M'S 1 'Mil 1 ‘M 1 ! 1 ! 1 ;i*I iMlMMggv'gy ■’ fg&g : ■ 1] J j-1 MgM ¥# j \fi l 1 g $ 'g jg ; 5 l^gg’ gM 1 M g > ; i$ ! ! iMMlM ^ijjjiJi'iJi^ijiJijTh “tl M'iwMMMiM 1 lhli Hi ih Ah ;M;g;g;lMg:!! &&&&&# jg; 1;M ; ^Ig* ’ 4 *? ^ ’ • 1 t 1 iiiiiWiii?iiii!i:i:ii !i:w *^ iHlliiiii' SMMMWi ;ifi ihji'x I- 1 WlWl I l I -I 1 I }:!: ! m : iSsSHii iil# li ssllsgi HM . Hiiii M i,i:i MM 1 M 1 1 ’ i ’ M'M 1 '•-' ^WlVl 1 ! 1 !*! I’l'lll-iljlll iM’MvM 1 : ammm» ##!$$ I #M] !!!ii:r4ii!!l!!^{:ii^ fMiijM- Mil M M Mglgig ■ »ii j;i . iHjL‘i*i 1 1 M i W§M l ' I Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Getty Research Institute https://archive.org/details/byzantineromanesOOwyat / • ■ . i ■ ' THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT IN THE CRYSTAL PALACE. DESCRIBED BY M. DIGBY WYATT and J. B. WAKING. CRYSTAL PALACE LIBRARY ; AND BRADBURY & EVANS, 11, BOUVERIE STREET, LONDON. 1854. BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS TO THE CRYSTAL PALACE COMPANY, WHITE FRIARS.' CONTENTS PAGE * GENERAL REMARKS ......... 7 HISTORICAL SKETCH OP BYZANTINE ART . . . . . 10 SECTIONAL STYLES 20 POLYCHROMATIC DECORATION ........ 29 EFFIGIES OUTSIDE THE BYZANTINE COURT ..... 46 THE BYZANTINE COURT 53 THE CLOISTERS 59 INTERIOR OF THE COURT . . . . . . . . 63 GALLERY — IRISH CROSSES . . . . . . . .97 COURT OF CHRISTIAN ART MONUMENTS 111 - • ■ • • ' ; ■ ■ ■ i • ... . . , R , hC ■ . ' • .. w .... , >l££&d\ vlsii hv: ■ • ■ !•. ' - ■ - ' q $dT jiM- x4;.;m^ r $bh WQ& ittohn o J lo . R (d balaasrr: \d Qb&ia eMbssia m dxsq' daoto sr& ir» hebuadt NOTICE. The Byzantine Court lias been designed and arranged by Mr. M. Higby Wyatt, "with Mr. C. Bowler, Jun., as chief superintendent, and Mr. Thomas Hill, draughtsman. The construction generally was done by Messrs. Box, Henderson and Co., the ornamental portions by Mr. Cundy. The pavement of the Cloister was presented to the Crystal Palace Company by Messrs. Maw, of Benthall, Shropshire. The pavement of the Court, in metallic lava, was executed by Qrsi and Armani, the designs being principally founded on examples in Messrs. Waring and Macquoid’s “Architectural Art in Italy and Spain.” The full-size drawings were made out for it, and its execution was superintended by Mr. Thomas Hill. The restorations of the Kilpeck and Shobden doors have been executed by Mr. W. Jennings, of Hereford, the painted decorations being by Mr. Moone, of London, from designs of Mr. Wyatt’s, based on the illustrations given in the valuable works of Mr. Lewis on those churches. The escutcheons of the Eoyal Screen, under Mr. Wyatt’s charge, have also been painted by Mr. Moone. The polychromy has been cleverly and conscientiously executed by Mr. Beensen, of London, from designs by Mr. Wyatt, founded for the most part on studies made by 6 NOTICE. him in Italy and Sicily ; the most important of which have been engraved in his work on the “ Geometrical Mosaics of the Middle Ages ; ” the working out and superintendence of the above decorations have been confided to Mr. E. P. Pullan, by whom some of the principal subjects have also been painted. The large fountain was executed by Mr. Eedfern, of Ashford, Derbyshire, in marble from the quarries of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire. The Knights Templar have been reproduced under the superintendence of Mr. Eichardson, the sculptor, who so ably restored the original monuments. The painted ceiling from Assisi, in the gallery, is by Mr. E. J. Clayton, of London. The cloister of St. John Lateran was cast, and its mosaics executed, under the superintendence of Dr. Emil Braun, of Eoiiie. The Irish casts, for the possession of which the Company is indebted to the authorities of the Great Irish Exhibition, have been carefully re-erected by Mr. J ones, in the employ of the well-known sculptor of the same name. THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. GENERAL REMARKS. It is only within the present century that the style . of architecture, many of the most interesting monuments of which are exhibited in the Byzantine Court, has received that amount of study to which it is certainly entitled, both from the peculiar position which it occupies, as a link between the classic and Gothic styles, and from its own inherent merit. Without the aid of such an The Byzan- investigation, not only do the mediaeval and antique between styles of architecture appear to have no affinity for each the Roman other, but they may even be looked upon as symbolic of two antagonistic states of social existence. But as all science informs us of the mutual dependence of every- thing on earth, whether in the primary creations of the Deity, or the secondary creations of man, so, in this case, a well-directed spirit of inquiry has revealed to us a kindred law of relation. Thus the most superficial examination cannot but reveal to the student how Homan architecture — itself an offspring of Greece — was mein from 6 " gradually transformed by successive changes into the the Roman. Byzantine style, which in its turn varying with the 6tyle ‘ course of ages, and undergoing modifications according to the means, the disposition, and necessities of the people who adopted it, resolved itself into two remarkable phases, in the Lombard and Norman styles ; from which again sprung, as a necessary consequence, when we consider the climate, character, and creed of those artists who shaped its progress, that which must be 8 THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. The connec- tion between all styles. Effect of the great By- zantine churches. 'Power of as- sociation of ideas in Roman- f esque monu- ments. regarded as one of tlie most magnificent proofs of man’s- power over dull matter, which, time has bequeathed to us, — the Pointed system of architecture. Thus then we perceive, that in architecture, as in. all other works of creation, there is no gap ; and were our means of gaining a knowledge of all the architec- tural works ever produced, but microscopic, we should doubtless be enabled to supply the series of links wanting to connect all styles ; and hence the very apparent opposition existing between one ancient system — the Roman — and another — the Gothic — only renders more interesting the Byzantine style, which, with its offshoots, served to connect the two. Great as may be the power possessed by the principal examples of the two former styles, to excite and elevate the imagination of the beholder, few who have visited the religious monuments of Venice and of Sicily — the triumphs of the chief masters of the Byzantine — have failed to be overcome by deep emotion at their majesty and richness — the largeness of their well-arranged masses — the depth of their mysterious shadows — and the brilliant effect of their burnished lights. There is a religious solemnity about them, which produces a consonant effect upon the spirit, — and by no works of man’s hands are the chords of his heart tuned to senti- ments of devotion, at once more profound and more exalted. Such facts alone are sufficient to lend a peculiar interest to the study of this style — a study which it is impossible to disconnect from the history of the times, and the men whose age it illustrates. It is the eyrie-like castle of the Rhine which gives vitality to the old robber knight. It is in the noble palaces of Italy that we learn to appreciate the ancient Italian aristocracy. It is in the Gothic cathedral that we best comprehend the power of the mediaeval Church over the senses and imagination. In such associations of idea the Romanesque monu- ments yield in interest to none. They are vestiges of an age singularly troubled and romantic, and are tinged, as it were, with the light of two suns — on one side by the setting sun of an old world ; on the other, by the earliest gleams of a new day dawning on a new people GENERAL REMARKS. and a new life. Fiction itself could devise nothing more strange than the incidents which many of these monuments witnessed. At the close of the tenth century, all Europe was Historical scared with a firm belief in the approaching end of the t^mporaiy' world ; and the troubles of the times somewhat warranted with the such a belief. The Northmen terrified the nations by 0 f the style, inroads, the path of which was marked with the most ruthless destruction. Antichrist, in the form of Mahomet- anism, caused all Europe to tremble for its freedom. Fearful signs were seen in the heavens, and Rome, the centre of western civilisation, had become a nest of robbers. Everywhere, after the death of Charlemagne, strife and violence were prevalent, and brute force was recognised as the only law. In the midst of this commotion, that once mighty monarch passed from its turbulence, and in the crypt of his famous church at Aix-la-Chapelle, royally robed and crowned, sceptred and enthroned, his good sword Joyeuse by his side, and the Bible on his knees, he was set to await, with the dull stare of a waxen image, the approaching advent of the Judgment Day. Of such times is this style the exponent, and by it is our attention drawn to the rise and progress of commercial, yet stately Venice, the strange history of the Normans in France and England, and their still stranger history in Apulia and Sicily, the internecine strife of the armed bishops in Germany, the prolonged struggle of the German emperors for dominion in Italy, the mighty movement of the first crusades, the successful extension of the Italian republics in spite of despotic opposition, and the stubborn resistance of the northern Spaniards to Arab invasion. Such are some of the main historical features connected with a study of this style, which can scarcely be fully understood, without also an investigation into the com- merce, the social life, and the differences of religious creed, during the earlier centuries of the Christian era ; a desire for such knowledge, it is to be hoped, the examples collected in the Crystal Palace will excite, and in its prosecution and realisation they will doubtless form important aids. 10 THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. Constantine the founder of the By- zantine empire. Epochs of the style. The first. The second. The third. The second most influen- tial. Into such details it would be of course impossible to enter in so brief a treatise as the present; but, as we conceive some slight knowledge of their historical conditions is essential to even an approximately just estimate of all reliques of the genius of the past, — before proceeding to a description of the monuments of the Byzantine Court, we shall lay before the reader the following HISTORY. "When Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of the Roman race, removed the seat of empire from Rome to .Byzantium (as Constantinople was up to that period called) about the year of our era 330, he carried with him the arts of the former empire, such as they were (being then in a very declining state), and applied them to the enlargement and decoration of the new city. Thence arose that combination of Roman, Greek, and Oriental traditions, which distinguished the Byzantine style, and which was extended correlatively with the power and influence of the eastern empire. The history of Byzantine art, properly so called, may be divided into three epochs : The first, from the time of Constantine, to the middle of the sixth century, of which few examples remain : The second, from the time of Justinian, to the eleventh century, to which period most of the existing Byzantine monuments belong : . And the third, from the eleventh century, to the final conquest of Greece by the Turks, in the fifteenth century, during which period, an European, and more especially a Venetian influence is visible, both in arrangement and style. The first and third epochs were more local in their ■ influence ; and it is the second, the monuments of which affected not only the styles adopted in Italy, France, Germany, and Great Britain, but penetrated widely among the Sclavonic and Oriental races, and was carried by the conquering Arabs through all the north of Africa, and the greater portion of Spain. As we have just remarked, few, if any, complete and HISTORY OF BYZANTINE ART. 11 authentic examples of the first period have come down to us,* and the earliest as well as the greatest example of Earliest the Byzantine school is to be found in the Mosque of the Ttyle! ° f S ta Sophia at Constantinople. The erection of this cele- brated building is due to Justinian, who ascended the throne in 527. In the fifth year of his reign its con- struction was confided to the Greek architects, Anthemius of Tralles, and Isidore of Miletus ; and under their auspices the entire design was constructed, With its great dome 115 feet in diameter, and 180 feet at its highest point above the level of the pavement, f An earthquake injured it in the twentieth year of Justinian’s reign ; and the church as it now exists was not completed until the year 548, when Justinian celebrated its second dedication. Contemporary with the erection of S ta Sophia was that of San Yitale at Ravenna, the capital of the Exarchate— founded by the piety of Julian, the treasurer of Justinian, about the year 530 — -a very perfect example of the style of the century, and especially interesting as having been the model on which Charlemagne caused his cathedral at Aix-la-Chapelle, to be built. After the death of Justinian, religious strife materially affected the prosperity of the arts in Greece, and two Emperors, Leo the Isaurian, ™stic C per- and Constantine Copronymus, ranging themselves on the secution ; side of the Iconoclasts, despoiled the churches of their ornaments and discouraged that excessive love of display which characterised the style and the people, — driving out over the continent of Europe a multitude of artists, who propagated the very styles of ornamentation it was the aim of the despots to destroy, in districts where, but its result, for their persecution, they might never have obtained root. The Emperors Theophilus, and Basil the Macedonian, encouraged the application of the arts, not for ecclesi- Byzantine astical- purposes alone ; and under Leo YI. , and Constantine ai ’ Porphyrogenitus, the Byzantine school was in full vigour. * The Golden Gate and the Dome of the Rock, or the Mosque of Omar at Jerusalem, have been ascribed to this earlier period : see Fergusson’s “Jerusalem.” + It is singular to remark how exactly its section corresponds with that of the great transept of the Crystal Palace, under which it would just pass. 12 THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. its effect on tlie Arab races, — on Italy,— on France, Germany, Greece, and Asia Minor ; its decline in the eleventh century ; During this epoch Greek artists were very generally employed in foreign countries ; and the Arabs based upon it a style of their own, remarkable for its ori- ginality and splendour. In the tenth century we find great activity prevailing in the arts. Greek artists were everywhere welcome. Yenice in the north, and Monte Cassino in the south of Italy, equally applied to them for aid. In Rome the fugitives from Byzantium were received into an establishment known as the ee Scuola Greca,” founded for them by Pope Adrian I., and attached to the church of S ta Maria in Cosmedino. In Sicily they were at home. In France their style was spread and their monuments copied through the influence of a Venetian colony, at Perigueux, and subsequently at Limoges, in the former of which places, the old church of St. Front is closely designed on that of St. Mark’s, at Yenice ; and a passage in the life of St. Mein were proves the employment of Greek artists at Paderborn, in Germany, in the year 1015. In that country, indeed, the influence of the Byzantine school is seen more strongly than in any Cisalpine land. At an early period, under Charlemagne, artists from Constantinople, and their pro- ductions, were in the highest favour ; and in the tenth century, Theophania, daughter of the Greek Emperor, Romanus II., mother of Otlio III., and Regent during his minority, naturally encouraged the artists of her native country. Greece itself possesses many monu- ments of this period, such as the interesting churches of Panagia Lycodimo, and the Taxiarch, at Athens. Of the last-named we give the flank elevation, as being characterised by a peculiar Byzantine character, and especially remarkable for its multangular apse and dome ; similar examples to which latter are not unfrequent in the Rhenish churches. The spread of its influence is equally visible in Asia Minor, in Armenia, in the Caucasian provinces, and among all the Sclavonic races ; among whom, at the present day, its style is the foundation of all national art. From the eleventh century, however, the influence of Byzantium was on the decline. Continued wars drained the resources of the state ; and the inroads of the Persians, the Arabs, and the Seljoukid Turks affected her HISTORY OF BYZANTINE ART. 13 territory and her power. At the close of the eleventh, and during the succeeding centuries, she suffered equally /f/- §} flflh bo| ill p o y pb | |= O = ipll p o b J LJ J J 1 1 — L llSr- 1 » i "i 4 mmm i . i i .hr ill 11 H i i 1 ! 1 JL «fr Up I'lijlillr rp |f j X.. Flank Elevation of the Church of the Taxiarch, Athena. from doubtful friends and open foes. In the thirteenth its gradual century, the nations who had received from her the thirteenth 116 elements of their civilisation, had far outstripped their century, effete instructress, in art, in intelligence, and in power. The city in which Christianity received its first established recognition, was mercilessly pillaged by the Christian Venetians, and French, in the year 1204 ; and the Empire itself, or the little of it which retained that title, in spite of the last and laudable efforts of the Comneni family in the twelfth century, fell into a state of insig- nificance and decay, which rendered it an easy conquest Final over- to the victorious arms of Mahomet II. , who, in the year zanthim, 1453, made Constantinople his residence, and converted 1453 * the church of St. Sophia into his principal mosque. Among the Sclavonic, Arab, and Greek races, the Byzantine style was the foundation of all art, and is still among the its primary element. As an example of the wide-spread races.