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THE ILLUSTRATED
HANDBOOK OF ARCHITECTUPiE:
BEING A CONCISE AND POPULAR ACCOUNT OF
THE DIFFERENT STYLES OF ARCHITECTURE PREVAILING IN ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES.
BY JAMES FERGUSSON, M.R.I.B.A.,
AfTHOR OF ' PALACES OF NrNEVEH AND PEESEPOLIS RESTORED.'
IN TWO VOLUMES.— Vol. II. WITH 850 ILLUSTEATIONS ON WOOD.
LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
1855.
The right nf 'fraiislatum is reserved.
Works by the same Author.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE ROCK-CUT TEMPLES OF INDIA. 18
I'lates in Tinted Litliography, folio; witb an 8vo. Volume of Text, I'lans, kiz. 21. Is. 6d. London, Weale, 1845.
PICTURESQUE ILLUSTRATIONS OF ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE
IN HIXDOSTAiSf. 24 Plates in coloured Lithography, with Plans, Woodcuts, and explanatory Text, &c. il. is. London, Hogarth, 1847.
AN ESSAY ON THE ANCIENT TOPOGRAPHY OF JERUSALEM :
with restored Plans of the Temple, and with Plans, Sections, and Det;iils of the Church built by Constantine the Great over the Holy Sepulchre, now known as the Mosque of Omar. 16s., or 21s. half Russia. London, AVeale, 1S4V.
AN ESSAY ON A PROPOSED NEW SYSTEM OF FORTIFICA-
TXOX, with Hints for its Application to our National Defences. 12s. 6(Z. London, Weale, 1849.
THE PERIL OF PORTSMOUTH. French Fleets and English
Forts. With a Plan. Third Edition. 3s. London, Murray, 1853.
AN HISTORICAL INQUIRY INTO THE TRUE PRINCIPLES OF
BEAUTY IN ART, more especially with reference to Architecture. Royal 8vo. 31s. 6d. London, Longmans, 1849.
OBSERVATIONS ON THE BRITISH MUSEUM, NATIONAL GAL-
LEP.Y, and NATIONAL RECORD OFFICE; with Suggestions for their Improve- ment. Svo. London, Weale, 1849.
THE PALACES OF NINEVEH AND PERSEPOLIS RESTORED;
An Essay on Ancient Assyrian and Persian Architecture. 8vo. 16s. London, Murray, 1851.
LONDON: PRINTED Bt WILLIAM CIX>WES AMD SONS, STAMFORD STREIiT, AND CHARING CROSS.
PART 11.
CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE.
BOOK I.
ROMANESQUE
CHAPTER L
INTRODUCTORY.
Like the istudy of all modern history, that of Christian architecture commences with Kome, and not, as is sometimes supposed, where the history of Eome leaves off, hut far back in the Empire, if not, indeed, almost in the Eepublic.
As has already been pointed ont, the whole history of the art in Im- perial Rome is that of a style in course of transition, beginning with a purely Pagan or Grecian stylo in the age of Augustus, and passing into one almost wholly Christian in the age of Constantino.
At the first epoch of the Empire the temple architecture of Eome consisted in an external arrangement of columns, without arches or vaults, and wholly unsuited to the purposes of Christian worship. Towards the end of the period it had become an internal architecture, using arches and vaults almost entirely to the exclusion of the columnar orders, except as ornaments, and so perfectly adapted to (Jliristian forms, that little or no essential change has taken place in them from that time to the present day. A basilica of the form adopted in the first century after Constantino is as suited now as it was then to the forms and ceremonies of the Christian ritual.
The fact seems to be, that during the first three centuries after the (Jhristian era an immense change was silently but certainly working its way in men's minds. The old religion was effete : the best men, the most intellectual spirits of the age had no faith in it ; and the new religion with all its important conseqiiences was gradually supplying its place in the minds of men long before it was adopted as a form.
There is thus no real distinction between the Emilian or Ulpian basilicas and those which Constantino erected for the use of the early Christian republic. iSior is it possible, in such a series as the Pantheon, the Temple of Minerva Medica, and the Church of San Vitale at Eavenna, to point out what part really belongs to Pagan, and what to Christian art.
It is true that Constantino fixed the epoch of completed transition, and gave it form and substance ; but long before his time I*aganism was impossible, and a reform inevitable. The feeling of the world had changed — its form of utterance followed as a matter of course.
o^
47-J llOMANESQUE AKCHITECTUKE. I'.ook 1.
