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THE ARTS IN THE MIDDLE AGES, 
 
 AND AT THE PERIOD OF THE RENAISSANCE. 
 
THK ANNUNCIATION. 
 
 I--.ic.si,„ilo „r „ M„„aiure Irorà thc ■ Hom-s " of Ame de Erelagne. tbmorly belongmg !.. Cnll.rnue de Mfdicis. 
 iLibran' of M A. Firnun Didoti 
 
THE ARTS 
 
 THE MIDDLE AGES, 
 
 AND AT THE PERIOD OF 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE. 
 
 By PAUL LACROIX 
 
 (Bibliophile Jacob), 
 
 CURATOR OF THE IMPERIAL LIBRARY OF THE ARSENAL, PARIS. 
 
 Ellustratti toith 
 NINETEEN CHROMOLITHOGRAPHIC PRINTS BY F. KELLERHOVEN 
 
 .AXD UPWARDS OF 
 
 FOUR HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS ON Jf'OOD. 
 
 FOURTH THOUSAND. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY. 
 
 1875. 
 
PEEFACE OF TÏÏE EDITOR. 
 
 'HE aim and scope of this work are so explicitly set forth 
 in the appended Préface by its Author as to require 
 for the book no further introduction. Tbe position held 
 i by M. Lacroix in the Impérial Library of the Arsenal, 
 Paris, is a sufficient guarantee of his qualifications for 
 undertaking a publication of this nature. How far his labours were 
 appreciated in France is évident from the fact that, when the flrst édition 
 made its appearance, it was exhausted within a few days. 
 
 It may fairly be presumed that The Arts in the Middle Ages will 
 find equal faveur in England, where so niuch attention has of late years 
 been given to the subject in ail its varions ramifications ; and where, — 
 in our National Muséum, Kensington, especially, — we are accumulating so 
 extensive and valuable a collection of objects associated with the epochs 
 referred to by M. Lacroix. 
 
 In preparing thèse sheets for the press, my task has been little more 
 than to put an excellent and conscientious literal translation of the 
 French text iato language somewhat in harmony with the construction 
 
 h 
 
EDITOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 of our own. In so doing, however, it lias been my object to retain, as 
 far as practicable, tlie peculiar — sometimes the quaint — pbraseology of 
 the original writing. A few notes are added whan they appeared necessary 
 by way of explaining terms, &c., or to render them more intelKgible to 
 the gênerai reader. But some words are used by the Author for which 
 no English équivalent can be found : thèse hâve been allowed to stand 
 without note or comment. 
 
 JAIIES DAFFOENE. 
 -Brixton, February, 1870. 
 
PEEFACE TO THE SECOND FEENCÏÏ EDITION. 
 
 ORE tlian twenty years ago we published, with. 
 the aid of our friend Ferdinand Séré, wliose 
 loss we regret, and with tlie co-operation of 
 other learned men and of tte most eminent 
 writers and artists, an important work, en- 
 titled "The Midble Ages and the Renais- 
 sance." Tliat work, which consists of no less ttan five large 
 quarto volumes, treated ia détail the manners and customs, 
 the sciences, literature. and the arts of those two great epochs, 
 a subject as vast as it is interesting and instructive. Thanks to 
 the learning it displays, to its literary merit and its admirable 
 exécution, it had the rare good fortune to attract inunediately the atten- 
 tion of the public, and even now it maintains the interest which niarked 
 its first appearance. It has taken its place in the library of the amateur, 
 not only in France but also among foreigners ; it has become celebrated. 
 
 This exceptional resuit, especially as regards a publication of such 
 extent, induces us to believe that our work, thus known and appreciated 
 by the learned, may and ought henceforth to hâve stiU greater success by 
 addressing itself to a yet larger number of readers. 
 
 With this conviction we now présent to the public one of the principal 
 portions of that important work, and perhaps the most interesting, in a 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 form more simple, easier, and more pleasing ; within the reacli of youth 
 who désire to learn without weariness or irksomeness, of females interested 
 in grave authors, of the family that loves to assemble round a book 
 altogether instructive and attractive. We would speak of the "Arts in 
 
 THE MiDDLE ÂGES, AND AT THE PeRIOD OF THE RENAISSANCE." After 
 
 having reunited the scattered materials on this subject, we hâve ranged 
 them each in its own rank, taking care to discard ail crudity of learning 
 and to préserve in our work the brilKant colouring in which it was first 
 clothed. 
 
 Ail the Arts are interesting in themselves. Their productions awaken 
 attention and excite curiosity. But hère it is not one Art only that is 
 treated of. We pass in review ail the Arts, starting from the fourth 
 century to the second half of the sixteenth — Architecture raising churches 
 and abbeys, palaces and public memorials, strong fortresses and the 
 ramparts of cities; Sculpture adorning and perfecting other Arts by its 
 Works in stone, marble, bronze, wood, and ivory ; Painting, commencing 
 with mosaic and enamels, contributing to the décoration of buildings 
 jointly with stained glass and frescoes, embellishing and illuminating 
 manuscripts before it arrived at its highest point of perfection, with the 
 Art of Griotto and Raphaël, of Hemling and Albert Diirer ; Engraving 
 on wood and métal, with which is associated the work of the medallist 
 and the goldsmith ; and after attempting to touch upon Playing-cards and 
 Niello-work, we suddenly evoke that sublime invention destined to change 
 the face of the world — Printing. Such are, in brief, some of the principal 
 features of this splendid picture. One can imagine what an infinitj'-, what 
 variety and richness, of détails it should contain. 
 
 Our subject présents, at the same time, another kind of interest more 
 elevated and not less alluring. Hère each Art appears in its différent 
 phases and in its diversified progress. It is a history, not alone of the 
 Arts, but of the epoch itself in which they were developed ; for the Arts, 
 regarded in their generality, are the truest expression of society. They 
 speak to us of tastes, of ideas, of character : they exhibit us in their works. 
 Of ail an âge can leave to the future concerning itself, that which repre- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 scnts it most vivicUy is Art : tho Arts of un epoch revivify it, and bring it 
 back boforo our eyes. 
 
 It is this wliich forms o\ir book. Yet, we must remark, hère its interest 
 is redoublcd, for we retrace not only a single era, but two cras very distinct 
 from each otber. In tlie first, that of the Middle Ages, which followed 
 tlie invasion of the Northmen, society was in a great measure formed of 
 ncw and bai'barous éléments, which Christianity laboiired to break up and 
 fashion. In the second epoch, on the contrary, society was organised and 
 firmly established; it enjoyed peace, and reaped its fruits. The Arts 
 followed the same phases. At first rude and informai, they rose slowly 
 and by degrees, like society, out of chaos. At length they flourished in 
 perfect freedom, and progressed with ail the energy of which the human 
 mrnd is capable. Hence the successive advances whose history présents 
 a marvellous interest. 
 
 During the Middle Ages, Art generally followed the inspirations of 
 that Christian spirit which presided at the formation of this new 
 world. It arose to reproduce in an admirable manner the religions idéal. 
 Only towards the end of that period it searched out for beauty of form, 
 and began to find it when the Renaissance made its appearance : the 
 Renaissance, that is, the intellectual révolution, which, in the fifteenth 
 and sixteenth centuries, restored among modem nations the sceptre to 
 Literature and the Arts of antiqiuty. Then, with the Renaissance, the 
 Arts changed their direction, and especially the principal Arts, those by 
 which the genius of man expresses most forcibly his ideas and his feelings. 
 Thus, in the Middle Ages, a new style of architecture is created that 
 rapidly attained the highest degree of perfection, the ogival (later Gothic 
 or flamboyant), of which we see the chefs-d'œuvre in our cathedrals : at 
 the Renaissance, this was replaced by architecture derived from that of 
 the Greeks and Romans, which also produced admirable Works, but almost 
 always less in harmony with the dignity and splendeur of worship. In 
 the Middle Ages, Painting chiefly applied itself to represent the beau 
 idéal of the reUgious mind reflecting itself in the countenance ; at the 
 Renaissance, it is the beauty of the physical form, so perfectly expressed 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 by the ancients. Sculpture, which cornes nearer to Painting, foUowed at 
 the same time ail similar phases, drawing the art of Engraving with it. 
 Do not the diversified changes through which the Arts passed, as retraced 
 in this book during two epochs, présent to the intelligent reader a succes- 
 sion of facts of the highest interest and a history most instructive ? 
 
 Our work is the only existing one on this great and magnificent 
 subject, of which the materials are scattered through a mviltitude of 
 volumes. Thus for the success of this undertaking it became necessary 
 to unité with us in our task men most distinguished by their learning and 
 talents : we are permitted to cite the names of MM. Ernest Breton, 
 Aimé Champollion, Champollion-Figeac, Pierre Dubois, Duchesne, Fer- 
 dinand Denis, Jacquemart, Arch. Juvinal, Jules Labarte, Lassus, Louandre, 
 Prosper Mérimée, Alfred Michiels, Gabriel Peignot, Riocreus, De Saulcy, 
 Jean Designeur, le Marquis de Varennes. After such a list we record our 
 ovm name only to acknowledge that we bave gone over and recast thèse 
 various works, and presented them in a form which gives them more unity, 
 but owes to them ail the interest and ail the charm it may offer. 
 
 The numerous illustrations that adorn the work will engage the eye, 
 while the text will speak to the intelligence. The designs in chromo- 
 lithography are executed by M. Kellerhoven, who for several years has 
 made the art one of a high order, worthy to shine among the finest Works 
 of our greatest painters, as is proved by bis " Chefs-d'œuvre of the Great 
 Masters," "Lives of the Saints," and " Legend of St. Ursula." 
 
 No one is ignorant of the attention given in thèse days to archœology. 
 Information about objects of antiquity is necessary to every instructed 
 person. It ought to be studied so far as to enable us to appreciate, or 
 at least to recognise, the examples of olden time in Architecture, Paint- 
 ing, &c., that présent themselves to our notice. Thus it has become for 
 the young of each sex indispensable to good éducation. The perusal of 
 this book will be for such an attractive introduction to that knowledge 
 which for too long a time was the exclusive domain of the learned. 
 
 PAUL LACROIX 
 
 (Bibliophile Jacob). 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 FUENITURE : HOUSEHOLD AND ECCLESIASTICAL 1 
 
 Simplicity of Fumiture among the Gauls and Franks. — Introduction of costly taste in 
 articles of Furnitiire of the Seventh Century. — Arm-chair of Dagobert. — Round Table 
 of King Artiis. — Influence of the Crusades. — Eegal Banquet in the time of Charles V. 
 — Benches.— Sideboards. — Dinner Services. — Gohiets. — Brassware. — Casks. — Light- 
 ing. — Beds. — Carved-wood Furniture. — Locksmith's Work. — Glass and Mirrors. — 
 Eoom of a Feudal Seigneur. — CostUness of Fumiture used for Eeclesiastical Purposes. 
 — Altars. — Censers. — Shrines and Reliquaries. — Gratings and Irou-mountings. 
 
 TAPESTEY 37 
 
 Scriptural Origin of Tapestry. — Needlework Embroidery in Ancient Greek and Roman 
 Times. — Attalic Carpets. — Manufacture of Carpets in Cloisters. — Manufactory at 
 Poitiere in the Twelfth Century. — Bayeux Tapestry, named " De la Reine MathUde." 
 — Arras Carpets. — Inyentory of the Tapestries of Charles V. ; enormous Value of thèse 
 Embroidered Hangings. — Manufactorj' at Fontainebleau, under Francis I. — The 
 Manufacture of the Hôpital de la Trinité, at Paris. — The Tapestry Workers, Dubourg 
 and Laurent, in the reigu of Henry IV. — Factories of Savonnerie and Gobelins. 
 
 CERAMIC ART 53 
 
 Pottery "Workshops in the Gallo-Romano Period. — Ceramic Art disappears for several 
 Centuries in Gaul : is again found in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries. — Probable 
 Influence of Arabian Art in Spain. — Origin of Majolica. — Luca délia Robbia and bis 
 Successors. — EnameUed Tiles in France, dating from the Twelfth Century. — The 
 Italian Manufactories of Faenza, Rimini, Pesaro, &c. — Beauvais Pottery. — Invention 
 and Works of Bernard Palissy ; his History ; his Chefs-d'œuvre. — The Fàienee of 
 Thouars, called "Hemi II." 
 
 ARMS AND ARMOUR 75 
 
 Arms of the Time of Charlemagne. — Arma of the Normans at the Time of the Conquest 
 of England. — Progress of Armoury under the Influence of the Crusades. — The Coat of 
 Mail. — The Crossbow. — The Hauberk and the Hoqueton. — The Hehnet, the Hat of 
 Iron, the Cervelière, the Greaves, and the Gauntlet ; the Breastplate and the Cuish.- — 
 The Casque with Vizor. — Plain Armour and Ribbed Armour. — The Salade Helmet. — 
 CostUness of Armour. — Invention of Gunpowder. — Bombards. — Hand-Cannons. — The 
 Culverin, the Falconet.— The Arquebus with Metal-holder, with Match, and with 
 Wheel.— The Gun and the Pistol. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CAEEIAGES AND SADDLEEY 107 
 
 Horsemansliip among the Ancients.— The Eiding-horse and the Carriage-horse.— 
 Chariots armedwith Scythes.— Vehicles of the Romans, the Gauls, and the Franks: 
 Carruca, the Petoritum, the Ciaium, the Plastrum, the Basterna, the Carpeutum.— 
 Différent kinds of Saddle-horses in the Days of Chivaliy.— The Spur a distinctive 
 Sign of NobiKty : its Origin.— The Saddle, its Origin and its Modifications.— The 
 Tilter.— Carriages. — The Mulesof Magistrates.— Coi-porations of Saddlera and Hamess- 
 makers, Lorimers, Coaohmakers, Chapuiaeurs, Blazonniers, and Saddle-coverers. 
 
 GOLD AND SILVEK WORK 123 
 
 Its Antiquity.— The Trésor de Guarrazar.— The Merovingian and Carlovingian Periods. 
 — Ecclesiastical Jewellery.— Pre-eminenoe of the Byzantine Goldsmiths.— Progress of 
 the Art conséquent on the Crasades.— The Gold and Enamels of Limoges.— Jewellery 
 eeases to be restricted to Purposes of Religion. — Transparent Enamels.— Jean of Pisa, 
 Agnolo of Siena, Ghiberti. — Great Painters and Sculptors from the Goldsmiths' 
 Workshops. — Benvenuto Cellini. — The Goldsmiths of Paris. 
 
 HOROLOGY 169 
 
 Modes of measuring Time among the Ancients. — The Gnomon. — The Water-Clock. — 
 The Hour-Glass.— The Water-Cloek, improved by the Persians and by the Italians. 
 — Gerbert invents the Escapement and the mo^-ing Weights. — The Striking-beU. — 
 Maistre Jehan des Orloges. — Jacquemart of Dijon. — The first Clook in Paris. — Earliest 
 portable Timepiece. — Invention of the spiral Spring. — First appearance of Watches. 
 — The Watches, or " Eggs," of Nuremberg. — Invention of the Fusée. — Corporation of 
 Clockmakers. — Noted Clocks at Jena, Strasburg, Lyons, &o. — Charles-Uuint and 
 Jannellus. — The Pendulum. 
 
 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS .187 
 
 Music in the lliddle Ages. — Musioallnstruments from the Fourth to the Thirteenth 
 Century. — Wind Instruments : the Single and Double Flûte, the Pandean Pipes, the 
 Eeed-pipe. — The Hautboy, the Flageolet, Trumpets, Horns, Olifants, the HydrauUc 
 Organ, the Bellows-Organ. — Instruments of Percussion : the BeU, the Hand-bell, 
 Cymbals, the Timbrel, the Triangle, the Bombulum, Drums. — Stringed Instruments : 
 the Lyre, the Cithern, the Harp, the Psaltery, the Sable, the Chorus, the Organistrmn, 
 the Lute and the Guitar, the Crout, the ^ote, the Viola, the Gigue, the Monochord. 
 
