David MacGibbon

“ Amidst the horrors of the barbarian irruptions which followed the fall of the Empire, this fortunate province succeeded in maintaining some relics of Roman civilisation; and when the dawn began to appear after the terrible night of the Dark Ages, it was amongst the first to show signs of life and revival. In the South, song and literature, encouraged by contact with the Saracens of Spain, sprang up and flourished ere, in the North, the struggle for existence had produced a settled condition in the land. ”

“ When looked at from a strictly architectural point of view, the design may be considered faulty in many respects, much of the detail being extremely rude and debased, while as regards construction many of the principles wrought out during the development of Gothic architecture are ignored. But notwithstanding these faults, the profusion of design so abundantly shown everywhere, and the exuberant fancy of the architect, strike the visitor who sees Rosslyn for the first time with an astonishment which no familiarity ever effaces. ”

“ All the surroundings are transformed: instead of the sombre sun and foggy atmosphere of the North, he enjoys the bright light and breathes the clear air of the South, and finds around him, instead of bare trees and frozen herbage, vineyards and gardens still rich with the lovely tinted foliage of autumn. ”

“ The wooden roofs so frequently employed really require no buttresses, and, therefore, our buildings are in so far right where in such cases only very slight pilaster-buttresses are used in the triforium, as is the case in Glasgow, Elgin, and Dunblane Cathedrals. In the side aisles, which are vaulted, the buttresses are sometimes heavier, but these features are insignificant as compared with the great flying buttresses and piers of the genuine arcuated or Gothic style of Northern France. ”

“ For instance, Unst, which is about 6 miles by 3 miles, had at least twenty-four. Of most of the Shetland churches every trace but a name or a tradition is gone; of others only a heap of stones remains; of others a few fragments of wall enable us to make approximate plans, and one only is tolerably complete. A little labour with pick and spade would enable us, in many instances, to determine more about them than is possible in their present state. No people ought to be more impressed with religion and the uncertainty of life than the Shetlanders. ”

“ The Englishman travelling southwards for the first time is chiefly struck with the entire change in the aspect of the scenery, the vegetation, the style of the buildings, the colour of the soil and hills, the brilliant sunshine, and the clear blue sky, which everywhere meet the view in descending the Rhone. This is especially the case in going south by the night train from Paris. Soon after leaving Lyons daylight commences, when the traveller awakes to find himself in a new zone. ”

“ When buildings such as Melrose Abbey and Lincluden College are compared with Dunglass, Corstorphine, and other collegiate churches of the late period, the difference of style is very apparent, and it is at once seen that these edifices belong to different categories. But between such examples as Haddington Church and Paisley Abbey the distinction of style is not at first sight so striking. It is only when the whole character of the architecture is considered that it can be determined to which category each structure belongs. ”

“ The Norman Conquest, which had been effected with so much violence in England, proceeded by more gentle means in Scotland, at least for a time. The ancient Culdee ecclesiastics having been absorbed or displaced and their revenues appropriated, the Church became gradually settled and established under the authority of Rome, and a stream of Englishmen continued to flow in to fill all the posts of honour and emolument in the ecclesiastical sphere; cathedrals, monasteries, and parish churches arose under the fresh and vigorous impulse of the new order of things. ”

“ The triforium openings of the nave, although not without great vigour, are perhaps the most rudely executed features in the whole building. The jamb and arch mouldings accommodate themselves to each other in an awkward manner, and the fitting in of the uncouth trefoil tracery is quite a contrast to the fine finishing of the clerestory above. It is not easy to account for the careless work in the triforium, as the upper part of the nave appears to have been all executed about one period. The coarse workmanship is much more striking in the building than can be shown by drawings on a small scale. ”

“ Charlemagne’s relations with the East were of a friendly character, and he is said to have sent to Byzantium for men of learning and science. Amongst these were no doubt Architects and Sculptors, who would thus bring with them the elements of the Byzantine influence so distinctly manifested in the early churches of the Rhineland.
The revival of the Holy Roman Empire under Charlemagne, although it paved the way for the new life which was to follow, was not in itself that new life. Up to this time the shadow of old Rome was still upon the nations. ”

“ In England, while novelties of design are sought after, there is more contentment and completeness in the architecture. There is not the same soaring ambition and striving after spacious buildings and lofty vaults; consequently, the English cathedrals and large churches are more frequently finished, a greater amount of attention being devoted to rendering the structure complete and varied in its different parts than in the production of one great and striking result. The English cathedrals are thus more picturesque, while those of France are grander in appearance. ”