° mC 14 THE BYZANTINE AND ■ ROMANESQUE COURT. influence of the style, we subjoin a view of the church of Dighour in Armenia, in which a character not widely differing from that of the European Romanesque churches may also be remarked ; but in Europe generally this is not the case. Examples of purely Byzantine art are few and isolated, although in many, perhaps in most monu- Not so in Events built during the prevalence of its fashion, a Western Byzantine character is easily discernible. Europe, q 0 account for this, it is necessary to notice the state of European art during that period. Without entering into those particulars wherein the churches of Byzantium on account and Rome differed, we may remark that, ever jealous of ences be- each other’s power, continual disputes arose between churches of which led to their final definite separation, and Rome and the establishment of their respective claims to sacerdotal Byzantium. gU p rerQaC y j n the eighth century, when Gregory II. formally excommunicated all iconoclasts, including the Emperor Leo III. himself, in the year 726. HISTORY OF BYZANTINE ART, 15 These differences had been marked from the earliest period in the arrangement of their churches. The Greek cross inscribed within a square, and surmounted by one large cupola, and four smaller angle ones, as a. type of adopted by form, made no advance in Home, which had adopted the churches, tradition of the old heathen basilica, — a simple oblong, divided by columns into three aisles, and terminating with a semicircular central recess, known as an “ Absis.” As the influence of Home in matters of faith increased ^^| n 0 c ® of among the new nations, so this particular arrangement western patronised by her, with some modifications, prevailed Europe » also ; and in the carrying out, in the various countries under her sway, of structures based upon this design, so different to that of the Eastern Church, the old Homan monuments, still existing more or less plentifully through- out Europe, either served as objects of imitation, or were actually applied. ^ ^ But it was impossible to escape the influence of Con- stantinopie, stantinople, at least commercially. From the sixth to the tenth centuries, during which period the Greeks were indeed “ arbitri elegantiarum,” numerous works eS p ec iaiiy of ornamental art, such as richly woven and embroidered ornamental stuffs, wood and ivory carvings, ornaments in the base and precious metals, enriched with damascene work, and enamels, illuminated manuscripts, and paintings on panel, were carried by traders, and bought by the clergy and others, throughout Europe ; and it is from these combined influences that the Romanesque style sprung. As before remarked, Rome continued attached to the Earliest^ ^ plain basilica, and to a style which was not far removed Christian from purely Homan traditions. The earliest examples, art at Kome > treated in such a spirit, are the churches of S ta Sabina, of the fifth century ; of St. Agnese and San Lorenzo (outside the walls), of the sixth and seventh centuries ; and a numerous series in the ninth century ; through which the orthodox plan was continued, even to the period of the late Romanesque. But in the north of Italy, the spirit of change was and in working strongly. From shortly after the death of SaiyA™ Theodoric the Ostrogoth, in the year 526, after a glorious reign of thirty-three years, up to the conquest of Italy, by Charlemagne, in 774, the kingdom of Italy (with the 16 THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. The Lom- bards, — their ear- liest works ; their style principally adopted by Charle- magne. it Byzantine influence at Venice. Extension of the Lombard style duiing the eleventh century, at Pisa. exception of the Exarchate of Ravenna) was held by sovereigns of the Lombard race. Gibbon and Sismondi bear witness to the civilisation of this remarkable people, who, it is generally admitted, originated a style which has been called “ Lombard” in their honour. It would appear that in matters of art they regarded Byzantium rather than Rome, and that their artists were in no slight measure affected by the neighbouring monuments of Ravenna. The earliest buildings attributed to them are the churches of San Frediano, and San Michele, at Lucca ; and of San Michele, and San Pietro Cielo d’Oro, at Pavia, the date of which is referred to the seventh and eighth centuries. St. Ambrogio, at Milan, is ascribed to the ninth century, but by some antiquaries to a much later period. Charlemagne, we may observe, who put an end to the dynasty of the Lombards in the year 774, adopted, in a great measure, if not entirely, their style of building ; and naturalised it, in connection with Byzantine models, at Aix-la-Chapelle, and along the banks of the Rhine. In the tenth century, architecture would not appear to have been very active in Italy, if we except Genoa and Venice, maritime states which escaped in a great measure the general strife, and in the last-named of which Byzantine architecture, already introduced in the churches of Torcello and Murano, was adopted as the style of the new cathedral, erected at the close of the tenth century. Lombard architecture survived the dynasty under whom it had been matured, and after the conclusion of the struggle between the united powers of the popes and the nascent municipalities, against the German emperors, during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, received an increased extension. Foremost in this progress stands Pisa, which in the year 1063 founded a group of ecclesiastical buildings, affording an important landmark in the history of art, and exhibiting a singular illustration of local influence acting on foreign artists, in the persons of Buschettus and Bonannus — Greeks — in whose compositions a depar- ture from Byzantine tradition is clearly discernible. HISTORY OF BYZANTINE ART. 17 Lucca followed closely on her steps, and in the same Lucca and style. Nor was Florence far behind ; and in the thir- other Clties - teenth century, Siena, Parma, Modena, Piacenza, Ferrara, and Cremona, produced noble specimens of the rapidly advancing Romanesque school. At Rome alone, a ] most where Latin traditions prevailed, was there comparative stationary, sluggishness, in imitating the style, and activity, of the surrounding republics. If from the north and centre of Italy we turn our important attention to the south, an equally important change, southern founded on another element, had been for some time at , Ital y effected work. The Normans, who in the eleventh century had become ^ ails Nor ' masters of Apulia, and in the twelfth century of Sicily, impressed on Lombard forms, and Byzantine details, a character peculiar to themselves. On the main land their buildings followed the Lombard type, but in Sicily, their the skill of the native Saracenic workmen, whose practice models ' was founded on Greek theory, together with the pointed arch, of common occurrence in the Saracenic buildings, were appropriated by them. Artists, sought for directly Greek infla from Constantinople, were also in much favour, and the ence. church of Monreale, commenced in the year 1174, is in a great measure purely Byzantine. We may here observe, that from the systematic adop- ™h PCfiltetii tion of the Saracenic pointed arch by the Normans in Sicily, has been pretty clearly traced its transmission and application by their brethren in France and England. In the year 800 Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the West at Rome ; and in his new buildings on the banks of the Rhine he naturalised the Lombard and Lombard Byzantine styles. His cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle was art Zan ' professedly imitated from the church of San Vitale at transplanted Ravenna, and served, in turn, as a model for the through*" 7 original cathedral of Cologne, the mother church of the chdrle - cathedrals of May ence, Worms, and Spires. An example of the style, said to have been transplanted from Lombardy into the Rhenish provinces, is to be seen in the accompanying sketch of a church apse at Nimeguen, which, although very early as regards its style, is generally attributed to the time of Frederick Barbarossa. These important buildings arose in the first half of the c 18 THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. its develope- ment, — . it is dis- placed by the Pointed style. Eai’ly art in Saxony ; its character, eleventh century, and were the foundation of a German Romanesque style, in which a Byzantine character. especially in the ornament, is at times strongly marked, and of which the churches of Cologne, St. Aposteln, St. Martin, Ac., are good types. In the same city the church of S. M. in Capitolo claims high antiquity, and would appear to have been completed prior to 1050. This style found great favour in the Rhine districts, from which the leading features of the Byzantine Court have been derived, and the churches of Laach, Sinzig, TBoppart, and a long list of others, foreshadow its florid epoch, when the Early Pointed style was on the point of displacing it. S.axony was another centre of radiation, the influence of which had an early effect in northern and central Germany ; and under the fostering care of the Saxon line of kings, commencing with Otho the Great, in 962, architecture would appear to have been much encouraged. In these buildings a rough imitation of antique^ forms is very common, and instead of the domed churches of the. Rhine, we find the Roman basilica the leading idea. The earliest existing examples are the churches of Quedlinburg, Groningen, and Gernrode — in the tenth century. Various modifications of this system are to be HISTORY OF BYZANTINE ART. 19 found in Saxony, Thuringia, and Franconia, in which and late the more complex system of the western provinces, wAh modification, its domes and vaulted roofs, is found in combination with the simpler elements to which we have alluded. In France the Romanesque style presents two develope- France— ments, that in the south being founded more upon the formative numerous Roman remains which are to be found there, infiuences : influenced by an early and constant intercourse with Venice and the East ; and in some districts, as in the old department of Auvergne, by a volcanic soil, similar to that of Southern Italy. The greater number of these extension of buildings belong to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the style * . and their influence extended into the north of Spain, and the southern districts of Alsace. In the north and west of France, the comparative Northern absence of these causes led to a freer developement of France, individual character. The principal examples of this class are to be found in Normandy, and bear an original impress, which in a great measure justifies the general name of “Norman” by which they are known in maL N their England, where that particular style was introduced by indivldu- the Normans. Buildings of a similar character, ascribed to allty ’ the early part of the eleventh century, still exist at Paris and Chartres, Ac., but the earliest and most important authentic examples occur at Caen, about the middle' of the ^ s ae s ® en at eleventh century ; and by the twelfth century, the style style’ in the Therein exhibited became general throughout the north tury^ ° en ~ of France, and with very slight modifications in England its modifi- , cations in also. England. In the last-named country, the Norman Romanesque style exhibits itself in numerous and rich monuments, of a more decorated character than their Norman French types : and in some cases, as at Shobden, and Kilpeck, ■evident traces are to be recognised of the influence -exerted by the Celtic school of ornament, which flourished native^ vigorously in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and North Britain, style, in the seventh, eighth, and following centuries, and was zealously cultivated by the monks of Glastonbury. But although few countries can show a more numerous and ornamental class of Romanesque buildings than England, still, so rapid was the movement of progress at that period, that the middle of the twelfth century witnessed c 2 20 THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. Advance to the Pointed style intheScandi- navianlands. General adoption of the Pointed style. The Byzan- tine style. Plan of By- zantine i churches : I general cha- racteristics. the introduction of the Pointed arch, and the commence- ment of the thirteenth, a rapid progress towards the Pointed style of architecture. In Scandinavia the earlier monuments exhibit a striking coincidence with the Irish and Anglo-Saxon decorative features while the later ones appear to have been founded on German models, and especially subject to an influence proceeding from the Pomeranian coast ; between which part of Germany, and Denmark, an intimate intercourse was carried on, in the early part of the thirteenth century. Shortly after this period the Pointed style became more general, and the close of the thirteenth century witnessed the general disuse of the leading Romanesque features in all the Cisalpine countries. SECTIONAL STYLES. Having thus briefly traced the history of Byzantine and Romanesque architecture, we will proceed to give a succinct account of their general characteristics. In the Byzantine style the general arrangement of the churches is that of a Greek cross, inscribed within a square, with four central piers supporting a large hemi- spherical dome, the arms of the cross being surmounted by four smaller cupolas. The column, generally founded on Roman proportions, occurs constantly, surmounted by a cushion-shaped capital, from which spring immediately, arches, usually of semicircular form, but at times stilted, segmental, and horse-shoe. All openings are arched, and the masonry is marked by alternate courses of brick and stone. The doors have usually a straight lintel carried from side to side beneath the semicircular head ; the intervening space being often ornamented with pierced stone-work. The mouldings are of a bold projection, but few in number, the edges being rounded off, and frequently worked with foliage in low relief. The flat intervening bands are at times ornamented with the beautiful glass mosaic peculiar to the style. An impor- tant feature, and one of the characteristics of the Romanesque style, is the occurrence of the arched window, subdivided by a small central column, into two SECTIONAL STYLES. 21 smaller arched openings, as seen at San Vitale. The accompanying example, from the second tier of arcades at the cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle, founded by Charle- magne in direct imitation of St. Vitale, is an interesting instance of its earliest appearance in the North. Window from the old Church of Aix-la-Chapelle. Bricks placed on edge so as to form a tooth-like ornament are not uncommon. The foliage is founded on ancient Greek Greek, rather than on Roman traditions, and is charac- imitated : terised by a peculiarly sharp outline. All ornamental sculpture is in comparatively low relief, and the absence of human and other figures is very marked. Enrich- ments were almost invariably so carved, by sinking portions only of the surfaces, and leaving the arrisses and principal planes untouched, as to preserve the original mettlod of constructive forms given by the mason. The employment sculp tu- e. of the drill, instead of the chisel, so common in debased Roman work, was retained as a very general practice by the Greek carvers, and very often with excellent effect. The foliage of the acanthus, although imitated from the antique, quite changed its character, becoming more geometrical and conventional in its form. But that which, equally with their peculiar arrangement, distin- guishes the churches of the Byzantine school, is the profuse and splendid display they present of mosaic work. Ug0 of Mo _ Of this, the use was so universal, and the varieties so saicwork. marked, that we shall describe them specially under the head of Polychromatic decoration. Generally, we may observe that the rectangular connec- Affection for iion of lines and masses, and the horizontal sky line, •common in Roman architecture, disappear ; everything affects a curved form. The supporting members, such 22 THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. The Lom- bard style, of churches. General cha- racteristics. as capitals and mouldings, incline to a convex or cushion curve, surmounted by the sweeping forms of the super- imposed cupolas. The Lombard style, which we may regard as the earliest developement of the Romanesque, and as the source from whence was derived the architecture of the Rhine districts, is characterised by new, and more ornamental features. General plan The general arrangement of the churches is a combination of the Roman basilica with the cross, which takes a natural rather than a symbolical form, one arm being elongated, like the Latin cross ; the points of intersection being surmounted by a tower in place of a dome. Slender and clustered projections rise externally from the ground to the roof line ; arcaded galleries follow the line of the gable, surmount the circular apse, and at times are carried completely round the building. The great number of additional mouldings, especially on the entrances, is very striking, and their surfaces are covered with rough but effective sculpture, which ending sometimes with the door- way, is at others carried in bands horizontally through the facade, whilst the central doorway is frequently sur- mounted by a circular window. Incrustations of various coloured materials enrich most of the surfaces, and fre- quently, as at San Zeno at Yerona, &c., the whole build- ing is constructed with alternate horizontal courses of white and red, or white and black marbles. Internally, piers are frequently substituted for columns, and are at times compound, with attached half-columns. The capitals are of various forms, and profusely orna- mented with very deeply-cut and usually grotesque sculpture. Proportions are altogether neglected ; massive strength is evidently more an object than beauty ; and the rules of both Roman and Byzantine architecture are set at nought. Round and octagonal buildings, especially as bap- tisteries, were usual. The Byzantine cupola is frequently introduced, and the crypt was seldom if ever omitted in the churches. But that which particularly distinguishes Lombard from Byzantine art is its sculpture, abounding with grotesque imagery, with illustrations of every-day life„ Interiors. Strength more an object than proportion. Lombard sculpture, its peculiarities. SECTIONAL STYLES. 23 of a fanciful mythology, not yet quite extinct, and allusions, no longer symbolic, but direct, to the Christian creed ; the latter quality, a striking evidence of the triumph of the Roman Church, over its iconoclastic adversaries in Greece. In Germany, and especially in the Rhine districts, The German the Romanesque style received a peculiar developement. Romanesque Transmuted by degrees from the primitive Church of Aix- la-Chapelle and the original, but now destroyed, Cathedral of Cologne, it manifests itself earliest in the Cathedrals of MayenCe, Worms, and Spires ; and in a more com- plete and perfected state at Cologne, in the Church of S. M. in Capitolo. We find here the combined, dome, and General cha- vaulted basilica arrangement. Plain massive piers, in place of columns, mark the interior ; these rest on square plinths, and have imposts of a single moulding ; some of the capitals are cubical, and ornamented with bold, effect- ive sculpture. The choir externally is marked by a plain, pilastered arcade, and the cornices rest on corbels. Beneath the choir is a large crypt, and round the choir are to be observed capitals with boldly- worked foliage. At Worms and Mayence the naves are also formed by at Worms massive square piers, every third one being furnished with ^yence. a half-engaged column. The walls are remarkable for then- broad, simple masses, :and are without the arcade, or triforium, so common at a later period ; this baldness is, however, relieved by a peculiar and tasteful decoration, extending from above the piers, to the superimposed windows. The doorways, as a rule, are devoid of that Doorways^ profuse sculpture which distinguishes those of Lombardy, those of and their archivolts are frequently plain. Lombardy. By degrees a greater use of the arcaded gallery and corbelled string prevails ; and in the thirteenth century the Rhenish churches are characterised by an almost fanciful . , v Richness of richness of decoration ; the pointed arch, too, appears ; style in the windows of curiously broken curves are common ; the 13th century - massing of the numerous towers becomes more compact ; the central dome, frequently of a polygonal form exter- nally, is highly ornamented ; the multangular towers are, as well as the domes, finished by an acute-angled gable for each separate side, clustered round a centre spire or roof. A peculiarly Byzantine or oriental character is 24 THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. Byzantine character of ornament. Principal examples of the Rhenish Romanesque style. distinguishable in these, as well as in the foliated orna- ment, and the capitals ; whilst all the proportions are elongated and slender, and the use of arcades becomes The Baptistery of Ani. almost extravagant, the whole forming a Rhenish Roma- nesque style, peculiar to Germany ; and of which many of the Cologne churches, St. Aposteln, St. Gereon, St. Cunibert, &c . , and those of Andernaach, Laach, Sinzig, with numerous others of the same class, are well-known examples. SECTIONAL STYLES. 