Kitabı oku: «The Cathedrals of Northern France», sayfa 14
XIV
ST. POL DE LEON
In the midst of that land which furnishes the south of England with most of its cauliflowers, artichokes, onions, and asparagus, truly off the beaten track, in that it is actually off the line of railway, is the strange and melancholy city of St. Pol de Leon, its clochers dominating, by day at least, both land and sea. It contains the famous "Kreisker," a name which sounds as though it were Dutch or North German, which it probably is along with other place names on the near-by coast, such as Grouin, St. Vaast, Roscoff, and La Hougue.
The tower and spire of this wonderful "Kreisker" rise boldly, from the transept crossing, in remarkable fashion, and as a marvel of construction may be said to far outrank the cathedral structure itself. "Curious and clever" well describes it. As for the former cathedral over which the Kreisker throws its shadow, it is one of those majestic twin-towered structures not usually associated with what, when compared with the larger French towns, must perforce rank as a mere village.
There is much to be said in favour of these little-known near-by places, namely, that the charm of their attractions amply repays one for any special labour involved in getting to them, with the additional advantage, regardless of the fact that a stranger appears somewhat to the native as a curiosity, that they are "good value for the money paid." Perhaps the cheapest Continental tour, of say three weeks, that could be taken, amid a constantly changing environment, if one so choose, would comprehend this land of Calvaries.
The two cathedral towers of early Gothic flank a generous porch. There is good glass throughout the church, the circular "rose" of the transept being a magnificent composition in a granite framing. The nave is of thirteenth-century Gothic, from the south aisle of which projects a large chapel dedicated to St. Michael. The double-aisled choir is garnished with sculptured stalls of the fifteenth century, and, separated from its aisles by a stone screen, is of much larger proportions than the nave, and likewise of a later epoch of building. The apse is flamboyant, as are also the windows of the south transept. In the chapels are various vaults and tombs, remarkably well preserved, but of no special moment. In one of these chapels, however, is a curious painting in the vaulting, representing a "Trinity" possessing three faces, disposed in the form of a trefoil with three eyes only. A ribbon or "banderalle" bears an inscription in Gothic characters; in the Breton tongue, "Ma Donez" (Mon Dieu).
XV
ST. CORENTIN DE QUIMPER
"C'est Quimper, ce mélange du passé et du présent." A true enough description of most mediæval cities when viewed to-day; but with no centre of habitation is it more true than of this city by the sea, – though in reality it is not by the sea, but rather of it, with a port always calm and tranquil. It takes rank with Brest as the western outpost of modern France.
For centuries unconquered, and possessing an individuality of its very own, this now important prefecture has much to remind us of its past. History, archæology, and "mere antiquarian lore" abound, and, in its grandiose Cathedral of St. Corentin, one finds a large subject for his appreciative consideration.
It is of the robust and matured type that familiarity has come to regard as representative of a bishopric; nothing is impoverished or curtailed. Its fine towers with modern spires, erected from the proceeds of a "butter tax," are broad of base and delicately and truly proportioned. Its ground-plan is equally worthy, though the choir is not truly orientated. Its general detail and ensemble, one part with another, is all that fancy has told us a great church should contain, and one can but be prepared to appreciate it when it is endorsed, and commented on, by such ardent admirers as De Caumont, Viollet-le-Duc, Corroyer, and Gonsé, those four accomplished Frenchmen, who probably knew more concerning Mediæval (Gothic) architecture than all the rest of the world put together.
From the thirteenth to the fifteenth century there grew up here a work embracing the ogival and the flamboyant, neither in an undue proportion, but as well as in any other single structure known. This well shows the rise, development, and apogee of the style which we commonly call Gothic, but which the French prefer to call "ogival," and which should really, if one is to fairly apportion credit where it is due, be best known as French Mediæval architecture.
Its west façade, with its generous lines, is strongly original. The two towers, pierced with enormously heightened lancets, are indubitably graceful and impressive, while a flanking pair of flying buttresses, with their intermediate piers, form an unusual arrangement in the west front of a French cathedral.
Above the western gable is a curiously graven effigy of King Grollo in stone.
Considered as a whole, the exterior is representative of the best contemporary features of the time, but contains few if any which are so distinctly born of its environment as to be otherwise notable.
The interior vies with the outer portion of the fabric in the general effect of majesty and good design. The triforium is remarkably beautiful and is overtopped by a range of clerestory windows which to an appreciable extent contain good early glass. The easterly end is the usual semicircular apse.