 PLAYING-CARDS 223 
 
 SupposedDate of their Invention.— Existed in India in the Twelfth Century. — Their 
 connection with the Game of Chess. — Brought into Europe after the Crusades. — First 
 Mention of a Game with Cards in 1379. — Cards weU known in the Fifteenth Century 
 in Spain, Germany, and France, under the name of Tarots. — Cards called Charles the 
 Sixth's must hâve been Tarots. — Ancient Cards, French, Italian, and German. — Cards 
 contributing to the Invention of Wood-Engraving and Printing. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 GLASS-PAINTING 251 
 
 Painting on Qlass mentioned l)y Historians in the Third Century of our Era. — Glazeil 
 Windows at Brioudo in the Sixth Contury. — Coloured Glass at St. John Liiteran and 
 St. Peter's in Romo. — Church-Windowa of the Twclfih and Thirteeuth Centuries in 
 France : Siiint-Deiiis, Sens, Poitiers, Chartres, Rheims, &c. — In the Fourteenth and 
 Fiftcenth Centuries tho Art was at its Zenith. — Jean Cousin. — Tlic Célestins of Paris : 
 Saint-Gervais. — Kobert Pinaigrier and his Sons. — Bernard Palissy décorâtes the 
 Chapel of the Castle of Ecouen. — Foreign xVrt : Albert Diirer. 
 
 FRESCO-PAINTING 269 
 
 The Nature of Fresco.— Employed by the Anoients. — Paintings at Pompeii. — Greek and 
 Eoman Schools. — Mural Paintings destroyed by the Iconoclasts and Barbariana. — 
 Revival of Fresco, in the Ninlh Century, in Italy. — Fresco-Painters eince Guido of 
 Siena. — Principal Works of thèse Painters. — Successors of Raphaël and Jlichael 
 Angelo. — Fresco in Sgraffito. — Mural Paintings in France from the Twelfth Century. 
 — Gothic Frescoes of Spain. — Mural Paintings in the Low Countries, Germany, and 
 Switzerland. 
 
 PAINTING ON WOOD, CANVAS, Etc 283 
 
 The Rise of Christian Painting. — The Byzantine School. — First Revival in Italy. — 
 Cimabue, Giotto, Fra Angelico.- — Florentine Sohool : Leonardo da Vinci, Michael 
 Angelo. — Roman School : Perugino, Raphaël. — Venetian School : Titian, Tintoretto, 
 Veronese. — Lombard School : Correggio, Parmigianino. — Spanish School. — Germau 
 and Flemish Schools : Stephen of Cologne, John of Bruges, Lucas van Leyden, 
 Albert Durei-, Lucas van Cranach, Holbein. — Painting in France during the Middle 
 Ages. — Italian Masters in France. — Jean Cousin. 
 
 ENGEAVING 315 
 
 Origio of Wood-Engraving. — The St. Christopher of 1423. — "The Virgin and Child 
 Jésus.". — The earliest Masters of Wood-Engraving. — Bernard Milnet. — Engraving in 
 Cnmaieu. — Origin of Engraving on Métal. — The"Pax" of Maso Finiguenra. — The 
 earliest Engravers on Métal. — Niello Work. — Le Maître of 1466. — ie Maître of 1486. 
 Martin Schijngauer, Israël van Mecken, Wenceslaus of Ohnutz, Al ert Diirer, Marc 
 Antonio, Lucas van Leyden. — Jean Duret and the French School. — The Dutch 
 School. — The Masters of Engraving. 
 
 SCULPTUEE 83& 
 
 Origin of Christian Sculpture. — Statues in Gold and SUver. — Traditions of Antique Art. 
 — Sculpture in Ivory. — Iconoclasts. — Diptychs. — The highest Style of Sculpture 
 follows the Phases of Architecture. — Cathedrals and Monasteries from the year 1000. 
 — Schools of Burgundy, Champagne, Norraandy, Lorraine, &c. — German, English, 
 Spanish, and Italian Schools. — Nicholas of Pisa and his Successors. — Position of 
 French Sculpture in the Thirteenth Century. — Florentine Sculpture and Ghiberti. — 
 French Sculptors from the Fiftcenth to the SLsteenth Century. 
 
 AECHITECTUEE 373 
 
 The Basilica the first Christian Church. — Modification of Ancient Architecture. — Byzan- 
 tine Style. — Formation of the Norman Style. — Principal Norman Churches. — Age 
 
 C 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 of the Transition from Norman to Gothic— Origin and Importance of the Ogive.— 
 Principal Edifices in the pure Gothic Style.— The Gothic Church, an Emblem of 
 the Eeligious Spirit in the Middle Ages.— Florid Gothic— Flamboyant Gothic— 
 Decadency.— Civil and Military Architecture : Castles, Fortified Enclosures, Private 
 Housea, Town-Halls. — Italian Renaissance : Pisa, Florence, Rome. — French Re- 
 naissance : Mansions and Palaces. 
 
 PAECHMENT AND PAPER 413 
 
 Parc.hment in Âncient Times. — Papyrus. — Préparation of Parchment and VeUum in the 
 Middle Ages.— Sale of Parchment at the Fair of Lendit.— Privilège of the Uuiversity 
 of Paris on the Sale and Purchase of Parchment.— Différent Applications of Parch- 
 ment.— Cotton Paper imported from China.— Order of the Emperor Frederick II. 
 conceming Paper. — The Employment of Lineu Paper, dating from the Twelfth 
 Ceutury. — Ancient Water-Marks on Paper. — Paper Manufactories in France and 
 other parts of Europe. 
 
 MANUSCRIPTS 423 
 
 Manuscripts in Olden Times. — Their Form. — Materials of which they were composed. 
 — Their Destruction hy the Goths. — Rare at the Beginning of the îliddle Ages. — 
 The Catholic Church preserved and multiplied them. — Copyists. — Transcription of 
 Diplomas. — Corporation of Scribes and Booksellers. — Palasography. — Greek Writinga. 
 — Uneial and Cursive Manuscripts. — Sclavonic Writings. — Latin Writers. — Tironian 
 Shorthand. — Lombardic Characters. — Diplomatie — Capetian. — Ludovicinian. — 
 Gothic. — Runic. — Visigothic. — Anglo-Saxon. — Irish. 
 
 MINIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS ! 443 
 
 MiniaturesattheBeginningof the Middle Ages — The two "Vatican" Virgils. — Paiuting 
 of Manuscripts uuder Charlemague and Louis le Débonnaire. — Tradition of Greek Art 
 in Europe. — Décline of the Miniature in the Tenth Century. — Origin of Gothic Art. — 
 Fine Manuscript of the time of St. Louis. — Clérical and Lay Miniature-Painters. — Cari- 
 cature and the Grotesque. — Miniatures in Monochrome and in Grisaille. — Illuminatora 
 at the Court of France and to the Dukes of Burgundy. — School of John Fouquet. — 
 Ilalian Miniature-Painters. — Gitdio Clovio.. — French School under Louis XII. 
 
 BOOKBINDING 471 
 
 Primitive Binding of Books. — Bookbinding among the Romans. — Bookbinding with 
 Goldsmith's Work from the Fifth Century. — Chained Books. — Corporation of Zieurs, 
 or Bookbinders. — Books bound in Wood, with Métal Corners and Clasps. — First 
 Bindings iuLeather, honeycombed {waffled ?) and gilt. — Description of some celebrated 
 Bindings of the Fourteenth aud Fifteenth Centuries. — Sources of Modem Book- 
 binding.— John GroUier. — Président de Thou. — Kings and Queecs of France Biblio- 
 maniacs. — Superiority of Bookbinding in France. 
 
 PRINTING 485 
 
 Who -waa the Inventer of Printing ?— Movable Letters in ancient Times.— Block 
 Printing. — Laurent Coster.—Sonati and Specula.—Gntenbexg's Process. — Partner- 
 ship of Gutenberg and Faust.— Sohoeffer.— The Mayence Bible.- The Psalter of 
 14.57.- The " Rationale " of 1459.— Gutenberg prints by himself.— The " Catholicon " 
 of 1460.— Printing at Cologne, Strasbourg, Venice, and Paris. — Louis XL and 
 Nicholas Jenson. — German Printers at Uome. — Incwiabula. — Col&Tà Mansion.— 
 Caxton.— Improvement of Typographical Processes up to the Sixteenth Century. 
 

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 TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 I. CHROMOLITHOGEAPHS. 
 
 Plate To face page 
 
 1. The Annunciation. Fae-simile of Jlinia- 
 
 ture taken from the "Hours" of Anne 
 de Bretagne, formerly belonging to 
 Catherine de Medicis. . Froxtispiece 
 
 2. Distaff and Bedposta of the Sixteenth 
 
 Century 20 
 
 3. Adoration of the Magi. Bemese Ta- 
 
 pestry of the Fifteenth Century .... 46 
 
 4. Paris in the Fifteenth Century. Beau- 
 
 vais Tapestry 50 
 
 5. Encaustic Tiles 58 
 
 6. Biheron of Henri Deux Faience 64 
 
 7. Casque, Morion, and Helmets 82 
 
 S. Entrance of Queen Isabella of Ba- 
 
 varia into Paris. From Froissart's 
 
 " Chronicles " 118 
 
 9. JeweUed Crosses of the Visigoths, found 
 
 at Guarrazar. Serenth Century ... . 124 
 
 Plate To face page 
 
 10. Drageoir, or Table Ornament. German 
 
 work 154 
 
 Clock of Damaskeened Iron of the Fif- 
 teenth Century ; and Watches of the 
 Sixteenth Century 180 
 
 Francis I. and Eleanor his Wife at their 
 Dévotions. Sixteenth Century .... 266 
 
 The Dream of Life, a Fresco hy Orcagna 276 
 
 St. Catherine and St. Agnes, by Mar- 
 garet van Eyck 300 
 
 Clovis the First and Clotilde his Wife . . 352 
 
 16. Décoration of La Sainte-Chapelle, Paris 386 
 
 17. Coronation of Charles the Fifth of 
 
 France. From Froissart's " Chro- 
 nicles " 464 
 
 18. Panel of a Book-cover of the Niuth 
 
 Century 472 
 
 19. Diptych of Ivory 474 
 
 11 
 
 12 
 
 15 
 
 II. ENGEAVINGS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Abbey of St. Denis 416 
 
 Alhambra, Interior of the 405 
 
 Alphabet, Spécimen of Grotesque 327 
 
 Altar-cloth of the Fifteenth Century 30 
 
 „ Cross aseribed to St. Eloi 137 
 
 „ of Gold 130 
 
 „ Tray and Chalice 31 
 
 Arch, Eestoratiou of a iSTormau 343 
 
 Archer of Kormandy 79 
 
 Archers of the Fifteenth Century, France . . 88 
 
 Arles, Sculptures on St. Trophimus. . . . 384, 385 
 
 Armour, Convex, of the Fifteenth Century. 84 
 
 ,, Knights in complète 89 
 
 „ Lion 90 
 
 ,, of the Duc d'Alençon 92 
 
 Plain, of the Fifteenth Century . . 83 
 
 Arms of the Cardmakers of Paris 
 
 ,, Goldsmiths of Paris . . 
 
 Arquebus with "WTieel and Match 
 
 Arquebusier 
 
 Atelier of Etienne Delaulue 
 
 Bagpiper, Thirteenth Century 
 
 Banner of Paper-makers of Paris 
 
 Printers-Booksellers of Angers . 
 
 Printers-Booksellers of Autun . 
 
 Saddlers of Tonnerre 
 
 Sword-cutlers of Angers 
 
 Tapestry "Workers of Lyons . . . 
 
 Banners of Corporations 
 
 Banquet in the Fifteenth Century 
 
 Basilica of Constantine, at Trêves 
 
 250 
 160 
 103 
 102 
 158 
 
 199 
 422 
 479 
 484 
 121 
 105 
 
 51 
 161 
 
 12 
 374 
 
ENGRA VINGS. 
 
 BasiKca of St. Peter's, Eome, Interior of . . 
 
 Bas-relief in carved wood 
 
 Battle-axe and Pistol, Sixteenth. Century . . 
 Bed furnished witli Canopy and Curtains . . 
 
 Belfry of Brussels 
 
 Bell in a Tower of Siena, Twelfth Century 
 
 Bells of the Ninth Century, Chime of 
 
 Boit of the Sixteenth Century, with Initial. 
 Bombards on fîxed and rolUng carriages . . 
 
 Bookbinders' Work-room 
 
 Bookbinding for the Gospels 
 
 „ in an XJnknown Material .... 
 
 „ in Gold, with precious Stones 
 
 Borders ; — 
 
 Bible called Clément Vll.'a 
 
 Bible of St. Martial of Limoges 
 
 Book of the Gospels, Eighth Century . . 
 
 Book of the Gospels, Eleventh Century 
 
 Book of the Gospels in Latin 
 
 Employed by John of Tournes 
 
 Froissart's " Chronicles " 
 
 Gospel in Latin 
 
 Lectionary in Metz Cathedral 
 
 '•'Livre d'Heures " of Anthony Vérard 
 
 " Livre d'Heures " of Geof&-oi Tory . . 
 
 Lyons School 
 
 IGssal of Pope Paul V 
 
 " Ovid," Fifteenth Centviry 
 
 Prayer-book of Louis of France 
 
 Sacramentary of St. iEthelgar 
 
 Bracelet, Gallic 
 
 Brooch, chased, enamelled, &c 
 
 Cabinet in damaskeened Iron, inlaid 
 
 „ for Jewels 
 
 Cameo-selting of the time of Charles V. 
 
 CauQon, Earliest Models of 
 
 „ Hand ..\... 
 
 Caparison of the Horse of Isabel the Catholic 
 
 Capital of a Column, St. GeneTiève.Paris . . 
 
 » j) St. Julien, Paris .... 
 
 !> >i The Célestins, Paris . . 
 
 Carruea, or Pleasure-carriage 
 
 Cart drawn by Oxen, Fifteenth Century . . 
 
 Castle of Marcoussis, near Eambouillet 
 
 „ Cioucy, in its ancient state 
 
 „ Vincennes, Seventeenth Century 
 Cathedral of Amiens, Interior of 
 
 11 Mayence 
 
 Censer of the Eleventh Century 
 
 Chains _ 
 
 Chair called the " Fauteuil de Dagobert" 
 
 „ of Christine de Pisan 
 
 „ of Louise de Savoie 
 
 „ of Louis IX 
 
 „ of the Ninth or Tenth Century 
 Chalice of the Fourth or Fifth Century! ." '. '. 
 „ said to be of St. Eemy 
 
 Page 
 
 407 
 
 34 
 
 104 
 
 19 
 
 404 
 
 206 
 
 20S 
 
 23 
 
 96 
 
 482 
 
 474 
 
 480 
 
 474 
 
 463 
 450 
 446 
 451 
 451 
 519 
 465 
 456 
 448 
 516 
 517 
 518 
 467 
 465 
 461 
 453 
 124 
 167 
 
 22 
 
 21 
 140 
 
 98 
 
 99 
 117 
 392 
 392 
 393 
 108 
 109 
 397 
 S99 
 399 
 391 
 388 
 
 32 
 165 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 31 
 135 
 
 Page 
 
 Château de Chambord 409 
 
 Chess-Players 225 
 
 Chest shaped like a Bed, and Chair 20 
 
 Choron, Ninth Century 211 
 
 Chorus with Single Bell-end with Holes . . 199 
 
 Cliurch of Mouen. Eemains of the 378 
 
 ,, St. Agnes, Rome 377 
 
 St. Martin, Tours 377 
 
 ,, St. Paul-des-Champs, Paris .... 381 
 „ St. Trophimus, Arles, Portai 384, 385 
 
 St. Vital, Bavenna 376 
 
 Clock, Astronomical, of Strasburg Cathedral 184 
 
 ,, of Jena, in Germany 183 
 
 „ Portable, of the time of the Valois. . 178 
 
 ,, with Wheels and Weights 177 
 
 Clookmaker, The 170 
 
 Cloister of the Abbey of Moissac, Guyenne. 386 
 
 Coffee-pot of German Ware 72 
 
 Concert; a Bas-relief (Normandy) 193 
 
 ,, and Musical Instruments 194 
 
 Cooper's Workshop, Sixteenth Century .... 16 
 
 Crossbow Menprotected by Shield-bearers 85 
 
 Cross, Gold-chased 163 
 
 Crout, Three-stringed, Ninth Century .... 217 
 
 Crown of Suintila, King of the Visigoths . . 125 
 
 Crozier, Abbot's, enamelled 138 
 
 „ Bishop's 138 
 
 Clip, Italian Wave 62 
 
 ,, of Lapis-lazuli, mounted in Gold .... 152 
 
 Diadem of Charlemagne 127 
 
 Diptych in Ivory 345 
 
 Dish, Ornament of a 74 
 
 Doorways of the Hôtel de Sens, Paris .... 403 
 
 Dragonneau, Donble-barreled 101 
 
 Drinking-cup of Agate 134 
 
 Dwelling-room of a Seigneur of the Four- 
 
 teenth Century 26 
 
 Enamelled Border of a Dish 63 
 
 ,, Dish, by Bernard Palissy .... 71 
 
 ,, Terra-cotta 57 
 
 Engine for hm-ling Stones 95 
 
 Engraving : — 
 
 Columbus on board his Ship 325 
 
 Ferdinand 1 335 
 
 Herodias 329 
 
 Letter N, Grotesque Alphabet 327 
 
 Lutma, of Groningen 337 
 
 Isaiah with Instrument of his Martyr- 
 
 dom 323 
 
 Ma.ximilian, Coronation of 321 
 
 Phalaris, Tyrant of AgiigentTim 333 
 
 Repose of the Holy Family 334 
 
 St. Catherine on her Knees 319 
 
 St. Hubert praying before the Cross 
 
 borne by a Stag 331 
 
 The Holy Virgin 338 
 
ENGRA VINGS. 
 
