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this bull, he sent two of his most eloquent monks to proclaim it over all France and Flanders; two other monks into Scotland; two into Denmark and Norway; two into Wales, Cornwall, and Ireland; and others into different parts of England. By this means (says the historian) the wonderful benefits granted to the contributors to the building of this church were published to the very ends of the earth; and great heaps of treasure, and masses of yellow metal, flowed in from all countries upon the venerable abbot Joffred, and encouraged him to lay the foundations of his church. Having spent about four years in collecting mountains of different kinds of marble from quarries, both at home and abroad, together with great quantities of lime, iron, brass, and other materials for building, he fixed a day for the great ceremony of laying the foundation, which he contrived to make a very effectual mean of raising the superstructure; for on the long expected day, the feast of the holy virgins Felicitas and Perpetua, an immense multitude of earls, barons, and knights, with their ladies and families, of abbots, priors, monks, nuns, clerks, and persons of all ranks, arrived at Croyland to assist at this ceremony. The pious abbot Joffred began by saying certain prayers, and shedding a flood of tears on the foundation. Then each of the earls, barons, knights, with their ladies, sons, and daughters, the abbots, clerks, and others, laid a stone, and upon it deposited a sum of money, a grant of lands, tithes, or patronages, or a promise of stone, lime, wood, labour, or carriages for building the church. After this

the abbot entertained the whole company, amounting to five thousand persons, to dinner. To this entertainment they were well entitled; for the money and grants of different kinds which they had deposited on the foundation stones were alone sufficient to have raised a very noble fabric." This spirit extended throughout the island; for, in Scotland, David I. raised thirteen abbeys and priories, some of them on a scale of considerable magnificence, besides several cathedrals and other churches.

393. The common people of the country, and the burgesses in the towns, were not much better lodged than in the previous age; their condition, indeed, was not improved, In London, towards the end of the twelfth century, the houses were still built of timber, and covered with reeds or straw. The palaces, however, or rather castles, of the AngloNorman kings, nobility, and prelates, were on a very superior construction. William of Malmesbury says that the Anglo-Saxon nobility squandered their ample means in low and mean dwellings; but that the French and Norman barons lived at less expense, though dwelling in large and magnificent palaces. The fact is, that among these latter the rage for erecting fortified castles was quite as great as that of erecting ecclesiastical buildings among the prelates. The system became necessary, and was induced as well by the previous habits of the country they had left, as by their situation in the island. Surrounded by vassals whom they held in subjection, and whom they depressed and plundered in every way, they were so detested by them that deep fosses and lofty walls were necessary for their security. The Conqueror himself, aware that the want of fortified places had no less assisted his conquest than it might his expulsion, resolved to guard against such a contingency by the strong castles which he placed within the royal demesnes. Matthew Paris observes that William excelled all his predecessors in the erection of castles, in executing which he harassed his subjects and vassals. So much was the practice a matter of course, that the moment one of the nobility had the grant of an estate from the crown, a castle was built upon it for his defence and residence; and this spirit was not likely to be diminished by the disputes relative to the succession in the following reigns. William Rufus, according to the statement of Henry Knighton, was as much addicted to the erection of royal castles and palaces as his father, as the castles of Dover, Windsor, Norwich, and others sufficiently prove; and it is certain that no monarch before him erected so many and noble edifices. Henry I. followed in his taste; but in the reign of Stephen, 1135 to 1154, says the author of the Saxon Chronicle, every one who had the ability built a castle, and the whole kingdom was covered with them, no fewer than 1115 having been raised from their foundations in the short space of nineteen years; so that the expression is by no means stronger than is justified by the fact.

394. It will be proper here to give the reader some concise general description of these structures, which served for residence and defence. The situation chosen for a castle was usually on an eminence near a river. Its figure on the plan was often of great extent, and irregular in form; and it was surrounded by a deep and broad ditch, called the fosse, which could be filled with water. An outwork, called a barbican, which was a strong and lofty wall, with turrets upon it, and designed for the defence of the great gate and drawbridge, was placed before the latter. Within the ditch, towards the main building, was placed its wall, about 8 or 10 ft. thick, and from 20 to 30 ft. high, with a parapet and embrasures, called crennels, on the top. At proper intervals above the wall square towers were raised, two or three stories in height, wherein were lodged some of the principal officers of the proprietor of the castle, besides their service for other purposes; and, on the Inside, were apartments for the common servants or retainers, granaries, storehouses, and other necessary offices. On the top of the wall, and on the flat roofs of the towers, the defenders were placed in the event of a siege; and thence they discharged arrows, darts,

