Latimer on the subject of the Goodwin Sands and Tenterden steeple. One of the points of Möller's reasoning we do not think at all fortunate; it is that on the forms of the Moresque arches. Now, it must immediately occur to the reader that one of the forms (as at the side), and that a common one, is to be found in their arches, that of contrary flexure; a form in the architecture of this country in the time of the Tudors universally adopted, though, it must be allowed, much flattened in the application. Another point seems to have been altogether overlooked by Möller, namely, the practice of diapering the walls, whereof an instance occurs in Westminster Abbey; and one which has a very strong affinity to the practice of the Moors, who left no space unornamented. The higher-pitched gables of the northern roofs, we admit, fostered the discovery, by the introduction of forms from necessity, which were admirably calculated to carry out to their extreme limits the principles of which the Crusaders had acquired some notion for practice on their return to their respective countries. As to the objection that the Arabs had no original architecture, it is admitted. They must, however, have had that of the tent, whose form inverted would give all that is sought. These observations we do not throw out, however, as partisans; because, as we have before said, the satisfactory settlement of the origin involves nothing more than a silly antiquarian controversy, of importance to no one, and, if decided, gratifying only to little minds; and we ought, perhaps, to apologise, under such circumstances, to the reader, for having so long delayed his entry to the acquaintance with its examples. We cannot, however, proceed to that part of our duty without observing that the hypothesis adopted by us is sanctioned, in addition to the intelligent author upon whom we have drawn so much, by Warburton, and T. Warton, and Sir Christopher Wren; and though none of these had the opportunity of basing their opinions upon the labours of the recent travellers whom we have been able to use, we do not think, upon this mooted question, either of them would be reduced to the necessity of retracting what he has respectively written. The reader who is inclined to read the lucubrations of Mr. Kerrich of Cambridge, which deduce the forms of churches, arches, and perhaps many other objects, from the bladder of a fish (vesica piscis), may consult the Archæologia; in which, as respects that subject, much money was uselessly and ridiculously expended in text and plates, to illuminate the world on a subject whereof the writer was most profoundly ignorant, a remark which will equally apply to later writers on the subject who have appeared from that seat of learning. We do not think we underrate the number of writers on the subject of the origin of the pointed arch, when we state that it amounts to sixty, a majority of whom never saw a pointed arch out of their own country, England; and therefore persons, from actual comparison and knowledge, totally incapacitated from estimating the very nice distinctions and grades by which the truth could be eliminated. 303. The golden age of pointed architecture was from the middle of the 13th to the latter end of the 14th century, and one of the first churches in which it appeared, so as to allow it to be quoted as a fair specimen of the style, is that of Gelnhausen, in Swabia, an edifice which, it may safely be said, rose in the beginning of the 13th century. On the plan it is a Latin cross, terminating in three sides of an octagon at the eastern end, where it is flanked by two octagonal towers with plain buttresses at the angles. There is a similarity in the long narrow windows at the eastern extremity to those of the churches of Constantinople; but they are sharply pointed like the end of a lancet, and, from the circumstance, are universally denominated lancet-headed windows. Over these windows are ornamental semicircular recesses; and again above these is a tier of small columns attached to the wall which support arches of trefoil formation. In the wall between the columus quatrefoil windows are introduced inscribed in circles, and above the arcade each face of the octagon is pierced with a small window of two apertures, both ending in trefoil heads. Each side is crowned by a rectilinear gable, under whose sloping sides occurs the nebule or wavy ornament, bearing some resemblance to small arcades, with their imposts rounded. The octagon is crowned generally by a lofty pyramidal roof, without ornament. The two towers on the flanks are divided horizontally, by means of rectangular panels, into five horizontal parts, each of them at the upper part being decorated with small semicircular corbel-formed ornaments. The faces are crowned by small pediments, and the tower is terminated by a plain pyramidal spire. The central tower of the edifice is octagonal on the plan, containing two tiers of windows; whereof those in the lower tier have some double, others triple, apertures, formed by mullions, over which are trefoil heads; whilst those in the upper tier have double apertures with pointed heads. The central opening of the three-light windows in the lower tier rises above those on the sides; but they are enclosed under one semicircular arch. This tower is also crowned with a simple pyramidal spire. 