William Bromet

“ On the 9th of September the Society inspected the cathedral of Lyons under the guidance of his excellency the cardinal, who pointed out as especially worth notice, its several symbolic bas-reliefs, the red cement we have seen at Vienne, and a beautiful marble primatial chair of the twelfth century. ”

“ M. Bard proceeds to state that the earliest crucifix he has discovered is a small bronze, once gilt, now in the cabinet of bronzes in the Galleria degli Uffizi at Florence. This crucifix has the head inclined to the right, and is crowned with a kind of mural crown of three battlements. The hair is only indicated by dots, but the upper lip has a decidedly marked mustachio. The chest and legs are naked, the rest of the body being in a tight half tunic, through which the ribs are indicated by engraved lines. ”

“ Business was opened by a narration of the origin of the Society and of the good works that it had already accomplished, and of which the assembly testified its approbation by loud applause. Reports were then severally made on the historical monuments in the province of the Lyonnois, M. Branche requesting aid towards the restoration of a church in the Romano-Auvergnat style, and of one of the 14th century remarkable for a Dance of Death painted on its walls, and for being a good architectural example of a church suited to a village congregation. ”

“ At other times we find a monstrous figure with outspread wings, like those of a bat, holding a kind of fasces, composed of pick-axes and spades; to which are often added the death's-heads and cross-bones so common in the present day, the whole being generally enclosed in a border of tears and lambent flames mixed up with garlands and flowers. ”

“ With regard to the former existence of any canon for religious symbolical sculpture, M. Godard thought that sagittary-centaurs and mermaids holding fish—the emblem of Christ—should be so considered: but that many of the monstrous figures met with on corbels and capitals had their prototypes in the east, whence they were brought by Greeks and the early crusaders, referring in aid of this opinion to the figure of a camel at Nevers, and of several plants only indigenous in the Holy Land—not to mention other forms of gnostic or hieroglyphic origin. ”

“ M. Guillemin enumerated the finding of four thousand two hundred coins in some extensive Roman buildings overwhelmed with sand at Etaples, a sea-port of Normandy supposed to have been called Quantovicus; and M. Bouthors referred to several bronze hatchets and in- struments of unknown use lately discovered at Amiens.
At the afternoon meeting, on a paper read by M. Rigolot of Amiens relative to ancient representations of the Virgin and other holy personages, M. Didron remarked, that we generally attribute too great an influence to pagan art over the art of Christian times ”

“ Of these however, not noticing those described in guide-books, we have only space to mention—a chapel of Greek-cross form; a circular Byzantine building with a dome on a circular series of columns; a singular mosaic-like insertion of bricks into the stone-work of its early churches; a window-arch (bearing the date 1152) springing from columns based on couchant lions; and a flying buttress of the twelfth century; the symbolic statuary of the cathedral with its ancient tombs and mural inscriptions, and marble lining set in red cement ”

“ At the angles of the slab we now often find the four apocalyptic winged animals, emblems of the Evangelists; while above the effigy are the armorial escutcheons of the deceased arranged often about a death's head, and at the feet is occasionally the representation of a skeleton, accompanied with some scriptural sentences. ”

“ Is there any ancient Castellated building in the parish? what is its natural position, and its ground plan, as to fosses, (wet or dry,) walls, ballia, mounds, towers, keep, chapel, kitchen, lodgings for the garrison, well, &c.
2. What old domestic edifices are there, whether mansions, halls, granges, or farm-houses? What are their general ground-plans, and their elevations, as to gables, parapets, dormer windows, roofs and chimneys, oriel windows, porches, and doorways? ”

“ M. M. Dumortier and Le maistre d'Anstaing, on behalf of the commission for the restoration of Tournay cathedral, then requested from the congrès an opinion as to the dates of its several parts, with a view of being guided by such opinion in the progress of their undertaking. Whereon M. Benvignat of Lille said, that he for one agreed with M. Dumortier, that the employment of the Roman foot in planning out the nave, denoted it to be more ancient than the introduction of Byzantine measurements. ”

“ As to the most ancient vaults in Anjou—with the exception of the Byzantine cupolas at Loches and Fontevrault, which are completely domical—M. Godard stated them to be generally either of semicircularly wagon-form or very flatly groined and ribless; observing that Angevine churches, being usually without triforia, are not so lofty as those of other provinces. It appeared also that in Anjou pier-arches and their spandrels are plain, and that church-towers are mostly placed over the transepts, and consist of cubes surmounted with octagons. ”

