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Saxon styles in the North, on which we shall enlarge in the section on Gothic architecture; and, in the South, it produced the Arabian, Saracenic, or Moresque style, by whichever name the reader may choose to distinguish it. Both were strongly impregnated with the vices and defects into which the Roman architecture of the period had fallen. For the sake of illustrating what we mean, we refer, as examples, to the Baths of Dioclesian, to that emperor's palace at Salona, and to the buildings of Justinian and Theodosius, - from all which may be learned the abuses and incongruities which attended the fall, not only of architecture, but of all the other arts. We find in them arches springing from capitals, columns without entablatures, and even zigzag ornaments. But, with all this perversion of taste, the general form of the plans of the edifices altered not: that of the temples more particularly continued unchanged. Some great convulsion was necessary before they could undergo alteration, and such was the introduction of Christianity. Thus, says Saint Isidore, the basilica suffered transformation into the Christian church :-"Basilicæ olim negotiis plenæ, nunc votis pro salute susceptis." Of this, in a succeeding page, we shall have more to say. But the change was not confined to the basilica; the palace and domestic dwelling equally partook of the alteration of wants. The Romans, whilst masters of the world, were careless in protecting their cities by walls. Defence was only necessary on their frontiers; and there, walls and towers were constructed, from which was the first hint for the castle, of which the Roman villa, fortified, is the type. When, however, Italy was invaded, the fate of war soon caused exterior decoration to be sacrificed to internal comfort and luxury; and even Rome, under Belisarius, was surrounded by walls and towers. The people, whose prowess made these precautions necessary, soon found the convenience of adopting similar habits and buildings.

125. The Arabians, whose wandering life could scarcely be imagined capable of such a change, ultimately established themselves in Roman castles, and turned the Christian churches, which, at the period, were extremely numerous, into mosques. For some time, the architecture of the Goths, of the Arabians or Moors, was, as respects plan, the same; not less so was the character of the ornaments employed by both nations; but it was not long before these diverged into styles which possessed each its peculiar beauties. The Christians soon used the pointed arch; and the style they adopted became slender and tall, whilst that of the Moslems, from the nature of the climate and their peculiar habits, was deficient in elevation, though in the end it acquired a lightness and elegance which it did not at its origin possess. But it is proper, here, to impress on the mind of the reader that Gothic and Arabian architecture have nothing in common between them, except their origin from a common source. It is an error to confound them, or to suppose that the pointed arch is found in any strictly Arabian edifices. That, as far as we can ascertain, did not exist before the eleventh century. It seems to have been a development in the parts of a style which, as it passed into more northern latitudes, became more acute in the roofs, from the necessity of discharging the rain and snow with greater facility. This pointed style spread itself over some parts of India; but, there, none of the examples are older than the fourteenth or fifteenth century. Except in ornamental detail, whereof we append two specimens (figs. 80, 81.) from the Alhambra, the Arabs were not inventive. It is not

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unlikely that their skill in geometry greatly assisted them in the extraordinary combination of lines to be found in their decorations, which nothing can surpass; nor was it till the time of the Abassides that the Arabians became fully acquainted with what had been done by the Greeks. This knowledge was not confined to them, for there is abundant proof, 1. That all the modern arts, as well of the North, as of the West and South, had their origin from the Greek empire at Constantinople, which at that period gave the fashion in them, as did Italy five centuries afterwards. 2. That the plans of churches and mosques are traceable to that of the ancient basilica, as in the citadels of the middle ages, and the palaces of the Greek emperors, are to be found the types of the Gothic castle and of the Moresque alcazar. 3. That the Gothic and Saracenic styles attained their several perfection in very I different manners as to the details of their distribution and ornament, and acquired peculiar characters, which in both may be divided into three periods, the last in each being lost in the change that took place in Italy on the revival of the arts. The periods of the Gothic will be noticed under the proper section.

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Fig. 81 CAPITAL, ALHAMBRA.

126. The first period in the history of Moresque architecture is from the foundation of Islamism to the ninth century, of which the finest example was the Mosque of Cordova in Spain. This was commenced in 770 by Abderahman, and finished by his son and successor, Hisham. Its plan is a parallelogram, whose longest side is 620 ft. by 440, formed by a wall and counterforts, both of which are embattled. The height of the wall varies from 35 to 60 ft., and its thickness is 8 ft. The whole of the quadrangular space is internally divided into two parts, viz. a court of 210 ft. in depth, the mosque itself covering the remainder of The mosque consists of nineteen naves (of a portion of one whereof fig. 82. is a