\'i(\viMl in lliis li<ilit, it is iiii[M>ssil)lo to separate the early history of Cliristiaii ;ii-| tVdiii lliat of lm])crial Komc. The sequence is so iuiiiie- (liate, and tlie ehaii<;e so gradual, that a knowledge of the fii'st is ahso- liitely iiidisiiensalile to a right nnderstanding of the second.
Altliougli, therefore, to ])]-event needless repetition, and breaking again the thread of the subsequent narrative, it has been deemed ex- peilient to interpolate the Saracenic styles before taking up the Clu-istiau, it will be understood that, philosophically at least, these chapters follow inunedialely on those which treat of the architecture of lauperial Eoiue ; and having now discussed all the st3des of the world except the Christian, it only remains to follow that style in its two great branches, the Gothic and Byzantine, till both perished before the rising iuHuence of the Renaissance.
The first chapter in this history must necessarily be devoted to the Romanesque or debased Roman — the first form which Christian architecture took on emancipating itself entirely from Pagan in- Huence,
This style prevailed not only in the West, but in the East, over the whole of the great Roman empire, from the time of Constantine to that of Justinian. It can only, however, be considered as a second stage of transition, which after two centuries' duration branched off into the two great divisions of Christian architecture — the Byzantine and the Gothic . The origin of these two styles being identical, and their duration about the same, it is almost immaterial which is first taken up and followed to the close.
It will be more convenient to take up the Western styles first, not only on account of their greater importance, but because they flow more consecutively out of the Romanesque, and throughout their whole history remained more directly under its influence than the more Eastern styles.
After the age of Justinian the Byzantine separated itself wholly from the Roman tyj^es ; but this was not the case in the West. The Romanesque prevailed in Rome itself during the whole period vi the middle ages, and in the 1 6th century faded by almost impei c^eptible degrees into the Renaissance. It prevailed also down to the 11th and 12th centuries on both shores of Italy, and in the south of France wherevei- the bai-barians did not penetrate. It consequently would (;ause a break in the thread of the narrative, if, after carrying the Ro- manesque style down to the time of Justinian, we should turn aside to the subject of Byzantine architecture, and then resume the history of the Western st^de, till we find it mingling with and influencing the art practised by the barbarians who overthrew the Western empire.
KoMENCLATUllE.
Before proceeding to describe any of these styles, it is necessary to say a few words on the nomenclatuie to be- adopted; nttt that there is really any difficulty in the subject, luit tliat, as always ha])])ens in young scieuces, considerable confusion has been iutrodueed by liasty
('J1A1-. I. INTRODUCTION. 475
generalization and ill-judged attempts to apply a system of names suited to preconceived ideas, instead of merely affixing such names as serve best to describe the objects spoken of.
In speaking for instance of the .styles tliat have already occupied our attention, it has been sufficient to specify Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, or Grecian and Roman architecture ; subdividing these, when necessary, either by mentioning the age of the variety \vc Avished to pai-ticidarize, or applying to it some dynastic or epochal name in. order to fix its age. Thus the varieties of Egyptian architecture are identified by- describing them as the styles of the 4th or of the 18th dynasty, or of the Ptolemy\s or P(jmans. These varieties too may be farther marked by the names of kings to any extent required. The ages of Pericles and Alexander were the two great epochs of Grecian art, and names either before or after these may be taken to fix the age and style of any work with the iitmost precision. So in Pome the names of Augustus, Nero, or Trajan ; of the Antonines, of Cara- calla, or of Constantino, subdivide their art without confusion or mis- take, and without the necessity of any system. But after this age these wise and simple principles of nomenclature have been aban- doned. It has become, for instance, the fashion to apply the term Byzantine to styles as unlike anything Byzantium ever saw as any one style can be to another, and where it is impossible to trace any in- fluence, direct or indirect, that capital had on the buildings in ques- tion. Romanesque in like manner is applied to styles as essentially^ Barbarian as the most pointed and most florid Gothic. It has been attempted to apply the name Lombard to all the round arched styles of Europe, and German and Teutonic to all the pointed arched styles, all involving the assumption of theories which, so far from being- granted, are generally without the least foimdation in fact.
In this country this predilection for the systematizing of styles has been pursued with more assiduity than elsewhere, and one nonien- chiture has succeeded another with a rapidity that has rendered con- fusion woi'se confounded.