25 A very remarkable example of European influence acting on tlie East, is to be found in a baptistery of the above nature at Ani, in Northern Greece, closely resem- bling many Rhenish buildings. It was probably founded on a German model in the twelfth century. It is impossible in this space to particularise the numerous varieties of Romanesque architecture south of the Loire, extending eastward to Alsace. In some localities the Roman remains were manifestly Formative copied, as in Languedoc ; in others, a close resemblance Romanesque is to be found between the monuments and those of styles of Southern Italy, as in Auvergne. Roman and German- France. Romanesque traditions are found combined in Franche- Compte. In Touraine the Byzantine style is prevalent ; in Poitou the same, with an admixture of the Pisan school ; in the Pyrenean provinces we remark an evident influx of Moorish detail, and in the provinces bordering on Piedmont is seen the influence of the neighbouring Getieral Italian style. Throughout all, the dominant feeling is a influence of reminiscence, more or less strongly evidenced, of the remains, style of the late Roman remains. Roughly fluted columns and pilasters, cornices, sculp- tured friezes, and regular archivolts are common. The plinths are frequently profusely ornamented with grotesque Plinths from Sfc. Gilles, Arles. | sculpture of hybrid animals, Ac. An example of this || nature, a plinth, formed by a sheep in the clutches of a 26 THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. General character- istics — (external) (internal). Romanesque style of northern France. lion, serving as a pedestal to a statue, is shewn in the accompanying wood-cut. It is from the church of St. Gilles, at Arles, in which city are numerous examples of the same fanciful style of sculpture. Statues, lanky, but not without some feeling for nature, are often found at the angles of doors and of piers : the doorway columns rest frequently on the backs of lions. Capitals of extraordinary richness, and almost like brackets in their great projection, and central door piers covered with sculpture, are general. The churches are ' frequently studded with absidal chapels, and the absides themselves (indifferently multangular and circular) are capped with a good cornice, supported by stunted columns resting on buttresses, between which are placed semicircular win- dows, usually of one light ; whilst one high tower, of diminishing stages, marks the intersection of the nave and transept, and the facade presents one united mass, sur- mounted by a pedimental outline, unbroken by western towers, — the whole being often overloaded with sculptured ornament. Internally, the piers and walls are usually plain, with simple mouldings ; and the roof formed, either by a low pitched timber tiebeam construction, or with waggon vaulting, with flat bands. Where the Byzantine style prevailed, as in St. Front at Perigueux, Le Puy, &c. , the vaulting is domical, and singularly resembles that in use in Venice, and at Ravenna. # The existence of a Venetian colony at Perigueux, at the close of the tenth century, has been incontrovertibly proved by M. de Verneuil, in his interesting work on the Byzantine churches of Central France, and through their influence, the Veneto-Byzantine style was doubt- less extended. Of the numerous churches which bear witness to it, the Cathedral of St. Front, at Perigueux, is the most remarkable, both in its plan and arrange- ment ; and its numerous domes, the similarity of which to those of St. Mark’s, Venice, and St a - Sophia, Constan- tinople, will be at once perceived by means of the adjoining sketch. In the North, especially in Normandy, a very different style is met with. The church, planned as a Latin cross, * The Rev. J. L. Petit has recently published an exceedingly interesting notice of this series of monuments. SECTIONAL STYLES. 27 ha,s a massive square central tower, the surface of which is often lightened by continuous arcades ; the numerous Exterior of the Cathedral of St. Front, at Perigueux, absidal chapels are less frequent ; the roofs, except that of the central tower, are of a high pitch, and two western towers adjoin the angles of the principal front. The General entire mass is well, but not excessively, ornamented, character- The doorways are broadly moulded, and deeply recessed. b ' The columns are frequently well proportioned, resting on short plinths, and surmounted by capitals, the variety of which is marked by the extremes of grotesqueness, and I of beauty. Proportion is more attended to, and the use of clustered and elongated columnar wall shafts is remark- able ; the absis is usually round, and the windows, which pierce it, are divided from each other by one undiminished circular shaft, running from the ground to the corbel table ; whilst the arcade, which in other buildings of the period passes usually immediately beneath it, is frequently placed on the ground stage. In a later period of the style, the 28 Transition to the Early Pointed style. Character- istics of the Romanesque style in England. Influence of native school. Rapid tran- sition to the Pointed style. General resemblance of the Romanesque styles. The causes. A nalogous features in the Byzan- tine and Romanesque styles. Mosaic work and painting. THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. arches are frequently pointed, the shafts become more clustered and elongated, the roofs of higher pitch, pin- nacles more frequently occur, and a transition to the Early Pointed style is strikingly manifest. In England this style received a somewhat different developement. The general mass is usually of a heavier character, whilst particular features, such as doorways and windows, are more enriched than those of Normandy. There is more variety in the ornamental mouldings, and less delicacy of design : the influence of the preceding Celtic school of decoration is at times evident ; the windows are smaller ; the use of heavy cylindrical piers more frequent. The nave, instead of being vaulted, has a wooden roof, and, in general, proportion is less carefully studied. In this country, equally with France, the transition to the Pointed style received an early and rapid developement. Such are a few of the most striking peculiarities of the Romanesque style, in the countries where it principally flourished. In all, however different in parts, a general resemblance is evident. The same causes acted (unequally, it is true) upon all — the remembrance of Roman traditions, the recep- tion of Byzantine taste, the presence of the Freemasons, and a common creed. In detail, the connection between the Romanesque and Byzantine is often strongly marked. In each case, the semicircular arch is a dominant feature, the column a subordinate one ; the mouldings bear the same general character, in which square faces predominate, and the capitals equally affect a cubical form. Judging from the writings of contemporary authors, there was the same love of works in valuable metals, and for costly ornaments, of which little has escaped the impartial hand of Time. The use of mosaic work appears not to have been uncommon, and where money or artists were wanting, its place was supplied by the use of painting. Modern research leads us to believe that many an interior, now all bare and gray, originally glowed with colour and gilding ; and that their walls and roofs were gaudily, if not tastefully, decorated with numerous subjects, from the Holy Scriptures, and from the legends associated with the Fathers of the Faith. COLOURED DECORATIONS. 29 r , ; ,r rorr its i aoiiisrunT POLYCHROMATIC DECORATION. As any sketch, either historical or architectural, of Byzantine art, would be most incomplete without some notice of such embellishment, we shall proceed to lay before our readers a few observations on that system of Polychromatic Decoration, by means of which the beauties Divided into of all its forms were so materially enhanced. The system two sections •„ technically having been divided into two leading sections — panning! 1 * 1 firstly, that in which the effect was produced by the combination of marbles and vitrified substances in mosaic, and, secondly, that in which painting was the sole medium ; — we shall commence with the former branch of the subject. Between the time of Constantine, a.d. 330, and the Th 1 4th century, three varieties of mosaic arose, which varieties obtained universally in Italy, and during nearly 1000 of mosaic * years changed but little, either in principle or composition — with the exception, of course, that as the art of design progressed, so did the power of drawing and giving expression to the nude, and foliage, naturally expand. The only specimen remaining executed in the antique Only one manner, after the religious alterations effected in Italy, exai,| P 1 . e 7 . . , remaining a appears to be that curious incrustation which lines the the antique vaulting of the Baptistery erected by Constantine, dedi- ™ a a “ ta er ’ at cated to S ta - Costanza, and to be found near the Costanza Basilica of “ Sant’ Agnese fuori le Mura, Rome.” It ^ Koiue - )- represents a vine, covering as it were the whole roof; it is, in fact, a pergola, and has, introduced among the leaves, many Christian symbols. The style is mixed Opus Tesselatum and Vermiculatum (majus and medium), of the ancients, and it exhibits none of the characteristics T] e t] of the three styles we are about to describe, and which varieties $0 especially Byzantine. Homan artificers at Constanti- nople. Their probable adoption of new principles. Oriental love of splendour led to Byzantine glass mosaic work; the prin- cipal artists in which were Greeks. Destruction of examples in the East. THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. may be regarded as especially Byzantine. These consisted in — 1. Glass Mosaic, called generally Opus Musivum, imitative ; used for walls and vaults. 2. Glass tesselation, called generally Opus Greca- nium — conventional ; generally inlaid in church furniture. 3. Marble tesselation, called indifferently Grecanium and Alexandrinum — conventional ; formed into pavements. When, in the year 329, the seat of empire was removed to Constantinople, it may be believed that many Homan workers in Mosaic migrated with the court, and, through their labours, some of the first churches erected hy Constantine were probably decorated. Owing to their already degenerate condition, and to the distance from good existing models, their hereditary predilections would desert them, and they would naturally be in a condition to receive impressions, tending to the modification of their system of production, from new objects and strange fashions presented to their view. From such crafts- men the art was doubtless handed down traditionally, but, in its character, effectively changed by its trans- mission. The oriental taste for splendour already shown in the gold ground mosaic of the late monuments of Pompeii, and doubtless of the Homans generally, soon superseded the purer practice of the ancients ; and Byzantine glass mosaic started into life. There seems every reason to conclude that for many centuries the Greeks remained almost the exclusive work- men and designers in mosaic ; and, through their ingenuity, Italy and Sicily stand pre-eminent in the possession of churches and baptisteries, whose walls are adorned with the gilded ground, and the gorgeously draped and swarthy visaged saints, peculiarly Byzantine. Byzantium, Asia Minor, and the Holy Land, once doubtless possessed many noble specimens of Greek Christian art ; but the elements, wars, fires, and Maho- metan whitewash, has deprived us of almost all those sources whence modern oriental art probably derived much of its inspiration, and most of the peculiar features of its character. It is in connexion with this branch of COLOURED DECORATIONS. — MOSAICS. 31 bite subject that the interesting question arises, respecting the influence that the early decorative processes may have decorative had, in determining the subsequent character of conven- subsequent 11 tional ornament in all styles. Thus, the Arabs having ornament : at first adopted the general scheme of Byzantine archi- tecture, and among its processes that of mosaic, the ^®°| tlie 3tyle, from want of drawings of detail, and of Greek architects, declined in its integrity ; while the mechanical processes being retained traditionally among the work- men, this very mosaic work, at first only a subordinate means of decoration, would become a leading element in the minds of the Mahometan designers. From . expe- riments and combinations with small geometrical cubes of glass mosaic, they would be led, not unnaturally, to that elaborate and intricate style of pattern, which, when they emerged at length from the influence of Byzantine tradition, became an essential characteristic of their compositions. Thus, also, no doubt, did the on the ancient predilection for mosaic modify most materially not itaiy^' an^ only the plan, and whole structure, of the churches erected ^ei^minor in Italy down to the year 1200, but even the minor details that characterise and constitute the style of those monuments. To return to realities, and our description of the first Subjects ' reDresented division of Christian mosaic, we may remark, as its chief in the first and leading peculiarity, that it was employed only to of represent and reproduce the forms of existing objects, Opus such as figures, architectural forms, and conventional Musivum ‘ foliage, which were generally relieved with some slight indication of shading upon a gold ground — the whole being bedded on the cement, covering the walls, and vaults, of the basilicas and churches. The design of both figures and ornaments was, generally General speaking, very rude, though not without an occasional i s tic. ac 6 " rising, in some of the figures, to a certain sublimity, derivable principally from the great simplicity of the forms and draperies, and the earnest grandiose expression depicted in their countenances. Perhaps the most striking example of this peculiar majesty is to be found in the enormous half-length figure of our Saviour, in the act of ^^^reaie benediction, which occupies the semidome of the apse in (Sicily), the cathedral at Monreale, near Palermo, in Sicily. The 32 THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. ornament, in general, is. of a far better class of design Ornament, when imbued with somewhat of a Saracenic or oriental in & Sicily. taste — as in all the mosaic- work to be found in Sicily — than when, as in most of the churches in Rome, its style of convention has been modified by old Roman fragments, paralysing, it would seem, the feeble judgment of the designer. Where entirely removed from the latter influence, as at Venice, Ravenna, and Ancona, this species of mosaic Ravenna, &c. assume s a far more original and peculiar style of beauty. The pieces of glass employed in the formation of this work are of very irregular shapes and sizes, of all colours and tones of colour, and the ground-tint almost invariably prevailing is gold. The manner of execution is always large and coarse, and rarely approaches in neatness of joint, and regularity of bedding, even the “Opus majus Vermiculatum ” ; yet, notwithstanding these blemishes, the effect of gorgeous, luxurious, and, at the same time, solemn decoration produced, is unattainable by any other means, as yet employed in structural embellishment. How noble, and truly ecclesiastical in character, the gold- clad interiors of Monreale Cathedral, of the Capella Palatina at Palermo, of St. Mark’s at Venice, SanMiniato at Florence, or Santi Apollinare and Vitale at Ravenna, are, the concurrent testimony of all travellers attests. The two earliest glass mosaics of the Christian era, which either exist, or of whose existence we have certain evidence, possess an extraordinary interest in connexion with the study of iconography. The most ancient, which was traditionally related to have been given to Pruden- tius, a Roman patrician, by St. Peter, and which is referred to by Church writers of the fourth century, was stated by M. Frelet, at the seance held in 1841, at Lyons, by the French Society “ for the preservation of monuments,” to be worthy of regard, as probably the primary type unimportant f° r the appearance of our Saviour ; and he further observed that the pious duty of imitating this mosaic in after exam- ples, was one of the great causes of the general resemblance of physiognomy in many of the portraits executed from that period until the ninth century. Lord Lindsay mentions, in reference to the peculiar Byzantine character of the head of the Redeemer, “that its earliest appearance is in a mosaic, said to be of the At Rome. At Venice, Description of glass. Style of execution. Its effects as seen at Ravenna, Palermo, &c The two ear- liest'glass mosaics. The most ancient represents the Saviour effect on subse- quent repre sentations. Lord Lind- say’s re- marks on this subject. COLOURED DECORATIONS. — -MOSAICS. fourth century, found originally in the cemetery of San Callisto at Rome, and now preserved in the Museum Christianum of the Vatican. It was repeated,” he remarks, “in 441, attended to the right and left by the symbols of the evangelists, and the elders offering their crowns, on the triumphal arch of San Paolo fuori le Mura (now destroyed) ; was reiterated two years later on that of St a . Maria Maggiore, still existing, and re- peated constantly afterwards with but little variation. This primitive type consisted of a half-length placed within a wreath, and generally in the act of blessing with the right hand, and holding the cross or the globe DescrIption in the left, and is to be often met with in the basilicas of portrait successively built at Rome and elsewhere in Italy.” This peculiar arrangement of subject became popular throughout Europe, and was known in Italy as a Majesta , ^ in France as a Majeste, and in England as a Majesty. “Majesty.” Sir C. Eastlake, in his invaluable “ Materials for a History of Oil Painting,” (p. 553) quotes a liberate roll of 1238, in which directions are given “ majestatem quondam in capelin Sancti Thomse depingi.” In addition to these most interesting portrait subjects, many others occur. “ Sometimes,” says Mr. Hope, “ our ^ r esentl- Saviour is represented by a lamb exalted on a pedestal, tions of the and surrounded by a nimbus, to whom twelve other ^ aviour * sheep, representing the Apostles, pay homage ; at other times, stags approaching a vessel stand for the souls of the faithful thirsting after the living waters : these souls while here below, appear in the shape of doves ; after the resurrection, and in a glorified state, in that of the phoenix. In the Chapel of Santa Prassede, at Rome, four angels in the pendentives support a medallion, the centre of the cupola containing the head of our Saviour.” Often a troop of martyrs, male and female, distributed to the right and left, are seen worshipping the more ; colossal central figure — if of our Saviour, or of the patron saint, standing on the clouds ; or if of the Virgin, ! sitting on a gemmed throne. The triumphal arch is in | general adorned, in conformity with its name, by saints Ornament of or angels, celebrating the triumph of the cross, and the p hal arch' ? sacred initials suspended over its centre.” The general aspect of the history of this art presents 34 Character of Greek artists. Lord Lind- say’s chrono- logical list of the Italian mosaics. Extra infor- mation by Hope, Ciampini and Mura- tori. Hiatus nthe history of mosaic work. The case of Venice ex- ceptional. THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. us with a picture of the industry, perseverance, skill, and, at the same time, monotony of the Greek character. From the fourth to the middle of the ninth century, an almost uninterrupted succession of works, of extreme value and importance, may be traced. For approxi- mations to a chronological list of these, we are indebted to various authors ; since, however, the account furnished by Lord Lindsay is the most condensed, and moreover excludes performances of comparative insignificance, we prefer rather to draw from his materials than from those of any of the other writers. He tells us that the more interesting Italian mosaics of the first great period may be enumerated as follows, in them chronological order: — “ those of Santa Sabina, Rome, c. 425 (now almost entirely destroyed) ; of Santa Maria Maggiore, c. 432 ; of SS. Nazario and Celso, or the