 Pli go 
 
 Engniving : — 
 
 Tho Prophet Isaiah 323 
 
 Tho Virgin nnd Cliild 318 
 
 Tlio Virgin iind Infimt Jcsus 81G 
 
 Ensign ot' tlie CoUar of the GolJsmiths of 
 
 Gliînt 144 
 
 Escutchoon in Silver-gilt 14ô 
 
 Esouttheon of France, Fourtoentli Century 470 
 
 Ewer in Limoges Enainel Iô7 
 
 Fac-similo of a Bible of 14ÔC 503 
 
 „ " Catholicon" of 1-160 606 
 
 „ Engraving on Wood 487 
 
 „ Inscription ii- /licw 441 
 
 „ Miniature drawn with a pen 450 
 
 „ Miniature of a Psalter 455 
 
 ,, Miniature, Thirteenth Cen- 
 tury 457 
 
 „ Page of a " Livre d'Hem-es" 510 
 
 „ Page of a Psalter of 1459 505 
 
 „ Page of the " Ars Moriendi " 495 
 „ Page of the niost ancient 
 
 Xylographie " Douatus " 491 
 „ Xylographie Page of the 
 
 " Biblia Pauperum " .... 493 
 
 Fiddle, Angel plaj-ing on the 220 
 
 Flûte, Double 197 
 
 Fresco-Painting : — 
 
 Christ and hia Mother 273 
 
 Création, The 278 
 
 Death and the Jew 281 
 
 Disciples in Gethsemane 275 
 
 Fra Angelico, of Fiesole 282 
 
 Fratemity of Crossbowmen 280 
 
 Group of Saints 277 
 
 Pope Sylvester 1 274 
 
 Gargoyles in the Palais de Justice, Rouen 372 
 
 Gâte of iloret 401 
 
 „ St. John, Provins 402 
 
 Glass-Painting : — 
 
 Citadel of Pallas 262 
 
 Flemish Window 265 
 
 Legend of the Jew piercing the Holy 
 
 Wafer 260 
 
 St. Paul, an Enamel 264 
 
 St. Timothy the Martyr 255 
 
 Temptation of St. Mars 267 
 
 The Prodigal Son 257 
 
 Window, Evreux Cathedral 261 
 
 Goblet, by Bernard Palissy 69 
 
 Goldsmiths of Paris carrying a Shrine .... 162 
 
 Goldsmiths' Slamps : — 
 
 Chartres 159 
 
 Lyons 1Ô9 
 
 Melun 159 
 
 Orléans X59 
 
 Gutenburg, Portrait of 492 
 
 Page 
 
 Harp, Fifteon-stringed, Twolfth Century. . 214 
 
 ,, Minatrul's, Fifteonth Century 216 
 
 „ Triangular Sa.von, Ninth Century .. 214 
 
 Ilarper of tho Fifteenth Century 215 
 
 llarpers of the Twilfih Century 215 
 
 Holmet of Don Juimo ol Conquistador .... 80 
 
 „ of Hughes, Vidamo of Chàlons .... 82 
 Henry VIII. in tho Camp of tho Field of 
 
 tho Cloth of Gold 119 
 
 Horn, or Olifant, Fourteenth Century .... 201 
 
 „ Shepherd' s, Eighth Century 201 
 
 Hour-glass of the Sixteenth Century .... 173 
 
 Hour-glass, Top of 186 
 
 Initial Letter, Ninth Century 476 
 
 Initial Letters from Manuscripts 445 
 
 Initial Letters extracted from the " Rouleau 
 
 Mortuaire " of St. Vital 454 
 
 Jacquemart of Notre-Dame at Dijon 176 
 
 Key of the Thirteenth Century 23 
 
 King William, as represented on his Seal 77 
 
 Knight armed and mounted for War .... 114 
 
 „ entering the Lists 111 
 
 „ in his Hauberk 81 
 
 Knights, Combat of 89 
 
 Lament composed shortly after the Death of 
 
 Charlemagne 188, 189 
 
 Lamps of the Nineteenth Century 17 
 
 Lancer of WiUiam the Conqueror's Army 77 
 
 Library of the University of Leyden 475 
 
 Lute, Five-stringed, Thirteenth Century. . 216 
 
 Lyre, Ancient 209 
 
 „ oftheNorth 209 
 
 Mangonneau of the Fifteenth Century .... 97 
 Miniatures : — 
 
 Anne de Bretagne's Prayer-book .... 468 
 
 Book of the Gospels of Charlemagne. . 447 
 
 Consécration of a Bishop 449 
 
 Dante's " Paradiso " 466 
 
 Evangelist, An, transcribing 415 
 
 Four Sons of Aymon 458 
 
 Les Femmes Illustres 461 
 
 Margrave of Baden's " Livre d'Heures" 469 
 
 Miniature of the Thirteenth Century. . 457 
 
 Missal of the Eleventh Century 452 
 
 Order of the Holy Ghost, Instituting the 464 
 
 Psalter of John, Duke of Berry 462 
 
 Psalter of the Thirteenth Century .... 455 
 
 " Roman de Fauvel," fi'om the 459 
 
 "VirgU," in the Vatican, Rome 444 
 
 Mirror for Hand or Pocket 25 
 
 Monochord plaj-ed with a Bow 221 
 
 Musician sounding Military Trumpet .... 202 
 
 Musicians playing ou the Flûte, &c 198 
 
 „ „ Violin 219 
 
 Nabulum, Ninth Century 211 
 
ENGRA VINGS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Notre-Dame la Grande of Poitiers 383 
 
 Paris 390 
 
 „ Rouen 379 
 
 Organ, Great, of the Twelfth Century 204 
 
 „ Pneumatic, of tlie Pourth Century 203 
 
 „ Portable, of the Fifteenth Century 205 
 
 ,, with single Key-board 205 
 
 Orgamstrum, Ninth Century 213 
 
 Oxford, Saloon of the Schools 396 
 
 Painting on Wood, Canvas, &c. : — 
 
 Baptism of King Clovis 286 
 
 Christ crowued with Thoms 30i 
 
 Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci 292 
 
 Princess Sibylla of Saxony 305 
 
 St. Ursula 302 
 
 Sketch of the Virgin of Alba 312 
 
 The Holy Family 294 
 
 The Holy Virgin, St. George, and St. 
 
 Donat 300 
 
 The Last Judgment 311 
 
 The Patriarch Job 290 
 
 The Tribute Money 309 
 
 Paper-maker, The 420 
 
 Pendant, adorned with Diamonds, &c 164 
 
 „ after a Design byBenvenutoCellini 150 
 Playing- Carda : — 
 
 Ancient French 236 
 
 Buffoon, from a Pack of Tarots 230 
 
 Charles VI. on his Throne 233 
 
 Engravings, Coloured, analogous to 
 
 Playing-Cards 227 
 
 From a Game of " Logic " 245 
 
 German Round-shaped 247 
 
 Italian Tarots 242 
 
 Justice 231 
 
 King of Acorns 244 
 
 EJiave of Clubs 238 
 
 Knight' from a Pack engraved by 
 
 " The Master of 1466" 249 
 
 La DamoheUe 248 
 
 Moon, The 231 
 
 Eoxana, Queen of Hearts 242 
 
 Spécimen of the Sixteeuth Century . . 236 
 
 Three and Eight of Bells 243 
 
 Two of a Pack of German Lansquenet 245 
 
 Two of Bells 244 
 
 Porte de Hal, Brussels 410 
 
 Pottery Figui'es, Fragments of 68 
 
 „ Ornamentation on 67 
 
 Printers' Marks, Arnold de Keyser, Ghent 511 
 !i » Bouaventure and Elsevier, 
 
 Leydeu 520 
 
 » ., Colard Mansion, Bruges 512 
 
 » „ Eustace, "W. ... ; 483 
 
 ., ), Fust and Schœifer 5H 
 
 I. ,1 Galliot du Pré, Paris 513 
 
 5. ,. Gérard Leeu, Gouwe 511 
 
 Page 
 
 Printers' Marks, Gryphe, Lyons 515 
 
 „ „ J. Le Noble, Troyes 515 
 
 „ '„ Philippe le Noir, &c., Paris 514 
 
 ,, ,, Plantin, Antwerp 515 
 
 ,, „ Robert Estienne, Paris .. 515 
 
 ,, „ Vostre, Simon, Paris .... 513 
 
 ,, ,, Temporal, Lyons 514 
 
 „ „ Trechsel, Lyons 512 
 
 Printing-ofB.oe, Interior of a 499 
 
 Fsalterion, Performer on the 212 
 
 „ Twelfth Century 211 
 
 Psaltery, Buckle-shaped 211 
 
 „ to produce a prolonged Sound . . 210 
 
 Reredos in Carved Bone 363 
 
 Rebec of the Sixteenth Century 221 
 
 Reading-desk of the Fifteenth Century. ... 33 
 
 Reliquary, Byzantine 129 
 
 Si"lver-gilt 143 
 
 Rings 165 
 
 JRote, David playing on a . 218 
 
 Saddle-cloth, Sixteenth Century 118 
 
 Salt-cellar, Enamelled 155 
 
 „ Interior base of 156 
 
 Samhuie, or Sackbut, of the Ninth Century 202 
 
 Sansterre, as represented on his Seal 79 
 
 Saufang, of St. Cecilia's at Cologne, The . . 206 
 
 Scent-box in Chased Gold 142 
 
 Scribe or Copyist in his Work-room 432 
 
 Sculpture : — 
 
 Altar of Castor 340 
 
 Altar of Jupiter Ceraunus 341 
 
 Bas-relief of Dagobert 1 347 
 
 Citizens relieving Poor Scholars 351 
 
 Coronation of the Emperor Sigismund 360 
 
 Fragment of a Reredos in Bone 363 
 
 Francis I. and Henrj^ VIII. on the 
 
 Field of the Cloth of Gold 369 
 
 Gargoyles on the Palace of Justice, 
 
 Rouen 372 
 
 Roman Triumphal Arch 342 
 
 " Le Bon Dieu," Paris 364 
 
 St. Eloi 366 
 
 St. John the Baptist preaching 368 
 
 St. Julien and his Wife conveying Jésus 
 
 Christ in their boat 362 
 
 Statua of Philip Chabot 370 
 
 Statue of Dagobert 1 347 
 
 Statiie said to be of Clo™ 1 353 
 
 Statues on Bourges Cathedral 357 
 
 Statuette of St. Avit 361 
 
 StoneTomb 343 
 
 The " Beau Dieu d^ Amiens " 355 
 
 The Entombment 371 
 
 Tomb of Dagobert 349 
 
 Seal of the Goldsmiths of Paris 159 
 
 „ King of La Basoche 419 
 
ENGRA VINGS. 
 
 P»go 
 
 Soiil of tho Univorsity of Oxford 478 
 
 ,, Univorsity of Piiris 417 
 
 Si-iils 166 
 
 Soiits, Kourtconth nnd Fifteenth Centuries. 8 
 
 Sedan Chair of CImrles V 120 
 
 Shrino in Copper-gilt 132 
 
 Shrino in Limoges 131 
 
 „ of the Fifteenth Century 147 
 
 Soldiers, Gullo-Romano 76 
 
 Spurs, Germiin nnd Italinn 113 
 
 Staircase of a Tower 398 
 
 Stall of Ihe Fifteenth Century 33 
 
 Stalls in St. Benoît-sur-Loire 3.5 
 
 Sword of Cbarlemagne 126 
 
 Syrinx, Seven-tubed 197 
 
 Table of King Artus of Brittany 5 
 
 Tapestry: — 
 
 Construction of Boats for the Con- 
 
 queror 44 
 
 Hunting Scène 49 
 
 Marriage of Louis XII. and Anne of 
 
 Brittany 46 
 
 Mounted Men of Duke William's army 45 
 
 The AVeaver 50 
 
 Tintinnabuhim, or Hand-hell 206 
 
 Toledo, Gothic Architecture at 393 
 
 Tour de Nesle, Paris 400 
 
 Tcumament Helmet, screwed on the Breast- 
 
 plate 82 
 
 Tovirnament Saddles, omamented with 
 
 Paintings 116 
 
 Poge 
 
 Troo of Josso. From a MiniatnrB 195 
 
 Trianglo of the Ninth Century 222 
 
 Trumpot, Curvod, Elovcnth Century 200 
 
 „ Straight, with Stand 200 
 
 Tympanum of tho Thirtecnlh Century .... 2U8 
 
 Vase of Rock-crystal, mounted in Silver- 
 
 gilt 152 
 
 Vases of ancient shape 54,55 
 
 Vielle, Juggler playing on a 220 
 
 „ Ovul 220 
 
 „ Player on the 220 
 
 Watches of the Valois Epoch 181 
 
 Water-jug, Four-handled 72 
 
 Water-marlcs on Paper 421 
 
 Window with Stone Seats 398 
 
 "Wood-block eut in France, about 1440.... 488 
 
 ,, Print eut in Flanders 486 
 
 Writing Caligraphic Ornament 442 
 
 „ Cursive, of the Fifteenth Century 439 
 
 „ Diplomatie, of the Tenth Century 438 
 
 „ of the Eighth Century 436, 437 
 
 „ of the Fifteenth Century 442 
 
 „ of the Fourteenth Century 440 
 
 „ of the Serenth Century 435,436 
 
 „ of the Sixth Century 435 
 
 ,, of the Tenth Century 437 
 
 „ Tironian, of the Eighth Century 437 
 ,, Title and Capital Letters of the 
 
 Seventh Century 435 
 
THE AETS IN TIIE MIDDLE AGES, 
 
 AND AT TUE l'KRIOD OF 
 
 THE RENAISSANCE. 
 
 FUENITUEE: 
 
 OEDINARY HOUSEHOLD, AXD APPEETAIÏTING TO ECCLESIASTICAL PUEPOSES. 
 
 Simplicity of Furnitm-e among the Gauls and Franks.— Introduction of costly taste in articles o£ 
 Furuiture of the Seventh Centiiry. — Arm-chair of Dagobert. — Eound Table of King Artus. — 
 Influence of the Crusades. — Eegal Banquet in the lime of Charles V. — Benches. — Sideboarda. 
 — Dinner Services. — Goblets. — Brassware. — Casks. — Lighting. — Beds. — Carved Wood Furni- 
 ture. — Locksmith's Work. — Glass and Mirrors. — Eoom of a Feudal Seigneur. — Costliuess of 
 Furniture used for Ecclesiastical Purposes. — Altars. — Censers. — Shrines and Eeliquaries. — 
 Gratings and Iron-mountings. 
 
 E shall be readily believed when we assert that the 
 i'j' fitrnitiire used by our remote ancestors, the Gauls, was 
 of the most rude simplicity. A people essentially 
 addicted to war and hunting, — at the best, agri- 
 ciilturists, — having for their temples the forests, for 
 their dwellirtgs huts formed out of turf and thatched 
 ■^ ■with straw and branches, would naturally be iudiiferent to the form 
 ^^ and description of their furniture. 
 " Then succeeded the Roman Conquest. Originally, and long sub- 
 
 séquent to the formation of their warlike republic, the Homans had also 
 Kved in contempt of display, and even in ignorance of the conveniences of 
 life. But when they had subjugated Gaul, and had carried their yictorious 
 arms to the confines of the world, they by degrees appropriated whatever the 
 manners and habits of the conquered nations disclosed to them of refined 
 luxury, material progress, and ingénions devices for comfort. Thus, the 
 Eomans brought with them into Graul what they elsewhere had acquired. 
 • B 
 
FURNITURE. 
 