“ M. Dumortier then said that, although he had not been put on the committee above-named, he had accidentally been present at their re-inspection, and proved that he agreed with most of their opinions, by reading a remonstrance written long ago against any general use of stucco, as well as against the crude and brilliant colouring of the capitals and of the vaulting of the nave, and any wish to hide the fresco in the north transept. ”

“ The inspector of the Moselle then enumerated the labours of the Society in his department, one of which was the preservation of a Roman aqueduct, and the purchase of which structure was recommended as an instructive example of ancient subterraneous masonry. He stated, moreover, that the Préfet had forbidden any appropriation of the stones of a certain Roman causeway in the vicinity of some modern roadmaking, and that he had ordered all designs for any 'beautifications' of the cathedral at Metz to be previously subjected to the approval of a committee of taste ”

“ Incised slabs of the fifteenth century are more profusely, though less elegantly adorned than those preceding them; and many have other symbolical representations than the small angels before mentioned, while the arch en- closing the effigy partakes of the same change as to form, which real architectural arches had undergone. Their Ecclesiastical Costume is also rich; the tunic having often a border of pearl-like ornaments, and a double band of Greek crosses. In the inscriptions, honorary titles are more numerous both before and after the name ”

“ M. de Caumont, as Director of the Society, then distributed a list of the questions for discussion at its subsequent great meeting at Angers, in which those questions not otherwise intelligible were illustrated by marginal woodcuts, and he afterwards read an essay on the Lantern-towers of ancient cemeteries, which was succeeded by a description of a beautifully carved organ-case put up A.D. 1531. A grant of money was then voted for two casts from some ancient sculpture at Le Mans; one for the museum there, and one for the Society's museum at Caen. ”

“ This economical use of the fragments of a broken grind-stone, shews that stones fit for whet-stones and grind-stones, as well as mill-stones, were costly articles, which then, as now, were only to be obtained in regions far distant from Oxfordshire [2] .
This villa, which may be called the Wheatley villa, is situated on the south-eastern slope of an eminence about three furlongs from the river Thame, and about ten from the Roman road between Aelia Castra (Bicester) , and Dorocina (Dorchester) ; and seems to have been an edifice of considerable extent. ”

“ Are they single or divided? Is their chief opening to the east or south? Have any bones or cinerary urns, or instruments of stone or bronze, been found beneath them? Are there any Celtic tumuli in their vicinity, and are there any collections of upright stones artificially placed in circles or otherwise? ”

“ What is its general direction by compass—And what are the names of those parts of the parish, whether hamlets, farms, or fields, which it traverses?
4. Have any ancient sculptured stones, or the foundations of any edifice been discovered near it?
5. Are there any regular elevations of earth, or enclosures called ancient camps, and does any ancient road or causeway terminate at such enclosures?
6. Is there any spot traditionally said to be a battle-field—and have any intrenchments, bones, warlike instruments, &.c. supporting such tradition, been found thereon or about? ”

“ It may be remarked, that where the countenances of the effigies are in good condition, their expression is very appropriate, magistrates having a noble and severe mien, and their wives generally an amiable and pious look. Towards the latter part of the sixteenth century the embellishments of incised slabs are in the renaissant style, with Italian pilasters and mouldings, but altogether poor and feeble in execution; they were soon discontinued, and except in the bearing of inscriptions, monumental slabs became quite plain. The Costume, however, of the sixteenth century is in general very rich. ”

“ At the morning sitting of the 24th of June, under the presidency of the Marquis de la Porte, a memoir on the cathedral of Cahors was read, and a proposition thereon made that the Society should take down a wall then hiding a fine Byzantine doorway. Next followed a report upon the monuments of the province of Saintonge, proving that many of the towers therein said to have been erected by the English during their occupation of that district, were not built until after their departure. ”

“ The inscriptions, of which the lines, as well as the lines of the effigy, are filled up with red or black mastic, are generally on the border of the slab, and merely indicate the deceased's name and title, and the year of his death, concluding with a brief pious invocation or consolatory sentiment. ”

“ Have any ancient coins or seals been found—If so, state the metal of which they are composed, and send impressions in sealing-wax from the various kinds of them, stating precisely in what locality, and with what other ancient objects they were found? ”

“ This gutter was formed of two concave tiles, one within the other, set firmly in cement, so as to render it efficient.
About 116 ft. further north [1] , they uncovered the south-western angle of another portion of the villa; but nothing was found there except a few fragments of fine pottery, and the foundations of other walls.
Several tiles of various forms were likewise found, though few were sufficiently in situ to shew what their destination had been. Those of concave form are probably remains of a roof, and a few blackened with smoke are portions of wall-flues. ”