tomb of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, 440 ; of S. Giovanni in Fonte, Ravenna, 451 ; of SS. Cosmo and Damian, Rome, 530 ; of San Vitale, Ravenna, 547 ; of S. Maria in Cosmedin, Ravenna, 553 ; of S. Apollinare di Fuori, Ravenna, 567 ; of San Apollinare di Dentro, Ravenna, 570 ; of San Lorenzo fuori de Mura, Rome, 578 ; of S. Agnes, Rome, 625 ; of the Oratory of San Venanzio, adjoining the Baptistery of Constantine, Rome, 642 ; of the Triclinium of San Leone (interesting for the portrait of Charlemagne), Rome, 797 ; of SS. Hereus and Achilles, Rome, c. 800 ; of S. Maria in Domenica, Rome, 815 ; of S. Pudenziana, Rome, and of S. Prassede, Rome, c. 820 ; of S. Cecilia, Rome, 820 ; of S. Ambrogio, Milan, 836 ; of S. Maria Nuova, Rome, 848. ” In Mr. Hope’s catalogue several examples, not here mentioned, may be found, accompanied, for the most part, by the names of the founders ; and in the pages of Ciampini and Muratori, the student may find ample information as to dates and other minutiae. From the year 850, to the beginning of the twelfth century — a period of war, misrule, and suffering — an almost complete hiatus in the history of mosaic occurs in Italy ; and although symptoms of a renewed existence burst forth in the commencement of the great works at St. Mark’s, Venice (in 1073); it was not until the beginning of the twelfth century that the art exhi- bited any further striking developement. It is in the COLOtTRED DECORATIONS— MOSAICS. $5 decoration of the apse of the celebrated Church of San Clemente, at Rome, that we find the revival most Marked ad- strongly manifested. This is, as Lord Lindsay remarks, ciemente^ 11 “ a most elaborate and beautiful performance, yielding to Rome, none in minuteness of execution and in delicacy of senti- ment. It is characterised, moreover, by a resuscitation Resuscita- of the symbolism of early Christianity, so long neglected, although in subordination to one of the traditional dramatic symbolism, compositions — the Crucifixion. On every account, there- fore, it merits the most attentive examination.” Towards the beginning of the thirteenth century, the The Italians Italian artists began to learn from the Greeks then settled o (jj reeks at at Venice, and probably at Rome and Monte Cassino, to theijegin- execute mosaic- work for themselves. Fra Giacomino, “wrteenth 0 otherwise called Mino da Turrita, of Sienna, having learnt century, the art from the Greek artists who had been engaged by m i no . the monks of S ta . Maria Novella, at Florence, to decorate the substructures of their church, commenced, in the year 1225, the decorations of the Tribune of the Baptistery at Florence ; and, after completing his work there, he appears to have proceeded to Rome, where, towards the close of the century, we find him executing the splendid mosaics of the Tribunes of San Giovanni Laterano and Santa Maria Maggiore. After the departure of Mino from Florence, his place was supplied by Andrea Andrea Tafi. Tafi, who acquired the art from the Greeks, then working at St. Mark’s. He succeeded in inducing one of his instructors, Apollonius by name, to return with him to Florence : there they executed in conjunction the mosaics which adorn the cupola of the baptistery. In these labours they were assisted by the celebrated Gaddo Gaddi Gaddo — the father of a race of artists — who, after distinguishing Gaddi * himself highly at Florence, was summoned to Rome ; in which city he executed, among other large undertakings, the great Mosaic, still existing on the facade of the Basilica of S ta> Maria Maggiore. With Gaddo Gaddi the genuine art of Italian glass mosaic may be said to have died, Subsequent although small portions, executed at almost every date, d ®® hneoftho are yet to be found in that great encyclopedia of art, St. Mark’s, at Venice ; from original studies in which monu- ment, and in the Cathedral at Monreale, our principal painted decorations have been selected. d 2 B6 THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. Opus Grecanicum, the second variety of Christian m osaic. Method of execution. Its conven- tionality. Found on church fur- niture. Barely used on exteriors. Its preva- lence in Italy. Earliest’ examples. Reproduc- tion of the Byzantine Court. Our second variety of Christian mosaic — the glass tesselation , which we shall venture to call Opus Grecanicum — consisted in the insertion into grooves cut in white marble, to a depth of about half an inch, of small cubes of variously coloured and gilded “ smalto” (as the Italians called, and still call, the material of which mosaic is com- posed), and in the arrangement of these simple forms in such geometrical combination as to compose the most elaborate patterns. These, it is to be recollected, differ from all that were produced by means of “ Opus Mosaicum,” our first species, in the essential particular of being purely conventional in style. These ornamental bands it was customary to combine with large slabs of the most precious materials, of serpentine, porphyry, pavonazzetto, and other valuable marbles, and apply them to the decoration of the furniture of churches and basilicas. Thus they are constantly to be met with in the cancelli or screens, the ambones or pulpits, the episcopal and regal thrones, the ciboria or tabernacles, and in the most gorgeous tombs and monuments. Their use externally was comparatively rare, although they may often be found uniting themselves with the archi- tectural members of a building — as in the cloisters of St. Paul’s and St. J ohn’s, in the Lateran cloisters, the porticos of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, Pome, and of the Duomo, at Civita Castellana. The Opus Grecanicum pre- vailed over the whole of Italy for many centimes, but cannot be referred to an extremely early origin ; since the art of geometry, on which its beauty, and indeed existence, almost entirely depended, was not revived in any consider- able degree until the sixth century, or later. We are unable to instance any earlier example of glass tesselation than that in the episcopal chair and tribune in the Basilica of San Lorenzo, at Pome, executed probably about the year 580. The portion of the cloister of St. John in the Lateran, which has been reproduced in real marbles and mosaic, together with the great variety of patterns, from most of the chief specimens in Italy, and Sicily, painted on the walls and piers of the Byzantine Court, will, it is to be hoped, convey a clear idea of its nature, and furnish some notion of the felicitous manner in which its forms harmonise in composition COLOURED DECOEATIOm— MOSAICS. 37 with, sculpture and painting. The regular and rectilineal qualities of its geometrical forms give to the figures of imitative art, and to curved and flowing ornament, the same vivacity and sense of motion (“ il mosso d’un quadra”) which the rectangular lines of a piece of archi- tecture afford when introduced into an historical picture. To the value of such geometrical bands, as the frame- work of wall-paintings, we shall hereafter further advert. The hexagon and the triangle, the square and octagon, Geometrical form the usual geometrical bases of most of the specimens base of its of this ingenious art to be found in Italy. Descending patteinb - into Sicily, patterns of accumulating intricacy, in which Peculiarly the leading white line preserves intricacy from degene- m fating into confusion, arrest our attention ; more espe- cially at Palermo, in the Capella Palatina, and in the Cathedral at Monreale. The existence of these features in that particular locality is to be accounted for by the acknowledged skill of the Saracens, the principal inhabit- through ants of the island, in the contrivance and execution of skilh emC decorations of great elaboration and of striking colour. Wherever glass mosaic in imitation of figures was used, this kind of work was employed ; and, until the abandon- ment of the manufacture of the former variety, neither in gimiIarity design, colour, nor nature of material, did the last between the examples executed of the latter appear to differ at all latest exam- from the first. It is right, however, to notice, that the ples * popularity of the conventional mosaic survived that of the pictorial by at least a century and a half. These brilliant patterns will doubtless, to the taste of many, appear glaring and gaudy ; but let those labour- ing under this impression picture to themselves its com- bination with the noble colour and the scenic and picturesque association of the fine old Italian churches, in which the examples are usually found, and they will probably arrive at some more just idea of its graceful and harmonious effect, and its capabilities as an industrial agent. Scarcely any specimens of this art are to be found out Examples of Italy. Mr. Hope notices some which formerly existed out ot in the old Abbey of Clugny, in France, now destroyed ; and we may boast of two or three specimens in our own country, of exceeding interest. The shrine of Edward THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. Probably by Italian artists. The third variety, or opus Alexan- dririum ; its nature ; its antiquity at Rome ; adopted by the Byzan- tine Greeks, the Confessor, which was finished under Henry III., bears an inscription, recording it to have been executed in the year 1270. The tomb of the same monarch exhibits also some very beautiful specimens of this same process, though, alas ! in a wretched state of dilapidation. There appears to be no doubt whatever that these precious relics of long-forgotten arts were the work of Italian artists, and they have been long ascribed to the Italian Pietro Cavillini, who executed the mosaics of S ta ‘ Maria in Trastevera at Pome ; but on most fallacious evidence are they attributed to him, since he never appears to have visited England ; and had it been possible for him to do so, his visit could not have been at that time. Turning now to our third division of the mediaeval mosaic — that which formed the ordinary Italian church paving from the time of Constantine down to the thirteenth century, and which has been successfully imitated in the beautiful encaustic tile-pavement of the cloister presented to the Company by Messrs. Maw & Co. — the Opus Alexandrinum , — we may describe it generally as tesselated marble-work — that is, an arrangement of small cubes, usually of porphyry or serpentine (reddish-purple and green-coloured), composing geometrical patterns in grooves cut in the white marble slabs, which form the pavement. The contrast between these two colours produces a mono- tonous, but always harmonious, effect. Giallo antico, a light yellow marble, with an occasional blush-tone, is also sometimes employed, but it has always the appearance of a subsequent introduction. This kind of pavement is of very great antiquity, and is generally regarded as having closely resembled that introduced into Rome by Alex- ander Severus, a.d. 222 — 235. Lampridius asserts that the emperor brought with him from Alexandria great quantities of porphyry and serpentine, which he caused to be worked into small squares and triangles, and variously combined. Prior, however, to this date, Pliny had described (lxxxvi. cap. 25) “a species of mosaic for pavements, composed of interlayings of porphyry and serpentine — richer in colour and less liable to wear out than softer marbles — -which he calls ‘ genus pavimenti Grecanici. ’ ” * Adopted by the Byzantine Greeks as Hope’s “ Essay on Architecture,” p. 164. COLOURED DECORATION'S. — MOSAICS. 3# their speciality, it was largely disseminated throughout Italy, by the aid of their workmen, and the Italian monks acquired from them the processes of its manu- facture, as we learn from a passage furnished by Leo Ostiensis, abbot of Monte Casino, who sent for Greek y 1 ’ 0 masters from Constantinople to teach the art to divers monks, youths, in order that the same might not be lost. It must be confessed, that but few of the specimens its rough which remain exhibit any considerable neatness in the ’ “ commettitura,” or fitting together. The least imperfect in this respect are those in the Capella Palatina, at examples, Palermo, and in the churches of San Lorenzo and Santi Giovanni e Paolo, at Pome. Strong internal evidence of the Greek (Byzantine) origin of the design of all these pavements is to be found in the marked limitation of the variety of ornament employed throughout Italy and Sicily ; the same patterns for the filling-in forms, being found in its mono- almost every church paved with the “ v Opus Alexandrinum” tony ’ throughout either country ; and the general arrangement is, in principle, perfectly identical. We have good reason to believe that this variety did when dis- not remain in general use nearly so late as either of coa mue ’ the two varieties previously described, and that its employment was discontinued almost totally towards the end of the thirteenth century. It was gradually super- nature of seded by that kind of work known to the Italians as e< opera di commesso ”■ — that is, a mosaic formed by slices of marble, arranged somewhat on the principle of the ancient “ opus sectile,” the projections of one piece being so cut as to enter into the recesses of another ; in that manner it produced, at first, geometrical and con- ventional forms and patterns, and, at a later period, pictorial representations. When this latter effect was aimed at, advantage was taken of the natural tints of the marbles to express shades and local colour ; and the work, when fully carrying out the imitative system, became what is generally known by the name of “ Floren- produced tine Mosaic.” Limited at first to the monochrome and tine^osaic • conventional expression of form, we may trace this art i ts course from the Church of San Miniato and the Baptistery of traced - Florence, through the works of Giotto at the Campanile, Brunelleschi at the Duomo, and Orcagna at Or San 40 THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. Michele, to the singular pavement at Sienna, where, through the wonderful skill of Beccafumi, large and elaborate historical compositions may be seen, admirably Early art in the Roman catacombs. Its general character- istics. exhibited in light, half-tint, and shadow, by means of the contrast of three marbles only. An imitation of the earliest style of this inlaying, founded on the patterns of the pavements of the baptistery and Church of San Miniato at Florence, has been most carefully executed by Messrs. Orsi and Armani around the fountain, and. over the principal area of the court, an example of which, from the Church of San Miniato, near Florence, is seen in the accompanying engraving. We now turn, from a consideration of the polychro- matic effects produced by the Greeks through the medium of mosaic, to those worked out by them through other executive processes. The subject is one of considerable importance in the history of art, as upon Greek traditions the whole system of mediaeval composition was based. In the catacombs of Rome and Naples the earliest paintings after the time of Constantine are to be found. These sacred depositories were, for years, the haunts of the friends and relatives of those who had suffered in the days of persecution, and to these friends we must attri- bute the works commemorative of their faith and trust. The general characteristics of such ancient paintings are — that the outlines are strongly defined by a very fine firm brown line, dark and broad ; the figures are by no means well drawn, and the colours and shadows are not very forcible, although they are somewhat heavy. COLOURED DECORATIONS.— PAINTINGS. 41 Now, in works of a little later date, approaching the style about twelfth century, we find, particularly in illuminated manu- ce ntury, scripts (such as the Virgil in the Vatican), the same traces of colouring, but the style is completely distinct from that of the Greek manuscripts of the same times ; different to in the latter light and shade are indicated by positive Greek art of lines, following the forms of the limbs. The whole same penod * character of Greek art is marked by that peculiar con- volution, which was the consequence of the habit prevalent among the Greeks of decorating their vestments, the robes o^Greek art of their priests, and the hangings of their churches, with their cause, elaborate needle-work ; and filagree ornament pervades their drawing of the figure, as, there is no doubt, it pervaded their actual embroidered work, exerting an influence which may be traced subsequently in Saxon and northern manuscripts. The earliest manuscript existing, that gives any account Earliest MS. of the painting of the period, is one published by Mura- on P amtin S- tori. It is attributed by him to the middle of the eighth century, and it exhibits peculiar departures at that early period from the processes of manipulation described by Pliny. In that manuscript we trace the germs of the prevalence of that green tint, which the Byzantines Greek flesh adopted as their flesh colour, and which furnishes a means its green of distinguishing the works produced in Italy in the Greek, or green school, from those executed in the Roman, ^ddish- or reddish-brown school. brown. We have also the treatise of Heraclius, “De Artibus Heraciius Romanorum,” ascribed by Mr. Hendrie * to the middle R^ a n- UbUS of the eleventh century, and in this work are again to orum.” be found many of the old Roman expressions for colours and painting, an indication that there still remained among the Italians at that period a lively feeling for the old Roman style of painting. We are accustomed to suppose that the Greeks The Greeks executed polychromatic designs only by means of mosaic ; painting^n but on deeper inquiry, it will be found that the old tem P e ^> &c -> processes known to the Romans, such as tempera, mosaic, encaustic, fresco-painting, and that particular branch of fresco which the Italians called fresco secco, were perfectly * Notes to his translation of the Schedule Diversarum Artium of Theophilus. 