 Again, wlien, in their turn, the semi-barbarous bordes of Germany and of 
 tbe Nortbern steppes invaded tbe Roman empire, tbese new conquerors 
 did not fail to accommodate tbemselves instinctively to the social condition 
 of tbe vanquisbed. 
 
 Tbis, briefly stated, is an explanation — we admit, ratber concise — of 
 tbe transition Connecting tbe cbaracteristics of tbe society of olden days 
 witb tbose of modem society. 
 
 Society in tbe Middle Ages — tbat social epocb wbicb may be compared 
 to tbe state of a decrepid and worn-out old man, ■wbo, after a long, dull 
 torpor awakes to new life, bke an active and vigorous cbild — society in 
 tbe Middle Ages inberited mncb from preceding times, tbougb, to a certain 
 extent, tbey were disconnected. It transformed, perbaps ; and it perfected, 
 ratber than invented ; but it displayed in its works a geniiis so peculiar 
 tbat we generally recognise in it a real création. 
 
 Proposing rapidly to pursue our arcbseological and bterary course 
 tbrougb a twofold period of birtb and revival, we cannot indulge tbe belief 
 tbat we sball succeed in exbibiting our sketcbes in a ligbt tbe best adapted 
 to tbeir effect. However, we will make tbe attempt, and, tbe frame being 
 giveu, will do our best to fiU in tbe picture. 
 
 If we visit anjr royal or princely abode of tbe Merovingian period, we 
 observe tbat tbe display of wealtb consists mucb less in tbe élégance or in 
 tbe originality of tbe forms devised for articles of furniture, tban in tbe 
 profusion of precious materials employed in tbeir fabrication and embellisb- 
 ment. Tbe time bad gone by wben tbe earliest tribes of Gauls and of 
 î^ortbmen, wbo came to occupy tbe West, bad for tbeir seats and beds only 
 trusses of straw, rusb mats, and bundles of brancbes ; and for tbeir tables 
 slabs of stone or piles of turf. From tbe tiftb century of tbe Cbristian era, 
 we already find tbe Franks and tbe Gotbs resting tbeir muscular forms on 
 tbe long soft seat wbicb tbe Romans bad adopted from tbe East, and wbicb 
 bave become our sofas or our coucbes ; ebanging only tbeir names. In 
 front of tbem were arranged low borse-sboe tables, at wbicb tbe centre seat 
 was reserved for tbe most dignified or iUustrious of tbe guests. Coucbes at 
 tbe table, suited only to tbe efFeminacy induced by warm climates, were soon 
 abandoned by tbe Gauls; bencbes and stools were adopted by tbese most 
 active and vigorous u\en ; meals were no longer eaten reclining, but sitting : 
 wbile tbe tbroues of kings, and tbe cbairs of state for nobles, were of tbe 
 
FURNITURE. 
 
 rû'liosi suinpliiousiioss. Thus, for instaiico, wo fincl St. Eloi, tlie celeLratcd 
 wdi'kiT iii iiK'liils, inanufueluring- aiul oinlH'llisliing Iwo .s(ii(e-cliairs of gold 
 for Clolairo, aiul a tlirono of gold for Dagobcrl. Tlic cliair ascribud to 
 St. Eloi, aiul knowu as the Fauteuil de Dagobcrt (Fig. 1), is au autique con- 
 sular cLair, whicli originally was ouly a folding one ; thc Abbé Sugcr, in the 
 twclfth century, addcd to it tbe back and arms. Artistic disj^lay was equally 
 
 Fig. I. — The Curule Chair called the *' Fauteuil de Dagobert," in gilt bronze, now in the Musée des 
 
 Souverains. 
 
 laTisbed on tbe manufacture of tables. Historians tell us tbat St. Eemy, a 
 contemporary af Clovis, had a silver table decorated ail over witb. sacred 
 subjects. The poet Fortunat, Bishop of Poitiers, describes a table of the 
 same métal, which had a border representing a vine with bunches of grapes. 
 
 Corning to the reign of Charlemagne, we find, in a passage in the 
 writings of Eginhard, his minister and historian, that, in addition to a 
 golden table which this great monarch possessed, he had three others of 
 
FURNITURE. 
 
 cliased silver ; one decorated witli designs representing the city of Rome, 
 anotlier Constantinople, and the third " ail countries of the universe." 
 
 The chairs or seats of the Romanesque period (Fig. 2) exhibit an attempt 
 to revive in the interior of the buildings, where they were used, the archi- 
 tectural style of contemporary monuments. They were large and massive, 
 and were raised on clusters of columns expanding at the back in three semi- 
 circular rows. The anonymous monk of Saint-GaU, in his chronicle written 
 in the ninth century, aUudes to a grand banquet, at which the host was 
 seated on cushions of feathers. Legrand d'Aussy tells us, in his "Histoire 
 de la Vie Privée des Français," that at a later date— referring to the reign 
 
 Fig. 2.— Chair of the Ninth or Tenth Century, taken from a Miniature of that period (MS. de la Bibl. 
 Imp. de Paris). 
 
 of Louis le Gros, in the beginning of the twelfth century — ^the guests were 
 seated, at ordinary family repasts, on simple stools ; but if the party was 
 more of a ceremonious than intimate character, the table was surrounded 
 with benches, or hanes, whence the term banquet is derived. The form of 
 table was commonly long and straight, but on occasions of state it was 
 semicircular, or like a horse-shoe in form, recalling the Romanesque round 
 table of King Artus of Brittany (Fig. 3). 
 
FURNITURE. 
 
 Tlio Crusiulcs, bringing togotlier mou of ail the countries of Europe with 
 llie pcoplo of tlio East, mudo thosc of tlie West acquaiutcd with luxuries aud 
 ciistoms wliich, on roturning from their chivalrous expéditions, they did not 
 fail to imihite. Wo tind feasts at wliicli tliey atc sittiug cross-leggcd on the 
 
 Fig 3. — Round Table of K.ing Artus of Brittany, from a Miniature of the Fourteentli Century (ilS. de la Bibl. 
 
 Imp. de Paris). 
 
 ground, or stretched eut on carpets in the Oriental fashion, as represented 
 and described in miniatures contained in the manuscripts of that period. 
 The Sire de Joinville, the friend and historian of Louis IX., informs us that 
 this saintly king was in the habit of sitting on a carpet, surrounded by his 
 barons, and in that manner he dispensed justice ; but at the same time the 
 
FURNITURE. 
 
 practice of using large chaires, or ar m- chair s, continued, for there still is to 
 be seen a throne in massive wood belonging to tliat period, and called le 
 banc (le Monseigneur St. Louis, embellished witb carviugs representing fancif ul 
 and legendary birds and animais. It is nnnecessary to add tbat tbe lower 
 orders did not aspire to so much refinement. In their abodes the seats in 
 use were settles, cbests, or at best benches, tbe supports of whicb were, to a 
 slight estent, carved. 
 
 This was tbe period -n'hen the practice commenced of covering seats with 
 wooUen stuffis, or witb silk figured on frames, or embroidered by band, 
 disjjlaying cipbers, emblems, or armoriai bearings. From tbe East was 
 introduced tbe custom of hangings for rooms, composed of glazed leatber, 
 stamped and gilt. Thèse skins of the goat or sheep were called or basané, 
 because plain gilt ; or embossed leather, in gold colour, was made from 
 them. Or basané was also used to conceal the bare look of arm-chairs. 
 Towards the fourteenth century, tables of precious metals disappeared, in 
 conséquence of fashion ruling in faveur of the stufFs which covered them ; 
 tapestry, tissues of gold, and velvets thenceforth formed the table- cloths. 
 On great occasions, the jjlace of the principal guests was distinguished by a 
 canopy, more or less rich, erected above their seats, as represented in the 
 account of the sumptuovis feast given by King Charles V. to the Emperor 
 Charles of Luxemburg, in the great hall of the palace. M. Fréguier thus 
 describes the banquet from contemporary documents in the " Histoire de 
 l'Administration de la Police de Paris :"^ — 
 
 "The dinner was served on a marble table. The Archbishop of Rheims, 
 who had officiated that day, first took his place at table. The Emperor then 
 sat down, then the King of France, and the King of Bohemia, the son of 
 tbe Emperor, Above the seat of each of the three princes was a separate 
 canopy of gold cloth, embroidered ail over with fleurs-de-lis. Thèse three 
 canopies were surmounted by a larger one, also of cloth of gold, which 
 covered the whole estent of the table, and was suspended behiad the guests. 
 After the King of Bohemia, three bishops took their place, but far removed 
 from him, and near the end of the table. Under the nearest canopy the 
 Dauphin was seated, at a separate table, with several princes or nobles of 
 the Court of France, or of the Emperor. The hall was adorned with three 
 buffets, or dressers, covered with gold and silver plate ; thèse three dressers, 
 as well as the two large canopies, were protected by a railing, to prevent the 
 
I-TRX/ITRf:. 
 
 intrusion of tho crowds of pcoplo who had boen permîtted to witness tho 
 nuin-nificoncc of tho displaj'. Fiiially, thcrc wero to bo seen fivo otlior 
 caïuipii's, Ululer wliitli wcro asscinblod princes and barons round privato 
 tables; also iiuiiu'nms otlu'r lalilcs." 
 
 It is notewortliy that i'roiii tho time of 8t. Louis thcsc samo chairs and 
 seuts, carvod, eovcrod with the richcst stuti's, iuhiid witli precious stones, and 
 eno'ravcd witli tho arnuirial bcarings of grcat housos, issucd for thc most 
 part froiu thc workshops of Parisian artisans. Thosc artisans, carponters, 
 nianufacturers of coflbrs and carved chests, and furniture-makers, were so 
 celebratcd for works of this description, that in inventories and appraisements 
 of fiirniture grcat carc -was takon to spccif)' that such and such articles 
 among them were of Parisian manufacture ; ex opcracjio Parmciisi (Fig. 4). 
 
 Fig. 4. — Louis IX. represented in fais Régal Chair, tapestried in fleurs-de-lîs, from a Miniature 
 of the Fourteenth Century. (MS. de la Bibl. Imp. de Paris.), 
 
 The foUowing estract, from an invoice of Etienne La Fontaine, the royal 
 silversniith, affords, in terms which require no comment, an idea of the cost- 
 liness lavished on the manufacti.u'e of an arni-chair, then called faudesteuil, 
 intended for the Ej.ng of France, in 1352 : — 
 
 " For making a fauteuil of silver and of crystal decorated with precious 
 stones, delivered to the said seigneur, of wbich. tbe said seigneur ordered the 
 
FURNITURE. 
 
 said o-oldsmith to make the framework, wlio ornamented it with several 
 crystals, iUuminated pièces, many designs, pearls, and otlier stones .... 
 vii° Lxxiiii'" (774 louis). 
 
 " For iUuminated pièces placed under tlie crystals of the said fauteuil, of 
 which tkere are 40 of the armoriai bearings of France, 61 of the prophets 
 holding scroUs, 112 half-length figures of animais on gold ground, and 4 
 large représentations of the judgments of Solomon .... vi^'^ (620 louis). 
 
 " For twelve crystals for the said fauteuil, of which five are hoUow to 
 hold the bâtons, six flat, and one round," &c. 
 
 It was only towards the commencement of the fifteenth century that 
 chairs stufi'ed with straw or rushes first appeared ; they folded in the form of 
 the letter X (Fig. 5) ; the seats and arms being stuffed. In the sixteenth 
 
 Fig. 5. — Seats from Miniatures of the Fourteenth and Fifteentli Centuries. 
 
 century chairs with backs {chaires or c.hayeres à dorseret), in carved oak or 
 chestnut, painted and gilt, fell into disuse, even in the royal castles, as 
 being too heavy and inconvénient, and on account of their enormous size 
 (Figs. 6 and 7). 
 
 The dresser, which has just been deseribed as used at the grand feast of 
 Charles V., and which moreover has been retained, altered to a sideboard with 
 shelves, almost to our time, was an article manufactured much less for use 
 than for show. It was upon this dresser, — the introduction of which does 
 not appear to go further back than the twelfth century, and the name 
 whereof sufEcientlj'- describes its purpose, — that there was displayed, in the 
 vast halls of manorial résidences, not only aU the valuable plate requii-ed for 
 the table, but many other objects of goldsmith's work which played no part 
 in the banquet — vases of ail sorts, statuettes, figures in high relief, jewels. 
 
FiRM/lNE. 
 
 imd (■v.'ii nli.iuaries. In palaces mid iiiaiisions, thc dressera wero of gold, 
 silvoi', or copixT gilt ; as wero previously llio tables. Persous of inferior rank 
 liad oiily wnodcMi tables, but they werc scnipulous in covoring them with 
 taposd-y, onibroidcrcd .Iclli, an.l linc lablc-rl.>llis. Al ciic lime (lie display 
 
 Fig 6. — Christine de Pizan, contemporary mth Charles V. and Charles VT., seated on a Chair in carved wood 
 with back and canopy, and tapestrj- of worsted or figured silk. The box or chest which formed the writing- 
 table contained books. (iliniature frora a MS. in the Bibl. of Burgundy-Bruxelles, Fifteenth Centurj-.) 
 
 of wealth on the dressers in ecclesiastical establisliments attained to sucli a 
 point, that Tve are reminded, amoug other censures levelled againt that 
 fasbionable esbibition of vanitj', of the expostulations of Martial d'Auvergne, 
 author of the historical poem, "Les Vigiles de Charles YII.," addressed to 
 the bishops on the siibject. One item significant enough is mentioned in 
 ancient documents ; it is the tribute of half-a-dozen small bouquets, which 
 
 c 
 
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 the inhabitauts of Chaillot were boiind to tender annually to tbe Abbey of 
 Saint- German des Prés, to decorate tlie dressers of Messire tbe Abbot. 
 
 Fig. 7.— Louise de Savoie, Duchess of Angoulême, motlier of Francis I., seated in a high-backed Chair of carved 
 wood. (Miniature froni a MS. in the Imp. Bibl, of Paris.) 
 
 More plaiu, but also more useful, were tlie ahace and tlie crédence, other 
 kinds of sideboards which generallj' stood at a little distance from the table ; 
 
FURNITURE. 1 1 
 
 on ouo of thèse wcrc placccl tho tlishcs and plates for removcs, on the othcr 
 tlio goWets, plusses, and cups. It niay be added that the crédeiice, before 
 il was introdiu'i'd in (ho dining-halls, luid from very remote times bcen used 
 in cliuiclu's, ^^lu>l■o it was placod noar llic altar to reçoive Ihc sacrcd vcssels 
 durinj;- tho saorilice of ma.ss. 
 
 Posidonius, the Stoic philosoplior, who wrote about a hundred j^ears before 
 the Christian era, tells us that, at the fcasts of the Guuls, a slave used to 
 bring to table an carthenware, or a silver, jug filled with wine, from which 
 ovcry guest quaffcd in turn, and allayed his thirst. We thus see the practice 
 of using goblots of silver, as wcll as of earthenware, established among the 
 Gaids at a period we considor primitive. In truth, those vesscls of silver 
 were probably not the productions of local industry, but the spoil which 
 those martial tribes had acquired in their wars against more civilised nations. 
 With regard to the vases of baked claj-, the majority of those fréquent!}' 
 exhumed from burial-grounds prove how coarse they were, though they 
 seem to bave been made with the help of the potter's wheel, as among the 
 Romans. However that may be, we think it best to omit the considération 
 of the question in this place, and to résume it in the chapter on the Ceramic 
 Art. But we must not forget to notice the custom which prevailed among the 
 earliest inhabitants of our country, of oifering to those most renowned for their 
 valeur beverages in a horn of the unis, which was either gilt or ornamented 
 with bands of gold or silver. The unis was a species of ox, now extinct, 
 that existed in a wild state in the forests with which €raul was then partly 
 covered. This horn goblet long continued to be the emblem of the highest 
 warlike dignity among the nations who succeeded the Gauls. William of 
 Poitiers relates, in his " Histoire de Guillaume le Conquérant," that towards 
 the end of the eleventh century, this Duke of Normandy still drank out of 
 the horn of a buU, when he held his fuU court at Fécamp. 
 