Among the relics of the Cathedral is a crucifix which is supposed to emit drops of blood when one perjures himself before it. It is, perhaps, significant that the people of Finistère, the department which claims Quimper as its capital, have the repute of being honest folk.
The Bishops of Quimper were, by virtue of the gift of le roi Grodlon le Grave, the only seigneurs of the city during the middle ages.
XVI
VANNES
Vannes was the ancient capital of the Celtic tribe of the Veneti, its inhabitants being put to rout by Cæsar in 57 B. C. Afterward it became the Roman town of Duriorigum, and later reverted back to a corruption of its former name. Christianity having made some progress, a council was held, and a bishop appointed to the city, and from that time onward its position in the Christian world appears to have been assured. For centuries afterward, however, it was the centre of a maelstrom of internal strife, in which Armoricans, Britons, Franks, and Romans appear to have been inextricably involved. Then came the Northmen, who burned the former Cathedral of St. Peter. This was rebuilt in the eleventh century, and in no small measure forms the foundation of the present structure, which to-day is the seat of a bishop, suffragan of Rennes.
From this early architectural foundation, to the most florid and flamboyant of late Gothic, is pretty much the whole range of Mediæval architectural style. By no means has a grand or even fine structure resulted. The old choir, suffering from the stress of time, was pulled down and rebuilt as late as 1770. Thus, this usually excellently appointed and constructed detail is here of no worthy rank whatever. The nave and transepts were completed within the hundred years following 1452, and show the last flights of Gothic toward the heights from which it afterward fell. Transformation and restoration have frequently been undertaken, with the result that nowhere is to be seen perhaps greater inconsistencies. The latest of these examples of a perverted industry is seen in the nineteenth-century additions to the tower and the west façade. The result is not, be it said, to the credit of its projectors.
THE END
Appendices
I
The Architectural Divisions of France
It is quite possible to construct an ethnographic map of a country from its architectural remains, – but there must always be diverse and varying opinions as to the delimitation of one school, as compared with another lying contiguous thereto.
One may wander from province to province, and continually find reminders, of another manner of building, from that which is recognized as the characteristic local species. This could hardly be otherwise. In the past, as in the present, imitators were not few, and if the adoption of new, or foreign, ideas was then less rapid, it was no less sure. Still, in the main, there is a cohesiveness and limitation of architectural style in France; which, as is but natural to suppose, is in no way more clearly defined than by the churches which were built during the middle ages, the earliest types retaining the influence of massive forms, and the later again debasing itself to a heavy classical order, neither a copy of anything of a pre-Gothic era, or a happy development therefrom. Between the two, in a period of scarcely more than three hundred years, there grew up and developed the ingenious and graceful pointed style, in all its fearlessness and unconvention.
Political causes had, perhaps, somewhat to do with the confining of a particular style well within the land of its birth, but on the other hand, warfare carried with it invasion and conquest of new sections, and its followers, in a measure, may be said to have carried with them certain of their former arts, accomplishments, and desires; and so grew up the composite and mixed types which are frequently met with.
There are a dozen or more architectural styles in what is known as the France of to-day. The Provençal (more properly, says Fergusson, it should be called "Gallia Narbonese,") one of the most beautiful and clearly defined of all; the Burgundian, with its suggestion of luxuriance and, if not massiveness, at least grandeur; the Auvergnian, lying contiguous to both the above, with a style peculiarly its own, though of an uncompromising southern aspect; Acquitanian, defining the style which lies between Provence, the Auvergnat and the Pyrénées, and a type quite different from either. The Angevinian, which extends northward from Limoges to Normandy and Brittany, and northeasterly nearly to Orleans, is a species difficult to place – it partakes largely of southern influence, but is usually thought to merit a nomenclature of its own, as distinct from the type found at Anjou. Turning now to the northern or Frankish influence, as distinct from the Romance countries; Brittany joins to no slight degree influences of each region; Normandy partakes largely of the characteristics of the type of Central France, which is thoroughly dominated by that indigenous to the Isle of France, which species properly might include the Bourbonnais and Nivernoise variants, as being something of a distinct type, though resembling, in occasional details, southern features. This list, with the addition of French Flanders, with its Lowland types, completes the arrangement, if we except Alsace and Lorraine, which favour the German manner of building rather more than any of the native French types.
II
A List of the Departments of France, and of the Ancient Provinces from which they have been evolved
[*] The greater part of these provinces as they formerly stood were ceded to Germany, May 10, 1871.
III
The Church in France
La France Catholique is to-day divided into eighty-four dioceses, administered, as to spiritual affairs, by seventeen archbishops and sixty-seven bishops. To each diocese is attached a seminary for the instruction of those who aspire to the priesthood. Each chief town of a canton has its curé, each parish its desservant.