One of the earliest and best attempts was that of liickman ; he divided our native art into four divisions : Xoiman, Early English oi' Lancet, Decorated, and Perpendicular. From the last it has been found requisite to separate the Tudor, as a well-defined variety ; and the acknowledgment of Saxon has again entitled that style to lank with the rest. We have here, therefore, three or four dynastic names, and as many technical ones. Latterly several attenq)ts have been made to im})rove on this, but generally by getting rid of the dynastie names and substituting for them technical ones^ derived either from the window tracery, or some subordinate peculiarity which the names assigned always describe briefly, often incorrectly, and after all convey- no information. The terms Saxon, Korman, Tudor, Eliza])cthan, and siuh like, however, maintain their ground, and I believe a far moi-e philosophical eourse would be to extend these, leaving Ihv technical names merely as descriptive affixes. Thus English architecture might 1)L' divided into Saxon, Norman. I'lanlagenet. Kdwardian. Ijancas-
476 HOMANRSQUE APCHITECTURE. Book 1.
trian,' Tudor, hikI I<]Iizul)ctliim. Jacobean has been applied to the next vai-iety, while that whieh follows, iiieludiug the works of Inigo Jones and \Vren, might be appropriately distiiiguished by the name of Stuart. Denominations of this sort admit of subdivisions to any extent. Thus the styles of tlie 1st, 2nd, or ikxl Edwards are sufficiently distinct to require separate names, though no technical term could point out exactly in what the difference consists. Even the styles of the begimiing and end of the long reign of Edward III. require to be dis- tinguished, and can easily be by this form of nomenclature, but can by no other yet proposed. So with the four Georges or the Stuarts, Lancastrian, Plantagenet, &c. The three Eichards by a singular coincidence mark three ages of transition. Even without these adven- titious advantages, a name so given marks the country and the age without fail, and describes the style with perfect correctness, without even suggesting the necessity of a system.
Another mode of attaining the same end has been partially adopted by the French, by giving the date instead of the dynasty : thus they speak of their styles of the 12th, 13th, or 14th centuries, and subdivide them into styles of the " first half," " second half," or commencement or middle of each of the centuries ; a process as unobjectionable as the one above described, except in the circumlocution it requires, and the desirability of finding a single word if possible to express our meaning.
Whichever of these two last systems it may be thought most expe- dient to adopt, the great desideratum is obtained of a title which shall in the first place express the country where the style was practised and is found, and secondly the age to which it belongs. A third or technical title may be added to characterise it, but this is always un- necessary to any one at all acquainted with the subject ; for when the coimtry and age are known, the style is far more clearly suggested than it could be by any technical term drawn from one of its })eculiarities.
In the following pages, therefore, the words Komanesque, Lombard, Khenish, I'^orman, will be used like Spanish, Sicilian, or any other local name, only in the sense in which they are usiially applied. The subdivisions as to time will be marked either by the date of the epoch or some king's or dynastic name which clearly marks it, and technical terms will bo used as sparingly as possible, though such words as round-arched, or pointed Gothic, flamboyant, &c., seem unobjection- able and necessary to distinguish classes.
It is not perhaps necessary to say more on this siibject here, as the development of these principles will naturally appear in the course of the work, and will be easily understood, as they involve no system. It is only therefore requisite to explain further in what order it is
' In writing the second volnme of my has printed and jnililished one in which the
'True Principles of Beauty' in 1847 I principles and most of tlio names given al)i)ve
adoi)ted this mode of nomenclature exclu- are announced. The niei-it of the suggestion,
sively. That hook, however, never was ])uh- if any, therefore belongs to him. lished, and, in the meanwhile, Mr. ( iarbett
Chap. 1. INTRODUCTION. 477
proposed to describe the styles of Christian art, and tlie principal names to be applied to them.
The first is most properly designated Eomanesqiie, or modified — in this instance nnfortxuiately debased — Eoman. From the time of Con- stiintino to that of Justinian it pervaded the whole empire, and no distinction can be drawn between the East and West sufficient to war- rant their separation. Minute differences may be observed, consti- tuting varieties — these are easily marked by secondary titles.
With Justinian a distinct separation takes place, the limits of which may be generally defined as follows : — If a line be drawn from the shores of the Adriatic to the shores of the Baltic, say from Fiume to Konigsberg, it will divide Europe into two nearly equal portions ; of these the eastern half is inhabited by Slaves, Hitns, Servians, and other races, differing considerably from those to the westward, gene- rally adhering to the Greek Church, and practising a style of archi- tecture correctly called the Byzantine, which neither influenced nor was influenced by that of tlie West after the age of Justinian. To the westward of this line tlie case was very different : in those countries which had been the most populous and were most completely civilised under the Eoman rule, the Eomanesqiie style continued to be practised to a much later date than the 7th century — in Eavenna and Venice down to the 10th or 11th century, with the solitary but important exception of St. Mark's of Venice, the design of which certainly belongs to the East, with which that city was at that age more closely connected than with Eome. On the west coast, at Florence and Pisa, it continued to at least as late a date, and in the south of France it Avas practised till the 12th century at least, though Avith a difi'erence sufficiently marked to obtain for it the distinguishing name of Eo- mance or Provencal. In Spain too it continued, I believe, along the Mediterranean shore to as late a period ; but that land is still archi- tecturally almost tinknown.
