shape is said to have been adopted in honour of the cross of Toledo; the fabric was sustained by large marble columns, the ceiling was gilt, the walls painted on a gold ground, the pavement composed of rich mosaic, and the roof externally covered with gold: in consequence of which profusion of splendour it was called St. Germain le dore. An altar was placed at each extremity of the edifice, and an ora- tory dedicated to St. Symphorien was erected by St. Germain, on the southern side of the entrance, in which he was after- wards buried by his particular desire; and on the northern side another was raised in honour of St. Peter.' However we " Appendix DD. t Bouillait, Hist. I. 5, may be inclined to suspect exaggeration in some parts of this description, especially as it was written after the church had been twice burnt by the Normans;" in most of its particulars it is by no means irreconcilcable with the authentic accounts of the religious buildings of that period, which we have already described." It was probabl}'^ of no great extent, but though rude and barbarous in taste, it might still be gaudy and bril- liant; the columns were perhaps of stone instead of marble,'' and the gilded ceiling was probably confined to the apsis, as there can be little doubt that the body of the church was covered, as was usual, with the naked timbers and frame-work of the roof, which on the outside might be decorated with tiles of gilt bronze. It is certain, although lead was more com- monly used, that this expensive ornament was not unknown in France at this time, and the title of St. Germain le dor^, may dispose us to believe that it was adopted in the present instance. The period at which the church acquired the name of St. Germain is doubtful; it was not at any rate till after the death » Tliis description is given by Gislemare, a monk of the abbey, who lived at the end of the ninth century. C'est a dire, says Felibien, aprSs que les Nor- mands y avoient deja mis le feu deux fois. Hist, de Paris, 1. 27. " See Part I. c. 3. <^ Appendix EE. 73 of the founders. At first it was styled indifferently the church of the Holy Cross, or of St. Vincent, or both. St. Germain, in his deed of donations, adds the name of St. Stephen; and Chil- debert, in his charter, besides these, mentions at least a dozen other saints, whose relics were preserved in the abbey. The ceremony of dedication was performed on the 23d of De- cember 55S, a short time before the death of that monarch, who was buried near the high altar at the eastern end of the building. A writing containing a donation of Bertram, bishop of Mans, in which this church is called the Nesv Building of Chil- peric, has induced a belief that it was rebuilt in so short a time as twenty years after its original foundation,^ which is very im- probable. It seems more likely that Chilperic reconstructed the oratory of St. Symphorien,^ and perhaps made some fur- ther additions or improvements; but the question is of little moment. Soon after the advancement of Pepin to the throne of France, it was proposed to him by Lantfroy, abbot of St. Vin- • Bouil. Hist. I. 8. " Bouillart produces some strong arguments in favour of tliis opinion, in his Response aux Remarques, &c. which is subjoined to liis history, p. 307. L 74 cent, to give a more honourable sepulture to the body of St. Germain, by transferring it from the chapel of St. Symphorien, into the nave of the church: the king approved the design, and desired to be present at the ceremony. The translation took place on the 25th of July, 754. On the preceding day the tomb of the saint was opened, and the body conveyed to the end of the nave of the church, where it remained during the night, which was passed by the convent in prayer and psalms of thanksgiving: in the morning the king arrived, accom- panied by his son Charles [le Magne], who was then but twelve years old, attended by the bishops and nobles of his court, and a vast concourse of people. Pepin himself, and the chief persons of the assembly, assisted in carrying the body to the grave which was prepared for it, behind the altar of the Holy Cross, in the eastern part of the building; and at the close of llic ceremony he made several grants of lands, in the neighbour- hood of Paris, to the abbey." Miracles are said to have been wrought on this important occasion, and it is added by the Monkish historian," that Charlemagne used afterwards to take great pleasure in relating ihem, with all their particulars. From the period of this translation it is supposed that tiie name of » Bouil. Hist. H. 1, 2. ^ Gislemare. 75 8t. Germain came to be generally received as the distinctivr title of the church and monaster}'/ The Normans, about the year 845, made a dreadful irrup- tion into France; an army of them, led by Regner, arrived in sixty vessels at the mouth of the Seine, where they landed with- out resistance, and proceeded in their course of devastation towards Paris, burning towns and churches, and committing every other act of barbarity. Upon the first alarm of their approach the monks of St. Germain opened the tomb of their saint, and retired with his body to Coulaville, in Brie, a village belonging to the abbey. From this moment till the year 888, the Normans made continual ravages around Paris, which they besieged in 884 with great fury, but were repulsed by the valour of the inhabitants, directed by Eudes and Gozlin, the count'' and bishop of the place: at length returning for the fifth time in 888, they were totally defeated by Eudes, who ' Appendix FF. '' After the residence of the kings at Paris, the administration of justice and the defence of the city were intrusted to the counts; they combined the func- tions which were exercised by the provost and governor in modern times ; the office became hereditary about 936, which occasioned the appointment of vis- count, who executed the former duties of the counts: in 1032 Count Odo dying without children, the dignity was united to the crown. Felibien, Hist. de Paris, Liv. II. l6. III. 24. 76 trom the infancy of the heir to the throne, and the distressed situation of France, had been elected king by the nobles of Neustria.' A treaty of peace was concluded in 91 1 by Charles the Simple, who had succeeded to the government, with Rollo the Norman chief, who being baptized by Franco Archbishop of Rouen, was acknowledged Duke of Normandy, and received the hand of Gisle, the daughter of the king, in marriage.'' Previous to this event the abbey of St. Germain had suffered severely; it had been frequently pillaged, and three times burnt: besides which, the revenues of the abbacy had been taken from it, and from 923 to 960 were possessed by laymen.' In process of time, however, the monks regained their privi- leges, and in 990 Morard, a man of talents and public spirit, was appointed to the office of abbot: perceiving that his church required great repairs, those that had taken place since its ruin by the Normans, having been hastily and slightly exe- cuted, he resolved to pull it down entirely and rebuild it from the foundations; in this design he was assisted by the muni- licence of Robert the Pious, and he had the satisfaction of completing the structure, nearly as it exists at present, before • Bouil. Hisl. II. 10 & seq. "^ Marole's Hist. p. 133. ' Bouil. Hist. II. 30j during this interval the abbey was goveinsd by deans. 77 his death, which happened in 1014." We learn from the in- scription," which was formerly legible on his tomb, that he added to the church a tower containing a bell. It is remarkable, that the dedication of the new fabric did not take place till the year 1163, when it was performed with peculiar solemnity by Alexander III, who had at that time taken refuge in France. He was attended by twelve cardinals, and a great number of bishops and clergy, from the principal states of Europe; the procession moved three times round the interior and exterior of the church, sprinkling the walls with holy water. The high altar was then consecrated in honour of the Holy Cross, and the Martyrs St. Stephen and St. Vincent; the pope standing opposite the centre of it, and a bishop at each corner, Avho, dipping their fingers in holy oil, marked it in those several places with the sign of the cross. The relics were deposited by the pope beneath the altar, while the Bishop of Ostia, and three other prelates, dedicated some of the chapels. After the ceremony was concluded the pope proceeded to the meadow without the walls of the abbey, and in an address to the people publicly confirmed several valuable privileges of the convent.' * Bouil. Hist. III. 2. '' Appendix GG. •^Bouil. Kist. III. 20 78 The old cloister, which was grealh' decayed, was taken down in 1227, Jmd another completed in the course of the same year by the abbot Eudes.' A new refectory was commenced b}' the abbot Simon in 1236,'' and in 1244 the grand chapel of the ^'^irgin was under- taken, during the government of Hugue d'Iss3\'^ These exqui- site specimens of Gothic architecture were built from the designs of Pierre de Montereau, and are remarkable examples of his extraordinary taste and skill.'' The chapter-house, and the beautiful chamber which adjoins it, were constructed about this time, over which the abbot Gerard began to erect the dor- mitor}- in 1273: the prior's lodging, and some other parts of the monastery, are W7)rks of the same period/ The monks of St. Germain continued to sleep in their dormitor}', according to the rule of St. Benedict, till about the year 1513, when the more convenient reform of separate bed rooms was introduced. At the beginning of the war with the English, in 1368, Charles A' sent an order to the abbot Richard, desiring him to build new walls and towers, and to put the abbey in a state of defence, which he performed with great alacrity. '^ • Bouil. Hist. in. 48. " lb. III. 52. ^ lb. 111. 54. •' .See Part II. c. vii. ' Bouil. Hist. III. 63. 'lb. IV. 9. See also PI. IX. 79 A brazen eagle for the choir, and a new shrine for the relics of St. Germain, were executed about the year 1408, by some skilful artists of Paris, employed by the abbot William. The shrine was composed of gold, silver, brass, and precious stones, formed into the shape of a Gothic church. The brazen front of the high altar, which was made in 1236, was re-cast and gilt at this time, and probably by the same workmen." The altars of the chapels which, according to the ancient cus- tom, stood insulated, and Avere open behind for the reception of relics, were placed close to the walls, by order of the abbot William V, about the year 1528, and were re-consecrated in consequence of this change." A new cloister was erected in 1555, and in the course of the next year the high altar, which had been dedicated by Alexander III, was destroyed to erect another in the taste of the sixteenth century : upon opening this venerable monument, the monks anxiously looked for the shirt of St. Vincent, the pious gift of Childebert, but the only thing they discovered Avas a glass phial filled with relics, which were reduced to powder, and a few bones, which they believed to be those of St. Stephen and St. Vincent, deposited by the pope on the day of consecration. ' ' Bouil. Hist. IV. 14. ^ lb, V. 5. c Jb y. 12. 80 The church seems to have been greatly out of repair about the year 1579/ but the consternation which the Huguenots spread throughout France," prevented the monks for some time from attending to the slate of their buildings. After the pub- lic profession of the Roman Catholic religion, however, by Henry IV, in 1592, several repairs and alterations were made in the abbey,* and in 1644 the restoration of the church was undertaken. It was now in a most dilapidated and dangerous condition: the nave was covered in some parts with the remains of the broken ceiling, and in others only by the tiles of the roof. The pavement was so sunk that it was necessary to de- scend into it by steps, and the vaulting of the transept threatened to fall in; many of the windows were built up, the capitals of the pillars were defaced, and the walls covered with dirt, and in several places had lost their plaister. The whole of these deficiencies were repaired in the course of two years at the ex- pense of the convent. The nave was for the first time vaulted with stone, and the vaulting of the transept renewed ; the pil- lars were ornamented with composite capitals, some of the windows enlarged, the walls refreshed with plaister and faced, those of the transept rebuilt of stone, with windows of greater • Bouil. Hist. V. 20. >' Appendix HH. -^ lb. V. 26. 81 dimensions, and a new door to the south; the roof of the nave and transept was covered with slate, and an aheration was made in the disposition of the choir, the fabric of wiiich ap- pears to have been the only part of the church which had been kept in sufficient repair/ These works were accomplished in 1646, and in this state has this venerable structure remained to the present times. Its original character has been little affected by the changes which it has undergone, and it still presents a striking and cu- rious exhibition of the architecture of France at the beginning of the eleventh century. The building is considerable, but the exterior possesses no remarkable feature, and excites no other interest than is derived from a knowledge of its antiquity. Within, it is low, mean, and badly lighted; and though it may shew less rudeness, it has none of the majesty of our Norman churches. The west end is terminated by a tower, besides which two others, a northern and a southern, are situated in the angles formed by the body of the church with the east sides of the transepts. The western tower is thought by many French antiquaries to be part of the edifice of Childe- ' lb. V. 41. Felibien. Hist, de Paris, Tom. II. liv.xxvii. 77. M 82 bert." Bouillart, the historian of the abbey, is of this opinion. By others it has been considered of the age of Pepin and Charlemagne; all that can be determined with certainty is, that it is older than Morard's church; a fact which may be discovered from the difference of the stone and its ruder con- struction: indeed as to this point there is no dispute: Avith re- gard to the question whether it was built in the reign of Childe- bert, or later, (since we know that the French erected stone towers to their churches in the eighth century;*" and as we have no good authority that they were in use in the sixth,) it is most reasonable to coincide with those who place its foundation in the time of Pepin and Charlemagne. The statues with which the portal of this tower is decorated, have also been an object of speculation among antiquaries;" some, as in the former case, deciding them to be of the age of Childebert, and others of Charlemagne: but in arguing this point, they seem to have fallen into the strange mistake of sup- posing that the tower itself, and the ornaments of its gate, must necessarily have the same date; and that if the figures can be » Some have even carried its antiquity still higher, and supposed it a remain of the Temple of Isis ! Felib. Hist. Paris, I. 32. " See Part I. • See Response aux Reniarques, 8cc. annexed to Bouillart's tlistory. S3 proved to represent the family of Childebert, or of Charlemagne, it follows that they were placed there by those monarchs; a rea- soning which can never be admitted as conclusive, and which we may be able to show, in the present instance, is in all probability erroneous. The portal, which is the subject of debate, was unfor- tunately destroyed during the late revolution," until which period it remained in good preservation:'' now it appears next to an impossibility, that a gate ornamented with eight large statues, a gale too of a place of worship, a circumstance so peculiarly calculated to excite the destructive rage of Vandalism, -and which actually did excite that of the Vandals of the eighteenth century, should have escaped untouched from the still more sweeping fury of the barbarians of the eighth; by whom the neighbourhood of Paris was invaded five successive times, and who frequently pillaged, and three times burnt this very church. These considerations, notwithstanding it seems ascertained that two of the figures are of the family of Childebert, must incline us to believe, that this portal was the work of the abbot Mo- rard, who, from his respect to the memory of the founder, might place his statue there with those of his father and * An accurate representation of it is given in Bouiliart's History. " Tout eutier et bien conserve. Lenoir. Musee, p. 91, 84 brother: or, it is still more probable, that finding some muti- lated statues of St. Germain and the family of Childebert remaining on the front of the ancient church, he might have ordered that the new portal should be ornamented with figures of the same persons. In this manner, when the refectory was rebuilt by Pierre de Montereau, an old statue of Childebert above the door was replaced by a new one.' The miserable taste" of these figures, on which is grounded an argument for their high antiquity, applies equally well to the sculpture of the eleventh as to that of the sixth century: when therefore we lake into consideration the fury of the Normans, the exposed situation of the statues,' and their perfect state at the time of the revolution, we can scarcely assign them an earlier date than that of Morard's church. We may observe too, in confir- mation of this opinion, that the capitals of the columns which separate the different figures, are, in some instances, rude imi- tations of the Corinthian order, and in others a grotesque mix- ' Bouil. Hist. III. 31. * Gout pitoyable. ' Felibien, speaking of the tomb of Childebert, Hist. Par. I. 32, observes, " 11 est plus que probable qu'il ne fut pas plus respecte dans les ravages des Normans que tant d'ornemens magnifiques dout I'eglise mesme 6toit decoree." This reasoning applies with greater force to the statues of the portal, which were more exposed to their fury than any other ornaments of the church. 