[**] The Archbishop of Bordeaux has three suffragans outside France: St. Denis and La Reunion, St. Pierre and Fort de France (Martinique), Basseterre (Guadaloupe).
IV
A List of the Larger French Churches which were at one time Cathedrals and usually referred to as such
Note. – Those marked H. M. are classed as Les Monuments Historiques by La Commission de la Conservation des Monuments Historiques.
V
Chronology of the chief styles and examples of church building in the north of France from the Romano-Byzantine period to that of the Renaissance
VI
Dimensions and Chronology
NOTRE DAME D'AMIENS
Dimensions
Length of nave and choir, 469 feet
Width including transepts, 214 feet
Width of nave, 59 feet
Width of aisles, 33½ feet
Height of nave, 141 or 147 feet, estimated variously
Height of aisles, 65 feet
Length of choir, 135 feet
Width of nave including aisles, 150 feet
Length of transepts, 194 feet
Width of transepts, 36 feet, 6 inches
Height of spire, 422 feet
Superficial area, 70,000 square feet (approx.)
Chronology
Nave and choir, 1220-1288
Choir stalls, 1520
Western towers completed, 1533
Lateral chapels of nave, XVIth century
Choir chapels, XIIIth century
ST. MAURICE D'ANGERS
Dimensions
Length of nave and choir, 300 feet
Width of transepts, 40 feet
Height of transepts, 80 feet
Height of nave, 110 feet
Width of nave, 53 feet
Height of spires, 225 feet
Chronology
Lower walls, Romano-Byzantine
Main body completed, 1240
Choir, XIIth century
Bishop's Palace, XIIth century
Arras tapestries, XIVth century
Choir doorway, XIIIth century
(Recently restored by Viollet-le-Duc)
ST. VAAST D'ARRAS
Dimensions
Length of nave and choir, 302 feet
Height of nave, 66½ feet
Width of nave, 49 feet
Height of tower, 154 feet
Chronology
Former Cathedral of Notre Dame begun, end of XIIth century
Former Cathedral of Notre Dame completed, 1499
Present Cathedral of St. Vaast, 1755-1833
Triptych of Bellegambe in present Cathedral, 1528
Former Abbey of St. Vaast, now Episcopal Palace since 1754
ST. LAZARE D'AUTUN
Dimensions
Height of spire, 325 feet
Chronology
Transition portion constructed by Robert I.,
Duke of Burgundy, 1031-1076
Spire, XVth century
Sculpture of choir, XVIth century
Flamboyant chapels, XVIth century
AUXERRE
Chronology
Crypt (remains of early work), XIth century
Choir and glass, 1215-1234
Western portals, XIIIth century
Nave, 1334-1373
North transept, 1415-1513
N. W. tower, 1525-1530
Iron grille of choir, XVIIIth century
NOTRE DAME DE BAYEUX
Dimensions
Central belfry, 300 feet
Length interior, 335 feet
Height interior, 74 feet, 9 inches
Height of western towers, 252 feet
Chronology
Odo's crypt, XIth century
Circular arches of nave, late XIth or early XIIth century
Portals of west façade, XIIIth century
Chasuble of St. Regnobert, gift of St. Louis, 1226
Date of tapestry (in inventory of church property), 1476
ST. PIERRE DE BEAUVAIS
Dimensions
Height of nave, 150 feet
Height of original spire, which fell in 1573, 486 feet
Area of choir, about 28,000 square feet
Chronology
The Basse Œuvre, VIth to VIIIth centuries
Present building begun, 1225
Dedicated, 1272
Roof fell, 1284
South transept begun, 1500
North transept begun, 1530
North transept finished, 1537
Central spire fell, 1573
Ancient Bishop's Palace, now Palais de Justice,
XIVth to XVIth centuries
ST. ETIENNE DE BOURGES
Dimensions
Length, 405 feet
Width, 135½ feet
Height of nave, 124½ feet
Height of inner aisle, 66 feet
Height of outer aisle, 28 feet
Height north tower, 217½ feet
Height south tower, 176 feet
Superficial area, 73,170 square feet (approx.)