and stones on their assailants. The great gate was placed in some part of the wall flanked with a tower on each side, with rooms over the entrance, which was closed with massive oak folding doors, frequently plated with iron, and an iron grate, or portcullis, which, by machinery, was lowered from above. Within this exterior wall, or ballium, was, in the more extensive castles, the outer ballium, which was a large open space or court, wherein a church or chapel was usually placed. Within the outer ballium was another ditch, with wall, gate, and towers, inclosing the inner ballium or court, in which was erected the large tower, or keep. It was a large fabric, some four or five stories high, whose enormously thick walls were pierced with very small apertures, serving barely as windows to the gloomy apartments upon which they opened. This great tower was the dwelling of the owner of the castle; and in it was also lodged the constable, or governor. It was provided with underground dismal apartments for the confinement of prisoners, whence the whole building received the appellation of dungeon. In the keep was also the great hall, in which the friends and retainers of the owner were entertained. At one end of the great halls of castles, palaces, and monasteries, a low platform was raised a little above the rest of the floor, called the dais, on which stood the principal table whereat persons of higher rank were placed. The varieties which occurred in the arrangement and distribution of castles were, of course, many, as circumstances varied; but the inost magnificent were erected nearly on the plan we have just described, as may be gathered as well from their ruins as from an account by Matthew Paris of the taking of Bedford Castle by Henry III., A.d. 1224. This castle, we learn from him, was taken by four assaults. In the first was taken the barbican; in the second, the outer ballium; in the third attack, the miners threw down the wall by the old tower, where, through a chink, at great risk, they possessed themselves of the inner ballium; on the fourth assault, the miners fired the tower, which thereby became so injured and split that the enemy thereon surrendered. The keeps of which we have spoken are such extraordinary edifices, that we think it right to place before the reader, the following table of some of the principal ones of the Norman æra, as given in Dallaway's Discourses upon Architecture.

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395. Gundulph is said to have introduced the architectural ornaments of the Norman style into the interior as well as on the exterior of castles. The use of battlements, loop

holes, and open galleries, or machicolations, was certainly, as our author above quoted re marks, known to the Romans.

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The architects and artificers by whom the Norman works were planned and executed were men of great science and skill, and the names of several have most deservedly obtained a place in history. Gervase of Canterbury records that William of Sens, the architect of Archbishop Lanfrane in building his cathedral, was an artist of great talents; and that he not only made a complete model of the cathedral upon which he was employed, but of all the details of sculpture necessary for its execution, besides inventing machines for loading and unloading the vessels, and conveying the heavy materials, many whereof were brought from Normandy. Of Walter of Coventry, another architect of the age, Matthew Paris speaks in the highest terms, saying that "so excellent an architect had never yet appeared, and probably never would appear in the world." Dr. Henry on this very properly observes, That this encomium was undoubtedly too high; but it is impossible to view the remains of many magnificent fabrics, both sacred and civil, that were erected in this period, without admiring the genius of the architects by whom they were planned, and the dexterity of the workmen by whom they were executed." (See par. 321 et seq.)

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396. Of the twenty-two English cathedrals, fifteen retain parts of Norman erection, whose dates are pretty well ascertained; and by them the Norman manner was progressively brought to perfection in England. We subjoin the following enumeration of Norm in bishops, who were either patrons of the art, or are supposed to have practised it themselves.

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Of Norman architecture the principal characteristics are subjoined in the following sub. section. (See also Book III., chap. iii.)

397. Arches. Generally semicircular, as in the nave of Gloucester, here given (fig. 185.). Of larger opening than the Saxon, and their ornaments less minute; often bounded by a single moulding, though sometimes by more than one; occasionally without any moulding at all; the soffitt always plain. In the second story, two smaller equal arches under one larger, with a column of moderate size, or even comparatively slender, between them. In the third

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Fig. 185.

ARCH FROM NAVE OF GLOUCESTER

story (see fig. 186.), generally three together, the centre one higher and broader than the others, and opened for a window; but the whole three only occupy a space equal to that of the lower arch. Arches of entrance are profusely decorated (fig. 187., from Ely) with mouldings, foliage, wreaths, masks, figures of men and animals in relief, and all the fancies of the wildest imagination, in which every thing that is extravagant, grotesque, ludicrous, nay, even grossly indecent, is to be found. Before the end of the period - and we may almost say early in it-it exhibits examples of pointed arches. They are, however, sparingly introduced: one or more tiers appear in the upper stories of a building, whilst all the lower ones are circular. Sometimes they are intro

Fig. 186.

THREE STORIES OF A NORMAN CATHEDRAL.

duced alternately, sometimes we find one capriciously inserted between several round ones these are, for the most part. obtusely pointed, though occasionally they are the reverse.