 Our ancient kings, whose tables were made of the most precious metals, 
 failed not also to display rare magnificence in the plate that stood on those 
 superb tables. Chroniclers relate, for example, that Chilperic, " on the 
 pretext of doing honour to the people whom he governed, had a dish made 
 of solid gold, ornamented ail over with precious stones, and weighing fifty 
 pounds ;" and again, that Lothaire one day distribiited among his soldiers 
 the fragments of an enormous silver basin, on which was designed " the 
 world, with the courses of the stars and the planets." In the absence of any 
 
FURNITURE. 
 
 authentic documents, it must be presumed that, in contrast to tbis régal 
 style or ratlier far removed therefrom, the rest of the nation scarcely used 
 any other utensils btit those of earthenware, or wood ; or else of iron or 
 copper. 
 
 Advancing in the course of centuries, and till the period when the 
 progress of tlie ceramic art enabled its productions at length to rank among 
 articles of luxury, we find gold and silver always preferred for dinner 
 services ; but marble, rock crystal, and glass appeared in turn, artistically 
 worked in a thousand élégant or singular forms, as cups, ewers, large 
 tumblers, goblets, &c. (Fig 8). 
 
 Fig. 8. — A State Banquet in tBe Fifteenth Centur)', with the service of dishes brought in and handed round to the 
 Sound of musical instruments. (Miniature Irom a JIS. in the Imp. Lib. in Paris.) 
 
 To the goblet, especially, seeni to belong ail Honorary privilèges in thè 
 étiquette of the table ; for the goblet, a sort of large cbalice on a thin stem, 
 was more particularly regarded as an object of distinction by the guests, on 
 account of the supposed antiquity of its origin. Thus -we see represented 
 among the présents given to the Abbey of St. Denis by the Emperor 
 Charles the Bald, a goblet which is alleged to hâve belonged to Solomon, 
 "which goblet was se marvellously wrought, that never (oncqiiei) 'was there 
 in ail the kingdoms of the world a work so délicate {mUile)." 
 
 The goldsmiths, sculptors, and workers in copper had recourse to ail the 
 
/rA'.\7/rA'/:. 13 
 
 fli>vico« of art and ima^'iiiaiioii lo cniliollisli f^'ohlcts, owors, and siilt-ccllars. 
 W(> find allusions, in llie rci-ilals of clironiclor.s, tlio romances of cliivalry, 
 and ospccially in old invoicos and invoutories, to cwers reprcsonting nicn, 
 roses, and dolpliins; to f^oblets covercd willi flowcrs and animais; to salt- 
 collers in tlio l'orm ordraf:;on8, &.C. 
 
 Soveral larj-o piccos of gold plalo, discoiilimuil at a ladT piilod, glittercd 
 thon at grand bancpiols. Espccially niay l)o iiotcd <Iic portable fountains 
 raised in tlie niiddlo of thc table, and froin wliicb, durinf,' tlie ropast, flowed 
 sevoral sorts ol' beverages. Philip thc Good, Duke of lUirgundy, had onc 
 in tho fonn of a fortress with towers, from the summit of whicH the figure 
 of a womau poured ont hiijpocras (spicod wine) from lier bosom, and that 
 of a ehild, which sprinklcd pcrfumed water. 
 
 Thcrc wore also platc-holdcrs, well described by Du Cange as large 
 dishes luadc to contain vessels, cups, knives ; eomfit-boxes, -which hâve been 
 replaced by our modem hotihonnitrcs, and whicli formerly were valuable 
 caskets ehased and damaskeened ; and lastly, almsboxes, a description of 
 metal-urns, riehly cliased ; thèse were placed before the guests in order that, 
 according to an ancient custom, each. might place tberein some portions of 
 méat, to be subsequently distributed to the poor. 
 
 If wo glance at the otlier miner objects whicli completed the table- 
 service — knives, spoons, forks, bottle-stands, plate-mats, &c. — we shall see 
 that they no less indicate retinement and luxury. Forks, that now seem 
 to us so indispensable, are mentioned for the first tinie in 1379, in an 
 iuveutory of Charles Y. They had only two prongs, or rather two long 
 sharp points. As for knives, which, with spoons, had to supply the place 
 of forks for the guests to eat with, their antiquity is undoubted. Posidonius, 
 ■ ^hom we hâve already quoted, says, when speaking of the Celts : — 
 " They eat in a very slovenly manner, and seize with their hands, like 
 lions with their claws, ■whole quarters of méat, which they tear in pièces 
 with their teeth. If they iînd a tough morsel, they eut it with a small 
 knife which thej- always carry in a sheath at their side." Of what were 
 thèse knives made ? Our author does not tell us ; but we may assume that 
 they were of flint or of polished stone, like the hatchets and arrow-heads so 
 frequently f ound where thèse ancient people dwelt, and which bear testimony 
 to- their industry. 
 
 In the thirteenth century mention is made of knives, under the name of 
 
14 FURNITURE. 
 
 mensacidce and artari, wJbich a little later were known by the word kenivet, 
 from wBich evidently is derived canif. To complète tliis connection, we may 
 remark that it is to be gathered, from a passage by the same author, that 
 tke blades of some kniyes of tbat period were made to slide into tbe handle 
 by means of a spring, like our pocket-knives. 
 
 Spoons, which necessarily were used by ail nations as soon as dishes more 
 or less liquid were introduced, are described from tbe date of almost our 
 earliest history. Accordinglj', we see, in the " Life of St. Radegoude," that 
 that princess, who was constantly engaged in charitable acts, used a spoon 
 for feeding the blind and the helpless whom she took under her care. 
 
 At a very remote period we find in use turquoises, or nut-crackers. 
 Criiet-stands were, excepting in form, -vevj similar to stands for two 
 bottles ; for they are thus described : — " A kind of double-necked bottle in 
 di\'isions, in which to place two sorts of liquors without mixing them." The 
 plate-mats were our dessous de 'pJat, made of wicker, wood, tin, or other métal. 
 
 The manufacture of the greater number of thèse articles, if intended for 
 persons of rank, did not fail to engage the industry of artisans and the 
 talent of artists. Spoons, forks, nut-crackers, cruet-stands, sauce-boats, &c., 
 furnished inexhaustible subjects for embellishment and chasing ; knife- 
 handles, made of ivorj^, cedar-wood, gold, or silver, were also fashioned in 
 the most varied forms. Until ceramic art introduced plates more or less 
 costty, they naturally enough foUowed the shape of dishes, which in fact 
 they are, on a small scale. But if the dishes were of enormous size, the 
 plates were always very small. 
 
 If from the dining-room we pass to the kitchen, so as to form some idea 
 of culinary utensils, we must admit that, anterior to the thirteenth cen- 
 tury, the most circumstantial documents are ail but silent on the subject. 
 Nevertheless, some of the ancient poets and early romancers allude to those 
 huge mechanical spits on which, at one and the same time, large joints of 
 différent kinds, entire sheep, or long rows of poultry and game, coidd be 
 roasted. Moreover, we know that in palaces, and in the mansions of the 
 nobility, copper cooking-utensils possessed real importance, because the 
 care and maintenance of the copper-ware was entrusted to a person who 
 bore the title of maignen, a name still given to the itinérant tinker. 
 We also find that from the twelfth centurj^ there existed the corporation of 
 brazicrs [dinans), who executed historical designs, in relievo, by the use of 
 
FURNITCRK. 15 
 
 tlic luiinnuT in licalinj^ ont and cmbossiiig coppcr, — designs iliat would bwir 
 i-onipai'ison «itli tlio niost claborate works prodiiced by the goldsmitli's art. 
 Some of thcsc artisans obtained such réputation thut their namcs bave 
 deseonded to lis. Jeun d'Oui lemcusc, Jean Delumaro, Gautier de Ceux, 
 Tjanibert Patras, werc anioiig tbos(> wbn cinifcrrcd bonoui' on tlie art of 
 brazier's work {tliiKUidevir). 
 
 From the kitchen to tbe cellar tlio distance is usiially but sbort. Our 
 forefatbers, wbo werc large consumers, and in their way bad a délicate 
 appréciation, of the juice of tbe vine, understood bow to store tbe barrels 
 wliicb containcd tbeir wines in deep and spacious vaults. Tbe cooper's art, 
 wlien alniost unknowu in Italy and Spain, bad existcd for a long time in 
 France, as is attestcd bj' a passage taken from tbe " Mémoires de l'Académie 
 des Inscriptions:" — " We see by tbe text of tbe Salie law tbat, wben an 
 cstate cbanged bands, tbe new proprietor gave, in tbe first place, a feast, 
 and tbe guests were bound to eat, in tbe présence of witnesses, a plate of 
 boiled minced méat. It is remarked in tbe ' Glossaire de Du Gange ' 
 tbat, among tbe Saxons and Flemings, tbe word hoden means a round table ; 
 because tbe peasantry used tbe bottom of a barrel as a table. Tacitus says 
 tbat for tbe first meal of tbe day tbe Germaus bad eacb tbeir own table ; 
 tbat is to say, appareutly a full or empty barrel placed on end." 
 
 A statute of Cbarlemagne alludes to bons barils {bonos barridos). Tbese 
 barrels were made by skilled coopers (Fig. 9), vrb.o gave ail tbeir care to 
 form of staves, hooped eitlier witb wood or iron, tbe casks destined to bold 
 tbe produce of tbe vintage. According to an old custom, stQl in vogue 
 iu tbe sotitb of France, tbe inside of the wine-skin used to be painted 
 witb tar, in order to give a flavour to tbe ■wine ; to us tbis would perbaps 
 be nauseous, but at tbat time it was held in bigb faveur. In alluding to 
 wine-skins, or se-^vn skins coated witb pitcb, we may remark tbat tbey date 
 from tbe earliest historié times. Tbey are still employed in coimtries where 
 wine is carried on pack-animals, and tbey were much used for journeys. 
 If a traveller was going into a country where he expected to find 
 notbing to drink, he would fasten a wine-skin ou the crupper of his horse's 
 saddle, or, at least, would sling a small leather wine-skin across his shoulder. 
 Etymologists even maintain tbat from the name of thèse light wine-skins, 
 outres légères, was derived the old French word houteUk; tbat, first having 
 been designated boucliiaxx, and boiifiaii.r, tbey finally were named bouties and 
 
i6 
 
 FURNITURE. 
 
 houtilles. When, in tlie thirteenth century, tlie Bishop of Amiens was setting 
 ont for the wars, the tanners of liis episcopal tovvn were bound to supply him 
 mth two leatliern hoiichiaux — one holding a hogshead, tlie otlier twenty- 
 four setkrs. 
 
 Some archteologists maintain that, wlien there had been a very abund- 
 ant vintage, the wine was stored in brick-built cisterns, sucb as are still 
 made in Normandy for cider ; or that tbey were eut ont of the solid rock, 
 as we see them sometimes in the south of France ; but it is more pro- 
 
 Fig. 9.— A Cooper's Workshop, drawn and engraved, in the Sixteenth Centur}', by J. Amman. 
 
 bable that thèse ancient cisterns, which are perhaps of an earlier date than 
 the Middle Ages, were more especially intended for the process of fermenta- 
 tion — that is to say, for making wine, and not for storing it ; which, indeed, 
 under such unfavourable circumstances, -would hâve been next to impossible. 
 What light did our ancestors use ? History tells us that at first they 
 used lamps with stands, and hangiug lamps, in imitation of the Romans ; 
 which, however, must not lead us to the conclusion that, even in the remotest 
 times of our annals, the use of fat and wax for such purposes was absolutely 
 unknown. This Êict is the less doubtful because, from the time when trade 
 corporations were formed, we fiud the makers of candies and wax-chandlers 
 
FURNITURE. 
 
 '7 
 
 of Paris govenud 1)V ccrlain stututcs. As for Iho lamps, wliicli, as in ancient 
 tinios, -noro on stan<ls plai'cd for tliis jjurposo in tho houscs, or wcrc sus- 
 jicndrd Ly lij^lit cliains (Figs. 10 and 11), thcy wcre madc in accordancc 
 witli tlio nicans ol' lliosc for whoni thcy woro intcndt'd, and wcrc of bakod 
 lartli, iron, brass, and gold or silvcr, ail more or Icss ornamcnted. Lamps 
 and caiidlcsticks are uot unfrciiuently mentioned in tlic inventories of tlie 
 Middlo Apos. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, German artisans 
 madc (orcli-holders, flambeaux, and cbandclicrs in coppcr, wrougbt and 
 cmbellislicd wifli rci)rosontations of uU kinds of natural or fantastic objccts ; 
 
 Figs. lo and il. — Hang 
 
 \ Laraps of the Ninth Centurj', frora Miniatures in the Bible of Charles 
 the Bald (Bibl. Imp. de Paris). 
 
 and in tbose days thèse works of art were much in request. The use of 
 lamps "was ail but gênerai in the earlj- days of the monarchy ; but as the 
 somewhat dim and smoky flame which they furnished did not give sufficient 
 brilliancy to the entertainments and solemn assemblies held in the evening, 
 it became an established custom to add to thèse lamps the Ught of resinous 
 torches, -which serfs held in their hands. The tragic épisode of the Ballet 
 des Ardents, as told by Eroissart — which we shall hereafter relate in the 
 chapter on Playing Cards — shows that this custom, which we already see 
 
 D 
 
FURNITURE. 
 
 alluded to in Gi'égoire de Tours, our earKest historian, was in fashion until 
 the reign of Charles VI. 
 
 In subjugating tlie East, the Romans assumed and brought back with 
 them extrême notions of luxury and indolence. Previously their bedsteads 
 were of planks, covered with straw, moss, or dried leaves. They borrowed 
 from Asia those large carved bedsteads, gilt and plated with ivorjr, whereon 
 were piled cushions of wool and feathers, with counterpanes of the most 
 beautif ul furs and of the richest materials. 
 
 Thèse customs, like many others, were handed down from the Romans to 
 the Gauls, and from the Gauls to the Franks. With the exception of bed- 
 linen, wliich came into use much later, we find, from the time of our earliest 
 kiugs, the various sleeping appliances nearly as they are now — the pillow 
 {mo-icuJare), the foot-coverlet (lorale), the counterpane (culcita), &c. No 
 mention, however, is made of cnrtains (or courtines). 
 
 At a later period, while stiE. retaining their primitive furniture, bed- 
 steads vary in their shapes and dimensions : those of the poor and of the 
 monks are narrow and homely ; among kings and nobles they, in process of 
 time, became véritable examples of the joiner's work, and only to be reached 
 hj the aid of stools, or even steps (Fig. 12). The guest at a château could 
 not reçoive any greater honour than to occupy the same bed as the lord of 
 the manor ; and the dogs by whom the seigneiirs — ail great sportsmen — 
 were constantly surrounded had the privilège of reposing where their masters 
 slept. Hence we recognise the object of thèse gigantic bedsteads, which 
 were sometimes twelve feet in width. If we are to beKeve the chronicles, 
 the pillows were j)erfumed with essences and odoriferous waters ; this we 
 can understand to hâve been by no means a useless précaution. We see, in 
 the sixteenth century, Francis I. testifying his great regard for Admirai 
 Bonnivet by occasionally admittiug him to share his bed. 
 
 Having completed our review of furniture, properly so called, we hâve 
 now to treat of that which may be termed highly artistic articles of furni- 
 ture — that is, those on which the workers in wood exercised their highest 
 talents — elevated seats of honour, chairs and arm-chairs, benches and 
 trestles ; ail of which were frequently ornamented with figures in relief, 
 very elaborately sculptm-ed with a knife {canicet) ; the hahuts, a kind of chest 
 with either a flat or convex top, resting on feet, and opening on the upper 
 side, whereon were placed stufîed leather cushions (Fig. 13) ; tubs, buffets, 
 
FURNITURE. 
 
 >9 
 
 presses, coffcrs both larf»o and smtill, chess-boarrls, flicc-tnbloB, coinb-l)oxes, 
 whieh huvo bcon superaeded by our dressijig-ciises, &c. Many Bpccimons 
 of tbose variotis kiiula of furnituro havo descoiidcd to our tiino ; and they 
 jirovi" fo \\\v.\\ a (le^roe of perfection and of elaboralo finisli (bo art of 
 
 Fig. 12. — Bed fumished \\-ith Canopy and Curtains, from a Miniature at the end of the Fourteenth Centur\-. 
 (SIS. de la BibL Imp. de Paris.) 
 
 cabinet-making and of inlaying had attained in the Middle Ages. Elégance 
 and originality of design in inlaid nietals, jasper, mother-of-pearl, ivory ; 
 carving, varions Mnds of veneering, and of stained woods, are ail found 
 combined in this description of furniture; some of wbich was ornamented 
 
FURNITURE. 
 