85 ture of birds, griffins, and flowers, very similar to those of the interior of the building. It is also worthy of remark, that the whole portal, with its statues of kings with disks or nimbes be- hind their heads, bears a close resemblance to that of the cathedral of Chartres, which was certainly erected in the ele- venth century. We discover from the epitaph of Morard, that in addition to the church he constructed a tower containing a bell; the claim of that at the western end of the building to an higher antiquity seems indisputable, and of the two others, it is pro- bable, as Bouillart suggests, that Morard raised that on the north side of the church near the dormitory.^ The southern tower appears to have been erected for the sake of uniformity, by some of his successors, during the eleventh century; the upper stories of all of them are evidently of a later date, and from their narrow pointed windows, it may be judged, that they were finished in the course of the succeeding century; perhaps by the abbots Thibaud or Hugues de Monceaux, in whose time the church was dedicated. '' It is not difficult to distinguish the remains of Morard's building from the alterations of subsequent periods. The * Bouil. Hist. III. 2. " Felibien. His. de Paris, Liv. IV. 70. 86 lower walls of the choir and nave, the eight eastern chapels, most of the columns and arches of the nave, and all the co- lumns and arches of the choir, are undoubtedly parts of this ancient structure. The most material changes which it has since undergone consist in the vaulting the choir, which Bouil- lart thinks took place in the fourteenth century;^ and the vault- ing the nave, and the rebuilding nearly the whole of the transept, which we have already related, was executed about the middle of the seventeenth. It has been remarked, that the interior of the church is low and gloomy, being principally lighted by small windows resem- bling those of our Saxon buildings, but the columns and arches, which form the chief features, are well w'orth attention, parti- cularly those of the choir, which have remained unaltered since the time of Morard: their general proportions, and those of the capital to the shaft, nearly approach the Roman standard for the Corinthian order, which is in many of them closely imitated : others exhibit a sort of arabesque composition of griffins and birds," still however retaining the Corinthian leaves and volutes, and each is correctly finished with astragals and • Bouil. Hist. p. 310. »> An engraving of one of these capitals is given in Mas. des Mon. Fran. PI. 60. 87 an abacus. Here columns support a series of round arches, except in the semi-circular arcade " at the eastern end of the church, where they are pointed in consequence of the arrange- ment of the pillars, which being placed in the bow nearer each other than where the colonnade proceeds in a straight direction, the arches which rise from them, when brought to an equal height with those of around shape, become necessarily pointed; and this is among a number of instances where the pointed ARCH was used from accident and necessity before it became an object of taste.^ This venerable fabric, so interesting to the history of the arts, was converted at the beginning of the revolution into a manu- factory of salt-petre, but since the re-eslablisiiment of religion, it has been restored to its proper use ; and although the build- ings of the monastery are destined to destruction, its preser- vation is secured by its being appointed a parish church of the metropolis. * The round point. '' The same circumstance occurs in the crypt of St. Denis. See Part II. c. 3. In the choir of the church of La Charite sur Loire, and at the east end of Can- terbury cathedral, built between 1180 and 1185, where " the arches are some circular, others mitred ; for the distances between the pillars here diminishing gradually as we go eastward, the arches, being all of the same height, are mitred (i. e. pointed), to comply with this fancy, so that the angles of the eastern one* are very acute." Gostling's Canterbury, p. 224. 88 CHAP. II. THE ABBEY OF ST. GENEVIEVE. The Church founded by Clovisj and dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul — Subsequently dedicated to St. Genevieve — Rebuilt by Stephen of Tournay, in 1177 — Description of the Building. An island on the Seine, surrounded by forests and marshes, was naturally seized upon as a place of security in early bar- barous ages. In this place, and probably from these motives, the ancient Celts founded a town, which has since become the capital of the French empire. Its small and simple original did not extend beyond what is called L'Isle de la Cite, which still retains the metropolitan church, and palace of justice, the ancient residence of the counts of Paris. * It sfeems however to have been considerably increased under the Romans; many of the emperors, particularly Julien, carried their troops into winter quarters there ; ■" and from the remains of ancient baths,' ' Felibien. Disc, prelim. 4. •> Felib. Liv. I. 7. et seq. ' II est vrai que le tems ne nous a conserve de ces anciens monumens qu'un morgeau a demi ruine d'un fort grand edifice qu'on appelloit autrefois le Palais des Thermes proche les Mathurins. Felib. I. 8. 89 as well as other circumstances, it appears that an addition to the city had been made on the southern bank of the river, and probably in other places. After the conversion and triumph of Clovis, he brought his treasures to Paris, which he chose for his residence and the capital of his kingdom. At first, perhaps, he resided in the palace of the Thermee, or baths, which had been inhabited by the emperors Julian, Valentinian, and Gratian; but he is re- lated to have afterwards founded a palace for himself and his court, on the rising ground near the southern suburb of the city ; and at the same time he erected a church adjoining to it in honour of St. Peter and St. Paul, where he was interred, though it was not entirely finished at his death, A. D. 511. This pious work he is said in his epitaph to have undertaken upon the persuasions of Saint Clote, or Clotilde, his wife, and " Madame Sancte Genevieve," a lady ' whose legend abounds with miracles and austerities, and who afforded the Parisians such ample proofs of her protecting power when alive, as to • St. Genevieve is said to have been born at Nanterre in 420, and many wonderful particulars are related of her life (Millin. Tom. V. p.60) : hername IS probably a corruption from Janua Nova; and her existence, as well as her history, is supposed by many to be a monkish fable. N 90 induce their posterity to trust to the efficacy of her dead body for ages afterwards. This precious rehc was deposited under the choir of the church of St. Peter and St. Paul, or, as it was often called, of the Holy Apostles; but a long and splendid course of miracles operated by it, gradually undermined those ancient titles, and (as was the case with the neighbouring abbey of St. Germain des Prez) at length by common consent it obtained the name of St. Genevieve. During the ravages of the Normans in the ninth century, this edifice suffered together with every other in the neighbour- hood ; and it is curious to remark, that the holy body of the Saint was not permitted by the monks to afford protection to its peculiar sanctuary, but was carried by them within the walls of the city, Avhere it reposed, and diffused around it an imaginary security.' In the meantime its deserted church was burnt by the Normans, which misfortune is said to have been three times repeated. " After the establishment of the Normans in Neustria by the peace, A. D. 911, a general repair and re-building took place among the churches which their ravages had destroyed. ■ Felib. Lib. III. 6. lb. 10. »> Felib. Lib. IL 59- A. D. 846, 857, 892. 91 The church of St. Genevieve was repaired by Robert the Pious, at the beginning of the eleventh century ; he also added to it a cloister which was demolished in the reign of Francis I. It appears, however, that this repair by K. Robert was slight and inconsiderable, since some writers scarcely notice it:' and we learn, that in the twelfth century the church was in so ruinous a state, as to determine the Abbot Stephen, known by the title of Stephen of Tournay, " who was elected, A. D. 1177, to undertake its complete restoration. It still exhibited traces of the fire of the Normans, and the walls were greatly damaged in several places ; these he repaired, and vaulted the church with stone as it remains at present. He also restored the chapter-house, cloister, the great chapel of the Virgin, and all the offices of the monastery : having completed these works, and obtained several privileges in favour of his abbey, he was elected bishop of Tournay, A. D. 1192. This abbey-church is perhaps the most interesting and venerable relic in France, since it is highly probable that the disposition of it, and some part of the existing walls, may be * Felibian seems to think it too trivial to record, vide Lib. III. 38. •• The life and letters of this abbot were published by the Pere Claude de Moulinet, canon regular of St. Genevieve, A. D. 1679. 92 of the age of Clovis : its size and shape, without transepts, but with a circular termination, favour this supposition. It seems certain, both from history and from observation, that the church was not rebuilt by Robert the Pious, or by Abbot Stephen, but merely repaired by them. The small size, as well as shape of it, are decidedly in favour of this supposition ; for we cannot conceive that so illustrious a church as that of St. Genevieve, would have been rebuilt in the eleventh or tAvelfth centuries on so small a scale and without transepts, which were then every where adopted in France. The facade is only remarkable for its great nakedness ; it consists of three pointed arch portals, ornamented with small coupled columns, the capitals of which are composed of ivy leaves ; above the centre door is a plain rose window, the other windows are long and lancet shaped ; the whole is surmounted by a mas- sive and plain pediment. The three portals whicli exist at present, cannot be those which were built by the canon Mignard, in the time of Hugh Capet, but were most likely erected after the repair of the church was finished by the successor of Stephen. Remains of painting are still visible in the arches over the doors. The interior of the church is mean and gloomy, lighted only by 93 narrow windows. An old column near the door, on the north side, leading to St. Stephen's church, is supposed to be a rem- nant of the original fabric. The nave is separated from the aisles by eight columns, four of Avhich are larger than the others, and their capitals are completely Lombard ; a mixture of leaves, birds, &c. in a similar style, though not bearing the same classical proportion to the shaft, as those of St. Germain des Prez : the capitals of the four smaller columns are orna- mented with acanthus leaves. Upon these capitals rest clusters of small pillars and pointed arches, which support the roof; these were put up by Abbot Stephen, a century later. The mosaics, which decorated the church of Clovis, were re- moved by Abbot Stephen. The tower is of different dates ; the lower part, of the eleventh century ; the upper, except the spire, was built by Thibaut, ' precentor of the church, in the twelfth century. This monument is valuable, not only from its exhibiting • Millin, Tom. V. p. 58. Felib. vie des Architects, 212. Millin seems to think, that the present fa§ade was the worli of Robert the Pious, in the eleventh century, but the pointed arches are against this supposition ; and if it be true, as he afterwards mentions, that the mosaics of the time of Clovis were existing when Stephen repaired it, it is impossible it should have been rebuilt by K. Robert. 94 the exact shape of the early French churches, but also from affording a specimen of the narrow lancet window, which is very rare in France. It is, however, too mixed and mean a structure to afford a fair specimen of the early Gothic'of that country. A central school is now established in the abbey of St. Genevieve, but the church itself seems consigned to decay. 95 CHAP. III. ST. D E N Y S. Foundation of the church by Dagobert.— Its restoration by Suger in 1140; re- pairs under Eudes Clement 1231, and Mathieu de Vendosme in 1281 De- scription of the church, and first instance of the pointed arch. — Remarks on the comparative state of Gothic architecture in France and England. Present situation of the church. — ^The crosses on the road to St. Denis from Paris. The foundation of this abbey is as usual involved in the ob- scurity and fables of antiquity ; it is well known, that Saint Dionysius, or Denis, has long enjoyed the reputation of having been the first preacher of the Gospel to the Gauls; and it is also related, that he crowned his labours by a glorious martyr- dom ; but where and when these things happened seems to be a matter of controversy among the monks themselves. We shall therefore content ourselves with merely giving the general outUne of what they agree to consider as established history. The ' persecutors of St. Denis, fearing the zeal of the Chris- • Histoire de I'Abbaye Royale de Saint Denis en France, par Dom Michel Felibien, Religieux Benedictin de la Congregation de St. Maur. Lib. I. p. 1. 96 tians should lead them to shew honour to the bodies of their apostle and his fellow martyrs, Rusticus and Eleutherius, com- manded that they should be privately conveyed to a distance, and plunged into the Seine. A female, however, named Catalla, who, though a Pagan, had conceived a respect for the remains of these holy men, invited the persons employed on this service to eat in her house ; and while they Avere thus engaged, she ordered her servants to carry off the bodies, and bury them in a field six miles from Paris. She then had the field sown with corn, the better to conceal the place of their sepulture ; and after the fury of the persecution had subsided, she erected a monument over their remains. The Christians now flocked to the spot, where, induced by a succession of sup- posed miracles, they erected a church to the honour of the principal martyr. These events are supposed to have happened about the middle of the third century ; in the fifth ' we have notice of the church having been rebuilt, through the influence of Sainte Genevieve, assisted by Genes, and several other priests of Paris : the place was at that time called Vicus Calholiacensis, or Ca- tulliacus. '' Some records remain, which seem to prove that a • Hist, de St. Denis, Tom. I. p. 3. " lb. p. 5. 