Chronology
Dedicated, 1324
Sepulchre, 1336
Crypts, XIIth century
North tower, 1508-1538
Tower St. Etienne completed, 1490
Tower St. Etienne fell, 1506
Choir stalls, 1760
ST. ETIENNE DE CHÂLONS-SUR-MARNE
Chronology
Tower next north door, Romano-Byzantine
Part of nave and choir, Ogival primaire
Aisle and chapels of apse, XIVth century
Apse restored, after fire, in 1672
NOTRE DAME DE CHARTRES
Dimensions
Length nave and choir, 430 feet
Width, 110 feet
Length nave only, 121 feet
Width nave, 46 feet
Width nave aisles, 19 feet
Height nave, 106 feet
Length transepts, 202 feet
Width transepts, 70 feet
Height of north spire, 403 feet
Height of south spire, 365 feet
Rose window, diameter, 40 to 43 feet
Area, 65,000 square feet (approx.)
Chronology
Wooden church burned, 1020
Crypt under chevet of choir, 1029
(only remains of original church)
Work of rebuilding stopped, 1048
South portal erected, 1060
Work aided by Matilda, queen of William I., 1083
Lower portion of main body built, 1100-1150
Western towers, 1145
Fire damaged greater part, 1194
Vaulting completed, 1220
Porches of transepts added, 1250
Building consecrated, October 17, 1260
Sacristy and screen in crypt, XIIIth century
North spire burned, 1506
Texier's spire erected, 1507-1515
Texier's spire repaired, 1629
South spire repaired, 1754
Belfry and roof burned (vaulting unharmed), 1836
NOTRE DAME D'EVREUX
Dimensions
Length, 368 feet, 6 inches
Transept, length, 112 feet
Transept, width, 23 feet
Chronology
Church consecrated, 1076
Church burnt, 1119
Northwest tower foundations laid, 1352
Northwest tower completed, 1417
North transept, XVIth century
Nave, early XIIth to late XVth century
Choir, XIVth century
Lady-chapel, XIIIth century
NOTRE DAME DE LAON
Dimensions
Length of nave and choir, 351 feet
Height of nave, 80 feet
Width of nave, 67 feet, 7 inches
Length of transepts, 174 feet
Width of transepts, 35 feet, 9 inches
Height of western towers, 173 feet
Height of southwest tower and spire (formerly), 328 feet
Western circular window, 26 feet
Superficial area, 44,000 square feet (approx.)
Chronology
Original church burned, 1112
New edifice begun, 1114
Entirely rebuilt, 1190
General restoration, 1851
ST. JULIEN, LE MANS
Dimensions
Length of nave and choir, 369 feet
Width of nave and aisles, 78 feet
Width of choir, 123 feet
Height of choir, 108 feet
Area of choir, 30,000 square feet (approx.)
Length of transept, 178 feet
Width of transept, 32 feet
Chronology
West façade, XIth century
Transition, south portal, XIIth century
Nave and transepts reconstructed, XIIth century
Church extended beyond city walls, XIIIth century
Choir rebuilt, 1200
Choir restored, 1858
Coloured glass, XIIIth, XIVth, XVth centuries
Rose window, south transept, XVth century
Former Bishop's Palace destroyed by Germans, 1871
ST. ETIENNE DE MEAUX
Dimensions
Height of nave, 109 feet
Length of nave, 275 feet
Length of transepts, 120 feet
Chronology
Bishopric founded, 375 A.D.
Choir in part, XIIth century
Restored, 1852
ST. PIERRE DE NANTES
Dimensions
Height of western towers, 270 feet
Height of nave, 130 feet
Chronology
Remains of choir contains, XIIth century
Romanesque church rebuilt, XVth century
West front, 1434-1500
North transept and choir only completed in XIXth century
Tomb of François II. and Marguerite de Foix, 1507
Later restoration, 1852
NOTRE DAME DE NOYON
Dimensions
Length, 338 feet
Width of nave and aisles, 64 feet, 10 inches
Height of nave, 74 feet, 6 inches
Height of aisles, 28 feet, 9 inches
Height of choir, 26 feet, 3 inches
Height of towers, 200 feet
Superficial area, 30,000 square feet (approx.)
Chronology
First constructed, 989
Burnt, 1131
Rebuilding undertaken, 1137-1150
Choir, transepts, and nave completed, 1167-1200
Timber work burnt, 1293
Chapter-house built, XIIIth century
Five bays of cloister built, XIVth century
Restored under governmental supervision, 1840
ST. CROIX D'ORLEANS
Dimensions
Height of towers, 280 feet
Height of nave, 100 feet
Chronology
First bishops sent from Rome, IIIrd century
Cathedral destroyed by Huguenots, 1567
Chapels of nave which still remain, XIVth century
Late Gothic mainly of XVIIth century
Western towers completed, 1789
NOTRE DAME DE PARIS
Dimensions
Length, 390 feet
Width, 144 feet
Height of nave, 102 feet
Diameter of rose windows in transept, 36
feet
Superficial area, 64,100 square feet
Chronology
Founded by Bishop de Sully, 1160-1170
High altar dedicated, 1182
Interior completed (approx.), 1208
West front, 1223-1230
Western towers, 1235
Transept portals, 1257
NOTRE DAME DE REIMS
Dimensions
Western towers, 267 feet
Area, 65,000 feet (approx.)