 ■^V-i^^ 
 
 with extrême delicacy of taste (Plate I.), and still remains inimitable, if not 
 in ail the détails of exécution, at least in ricli and harmoniûus effect. 
 
 At tlie time of the Renaissance, cabinets 
 mtli numerous drawers and in several compart- 
 ments were introdnced : thèse were known in 
 Germany by the name of artistic cabinets 
 {armoires artistiques) : the sole object of the 
 maker was to combine in one pièce of f arniture, 
 under the pretext of utility, ail the fascination 
 and gorgeous caprices of décorative art. 
 
 To the Germans must be awarded the merit 
 of having been the first to distinguish them- 
 selves in the manufacture of thèse magnificent 
 cabinets, or presses ; but they soon found rivais 
 in both the French (Fig. 14) and Italians 
 
 (Fig. 15),who 
 proved them- 
 selves equally 
 skilfidand in- 
 genious in the 
 exécution of 
 this kind of 
 manufacture. 
 
 The art of 
 working in 
 iron, which 
 can legiti- 
 mately rank 
 as one of the 
 most notable 
 industries of 
 the Middle 
 Ages, soon 
 
 came to lend its aid to that of cabiaet-making, both in embellishing and 
 giving solidity to its chefs-d'œuvre. The ornamentation of cabinets and coffers 
 was remarkable for the good taste and the high finish displayed in them. 
 
 Fig. 13. — Chest shaped like a Bed, standing in front of a Fireplace, and a Chair 
 with cushions, in carved wood, from Miniatures of the Fifteenth Century. (Eihl. 
 Roy. de Bruxelles.) 
 
^M' 
 
 DISTAFF OF WOOD, 
 
 Turnedand (arved. Sbtleeiill Cenlurv. Size of Ihc Original. 
 
FIR.XJI'IK/C. 
 
 lu llic liiinds 1)1" skill'iil artisuns, nf imiUmuwii iirtists (lating IVcnii tlic twdl'lli 
 to tlu' .sIxtiM'iitli l'ciittiry, iroii nccmcd lo assiiino <>T('a1 (luctility — iiideod, wc 
 iiii;;lit. say uniircfi'dt.'iil('d siihiiiissinii. Observe, in tlio gnitings of court- 
 yanls, in llic iroii-winU ut' j^-ates, liow thoso lines are interlucod, liow attrao- 
 livo arc tliose (li<si<;iis, liow tliosi" WToULrlit sIcTiis an» dclicatclv Icnn-f liciicd 
 
 y.w- 
 
 Fîg. 14. — Small Cabinet for Jewels, in carved wood, aùer thc stylo ut" Jean Goujon, from the Château d'Ecouen, 
 and which fonnerlj' belonged to the Montmorency family. (In the Collection of M. Double.) 
 
 out, at once strong but light, and finally how tliey expand witli natural 
 grâce into leayes, fruits, and symbolic figures. 
 
 Moreover, tlie workers in métal did not confine tHernselves to the applica- 
 tion of iron on articles already prepared and manufactured by otlier artisans ; 
 they had also to originate and exécute, to omament caskets and reliquaries : 
 but their spécial art was to manufacture bolts (Fig. 16), locks, and keys; 
 
FURNITURE. 
 
 examples of this kind of ancient work will always be admired. " Locks," 
 says M. Jules Labarte, " were at that time carried to sucb a degree of 
 perfection, that they were considered as véritable objects of art ; they were 
 carried from place to j)lace, as would bave been done witb any otber valuable 
 article of furniture. Notbing could be more artistic tban tbe figures in 
 higb relief, tbe armoriai bearings, tbe letterings, tbe ornaments and tbe 
 engravings wbicb embellisbed tbat portion of tbe key wbicb tbe fingers 
 grasp (Fig. 17), and for wbicb we bave substituted a common ring." 
 
 Fig. 15.— Cabinet in Damaskeened Iron, inlaidwith gold and silver. An Italian work of the Sixtcenth Century. 
 
 Glass and glazing claim particular notice. It may be said tbat glass was 
 known in tbe remotest âges, for Pbœnicia and ancient Egypt were, in tbe 
 time of Moses, renowned for tbeir innumerable productions in vitrified sand. 
 In Rome they cast, eut, and engraved glass — they even worked it with the 
 bammer, if we are to believe- Suetonius, who relates tbat a certain artist bad 
 discovered tbe secret of making glass malléable. Tbis industrial art, wbich 
 extended and improved under the emperors, found its way to Eyzantium, 
 wbere it flourished during several centuries ; until Yenice, claiming as she 
 then did a prominent position in the history of the arts, imported the process 
 of the Byzantine method of making glass, and in ber turn excelled in this 
 manufacture. Alfbougb articles in glass and crystal, painted, enamelled. 
 
FURNITURE. 
 
 23 
 
 und ongmved, are froquciilly nlludcd to iii liisl(irii.';il uiul pootical narratives, 
 and also in tho invcntorios ol" tlio ^Middlc Ages, wo kiiow tlicy wcro ail tho 
 rosiilt ol' Greek or Veiiotian niuiiuracturc. In tliis art Franco cspccially 
 socnis to liavo bcou soiiR'wliat lato in (akiiig lier first avtistic stop; such 
 
 Fig. 16. — Boit of the Sisteenth Century, 
 
 with Initial of Henr)- II. 
 
 {In the Castle of Chenonceaus.) 
 
 Fig-. 17.— Key of the Thirteenth Centur>-, with 
 
 two Figures of Chîmeras, back to back. 
 
 (Soltykoff Collection.) 
 
 otjects as were mamifactured for tlie use of tlie ricli nerer passed beyond 
 the limits of the rudest art. We should, however, observe that France 
 must hâve long been acqiiainted with the art of glazing, for in the middle of 
 the seventh century we find St. Benoît — called Biscop, who built so many 
 churchea and convents in England — coming to France in search of workmen 
 for the purpose of glazing the church and the cloisters of his abbey at 
 
2^ FURNITURE. 
 
 Canterbury. And it is also mentioned in the chronicles of the Yenerable 
 Bede, that the French taught their art to the Englisli glaziers. 
 
 To-wards the fourteenth century tte Windows of even the commonest 
 houses were generally glazed; at that date glass manufactories were found 
 in opération everywhere ; and although they may not hâve rivaUed in a 
 remarkable degree their predecessors of the Merovingian period, they never- 
 theless made in large quantities ail kinds of articles ordinarily in use, as we 
 can judge by the ternis of a charter, dated 1338, by which one Guionnet, in 
 order to hâve the privUege of establishing a glass factory in the forest of 
 Chambarant, was bound to furnish as an annual due to his seigneur, Humbert, 
 Pauphin of Viennois, one hundred dozen glasses in the shape of a bell, twelve 
 dozen small shallow glasses, twenty dozen goblets, twelve dozen amphorse, 
 twent}^ dozen lamps, six dozen candlesticks, one dozen large cups, one large 
 stand (or nef), six dozen dishes without borders, twelve dozen jars, &c. 
 
 We hâve alluded to Venice and the celebrity she attained in the art 
 of working glass. It was especially for the manufacture of mirrors and 
 looking-glasses that this large and industrious city made herself renowned 
 over ail the world. If we are to believe Pliny, the Romans purchased their 
 glass mirrors at Sidon, in Phœnicia, where, in the remotest âges, they 
 had been invented. At this time were thèse mirrors silvered ? We must 
 believe that they were, for a plate of glass, without quicksilvering, could 
 never be anything than glass more or less transparent, and would permit 
 of the light passing through, without reflectiag objects. But Pliny asserts 
 nothing of the kind ; and, moreover, as the practice of using mirrors of 
 polished métal, which was taken from the Homans, was for a long time 
 maintained among modem nations, we may conclude either that the inven- 
 tion of glass mirrors was not a great success, or that the secret of making 
 them was lost. In the thirteenth century an English monk wrote a treatise 
 on optics, in which allusion is made to mirrors lined with lead. Nevertheless, 
 mirrors of silver contiiiued in use among the rich, and of iron and polished 
 steel by the poorer classes, till the time when glass became less expensive, 
 and Venetian looking-glasses were introduced, or cleverly imitated, ùi ail 
 European countries ; métal mirrors, which easily became dim, and did not 
 give the natural colour to reflected objects, were then discontinued. At 
 the same time, the élégant shape of the ancient hand-mirrors was retained, 
 the workcrs in gold and silver still continuing to encircle them with most 
 
FURNITURE. 
 
 25 
 
 •îmcei'ul designs ; Iho oiily (lifïorence boing tliat tho surface of polishcd stccl 
 or eilver was roplaccd by a tbick and brigbt pièce of Venetiun gbiss, some- 
 times ornamcnf cd witb roflectcd designs produccd in tbo coaling of quick- 
 silver (Fig. IS). 
 
 Fig. i8. — Hand or Pocket ^Mirror in gold or chased silver, from an Engraving by Etienne Delaulne, 
 a celebrated French goldsmith and engraver (Sixteenth Century). 
 
 From ail tbese détails, tbe reader will bave tbe gratification of ascertaining 
 at a glance tbe gênerai effect of furniture in use for domestic purposes ; and 
 Ibus, after tbe analysis, be will bave its opposite. Fig. 19, a reproduction, 
 taken from tbe " Dictionnaire du Mobilier Français," by M. VioUet-le-Duc, 
 
FrK.xiirKi-:. 27 
 
 rcprcsents a (l\vi'lliiii;-n)om of a ricli iiii1>li'iTiiin iii llic fourteenth oeiituiy. 
 What \vc nuw dosigiiato as u bedrooin, aiul wliich was thon called simply 
 cambre or c/Kimhrr, conhiincd, bcsidcs tlio bod — which was vory large — a 
 varioty of othor fiiruiturc in use for tho ordinary roquircmcnts of daily life ; 
 for tho time that was not givcn to business, to out-door amusements, to 
 stiito rocoptions, and to mcals, was passcd, both by nobles and citizens, in 
 tliis room. In tlio fourteenth ccutury rcquirements for coinfort had developed 
 thcmselves in a romarkable degreo in Franco. To be convinccd of this, we 
 bave onlv to irhinec at tlio inventories, to rcad the romances and narratives 
 of tho dav, and to study with some little care the mansions and housos 
 crectcd in the reign of Charles Y. A huge chimney admittcd many pcrsons 
 to the fireside. Near the hearth was placed the chaire (seat of honour) of 
 the master or of the mistress. The bed, which usually stood in a corner, 
 surrounded by thick curtains, was eiïectually screened, and formed what was 
 theu called a chfcf : that is, a sort of small room enclosed by tapestry. Near 
 the Windows were hancnls, or benches with backs covered ^vith drapery, on 
 which pcrsons could sit and talk, read, or work, while enjoying the view. A 
 dresser was ranged along one side of the room, and on its shelves were 
 placed pièces of valuable plate, dishes for comfits, and flower-vases. Small 
 stools, arm-chairs, and, especially, nmnerous cushions were placed hère and 
 there in the room. Flemish carpets, and tliose which were called sarra- 
 siiiois, covered the floor ; this was composed of enamelled tiles ; or, in the 
 northern provinces, of thick squares of polished oak. Thèse large, loftj', 
 wainscoted rooms always communicated with private staircases, through 
 dressing-rooms and wardrobes in which were located the domestics in immé- 
 diate attendance. 
 
 Let us now pass from domestic furniture to that used for ecolesiastical 
 purposes. We now leave the palaces of kings, the mansions of nobles, 
 and the dwellings of the rich, and enter the buildings consecrated to 
 worship. 
 
 We know that in the early âges of Christianity religious cérémonies were 
 characterised by the greatest simplicity, and that th.e buildings in which. 
 the faithful were wont to assemble were for the most part devoid of any 
 kind of décoration. By degrees, however, rich display entered into churches, 
 and pomp accompanied the exercise of religious worship, especially at the 
 period when Constantine the Great put an end to the era of persécutions 
 
28 FURNITURE. 
 
 and proclaimed himself the protector of the new faitli. It is related that 
 amono- the rich présents wliicli tMs emperor distributed throughout the 
 Christian temples in Rome, were a golden cross weighing two hundred 
 poxmds, patens of the same métal, lamps representing animais, &c. At a 
 later period, in the seventh century. St. Eloi, who was a celebrated goldsmith 
 before he became Bishop of ISToyon, gave his whole mind and talents to the 
 manufacture of church ornaments. He enlisted from among the monks 
 of the various monasteries that were subject to his episcopal authority, ail 
 those whom he fancied had an aptitude for thèse works of art ; he instructed 
 and directed them himself, and made them excellent artists ; he transformed 
 entire monasteries into gold and silver-smiths' workshops ; and numerous 
 remarkable works increased the splendour of the Merovingian basilicas ; 
 such, for example, were the shrine of St. Martin of Tours, and the tomb of 
 St. Denis, the marble roof of which was profusely ornamented with gold and 
 precious stones. " The bounty of Charlemagne," says M. Charles Louandre, 
 " added new riches to the immense wealth already accumulated in the 
 churches. Mosaics, sculpture, the rarest kinds of marble, were lavished on 
 those basilicas for which the emperor evinced partiality ; but ail thèse 
 treasures were dispersed by the Norman invasions. From the ninth to the 
 eleventh centuries it would seem that, with the exception of a few shrines 
 and crosses, objects employed for ecclesiastical purposes were not enriched by 
 the addition of anything note-worthy ; at any rate, the works of that period 
 and those of anterior date hâve not been handed down to us, if we except 
 some rare fragments. The reason is, that, independently of the constant 
 causes of destruction, the furniture of churches was renewed towards the end 
 of the eleventh century, when the édifices themselves were rebuilt ; and it is 
 only from the date of this mystical Eenaissance that we begin to find in the 
 texts précise indications, and in muséums or temples perfectly preserved 
 monuments." 
 
 Ecclesiastical appendages include altars, altar-screens, the pulpit, mon- 
 strances, chaUces, incense-burners, candlesticks or lamps, shrines, reliquaries, 
 basins for containing holy water, and some other objects of lesser relative 
 importance, as crosses, bells, and banner-poles. To thèse we may add votive 
 oiferings, which were generally either of gold or silver. 
 
 In the inftmcy of religious worship the altar took two distinct shapes ; 
 sometimes the form of a table, with a top of stone, wood, or métal sup- 
 
FURNITURE. 29 
 
 portcd liy legs or by coluinns ; soinctimcs it rcsemblcrl an anciont tomb, 
 or a long cofter, nurrowed ut tho base, and surmountcd by a similar 
 coveriug, whicli invariably fomicd tlio upper portion, or the table, of tho 
 altar. 
 
 In addition to altars, more or Icss monumental, which wcre fixtures 
 in tho churchos, and which, IVom tho oarliest period, worc placcd undcr 
 eihoriii (a kind of dais or canopy support cd hy columns), sraall portable altars 
 were employcd, in order to mcct the rcquiremcnts of tho service. Thoy wcre 
 intended to accompany the bishops, or the ordinary clergy, who had to 
 preach the faith in coimtrics where no churches existed. Thèse altars, which 
 werc alluded to when the Christian religion had inade but slight progress, 
 were no longer seen after it became gênerai ; but wc again find them at the 
 time of the Crusades, when pious pilgrims, who journeyed from place to 
 place preaching the Gospel, were obliged to say mass in fields and pubKc 
 places, where the faithful assembled to hear them, and to "take up the cross." 
 M. Jules Labarte gives the foUowing summary description of a portable altar 
 of the twelfth century : — " It consists of a slab of lumachella marble, set in 
 a box of gilt copper, 36 centimètres in height by 27 in width, and 3 in 
 thickness. The top of the box is eut in such a manner as to leave 
 uncovered the stone on which the chalice was placed during the célébra- 
 tion of mass." 
 