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diagram) formed by seventeen ranks of columns from south to north, and thirty-two narrower naves from east to west. Each of these naves is about 16 ft. wide from north to south, and about 400 ft. long, their width in the opposite direction being less. Thus the intersection of the naves with each other produces 850 columns, which, with fifty-two columns in the court, form a total of upwards of 900 columns. They are about 18 in. in diameter, the mean height of them is about 15 ft., and they are covered with a species of Corinthian and Composite capital, of which there are many varieties. The columns have neither socle nor base, and are connected by arches from one to another. The ceilings are of wood, painted, each range forming, on the outside, a small roof, separated from those adjoining by a gutter. The variety of the marbles of the columns produces an effect of richness which all agree is very striking. They were most probably procured from the Roman ruins of the city. It is impossible to pass over the description of this mosque without calling to mind the resemblance it bears in its arrangement to the basilicas at Rome. The reader who has seen St. Agnese and St. Paolo fuori le mura, we are sure, will think with us. After the conquest of Cordova in 1236, this mosque was converted into a cathedral. In 1528, it was much disfigured by modern erections, which were necessary for better adapting it to the service of the Christian religion. These, however, have not so far ruined its ancient effect as to prevent an idea being formed of it when in its splendour. The decorations throughout are in stucco, painted of various colours, decorated with legends, and occasionally gilt like the churches of the Lower Empire.

Fig.82. MOSQUE AT CORDOVA.

127. In the second period, the style greatly improved in elegance. It lasted till the close of the thirteenth century, just before which time was founded the royal palace and fortress of the Alhambra, at Granada (fig. 83.), perhaps the most perfect model of pure Arabian architecture that has existed. During this period, no traces of the Byzantine style are to be found. An exuberance of well-tempered ornament is seen in their edifices, whose distribution and luxury manifest the highest degree of refinement. Speaking of the interior of the building above mentioned, M. de Laborde says, that it exhibits "tout ce que la volupté, la grâce, l'industrie peuvent reunir de plus agréable et de plus parfait." After passing the principal entrance, you arrive at two oblong courts; one whereof, celebrated in Arabian history, called the Court of the Lions, is in fig. 84. represented on the following page. This court is 100 ft. long and 50 ft. broad, having 128 columns of white marble. Round these two courts, on the ground floor, are disposed the apartments of the palace. Those for state look out towards the country; the rest, cooler and more retired, have openings for light under the interior porticoes. The whole is on one plane, the walls being placed so as exactly to suit the plateau of the rock; its entire length is about 2300 ft., and breadth 600 ft. The doors are few and large, and the windows, except on the side where the landscape is most magnificent, are chiefly towards the interior. In one of the apartments, the Arabian architect has, in an inscription, given his reason for this adoption, in the following terms: - "My windows admit the light, and exclude the view of external objects, lest the beauties of

nature should divert your attention from the beauties of my work." The walls are covered with arabesques, apparently cast in moulds, and afterwards joined together. The orna

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ments are in colours of gold, pink, light blue, and a dusky purple, the first colour being nearest the eye, and the last furthest from it; the general surface, however, is white. The

Fig. 81.

COURT OF THE LIONS, ALHAMBRA.

or drained of their sap at the time of some effect in producing the result. edifice the reader who wishes to mentioned.

walls, to the height of four feet, were lined with variously figured and coloured porcelain mosaics, as were the floors. The Arabs of the Spanish caliphate appear to have known some mode of preventing the decay of paint and timber, for the paintings, in which the medium for the colour is not oil, retain the original freshness of their colours, and the woodwork of the ceilings presents no symptoms of decomposition. It has been conjectured that the soundness of the wood throughout has arisen from the trees being lanced felling; but it may be, that the coating of paint has had Description conveys no notion of this extraordinary obtain one must refer to Murphy's work, already

128. The third period of Arabian architecture is from the end of the thirteenth century to the decline of the Saracen power in Spain. During a portion of this period, it was used by the Spaniards themselves, and like the Gothic, in the northern and middle parts of Europe, was engrafted on the style which crept from Italy into all countries till the Renaissance. During this period were built the castles of Benavento, Penafiel, and Tordesillas; and the alcazars of Segovia and Seville. The plans continued much the same; but Greek ornaments began to appear, with Moresque arches on Corinthian columns. At this time, also, representations of the human figure are to be seen, which, by the laws of Mahomet, were strictly forbidden. There was a charm about this architecture which makes one almost regret that reason and advance in civilisation have extinguished it.

129. We are not to look to the works of the Arabians for the real grandeur which is exhibited in the works of Egypt, Greece, or Rome. Brick was the material most used. When stone was employed, it was covered with a coating of stucco. In their constructive combinations there is nothing to surprise. The domes which crown their apartments are neither lofty nor large in diameter, neither do they exhibit extraordinary mechanical skill. The Arabian architects seem to have been unacquainted with the science of raising vaults on lofty piers. In the specimen cited at Cordova, the span, from pier to pier is less than 20 ft., which would not have required much skill to vault, yet we find the ceilings of timber. The use of orders was unknown to them; the antique columns which they introduced were employed as they found them, or imitations of them, without an acquaintance with the types from which they were derived, with their principles or proportions. In truth,

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Fig. 85.