With the age of Charlemagne a new form of art arose, to which the general name of Gothic may be correctly applied, meaning thereby all those styles which were introduced by the barbarians Avho over- threw the Eoman Empire. Acting at first under the direct influence of Eome, and afterwards guided by their own experience, they brought this style to that pitch of perfection which we still admire.
It has been objected to the name of Gothic that it was first used as a term of reproach, and is still often so used in common parlance ; but it is never now so applied to architecture — it is therefore needless to regard this. Another and more important objection is that, though the Goths were one of the first invading tribes, they were insignificant in extent, and disaj)peared from the scene before the style attained any- thing like perfection. This would be fatal were we inventing a totally new system of nomenclature ; but the term being in general use, and sufficiently expressing what we desire to express, it is better to take it than to sujyply an entirely new name. We would bi- understood therefore to apply architecturally the term Goth to all those Teutonic tribes of barbarians who overwlielmcd the Eoman Empire, and in tln'
47S IJOMAxXESQUK ARCillTKCTURE. H.-ok T.
ilavk !ijj;cs ostablislieJ thomselvi's within its iHiundaries. So defined, it will lie r,imHl liiat, exactly in <lic nitii) in wliicli this barbarian element prevailed, the style of which we are speaking fiourislied in originality and beanty : but also that no other terni or national name will coni- pi-ehend all those various ti'ibes and races who then occupied Europe. Teutonic, German, Frank, or Saxon, each exclude several great families of builders ; and though Gothic may not be correct in an ethnographic point of view, if confined to architecture as above defined it can lead to no confusion, but on the contrary includes most appropriately not only the people, but the style tliey practised.
In adopting this extension of the term Gothic so as to apply it to the whole style, it may be requisite to distinguish between round- arched and pointed-arched Gothic, or, as it may be more succinctly ex- pressed, between the Round and I'ointed styles. Whatever term we use, this is indispensable ; for Durham and York, Spires and Cologne are buildings of the same class, and must be regarded as belonging to one style : the mere introduction of the pointed arch, is too trivial a difference to make such a separation as has hitherto been assumed to exist.
If it were desirable to establish a new name in lieu of Gothic, by far the best with which I am acquainted would be Feudal Architecture, as the style of which we are speaking arose with feudality, attained perfection with that system, and declined and expired with it. More- over it existed in all those countries where the feudal system was introduced, and is found existing in those only, so that no name could he more appropriate or more correctly descriptive. The one apparent objection is that nine-tenths of the buildings we now find are eccle- siastical, and we genei'ally apply this name only to secular institu- tions. The Church, however, in the middle ages was as essentially a part of the feudal system as the state itself, and bishops, abbots, and the lower grades of clergy, were as essentiall}^ peers and fiefliolders as the barons with whom they were associated. It may at a future period be advantageous to introduce this new name, but at present it seems more expedient to adhere to the old one, with only the exten- .'^ion above alluded to.
ArkangemExVt of Subject.
It is perhaps impossible to treat so extensive and so complicated a subject without some degree of repetition and confusion ; but to avoid this as far as may be, it is proposed to take the Enipii'e of CharlemagTie as if it continued entire, treating France, Germany, and the North of Italy as one great architectural kingdom, as within this boundar}^ we have the whole history of the art developed, and every peculiaiity successively brought forward.
Regarding it in this light, Lombardy naturally takes the first place, as the part of the kingdom which was earliest civilised, and where the arts first attained any degree of consistency or perfection. Its history will be followed for the time in which it remained an indigenous Round-arched style.
CiiAr. 1. INTRODUCTION. 4711
From this tlie transition is easy to the German or Ilhenisli stylo, tlie valleys of the Po and of the Rhino forming in fact only two important divisions of the great (Jermanic Empire from the time of Chaidemagne to the doAvnfall of the Hohenstanfens, with whom also ended the Hound-Gothic style of these two countries.