 Throughout ail the periods of the Middle Ages, the ardent faith of which 
 seemed to consider suiScient honour could never be rendered to the real 
 présence of God in the holy sacrifice, the ornamentation of the altar was 
 everywhere looked upon as an object of the most extraordinary pomp and of 
 the most elevated artistic taste. A m on g the marvels of this kind we must 
 name, as occupying a leading place, the gold altar of St. Ambrose, in Milan, 
 which dates from 835, and those of the cathedrals of Basle and Pistoia, which 
 belong to the eleventh and tweKth centuries. Thèse gold altars, wrought 
 with the hammer, were chased and sometimes enamelled, and in addition to 
 remarkably well executed designs in carved work, taken from religions 
 books, they usually also had on them portraits of the donors. 
 
 The altars and tabernacles were executed with an equal amount of art 
 and costliness ; and from the earliest period of the fabrication or the 
 importation of carpets, embroideries, and gold and silver fabrics, we see them 
 employed for the purpose of covering, adorning, and of rendering more 
 
30 
 
 FURNITURE. 
 
 strikino- and imposing tlie altar and its accessories, to which the name of 
 chancel was given (Fig. 20). 
 
 The chalice and the altar-vessels, which date from the very cradle of 
 Christian worship, since without thèse sacred vases the fimdamental services 
 of the religion of Jésus Christ could not hâve been performed, perhaps owe 
 it to this exceptional fact that they are not spohen of before the eleventh 
 century (Fig. 21). In truth, nowhere do we find an indication of their 
 ordinary shape, nor of the mode of their manufacture in early times ; but it 
 is reasonable to suppose that the chalice originally was identical, as it was in 
 times approaching nearer to our own, with the goblet of the ancients ; or 
 
 Fig. 20. — An Altar-cloth embroidered in silver on a black ground, representing the procession of a friar of the 
 Abbey of St. Victor. Fifteenth Century (copied from the original belonging to N. Achille Jubinal). 
 
 perhaps, to define it more particularly, was the well-known hanap (drinking- 
 cup), the earliest type of which tradition endeavours to trace to so early a 
 date. At a later period, and until the time when the artists of the Renaissance 
 period were caUed upon to remodel sacred ornaments, and they transformed 
 them into marvels of art on which were lavished ail the resources of casting, 
 chasiag, and glyptic, we observe that chalices contiaued to be manufactured 
 with the greatest care, adorned with exquisite élégance, and enriched -ndth 
 ail the brilliancy that art can give them. 
 
 Ail that can be said regarding the chalice applies equally to the mon- 
 strances and the pyxes employed to contain and to exhibit the consecrated 
 
FURNITURE. 
 
 3' 
 
 wafers, as iilsi) to tlio censers, wliich orit^iiiad'd in tlii> Jewish form of worsbip, 
 and whicli, in aocordiincc witli tlio succossive cpoclis of Cliristiaiiity, aflPectcd 
 dilïoivnl Tiiystical and syniholic shapcs (Fig. 22). Of tliese J[. J)idroii givcs 
 tho followiiig descripliou : — " Tlioy werc flrst forniod of two openwork 
 Bi)lioroids, iu cast and cliased copper, ornamented with ligures of animais 
 and inscriptions." Originally they were suspended by tliree cliains, which, 
 according to tradition, signifîed " the union of the body, tbe soûl, and the 
 divinity in Christ." iVt anotber period tbe censers represented, in miniature, 
 cburebes and cbapols witb pointed arabes. Again, at tbe Renaissance, they 
 took the form of tbat now in use. 
 
 Fig. 21. — An Altjr-Tray and Chalîce, in enamelled gold, supposed to be of the Fourth or Fifth Century, found 
 at Gourdon, near Chalon-sur-Saône, in 1846. (Cabinet des Antiques, Bibl. Imp. de Paris.) 
 
 From tbe first, tbe ligbting of cburebes was, to a certain extent, carried 
 eut on mucb tbe same principle as tbat employed in princely abodes and 
 important mansions. Fixed or movable lamps were used ; also wax candies 
 in chandeliers, for the ornamentation of whicb pious donors and pious 
 artisans, the former payiag tbe latter, yied witb each other in skill and 
 liberality. We may hère observe tbat even in the early days of Christianity, 
 numerous candlesticks were generally employed both by day and by night. 
 Tbe candlesticks on tbe altar represented tbe apostles surrovuiding Christ ; 
 thus their number ought to be twelve. Placed around the dead, they sig- 
 
32 
 
 FURNITURE. 
 
 nified tliat the Christian iinds light beyond the grave. To tlie faithM 
 they typified the day which shines brightly in celestial Jérusalem. 
 
 The worship of relies, established in the early days of the Church, 
 subsequently led to the introduction of shrines and reliquaries, a kind of 
 portable tomb which the disciples of the Gospel devoted to the memory, and 
 in honour, of martyrs and confessors of the faith. Thus from the first, in 
 collecting thèse holy relies, to which the faithfui attached every kind of 
 miraculous powers, they dedicated what, according to ecclesiastical writers, 
 had been the temple of the living God, a gorgeous sanctuary, worthy of so 
 
 Fig. 22 — Censer of the Eleventh Century, recalling the shape of the Temple of Jérusalem, in copper 
 repoussé. (Formerly in Metz Cathedral, now at Trêves.) 
 
 many virtues and miracles. Ilence the introduction of shrines into churches, 
 and reliquaries into private houses. 
 
 Owing to the care bestowed on someof thèse by St. Eloi, from the seventh 
 century, they had become real marvels of intrinsic richness and artistic 
 finish. Neyertheless we are unacquainted with the shape which, in accord- 
 ance with the Christian liturgy, was originally giren to the shrines and 
 reliquaries, although the Latin word capm, from which the word c/iâsse 
 (shrine) is derived, conveys the idea of a kind of box or coffer. Indeed this 
 shape was retained for a long time by the whole of Christendom ; but the 
 
FL-RXITCRIÙ 
 
 33 
 
 iniijority of sbriuoa in gold and silvcr work which do not date furtiier back 
 thiiii tho olovouth or twelftli contiiry reprcscnt tomlis, chapcls, and evcn 
 cathodrals. Tliis syinbi)lic shapc continued in use to tlie time of the 
 Renaissani'o, Iml wiili siicc't's.sivo modifications suggcsted by the architectural 
 stylo of earli pi-riud. "Wc thus soe thorc was no precious niatorial or 
 délicate workniansliip wliich was not eniploycd to contributc in making tho 
 shrines and r(4i(iuiirios iiioro magniticciit. (Jold, silvor, rare marbles, precious 
 
 Figs. 23 and 24.— St.ill .-,nJ RL-ading-desk in can-ed wood, from the Church of Aosta (Fifteenth Centurj-).. 
 
 stones, -were layished on their construction ; the chaser and enameller emlel- 
 lished with figures and eniblems, with incidents taken from Holy Writ and 
 from the lives of saints, the shrines in which are deposited their remains. 
 
 TTe know that in the early days of Christianity the rite of baptism was 
 performed by immersion in ri vers or in fountains, but at a period nearer to 
 our own time, basins or vessels of various dimensions were placed in a small 
 detached édifice, by the side of the church ; into thèse the néophytes were 
 
 F 
 
34 
 
 FURNITURE. 
 
 plung-ed when receiving the first sacrament. Thèse baptistries disappeared 
 as soon as tlie practice of sprinkling toly water on tlie forehead of tlie 
 catecliumen was definitely substituted for that of immersion. Baptismal 
 fonts then became wbat they now are, tliat is, a kind of small érection 
 above the level of the floor — piscinas, shells (vasques), or basins, recalling to 
 our minds, though on a reduced scale, the primitive baptistries. They were 
 placed inside the church, either near the entrance, or in one of the side- 
 chapels. At varions periods they were made of stone, marble, or bronze ; 
 and were ornamented with subjects relating to the rite of baptism. It was 
 the same with the holy-water basins, which, according to ancient custom, 
 
 Fig. 25.— Bas-relief in can'ed wood, representing a Domestic Scène, from the Stalls called "Miséricordes," 
 in the Choir of the Cathedral of Rouen (Fifteenth Century). 
 
 were placed at the entrance to the church, and generally assumed the 
 form of a shell, or of a large amphora, when not made simply of a hoUowed 
 stone to recall the ancient baptismal vessels. 
 
 We must not overlook the altar and procession-crosses, which, as being 
 typical of the divine emblem of the Christian faith, could not fail to 
 become real objects of art even from the time of the catacombs. It would be 
 needless répétition to enumerate hère the différent materials used in the 
 manufacture of crosses, the various shapes that were given to them, according 
 to the purpose for which they were intended,.and the subjects and figures 
 they represented. The sculpter, the modeller, the chaser, the enameller, and 
 even the painter, were associated with the goldsmith in producing most 
 
FURNITLRK 
 
 35 
 
 oxquisito works of thia kiiul. Tho nrt of tho wood-carver and that of (hc 
 workor in iron, whieli wo huve scen exccuting sucli niarvels for houschold 
 furniturc, could not fail to find scope in tho nianufacturo of objects used for 
 ri'ligidus piirposos. It was capeciallj' iii niiiking pulpits, ornamental screeus, 
 wainscotinji;, aiul stalls, that tlie art of the wood-carver bocamo rcnowned; hc 
 was no longer simply au artisan, but bccarao an artist of the highcst order. 
 In the ornauientation of railings of choira and tonibs, tho iron-work on 
 doors, of bolts, locks, and keys, the remarkable talent of the locksmiths 
 of the Middle Ages was displayed. Let us hcre remark, that in the early 
 daya of worship the pulpit was simply a kind of stool on which the preacher 
 stood in order tliat liis congrégation might see him. By degrees the pulpit 
 was raiscd on sujiports or columns ; and later again, but onlj- towards the end 
 of the iifteenth century, we fiud it fixed at a great height against one of 
 the central pillars of the church, and usually magnificently carved, as was 
 ulso the dais, and the sounding-board by which it was surmounted. 
 
 To form an idea of the degree of perfection attained in wood-carving from 
 the thirteenth to the fourteentb century, we ought to inspect the stalls of 
 St. Justine, at Padua, those of the cathedrals of Milan and TJlm, the church 
 of Aosta (Figs. 23 and 24), &c., and the stalls of the chiirches of Rodez, 
 Albi, Amiens, Toulouse, and Eouen (Fig. 25). And if we would examine 
 a verj' aucient example of the art attained by workers in iron, we hâve but 
 to notice the hinges, dating from the thirteenth century, which. stretch, 
 in arabesque designs, over the panels of the western door of Notre-Dame, 
 Paris. 
 
 Fig. 26. — Design on the Stalls in the Church of St Benoît-sur-Loire. 
 
♦ 
 
TAPESTRY. 
 
 Scriiitiiral Oiigin of Tiipcstry.— Ncedlowork Embroiderj- in Ancicnt Greolc and Roman Times. — 
 Attalir Ciirpots. — Manufiictiire of Curpcts in Cloiateis.— Slanufactorj- at Poitiers in the 
 Twollth Contury.— Hayonx Tiipestry, named "De la Reine Mathildo."— Arras Carpete. — 
 Inventoiy of tho Tnpostrios of Charles V. ; enomnous Value of thèse Embroidered Hanglngs. 
 — Manufactory at Fontainebleau, uuder Francis T.— The Manufacture of the Hôpital de la 
 Trinité, at Paris.— The Tapestrj- Workers, Pubourg and Laurent, in the reign of Hemy IV.— 
 Factoriea of Savonnerie and Gobelins. 
 
 -T' F tbcre is an art which bears brilliant testimony to the 
 industry and ingeniilty of mankind in the remotest âges, 
 imdoubtedly it is that of weaving, or of embroidering 
 tapestry ; for, however far back we trace the annals of 
 nations, we find this art flourishing and producing mar- 
 vels of workmanship. 
 
 Let us first open the Bible, the oldest of ail historical 
 documents ; we read therein of woven fabrics, not only 
 worked on the loom, but also made by hand, that is, 
 richly embroidered in needlework on linen or canvas. 
 Thèse magnificent fabrics, which were laboriouslj^ and 
 minutely executed, represented ail kinds of designs in 
 relief and in colours ; they were used as décorations for the holy temple, 
 and as ornamental garments for the priests who performed the religions 
 cérémonies. Indubitable proof of this is the description, in the book 
 of Exodus, of the curtains surrounding the tabernacle. Some of thèse 
 embroideries, in the manufacture of which gold and silver thread, combined 
 with dyed wools and silk, was used, were named opus plumarii (work in 
 imitation of bird's plumage ; others — such, for example, as the veil of the 
 Holy of Holies, which represented cherubim in the act of adoration — were 
 called op%(s artifick (work of the artisan), because they were made by the 
 weaver on the loom ; and, with the aid of numerous shuttles, the woof of 
 wools and silks of varions hues was introduced. 
 
 In the traditions of the magnificent city of Babylon we also find figured 
 
38 
 
 TAPESTRF. 
 
 tapestry delineating the mysteries of religion, and handing down to us the 
 recollection of historical incidents. " The palace of the kings of Babylon," 
 says Philostratus, in the "Life of Apollonius of Tj^ana," "was ornamented 
 with tapestries in gold and silver tissues, which recorded the Grecian fables" 
 of Andromeda, of Orpheus, &c." The Greek poet Apollonius of Rhodes, who 
 wrote a century before our era, relates in his poem of "The Argonauts" 
 that the women of Babylon excelled in the exécution of thèse gorgeous 
 textures. The famous tapestries which were sold in the time of Metellus 
 Scipio for 800,000 sesterces (about 165,000 francs), and a hundred years 
 later were purchased for the exorbitant sum of two million sesterces (about 
 412,000 francs) by Nero, to place on his festive couches, were of Babj'lonian 
 workmanship. 
 
 Ancient Egypt, which would seem to hâve been the early cradle of an 
 advanced civilisation, was also renowned for this marvellous art, the inven- 
 tion of which the Greeks attributed to Minerva, and to which allusion is 
 frequently made in their mythology. Penelope's web, whereon were 
 delineated the exploits of Ulysses, has remained the most celebrated among 
 them ail. It was on a similar web that Philomela, in her prison, illustrated 
 in embroidery the narrative of her misfortunes, after Tereus had eut out her 
 tongue, to prevent her telling her sister Progne the outrage she had suffered 
 at his hands. 
 
 Throughout the poems of Homer we find embroidery of this kind 
 either mention ed, or described as made with the needle or loom, and intended 
 for décorative drapery, or as garments for men and women. During the 
 siège of Troy, Helen embroidered, upon a fine tissue, the sanguinary combats 
 of the heroes who were deatroying each other for her sake. The cloak of 
 Ulysses represents a dog pulling down a fawn, &c. 
 
 The custom of embroidering such scènes as combats and hunting-incidents 
 seems to hâve lasted during a long time. According to Herodotus, certain 
 races bordering on the Caspian Sea were accustomed to hâve figures of 
 animais, flowers, and landscapes delineated on their garments. This custom 
 is mentioned among the pagans by Philostratus, and among Christians by 
 Clément of Alexandria. Pliny, the naturaUst, who lived in the first century 
 of our era, also alludes to it on several occasions in his works. Three 
 hundred years later, Amasius, Bishop of Amasia, déplores the foUy which 
 " set a great value on this art of weaving, a vain and useless art, which by 
 
TAPESTRi'. 39 
 
 llit' (■(iiiilmialiiiii (if tlii- warp mikI wcint' iuiilalos |i;uiiiing.'' " Wlieii pursous 
 tlius (livsscd aj)j)(-ar iii tin- stiii'l," adils thc pions bisliop, "(ho passurs-by 
 look at (lu'in as walkiiij^ picturcs, and tho childrou point ut thcm with 
 (lit'ir liiiirir. ^^'l• sou lions, panthers, bcars, rocks, woods, luinters ; tho 
 iiligionsly inclini'd havc Christ, his disciploa, and liis miracles figurcd on 
 tlu'ir gurmcnts. Ilore we see tho wcdding oi' Cana, and thc pitchers of water 
 tiirned into wino ; therc we hâve tho paralytic carrying bis bed, or the 
 sinnor at tlu' itcl ol'.Icsus, or Lazarns being raised from the dead." 
 
 "\Ve havo only to look into tho works of the writers of the tirae of 
 Augnstus to loarn that the halls in thc houses of the wealthy were always 
 luing with tapcstry ; and that the tables, or ruther the beds, npon which the 
 gnests were seated, were coverod with carpets. 
 