ARABIAN ARCHES.

their columns are posts. We do not find, in the forms of Arabian art, that character of originality which can be traced from local causes. The Arabians had spread themselves out in every direction, far from their own country, in which they had never cultivated the arts; hence their architecture was founded upon the models before them, which the Byzantine school supplied. Of the forms of their arches, some whereof are here exhibited (fig. 85.), the most favourite seems to have been the horse-shoe form. They may be ranged into two classes, — that just named, and the other, that wherein the curve is of contrary flexure, and described from several centres. Both classes are vicious in respect of construction, from the impossibility of gaining resistance to thrust at the abutments. In masonry, such arches could not be executed on a large scale. In brick arches, however, the surface of the cement is so increased, that if it be good, and great care be used in not removing the centres till the cement is set, great variety of form in them may be hazarded. If the pleasure—perhaps we may say sensuality of the eye is alone to be consulted, the Arabians have surpassed all other nations in their architecture. The exquisite lines on which their decorations are based, the fantasticness of their forms, to which colour was most tastefully superadded, are highly seductive. Their works have the air of fairy enchantment, and are only to be compared to that imagination with which the oriental poetry abounds. The variety and profusion wherewith they employed ornament impart to the interior masses of their apartments the appearance of a congeries of painting, incrustation, mosaic, gilding, and foliage; and this was probably much augmented by the Mahometan law, which excluded the representation of the human figure. If a reason be unnecessary for the admission of ornament, nothing could be more satisfactory than the splendour and brilliancy that resulted from their combinations. One of their practices, that of introducing light into their apartments by means of openings in the form of stars, has a magical effect. 130. We have principally confined ourselves, in the foregoing remarks, to the architecture of the Arabians as it is found in Spain, which, it is proper to observe, is only a class of the edifices in the style. There is so close a resemblance between the buildings of that country and those of other places that were, and still are, under the dominion of the Moors, Fig. 87.

ELEVATION, HOUSE AT ALGIERS.

that, allowing only for difference of climate, we might have left the subject without further illustration, but that we think the representation in figs. 86. and 87. of a Turkish house at Algiers, which we have extracted from Durand's Paralléle des Edifices, may give a better idea of Arabian architecture than a host of words.

131. In Mecca, the city of the Prophet, the houses are of stone, and three or four stories in height. The material employed inFig. 86. PLAN, HOUSE AT ALGIERS. dicates solidity of construction. The streets are regular. The leading features are the balconies covered with blinds; fronts of the houses much ornamented; doors, with steps and small seats on both sides; roofs terraced, with very high parapets, opened at intervals by a railing formed of brick, in which holes are left for the circulation of the air, at the same time giving an ornamental appearance to the front; staircases narrow and inconvenient; rooms of good dimensions and well-proportioned, having, besides the principal windows, an upper tier. Damascus, of which a slight view (fig. 88.) is annexed, has been described as resembling a large camp of conical tents, which, on a nearer approach, are found to be small cupolas to the houses. Brick, sun-dried, is the principal material, and the forms of the roofs mentioned are absolutely necessary to protect against the winter rains. Streets generally narrow, houses well supplied with fountains, and containing a large number of houses that may be ranked as palaces. Mosques, many in number, but presenting none that are very remarkable. The bazaars and baths of considerable size and splendour. In Bagdad, there are many large squares. The gates erected by the caliphs are still in existence, and are fine specimens of Arabian art. Its walls of mud are 25 ft. in height, but within them are ramparts, carried on arches. In Bussorah, the most remarkable feature is the mode in which they construct their arches, which is effected without centres.

132. We do not think it necessary to detain the reader on the architecture of Moorish or Western Arabia. As in the eastern parts of the ancient empire, the houses usually consist of a court, whereof some or all of its sides are surrounded by galleries. Narrow rooms run generally parallel with the gallery, usually without any opening but the door

opening on to the gallery. Roofs are flat or terraced. Walls variously built, often of lime, plaster, and stones, carried up in a sort of casing, which is removed when the work is set.

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From want of good timber, the rooms are narrow. The mosques are by no means worthy of notice. Fez, an ancient Arabian city, contains some lofty and spacious houses. Its streets are narrow, and on their first floors have projections which much interrupt the light. In the centre of each house is an open quadrangle, surrounded by a gallery, communicating with a staircase. Into this gallery the doors of the apartments open. The ceilings are lofty, the floors of brick. All the principal houses are supplied with cisterns in the lower parts, for furnishing a supply to the baths, a luxury with which also every mosque is provided. In this town there are nearly two hundred caravanseras or inns, three stories high, in each of whose apartments, varying from fifty to one hundred, water is laid on for ablution. The shops, as in Cairo, are very small; so much so, that the owner can reach all the articles he deals in without changing his posture. In Tripoli, the houses rarely exceed one story in height; but we must be content with observing that the character is still the same. "Nec facies omnibus una, nec diversa tamen." Though the late Sultan built a new palace in the Italian style at Constantinople, the Moslems will not easily relinquish a style inti

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mately allied to their habits and religion, a style whereof fig. 89. will convey some idea to the reader. He is also referred to figs. 31, 32, and 33., as examples of the same style in Persia.

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