97 monastery was established here even before the reign of Dago- bert, Avho has generally passed for its founder ; but the new existence he gave to it by ample endowments, and by rebuild- ing it in a more sumptuous manner, certainly affords him a fair claim to the title." He is said, by a writer who is en- titled to some credit, to have begun this great work a short time after the death of Clothaire II. when he had succeeded in uniting the states of Neustria and Burgundy with the king- dem of Austrasia, which he had already governed six years. Felibien places its commencement about the year 629- The new church is as usual described in lofty terms: the anony- mous author before mentioned, and after him Aimoin, informs us, that no expense was spared to make this edifice the most magnificent in France ; that it was executed with consummate art ; that it had columns, which, as well as a variety of orna- ments and the pavement, were all of marble. The interior was brilliant with gold, jcAvels, and precious stones, particu- larly the shrine of the saint, which was executed, at the re- quest of Dagobert, by St. Eloy; whose reputation for skill in " Hist, de St. DeniSj Tom. I. p. 7. The anonymous author of the Gesta Dagoberti Regis ; a monk of St. Denis^ and who appears to hate lived about 150 years after Dagobert. O 98 the arls, was as great as for the sanctity of his life. S. Oueii has left us a description of this monument : he remarks that it was constructed on the same plan as the tombs of other mar- tyrs, being elevated over the body, and supported by columns of marble : the front very rich with gold and precious stones. An altar stood before the shrine, its sides formed of pannels of Avood, ornamented with golden branches in relief, bearing fruit made of gold and gems; the covering of the top was silver. It is further added by this anonymous monk, that the roof of the building, immediately over the altar, was exter- nally covered with pure silver ; but as he did not live till after the roof was destroyed, it will be difficult to credit him in re- gard to the purity of the metal, though it is probable that the roof of the sanctuary might be covered with brass tiles either silvered or gilt.' Dagobert's church of St. Denis, although erected near a century later than that of Childebert, which was described in the last chapter but one, was probably built nmch after the same fashion ; oblong, with a round termination, having marble columns internally, and a great profusion of mosaic work. * See Appendix II. 99 Besides the church, Dagobert built the cloister and offices of the monastery, which he endowed with several rich posses- sions. " In the course of tlie succeeding century, the church of Dagobert was taken down, and a new one, upon a grander scale, begun to be erected by Pepin, which was completed under his son Charlemagne, and received consecration, in the presence of the court, in the month of February, 775. While this work was carrying on, an accident happened to one of the artists, named Airard, who, hastening to obey some order of the Abbot Fubrad, fell from the scaffolding of the tower, but miraculously escaped without the slightest in- jury. This person is supposed, by Felibien, to be repre- sented on one of the gates of the church, where the habit in which he is clothed, and the inscription beneath him, shew that he was (as was usual in those ages) a monk of the abbey. The Normans, under the command of Regnier, ascended the Seine to Paris about the year 846 ; when the king resolved to protect the sanctuary of his patron saint from violence, and a sum of money induced the invaders to suspend their opera- tions for a time, and retire. Shortly afterwards, as might be • Hist. S. Den. ii. 10. 100 expected, they returned with a larger force to pursue their career of bloodshed and plunder. France was reduced to the lowest stale by these irruptions, till, in 858,° the power of the invaders was at such an height, that all the monasteries in the neighbourhood of Paris retired with their relics to distant places of safety. Among others the monks of St. Denis carried their relics to Nogent sur Seine, where they concealed them.'' The Normans entered the abbey the 20th of October, 865, and continued in it for three weeks ; during which time the rich gifts laid up there by so many kings, became the spoil of the pirates ; who, as the old monk writes, loaded their vessels with them as freely as if they had been merchandise in one of their own ports. Charles carried his court to St. Denis in 869/ and remained there the whole Lent, during which time he caused the monastery to be completely surrounded by a fortification of wood and stone. ""It appears that the Abbey of S. Denis was very early possessed of lands in England, and that the apostle of Fiance was held in the highest estimation by many of our kings, par- ticularly Edward the Confessor, who made a grant to the • Hist. St. Den. ii. 28. '' lb. ii. 32. ' lb. ii. 34. '' See Appendix KK. 101 abbey of the lands of Tinton,' in Oxfordshire, probably by the persuasion of Baldouin, his physician, who was a monk of St. Denis. In the year 1123, upon the death of Adam, the persecutor of Abelard, Suger was elected abbot. The abilities of this great man soon raised him above the narrow sphere of his cloister, and, after holding many distinguished offices in the preceding reign, he was nominated regent of France by Louis VII. upon the departure of that monarch for the Hol}'^ land.'' His political employments, however, do not seem to have withdrawn his attention from the abbey over which he was appointed to preside; for, having already repaired the other parts of it, the dormitory, refectory, the apartments of the pilgrims, and the offices of the monastery, and having re- built and embellished the great entrance, he determined on giving a more magnificent air, and more ample dimensions to his church ; and, as he was particularly skilled in the science of architecture, he took the direction of the work into his own hands." The extent and nature of his restorations are involved in some degree of obscurity, both from the manner in which ' See Appendix LL. '' In the year 1147. <= Hist. St. Den. iv. 7. 102 they are mentioned in the ancient records,^ and tlie subsequeni alterations which the church underwent in the succeedino- cen- tury. It appears, however, that his plan did not extend to an entire new fabric ; but that having restored the west front and the towers, which were in a more decayed state than the rest of the edifice, he then turned his attention to the interior, for the embelUshment of which, he at one time determined to send for marble columns from Rome; " but this design was re- linquished, upon his finding unexpectedly a vein of stone of superior quahty in a quarry near Pontoise. His zeal in the prosecution of this undertaking was warmly seconded by that of the people, particularly of the peasantry, who ran in crowds to assist in transporting the burdens at the command of the abbot. The most experienced and excellent artists were col- lected from all parts of France, and so active was Suger him- self in the superintendance of the work, that when wood was ' Le Livre de rAdmiiiistratioii Abbatiale del'Abbe Suger, is written in the first person, as if by Suger himself; but as some of the MSS. bear the name of Wilham, his secretary, it has been conjectured, though apparently with little reason, that he was the author of it, as well as the other little tract published by M. Duchesne, Le Livre dc la dedicace de I'Eglise de St. Denis, which is written and signed in the same way. ^ See Appendix MM. 103 wanted i'or the beams of the roof, and his own carpenters and those of Paris declaied that none could be found in that neigh- bourhood, he is related to have led them into the forest of Chevreuse, and, with his own hand, to have marked the trees proper for the purpose. A part of the church being completed,' Suger invited Hugh, Archbishop of Rouen, and several other prelates, to assist in the dedication, which took place in the year 1140;" on this occasion the whole assembly entreating Suger to pursue the work still further, he determined to rebuild the upper end of the church, which is called the Chevet, or round point. When the foundations had been dug, and every thing pre- pared for erecting the structure, the king, and a vast number of prelates and nobles, on Sunday the 14th of June, 1140, * It appears, from the Liv. de I'Adm. Abbatiale, that this first work of Suger consisted in enlarging the nave and widening the front of the church. Acces- siraus igitur ad priorem Valvarum introitum, et deponentes augmentum quod- dam quod a Karolo Magno factum perhibebatur, ibidem manum apposuimus, et quemadmodum apparet, et in amplificatione corporis ecclesiae, et Intioitus et valvarum triplicatione, turrium et altarium erectione instanter desudavimus cap. XXV. de Ecclesiae primo augmeuto. '' A record of this date was placed, in gilt letters, over the great entrance. Annus Millenus et Centenus Quadragenus Annus erat Verbi quando Sacrata fuit. 104 assisted in la3'ing the first stones: they descended into the trenches with the sacred rehcs, singing the 86th Psalm, " Fun- damentum ejus in montibus Sanctis ;" and it is related that while they were chanting the verse " Lapides pretiosi omnes muri tui," many of the company took off their rings, and cast them into the foundations. * This Avork being finished in 1144, it was dedicated with great solemnity on the 11th of June, in the presence of the king, the queen, the queen- mother, and a vast assemblage of prelates, who consecrated the high altar and twenty others; among which it is mentioned, that the altar of the Virgin was consecrated by Theobald Arch- bishop of Canterbury. The author of one of the records before alluded to," asserts that Suger, after he had completed the upper part of the church, in which'' Felibien thinks that the transept is in- cluded, still proceeded in his work; and that, instead of finishing the towers, as he had at first intended, he began to renovate the middle part of the church, so as to make it con- form and harmonize with each of the other parts (the chevet • Hist. St. Den. iv. 8. ** Liv. de I'Adm. Abbatiale. Cap. xxix. de coatinuatione utriuisque operis. = Hist. St. Den. iv. 8. 105 and the west front) which he had before renewed. It is pro- bable, therefore, that he, in some measure, renovated the whole church, though he appears to have retained some parts of the ancient structure, particularly the walls, for which he had the highest veneration, believing them to have received the benediction of Christ himself in the time of Dagobert. The death of Suger happened in 1151, after he had governed the abbey tAventy-nine years. This supposition, that the fabric was not entirely rebuilt, agrees with the accounts given in many ancient records;" and a passage' in the life of that abbot by the monk William, seems clearly to express, that the church was not a new struc- ture erected from the ground by Suger; but that it was greatly altered by him, and in many parts rebuilt. But a more de- cisive evidence is derived from the state of decay in which Eudes Clement found the church in 1231,"^ and which induced •Hist. St. Den. iv. 8. •> Varias de cunctis regni paitibus asciverat artifices; lathomos, lignarios, Pictores, Fabros, Fenarios vel Fusores, Aurifices quoque et Gemmarios, ut Ligno, Lapide, Auio, Geinmis et omni pretiosa materia Martyrum memoriam exornarent, et ex veteri novam, ex angusta latissimara, ex tenebrosa splen- didam redderent ecclesiam. Vit. Sugerii. Abbatis, Lib. ii. 9. "■ Hist. St. Den. v. 2. P JOG him, in spile of the superstition that the walls were still re- garded with, to undertake the rebuilding of the greater part of it from the ground. St. Louis, and his mother Blanche, assisted him in this design, and we find, in consequence, the arms of Castile and France unilcd in many parts of the choir and transept. "The choir, it appears, was nearly completed under this abbot, and the rest of the new Avork, which con- sisted of the transept and nave, was carried on by his suc- cessors, and finished under Matthieu de ''Vendosme, in 1281, who also repaired the other buildings of the abbey, and sur- rounded it with a wall and towers. The church of Si. Denis is externally a lofly and striking fabric, when seen from the east, the north, or south sides : the height of the windows, the delicacy of the sculpture, and what ' The following notice occurs in the Petite Chronique tic St. Denys, mccxxxi. Hoc anno coepit Odo Abbas renovaie capitulum ecclesiaj B. Dio- nysii Areopagitoe, et peifecit illud usque ad fincm chori, iioc cxcepto quod turris ubi sunt cymbala a parte revestiarii non erat perfecta, nee voltatus erat chorus; sed a parte saiicii Ilippoliti totum erat perfectum, et etiaui voltatum a parte vestiarii. '' Hist. St. Den. V. X. This event is also recorded in the Petite Chronique de St. Denys. mcclxxxi. consummatum est novum opus eeclesias B. Dionysii a domino Matthseo Abbate. 107 has been quaintly termed the ' " flutter of arch buttresses, and abundance of busy work," produce an effect of confused richness and varied hght and shade, which forms one of the greatest triumphs of this style of architecture. The west front, however, is deficient in majesty and decoration. The chief portal is arched semicircularly, and adorned with sculpture, but the walls above it are thinly ornamented with ranges of alternate round and pointed arches, in half relief, on little pillars similar to those of Purbeck stone, so frequent in our churches. The height of the towers is unequal, which mate- rially affects the beauty of the fabric; they are crowned with slate spires, and perforated with round-headed windows. The interior presents a more regular and magnificent prospect; a prospect which cannot fail to remind the English traveller of our grand national receptacle of monuments, though it certainly surpasses it both in the richness and lii^ht- ness of its architecture. The abbey of St. Denis as it now stands, contains examples of three teras of French Gothic Architecture. The first is the most curious, and is perhaps the oldest perfect specimen of * Expressions of Sir Christopher Wren, in his Parentalia, to denote the peculiarities of the Gothic manner. 108 omamented building remaining in France. The lower church beneath tlie chapel of St. Denis is with good reason decided to have been part of the ancient fabric erected by Pepin and Charlemagne in the eighth century. The rudeness of its architecture, and the effigies of these monarchs sculptured on the capital "of one of the columns seem to leave no doubt on this subject. This curious remain, among other illus- trations of the history of the art which have been before noticed, aiFords a more ancient example of that arrangement of columns in the circular arcade which necessarily produces the pointed arch, and which has been already described in the later instance of St. Germain des Prez. The pointed arch, as a characteristic style, arose long afterwards, and probably from a different cause; but it is certain that the '' earliest arches of that shape which occur in the architecture of the middle ages, are to be found, as in this and similar instances, » See Le Musee des Monumens Fran§ois, par Peicier et Lenoir. Tom. I. Plate 39. " The pointed arches in the Chevet of St Germain des Prez, erected at the beginning of the eleventh century, have been already noticed : another example of the same arrangement is seen in the Benedictine church of La Charite sur Loire, built towards the close of the same century; a curious and interesting monument of Lombard architecture. 