42 THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. The treatise of Theo- philus. MS. dis- covered by M. Didron at the Convent of Mount Athos. Indications of the pre- sence of Greek artists. Their em- ployment at Florence. Ktisler’s remarks on their style. System of modem art in Greece. well known among the Greeks. We find in the Treatise of Theophilus (a manuscript of extensive circulation in the middle ages, written about the year 1200, though sometimes assigned to an earlier date), a complete description of all the various modes which actually came into use in subsequent periods in Italy ; and on comparing this treatise with the curious manuscript discovered by M. Didron in the Convent of Mount Athos, we find that the Greek practice was nearly coincident with the descrip- tion in the manuscript of Theophilus, which also details many of the processes used in the north of Europe. It is therefore curious as showing how the traditions of Roman skill in painting have been handed down to later times. Although the Greek artists do not appear to have exe- cuted any great works, either in fresco or tempera, in Italy previous to the year 1150, still we have certain- earlier indications of their, at least, temporary presence. We know that they were employed, because they were sent for to execute work in different places. Perhaps the most interesting instance on record is that of the monks of S ta< Maria Novella of Florence, sending to Greece for artists to decorate the substructures of their church. Vast numbers of paintings on panel, evidently the work of such artists, and of pupils formed by them, are yet to be met with in Italy, attesting by their abundance the extent to which the Greek influence prevailed. Kiigler observes, “that in the Byzantine paintings, both in larger works and manuscript-miniatures, the execution is generally distinguished by extreme finish, though not by particular harmony of colour. A prevailing greenish-yellow dull tone is peculiar to them : this has been attributed to a more tenacious vehicle, which has also produced a streakiness in the application of the pigment ; another peculiarity is the frequent use of gold, particu- larly in the grounds, which are entirely gilt.” Among the modern Greeks art became a regular traditional system ; technical methods descended as property from master to apprentice ; and the manufacture of pictures was as regu- larly organised as that of any other article of constant and regular demand. During all the earlier centuries, in the Eastern empire, the artist was generally confounded with COLOURED DECORATION S. — PA INTIN QSi 43 the workman ; and only the ‘f master of works,” or archi- tect — a person who, it is true, sometimes united to his own profession the practice of painting — was held in esteem, and fitly rewarded. Among a people who regarded any innovation in art as a species of heresy, we may readily imagine the mechanical departments were far more attended to, and better developed, than the purely sesthetic qualities. Thus we find the manufacture of gold and silver ; the ornamentation of books with conventional forms, in brilliant and permanent colours, heightened with burnished gold ; the elaboration of mosaic of excellent construction; and its subsidiary branch, “ mosaic” or The Greeks “ Byzantine enamel,” and the embroidery of precious pre-eminent vestments — carried to the highest pitch of perfection ; and their formulae for all details connected with these pro- ductions compose the basis of the collections of Heraclius and Theophilus — of that of the latter more particularly. When we enter on the subject of mural decorations Italian executed in the Greek style by Italians, we find that mu . ral dec0 * 7 rations m Cimabue, who was a contemporary and a great friend of the Greek Gaddo Gaddi, acquired at once an amazing influence in Cimabue. that branch of art. His greatest work, and that which has stamped his reputation, is the ceiling of the Church of San Francesco at Assisi. He had previously only Pr;ncipal executed a few Madonnas and similar subjects. Of works exe- the three principal ceilings executed by him in this by church — one contains figures of St. Francis, St. John, the Virgin, and our Saviour, and has been admirably reproduced by Mr. J. It. Clayton from drawings on the spot by M. Denuelle of Paris and Mr. Wyatt ; another represents the four • Doctors of the Church, in full-length figures, seated on chairs ; and the third is now nearly obliterated. A curious characteristic of all a curious Cimabue’ s works is, that in consequence of his connection with the decorators in mosaic, the key, so to express it, in works, which they were composed, appears to have been that of mosaic. His grounds are generally .golden, and the patterns painted on the different ribs exactly resemble those which composed the Byzantine “ Opus Grecanicum.” It is remarkable, that in the midst of so much that is manifestly Greek in the drawing of the figures and draperies, the acanthus is introduced, 44 THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. influence. Church of St. Francis at Assisi. Influence of the Francis- cans and Dominicans on art. wreathing around “puttini,” or little figures of boys ; and many of the other ornaments are completely classical Evidences of bi style. Ktigler’s remarks on the peculiar classical feeling a classical evinced by Cimabue suggest the idea, that the spirit of Greek decoration, when actually attaining its climax of beauty, evidenced, more strongly than in the inferior stages of its development, its old Roman origin. The Church of St. Francis at Assisi is one of the most interesting in the history of art, particularly as being connected with the order of St. Francis, the first of the great artist-orders — since the engagements of the Benedictines in literary pursuits to a great extent precluded the development of their energy in the direction of art. It thus remained for the Franciscans and the Dominicans to inspire a new feeling for art in Italy, and traces of it may be met with as early as the year 1200. We must not forget, however, in the glories of Cimabue, the fact that painting in Italy had been worshipped by many votaries before his time — by such Early artists, men, for instance, as Guido, Diotisalvi, Duccio di Buoninsegna, and others, the fathers of the Siennese school, and by Giunta di Pisa. Antecedent to the thirteenth century in which these masters practised, seeds destined to bear the most precious flowers had been sown in the north of Europe, by the mission of the earlier saints ; — and the intercourse and constant relation maintained by them with the great head-quarters of religion and art, tended, no doubt, to disseminate artistic precepts. Thus, from St. Augustine and St. Patrick, may England and Ireland have gained a knowledge of some arts, and that know- ledge, engrafted perhaps on the remains of Roman or barbaric tradition, may have been pursued with such ardour and patient industry, as to outstrip the progress of the nation, from natives of which they had first Character of obtained their instruction. The Irish and Anglo-Saxon Anglo-Saxon manuscripts of the seventh and eighth centuries, display wo!ks Uated * n illuminations, the most extraordinary elaboration, though, truth to tell, a somewhat barbaric taste, and evidently show that distance from the traditional sources of art, had thrown their designers back on their own inventions, — which, however admirable they may be as Results of religious missions in northern Europe. St. Patrick and St. Au- gustine. COLOURED DECORATIONS.— PAINTINGS. 45 specimens of calligraphy, are singularly primitive, where the human figure, or any direct imitation of nature is attempted. After the year 1000, art, from various causes, made a Progress of great leap forward throughout Europe, and through the efevTntiicen- vigorous intervention of Hildebrand and the Roman tury. Church, monuments of the greatest splendour arose on all sides. This era may be looked on as a species of starting-point, at which the forms and processes of art assumed much the same externals in all parts of the continent, and from which the lines of national individuality diverge. We may now, therefore, enter on that portion of the a notice of subject, which is to most of us highly and nationally ^[ ly Irish interesting. It is scarcely necessary to say that we allude to the history of the art of our own country. The students of early Irish Hagiology, with Dr. Petrie at their head, have collected much curious detail on the early state of learning and the fine arts in Ireland, from the year 550 to the year 1000 ; and during the its super i- whole of that period we freely confess that, in the Angio-sYxon practice of art at least, they appear in advance, both work - in mechanical execution and originality of design, of all Europe, and the Anglo-Saxons in particular. The comparisons instituted by Mr. Westwood in his learned “ Palseographia Sacra,” between the Irish and Anglo- Saxon MSS. r are decidedly in favour of Ireland, and through the monks of Iona and other sources, he traces much of the Saxon work to Irish influence. But in England we are enabled, in very early times, to trace several other influences. Quoting Mr. Hendrie : “ We land from 0 find that, previously to the edict by which Charlemagne abroad - resolved to encourage the various arts to the utmost of his power, Wilfred, Bishop of York, and Biscop, his friend, had already availed themselves of the assistance ®^p i( ^ nd of foreign artists, in order to decorate the Cathedral of Alfred at St. Peter, before the year 675. Biscop undertook a Kome * journey to the Roman States, and brought home many pictures with which the churches of St. Peter and Weremouth were ornamented. The second visit of Alfred to Rome with Ethelwulf, although undertaken at an early age, would, doubtless, not be without its m THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE “COURT. St. Dunstan. English work es- teemed on the conti- nent in the seventh century. Foreign workmen in England. The formulas of Heraclius and Theo- philus known in England. Paintings at Westmin- ster. influence on such a mind. The painted chamber at Westminster, in which Edward the Confessor died, the renown of St. Dunstan as an accomplished painter and a skilful contriver of instruments, the remains of the Saxon chased and enamelled work, which was esteemed on the continent as early as the seventh century, and the manuscripts which are yet extant, prove that, in this country at least, the arts as introduced by the Homans were never wholly lost. Records exist of Alfred the Great having summoned workmen from all parts of Europe, to assist in the construction of the edifices he proposed to erect, and it is probable many Byzantine traditions may thus have been acquired for England.” She certainly with some few exceptions, possessed and practised, at the periods of [their compilation, all the formulse of Heraclius and Theophilus, including probably the occasional use of oil painting ; since we find that in the year 1239 (one year before the birth of Cimabue), directions are given in one of the records for the pay- ment to Odo the goldsmith of 117 shillings and 10 pence, for oil, varnish, and colours bought, and for pictures executed, in the Queen’s Chamber at Westminster. EFFIGIES. EXTERIOR OF THE BYZANTINE COURT. Effigies from The recumbent effigies, in front of the Byzantine Court, cimrch, nple are east from those in the Temple Church, London, and Loudon. are very interesting examples of statuary art during the thirteenth century. Although usually called Templars, they possess none of the distinctive features of that celebrated order, but are clad in the ordinary military costume of their day. Mr. Richardson, by whom they have been restored, gives us, in his valuable work on the “ Temple Effigies,” much information about them, from which the greater part of our account is taken. Effigy of a The first on the left, as we face the Court, bears on Lord De Ros, ^ g^eld three water-bougets, # the armorial bearings of the De Ros or Roos family — of which he was doubtless * Water-bouget was a vessel used anciently by soldiers for holding water. EXTERIOR TOWARDS THE NAVE. 47 a member, though not the Robert, Lord de Ros, sur- named Fursan (d. 1227), as generally supposed. This effigy was originally in Yorkshire, and is said to have been transferred to the Temple Church, we know not for what reason, about the year 1682. “It is sculptured in a close, and very durable, Yorkshire stone, called Roach Abbey stone, and is the smallest figure of the number. It represents^ the deceased in chain mail, being the only instance of chain mail among these effigies. The head is uncovered, showing a profusion of hair ; the eyes look upward, the hands are raised in prayer, and the legs are crossed. The head rests on two cushions ; the upper and smaller one is of an oval shape. The hood is dropped upon the neck and shoulders in the form of a ruff. In its former state of dirt, Pennant mistook it for a monk’s cowl. The surcoat reaches nearly to the ankle, and is open in the lower part at the sides, and in front above the knee, and has sleeves extending below the elbow. A narrow belt is fastened round the waist with a buckle, and falls below the knee. Two small straps confine the mail at the wrists. The sword-belt is enriched with four lions’ heads, and holes are pierced between them for the tongue of the buckle. The scabbard is ornamented with a quatrefoil and tipped. Chaussons, or some other protection of a very peculiar kind, appear, which, as they are only seen at the knees, have been mistaken for poleyns or knee-caps. They seem to be strengthened by ribs of metal. Closely fitting chausses of chain mail cover the legs and feet. The latter rest on a maned lion. The spurs are single-pointed, and are represented as jewelled. The straps are three.” No traces of colour could be found on this statue. The next effigy is that of a knight crusader in Purbeck marble, clad 5 in ring mail, with the legs crossed, and the right hand on his breast. The head is covered with a hood of ring mail only, the courses of the rings running lengthways ; the hauberk and surcoat both fall below the knee. The shield is short, with a ridge down the middle in front ; the sword-belt broad and studded with nail- hteads. In various parts of the statue were found vestiges of a deep red colour. Mr. Richardson considers this effigy, originally in Yorkshire, material ; costume ; no colour found. Another effigy, its costume; vesHges of colour. 48 THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. F.ffigy of William Mareschal, costume j traces of colour ; Geoffery de Magnaville, costume ; earliest example of armorial bearings; to be that probably of Robert, Lord de Ros, sumamed Fursan ; but we may remark, that his shield affords us no help, in this surmise, heraldry being in its infancy at the period this statue was executed. The effigy beyond this is supposed to represent William Mareschal, the elder, Earl of Pembroke, who died a. d. 1219. “ It is of Sussex marble, and represents the deceased in ring mail, straight legged, and in rather low relief.” The mail over the hand appears divided at the fingers, the only instance of the kind among the effigies, though some are of later date. The surcoat falls considerably below the knee. It is open in front, exposing a ring mail hauberk, and ornamented on the breast with a brooch. The shield is not long, and is furnished in the upper corner with a copper plug, to which may have been attached the “ Comes Pembrochise,” mentioned by Camden. The guige or shoulder-band and sword-belt are broad and plain. The knight holds his drawn sword firmly in the right hand, with its point thrust through the head of a maneless lion, upon which also his feet rest. Round the cushion, beneath his head, is some pretty good foliage. Traces of crimson were found on the surcoat, light green on its under surface, and of orange on the lion. The last effigy on this side is supposed to represent Geoffery de Magnaville, Earl of Essex. 61 It is of Sussex marble, and represents him in ring mail. The hauberk and surcoat descend below the knee. This is believed to be the only example of a monumental effigy, with the tall cylindrical flat-topped helmet over the hood of mail Strutt (about 1796) represented this helmet with a half nasal, covering only part of the nose.” It does not now exist. The shield is believed to be the earliest example of armorial bearings in England, and serves to identify the effigy ; since the Chronicle of Walden Abbey says, that Magnaville augmented his family distinction by placing an escar- buncle on his shield, which in heraldry is represented by eight rays — four in the form of a common cross, and the other four making a cross saltire. It is represented on a diapered ground, with an additional charge, apparently a fess dancette'. EXTERIOR TOWARDS THE HAVE. 49 On the plinth was found a little light green, and traces of traces of vermilion on the under surface of the surcoat. colour - The first effigy on our right, as we face the Court, is Gilbert believed to be that of Gilbert Mareschal, Earl of Maiescba1 ’ Pembroke, who died a.d. 1241. “It is of Reigate stone, in high relief, and represents a young knight in cosfcume ; ring mail, with the legs crossed. The head, which is covered with a coif of mail, seems fastened by a tie, as two ends appear, but no buckle. A strap or fillet runs round the face, with rings at intervals. The surcoat is long The guige is enriched with small shields. The sword-belt is ornamented with bars only. The shield is long and plain ; the sword-hilt is in the form of a scallop shell. Between the hauberk, and surcoat, is a plain thick under-garment, fastened with straps or clasps, Avhich appear under the arms, probably some kind of haqueton. The feet are treading on a winged dragon, which is biting the spur strap of the left foot There remained some traces of colour, which traces of showed the face to have been delicately tinted ; the colcur - surcoat, gilt ; the scabbard, red ; the spurs, gilt ; the spur straps, red ; the dragon in parts green, its jaws red ; the band over the brow and the ground of the guige, blue ; the lower part of the shield gilt, but without the appearance of any device on it. ” The next effigy to it is supposed to represent William william Mareschal, brother of Gilbert, who died in 1231. It is Mai ' eschal > also of Reigate stone, and represents a youthful knight in ring mail, cross-legged, in high relief, and elaborately sculptured. The cushion is peculiar, as resting on an embattled costume tower, with sloping walls. The hauberk is rather short and a little opened at the lower edge. The surcoat is long and flowing ; the various belts are plain ; the shield is shorter than the others, curiously raised from the breast at the upper corner, by a squirrel, and charged with the armorial bearing of the Pembroke family, a lion rampant. Chaussons, or breeches of some stout material, cover the thighs and knees, and are secured below by a narrow strap and buckle. The spurs are nail-like and have three straps, like those of de Ros, the spurs of the other being fastened with a single strap. E 50 THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT. traces of colour. Effigy of a knight, peculiar armour ; costume ; traces of colour ; rame unknown. Effigy of a knight, costume ; Traces of delicate colour remained on the face. The embattled tower had some red on it, the mouldings some light green. In longitudinal recesses on the sides of the cushion were found fragments of blue or violet coloured glass. The ring mail bore traces of gilding throughout, except those rings which passed over the narrow bands at the coif and wrists, which appeared to have been blue. The buckles, spurs, and squirrel had been gilt. Some traces of red were on the field of the shield, but none remained on the lion. The outer surface of the surcoat had been crimson lake, the under side fight blue, there remained some red on the edges of the belts, and some orange on the plinth near the feet. Beyond it is the effigy of a knight in Purbeck marble. The armour is remarkable as being cut regularly and lengthwise ; it is doubtful whether this is a conventional method of representing ring mail, or mascle armour, the mascles being set together edgeways like the rings. “ The head and neck are covered with a hood of corresponding mail, and instead of the 1 Coif de Mail,’ the top of the head is covered with a low convex cap or coif, apparently of plate, and banded.” The hands are joined in prayer, the shield is long and somewhat rounded at the foot. The surcoat and hauberk are of nearly the same length, and the feet rest on two grotesque heads, with woolly hair and thick lips. On the surcoat were found traces of fight green, and a spot or two of gold ; the head cushion was crimson lake, perhaps chequered ; the waist-belt red ; spurs gilt ; spur-straps red ; the hair of the grotesque heads brown, and their lips red. This statue is at present unappropriated. Next to it is the effigy of a knight, in Purbeck marble, clad in ring mail ; the eyes are closed, and the hands and legs crossed. The head-piece is of plate metal, leaving only the eyes and nose exposed. The head rests on an oblong flat cushion. The surcoat is without folds over the shoulders, and appears to be quilted or stuffed ; it descends below the hauberk, and is open in front. The sword, as in the case of two others, is on the right side ; and Mr. Stothard considers EXTERIOR TOWARDS THE KAYE. 51 this the sign of a very early date, but probably without sufficient reason. The ring mail throughout is in large coils, and deeply cut. On the surcoat was found much gilding, and small traces of red on the edges and under surface ; the head cushion was crimson lake ; the spurs gilt ; and the spur-straps red. This effigy is also unappropriated. The dress of the Templars, as ordained by Pope Honorius, a.d. 1128, besides the ordinary armour in use at that period, consisted of a white linen coif with a close-fitting red hood, and a long white mantle, to distinguish them from the Hospitallers, who wore black ones. On the left side of this mantle Pope Eugenius III. , a.d. 1146, appointed a red cross to be borne : this red cross was also worked on the banner, which was half black and half white, and was called “ Beauseant,” said to be symbolic of peace to their friends, and death to their enemies. Of the eight effigies, six are cross-legged, but this does not necessarily prove them to have been even crusaders. This celebrated order of knights was instituted under the patronage of Pope Honorius, about the year 1118. The original founders were Hugh de Paganis and Geoffrey de St. Audomare, or Omer, with seven other knights, and they were called “ Pauperes Commilitones ” of the Holy Sepulchre, professing to have no other means of existence than alms. They became finally notorious for their enormous wealth, their power, their pride, and their more than doubtful morality. In 1307, the order was abolished in France by Philip-le-Bel, and in 1312, Pope Clement issued a decree commanding its entire abolition. This suppression was accompanied with much cruelty and persecution, perhaps not altogether Undeserved, and the great w r ealth of the society was confiscated, its property being appropriated partly by the various governments, and partly by the rival society of Hospitallers, who derived increased power by the fall of the Templars. traces of colour ; name unknown. Dress of the Templars, their banner institution’ of the Order original founders ; their poverty ; subsequent wealth ; abolition of the Order ; increased power of the Hospitallers. ELEVATION OF THE FACADE OF THE BYZANTINE COURT. FACADE OF THE BYZANTINE COURT. 