“ We have no cathedrals in Scotland which can vie with Salisbury, Lincoln, or York in size and magnificence, or in the possession of double transepts. The Scottish cathedrals and abbeys, however, were, for the most part, complete in all departments, having choir and nave with side aisles (and, in the case of Elgin Cathedral, with double aisles to the nave) ; a presbytery of one or two bays without aisles, but with large windows on three sides; well-marked transepts with eastern aisle; generally a large central tower over the crossing, and frequently two western and other towers. ”

“ From the simple design of the cloister it is apparent how completely the Cistertians renounced the fine shafts and delicate carving of the cloisters of the early Provençal type like those of Aix, with their light wooden roofs, and gave preference to vaults, as being more enduring, while at the same time they rejected all sculpture and ornament. Although simple and plain to a degree, there is a unity of purpose and an originality of character in this new and vigorous style which commands respect if not admiration. ”

“ There is an arch between the nave and chancel, but it has not the appearance of a genuine chancel arch, being rudely formed with thin slatey stones. A wing, 14 feet long by 12 feet wide, is jutted out at the back or north side of the chancel. The walls are little over 2 feet in thickness. There is a square-headed doorway in the south-west angle, and an ambry or recess in the north wall. A roughly-built archway, similar to that into the nave, but smaller, opened from the nave into the north aisle, but is now built up. ”

“ Notwithstanding the beauty of many of our larger and{vi} finer edifices, such as Holyrood and Melrose Abbeys, and Glasgow, Dunblane, and Elgin Cathedrals, evidence is wanting in the design of these edifices of a full appreciation of the leading principles which inspired and guided the architects of the Ile de France. The Scottish buildings represent the echo rather than the original voice of the genius of Gothic architecture. ”

“ This building is a specimen of the imperfect and fragmentary manner in which the Northern Gothic style was employed in Provence. We have here also an example (and we shall meet with more frequent instances as we proceed eastwards) of the spread of the Italian-Gothic style beyond its ordinarily understood boundary. But as all the country between Genoa and Toulon was for long either under the sway of Genoa or of the Grimaldi of Monaco, it is only natural to find traces of Italian taste in the Riviera, which indeed is in all respects far more Italian than French. ”

“ Even in our finest structures the Romanesque or Norman influence continues to prevail. A large expanse of heavy walling, with small openings, is not unusual. In almost no building are the solid side walls omitted and light tracery substituted between the main supporting piers, as is the case in the best Gothic in France. The broad masses of masonry in the triforium and clerestory of the churches at Linlithgow and Haddington may be cited as examples of the absence of the Gothic spirit. ”

“ Among the various branches of Mediæval Art in Europe, the Church Architecture of Scotland fills an interesting and valuable place. This country cannot claim to have originated a new style in the sense in which the Ile de France gave birth to pointed Gothic, but it can show a continuous series of Christian structures, beginning with the primitive cells and oratories of the early Anchorites, and extending through all the periods of Mediæval Art. ”

“ The amphitheatres and the triumphal{92} arches of the empire well illustrate this mixture of arched construction, as shewn in the round-headed wall openings, combined with trabeated decoration, in the form of horizontal entablatures supported on engaged columns or pilasters. This mixed style long prevailed, and examples of it are to be found in every part of the Roman world. But in later times, when purity of taste had begun to decay, the Romans gradually gave fuller scope to their noble constructive powers, and allowed them to find a worthier expression in their designs. ”

“ No doubt a wooden roof may be designed so as to throw a greater amount of its pressure on some points than on others, but the principle of the wooden roof is that of the tie beam and the distribution of the weight over the side walls.
The actuating motive of Gothic design in the main feature of the vaulting being thus lost sight of in England, it is not surprising to find it inactive in other directions. The Romanesque element of massive walls, with small windows, is likewise partially adhered to, and in details also the guiding principle of French design is in some respects abandoned. ”

“ In France the two-centred arch was adhered to, and traceried windows were frequently introduced over doorways. Some of the carving, both at home and in France, is executed with great delicacy and spirit, but much of the foliage is of a very conventional form peculiar to the period. In running ornaments the stems frequently become more important than the leaves, thus carrying out the thin linear character of the style.
The English architects always showed a fondness for wooden roofs, and at this the latest period of Gothic these open timber constructions became very common. ”