Contemporary with these, but differing in many essential respects, were the Round arched Gothic styles of France. These, though ex- ceedingly and perplexingly various, never became so important as the Lombard or Rhenish ; nor did any of them, except the styles of Au- vergno and Normandy, acquire any very distinct individuality. Still they all possess considerable interest, and some of them show a degree of elegance almost unrivalled in that age, so that all must at least be mentioned and defined.
In speaking of the Pointed Gothic styles the course to be pursued is the reverse of this. There can now be no doubt but that the Pointed style was invented in France, and brought to a great degree of per- fection there before the neighbouring countries took it up. So that, continuing the last chapter, we naturally pursue the thread of history, and, following it, have before us the whole history of the Gothic style before leaving the French soil.
After this it is easy to trace its introduction from France into Germany, and to point out the various modifications it underwent in that countr3% Few of these can be called improvements, though, from their being generally of the best age, and when architecture was almost suspended in France from the troubles of the cotmtry, the accidental I'esult is that Germany possesses some Gothic buildings that may fairly rival many in Fi-ance.
Again, the introduction of this style from France and Germany into Italy is easily traced and understood, and the various modifica- tions it underwent there — none of which were improvements — are only too easily pointed out. We thus complete a perfect cycle of the art, tracing it from its origin back to the land of its birth, which was also that of its earliest decline, and where it first was superseded by the I'evival of the old Rt)man transitional style.
After this, it only remains to devote a separate chapter to each of the outlying styles not included in the above enumei'ation. First, to Sicily and Apulia, which present a strange admixture of Byzantine and Saracenic with Romanesque and Gothic feeling, indications of a confusion of races not found elsewhere.
Another chapter will include Spain and Portugal, where again we have an even stronger admixture of Saracenic art, giving to the Gothic of Spain a pecidiar individuality of character which distin- guishes it most essentially from those enumerated above.
From this we pass to Great Britain, where the history of the art is veiy similar to that of France ; but at the same time exhibiting pecu- liarities well deserving of attention, and more interesting to us from their locality than almost any of those above pointed out.
Our euiunoration concludes with Scandinavia, a country regarding which very little is yet known in an architectural point of aIcw,
480 ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE. Book I.
llimi<2;li its Ktpund Gothic buildings are both numerous and interesting. In tlic Pointed style it has few buildings of importance, and these are 80 distinctly copies fiom the French, that little need be said about them.
And lastly, to avoid complicating the main subject, it may be neces- sary to devote sliort chapters to point out the peculiarities found in such cotintrics as Holland and Pomerania, avoiding as far as possible too minute a subdivision, and only distinguishing those styles which can be defined by strongly marked architectui'al pecidiarities.
(;iiAi>. II. BASILICAS. 481
CHAPTER II. ROMANESQUE STYLE.
CONTENTS.
Basilicas at Rome — Basilica of St. Peter — St. Paul'is — Basilicas at Ra\ enua Piacenza — Florence — Cathedral of Pisa — Toi'cello.
CHRONOLOGY.
DATES.
Hoiiorius A.u. 395
Valeutinian 425-435
TbeoUoric, King of the Ostiogollis . . . 493-525
Justinian 527
Alboin Longimauus, King of Lombardy . . 568
riATES.
Liutprand, iiing of Lombardy .... a.d. 'fl2
Astolphus 749
Desiderius 756
Conquest by Charlemagne 771
Basilicas.
One of the most remarkable facts connected with the early history of the Christian religion is, that neither its founder nor any of his more immediate successors left any specific directions either as to the liturgical forms of worship to be observed by his followers, nor laid do-wn any rules to be observed in the government of the newly esta- blished church. Under these circumstances it was left almosst wholly to those to Avhose care the infant congregation was entrusted, to frame such regulations for its guidance as the exigencies of the occasion might dictate, and gradually to appoint such forms of worship as might seem most suitable to express the purity of the new faith, but at the same time with a dignity befitting its high mission.
In Judea these ceremonies, as might naturally be expected, were strongly tinctured with the foi'ms of the Mosaic dispensation ; but it appears to have been in Africa, and more especially in the pomp-loving and ceremonious Egypt, that fixed liturgies and rites first became an integral part of the (Christian I'oligion. In those coimtiies far from the central seat of government, more liberty of conscience seems to have been attained at an early period than would have been tolei'ated in the capital. Before the time of Constantine they possessed not only churches, l)Tit a regularly established hierarchy, and a form of worshij) similar to what afterwards obtained throughout the whole Christian world. The foim of government of the church, however, was long unsettled. At first it seems merely to have been, that the most re- spected individuals of each isolated congregation were selected to form a councdl to advise and direct their fellow-Christians, to receive and dispense their alms, and under the simple but revered title of Pres-
2 I
4H2 lioMANEHQUE AltrlllTECTURE. Book I.