53 THE BYZANTINE COURT. The arcade which forms the facade of the Byzantine s. M.in Court, is taken from the cloisters of St. Mary in Capitolo, Cologne cht 3 an ancient church at Cologne, the date of the construction of construc- of which is ascribed to the eighth century, the cloisters tlon ’ not being completed, however, until the close of the s t e rs ; tenth. The bases are of a pure Attic character, and the shafts of the columns, though short in themselves, harmonise in then- massive forms with the large super- description imposed capitals and brackets, which are truly admirable of the part 1 A j ° reproduced * for the boldness of their sculpture, and the artistic disposition of their outlines. On the first capital, to the left of the spectator, we remark that treatment of foliage peculiar to the Byzantine style, with sharply edged stems, producing in some parts the effect of incised triangles. The next capital to it is distinguished by double- headed dracontine animals forming its angles, by foliage cut in very full relief, springing from a finely curved stem — very different to the mere indication of a stem which marks the first capital — and by a broad- beaded necking. The third capital presents a graceful arrangement of an Egyptian character, the leaf being that of an aquatic plant. The fourth resembles the second in the character of its ornament ; but the angles are marked by knobs of foliage which give it a very different outline to that of its companion. Its necking is formed by a cable moulding. These four varieties are repeated in the other capitals of the arcade ; and the large imposts or brackets which surmount them, are ornamented chiefly with fiat inter- laced work, of a Lombard character. In the churches of the early Romanesque period, these successive imposts, above columns, are a characteristic feature ; imposts over originally, however, .'they had a convex, and not a columns. THE BYZANTINE COURT. 54 concave outline, taking a cusliion form. As the style advanced, they were gradually diminished and altered, A Capital, from tlie Cloisters of S. M., in Capitolo, Cologne. so as to become little more than a fiat slab with the lower edge bevelled, or cut in a slanting direction, exhibiting a more or less palpable recollection of the classic entablature, as they were more or less imme- diately derived from antique models. The great variety of these capitals, and their boldly worked sculpture, afford a good idea of the capabilities of the style, and the excellence of its artist-workmen. History of The Church of S.M. in Capitolo, was built as its name ft’oio.’ ia CaP " on the site of the ancient Roman Capitol at Cologne, a city which was the seat of the Franco-Roman power, and which was remarkable as the spot, in the whole Cisalpine district, in which the Latin influence and traditions were longest retained. The wife of Pepin l’Heristal founded the present church, and for that purpose destroyed the remains of the Roman Capitol. The cloister was built in the tenth century, as notified in the will of Archbishop Bruno (who died in the year 965), in which he apportions a sum of money for its completion. interesting The church itself is one of the most interesting in of many ° del Europe, and was the model on which most of the iihenane churches in the Rhenane provinces were built. It presents in its plan and ornament a combination of the Roman basilica and the Byzantine church. The walls above the piers of the present reproduc- tion of its leading features, are ornamented with various 55 FACADE OF THE BYZANTINE COURT. portraits, Ac., of the Byzantine period, selected as Byzantine authentic illustrations of the art and gorgeous costume P ortraits - incidental to the style. View through the Cloister from the Nave. The first one, at the left angle, towards the nave, Charles the .3 that of Charles the Bald, King of France, by whom Bald > nore was done to encourage Byzantine art in France, Ran by any other sovereign : his portrait has been )btained from the frontispiece of a Bible, preserved in he Royal Library at Paris, and known as the Bible of 4 Charles le Chauve.” Charles, on the death of his father, Louis le his life, Debonnaire, in the year 840, after much intrigue and i short war with his brothers, Lothaire, Louis, and Pepin, succeeded to the government of Neustria, or he north-western portion of France, with Paris for its capital, and to that of Languedoc and the marches of Spain. 56 THE BYZANTINE COURT. his daughter Judith, the mother of King Alfred. Portraits of Justinian and Theo- dora. Date of the original mosaic por- traits at Ravenna, costumes. His reign is chiefly notable for the numerous and destructive descents made by the Normans on the coasts of France. In 869, his consort, Hermentrude, dying, he was remarried to Richilde, sister of Count Boson ; and on the death of his brother, the Emperor Louis, in the year 875, he laid claim to the imperial crown, went to Rome, and was crowned there by the Pops on Christmas-day in the same year. On his return to France he stopped at Pavia, and was crowned King of Lombardy, with the celebrated iron crown now preserved at Monza, and last used for the coronation of Napoleon. This dignity, which was little more than nominal, he enjoyed but two years, his death occurring at Yercelli, in Piedmont, in the year 877, at the age of fifty-five. Ethelwulf, the father of our Alfred the Great, married Judith, the daughter of Charles the Bald. On the left of the entrance, from the nave, is a portrait of the great Emperor of the East, Justinian, under whom Byzantine art reached its highest and most gorgeous development. This, and its pendant, Theodora his empress, are from the large mosaics at the Church of San Yitale, at Ravenna in Italy, executed during their lifetime. The Justinian Code, or Pandects, evince the merits of Justinian as a legislator. He was a great builder, and twenty-five churches, in Constantinople alone, owned him as their founder, the most magnificent being the celebrated Church of St. Sophia. Bridges, fortifications, hospitals and palaces, bore witness to his wise generosity, and somewhat justify his title of ce reparator orbis.” His attention was extended to all subjects ; and he laid claim to consideration as a poet, philosopher, theologian, architect and warrior. Procopius, secretary to Belisarius, is the great historian of his reign, and recorder of his architectural exploits. The church from which these mosaics are taken was built by Justinian’s treasurer, between the years 526 and 539, to which period, or somewhat later, they may be ascribed. They represent the emperor and empress, with numerous attendants, proceeding to the dedication of the church, and bearing oblations. Justinian has on his head, the oriental jewelled diadem, and wears, the 57 FACADE OF THE BYZANTINE COURT. purple Halmatica, adopted by the Byzantine emperors. Theodora is distinguished by the imperial diadem, and a purple mantle, with a broad embroidered border. The last figure on the right, representing the Emperor Portrait of Nicephorus Botoniates III., is taken from a Greek MS. Botoniates^ of the eleventh century, preserved in the National Library at Paris, and has been selected as affording an authentic illustration of the richest Byzantine costume. Botoniates and Bryennius were two generals of the his usurp.i- Emperor Michael Bucas, who commanded the eastern , the and western divisions of the army. They both revolted in the year 1078, one at Adrianople, and the other at Nice. Bryennius was at first successful, and made himself master of Constantinople, but the populace shortly declared for Botoniates, who, backed by an army, composed principally of Turks, forced Michael to resign, and was immediately proclaimed emperor. In a very short time, however, the army, led by the Comneni, who acted as his generals, revolted again and in 1081 Botoniates was forced to resign, and sought refuge in a monastery. He was succeeded by the succeeded by celebrated Alexis Comnenus. Com - The figures on the return side of the Court, proceeding Allegorical to the gallery, are, first, an allegorical figure of Night figure of (inspiring Ezekiel), from a Greek Psalter of the tenth Nlgllt ’ century, preserved in the National Library at Paris — one of the finest and most poetical examples of Byzantine art extant, clearly showing the extent to a ^pf e e 0 *“ art which the antique types were occasionally retained by in the tenth the Greek artists. century. In the centre, a Virgin and Child, from an ancient The Virgin painting, formerly in the possession of M. Saintange, andChlld - at Paris, exhibiting those characteristics upon which, through Cimabue and Giotto, all modern painting has been based. A female figure, representing Hay, slightly altered Anaiiegori- from a mosaic on the facade of the Church St a- Maria in Da^ twelfth Trastevere, at Rome, of the middle of the twelfth century, century, when the Italians commenced their celebrated revival of the old Greek art of mosaic, completes the series. An excellent point of Anew, of which the adjoining 58 THE BYZANTINE COURT. sketch may serve to "give an idea, is obtained by taking the arcade between these two figures, as the foreground plane, and looking past it into the interior of the court. View through the principal entrance to Byzantine Court, North Transept side. Returning to the centre of the nave front of the Court we enter THE CLOISTERS, Ornamental and- proceed to examine the pieces of ornamental sculpture thearcade in on t ^ e piers, which are examples of a style of ornament peculiar to Constantinople and Venice, on the piers, The angle piers are covered with a roughly- worked, but well-defined piece of vine-foliage, springing from a Mark St ’ vase > finishing at the top with a pomegranate, from St. Venice. Mark’s at Venice. The vase of water and the vine were THE CLOISTERS. 59 common symbols in the early Church, of the Holy Ghost and the Saviour, being in allusion to the passages, ££ The water which I shall give him shall be in him a well of water, springing up into eternal life” (John xiv. 14), and ££ I am the vine,” ££ I am the true vine” (John xv. 1, 5). The pomegranate is not of common occurrence on Christian monuments, but among the heathen it was an emblem of Venus, and its application was known to the early Fathers. It is also used symbolically among the Oriental races. The remaining ornaments on the piers are also from St. Mark’s Cathedral, at Venice. The last piers to the right in the cloister arcade, are ornamented with the statues of St. George and St. Theodore, from the Church of St. Mark, at Venice. That to the left is a spirited representation of St. George, completely clad as a Roman knight. The horse is well designed, and the detail of the armour, saddle, Ac., quite in the style of the later ££ quattro cento” artists. The folds of his flying mantle are particularly well managed. The dragon, winged and scaly, is transfixed through the throat by the knight’s spear, but with one of his front claws appears to wound the hoof of the charger. In its emblematic character of the triumph of humanity over Satan, this alludes to the prophecy that ££ it (man) shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis, iii. 15.) From the upper comer to the right issues the hand of the Deity, with two fingers extended in the act of benediction. The sun, moon, and stars symbolise His creative power. On the right-hand pier is represented St. Theodore, mounted on a charger, and transfixing the dragon with his lance. A nimbus surrounds his head, and his spear is directed by an angel. He is clad in a similar costume to that of St. George, and bears a shield, charged with a budding triumphal cross, or cross fleuri, supported by the symbols of the four evangelists. St. Theodore Tyro was a young Syrian soldier, who suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Maximin (a.d. 235), and was in much favour with the eastern, or St George from St. M ark’ s, Ven- ice. St. Theodore from St. Mark’s ; his martyr- dom. THE .BYZANTINE COURT. 60 Byzantine Church. A chapel was built to his honour, at Venice, by Parses, the victorious general of Justinian, a.d. 553, and St. Theodore continued to be the patron saint of Venice until the year 828, when, on the translation of St. Mark’s body from Alexandria to Venice, he was deposed for the honour of St. Mark’s protection. The statue of St. Theodore standing on a crocodile, or dracontine animal, surmounts one of the two columns of the Piazetta of St. Mark, and is familiar to all who have visited that city. German The rich and massive columns of the internal facade co°iumns S<1U8 °f the arcade, are from Gelnhausen, in Suabia, and are hai^en eln ' ^ ne exam pl es °f the florid German Romanesque style. We would particularly draw attention to the deep and boldly cut ornament of the shafts, with their symbolic Saracenic in- an( t grotesque sculpture, and the close resemblance fluence. exhibited in the capitals to Saracenic work. Effigy of^ The first recumbent effigy, on entering the arcade from from Rouen, the nave, and proceeding to the left hand, is that of Richard Coeur de Lion, from Rouen Cathedral. It was well known that up to the year 1734, the effigy of Richard, marking the spot where his heart was deposited, existed at Rouen Cathedral ; but during some repairs and alterations which occurred in that year, it mysteriously disappeared. Satisfied that it was still its dis- there somewhere, M. Deville, the distinguished Norman in V i838 ; antiquary, caused a close search to be made in the year 1838 ; and excavations being carried on under his directions, near the spot where the heart had been deposited, this statue was found embedded in a hard and compact mass of mortar. All the cavities of the drapery were filled in with cement, poured over it to form a solid substratum for the new pavement of the choir. In a cavity of the wall, formed on purpose to receive it, was found the casket, consisting of three leaden boxes, on the innermost of which was the inscription, “ Hie jacet Cor Ricardi Regis Anglorurn.”* colour found The colour, so far as could be ascertained by remaining on it, ; fragments, may be thus described : the hair of a sandy * “ Here lies the heart of Richard, King of the English.” For full particulars of this discovery see an elaborate paper, by Mr. Albert Way, in the “ Archaeologia.” THE CLOISTERS. red ; the crown gilt and inlaid with jewels ; the upper mantle fastened over the breast and thrown over the left arm, blue ; the under tunic, reaching to the ankles, of a rich red ; probably, as well as the mantle, diapered in patterns intended to represent the rich Samite, or other elaborate tissues then in vogue ; the girdle at the waist, blue tissue with alternate bars and quatrefoils of gold, and furnished with a richly chased buckle and pendant ; there are no jewelled gloves (the insignia of royal rank) on the hands ; and in place of buskins, the feet are covered with shoes of some embroidered material, cut low on the foot, and fastened by latchets. The head rests on a cushion of a bright red colour, description with a gold diaper pattern ; and the feet on a lion, of the effigy crouching on what seems to be round pebbles, or a rock, in a cavity of which is seen the head of a hare or rabbit, and above which is a dog warily watching it. At one side is represented a large lizard ; and on the other, a bird, apparently a partridge or quail. Of these sculptures no satisfactory explanation can be given. There can be little doubt, that it is the statue of Richard ; — agreeing, ticity ; hen " as it does remarkably, with the engraving made of it prior to 1734, and published in the second volume of Jdontfaucon’s (i Monarchie Franchise,” (pi. xv). Mr. Albert Way, who has carefully investigated the evidence relative to this effigy, is of opinion that it was executed during the early part of the -thirteenth century ; and probably under the episcopate of Archbishop Gautier, by whom the cathedral was restored, after the great conflagration in the year 1200. The present statue is not supposed to be a faithful not a por- portrait, since it does not agree with the effigy at trait ’ Fontevrault, nor answer to the descriptions which have been left to us of Richard. Beneath is placed an altar frontal, from the collection description of the late Mr. Cottingham. fronta?, 1 ^ In the centre is represented Jesus seated on a double ^ ac t ^ d th ^ e ‘ rainbow, without the usual nimbus, and enclosed in effigy; an aureole, or vesica piscis, the spandrels of which are filled in with the emblems of the four evangelists* — * These emblems were also occasionally used to typify the four Doctors of the Church. 62 THE BYZANTINE COURT. the lorg continuance of a similar design; its date. An account of altar frontals, the most celebratf d examples ; their disuse. the eagle of St. J ohn, the angel of St. Matthew, the lion of St. Mark, and the ox of St. Luke. Six figures, probably the Apostles, are ranged in niches on each side ; amongst whom, although much worn by time, we recognise the statue of St. Peter with a key ; St. John with his chalice ; St. Andrew with the peculiar cross called after his name ; St. Matthias with his hatchet ; one apparently with a club ; St. Jude. Four more carry a sword and book each. Two have books clasped to their breasts ; and the remaining one wears the pilgrim’s cap and scallop-shell, which distin- guish St. James the Greater, (Sant ’Iago, of Compostella). This arrangement for altar frontals was common during the Romanesque period throughout Europe, and was handed down with little alteration to the Renaissance period. The date of the present one would seem to be of the twelfth century. The altar frontal, or antependium, was originally a hanging, placed over the front of the altar as a protec- tion to valuable relics deposited beneath. They were of three kinds : — 1. Of precious metals, adorned with enamels and jewels. 2. Of wood painted, gilt, and inlaid. 3. Of cloth of gold, velvet, Ac. The three most celebrated ones are at St Mark’s, Yenice, the well-known “Pala d’oro;” that of St. Ambrose, at Milan ; and one till lately in the Cathedral of Basle, in Switzerland, and now in the Hotel Cluny, at Paris, all three being in gold, and remarkable works of the Byzantine period. In the Protestant Church, the object for which they were applied ceasing to exist, they fell into disuse. INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 63 Example of Byzantine Architecture from the Church of the Taxiarch, Athens. THE INTERIOR OF THE COURT. The small arcade over the cloister-arches, as we The small advance into the Court, is composed of capitals taken thearches from various churches in the Rhine provinces. They ” e .