109 produced by the semicircular arcades at the eastern ends of the ancient Lombard churches. The great gate " claims to be of the time of Charlemao-ne. and perhaps the mere masonry may be of that antiquity ; but there can be no doubt that the decorations and statuary were added afterwards, in the 12 th or 13th century. The chapels of the Chevet, and some part of the eastern arcade of the church, are remains of the work of Suo-er to whom must also be attributed the western front." The pave- ment, and the painted glass of the east end, are of the same date. The columns erected by Suger are of the Lombard style ; but the pointed arch occurs in every part of his work. When it is remembered that the works of Suger were all executed before the middle of the 12th century, and that the Chevet of St. Denis was indisputably finished in the year 1144 our belief that the English artists were prior to those of other nations in the use of the pointed arch, must be considerably " Hist. St. Den. Chap. ii. " Lenoir has given two specimens of these, in his Mus6e des Mon. Fran§ais^ PI. 36, 37. PI. 36, however, which is a mixture of the hghtest Gothic, with a Moorish pattern, may, with greater probability, be referred to the subsetiuent alteration of the church in the 13tli centurv. no shaken. No certain instance can be brought forward among the anterior or contemporary buildings of this country, in which the pointed arch was decidedly introduced." All authorities concur in fixing the reign of Henry II. (that is, after the year 1154), as the earliest aera of the introduction into England of the mixed style of round and pointed arches, which we see practised in Suger's works in France before that period. The first work in which the pointed arch decidedly occurs in this country (for the dubious instance' of St. Cross, built in 1132-36, cannot be admitted by any one who wishes to proceed on sure grounds), are the vaults of Archbishop Roger, at York,' begun in 1171; the vestibule of the Temple Church, built in 1184;" the great western tower' of Ely, finished in 1189; the choir ^ at Canterbury, carried on between 1175 and 1180; and the two » Bentham, Grose, Waiton, &c. and Mr. Milner, who, notwithstanding liis eagerness to assert the priority of the English in the discovery of the pointed iirch, has not been able to produce an earlier instance of its decided appear- ance in this country, than the remains of Hyde Abbey, which he supposes to have been built about 11 Go. Hist. Winch, vol. ii. 152. *> Appendix, NN.- ' Bentham, Ely, p. 38. '' Stowe's Surve}', p. 824. ' Bentham, Ely, p. 37- ' Gervase's Hist, apud Decern Scriptores. Col. 1302. Ill western towers of Durham which are ahnost exactly in the same slyle as Suger's front of St. Denis, erected in 1233. The nave which contains the clioii-, and the transepts of St. Denis, were built by Eudes Clemont and Matthieu de Vendosme, between the years 1231 and 1281. The works of these abbots form a magnificent structure; not, perhaps, equal to that of Amiens, in lightness and delicacy; but still so light and beautiful, and so grand an example of the magic hardi- ness of Gothic architecture, that it is not the less admired be- cause the eye has been previously delighted with that exquisite cathedral. The bold and striking elevation which distin- guishes the works of the French architects, and to which their lightness is in a great measure to be attributed, is very re- markable in this church, where the nave is 90 feet high and only 39 wide. The works of Eudes and Matthieu de Vendosme, at St. Denis, afford a further illustration of the superior advances of the French in Gothic architecture. The instance of Amiens, however, is so decisive on this point, that it would be super- fluous in this place to insist upon every additional argument, which is to be derived from a survey of this fabric, and a com- parison of it with the contemporary parts of Westminster Ab- 112 bey/ The superior finishing of the buttresses, the pillars, and the tracery, is every where apj^arent. The windows, however, are so slrikino- a corroboration of what will hereafter be noticed respecting those of Amiens, that they must not remain with- out some mention. The uj^per range at St. Denis, which fill up the space between the great arches and the vaulting, and which resemble each other in pattern throughout the whole work of Eudes and Matthieu de Vendosme, are eminently spacious and magnificent; and it may be safely asserted, that none at all similar, or comparable to them, can be adduced from the contemporary buildings of this country. They are each nearly forty feet high, and each is divided by four perpendicular mul- lions, terminating in arches, which support three six foils or roses. The distance between each is only three feet. Some of these were certainly finished under Eudes Clemont, and were, no doubt, conceived by the architect, whose plan he adopted, and began to carry on in 1231. If these be com- » The eastern part of the old abbey church of Edward tlie Confessor was taken down, and the new one begun under Henry III. in the year 1245. The choir was finished in 1285. In 1299 the palace and monastery were destroyed, and the church def\iced, by fire. The latter was repaired and completed by Edward I. and his successors. Stowe's Survey, p. 845, et seq. 113 pared with the more simple combinations of ' Westminster Abbey, and other contemporary buildings of England, the superior advances of the French architects will be immediately manifest. No instance of broad and mao-nificent windows occurs in England before the end of Henry the Third's reign, or the beginning of that of Edward the First; but as this sub- ject is treated at large in the account of the cathedral of Ami- ens, it will not be necessary to enter further into it on this occasion.'' It must, hoAvever, be remembered, that the abbey of St. Denis clearly establishes this fact, that the French had decidedly introduced the pointed arch before the middle of the 12th, and had constructed broad and magnificent win- dows before the middle of the 13th century. This noble structure was, in 1802, given up to decay. In many parts the vaulting had fallen in, the pavement was to- tally destroyed, and that part of the painted glass which escaped ^ See Appendix 00. '' It would be impossible, perhaps, to select two more striking instances of the superiority of the French in the I3th century in the arts of sculpture and decoration, than the tomb of Dagobert, the principal founder of the church ; and the door of the southern transept (^Mon. Fran. pi. 29. 62); they are both exquisite specimens of taste and richness. Q 114 the ravages of the revolution, had been transported to the Museum of French Monuments, at Paris. The crosses which were erected on the road between Paris and St. Denis, to mark the places where Philip III. the son of St. Louis, occasionally rested, when he was carrying the remains of his father to be buried at the abbey, have all been swept away during the revolution. 'They are said to have much resembled those which were erected " a few years later at Waltham and Northampton; their height was forty French feet, and they contained statues, as large as life, of Louis IX. the Count of Nevers, Philip III. and the Count of Clermont, the three last of whom took the principal part in this pious ceremony. * Dr. Smith in his Tour on the Continent, 1786-87. *> These crosses were erected by Philip III. in 1283. The crosses of Edward the First, in England, were put up after the death of his Queen Eleanor, which happened in 1296. 115 CHAP. II. THE CATHEDRAL OF NOTRE DAME, AT PARIS, Founded by Childebeitj in 522 — The present building begun by Robert the Pious, A. D. 1010. — Continued under Maurice de Sully and the succeeding abbots, and completed in the course of the 14th century. — Examination of the different parts of the building. The celebrated cathedral of Notre Dame, which, though the work of several centuries, was principally erected at the close of the twelfth, and during the thirteenth, next demands our attention, as being the next in chronological order. Before, however, I proceed to the history and description of it, I Avill briefly mention, that it has been a controversy among the Pa- risian antiquaries, which was the first church founded in their metropolis ; and that the most reasonable account seems to be, that St. Stephen's was the mother church, probably established by St. Denis, the apostle of Paris, who is said to have taken the proto martyr for his patron. After the death of St. Denis, an oratory was erected in honour of him, Avhich still retains his name, and which was most likely the second edifice of this kind erected in Paris. It IIG was not till the sixth century that the foundation of Notre Dame took its origin. It was begun by Childebert, A. D. 522, wlio caused it to be dedicated to the blessed Virgin; and so powerful was the influence of her name, tliat it soon pre- vailed oxer all the others ; and her church, though only third in point of autiquit}', became the cathedral of the diocese of Paris. Fortunatus, a contemporary poet, gives a description of this ancient church. In this account, the size of the windows, and the number of the marble columns, which he fixes at thirty, ' ter decern ornala columnis,' are the chief objects of his admiration. From this it should appear to have been a con- siderable structure; the size might exceed, but the general character of the building was no doubt the same as that of Childebert's church of St. Germain, and which is sufficiently confirmed by the happy preservation of the original shape of St. Genevieve. After that extensive destruction which the Normans brought upon France in the ninth and tenth centu- ries, it was the necessary office of the succeeding princes and prelates to restore the ruined fabrics of religion, upon the re- vival of which, their own dignity and the public devotion so much depended. Among these, Robert the Pious particularly 117 distinguished himself; and it is to his reign we may generally refer the most ancient parts of the churches within and around the metropolis. He laid the foundations of the present cathe- dral in the year 1010; but after his death it was neglected, so that it does not appear to have been much raised above the ground till the year 1165, when a liberal and munificent pre- late filled the see of Paris, Maurice de Sully, who may be considered as the principal author of the present edifice. He destroyed the old church of Childebert, which probably stood on the same ground as the present choir, and around which Kino; Robert's more extensive foundations had been laid.' The first stone was placed by Pope Alexander III. who at that time had taken refuge in Paris ; and in the year 1181, the eastern part had so far advanced that it was consecrated by Henry, the Pope's legate, and by the bishop himself, who died the same year, and was buried in the church of St. Vic- tor, where his epitaph remained till the revolution. Odo de Sully succeeded, and carried on the Avork with great zeal till his death, in 1208. Pierre de Nemours, who died in 1220, probably finished the nave and the west front, • The church of St. Remigius, at Rheims, seems to have been built iu this same manner in 1049. Hist. Nat. Rem. 89. 118 and his successors of the thirteenth century completed the necessary addition of the transepts; that to the south was begun in 1257,' and is said to be built in part upon the site of the ancient church of St. Stephen, which was destroyed on the occasion: this is thought the more probable, as the life and martyrdom of that saint are represented on its principal en- trance. These are the leading a^ras of this great work; but it also appears, that the building of chapels continued during the greater part of the fourteenth century, as we discover from acts, charters of foundations, &c. as well as from their sculp- ture and ornaments. Thus if we date the commencement of the present structure from the time of Bishop Maurice, in 1168, we shall find that its completion was atchieved by the labour and perseverance of two centuries. After all, it affords more * This is discovered by the following inscription on the stones of the south- ern portal : Anno Domini MCCLVII. mense Februario Idus ij Hoc fuit incffiptum Christ! genetricis honore Kallensi Lathomo vivente Johanne IMagistro. Instances of the transepts being erected after the choir and nave are not uncommon. See the account of the rebuilding of S. Remigius's church at Rheims. Met. Hist. Tom. ii. 89- And of the church of St. Nicaise, in the same city, -vide Epit. Chron. S. Nicai. Remensis, 637. 119 scope for remark than for admiration ; the whole is particu- larly heavy; the exterior, from too great an excess of orna- ment in some parts, and a want of it in others ; from the thickness and plainness of the buttresses, and principally from the want of relief and finish in the towers. The interior is heavy, from the mixture of styles ; the body of the church is divided inlo Jive aisles, hy four ranges of Lombard columns, a species of grandeur which never crossed the channel. These columns are, however, of the most gross and clumsy pro- portions, and the gothic work in general is without ornament and beauty; its size, therefore, is the principal source of mag- nificence and effect it can boast of. Robert the Pious, when he laid the foundations in 1010, most probably prepared the Lombard columns which at pre- sent support the building; if not, they were prepared by some of his successors, some time before the year 1165; when it is certain Gothic taste prevailed, from the eastern part of this church, which is recorded to have been the work of Maurice de Sully. The west front is said to have been completed during the reign of Philip Augustus ; and I find many reasons for supporting the opinion that this was the case, though it may be doubted whether it was accomplished quite so earlj 120 as the end of the twelfth century ; the round arch orna- mented with the Lombard zig-zag above the marigold win- dows, siiews it to be an early Gothic building; but the chief argument is derived from the Galerie des Rois, a series of niches containing statues of the kings of France, from Childe- bert, the original founder of the church, to Philip Augustus. The eastern end, which is triagonal and very plain, was pro- bably one of the first Gothic structures in France; this plain- ness, from a proper regard to uniformity, was maintained in the subsequent parts of the building, excepting in the chapels, which are of a later date. The west front, it must be remem- bered, is a striking proof that the French, at the end of the twelfth century, had added a richness to their Gothic which we, if it was not imported, were at least half a century later in pro- ducing. It is impossible, by mere description, to convey an adequate idea of the three marigold windows of this cathedral, which still retain their painted glass, and which are not only its most admirable ornaments, but the most magnificent I have any where seen. 121 CHAP. V. RHEIMS. CATHEDRAL AND ABBEY CHURCH OF ST. NICAISE. The Cathedral founded by Ebo, A. D. 818.— Burnt, A. D. 1210.— Rebuilt and consecrated in 1241. — Survey of the merits of the building. — Architect, Robert de Coucy. — Comparison of the progress of architecture in the two countries, founded on the forms of the windows, and style of sculpture. — St. Nicaise supposed to have been founded in the 4th century. — Rebuilt in 105(1, and again in 1229- — Methods used by the monks to obtain funds to an- swer the expense of building. — Description of the church, its lightness and elegance characteristic of an advanced state of architecture on comparison with the cathedral of Notre Dame. THE CATHEDRAL OF RHEIMS. The cathedral of Rheims has long been celebrated as the most beautiful in France, ' and this pre-eminence has not only been fully allowed, but even extended by the few of our " Decor etmajestas praeclarissimse hujusstructuras omnem scribendi peritiam longe superat, ob elegantiam omnibus est admirationi, atque sibi similem non habet in tota Gallia. Met. Remensis Hist. Dora. Guliel. Marlot S. Nicasii Rem. Prioris, Tom. ii. p. 470. B 122 travellers' who are qualified to form a judgment on the subject. I am particularly happy in having been able to procure an excellent representation of the Avest front of this beautiful fabric, (which is given for a frontispiece to this work) and in meeting with the copious chronicle of the Prior of St. Nicaise, which will afford me sufficient materials for illustratinsr its dates and history. Leaving however the preaching of St. Remigius, the martyrdom of St. Nicaise, and the tales of more remote antiquit}^ I proceed at once to the episcopate of Ebo, who, in the year 818 laid the foundations of a new church. The "letter of Louis Lis still extant, in which he grants the bishop the walls and gates of the city for materials, and the most ample powers to remove every obstruction in the way of his new edifice: he also sent, according to the request of the prelate, his own artificer, Rumalde, to super- intend and carry on the work, and the greater part of it seems to have been completed within a short time after its foundation. It was decorated with the utmost magnificence of the times, and Ave read that the pediment (fastigium) of • Gray's Letters, p. 70. Dallaway's Anec. of Arts. Walpole's Anec. of Painting, p. 182, 194. '' Fiodouard, Met. Rem. Ilist. lib, ill. cap. 19. ns the great entrance was ornamented with the statues of Louis I. Pope Stephen V. and Ebo himself, who was proud to transmit to posterity, by an inscription beneath, that the Pope had consecrated the king of France at Rheims during his epis- copacy. 