byters, to act as fathers rather than as governors to the scattered com- miniitics 1>3' which they were elected. The idea, Jiowever, of such a couucil naturally includes that of a president to guide their delibera- tions, and give unity and force to their decisions ; and such Ave soon find springing up under the title of Bishops, or Presbyter Bishops, as they were fii-st called. During the course of the second century the latter institution seems gradually to have gained strength at the expense uf the power of the presbyters, whose delegate the bishop was assumed to be. In that capacity they not only took upon themselves the general direction of the affairs of the church, but formed them- selves into separate councils and synods, meeting in the provincial capitals of the provinces where they were located. These meetings took place under the presidency of the bishop of the city in which they met, who thus assumed to be the chief or metropolitan. They thus formed a new presb}i;ery above the older institution, which was thus gradually superseded — to be again surpassed by the great councils of the church, which after the age of Constantine formed the siipreme governing body of the church ; performing the functions of the earlier provincial sjmods with more extended authority, though with less una- nimity and regularity, than had characterised the earlier institution.
It was thus that during the first three centuries of its existence the Christian communit}' was fonued into a vast Federal republic, governed by its own laws, administered by its own officers, acknowledging no community A\dth the heathen, and no authority in the constituted secular powers of the state. But at the same time they admitted a participation of rights to the body of the faithful, from whom the hie- rarchy were chosen, and whose delegation was still admitted to be their title to office.
AVhen in the time of Constantine this persecuted and scattered church emerged from the catacombs to bask in the sunshine of impe- rial favour, it was impossible that any buildings could be found more suited for their purposes than the basilicas of ancient Eome. They were designed and erected for the convenient transaction of the affairs of the heathen Empire, and were in consequence eminently suited for the convenience of the Christian republic, which then aspired to supersede its fiillen rival and replace it by a younger and better in- stitution.
In the basilicas the whole congregation of the faithful could meet and take part in the transaction of the business going on. The bishop naturally took the place previously occupied by the praitor or qutestor, the presb}i:ers those of the assessors. The altar in front of the apse, where the pious heathen poured out libations at the commencement and conclusion of all important business, served equally for the cele- bration of Christian rites, and with the fewest possible changes either in the foim of the ceremonies, or of the nature of the business trans- acted therein, the basilica of the heathen became the ecclesia or place of assembly of the early Christian communit}'.
At this early age there seems to be every reason to believe, that the round chui-ch which usually stood by itself near the west end of
CiiAi-. II. BASILICAS. -iH'i
the basilica, was the ceremonial, or pniperly speaking, liturgical church of the community. It was certainly there that the most solemn and important rite, that of baptism, was always administered, whence it derived its name of BapfLsferi/. These were also the tombs of import- ant persons ; and being copied from the tombs of the Komans, it is almost certain that the service of the dead, and the last sacrament, \vere here administered ; and as a general rule all the sacraments, so far as we can trace them, belonged then to the circular building as contradistinguished from the ecclesia or place of assembly.
These arrangements Avere not long allowed to continue as we have described them : for the now dominant hierarchy of Rome soon began to repudiate the republicanism of the early days of the church, and to ado})t from the East the convenient doctrine of the absolute separa- tion of the congregation into clergy and lait}'. To acconmiodate the basilica to this new state of things, first the apse was railed off and appropriated wholly to the use of the clergy ; then the whole of the dais, or raised part in front of the apse on which the altar stood, was separated by pillars, called cancelli, and in like manner given up wholly to the clergy, and not allowed to be profaned by the presence of the unordained multitude. ■
The last great change was the introduction of a choir, or enclosed space in the centre of the nave, attached to the bema or pi\'shi/feri/, as the raised space came to be called — round three sides of which the faithful were allowed to congregate to hear the Gospels or Epistles read from the two pulpits or amboms, which were built into its enclosure on either side ; or to hear the services which were read or sung by the inferior order of clergy who occupied its precincts.
The enclosure of the choir was kept low, so as not to hide the view of the raised presbytery, or to prevent the congregation from witness- ing the more sacred mysteries of the faith which were there performed by the higher order of clergy.
Another important modification, though it introduced no architec- tural change, was the introduction of the bodies of the saints in whose honour the building was erected, into the basilica itself, and placing them in a confessional or crypt below the high altar.
