Chap. IV.

PRIXCIPLES OF PROrOIlTION. 1 OS.'s

with its outer sitlo. The centre of the pier is preserved tliioughout, anci so plaeeil as
al\va\s to
balance the masses around it equally. The circular shafts at Gioucesto)-
Cathedral,
Tewkesbury Abbey Church, and several others, were probably of earlier date
than pillars formed of several shafts; those in the church of Saint Germain des Prez, at
Paris, are delicate examples of the former style.
That
aisles, galleries, and passages, belonged to the construction of a Saxon church,
we have
sufficient
evidence in tl.e iccounts left us by contemporary historians
;
but the
present subject is almost conclusive on this point, there being a preparation for a wall
6 feet 8 inches in
thickness, containing the passage 2 feet in width, indicated by the plan
of the pier at fig.
l'.^()7. 'I'he arrangement of the columns shows that there was no
intention
of vaulting the side aisles, for the two which carry the cross springers appear
to have been added some time after the original construction, as were also those in the pier,
fig. 1268.
AtheUvold is
supposed to have executed the whole of this work before the year 980:
the mouldin'^s
throughout are rudely cut, the capitals of the main pillars being the only
portions which are at all enriched by sculpture, and they are very simply carved.
The
iXorinini maimer of
Building can scarcely be said to differ from the Saxon, though the
masons employed
after the Conquest certainly acquired a superior knowledge in their art.
The ornaments
which we find in Norman buildings had all been previously used l>y
tiie Saxons; hence the
difficulty of distinguishing the works of one from the other: where
written
authority is not handed down to us, we can only judge by the difference of the
workmanship ;
it cannot be
denied that there were many very able masons among
the Saxons,
who were
qualified to raise buildings and enrich them with sculptured
ornament.
Tlie finest
examjiles of Norman
work may be seen at Caen and its
neighbourhood,
and have been en-
graved from
measurements
taken by
the late I\Ir. Pugin.
In England the same style pre-
vailed
tlirougliout
our
religious
structures ;
there is a great
similarity
of arrangement, and little
variety of
ornanunt.
The
Norman style was
generally adopted after the Conquest,
l)ut that named by the monkish
historians the
"
Opus llomanum
"
was
continued in many of our parish
churches, as well as in some larger
buildings. The Norman pillar was
sometimes composed of a cylinder
with four small half columns at-
tached, as at Amiens, which is 7 feet 2
inches diameter.
For the Saracenic or Arabian Styles
we must refer to the beautiful work
recently published by Mr. Owen
Jones, where the decorative parts of
this curious and highly ornamented
architecture are admirably given, and
proceed to the description of the principles which
guided the constructors of pointed architecture.
The Lancet Sti/!e succeeded the Norman, and we find it well defined in many churches
and cathedrals as early as the year
1180; in it decoration was sparingly introduced,
and throughout every part of the design there was simple uniformity, and a d!s])!ay of
a considerable knowledge of geometry: the heads of the windows and doors were formed of
a |)ointed arch, constructed upon an equilateral triangle ; all the mouldings which sur-
rounded those apertures were delicately formed, and had both capitals and bases ; this style
was practised till 1230, when it was followed by another, which by some writers has lieeii
termed
The Early English or the Geometric Style, from the manner in which the several portions
of a building were set out
;
and we find it adopted generally up to the year 1280.
Salisbury Cathedral, f)undeJ l)y Bishop Richard Poore, in the year 1220, was finished
in 1260. Its plan is that of a Greek or ])atriarciial cross, the extreme length being 480
feet, that of the great transe|)t from north to south 232 feet, and that of the lesser transept
172 feet : the stone used for the external walls and buttresses was brought from the quar
ries at Chelmark, which lies about 12 miles distance, westward from the city. The middle
TIER AT AMIENS.