'It is certain, however, that the cathedral was not entirely finished by Ebo, and that the works were a long time suspended during a dark interval of conspiracies and civil wars. ''In the year 847, Nicmar, archbishop of Rheims, obtained from Charles the Bald a renewal of the grants made to his predecessor, and completed the fabric. He seems also to have added the cloister, and to have enriched the church with a variety of treasures and ornaments, and having called together his suffragan bishops, he consecrated it in the pre- sence of the king with great solemnity, A. D. 862. This church " whose beauty, holiness, and treasures were celebrated with all the fond admiration of those ages, was burnt May 6, A. D. 1210, together with great part of the city of Rheims. From the grant of materials we may learn ' Fiodouard, lib. iii. cap. 20, et seq. »> Ibid. cap. 23. « Met Rem. Hist. Mailot. lib. iii, cap. 21. 124 that it was a stone building, though the roof was probably of wood, " and the whole fabric might receive the same '' sort of damage as the old choir of Canterbur}-, which after the fire in 1174, it was thought advisable entirely to renew, while the ancient crypt, ^vhich had not been hurt, was left unaltered. A similar proceeding took place in this instance; the crypt of Ebo was left, and the remainder of the 3"ear, and a part of the next, was emploN'ed in laj'ing the more extensive foun- dations of a new fabric. 'When we see that upon the intro- duction of Gothic architecture, princes and prelates were often tempted to pull down their old churches that they might erect others in the new style, we need not wonder that in the 13th centur}'^ this damaged edifice should be entirely rebuilt instead of being repaired. Preachers were sent forth to demand the contributions of the faithful throughout the whole province, and it appears that the work was so far advanced, that the altar was dedicated by the archbishop on the 18th * Auguror foinicem et pilas ligneas fuisse ut et aliarum ecclesiaruinj 8cc. 8ic. Marlot. •> See an account of the burning and rebuilding of the church of Canterburj by the Monk Gervase, script, col. 1302. • Felibien, lib. iv. p. 245. Capt. Grose's Preface to bis Antiquities. 125 of October, 1215. 'Several bulls and rescripts shew that it was carried on during the succeeding years, and most writers assert, that it was finished thirty years "^ after its foundation; which agrees entirely with the chronicle of a contemporary author, who relates that the canons of Rheims entered their new choir on the vigil of the nativity of the blessed virgin, in the year 1241. Marlot' has apparently good reason for sup- posing that this finishing merely comprehends the body of the building, and that the ornaments of the grand facade were put up between that time and the English war in 1295, during which interval a continued dispute was kept up between the collectors of St. Nicaise, which was re-building at that time (as we shall hereafter see) and those of the chapter of Rheims. From the records of the church we also learn, that the tower next the archbishop's palace, which from some cause had been left unfinished, was completed at the expense of Cardinal Philaster, A. D. 1430. * Chorum ejusdem consecratum fuisse ah Alberico Archiepiscopo xv Cal. Nov. Anno 1215. Met. Rem. Hist. Tom. ii. p. 470. '' Tiadet Albericns annos viginti huic operis lestaurationi impensos, alii tri- ginta quod verius existimo. Ibid. "^ Quod de praecipua aedificii mole, choro scilicet, navi, pilis, foinicibus et sacellis intelligendum puto, 8cc. &c. Ibid. 126 The plale which accompanies this work will supply the place of description, and will, I am confident, ensure the decision that the exterior of the cathedral at Rheims is the most beautiful and perfect piece of Gothic architecture in the world ; for where else shall we find such an union of airiness, delicacy, and magnificence? Viewing it laterall^^ the lightness and grace of its windows, the number, richness, and finish of the buttresses, the admirable taste of the open work, the nice disposure of ornament, and the uniformity of the whole, form a mass of consistent beauty and grandeur w hich is as inimi- table, as it is unrivalled. The stately plainness of the tower, and the decoration, without heaviness, of the upper parts, are well worthy of admiration ; but it is the west front which has long been the boast of France, and which is the perfection of its style. Its general proportions are excellent, and the richness and delicacy of its ornament cannot be surpassed. That these praises may not be thought extravagant and unfounded, I will point out distinctly its beauties, and the causes of its superiority. The diminishing or pyramidal form is in itself more graceful, and it is certainly more congenial to the character of the Gothic style, than the square fronts of our cathedrals. It has the advantage which is possessed too 127 by some of ours, of having no mixture or confusion of design; but here how nobly has the invention and taste of the archi- tect displayed itself! He has surpassed every other front in richness, at the same time that he has excelled them in light- ness; he has judiciously placed all his heavy magnificence below, and has gradually lightened and relieved his ornaments as they rise to the summit; the eye is delighted, without being confused; every thing partakes of the pyramidal and spiral form, and the architecture is preserved as delicate and light as possible, as a contrast and relief to the sculpture. One of the chief and distinct excellencies of this fa^ade^ and that which renders it superior to all those of this country, is the admirable magnificence of the portal, and its just pro- portion to the rest of the building. The great entrance of a cathedral should always be worthy of the structure to which it leads; yet this circumstance seems never to have influenced the English architects, who have expended their chief care in the construction of a magnificent M-est window, beneath which inva- riably, a mean and disproportionate door presents itself \ We "See the west fronts of York, Salisbury, Lincoln, Wells, and Litchfield Cathedrals; Westminster Abbey, King's College Chapel, &c. &c. 128 have not a single entrance worthy of our churches, and in this respect, the arrangement of the French churches, with their ample portals and marigold windows, have externally a decided advantage. * In surve^'ing the cathedral of Rheims, there is, I think, nothing which the most scrupulous taste would wish altered, except the finish of the towers, which perhaps might have assumed a more spiral shape. The number of its minute beauties are astonishing; the pinnacles finished with figures, flowers, and crosses, are without doubt the most beautiful of their kind. The fleurs de lis spread along the roof, which decoration is also used at Amiens, Abbeville, St. Romigius of Rheims, and I believe in all French churches, have an ad- mirable effect; and it is no wonder that in the cathedral of the city, where the divine present of the Auriflamme'' was made to Clovis, its symbol should be displayed with peculiar osten- tation and magnificence ^ » Tlie Gothic portal in England, which is most in proportion to the height of the building above it, is that of the north transept of Westminster Abbey, which is, as to its whole plan, very much in the French style. >> Banniere de Vermeil toute semee de fleurs de lys d'or que Ton conte avoir ete envoye du ciel au grand Clovis. Antiquit^s etRecherches des Villes, etc\ de France, p. 212. ' Another reason of a more general nature is mentioned in a description of 129 The name of the original architect of this beautiful edifice, is probably entirely lost, but it is not without reason that we accord the praise of its completion and decoration to Robert de Coucy," who was undoubtedly director of the works at Rheims during the latter part of the 13th century: the orna- ments of the exterior were always the last finished, and it is a greater satisfaction to knoAv to whom to attribute these peculiar and distinguishing beauties of this cathedral, than if we had discovered the original designer of the whole, unless we could be certain that his designs were not embellished by the genius of succeeding architects. I think there is little doubt of that having been the case in the present instance, and I am still more certain that if it was so, Robert de Coucy has the fairest possible claim to the first place among the known the abbey church of St. Reinigius. In fastigio sunt lilia et flosculi alternatim posita qua; Reguni largitionibus Basilicam ditatam predicant. Fiodouard, Hist. lib. iii,328. ^ His epitaph, in the cloister of St. Denys at Rheims, contains only these few words: " Cy gist Robert de Coucy Maistre de Notre Dame et de Saint Nicaife qui trepassa I'an 131 1." Epit. Chron. S. Nicas. Rem. cap. iii. L'epi- taphe qu'on voit sur sa tombe fait assez connoitre qu'il en eut la principale inspection, du moins pendant qu'on I'acheva. Felibien, lib. iv. 246. 130 and unknown professors of " the mysterv of the rule and square," of those ages. It remains for me to compare the style of architecture which is displayed in this church, wilh that which was con- temporary in England. It signifies very little which part of the fabric was first erected, since, excepting three windows in the south transept, it proceeds upon the same plan throughout;" however, as it was rebuilt from its foundations, it is probable that the choir was first begun upon; and this supposition is strengthened by the dedication of the altar in J 2 15. I do not remember any English church commenced at precisely the same period, and though the cathedral of Rheims might maintain, as to every purpose of proving superior advances in architecture, a successful comparison with that of Salisbury, which was begun ten years later, yet I prefer reserving the more striking and decisive instance of Amiens, to encounter that edifice in a succeeding chapter. I shall therefore proceed to collect the general state of Gothic architecture in England, at the commencement of the thirteenth century. ' Tota qua exteiius patet ecclesia; fabrica sive a teigo sive ad latus eandem ele- gantiamietinetaciisdemdecoratuiornamentis. Met. Rem. Hist. lib. iii. p. 272. 131 It is allowed by a writer" most strenuous in giving the English the merit of the invention, to have been then " in its infancy;" and it is certain that at the time of the foundation of Rheims cathedral, our most considerable regular efforts in the Gothic style, were Sir Hugh's " work at Lincoln, and De Lucy's addition to the cathedral at Winchester," and that the character of these works is preserved with \e\y little alteration during the first half of the century in question. De Lucy's* work is mentioned by the same writer, than whom none is more deeply versed in English antiquities, as strikingly cha- racteristic of the age in which it was executed. The windows o^ '' Hist, and Antiquities of Winchester, by Milner. ^ This prelate filled the see from 1186 till 1200, and under his auspices the upper transept and chapter house were probably erected during the last ten years of the twelfth century ; and if Sir Hugh the Burgundian has not been mistaken for Hugh de Wells, (1209) they are the first regular essays of Gothic architecture in this country. Vide Essex's paper in Archaeologia, Vol. IV. ' Anno 1202 Wintoniensis Godfredus de Lucy constituit confratriam pro repaiatione ecclesiaj Wintoniensis duraturam quinque annos completes. An- nales Winton. ^ Mr. Milner's observations respecting the west window and door of St. Cross, is made upon no authority, and is so contradicted by the rest of the essays on Gothic architecture, and by the observation of every one skilled in these matters, that I need lay no stress upon it. 132 (jf Rheims are not narrow and oblong, with obtuse-angled, or lancet-like heads, and without mullions; particulars on which Mr. Milner insists as a principal proof of De Lucy's work having been built at the beginning of the 13lh century; nor do his other characteristics accord with the more decorated fea- tures of the church I am describing: instead of being narrow and lancet shaped, the windows are broad and spacious ; and instead of being without mullions, an upright shaft supporting- two arches surmounted by a six-foil is the universal embellish- ment throughout the cathedral ; an ornamental combination the first and feeblest hint of which is sought out from the porch of Beaulieu Refectory, erected about this time, but which was not decidedly adopted in England till near the middle of the 13th century;' even then, we shall in vain search for similar instances of lightness and deUcacy of execution. In speaking of the first half of the 13lh century, I will confine my com- parisons to the body of the church and its windows; the other ornamental parts Avere no doubt executed as in the later pe- riod ; but where in Westminster Abbey, or any other contem- ' Netley Abbey was probably begun 1239. Westminster Abbey in 1245. Stowe. 133 porary, or I might even add, later period in England shall we find such a combination of grace, elegance, and effect? In ad- dition to the beauties I have already pointed out, the sculp- ture is also in a superior taste to any thing we can produce of the same date ; and it may be with truth asserted, that the richness and magnificence of the arched buttresses are such, that they seem to have been added for the purpose of deco- ration rather than of strength." I have said less of this church than I should have done, had I not proposed, in speaking of Amiens, to make a more full and exact comparison with our edifices of the same date; but it must be remembered, that the conclusions drawn from this instance are perfectly consistent with those to be deduced from that structure, and equally decisive upon the general question which I have in this work undertaken to agitate and to explain. ' Parastatae quibus a dextra fulciuntur fornices tot liliis et floribus scatent ut ad oinatum potius quam ad fiilturse opus dixeris positas. Met. Rem. Hist. lib. iii. p. 472. 134 THE ABBEY OF ST. NICAISE AT RHEIMS. The progress of Gothic architecture in France is consider- ably further illustrated by the abbey chuich of St. Nicaise, in the same city, the dates of the greater part of which appear to be ■well ascertained, as are the architects' names who Avere employed upon it. The ° original foundation is said to be of the fourth century, and to have borne, for a long period, the title of Basilica Jovinia, it having been erected by Jovmius, a Roman military prefect, in honour of his relation Agricola, who suffered martyrdom at Boulogne on the persecution of Dioclesian; but, like many other churches, it afterwards changed its patron, and put itself under the protection of St. Nicaise, an archbishop of Rheims, who suffered decapitation within its sanctuarv in the liflh ccnturv. '' This old church having fallen into decay through the neglect of his successors, a new one was built from its foundations by Gervase, who was elected archbishop in 1056.' The present structure, how- * Epitome Chronicon S. Nicasii Remensis, cap. i. '' lb. cap. iii. ' lb. cap. ii. 135 ever, look its rise lO'O years after the death of Gervase, when the fame of the patron saint was so high, that the church was deemed too small for the reception of the croAvds who visited his shrine.' Accordingly the abbot Simon havino- deliberated upon the undertaking in a full chapter of the convent, deter- mined upon erecting a new and more extensive fabric. The ground was properly excavated to receive the foundations, and the first stone was laid by Henry de Braine, Archbishop of Rheims, on the second feast after Easter, A. D. 1229. Two archbishops, whose names are still preserved, were suc- cessively employed on this structure, and their talents and genius are eminent, though distinct in every part of it. The fabric was begun for the convenience I suppose of using as long as possible the old choir at the Avest end, which was completed, together with its portal and towers, and a considerable part of the nave, by Hugh Libergier, who died in 1263." Robert de Coucy, whose '■ Epitome Clironicon S. Nicasii Rem. cap. viii. ^ Hugo Libergier pronaon ecclesia; perfecit, utrasque alas, frontem, propy- laeum et turres. Ciiron. S. Nicas. Rem. p. 636. This architect lies under a white tomb, near the entrance of the church ; he is represented bearing a model of the church iu his left hand, and a rule and compass in his right. His epitaph is round the edge of the monument. ' Cy gist Maistre Hugue Libergier qui a commence cette Eglise I'an de I'Incarna- 136 genius is so conspicuous in the decoration of the cathedral, was ensaged to finish the rest of the structure ; he built the ■•»"o" choir, with its surrounding chapels and the transept.' We discover, from a grant to the monks of St. Nicaise of the stone quarries near Harmondville, belonging to the Abbey of St. Theodoric, that the ^vork was carrying on in 1297, and it is probable that it was directed b}' Robert de Coucy till his death, in 1311. He must, however, have left the transepts in a very unfinished state, for they remain incomplete at the present moment.'' There is a part of the cloister in a similar condi- tion; this, together with the chapter-house and dormitory, were probabl}' the subsequent work which we discover to have been going on in 1322 ' and in 1328, after which period we hear no tion 122y, Meicredy d'apres Paques et iiiouiut I'an 1263, le vendredy d'apres Paques, pour Dieu piiez pour lui.' » Robertas cognomento de Coucy caput Ecclesise construxit cum sacellis quibus uairifice circumcingitur, latera quoque ceu brachia quae cum superiore fornice crucis figuram efficiunt. Chron. S. Nicas. Rem. •> Ad hucque restaiu brachia ut vocant sen latera imperfecta. lb. p. 63S. Claustrum puritcr, &c. ' In the will of Archbishop Robert, 1322, A. D. we read, ' Nicasianis veri tres suiCurrus, seu rhedae mcliores equos concessit provehendis lapidibus ad mag- nifice inchoatam eorum Basilicam proficiendam. Met. Rem. Hist. torn. ii. 609. 