304. The beautiful church at Oppenheim, dedicated to St. Catherine, is, like that just described, a Latin cross on its plan, and consists of a nave and transepts. Its chancel is five sides of an octagon. As in many of the churches of Germany, it has a second chancel for the canons at the western extremity, terminating in three sides of an octagon. The entrances are on the north and south sides of the transepts. From a MS. chronicle of the church, quoted by Möller, it is ascertained that the nave and eastern chancel were begun in 1262, and finished in 1317. The western chancel was not consecrated till 1439. The total length of the church, including the two chancels, is 268 ft.; whereof the western chancel, whose breadth is 46 ft., occupies 92 ft. The nave is 102 ft. in length, and its breadth 86, that breadth comprising the two side aisles which are separated from the nave by clustered columns. The transept is 102 ft. long, and 31 ft. broad. In the side aisles are small chapels. In the western front, at the extremity of the nave, are two towers, standing on square bases, each of four stories, and crowned by an octagonal spire. In their three upper stories are round-headed windows, which, where double, are separated by pilasters. The windows of the aisles occupy the whole space between the buttresses, are without mullions, and have pointed arches. The buttresses, whose faces are ornamented with panels, are without pinnacles. The upper windows are surmounted by rectilinear pediments, with crockets and slender pinnacles between them. The doorway of the south transept is with a pointed arch, having one lancet-headed window above. The transept terminates in a gable, within which seven small pediments are placed. Buttresses are placed at the angles of the transepts terminating in pinnacles. Buttresses without pinnacles flank the angles of the hemi-octagon at the east end, whose sides are pierced with lancet-headed apertures. In the western façade is an elegant rose window of twenty small leaves in groups of five. Over the intersection of the transepts with the nave stands an octagonal tower, in each face of which is a pointed window. The centre is covered with a small cupola. On a visit to this beautiful church about four years since, we were pleased to find it under repair, and likely to be preserved. 305. The two churches of Germany whose fame makes it necessary to notice them here are those of Strasburg and Cologne. The first was begun in 1277, by Erwin de Steinbach, and was carried on under various architects till 1439, since which nothing has been done towards its completion. Among the examples of pointed architecture, this is the most stupendous. There is a similarity of style between it and the cathedrals of Paris and Rheims, except that the ornaments are more minute. The plan is a Latin cross, whose eastern end terminates interiorly in a semicircle, but on the exterior in a straight line. The length of the church is 324 ft., that of the transept 150 ft. the height of the vault is 98 ft. The nave has one aisle on each side of it. The western façade is in three vertical divisions separated by buttresses. In the central one is the principal portal, and thereover, we believe, the largest rose window in Europe. The portal just mentioned, as well as that on each side, has a rectilinear pediment highly decorated. The sides and sofites of the portals are filled with canopies and statues. The two stories of windows above the ground are pointed; those in the first story having slender bar divisions in front of them, and those above being subdivided into three parts by a species of thin buttresses. On the north side of the façade, being the north-west angle of the edifice, rises the spire, whose height has been so variously represented, that some authors have made it 100 ft. higher than others we believe the correct height to be 466 ft., being greater than that of any church in Europe. To a certain height the tower is square and solid, being formed by one of the vertical divisions of the western façade. Above the solid part, the tower rises to a certain height octangularly, open on all sides, and flanked by four sets of open spiral staircases, which are continued to the line whence the principal tower rises conically in seven stories or steps, crowned at the summit with a species of lantern. In the interior of this church, near one of the large piers of the transept, is a statue of the architect Erwin, in the attitude of leaning over the balustrades of the upper corridor, and looking at the opposite piers. John Hültz of Cologne succeeded Erwin as architect of the fabric: he continued the tower which we have just described, and which was only finished in 1449. 306. We propose to close our view of the pointed architecture of Germany with some short account of that which, had it been completed, would have been the most magnificent and exquisitely ornamented ecclesiastical edifice the world ever saw, we mean the cathedral at Cologne, whose plan (fig. 154.) exhibits a symmetry not surpassed by the buildings of ancient Greece and Rome. A church had been erected on the present site of this cathedral in the time of Charlemagne. This was destroyed by fire in 1248, at which time Conrad filled the archiepiscopal throne of the city. Before fire had destroyed the former cathedral, this prelate had resolved on the erection of a new church, so that in the year following the destruction of the old edifice, measures had been so far taken, that the first stone of the new fabric was laid with great solemnity on the 14th of August, being the eve of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. Collections were made throughout Europe for carrying on the works, and the wealth of Cologne itself seems to have favoured the hope that its founder had expressed of their continuation. The misfortunes of the times soon, however, began to banish the flattering expectation, that the works would be continued to the completion of the building. Gerard, who was the architect of the works in 1257, suffered the grief of seeing the archbishops of Cologne dissipate their treasures in unprofitable wars, and ultimately abandoning the city altogether for a residence at Bonn. The works do not, however, appear to have been interrupted, though they proceeded but slowly. On the 27th of September, in the year 1322, seventy-four years after the first stone had been laid, the choir was consecrated. The works were not long continued with activity, for about 1370, the zeal of the faithful was very much damped by finding that great abuses had crept into the disposal of the funds. The nave and southern tower continued rising, though slowly. Under Thierry de Moers in 1437, the latter had beer raised to the third story, and the bells were moved to it. In the beginning of the 16th century, the nave was brought up to the height of the capitals of the aisles, and the vaulting of the north aisle was commenced; the northern tower was carried on to the corresponding height; and every thing seemed to indicate a steady prosecution of the work, though the age was fast