They are always wide, stand on heavy columns, or are decorated with mouldings, or both. The approaches to the pointed style were not strongly marked, but they were indicated; for the pointed style cannot be pronounced to have commenced until the sharp-pointed arch sprung from a slender column graced with a capital of carved foliage, and this it is not safe to place earlier than the reign of John. The arch which rises more than a semicircle does not very often occur; but it must be mentioned as exhibiting one of the varieties of the period. Columns. These are of very large diameter relative to their heights and intervals. Their shafts are circular, hexagonal, and sometimes octagonal, on the plan; fluted, lo. zenged, reticulated, and otherwise sculptured. Sometimes they are square on the plan, and then accompanied by portions of columns or pilasters applied to them. Sometimes four columns are connected together, with or without angular pieces. They are much higher in proportion to their diameters than the Saxon columns heretofore described; and though their capitals are not unfrequently quite plain, they are more commonly decorated with a species of volute, or with plants, flowers, leaves, shells, animals, &c. The bases stand on a strong plinth, adapted on its plan to receive the combined and varied forms of the columns. Windows, are stiil narrow, and semicircular-headed; but they are higher, and often in groups of two or three together. Ceilings, usually, if not always, of timber, except in crypts, in which they are vaulted with stone, with groins mostly plain, yet sometimes ornamented on the edge, but universally without tracery. The White Tower of London, however, exhibits an example of a centre aisle covered with vaulting. Our belief is, and in it we are corroborated by the Rev. Mr. Dallaway, whose judgment we hold in no small esteem, that there is no instance of a genuine Anglo-Norman building which was intended to be covered with a stone roof or ceiling. This is not only indicated by the detail, but by the circumstance of the walls being insufficient (thick as they are) in solidity to resist the thrust. Peterborough, Ely, St. Peter's, Northampton, Steyning, Romsey, &c. are calculated and constructed to receive wooden roofs only. Walls, are of extraordinary thickness, with but few buttresses, and those of small projection; flat, broad, and usually without ornament. Ornaments. Among these must be first named the ranges of arches and pilasters which had nothing to support, already incidentally mentioned, and which were intended to fill up void spaces, internally as well as externally, for the purpose of breaking up large masses of surface; they are very common on the inside of north and south walls. sometimes intersecting each other so as to produce those compartments that are alleged to have given rise to the pointed arch. The mouldings of the Saxon period continued much in use, and we ought, perhaps, to have given some of them, as belonging to the preceding section; and, indeed, should have so done, if, in the Norman style, they had not increased in number and variety, and had not also been employed in profusion about the ornamental arches just named, especially in conspicuous places on the outside, as in the west front especially. The most usual ornaments (fig. 188.) were, 1. The chevron, or zigzag moulding; 2. The embattled frette;

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Fig. 187.

PRIOR'S ENTRANCE AT ELY.

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3. The triangular frette; 4. The nail head; 5. The billet; 6. The cable; 7. The hatched, 8. The lozenge; 9. The wavy; 10. The pellet moulding; 11. The nebule. The torus was used, as was also the cavetto, which were both of Grecian extraction. The chief of these ornaments, perhaps all, were used in the Saxon age, besides others which were occasionally employed, and which to designate by name would be difficult; such, for instance, as the corbel-table (12), which consists of small ranges of arches, resting on consoles sometimes decorated with carved heads, often introduced along the whole building immediately below the eaves or battlement. Sometimes carved heads are observed in the spandrels of arches, and are also used as capitals of the ornamental pilasters, or as corbels, to support what is called the canopy, or exterior semicircle of moulding on arches of entrance, or above the keystones of those arches. There are instances of whole figures over doors in mezzo-rilievo, which Millers observes was the nearest approach the Normans seem to have made to a statue. Plans. The churches of this period are always with transepts, and a tower at the intersection, loftier than heretofore, but without spires over them. There are rising from them stories of arches, one above the other; and the eastern ends are semicircular. Though much of the Saxon style is retained, there is, from the larger dimensions of the edifices of this period, a much more impressive air of magnificence than had before appeared. Millers very truly says, that the churches were "in all dimensions much ampler, with a general air of cumbrous massive grandeur. The Normans were fond of stateliness and magnificence; and though they retained the other characteristics of the Saxon style, by this amplification of dimensions they made such a striking change as might justly be entitled to the denomination which it received at its first introduction among our Saxon ancestors, of a new style of architecture." The criterion between the Saxon and Norman styles, of enlarged dimensions, is too vague to guide the reader in a determination of the age of buildings of this period; for it is only in large edifices, such as cathedral and conventual churches, with their transepts, naves, side aisles, and arches in tier above tier, that this can be perceptible. There are many parish churches of this age, whose simplicity of form and small dimensions have been mistaken for Saxon buildings; and which, from not possessing any of the grander Norman features, have been assigned to an earlier age. The distinction ascertainable from heights of coJumns, namely, taking the height of the Norman column at from four to six diameters, and that of the Saxon at only two,-will, we fear, be insufficient to decide the question in cases of doubt; but it must be admitted this is one of the means which, in some measure, would lead us to an approximate judgment of the matter, and a careful observation and comparison of specimens would make it more definite. We shall here merely add, that the first Norman architects, by the lengthened vista of the nave, uninterrupted by any choir screen, produced a sublime and imposing effect by the simple grandeur and amplitude of dimensions in their churches.

398. Examples.-Examples of Norman architecture in English cathedral churches are to be found at Ely, in the western towers and nave; at Bristol, in the elder Lady Chapel, and Chapter House; at Canterbury in the choir, and the round part called Becket's Crown; at Norwich.

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