137 more of it ; and when we consider the distracted state of" the north of France during the greater part of the fouiteenlh cen- tury we shall not wonder at this silence. It seems fi'om the length of time which elapsed from the laying the first stone, to the death of the last architect, that the work Avas frequently interrupted, and this was probably occa- sioned by a want of money ; a circumstance the more likely, when we consider that the funds depended upon voluntary contributions, and that the metropolitan church of the pro- vince was erecting at the same time, and supported by the same means : we may easily imagine that the chapter of the cathedral was possessed of more interest and influence than the monks of St. Nicaise; and the event answers to such a sup- position, for they raised a more splendid fabric in a shorter period. I have before alluded to the disputes between the agents of the two bodies, and it may be curious to describe the mode of collecting contributions upon such occasions. Having ob- This should seem to allude to the transept ' probatque resciiptuin Guldonis Epis- copi Cameracencis questam ceu collectam adhuc fieri permittentis Anno 1328, necdum turn cessatum fuisse.' Cbron. S. Nicas. Rem. p. 638. T 138 tained a bull from the Pope, two preachers were dispatched from the convent through the towns and villages of the province, who carried on a sort of bier the relics of their tutelar saint : wherever they stopped they shewed their credentials, and, with the consent of the ordinary, assembled the people, and if the church laboured under an interdict, they bade it cease during their stay. The topics of their exhortation were ob- vious; the life and miracles of their saint, the decay of his church, and, more than all, the promise of indulgences. Need we then wonder if the sight of the relics, the earnestness of the monks, and the assurances of pardon, in those days of passion and credulity, could seldom fail of success, and that from such powerful incitements arose the fund for those stu- pendous masses of labour and expense which still excite our admiration ? The church of St. Nicaise, though inferior in size to many others, is well proportioned, and is admired for the lightness and delicacy of its execution,* It has a peculiar interest in an examination like the present, from the date of its fapade ' On estime cette Eglise a cause de le delicatesse du travail & de la beaute des proportions. Felibien, p. 245. 139 being correctly ascertained; which is therefore a model of great consequence in tracing the progress of Gothic ornament. Comparing it with that of Notre Dame, at Paris, which was prior in date, we find in St. Nicaise a greater airiness, and more decided Gothic character. Its beauty arises from per- foration and relief, more than from sculpture or ornament, and it displays many of those graceful arrangements which were immediately afterwards more perfectly achieved in the cathe- drals of Rheims and Amiens : like them it assumes a diminish- ing or pyramidal form, and places its heaviest ornaments on the lower story of the building. Its Portal, though not lofty, is considerable, striking, and prominent; and the rose window, by Avhich it is surmounted, enriches the rest of the facade. The perforation of the towers is peculiar, and has the most happy effect in lightening the building, the unadorned but- tresses of which stood in need of such a relief, and the whole is gracefully set off by the double order of slender columns on each of the towers, and the beautiful arcade by which they are united. Some persons may suspect, from the position of the rose window in the pointed arch, that it was inserted at a subse- 140 quent period; but Uie uniform practice of the French artists will lead us to a different conclusion. "We shall find that they not only always ornamented their west fronts with large cir- cular windows, but that they adjusted them in this manner. Al Notre Dame we see one of these placed in a semicircular arch, which is certainly more calculated to embrace it;* but in the Gothic buildino;s which succeeded we shall alwavs find them inserted in the last pointed arch of the vaulted roof. The front and transept of Rheims cathedral contain three instances of this arrangement ; and we have authority to assert, that the same would have taken place at St. Nicaise, had the transept been completed.'' In comparing this church with those which were contem- porary with it in England, I must remark, that it affords an- other instance of the superior progress of the French in Gotliic • The rose window of the sonth transept of York cathedral, the earliest of the rich kind in this country (about 12o0), is placed in the same manner; as may be observed by viewing from the interior of the church. Other instances may be found in the abbey church of St. Victor, at Paris, St. Denis, Amiens, St. Germain I'Auxerrois, &c. •> Adhuc lestant brachia ut vocant seu latera imperfecta et in eo latere quod est versus meridiem fornix desideratur, in altero vero ad septentrionem fornix rum rosa litrea. Chron. S. Mcas. p. 638. 141 architecture; for we find in the plan of Hugh Libergier, in- vented in 1229, windoAvs and perforations having the same width and mulhons as those afterwards used in England, for the first time at Westminster Abbey; Ave also find a profusion of arch buttresses, and a delicacy of finish unknown to us at that period ; western towers, of which we have no contem- porary instance; and a marigold window which, for magni- ficence, we could not equal for near half a century afterwards. The trefoils, arches in half relief, and the opus " reticulalura, were common to the churches of both countries at this period. • An expression of Vitruvius, to signify a work of diagonally crossing mould- ings on joints like the meshes of a net. Vitruvius, lib. ii. cap. 8. This sort of work may be found in many Norman and early Gothic buildings in England ; as Lincoln, Westminster, &c. 142 CHAP. VI. AMIENS. Amiens Cathedral — its dates — comparison with the contemporary Cathedral of Salisbury — description of the present state of the building — comparative measurements. The " cathedral of Amiens is a remarkable specimen of the beauty and lightness of Gothic architecture. It has always been mentioned by travellers in the highest terms of admira- tion, but it principally claims our attention, as it seems to throw very strong light upon the history of that style, which has so long been, and probably will continue to be, distin- guished by the contemptuous epithet it at present bears. It must be observed, in the first place, that the cathedral of Amiens materially differs in its architecture and interior ar- • Templa visuntur egregi^ structa, interq. ea episcopate Beatse Virgin! dica- tiim quod apud nonnullos primam laudem per omnem Galliam obtinet. Topo- graph. Gall. Pars. ii. p. 14. Auss6 estimee parlabeaute et I'excellence du tra- vail, que par la grande etendue. Cazon peut dire qu'il y a peu d'ouvrages Gothiqucs aussi parfaits. relibien, 227. 143 rano-ements from the contemporary sacred edifices of this country; which proves that a dissimilarity existed between the architecture of England and France in the very first age of the Gothic style; and, secondly, it must be allowed, that this dissimilarity constitutes a more advanced state, and a greater perfection in the French Gothic. The date of Amiens' cathedral being correctly ascertained, and nearly coinciding with that of our celebrated church of Salisbury, a fair comparison may be instituted between the contemporary styles from these two specimens. Both these buildings were begun in the same year, from whence we may reasonably infer, that both their plans were projected at the same time ; and it is still more certain from history, as well as from the general appearance of the two edifices, that the original plan was in both instances adhered to throughout; no mixture or progression of style is to be ob- served in either. The two former cathedrals of Amiens had been destroyed by fire; the first in A. D, 1019, the second in A. D. 1218. The present edifice was begun in the year 1220, under the auspices of Bishop Evrard, who collected great sums from the 144 clergy and people for this purpose.* His successors, Geofroi d'Eu, Arnoul, Gerard de Conchi, and Aleaume de Neulli, continued it, and it is said to have been finished under Ber- trand d'Abbeville, in V269; however it is certain that it was not entirely so till 1288: probably the multitude of statues on the west front, the pinnacles, the pavement, the fitting up of the side chapels, and many other works of this kind, might be carried on after the building was said to be finished : that this was the case Avith the towers we learn from distinct notices, which shew that they were erected in the fourteenth century.'' Besides the two grand dates of the commencement and entire completion of the cathedral, we are also acquainted with the names of its three architects, the last of whom caused the following inscription to be placed in the middle of the pavement of the nave, where they are all three represented ■with Bishop Evrard. * Vide Les Antiquities d'Amiens. Mais il est constant que ce ful lui [ie Robert de Lusarclie] qui commen^a a batir I'eglise cathedrale d'Aoiiens sous I'episcopat d'Evrard, I'an 1220, &c. Felibieu, p. 22G. Structum est quadrate lapide anno 1220. Topogr. Gall. p. 14. *" Vide Les Antiquites d'Amiens. 145 En I'an de grace Mil Deux Cents Et Vingt, fu I'euvre de cheens Piemierement encommenchi^s Adont y est de chest Eveschies Everard Evesque benis Et Roy de Fiance Loys Qui fu fis Philippe le Sage Chil qui maistie de I'ouvrage Maistre Robert estoit nomme Et de Lusarches surnomm^. Maistre Thomas fu apres loi De Cormont, et apres ceslui Se fis Maistre Regnault qui mettre Fit k chest point chi cette Lettre Que I'incarnation valoit Treize cent ans douze en failloit. From this chronicle of names and dates we obtain sufficient information for our present purpose. The exact sera of SaUs- bury cathedral is equally Avell ascertained, from the contem- porary history' of it by William de Wanda, its precentor. Its foundation was laid on the 4th of the calends of May, in the year 1220 ; the east part was probably finished together with ' A translation from the original MS. of William of Wanda^ is given in Price's Observations on the Cathedral Church of Salisbury. It is very curious and particular as to the translation and foundation of the church, but does not extend beyond the year 1226. 146 ihc first transepts in five years afterwards, when we read of three aUars being dedicated by Bishop Poore : it was carried on during his pontificate, and those of Robert Bingham and "William of York, and the whole was completed in 1258, under Bishop Brideport ; ' when it was dedicated with great solemnity by Boniface, Archbishop of Canterljury, in the pre- sence of the king, and a vast assemblage of prelates and nobles. It appears, however, that the external decorations were not finished till two years afterwards;'' and that ihe clois- ters, chapter-house, muniment-house, and other buildings, were going on during the succeeding ten years. The dates, therefore, of the cathedrals of Amiens and Salisbury nearly, if not exactly, coincide; and even if they were less near, we have a sufficient specimen of the progressive alterations of the * iEgidius de Bridport consecratus anno 1256. Ecclesise strucluia jam tan- dem absoluta, per Bonifacium Aichi^piscopum Cantuaviensem ea dedicata est tricesimo Septembris 1258, &,c. Godwin de Prsesulibus Angliae commentaiius, 145. Mat. Westuion. '' On the tomb of Bishop Poore we find, ' Fuitque ecclesia haec sdificando per spatium 40 annorum, et consummata est 8 Kal. Apr. A. D. 1260. Leland Itinera, f. 62. But we also see in Leland (vide the end of this chapter) the names of the two persons who directed the works here for fifty years. The cloisters, chapter-house, &c. cannot be comprehended in the term Ecclesia, though they may in Nova Fabrica, and it is pretty certain that they were added to the church afterwards. See Price's Professional Reasons. 147 Gothic aichiteclure of our own country during the last half of the thirteenth century, in the works which were carrying on during that period in Westminster Abbey/ It now I'eniains to shew, that Amiens cathedral is in man}' respects different in style and plan from the contemporary buildings in England, and that it is in a more perfect and advanced state of Gothic architecture; but it may be proper, first to mention the points in which the styles of Amiens and the English churches of the same date agree, that it may not be conceived that the architecture of the French cathedral is so entirely dissimilar from our own, as to render a comparison between them inconclusive. My object is to shew, not that the French built churches in the thirteenth, like ours of the succeeding century, but that they had before us added to the simple beauties of the former period many of the graces which M'ere not adopted with us till the latter. The chief characteristics of the thirteenth century with us, were the highly pointed arch, struck from two centres, and including an equilateral triangle from the imposts to the crown of the arch, the lancet-shaped window, and, to use the words ' See Appendix PP. 148 of one of the most useful writers on the subject, ' Purbeck marble pillars, very slender and round, encompassed by mar- ble shafts a little detached," and a profusion of little co- lumns of the same stone in the ornamental parts of the building. All these particularities are to be observed in Amiens ca- thedral: the arches of the aisles are like those of Salisbury and Westminster; the pillars are according to Mr. Bentham's description; the west front is covered with innumerable small columns ; and the lancet-shaped arch, though not adopted in the windows, is to be seen with admirable effect crowning the semicircular colonnade at the east end of the choir. The vault- ing too is like that of Salisbury, ' high pitched between arches and cross-springers only, without any further decorations." ^ The dissimilarities come next to be considered, and these are so numerous in plan, proportion, and ornament, that they may be said to constitute the general character of the build- ing. 1. The disposition of the church, with the aisles to its transepts, its double aisles on each side the choir, together ' Bentham's Hist, of Ely, p. 39. •■ Bentham speaking of Salisbury, p. 39. Sir Christopher Wren's Survey, in Price. 