approaching in which the style was to be forgotten. The windows in the north aisle were decorated, though not in strict accordance with the style, yet with some of the finest specimens of painted glass that Europe can boast, a work executed under the patronage of the archbishop Hermann of Hesse, of the chapter, of the city, and of many noble families who are, by their armorial bearings, recorded in these windows. But with this the progress stopped. The works which remain are at once a monument of the genius which conceived such an edifice, and of the civil discords that prevented its completion. Fig. 155. exhibits the south elevation of the cathedral, in which the darker lines show the parts actually executed, and the lighter ones those which remain, alas! still to be developed in matter. If the reader reflect on the dimensions of this church, whose length is upwards of 500 ft., and width with the aisles 280 ft.; the length of whose transepts was 290 ft. and more; that the roofs are more than 200 ft. high, and the towers when finished would have been more than 500 ft. on bases 100 ft. wide; he may easily imagine, that, notwithstanding all the industry and activity of a very large number of workmen, the works of a structure planned on so gigantic a scale, could not proceed otherwise than slowly, especially as the stone is all wrought. The stone of which it is built is from two places on the Rhine, Koenigswinter and Unckel-Bruch, opposite the Seven Mountains, from both of which the transport was facilitated by the water carriage afforded by the Rhine. The foundations of the southern tower are known to be laid, at least, 44 ft. below the surface. 307. The states of Europe ought to contribute towards the completion of this stupendous work, which the aid, liberal as it is, of the King of Prussia, does little more than keep in repair; though at this moment there is a complete staff of architect, clerks of works, masons, &c., constantly employed on the fabric. We subjoin a table of the receipts and expenditure upon it in the ten years from 1824 to 1833 inclusive, by which it will be seen how alive, among the sovereigns of the Continent, the late King of Prussia was to the importance of the arts. Rix dollars. R. D. Silb. g. Pf. R. D. Silb. g. Pf. R. D. Silb. g. Pf. R.D. Silb.g. Pf. R. D. Silb. g. Pf. Total Expenditure. R. D. Silb. g. Pf. 31050 29 11 1824 35084 35445 19 1 1825 1826 308. So that the average yearly expenditure, for the ten years above named, amounts to 27167. sterling, a sum manifestly little more than necessary for keeping the building in repair, and leaving us without the most distant prospect of its ever being more than preserved. The above table is extracted from the small brochure by M. J. De Noel, published at Cologne in 1835. 309. The cathedral at Ulm (fig. 156.) is another of the many celebrated cathedrals of Germany: it was commenced in 1377, and finished, the tower excepted, in 1478. It is reputed to be the longest church in Germany, being 416 ft. long, 166 ft. wide, and, including the thickness of the vaulting, 141 ft. high. The piety of the citizens of Ulm moved them to the erection of this structure, towards which they would not accept any contribution from foreign princes or cities; neither would they accept any remission of taxes nor indulgences from the pope. The whole height of the tower, had it been finished according to the original design (still in existence), would have been 491 feet. It does not preserve the regularity of form for which the cathedral at Cologne is conspicuous, but the composition of it, as a whole, is exceedingly beautiful. At Ratisbon is another beautiful work, of about the same period, of which fig. 157. is a sketch; but we do not think it necessary to detain the reader with the description of it. At Vienna the cathedral of St. Stephen's exhibits another exquisite example of the style. 310. We have mentioned a few of the churches of France in the Byzantine or Romanesque styles. In the thirteenth century the pointed style there reached its highest excellence. "Every thing," observes Whittington, "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 thirteenth century found the French artists, a numerous and protected 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 France was filled by monarchs equally distinguished by their piety and magnificence." The chronicle of the abbey of Bec in Normandy informs us that Ingelramme, who had been employed on the church of Notre Dame at Rouen, was, in 1212, engaged on the church of this Norman abbey, a great portion whereof he raised in a year and a half, and in which he was succeeded by Waultier de Meulan, who finished the work in less than three years. Little of this building remains, from the circumstance of its having been burnt twice within the century, and renewed in its present form about 1273, by the Abbot de Caniba. At this period the churches of France were rising in every direction. At Rheims, the cathedral (fig. 158.) exhibited the elegant lightness of the new style; the body of the cathedral at Lyons was completed; the exquisite cathedral of Amiens (fig. 159.) was raised by Robert de Lu Fig. 157. RATISHON CATHEDRAL. zarches and his successors; and, among many other architectural beauties, the Sainte Chapelle of the palace at Paris. Neither must we omit the celebrated Eudes de Montreuil, among whose numerous works, after his return from the East, whither he had accompanied St. Louis, was the church of Notre Dame de Mantes, the boldness of whose vaulting astonished Soufflot and Gabriel in their scientific survey of the French churches, and of which it is related, perhaps fabulously, that when the building was finished, the workmen refused to remove the centering, until Eudes, by sending his nephew to assist them, quieted their apprehensions. The height of the vaulting from the pavement is 96 feet. This Eudes died in 1289, and of his two wives, Mahault, or Maud, attended the queen on her voyage to Egypt and the Holy Land. Another artist, Jousalin de Courvault, is known to have accompanied the king (St. Louis) to the crusade. The number of ecclesiastical structures in France erected during the reign of St. Louis exceeds all former and subse |