There is every reason to believe that a separate circular building, or proper tomb, was originally erected over the grave or place of mar- tyrdom, and the basilica was sanctified merely by its propinquity to the sacred spot. Afterwards the practice of depositing the relics of the saint beneath the floor became universally the rule. At about the same time the baptistery was also absorbed into the basilica ; and instead of standing opposite the western entrance, a font' placed within the western doors supplied its place. This last change was made earlier at Rome than elsewhere. It is not known at what exact period the alteration was introduced, but it is probable that the whole was com- pleted before the age of Gregory the Great.
It was thus that in the course of a few centuries the basilicas aggre- gated within themselves all the offices of the Roman church, and became the only ecclesiastical buildings they acknowledged— either as places
2 I 2
484
ROM AN RS(i U 1^: A RC 1 1 rrECT LIRE.
P>OOK I.
foi" tlio assembly of the clergy for the administration of the Sacraments and the performance of divine worship, or for the congregation of the faithful.
San Clemente.
Among the numerous basilicas of Eome no one retains at the pre- sent day the arrangements above described in the same state of com- pleteness as that of San Clemente, erected in the 4th and 5th centuiies on the site of the house of that saint. Though re- built in the 9th century, and subsequently repaired, it still retains in nearly a comjilete state all the ordi- nances of an original church of this class.
It is one of the few that still possess an Atn'imi or court-yard in front of the principal enti'ance, though there can be little doubt but that this Avas considered at that early age a most important, if not indeed an indispensable, attribute to the church itself. As a feature it may have been derived from the East, where we know it was most common, and where it afterwards became, with only the slightest possible modifications, the mosque of the Moslems. It would seem even more probable, however, that it is only a repetition of the forum, which always was attached to the Pagan l)asilica, and from which it was always entered ; and for a sepulchral church at least nothing could be more appropriate, as the original application 365. Plan of the Church of the word forum seems to have been to the open area
of San Clemente at . • -t • n n n i •
Rome. From Gu- that existed in front of tombs as well as other import-
tensohn and Knapp.i , -i -it ->
= 1 ,nAf. . ■• I ;>nt buildings.''
Scale 100 ft. to 1 inch. o
In the centre of this atrium there generally stood a fountain or tank of water, not only as an emblem of purity, but that those who came to the church might wash their hands before entering the holy place — a custom which seems afterwards to have given rise to the practice of dip2)ing the fingers in the holy water of the piscina, now universal in all Catholic countries.
The colonnade next the church was frequently the only repre- sentative of the atrium, and then — perhaps indeed always — was called the narthex, or place for penitents or persons who had not yet acquired the right of entering the church itself.
From this narthex 3 doorways open into the church, corresponding with the 3 aisles ; and had there been a font, it ought to have been placed in a chapel on either the right or left hand of the principal entrance.
The choir with its 2 pulpits is shown in the plan — that on the left- hand side being the pulpit of the epistle, that on the right of the gospel. The railing of the hema or presbytery is also marked, so is
' Gntcn.sdhu imd Knapp, Die Ba.siliken des Christliclieii Koms.
'^ Cicero rle Legg., ii. 24 ; Festus. .s. v. ; Smith's I")ictionary of Classical Antiquities.
CnAP. IT. BASILICAS. 485
tho position of the altar with its canopy sup])orted on 4 pillars, and behind that the throne of the bishop, with the seats of the inferior clergy surroiniding the apse on either side.
Besides this church there are at least 30 other basilican churches in fiome, extending in date from the 4th to the 14th century. Their names and dates, as far as they have been ascertained, are set forth in the accompanying list, which, though not altogether complete, is still the best we possess, and sufficient for our present purposes.'
BASILICAS OF ROME.
FOURTH CENTURY.
St. Peter's Constantine (5 aisled) . . about 33i>
St. Paul's Theodosius and Honorius (5 aisled) 386
FIFTH CENTURY.
Sta. Sabina Pope Celestine .... about 425
Sta. Maria Maggiore . . . Pope Sixtus III 432
St. Pietro ad Vincula . . . Eudoxia (Greek Doric pillars) . . 442
SIXTH CENTURY.
San Lorenzo (old part) . . . Pope Pelagius (galleries) ... 580 Sta. Balbina Gregoi-y the Great (no side aisles) . 600
SEVENTH CENTURY.
Sta. Agnese Honorius I. (galleries) .... 625
Quattro Coronati .... Honorius 1 625
St. Giorgio in Velabro . . Leo II 682
San Chrisogono Gregory III 730
EIGHTH CENTURY.