149 with its beautiful semicircular colonnade at the end of it, will be allowed to be material dissimilarities; and, from the number of columns it presents in every point of view, an infinitely richer effect is produced than within any of our churches of the same date. 2. The proportions of the whole cathedral, particularly its surprising loftiness," the height of the pillars to the arches, and many other details, will be also found exceed- ingly dissimilar, if we compare them with the English edifices of the same period. 3. In the ornamental part, however, the chief difference exists ; the west front, which has a portal of just and magnificent proportion," exhibits the most gorgeous display of statuary: armies of saints, prophets, martyrs, and angels, line the door-ways, crowd the walls, and swarm round all the pinnacles; nothing can be more rich, and nothing both in design and effect can be more different from Salisbury. If it be found that the latter has the advantage in point of light- ness, it should still be remembered, that not lightness, but ' Ob altitudineui omnia alia excellentem. Topogr. Gall. p. 14. On re- marque la trop grande hauteur de la nef i proportion de sa largeur. Felibien, p. 227. For the comparative measurements, see Appendix. '" The three west entrances are in the style of those at Rheims. That in the centre has depth sufficient to contain eight rows of statues. 150 richness, was invariably the principal object in this part of the building. The next dissimilarity I shall point out regards the bowes, or arch buttresses, which it was our custom, in the early part of the thirteenth century, to conceal in the roofs of the side aisles, as may be seen at Salisbury, Lincoln, the south transept of York, at the east end of Canterbury in the twelfth century, and in other instances. The profusion of these at Amiens is very striking, and the manner in which they are managed and relieved by ornamental perforations deserves great admiration; but the chief difference between Amiens cathedral and its contemporary buildings in England consists in the size, dimen- sions, and magnificence of its windows. It is well known that ' the long, nan-ow, sharp-pointed win- dow, generally decorated on the inside and outside with small marble shafts,' is employed all over Salisbury cathedral;* these are often combined together, surmounted by a rose,'' and per- sons fond of tracing the progression of Gothic architecture, are » Benlham's Hist, of Ely, p. SQ. Sir Christopher Wren's Survey of Salis- bury, 1668. ^ Bentham's Hist, of Ely, p. 39. Mr. Milner, in Essays on Gothic Archi- tecture, 131, &c. 151 eager to point out, in these combinations, the outline of the more spacious and magnificent windows, which were not adopted in the EngHsh churches till half a century afterwards. But we find at Amiens, in the plan of Robert de Lusarches, in the year 1220, AvindoAvs of a width and stateliness, which were never surpassed at any subsequent period in this country. "Amiens cathedral consists of two tiers of these magnificent windows; those of the nave are divided by three perpendicular mullions, surmounted by the same number of roses. Those to the east of the transepts have five mullions and three roses, and are crowned by a pediment ornamented with a trefoil ; three most noble circular or marigold windows, full of stained glass, enrich the transepts and west front of the edifice : so completely light is this cathedral, and so artfully and delicatelj'^ is it constructed, that except in its west front, hardly any wall is visible throus-hout the whole buildino; it is all window. Between those of the lower story, room is only left to insert a narrow buttress, which rises up into a pinnacle, and branches out into bowes above ; these meet the building just under the vaulting of the roof, and are received on the small slip of • See Appendix QQ. 152 stone-work which divides the upper windows. Internally, there is no range of open arcades between the arches of the nave and the upper tiers of windows, which is found in all our cathedrals. That Amiens cathedral differs materially from ours of the same date, is manifest from the above statement. That it is a more light and more beautiful specimen of Gothic' architecture lluin either Salisbury or Westminster, will be allowed by all who have seen it." That it exhibits a more advanced state of the art will also, I think, be admitted by all who have made the progression of Gothic ornament their study, and who will take the trouble to consider and pursue the comparison here instituted. As when Robert de Lusarches had fomied the plan, and besan to erect this ele2;ant and uniform structure in 1220, no instance had occurred in England except of the narrow lancet- windows; and as a considerable time, probably half a cen- tury, elapsed before the various combinations of these gave place to such regular and magnificent windows as Ave here see • Aditus, Columnacj Chori, Fenestrae, Altaria et Sacella ia stuporem rapiunt Spectatores. Topog. Gall. p. 14. See Appendix RR. 153 were projected and begun upon at Amiens in 1220 ; (for as I before said, the cathedral is all window, and the richest of these are to be found eastward of the choir, the part which was first erected) I think we must be brought to this inevitable conclusion, that the French had advanced from the original simplicity of this Gothic style to the succeeding richness, at a time when the former alone was known in this country. I have been induced to enter more largely into this subject, as I perceive a disposition among antiquaries to consider the question concerning the origin of the Gothic style as already nearly setded, which I am fully convinced is by no means the case. By some it has been asserted, that we have a right to adopt the term of Etiglish, when speaking of this mode of architec- ture, to the great surprise of all persons conversant with the origin and progress of Gothic architecture, and Avith the dif- ferent specimens of it in various parts of the continent; and it is more particularly to be regretted, that this unauthorised assertion should have been introduced into one of the most splendid, and in many respects judicious, publications, that was ever given to the English public; which, whilst it ad- mires the magnificence of the work, cannot but regret that it X 154 is accompanied Avilli ihis very extraordinaiy and unfounded claim. Having survc^'ed ihc cathedral as an antiquary, I shall conclude with some observations of a more general nature. On entering the west door, which is ornamented with eight rows of saints, we are immediately struck by the loftiness and lightness of the fabric, the profusion of pillars, the exact arrangement of chapels on each side, filled with marble deco- rations, but above all by the inimitable semicircular colonnade, with lancet arches, at the end of the choir. The situation of the organ, at the western extremity of the nave, suffers the eye to embrace the whole structure at once; an arrangement much superior to that adopted in our cathedrals. The choir is superb ; it is paved Avith fine marble, and angels leaning for- ward from every pillar, support the lights; at the termination, a mass of clouds, with gold rays bursting forth, has an excel- lent effect. In the midst of these are preserved the relics of Saint Firmin, the founder of the see. The pulpit, in the nave, is very handsome, and a monument behind the choir, in which a child is represented in tears, is well worth observation. In the north transept there is an allarpiece which represents in IK w basso-relievo, Christ surrounded by all the hierarchy of Heaven, under which is written in gilt letters, " Auspicibus tantis dabitur Victoria plcbi." In another recess, which has the appearance of a chapel with an organ in it, a bed-room is constructed for a man whose business it was to ring the bell during the night, and to keep watch over the plate, which was distributed on the different altars of the cathedral: there is no occasion at present for such an office, all the silver candle- sticks and ornaments were pillaged by the revolutionists ; the relics would have shared the same fate, and perhaps the church itself, had not the mayor and some of the inhabitants of the town taken up arms for their preservation. The relics were preserved at the maj'or's house till the storm Avas sufficiently abated, and they could be produced again with safety. Amiens cathedral has consequently suffered less than any other of the French churches, and, with the exception of the plate, and a few heads which were knocked off the external statues by the soldiers of a Belgic regiment, the whole edifice retains its ori- ginal splendour. Its ancient establishment consisted of a bishop, nine dignitaries, twenty-nine canons priests, thirteen canons deacons, &c. &c. besides sixtj'-two chaplains, six musi- 156 cians, and len singing boys ; at present it has a bishop and nineteen canons. I must not forget to mention, that the brazen effigies of Bishop Everard, the founder, and Bertrand d'Abbeville, the finisher of the cathedral, remain upon their tombs, which are placed, by Avay of distinction, on each side of the great western entrance, and the other benefactors of the church are placed near them. The spire of the cathedral, which is made of chesnut wood, is in a bad taste, yet it should not be taken away unless something better be erected in its place. It is extraordinary that Gray should have compared this church to that of Canterbury; no two structures of the same sort were ever more totally, and in every respect difterent. Amiens contained, before the revolution, twentj'-five con- vents, three chapels, two collegiate, and fourteen parish churches, most of which arc either in ruins, or turned into barns and houses. 157 Measiirements of the Cathedrals of Amiens and Salishury. 65 The following are all the measurements I have been able to collect with accuracy. A considerable difference will be observed in the two churches, particularly from the unrivalled elevation of that of Amiens. The proportions of the latter are set down in French feet. Amicn^. Sal.ibury. Length from east to west 415 452 from the west door to the choir 220 24G of the choir 130 140 of the space behind the choir to the Lady chapel i IS of the Lady chapel ) 45 of the transepts from north to south 182 210 Breadth of the nave 42.9 34^ of the transept 42. 9 of the sides aisles 18 ITs of the windows 41 48 of nave and side aisles 78. 9 102 of the west front 1 50 115 Height of the vaulting of the nave 132 84 of the choir 129 of the towers of the west front 210 of the chapels 60 of side aisles of the nave 60. 8 1 of the choir 57.83 Distance between each pillar 16 Height to the soffit of the grand arches 78 78 Number of pillars, besides those next the walls 46 of chapels uniformly and regularly built 25 The number at Salisbury is nearly the same, but it must be remembered that it is a much larger church, has double transepts, and a Lady chapel divided into aisles. 38 158 CHAP. VII. LA SAINTE CHAPELLE. This, and the Chapel of the Virgin at St. Germain des Prez, the works of Pierre de Montereau — Its first foundation by Robert the Pious, in 1003 — repaired by Louis le Jeune, in 1154 — the present fabric constructed by St. Louis, in 1245 — the distinguished beauties of the edifice. Examination of the Musee des Monumens Francois, and of the work of IM. Lenoir. The chapel of the palace, and that of the Virgin at St. Germain des Prez, are not only two of the most beautiful pieces of Gothic architecture in Paris, but I believe the most perfect exhibitions that can any where be found of that ' ma- gic boldness' which all the efforts of the style were directed to attain. They are the work of Pierre de Montereau, the fa- vourite artist of St. Louis, and one of the illustrious group of architects which the piety of the thirteenth century called forth. We learn, from the inscription on his tomb, that he lived from 1212 to 1266. 'At that time the principal resi- dence of the French monarch was the ancient palace in the * Louis XII. was the last monarch who resided there. 159 isle of the city; here he administered justice to his subjects, and from thence it became afterwards the seat of the padia- ment of Paris. This' pious sovereign engaged Pierre de Montereau to erect in it a chapel, which, when it was completed, served not only for the ordinary purposes of his own devotion, but to which it was his custom to lead his judges, petitioners, and criminals, and in their presence invoke the aid of the Spirit of Truth, before he entered upon the distribution of justice. The ancient palace of the Counts of Paris had been re- repaired or rebuilt, about A. D. 1003, by Robert the Pious, who, at the same time, erected a chapel within it, dedicated to St. Nicolas. In the year 1154, Louis le Jeune repaired it ; but it is to St. Louis that we owe its magnificent reconstruc- tion, since which it has always borne the distinctive title of ' La Sainte Chapelle/ The circumstances which gave rise to this beautiful work are curious and interesting, and are thus related by Guater, Archbishop of Sens, who composed his account by order of the king. » Antiq. et Recherches des Villes se de Franc. Clinp. vii. 160 The French and Venetians having rendered themselves masters of Constantinople in 1204, several of the nobles of the former nations were successively elected to the dignity of Em- peror of the East. In 1229, John de Brienne, king of Jerusalem, was raised to the throne, who dispatched his son in law Bau- douin to Italy and France for succours against the Greeks. Baudouin arrived at Paris in 1237, and was favourably re- ceived by Louis and his Queen Blanche, to whom he was related. While he was there his father in law died, in con- sequence of which the French affairs in the east were reduced to great danger ; Constantinople was besieged by the Greeks by sea and land, many of the nobles deserted to the enemy, and those who remained were compelled to pawn the sacred treasures of the emperors, for felief from the pressure of cir- cumstances. Upon hearing this, Baudouin earnestly im- plored St. Louis not to suffer the Crown of lliorns, the most precious of all the relics, to be carried any Avhere but into France; adding, that if the king should scruple on account of the sanctity of the relic to purchase it with money, that he, as successor to John de Brienne, would give it to him, since he wished that the country from which himself and his ances- 161 tors were sprung, should be honoured by so inestimable a deposit; accordingly, as a suitable receptacle for it, St. Louis commenced the present beautiful fabric in 1245. It is said to have cost the amazing sum of 400,000 livres tournois, and the relics and shrines Avith which it was enriched, to have been worth 100,000 more, as we learn from the inquest which took place at his canonization. It is divided into an upper and lower chapel, the former of which was consecrated by the Car- dinal Bishop of Frascati, the Pope's Legate, on the 27th of April, A. D. 1248; and on the same day the lower chapel Avas dedicated by Philip, Archbishop of Bruges, to the honour of the blessed Virgin. This celebrated chapel is the most perfect work of its kind, and comprises in no very large space, boldness, richness, and grace. It has also that loftiness of proportion which I have before remarked. 'The chapel of the Virgin at St. Germain des Prez is nearly the same in design, and little inferior in beauty. Let any one examine the general style and the win- dows of these two structures, and particularly the Avindow in ' The chapel at Vincennes, which is said also to have been the work of Pierre de Montereau, was probahl}' copied from hini; as it was founded by Charles V. A. D. 1379. Topog. Gall. Par. I. 80. y 16^2 the west front of the Virgin's Chapel, rich and full of muUions, and I am convinced iheywill be readily allowed to afford a strong additional proof of the superior advances, and the superior beauty of the French architecture of the thirteenth century.' It was my intention to have commented upon the church of St. Germain I'Auxerrois, but as I am entirely without dates, I shall only mention, that the windows in their leafy rami- fications bear the marks of the fourteenth centur}'. From these sketches it will clearly be seen, that Paris, with its neighbouring Abbc}' of St. Denis, contains a most extensive illustration of the architecture of the middle ages, from the eighth to the fourteenth centur3\ It is much to be wished, as the subject is so nearly connected with our own antiquities, that it should be fully and immediately investigated ; imme- diately, because many of these venerable structures are daily suffering decay, spoliation, and in some instances, absolute destruction. As much has been done towards the preservation of many valuable specimens of ancient art by the exertions of * Sacellutn circuitu spaciosum^ fenestris egregiis et magna gloriatur rosa. Topog. Gall. Pars. I. 93. 