Chronology
First stone laid, 1212
First portion dedicated, 1215
Chapter takes possession of choir, 1244
Nave commenced, 1250
Transept and abside ornamented, 1295
South tower begun and completed, 1380-1391
Coronation of Charles VII., 1427
Southwest tower completed by Philastre, 1430
Tapestries added to choir, 1444
Belfry of the Angel built, 1497
Gable of the Assumption and Zodiac, 1408
Reëstablishment of grand altar, 1547
Repairs to portals and vaulting, 1610
Cathedral becomes national property, 1790
Exterior repairs and restoration, 1811
General restorations, 1840
2,083,411 francs voted by Chamber for restorations, 1875
Gifts of Gobelin tapestries, 1848
NOTRE DAME DE ROUEN
Dimensions
Length of nave and choir, 450 feet
Width, including transepts, 177 feet
Width of nave and aisles, 105 feet
Length of choir only, 118 feet
Height of nave, 92 feet
Height of central spire, 480 feet
Height of Tour de Beurre, 252 feet
Height of Tour St. Romain, 246 feet
Area (originally), 53,000 square feet
Chronology
First church founded on site of cathedral by St. Mellar, VIIth century
Cathedral enlarged under Rollo, who was buried therein in 930
Consecrated and dedicated, 1063
Tour St. Romain, remains of, XIth century
Destroyed by fire, 1200
New building completed, XIIIth century
Portail de la Calende, XIVth century
Tour de Beurre laid, 1487
Tour de Beurre completed, 1507
Flamboyant west front, XVIth century
Altar of St. Romain, XVIIth century
Tomb of the Cardinals, 1556
Central spire, 1823
Restoration of west front, 1897
ST. ETIENNE DE SENS
Dimensions
Length, 384 feet
Width, 124 feet
Height, 98 feet
Area, 44,000 square feet
Chronology
Relique of True Cross given by Charlemagne, 800 A. D.
Early church destroyed by fire, 970
New church dedicated, 997
Present building completed, 1168
Choir rebuilt, 1174
Present transept and nave, XIIth and XIIIth centuries
Glass in chapel of St. Savinien, XIIIth century
Glass of rose windows, XVIth century
Mausoleum of the Dauphin, XVIIIth century
BASILIQUE DE ST. DENIS
Dimensions
Length of nave and choir, 354 feet
Width, 133 feet
Clerestory windows (height), 33 feet
Chronology
Chapel first built above grave of St. Dionysius the martyr, 275 A. D.
Benedictine abbey first founded here in reign of Dagobert, 628
Pope Stephen took refuge here, 754
Romanesque façade, 1140
Consecration of the building, 1144
Nave, XIIIth century
Abbot Suger died, 1151
General restoration by Suger's successors, XIIIth century
Crenelated battlement added to façade, XIVth century
Spire burned by lightning, XIXth century
General restoration by Viollet-le-Duc, 1860
Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette reinterred here (removed from the Madeleine), 1817
NOTRE DAME DE ST. OMER
Dimensions
The great bell of tower weighs 8,500 kilos.
Chronology
Bishopric founded, 1533
Astronomical clock, XVIth century
Tomb of St. Erkembode, VIIIth century
Tomb of St. Omer restored, XIIIth century
Former Episcopal Palace, now Palais de Justice, 1680
ST. GATIEN DE TOURS
Dimensions
Length of nave and choir, 256 feet
Width, 95 feet
Chronology
Choir begun, 1170
Tour Charlemagne, XIth century
Tour St. Martin, XIIth century
Transepts, 1316
West façade, 1430-1500
Southwest tower, 1507
Tomb of children of Charles VIII., 1483
ST. PIERRE DE TROYES
Dimensions
Length, 394 feet
Width, 168 feet
Height, 96 feet
Height northwest tower, 202 feet
Chronology
Apse and chapels, 1206-1223
Choir and transepts, 1314-1315
Iron grille of choir, XIIIth century
Church consecrated, 1430
West façade, XVth century
Nave constructed during XIVth, XVth, XVIth centuries
North gable, XVth century
Tower St. Pierre, 1559-1568
Northwest tower demolished by lightning, 1700
Vaulting of transepts fell, 1840
Restoration of choir and transepts, 1840