S. Giovanni a porta Latina . Hadrian 1 790 ?
S. Maria in Cosmedin 790
S. Vincenzo alle Tre Fontane 790
S. Lorenzo (nave) about 790 ?
NINTH CENTURY.
SS. Nereo ED Achilleo. . . Leo III about 800
S. Praxede Paschal 1 820
S. Maria in Dominica 820
S. Martino ai Monti . . . Sergius and Leo 844, 855
S. Clemente John VIII 872
S. NicoLO IN Carcere about 900
S. Bartolomeo in Isola 900
TENTH CENTURY. S. Giovanni in Laterano . , Sergius III 910
ELEVENTH CENTURY. Nothing.
1 It is copied from the work of the Che- Knapp, forms by far tlie best work on the valierBmiseii on the Roman Basilicas, which, subject that has yet been given to the with the iHustrations of Gutensohn and world.
ISi; UOMANESQUK AIK'Ifl'rF.CrinJK. r.o(,K 1.
TWELFTH CKNTUIi'Y.
S. M\i;iA IN TiiAsrKVinii': . . Innocent II IL!.")
S. Crock Lucius 1144
S. Mauia in Aua Ckli uncortnin
THIRTEENTH CENTURY. Nothing.
FOURTEENTH CENTURY. S. Maria soi'UA Minerva . . Gothic about 1370
FIFTEENTH CENTURY. S. AciOSTiNO Renaissance ? about 1480
Of tliose, three, St. Peter's, St. Paul's, and the Lateran church, have .") aisles, all the rest 3, with only one insignificant exception, Sta. Balbina, which has no side-aisles. Two, 8ta. Agnese and the old part of St. Lorenzo, have their side-aisles in two stories, all the rest are only one story in height, and the side-aisles generally are half the width of the central aisle or nave. Some of the more modern churches have the side-aisles vaulted, hut of those on the list all esce})t the tAvo last have fiat wooden ceilings over the central compartment, and generally speaking the plain unornamental construction of the roof is exposed. It can scarcely be doubted that originally they were ceiled in some more ornamental manner, as the art of ornamenting this new style of open construction seems to have been introduced at a later date.
Of the two last named, the Sta. Maria sopra Minerva might perhaps be more properly classed among the buildings belonging to the Italian Gothic style ; but as it is the only one in Rome that has any claim to such a distinction, it is hardly worth while making it an exception to the rest. The San Agostino might also be called a Eenaissance spe- cimen. It certainly is a transitional specimen between the pillared and pilastered styles, Avhich Avere then struggling for masteiy. It may either be regarded as the last of the old race or the first of the new style, which was so soon destined to revolutionise the architectural world.
Of the remaining examples the oldest was the finest. This great basilica was erected in the reign of Constantine, close to the circus of Nero, Avhere tradition affirmed that St. Peter had suffered martyi-dom. It unfortunately was entirely swept away to make room for tlie greatest of Christian temples, which now occupies its site ; but previous to its destruction careful measurements and drawings were made of e\'ery part, from Avhich it is easy to understand all its arrangements — easier perhaps than if it had remained to the present day, and four centuries more of reform and improvements assisted in altering and disfiguring its venerable frame.
As will be seen from the plan (woodcut No. 366), drawn to the usual scale, it possessed a noble atrium or forecourt, 212 ft. by 235, in front of which were some bold masses of building which during the
Chap. II.
ST. PETER'S.
487
366. I'laii of tlic original Hasilica of St. Peter at Rome. From Guleiisolm and Knapp.
Scale inn ft. to i in.
488 HOMANESQUE ARCIIITECTUHE. Book I.
middle ai^'os were .siinuounted by 2 belfry-towers. Tbe church it^;ell was 212 ft. ill widtli by 395 in length, covering an area of 114,000 Kiiglish feet, which, though only half the size of the present cathedral, still is a greater space than is covered by any niediajval cathedral except those of Milan and Seville, Avith which it ranks in size. The central aisle was about 80 ft. across (about twice the average width of a Gothic nave), and nearly the same as that of the basilica of Maxentius and the great halls of the greater Therma3. For some reason or other this dimension seems to have been a modulus very generally adopted. The l)enia or sanctuary, answering to the Gothic transept, extended beyond the walls of the church either way, which was unusual in Romanesque buildings. The object here seems to have been* to connect it with the tombs on its north side. The arrangement of the sanctuary" was also j^eculiar, having been adorned with 12 pillars supporting a gallerj'. These, when symbolism became the fashion, were said to represent the 12 apostles. This certainly was not their original intent, as at first only 6 were put up — the others added afterwards.