163 M. Lenoir, I shall take this opportunity of giving my opiniou of the Museum which took its origin from his exertions. The zeal of this gentleman in preserving so many valuable monu- ments of art, and his ingenuity in restoring them, are entitled to praise; I am also ready to award a liberal portion of com- mendation to the taste which he has displayed in their ariange- ment; but the spectator of the Museum will still have to regret the wantof that judgment in its disposition, which might have converted an interesting exhibition of authenticated remains of antiquity, into a sensible lecture on the progress of the arts, which, without ceasing to please as an object of curiosity, might have conveyed instruction in the most easy and forcible manner. At a time when a general ruin had spread itself through the churches and abbeys of so vast a country as France, it was certainly a laudable plan to collect from every quarter the most interesting remains of art, and that such a collection might be instructive, to arrange them according to their suc- cessive dates in Halls, which should exhibit the characteristic architecture of each century. Unfortunately the execution of this plan is not equal to its conception : a small convent has been allotted for this vast project, which does not and cannot 164 contain a sufficient number of specimens of each centur}', especially in the earlier periods of French histor\-. It is perhaps no fault in M. Lenoir that he is restricted to such a building, and being so restricted, that he has not been able to make a more extensive collection; but no good reason or excuse can be alledged for baffling and confusing us by an incongruous mixture of styles in almost every century. The Hall of intro- duction, which is not as yet arranged," was the chapel of the convent ; it conducts us to the Hall of the thirteenth century, which was the vestr}*. Here, in a small dark room, we have a meagre exhibition of the arts of that century, which, by the magnificent structures completed in it, was more glorious to France than any other period of the middle ages, and of which the architecture here exhibited gives the most mean and un- just idea. Having survej'cd the few specimens of sculpture it contains, we pass to the hall of the fourteenth century, where a more splendid arrangement presents itself; but the examples, instead of being realh^ of the fourteenth century, are prin- cipally and confessedly taken from the Holy Chapel, the work of Pierre de Montereau, who died in 1266, and who gave the plan for it in 1245,; and the rest are from those parts of St. • 1802, 1803. 165 Denis which were rebuilt by Suger in the twelfth century. While the architecture exhibits a retrograde, the sculpture displays an anomalous progressive error; for we find in this collection four statues of apostles which were brought from the church of St. Andre des Arcs, and are certainly works of the fifteenth century. Such improprieties, in an institution where every thing should afford instruction, are no light oflfence. The hall of the fifteenth century comes next in review, and we are astonished to find in the place of Gothic embellish- ments, a gorgeous dis])lay of pilasters covered with arabesques, and all those ornaments which attended the first attempt at classic architecture. Italy herself did not begin to emerge from Gothicism till the middle of the century in question, and the arabesques' of Raftael at the Vatican, which were the origin of this taste in France, were hardly executed within its limits. At first sight we might be convinced that the Italian fashion, Avhich succeeded the Gothic, could not have reached France before the very last years of the fifteenth century, and that it was highly improper to produce the works of these few- concluding years as characteristic of the wh'^le century, the prevailing fashion of which ought certainly to have been chosen. • Disc. Hist, des Mon. Franc. l63. Raffael was bom 1483— died 1320. I6(i By M. Lenoir's own coiitession the Italian tasle did not pre- vail till the reign of Louis XII, whieli began in 1498;* and i( is extraordinary to read from whence he professes himself to have borrowed his style of the fifteenth century; from a portico erected at Chartres in loOP;" fiom the tomb of Louis XII, executed after 1515;" and from the ornaments of the Chateau de Gaillon, productions imitated from Raffael, and equally the works of the sixteenth century.^ The uniformity and splendour of the Hall is thus preserved by a continued w/s-representation. With regard to the monuments, the chief part of the col- lection is a grand display of the works of Trebati, who did not arrive in France till the year 1560/ of Juste and Marchand, both sculptors of the sixteenth' century; and to conclude this strange deviation from propriety, an elegant modern bust,* after an ancient painting, is exhibited in this chamber, which promises to instruct us in the state of the arts during the precise and limited aera of the fifteenth century. In the succeeding apartments many errors of a similar nature could be easily pointed out, but this collection is already sufficiently ample. • Desc. Hist, des Mon. Fran. p. 14, 28, l63, 181, 185. '' Desc. p. 185. 'Desc. p. 164. "^ Desc. p. 1 64. « Desc. p. 185. Vol. II. p. 144. ' Dcsc. p. lG4. & seq. « Desc. p. 174. 167 The monuments however contained in this Museum, con- sidered by themselves, are of inestimable value; the}' go back to the first ages of the French monarchy, ages of which we have no other remains but what are either mutilated or uncer- tain. Here are well-preserved monuments from the sixth to the eleventh century, which are not only highly interesting in themselves, but are the best, and almost the only guides to the state of the arts in the north of Europe: these therefore in par- ticular, as well as those which succeed them, are so con- nected with our own antiquities, that they should be as familiar to an English antiquary as the best known remains in our own island. *The tomb of Fredegond; the capitals from St. Denis and St. Germain des Prez; the sarcophagus of Charlemagne; the vestments and stockings of Ingon; the monument and painting from Clugny; the Mosaics from St. Denis; the tomb of Abelard and of Dagobert; the portal of St. Denis; and the relic box purchased by St. Louis in the Hol}'^ Land, are remains as unique as they are precious and invaluable to the history of the arts. I have mentioned these as they are peculiarly • Musee des Mon. Franc, et Desc. Hist. PI. 23, p. 108.— PI. 39^ 60, p. 1 12. — PI. 24, p. 109.— PI. 21, p. 104.— PI. o8, 37, p. 117, 118.— PI. 36, 37, p. 142.— PI. 40, 19- p. 112, 97.— PI. 62, (Jl, p. 119, HS. 168 curious; there are others also of high value; some antiques in particular of the greatest beaut}*, different Celtic '' remains of considerable interest; and every lover of the fine arts must feel indebted to M. Lenoir for his preservation, with infinite danger to himself, of that fine specimen of modern sculpture, the monument'' of the Cardinal de Richlieu, by Girardon. We may naturally rejoice that so many fine momuments should have escaped the Vandalism of the revolution; and we may for a moment admire the taste with which they are disposed ; but it is impossible not to regret, that in a city abounding with national edifices, so inadequate a receptacle should have been chosen for this collection; and we cannot but condemn the judgment which, professing to instruct, has adopted a mode principally calculated to confuse and mislead the inquirer. * M. Lenoir has, according to tlie example of Pelloutier, Mallet, and other writers of his nation, confounded the antiquities of the Celtic and Teutonic nations, p. 82, 87- For the distinction between them see the decisive argu- ment prefixed to Mallet's Northern Antiquities, by Dr. Perc\-, the present Bishop of Dromoie. *■ It may perhaps not be generally known, that at an early period of the revo- lution, a desperate mob having broken into the chapel of the Sorbonne, with a view to the destruction of this superb monument, M. Lenoir protected and saved it at the hazard of his life, and was actually wounded, and lost a finger in warding off a blow which was aimed at one of the figures of that inte- restiug group. 169 This survey of the Museum may be applied with ease to the publication in which M. Lenoir describes the collection, and the manner in which it was formed, and to which refer- ence has been so often made in the preceding pages. M. Lenoir appears, from this work, to be an antiquary of considerable industry and talents, yet of a vanity and affectation which per- petually expose him to ridicule, while his presumptuous ig- norance calls for a more serious reprobation. His sensibility over the tomb of Abelard, and the description of the soldier at St. Denis, are not a little amusing; nor will the reader fail to smile at a certain bragging nationality which I'eigns through the whole publication : it abounds too with traits of that igno- rant infidelity which is at present so prevalent in France; he is a worthy disciple of Volney, and it is impossible to surpass the presumption and absurdity of his decisions respecting St. Denis, and the Mosaic calendar of that abbey. His knowledge of architectural antiquities is apparently neither very extensive nor correct, yet he takes upon himself to account for the origin of the Gothic style,' without a single ' Len. Desc. Hist. 27, 122, 146. 2 J70 argument in proof of his assertion. His merit seems prin- cipally to consist in considerable industry, some knowledge of costume, and in his ingenuity and taste : above all in his zeal, and even magnanimity, in defence of what was valuable in the arts. A great deal of information may be extracted from his publication, by the cautious antiquary, notwithstanding its numberless imperfections. NOTE FROM THE EDITORS. It is with considerable regret that the Editors of this work here find their employment of revision at an end. Although they feel con- fident that no one interested in the subject of Gothic Architecture can peruse this volume without deriving much valuable information from it, they are yet anxious to impress upon its readers the very superior advantage with Avhich it would have been offered to them under the immediate and final inspection of its accomplished Author. They are already informed of the extent of his original plan, for the unfinished part of which some few materials are to be traced among his papers, but in too imperfect a state to be laid before the Public. The incompletion of the concluding head of his design, in which he proposed to state his opinion upon the Origin of the Gothic Style, is most peculiarly to be regretted, as he united in no common degree the energy and judgment requisite for such an inquiry. But it is not the incompletion of his plan only that the reader has to regret, what is presented to him in this volume would unquestionably have been dismissed with much greater accuracy and fullness from the immediate hand of its author, than can reasonably be expected from the superintendence of the most zealous friendship. It is one thing to suggest useful hints to a living writer, another and much more arduous task to enlarge, and at the same time to im- 172 prove, upon a posthumous work: in the former case, the mind that conceived will incorporate in the best manner, and at its proper place, what is judiciously suggested; in the latter, the slightest corrections are the safest and most satisfactory. The Editors of this volume, in discharging the office committed to them by their friend, have therefore principally confined their attention to such verbal alterations as the text, sometimes hastily composed, at others difficult to make out, seemed to them to require. It is hoped that the references will be found correct; from the difficulty however of procuring, in some instances, the works to which the notes refer, it has not been always possible to ascertain this point: where such difficulty did not exist, the reader, it is trusted, will meet with no disappointments. It may excite some degree of regret, perhaps, that a writer, pos- sessed of the qualifications which distinguished the author of the fore- going work, should have confined his talents to a discussion of so limited and partial an interest as the progress of Gothic Architecture. His friends, indeed, must greatly lament that one endowed with so many superior attainments, should have been snatched from life without leaving some more important memorial of himself to the world than the present volume, and even that in an imperfect and unfinished state. With respect to themselves, never will the re- membrance be effaced of that lively and ardent mind, that most tena- cious memory, that dispassionate judgment, that inexhaustible variety of conversation, that warm and affectionate heart, and, above all, t1cy, Pfintfr, Boll f'iccl Stretti LoudJO. 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An Enquiry into the Changes of Taste in Landscape Gardening, to which are added some Observations on its' Theory and Practice, including a Defence of the Art. 3. Hints for Picturesque Iniprovenienls, in ornamented Cottages and their Scenery; including some Observations on the Labourer and his Cottage. By E. Bartell. With Six Plates, Royal Octavo. 105. 6d. Boards. ^ 4. Cromer considered as a Watering Place, with Observations on the J'icturcsqueSceuerv in its Neighbourhood. By E. Bartell, with two Views and a Map. Octavo. 8s. Boards. 5. A Treatise on Painting, by Leonardo da Vinci. Translated from the ori>iinaI Italian, and diecsled under proper Heads, by J. F. Rigaud, Esq. R. A. Illustrated with 23 Copper-plates and other Figures. Octavo. 9s. 6d. in Boards ; large Paper, 13s. 6d. Books .puUUliedhy J. TAYLOR, High HoUorn. FURNITl RE DRAWINGS. Detlicated [with Permission] to His Royal Highness the PRINCE OF HOlLES. ' THIS DAY WAS. PUBLISHED, Elegantly engraved in Aqua-tjnta, on 158 Plates, with Explanations in Letter-press. Royal Quarto. Price, in Boards, 4I. 14s. 6d. and elegantly coloured, 7I. i-js. 61}. '■' ■ ' A COLLECTION OF DESIGNS FOR HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE, AND INTERIOR DECORATION, In the most approved and elegant Taste, viz. Curtains ; Draperies ; Beds ; Cornices ; Chairs and Sofas for Par- lours, Libraries, Drawing Rooms, Sec; Library Fauteuils ; Seats; Ottomans; Chaises Longue; Tables for Libraries, VVritinff, Work, Dressing, Sec.; Sideboards; Celerets; Bookcases; Screens; Candelabri ; Chiffoniers; Commodes ; Pier Tables ; Wardrobes; Pedestals; Glasses; Mirrors; Lamps; Jardiniers, &c. : \vith various Designs for Rooms, Geometrical and in Perspective, shewing the Decorations, Adjustment of th-e Furniture, Sec. also some general Observations. By GEORGE SMITH, Upholder Extraordinary to Mis Rojal Higbnesi the Prince of Wales. The Parts, each containing ,50 Plates, may be had separate, to complete Sets, Price il. lis. 6d. each, plain; or elegantly coloured, 2I. I2S. 6d. ROMAN ARCHITECTURE. THE ANCIENT BUILDINGS OF ROME, Acciiratehj measured ajid delineaied. By ANTONY DESGODETZ, WITH Explanations in French and English^ The Text translated, and ihe Plates engraved. By the late Mr. GEORGE MARSHALL, Architect. Two Vols. Imperial Folio, with 137 Plates. Price 61. i6s. 6d. half bound, or 5I. 15s. ^d. sewed. Desgodetz's Antiquities has ever been highly valued by Amateurs and Professors, for the Accuracy ef the Measurements, and the Choice of elegant Subjects. 1B8 Books published hj J. TAYLOR, High HolLorn. Comitis quern \\\\\. Cam Essex, among the tenant: day Book illustrated, hy Otto, the Goldsmith, graver to the king's mint, p. 305). This last was no In the same work (Am from Henry III. ' jNlagist lationum \\'estm.' p. 25. Quare accitis undique ficihus ecclesiz jecit fundi We are here told, thai even from a distance ; an were brought together oi French architects, certain! vast works then carrying Lyons, Amiens, Notre Da caise, &c. T. B«P.lleV, PrinT9^0,