^ e *he are mostly cubical in form. The first on the left door, presents Roman reminiscences, having the ram’s head at each angle, the horns, from which depends some drapery, giving a hint of the Ionic order. The fifth is remarkable for its corbelled abacus. The eighth resembles closely the angle capital of Kilpeck door 64 THE BYZANTINE COURT. The Kilpeck doorway, its date. Influence of the old Celtic school of ornament, its symbol- ism de- scribed by Mr. G. K. Lewis. beneath. The eleventh, with serpents devouring men’s heads, typifies the destruction of man by his evil passions. The thirteenth symbolises the Holy Spirit, and the last is a type of a very ornamental class of capitals common in the florid German Romanesque churches, at the commencement of the thirteenth century. The first doorway on the left, as we advance from the cloister arcade, is from the Church of Kilpeck, in Herefordshire, a village about eight miles from Hereford. The present church was built probably about the year 1134, by Hugh son of William Fitz Norman, lord of Kilpeck castle. In that year, according to the register of the Abbey of Gloucester, the said baron gave St. David’s Church, Kilpeck, and the Chapel of St. Mary de Casteflo “to God, St. Peter, and the monks of Gloucester.” We observe here the evident influence of the old Celtic school of ornament, in its prominent lacertine forms ; and the angle heads of the right-hand capitals bear a striking resemblance to some in the old Irish churches. The costume of the figures, interwoven with the foliage of the shaft on the left, is that of Anglo-Saxons or Danes, their long hair and beards being also characteristic of the islanders, in contradistinction to whom, the Normans cut their hair and shaved, or tried to shave, their faces. The left hands of these figures are made much larger than their right, a common custom in the rough sculptures of the same style. Mr. G. It. Lewis has written a minute and highly ingenious description of this little church (Pickering, London, 1842), in which he discovers throughout a deep symbolic meaning, and from this work we give the following extracts : — “ The beautiful and highly intelligent design of the 1 door and the way,’ contains the leading features of the Old and New Testament most skilfully arranged. The open part or entrance is the long upright beam or body. The space abo ve, which contains the tree, is the short beam or head ; and the two horizontal portions, one on each side, and which are filled with crosses, are the arms. Viewing these parts when taken together, we have the Cross On farther contem- plation of this religious work we find that the Alpha and INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 65 Omega is contained therein, and that the trees of life and knowledge, of good and e vil, are there designed most appropriately. The tree of life is placed in the head of the cross over the entrance, and the tree of knowledge on the columns on each side of the piers. The tree of life is divided into three principal parts symbolical of the Trinity, the centre or head, and two arms, preserving the cross form in the design. The head is divided in the same manner, into three parts, a head and two branches : the branches are represented as the fruit arising out of the head, producing again the cross form. The two branches of the first division are divided into eight parts, seven of which represent foliage, in allusion to the beginning (Gen. ch. 1), of the number seven, and the one fruit.” “In this arrange- ment of the tree of life, the designer makes it to contain in the head, the Trinity, and in the two branches, the natural and spiritual world — the Alpha and Omega. The stem of the tree is made to proceed from a foundation of light, which the angular forms at the base of the tree are designed to convey.” We have not space to follow Mr. Lewis farther and deeper into the recondite symbolism here expounded, and can only add that he regards the two figures at the side, which he describes “as men in armour” — the one with the mace, to designate the Church, and the lower one with the sword, to signify the State, the cord above, to show that they are tied together. We may here observe that the question has been raised, whether these roughly carved figures are in armour at all, and in the opinion of the learned antiquary Mr. Hoke wode, they represent “Welsh Opnuon of knights,” though why Welsh knights, or knights at all, wode on the we cannot exactly see ; and as figures very similarly attired, occur frequently on the monuments of this j court, we may observe that the rayed linen vest, puckered in a ring-like manner, the girdle at the waist with pendent ends, the trowsers, the conical-headed cap, the double axe or mace, the long and large sword, the j long hair and bearded chins, are all characteristic i fashions of the Anglo-Saxons and Anglo-Danes — their cos- ! fashions which the arrival of the Normans by no tlveofAn-™ - means suppressed, and which, in the parts least affected gie-Saxons. THE BYZANTINE COURT. G6 by tbeir influence, were retained by a people hostile to their rule. When thus introduced in architectural ornaments, we are inclined to perceive therein the hand of a native artist, our opinion being strongly confirmed Sculptured figures from the Kilpeck doorway. by the rudeness of their execution. It may not be altogether fanciful to suppose, that the frequent impri- sonment of such figures in boughs and foliage, and the general expression of stem grief depicted on their Of the Anglo- faces, may tacitly express their sense of thraldom under the°Norman* -Norman sway, and the constant refuge they were sway. forced to take in the wilds of the pathless forests, which then covered the land. Among the most interesting features of Kilpeck Church must be included The colour- the circumstance of its having been originally decorated, peck church k°th externally and internally, with colour and gilding. ’ Unfortunately these relics of a system of polychromy, once (if we are to believe the Saxon poets and chroni- clers) in common use, but of which now very few vestiges remain, have entirely disappeared ; and if Mr. Lewis had not fortunately made a series of very careful studies, previous to their obliteration, we should have entirely lost the important corroboration they afford INTERIOR OF THE COURT. r> to those conclusions, respecting the use of colour in such early monuments, which have been founded on an examination of the Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, in which architectural features are almost universally expressed in various tints. Mr. Lewis, with great kindness, allowed his studies to be made use of, and upon them, not only has the polychromy of this doorway been restored, but founded on on a comparison of them with the system of colouring, Remains? of which actual remains abound in France and Italy, the whole colouring of the remaining door-ways in this Court has been based. The arched corbel table over the doorway, is from A corbel table from Romsey Abbey* Grotesque figures from the Corbel table, Romsey Abbey i Romsey Abbey. This is an example of the later Norman Jj style, in its transition to the pointed style, having I interspaces of a trefoil pointed form. The grotesque character- « r i- i .i • , s , . istic scnlp- I 1 figures from which they spring, are characteristic ture. examples of that sculpture, whether Lombard, Rhenish, or Norman, in which, with figures more or less symbolic of divine matters, are mixed up the fancies, and often the coarse jokes, of the rude artist, of which the accompanying wood-cut serves as an illustration. The belief in the existence of men whose faces were placed on their breasts, was common down to a much later period, and is mentioned by Shakspeare as “men whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders.” £8 THE BYZANTINE COURT, A notice of Romsey Abbey was founded during the Saxon Abbey 7 rule ; tbe greater part of tbe present cburcb was built at tbe commencement of the twelfth century, and tbe west Probable eud in the reign of Henry III., circa 1220 ; to this date table° f corbel ^ ie cor k e l table appears to belong, as well as various fragments of architectural ornament placed at tbe rear of tbe court. Interesting early sculp- ture from Chichester. The piece of sculpture above this, is one of tbe most interesting pieces of early date in England ; it was discovered of late years, in Chichester Cathedral, where it is now preserved. The subject is the raising of Lazarus, but unfortunately the various stones forming the bas-relief, have been displaced in the process of translation, either anciently, or recently, and all the parts of the group do not satisfactorily correspond with one another. The large figure, whose head is encircled with a cruciform nimbus, represents Christ, with two fingers raised in benediction above the half-clothed figure of Lazarus. An antique spirit is evinced in the An influence disposition of the folds of the drapery, and is strikingly from antique manifest in the two uppermost heads on ‘The left side, fromByzan- which seem to be close copies of antique Roman tine * masks. The eyes appear to have been drilled to receive jewels or enamel, a very usual custom in the Byzantine school ; and we would draw attention to the marked difference between the large open eyes of the Kilpeck and Shobden statues, and those of the above figures. Indeed, the whole style is different, and evinces an artist acquainted with antique sculpture, and influenced by the spirit of Byzantine art. A branch of It is not uninteresting to remark, that in the year brated Abbey 1078, a priory was founded at Lewes, in Sussex (not far from Chichester), by the first Earl of Warren, who, having visited the celebrated Abbey of Cluny, in Burgundy, induced the abbot, after much solicitation, to send over four of his monks to that priory, which he bound himself to endow especially for their advantage, and which remained a dependency of the Abbot of Cluny, up to the year 1373. The result of this connection could hardly have been without its influence, Possible in- and it is not improbable that these monks may have fiuBrico from * abroad. brought these bas-reliefs with them, if they did not them- of Cluny founded in 1078 at Lewes. iRfttittiOR 01? THE COURT. ^ Helves execute them. Possibly, however, they may have been brought from the ancient church, on the transla- tion of the see from Selsey, to Chichester, and may date from a much earlier period. The large doorway which comes next, is from the The doorway Cathedral of Mayence on the Rhine. It exhibits, says encc Cathe- Professor Muller, the imposing and graceful Romanesque (llal > style of the twelfth century, as practised in the Rhine districts. Roman models are pretty closely followed in the mouldings ; the bases are of the kind called e( Attic the capitals are bell-formed, and tastefully sculptured. The lions which guard the entrance, are in this case placed over the columns. Their more usual position is as a plinth to the column, and in some cases they are found both beneath and above ; their precise symbolism is still unexplained, and they are peculiar to the Romanesque style. The head in the centre of the upper arch meaning of moulding, is probably intended to represent God the |^ e s . cull> " Father. Beneath it is seen the Holy Spirit, or dove, descending on Christ, who sits enthroned in an aureole, with the Spirit of Evil under his feet. His head is encircled with a cruciform nimbus ; one hand is raised in benediction, the other holds the Scriptures. His costume is purely Greek, and the whole design bears a close resemblance to the Greek illuminated portraits of the eleventh century. This doorway was erected in datg of its . the reign of Lotharius of Saxony (1125), by Willigis, construction Archbishop of Mainz. • The bronze doors which it encloses are from the Bronze doors Cathedral of Augsburg, Southern Germany, the work burg, of local artists, in the latter half of the eleventh century, and ascribed by different antiquaries to the years 1043, 1070, and 1088 ; the second date is that given by probable Dr. Ktigler, and is most probably the correct one. This interesting monument of metallic art would appear, both from the repetitions of one subject, and the character of the sculpture, to have been cast in a mould, and not cas t an d not beaten out, as some have supposed. From technical wrought ; peculiarities in the metal working, there is reason to believe that most, if not all, similar remains in Germany, were east in open sand-moulds. TO THE BYZANTINE COURT. description T!i e subjects iii tlie panels occur without regard to of the panels, chronological order, and in some cases are difficult of explanation. The figure in the lowest small panel, to the left, repre- sents the creation of Adam. The next above it, the creation of Eve out of Adam’s side. In both cases the head of the Deity is encircled with a plain nimbus. To the right of this is shown the tree of knowledge of good and evil, with the serpent. To the left, Eve in the act of eating the forbidden fruit ; and in the panel beneath she appears to upbraid the serpent. The remaining panels of the three lower compartments, probably represent Adam sowing seed in the earth, and Eve feeding fowls ; in both cases they are clothed, and the intention is to express their condemnation to labour, after the Fall. The history This application of the history of our first parents, as an Evtocrars nd ornament to the entrance doors, was continued down frequently on to a very late period, and occurs very frequently. The symbolism by which the door of entry to the Church was connected with the sacrament of baptism, having been originated in the early ages of the Church, it was natural that almost every external doorway should exhibit an allusion to that fall, by which original sin was brought entrance doors, the reason. Panels con- tinued. the Church offered its infallible antidotes and correctives. Taking the left-hand panels, and proceeding upwards, the first subject is Samson slaying the Philistines, with the jaw-bone of an ass. The next is a Centaur, probably a mythological reminiscence of heathen times. The third panel contains Samson slaying the lion : “ And he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand.” (Judges xiv. 6.) The fourth subject is obscure. The next small panel represents Moses, with his rod. turned into a serpent : fC And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent. ” (Exodus iv. 3.) The one beneath appears to represent the production of Aaron’s rod, which “brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms and yielded almonds.” (Numbers xvii. 8.) The subject of the next is too obscure to be determined. INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 71 Beneath it is the miracle of Aaron’s rod : 44 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents ; but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.” (Exodus vii. 12.) On the next panel, to the right, is seen a Jewish warrior crowned, probably meant for Joshua, who, with outstretched arm, commands the sun and moon to stand still. Above this is a lion, possibly allegorical of 44 the Lion of Judah.” Next to this is what appears to be the story of Elijah fed by ravens : 4 4 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning.” (1 Kings xvii. 6.) The subject of the top panel is uncertain. To the right, Elijah is repeated : beneath this a Jewish king. All the other panels are repetitions, with the exception of one, which represents a lion killing an annual, apparently hoofed, and probably an ox or a bull, having possibly an allegorical meaning. Throughout these Subjects, we remark that there is Subjects not one from the New Testament, the sacred scenes of New Testa- which were more generally reserved for the embellish- “® 1 n y t ^ ene ' ments of the interior of the church. served for Large bronze doors of this description, were much in the interiors * vogue during the Romanesque period. The principal bronze P doors seats of their manufacture appear to have been in southern tbenjpiac^es Germany, Italy, and at Constantinople. The one just ture, &c. noticed is the work of a goldsmith at Augsburg ; the doors of the cathedral at Novogorod, Russia, of the twelfth century, are also by German artists. Russia po- sesses other interesting examples, at Susdal, and Moscow, the work of Greek artists in the tenth century ; and at Alexandra wa Slaboda, cast at Novogorod in the fourteenth century. Italy is peculiarly rich in monuments of this kind, the Italy pecu* works of Greek and Pisan artists. The great originals ^orks^f^he were those of St. Paul 44 without the walls,” at Rome, kind, cast by Stauracius, a Greek founder at Constantinople, in the year 1070, in imitation, as it is said, of the entrance doors of S ta . Sophia in that city. Those of Venice, Verona, Pisa, Monreale, Ravello, and a crowd of small towns in the south, would form an interest- ing volume. In Germany, the old doors commanded by Charlemagne, at Aix-la-Chapelle, were the first known; 72 THE BYZANTINE COURT. Difference between the work of Greek and European artists. The central arcade from the cloisters of St. John Lateran, exhibits the influence of the antique ; those of Petershausen, and of Bishop Willigis, at Mayence, of Hildesheim, Augsburg, and Gnesen, follow in succes- sion. Cordova, in Spain, possesses some raised under the Moorish rule ; but France and England, unfortu- nately, have no specimen of this early period to show. The difference between the Greek work, and that of European artists, consists, not only in the more perfect manner of execution, and the introduction of Greek letters in the inscriptions, but in the occasional use also of delicately inlaid threads of filagree gold or silver, known as damascene work. The central arcade is formed by a compartment of the cloisters of St. John Lateran, at Rome, executed in the first half of the thirteenth century, and affording a fine example of the later Romanesque style, in which a Renaissance character was being speedily developed, to be thrown back, however, through the introduction of Gothic architecture in Italy, for two centuries. Considering the period at which it was built, the Capitals from the Cloisters of St. John Lateran, Home. purity of its detail is indeed remarkable. The plinth is regularly designed on an antique model ; the bases of the columns are Attic, and the shafts, well proportioned and diminished, support beautifully formed capitals, which are evident imitations of the composite order, capped by an abacus ornamented with Roman detail. A well proportioned archivolt marks the curves of the arches, INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 73 the whole being surmounted by a massive, but complete entablature, with its architrave, frieze, and cornice, Particular attention should be directed to the mosaic work of this arcade, which has been very carefully executed in real porphyry, serpentine, and glass mosaic, by the best workmen in Pome ; so as to give a correct idea of the brilliant effect of the ancient “ Opus Grecanicum.” The subjects between the arches are of a Lombard Romanesque character, and symbolise man assailed by the evil passions, in the shape of two monsters ; the gentleness of the Christian nature, represented by two doves drinking out of one vase ; and the subjection of the evil passions, typified by two monsters, bound together by the neck. The upper cyma moulding of the cornice is boldly marked, and decorated with antique ornament, showing a Byzantine influence, divided at intervals by projecting heads, among which, those of the lions are completely in the antique style. The twisted columns are supported on the inner side (gallery) by lions, which are in keeping, as regards then 1 excellence, with the rest of the sculpture. The Church of St. John Lateran is one of the earliest basilicas of Rome, and was for a long period “ omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput,”* and in a great measure still retains a local precedence. Of the old church little remains, the body of the building, and its fine facade, being a work of the seventeenth century. The cloisters are large, and formed by a series of com- partments of which the east centre is here reproduced. At the period of their erection, the artist family of the Cosmati flourished in Rome, and it is possible were employed in the decoration of these cloisters. The bronze doors to the right, are from the Cathedral of Hildesheim, northern Germany, and were made by order of Bernwardus, bishop of that city, in the year 1015. Although earlier in date than those of Augsburg, they are of very superior execution. The upper portions of the figures are completely relieved from the surface. The lions’ heads which hold the handles are very nobly * Translation : ‘ ‘ Mother and head of all Churches, whether of the city or the world.” its mosaic work; and sym- bolic sculp- ture. Details of its cornice, &c. A notice of the church of St. John Lateran, its cloistei's. The bronze doors from Hildesheim, 74 THE BYZANTINE COURT. inscription containing the date, &c. ; description of the panels of one side. Early exam- ple of the dramatic style of re- presentation, conceived ; and the intention of the compositions is well expressed. Between the centre panels is the following inscription : “Anno Dominse incarnationis mxv (a.d. 1015) Bernwardus, divse memorise has valvas f usiles in faciem angelici templi ob monimentum sni fecit sus- pend! ” * Bernwardus, who thus caused the gates to be raised in his memory, travelled much in Italy, and was a great encourager of the arts. The inscription itself appears to have been engraved after his death, judging by the character of its letters. Eight panels on one side, illustrate passages from the Old Testament, and eight on the other, passages from the New Testament. The first on the top at the left is the creation of man. 2. The presentation of Eve to Adam. 3. Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit : on the tree to the left, the Devil is represented in the form of a dragon. 4. God calls them ; they hide their newly-discovered nakedness, and from between the feet of Eve crawls the wily serpent. 5. Adam and Eve driven out of Paradise by an angel winged and holding a sword. 6. Adam tills the ground with a sort of hoe : on his right, Eve beneath an awning spread from two trees, nurses a newly-born child ; between them appears an angel of comfort, holding out the cross, as a sign of the manner in which their race should yet be saved. 7. The offering of Cain and Abel. The open hand of God, extended from a radiated glory, accepts the proffered lamb of Abel. 8. The death of Abel, who is struck to the earth by his brother’s club. The dramatic style of illustration, so usual with the Renaissance artists, is seen at this ■ early date, and Cain is shown in two attitudes, the first on the right, as about to strike, and again after the fatal blow has been given. The divine hand stretched forward from a cloud, has the two first fingers raised ; an act which usually signifies benediction, but in this case no * Translation: “In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1015, Bernwardus, of holy memory, caused these cast doors to he raised in front of his holy temple as a monument (memorial).” INTERIOR OP THE COURT. 75 doubt only a conventional method of representing the presence of the Deity. On the right valve, in ascending order, are a series Description of subjects, of very frequent occurrence throughout the rowofpanels. middle ages, and known as “ the joys and griefs of the Blessed Virgin,” commencing with — 1. The Annunciation. Mary holds a palm, or olive branch in one hand. The cross in the angel’s hand, is typical either of the . 1139. His monument is carved out of Purbeck marble. The effigy itself is in very low relief, the head only being brought into higher relief by means of the stone work being more deeply cut away from around it. The bishop is represented in full pontificals, much defaced, however, by time. The head rests beneath a trefoil-pointed niche, and at his feet a dragon, sym- bolical of Satan, gnaws and clutches himself in a furious rage. The foliage ornament round the figure is rather rough, but shows traces of the early Gothic period. The monument, indeed, may be considered as transi- tional in style, between the Norman and early Pointed, and is one of the most -ancient in England. The head, though not modern, is probably of a later period than the rest of the monument. The earliest monumental tombs in this country had no effigy of the deceased, being generally stone coffins INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 85 with a coped top (en dos d’ane), the faces of the coping being often ornamented with foliage, crosses, &c., very- interesting early examples of which, in lead, were dis- covered by Mr. Richardson in the Temple Church, London, and have been published by him. The earliest, or one of the earliest, instances of an effigy is to be seen on the tomb of a Norman abbot, in the cloisters at Westminster, the figure lying in a sort of recess, so that its highest parts are level with the surrounding border.* Perhaps next to that in point of antiquity may be ranked the present effigy, in which we remark more boldness in the relief. The effigy of Bishop Joceline, in the same cathedral, is quite detached from the surface (circa 1189), after which period complete effigies became common. We may remark here that the deceased is represented in most cases as he was buried. The ancient Romans burnt their dead, the modern Europeans placed them in full costume in their graves. The abbots of Evesham and the bishops of Hereford are proved to have been buried not only in full pontificals, but with their pastoral staffs, rings, SSaC France (Languedoc). They are fine examples of the A Cap from the Cloister of Moissac Abbey, France. . % Romanesque style of ornament, as practised in the southern provinces. The accompanying woodcut serves 90 THE BYZANTINE COURT. One contain- ing the history of Fructuosus, Bishop of Tarragona. History of the Abhey of Moissac, The cloisters. Date. to illustrate the peculiar bracket-like form so frequently found, not only at Moissac, hut in Romanesque caps of the south of France generally. The historiated capital, or one sculptured with figures, represents the history of St. Fructuosus, Bishop of Tarragona in northern Spain, who, with his two deacons, Augurius and Eulogius, suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Yalerian and Gallienus, in the year 259. On one side the three are shown in full canonicals, with their names engraved over them. On the next, the governor of the province, whose name, Prince Milianus, or Emilianus, is written above him, is seen seated, with his harper or bard standing behind his throne ; he sends out soldiers to capture Fructuosus. On the third side, they are shown in the flames of a burning fire, with the inscription over them of (C Martires in flammis.” And on the fourth, their souls inclosed in an elliptical glory or aureole, are borne by angels to heaven. Above them extends the hand of God in the act of benediction, with Alpha and Omega engraved on each side of it. St. Fructuosus was a saint especially honoured in Spain and Africa. The Abbey of Moissac was originally founded by St. Amand, bishop of Maastricht in Flanders. In 845 Pepin II. confirmed the privileges of the monastery by a charter, in which St. Amand is mentioned as the founder. In the tenth century the counts of Toulouse, connected by marriage with the counts of Barcelona, richly endowed it, but afterwards sold their sovereignty over it, retaining however the title of “Abbe Chevalier.” The cloisters have pointed arches, supported alternately by double and single columns with shafts of Montricoux marble. On one of them is the inscription, “ Ansque- tillus,” and the date a.d. 1100 ; but we believe the true date of this work to be later than that indicated. There are a great number of interesting historical capitals, and the cloister is furnished with an inclosed fountain at one angle, a practice common in Spain, and found also at Monreale in Sicily. The very interesting Romanesque monuments of the south of France and northern Spain, have never been well illustrated or described. INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 91 The fountain in the centre of the Court is from the Abbey of Heisterbach, in the neighbourhood of the Drachenfels on the Rhine. It is a fine example of Romanesque art, of a cha- racter much more simple than is usual in that style. The detail is exceedingly pure, and shows, especially in the bases of the columns, and flutings of the upper basin, a close resemblance to the antique. The date of its construction is probably that of the abbey itself, or between the years 1210 and 1233. The ancient abbey was sold for its materials by the French, in the year 1806, and the only remains of it are a fragment of the choir, a beautiful specimen of its former grandeur, which is carefully preserved by the present owner. On each side of it are placed the celebrated Fontevrault effigies, Queen Berengaria from the Cathedral of Mans, and King John from the Cathedral of Worcester. Her tomb was discovered by Mr. C. A. Stothard, in the year 1816, at the Abbey of l’Espan, near Mans, at that time ruined and converted into a barn, fragments of the tomb were found lying about, and the statue itself discovered buried in a granary, but not at all injured. The original situation of the effigy is unknown, as it was removed from its first site to l’Espan A. i>. 1672. The hair of the queen is unconfined, but partly con- cealed by a coverchief, over which is an elegant crown ; her mantle is fastened by a narrow band across the bosom, a large fermail, or brooch set with precious stones, confines her tunic at the neck ; an aumoniere, or purse for alms, is attached to her girdle, and in her hand is a book, on the cover of which she is herself represented lying on a bier, with funeral lights on each side of her. The first on the side of the large transept is that of Richard Cceur de Lion ; in the centre lies Beren- garia, and beside her Eleonor of Guienne, wife of Henry II. The first statue on the opposite side of the fountain, facing Richard, is that of Henry II. In the centre Isabella d’ Angouleme, third wife of J ohn King of England, known as Lackland (Sans Terre), and then his own effigy* Fountain from Heis- terbach, date of its construction. Arrange- ment of the Fontevrault effigies. Berengaria from Mans, and King John from Worcester. Her costume. 92 THE BYZANTINE COURT. Chronologi- cal order of Fontevrault effigies. Tlieir excel- lence com- pared with prior works, We will first of all notice the four Fontevrault sta- tues. The earliest of them is that of Henry II., who died in the year 1189. Richard I., (1199) ; Eleonora, wife of Henry II., (1204) ; and Isabella, wife of Lackland, (1218). The great excellence of these effigies, when we consider the period of their execution, will be better appre- ciated by a reference to the accompanying woodcut, Statues from a Romanesque church in South of France. which is a faithful representation of the style of sculp- ture, shortly prior to their date, as seen also in numerous other instances, as at Chartres Cathedral, &c., where a rigidity and stiffness prevails, very different to INTERIOR OE THE COURT. 93 the comparative freedom and nature of the Fontevrault The character of the sculpture is simple, and the general drapery exceedingly well arranged ; the head of each descn P tl0n ’ statue rests on a cushion, the body itself lying extended on a mortuary cloth, or sort of funereal pall. No lions or dogs are to be seen, as is usually the case. Three of their mate- the statues are cut in stone, and have been much injured ; nal * and the remaining one, that of Isabella d’Angouleme, is of wood, and was found in a very perfect state. She is dressed in royal robes, the mantle ornamented with a crescent pattern, and her face enveloped with a wimple, or species of hood. It was executed by order of Henry III. The statue of King Henry II. , is the earliest known statue of effigy of an English sovereign, and it tallies almost the^arUest completely with contemporary accounts of his costmne, kii^wu^of an as seen when lying in state. king. Mr. Stothard, who discovered and illustrated these Details of his effigies, describes the statue of Henry as having the right effigF ‘ hand, on which was the great ring, broken, but formerly sustaining a short sceptre, as indicated by marks on the breast. The beard was painted and pencilled like a miniature to represent its being closely shaven. The mantle was fastened by a fibula or brooch on the right shoulder, its original colour having been a deep reddish chocolate. The dalmatica, or long tunic, was crimson, starred with gold. The boots green, with gold spurs, fastened by red leather straps. The gloves had jewels on the centre of the back of the hand, a mark of royal or ecclesiastical dignity. The crown, which Matthew Paris describes as of gold or gilt, was broken off, but the drawing taken of it by Montfaucon, previous to the Revolution, shows that it had leaves like those on the crown of Richard I. His sword was represented lying by his left side on the draped slab, the sheath being indicated in the folds of the drapery on his right side. The general character of Richard’s costume is very similar The effigy; of to his father’s, the chief difference consisting in the Rlchard L mantle, which is fastened by a buckle on the breast, instead of on the right shoulder, and in the face with beard and moustache, a custom again prevalent in 94 THE BYZANTINE COURT. Richard’s reign. From these effigies, and that of John at Worcester, we learn, observes Mr. Planche, “that the coronation robes of these inonarchs were composed of Their coro- ^ wo tunics, (the upper with loose sleeves, called a dal- nation rohes. matica) of nearly equal lengths, and girded round the waist by a rich belt, over which was worn the mantle, splendidly embroidered, the crown, the sword, the jewelled gloves, boots, and spurs without rowels. The same dress was worn also on state occasions.” The colours found by Mr. Stothard on the effigy of Richard were the following : — Colours The mantle blue, with an ornamented gold border ; the effigy . 011 1 dalmatic or super-tunic red ; the under-tunic white, and beneath this the camise , or shirt. Effigy of We have already noticed at some length the statue of portrait. 1 ’ a TTiclrard, found at Rouen, and have mentioned its want of similitude as a portrait ; this one would seem to bear a close resemblance to the lion-hearted king, as he has been described by various miters. We may here remark, Effigy of King Richard the First. Fontevrault. that it was a very general custom in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries for the body to be deposited in one site, the heart in another, and the viscera even in another. INTERIOR OF THE COURT. 95 Tims we find Queen Eleanor, wife of Edward I., Rad three statues to her memory, over her body, and over her heart, at Westminster, and over her viscera at Lincoln. Two statues were raised for the same reason over the monuments of Marie de Bourbon, and Blanche d’ Artois ; also over the body of Philippe le Hardi at St. Denis, in 1285, and over his viscera at ISTarbonne. Instances might be multiplied of this custom, and it would seem probable that the diminutive statues, so often found, and which have so puzzled antiquaries, were memorials of a portion of the deceased only. The Abbey of Fontevrault was the privileged burial place of the Plantagenet family. Henry the Second, who bought the church, desired to be buried in the nave, and Richard ordered his body to be placed at his royal father’s feet. The following extract is from a chronicle of the thirteenth century, published by the Historical Society of France : ‘ ‘ Li rois Henris moult fu povre a sa mort, et si fu enfouis a Fontevraut. Puis mourut li boins rois Richars et fu enfouis a Fontevraut, la boine abbaye de nonnais que il avait tant amee.” # The heart of John (Lackland) was placed in a gold casket near the tomb of Henry II. The tomb of Isabella also contained a vase, having in it the heart of Henry II. Joanna, sister of Richard the Lion-hearted, and her son, Raymond, Count of Toulouse, were also buried here ; and the part of the church where the bodies were placed, was long known as the Royal Cemetery. In the seventeenth century, Jeanne Baptiste de Bourbon, a natural daughter of Henry IV. of France, was abbess, and caused the tombs and bodies to be moved from the nave to the choir. During the Revo- lution they were removed altogether and lost. Mr. Stothard, the author of “ Monumental Effigies,” dis- covered them in a cellar at Fontevrault, and they were subsequently sought to be purchased for- Westminster * ‘ ‘ King Henry was very poor at the time of his death, and was buried at Fontevrault. Afterwards died, the good King Richard, and was buried at Fontevrault, the good abbey of nuns which he had loved so much.” Separate effigies over separate parts of the deceased. Instance. Diminutive statues may- have origi- nated from this custom. Fontevrault bought by Henry II. Extract from an old chronicle. Several Plantaga- nets buried there. Removal of their tombs, their loss and redis- covery. 96 THE BYZANTINE COUET. Abbey. This, however, was not acceded to by the French government ; and they are now preserved in the Conventual Church, and protected from further injury by an iron railing. Our authority for these statements is to be found in the fifth volume of Didron’s “ Annales Archseologiques. ” fronfwor 1 ' The °f King John, from Worcester Cathedral, is cester. one of the most ancient existing in England. It is of stone, and bears a close general resemblance to those of Henry and Richard, though not equal to them in execution. Description The right hand holds a sceptre, the left hand a sword of the effigy, en t e rs the mouth of a lion couchant at his feet ; his head is supported by two bishops (Oswald and Wulstan, in whose chapel he was buried) ; he died a.d. 1216, about which period this statue was doubtless executed. In the year 1797 the dean and chapter determined to open his tomb, in consequence of a rumour that the body was never laid there, it being known that the effigy had been removed at some Discovery of time from its original site. When it was opened, the his body, Body was found in its royal robes, but appeared to have suffered from violence, the skull, particularly, being much broken ; vestiges of the nails yet remained, it is found and some gray hairs yet clung to the head. The effigy* ke the dress of the corpse exactly corresponded with that of the monumental effigy, with the exception of the gloves and the crown, the latter being superseded in the coffin by a monk’s cowl, in which John expressly desired to be buried, as a passport through purgatory. His dress consisted of a crimson dalmatic lined with green, the border being of gold, studded with jewels ; his tunic, or under-robe, was of cloth of gold, the hose red, the spurs gilt, and over the feet black cloth coverings. On the effigy are shown jewelled gloves, which were not found on the corpse. This king, so well known in our annals, died at NTewark-on-Trent, aged fifty-one ; his bowels were buried in the house of the Prssmonstratensian monks, at Croxton, and his body was carried to Worcester, w r here, according to his directions, it was buried. costume of the corpse. Death of King John. GALLERY. $$ The pavement of this court is composed of imitations Pavement; of by Messrs. Orsi and Armani of different examples of inlaid marble from Florence. The external border is from San Miniato, near Florence ; and the broad band from the baptistery of the cathedral in that city. The style is peculiar to Tuscany, and was applied very in Floren generally at the close of the twelfth, or beginning of the tine mosaic, thirteenth century. Its date< GALLERY. The entrance from the Sydenham transept to the Chancel arch gallery of the Byzantine Court, is formed by the chancel cathedral arch of Tuam Cathedral, county of Galway, Ireland. Dr. Petrie, whose work on Irish architecture,