 ïho Attalian carpets, which were thiis named because they came from the 
 inheritance bequeathed to the Roman people by Attalus, King of Pergamos, 
 were iudescribablj' magnificent. Cicero, who was a connoisseur in such 
 mattors, spcaks of them with enthusiasm in his works. 
 
 Undcr Theodosius I., that is to say, at the time of the décline of the great 
 empire which was soon to break up and be separated, and at last to merge 
 into new nationalities, a contemporaneous historian shows us " the youth of 
 Rome engaged in making tapestry-work." 
 
 In the early period of Frencb history, this ingénions and délicate work 
 would seem to hâve been mainly carried on by women, and especially by those 
 of the higliest rank. At anj' rate it is a fact that ricli tapestries were in 
 common use, both in private bouses and for ecclesiastical purposes, as early 
 as the sisth century ; for Gregory of Tours does not fail to tell us of the 
 embroidered hangiugs, and also of the tapestry, in most of the cérémonies 
 ■which he describes. When King Clovis renounced paganism and asked to 
 be baptised, " this intelligence was the greatest joj^ to the bisbop ; he orders 
 the sacred fonts to be prepared ; the streets overhung with painted cloths ; 
 the churches ornamented with hangings." TVhen the abbey-church of 
 St. Denis had to be consecrated, "its walls are covered with tapestry 
 embroidered in gold and ornamented with pearls." Thèse tapestries were 
 for a long time preserved in the abbey-treasury. Subsequently, this same 
 treasury received, as a présent from Queen Adelaide, the wife of Hugh Capet, 
 "a chasuble, a valance, as also some hangings, worked by her own hand;" 
 and Doublet, the historian of this ancient abbey, states that Queen Bertha 
 
^o TAPESTRY. 
 
 (the same whom the old Fi'ench proverb makes an indefatigable worker with 
 her needle) embroidered on canvas a séries of bistorical subjects, depicting 
 the glorious deeds of the family. 
 
 Nevertheless, there is no written authority for asserting that in France 
 the manufacture of tapestries and hangings worked on the loom can be 
 traced beyond the ninth century ; but at this period, and a little later, we 
 flnd some documents which are as précise as they are curions — proving 
 that this industry, the principal object of which, at that period, was the 
 ornamentation of churches, had to a certain extent obtained a footing, and 
 was flourisliing in religions establishments. The ancient chronicles of 
 Auxerre relate that St. Anthelm, the bishop of that city, who died in 828, 
 caused to be made, under his own directions, numerous rich carpets for the 
 choir of his church. 
 
 One hundred }'ears later we find a regular manufactory established at the 
 monastery of St. Florent, at Saumur. " In the time of the abbot Robert III.," 
 says the historian of this monastery, " the vestry (fabrique) of the cloister 
 was further enriched by magnificent paintings and pièces of sculpture, 
 accompanied by legends in verse. The above-mentioned abbot, who was 
 passionately devoted to similar works, sought for and purchased a considér- 
 able quantity of magnificent ornaments, such as large dor-serets * in wool, 
 curtains, canopies, hangings, bench-covers, and other ornaments, embroidered 
 with various devices. Among other objects, he caused to be made two 
 pièces of tapestry of large size and of admirable quality, representing 
 éléphants ; and thèse two pièces were joined together with a rare kind of 
 silk, by hired workers in tapestry. He also ordered two dorserets in wool to 
 be manufactured. It happened that, during the time one of thèse was 
 being completed, the above-mentioned abbot went to France. The ecclesiastic 
 left in charge took ad vanta ge of his absence to forbid the artisans to work 
 the woof according to the customary method. ' Well,' said they, ' in tho 
 absence of cur good abbot we will not discontinue our employment ; but as 
 you thwart us we shall make quite a différent kind of fabric' And this now 
 admits of proof. They made several square carpets, representing silver lions 
 upon a field of gules (red), with a white border covered with scarlet animais 
 and birds. This unique pièce of workmanship was looked upon as a perfect 
 spécimen of this kind of fabric, until the time of the abbot William, when 
 * Dorserets, covers to backs of chairs, beds, &c. 
 
TArjL^Tur. 
 
 Il 
 
 it wiis c'onsidercd tlio iiiost rciiiaïkiililo picco of tapostry bclonging to thc 
 monustcry. In fuct, on tho occasions of great solcmnitics the abLot had 
 tlio clcphant tapcstry displaycd, and ono of tbo priors sliowcd Ibat on which 
 woro tlio lions." 
 
 From llio ninlli or tonlb contury tlioro was tilso a manufactory at 
 Poitiers ; and its fabrics, on wbicli figurcd kings, empcrors, and saints, 
 wcrc of European celobrity, as appcai-s to bo attested, among othcr docu- 
 niouts, by a renia rkablo corrcspondence ■wbich took place, in 1025, between 
 an Italian bisliop, namod Léon, and William IV., Coiint of Poitou. To 
 undcrstaud riglitly tbis corrcspondence, it must be borne in mind that at 
 the time Poitou was as famous for its mules as for tapestry. In one of 
 bis Icttcrs, tbc bisbop begs tbc count to send bim a mule and a pièce of 
 tapestry, botb equally marvellous {mirahilcs), and for wbicli he bas been 
 asking six years. Ile promises to pay wbatever tbey may cost. The count, 
 wlio must bave had a facetious disposition, replied, " I canuot, at présent, 
 send )'0u wbat you ask, because for a mule to merit the epithet of marvellous, 
 be would require to hâve horns, and three tails, or five legs — and this I 
 should not be able to find in our country. I shall therefore content myself 
 with sending you one of the best I can procure. As to the tapestry, I hâve 
 forgotten the dimensions you désire. Let me bave thèse particulars again, 
 andit will then soon be sent to you." 
 
 Put this costly industry was not limited to the French provinces. In 
 the " Chronique des Ducs de Normandie," written by Dudon, in the eleventh 
 century, it is stated that the English were élever workers in this art ; and 
 wben designating some magnificent embroidery, or rich tapestry, it was 
 described as of English work (q/;«s ^«(jT^/cartif/w). Moreover, the same chro- 
 nicle relates that the wife of Richard I.,* the Duchess Gonnor, assisted by 
 lier embroiderers, raade bangings of linen and of silk, embellished with 
 images and figures representing the Virgin Mary and the Saints, to decorate 
 the church of Notre Dame, Rouen. 
 
 The East, also, which from the earliest times had been renowned for the 
 art of producing beautiful embroidered fabrics, became still more famous 
 during the Middle Ages for those of wool and silk, embroidered with silver 
 and gold. It was from the East were brought the rich. stuffs covered ail 
 
 * Richard I., surnamed Sans-peur, third Duke of Normandy, was natural sou of William I., 
 and grandson of Eollo. He died in 996. — [Ed.] 
 
42 TAPESTRY. 
 
 over witli emblazonments, and with figures of animais, and probably also 
 embroidered in open-work : thèse fabrics were called étoffes sculptées, or 
 pleines d'yeux. 
 
 The librarian Anastasius, in his book the " Lives of the Popes," which 
 undoubtedly was written before the eleventh century, gives, when describing 
 church décorations, some curions and circumstantial détails regarding the 
 subject we are now discussing. Accordrng to him, as early as the time of 
 Charlemagne (eighth centurj^). Pope Léo III. " had a veil made of purple 
 worked in gold, on which was the history of the Nativity and of Simon, 
 having in the centre the Annunciation of the Virgin." This was to ornament 
 the principal altar of the Holy Mother of God, at Rome. He also ordered 
 for the altar of the church of St. Laurence, " a veil of silk worked in gold, 
 having on it the historiés of the Passion of our Saviour and of the Résurrec- 
 tion." He placed on the altar of St. Peter's " a veil of purple of a remark- 
 able size, worked in gold and ornamented with precious stones ; on one side 
 was seen our Saviour giving St. Peter the power to bind and to loose, on the 
 other the Passion of St. Peter and St. Paul. In the same book, several 
 other pièces of tapestry are described in such terms that it seems difficult 
 to reahse the richness and the beauty of finish of thèse artistically-worked 
 fabrics, which for the most part came from Asia or Egj'pt. It was only 
 in the twelfth century, after the return from the first crusades had enabled 
 Western nations to admire and to appropriate to themselves luxuries quite 
 new to them, that the custom of using tapestry, while becoming far more 
 gênerai in churches, found its way also into private dwellings. If, in the 
 cloisters, the monks, in order to find employment, lavished their utmost 
 care on the weaving of wool and of silk, there was the more reason why this 
 occupation should prove pleasing to the noble châtelaines who were confined 
 to their feudal castles. It was then, when surrounded by their tire-women, 
 as in earlier times were the Roman matrons by their slaves, that thèse fair 
 dames, while listening to the reading of taies of chivalr}^ which deeply 
 interested them, or inspired by a profound faith, gave themselves to the 
 task of reproducing with the needle either the pious legends of the saints 
 or the glorious exploits of warriors. The bare walls, when thus draped 
 with touching incidents or warlike memorials, assujmed a peculiar éloquence 
 which doubtless inspired the mind with grand visions, and aroused noble 
 sentiments in the heart. 
 
TAPESTRV. 43 
 
 Among the finest spécimens of this kind is ono which, owing to its 
 reiilly cxquisito charucter, bas escapcd what would havc seemed inévitable 
 destruction. We alludo to tbc famous Buyeux tapcsdy callcd '■'de la Reine 
 MathUde" (of tho wifo of William tlio Conqucror). This work représenta 
 the conqucst of luigland by thc Normans. If we are to acccpt the ancient 
 traditions to whicb it owes its name, it must date froni the last half of the 
 eleventh century. 
 
 In thèse days \ve niay be pemiitted to doubt, in conséquence of the many 
 discussions tbat bave taken place among the learned, if this embroidery is as 
 ancient as was at one time supposed. And although we first find it alluded 
 to in an inventory (prepared in 1476) of the treasury of Baj'eux Cathedra!, 
 we may venture, with a certain degree of confidence, to believe tbat it was 
 raade in the twelfth century by Englishwomen, who at tbat time were 
 particularl}' famous for their needlework ; an opinion confirmed by more 
 tban one author contemporaneous witb William and Matilda. 
 
 Tbis tapestry, whichi is 19 inches in heigbt, by nearly 212 feet in lengtb, 
 is a pièce of brown linen, on whicli are embroidered witli the needle, in wool 
 of diflerent colours (and thèse seem to bave lost none of their early fresbness), 
 a séries of seventy-two groups or subjects, with legends in Latin interspersed 
 witb Saxon, embracing the whole history of the Conquest, as related by the 
 chroniclers of the period (Figs. 27 and 28). 
 
 At tbe first glance, tbis embroidery may seem to be but a rudely executed 
 grouping of figures and animais ; nevertbeless there is character throughout, 
 and the original outline, discoverable beneath the intersections of the wool, 
 is not wanting in a certain acciiracy that brings to our mind the vigorous 
 simplicity of the Byzantine style. The décoration of the double border, 
 between which is delineated a drama wberein 530 figures are introduced, is 
 the same as those of the paintings in manuscripts of the Middle Ages. And, 
 in short, failing any exact proof, if we are determined not to deprive tbis 
 immense work of its traditional antiquity, it might, with much probability, 
 be attributed to a female embroiderer of Queen Matilda, named Leviet, whose 
 skill bas rescued her name from oblivion. It may also be well to observe 
 tliat at tbe time it is first alluded to in history, this tapestry is found 
 belonging to tbe very cliurch in which Matilda desired to be buried. 
 
 We hâve already seen (in tlie chapter on Furniture) that towards the 
 twelfth and tbirteenth centuries, under the influence of Eastem habits and 
 
4+ 
 
 TAPESTRF. 
 
 customs, the practice of sitting on carpets was establislied at the court of our 
 kings. From this date ricli tapestries were frequently used for making tents 
 
 Fig. 27.— A pièce of the Bayeux Tapestry, representing the construction of Boats for William (with Border). 
 
 for campaigning or for hunting. They were displayed on festive occasions ; 
 as, for instance, wlien princes were enteriug a town, the object being to bide 
 tbe bare walls. The dining-halls were hung with magnificent tapestries, 
 
TAPESTRV. 
 
 43 
 
 giving lulditional splcndoui' to tho interludoa (entremets, or intermèden) per- 
 formod duriiig tlio rcpast. Tho champions in tho lists saw glittering around 
 theni, suspouded from tho gallerios, fubrius on which hcroic deeds were 
 cnibroidcred. Lastly, the caparisou of tho chargor (the war-horse's garb of 
 honour) disphiyod its brilliunt cmWazonings to tho cycs of admiring crowds. 
 It ■\vas moreoYor the custom that the tapestries made for noblenien 
 
 Fig. 28. — A portion of the Bayeus Tapestry, representing two mounted men of Duke William's arm}' anned from 
 bead to foot, and in the act of fîghting. 
 
 should bear their respective armoriai devices, the object being, no doubt, that 
 it might be known to whom they belonged when used on the occasion of the 
 entry of royal and other distinguished personages in solenin processions ; and 
 also at jousts and tournaments. 
 
 In the fourteenth century the nianufactories of Flanders, which were ôf 
 considérable réputation even about the twelfth century, made great advance, 
 and the success of the Arras tapestries became so gênerai that the most 
 
46 
 
 TAPESTRY. 
 
 handsome hangings were called Ârras tapestry, although tlie greater part of 
 tliem did not corne from that city. It may hère be noticed that the term 
 Arrazi is, in Italy, still synonymous with valuable tapestry (Fig. 29). 
 
 Thèse fabrics were generally worked in wool, and sometimes in flax and 
 linen : but at the same period Florence and Yenice, which had imported 
 this industry from the East, wove tapestries wherein gold and silk were 
 blended. 
 
 Fig. 20. — ilarriage of Louis XII. and Anne of Brittany. Tapestry in wool and silk, with a mixture of gold and 
 silver thread. Made in Flanders the end of the Fifteenth Century. {Lent by M. Achille Jubinal.) 
 
 An inventory, dated 21st January, 1379, contained in a manuscript 
 now in the " Bibliothèque Impériale," — in which are enumerated " ail the 
 jewels in gold and silver, ail the rooms with embroidery and tapestries 
 belonging to Charles V.," — gives us an idea not only of the multiplicity 
 of hangings and tapestries that appertained to the personal property of 
 royalty, especially at the Hôtel Saint-Pol, but it also shows us the variety 
 
THE ADORATION OF THF. MAGL 
 
 Taçestrj of Berne of Uie fifleealh. Century 
 {Coitiraimicateà by M.Açî\iHe Jubinal) 
 
TAPESTRV. 47 
 
 of subjocts thcroiii roprescntcd. A f'ew of thèse pièces of tapestry are 
 still preserved, but anioiig sonio >\liich hâve been destroyed or lost we 
 may mention thoso roprosentiiig tho Passion of our Saviour, the Life of 
 St. Denis, the Lite of St. Theseus, and that cntitled Goodness and Beauty — 
 ail thèse werc of large dimensions. Then again, the tapestry of the Seven 
 Mortal Sius, two pièces of the Nine Bold Knights, that of tho ladies hunting 
 and flying {qui volent), in other words, hawking ; that of the Wild Men ; two 
 of Godfrey de Bouillon ; a white tapestry for a chapel, in the centre of which 
 was seen " a compass with a rose," emblazoned with the arms of France and 
 of Dauphiny, tliis was three yards square ; one large handsome pièce of 
 tapestry, " the king has bought, which is worked with gold, representing the 
 Seven Sciences and St. Augustin ;" the tapestry of Judith (the queen who 
 subsequently appears on plaj'ing-cards) ; a large pièce of Arras cloth, repre- 
 senting the Battles of Judas Maccabœus and Antiochus ; another of " the 
 Battle of the Duke of Aquitaine and of Florence;" a pièce of tapestry 
 "whereon are worked the twelve months of the year ;" another of "the 
 Fountain of Jouvent " (Jouvence), a large pièce of tapestry " covered with 
 azuré fleurs-de-lys, which said fleurs-de-lys are mingled with other small 
 yellow fleurs-de-lys, having in the centre a lion, and, at the four corners, 
 beasts holding banners, &c. — in fact, the Kst is endless. We must still, 
 however, add to thèse figured tapestries those with armoriai bearings, made 
 for the most part with " Arras thread," and bearing the arms of France 
 and Behaigne (the latter being those of the queen, daughter of the King of 
 Bohemia). There was also a pièce of tapestry " worked with towers, fallow 
 bucks and does, to put over the king's boat." The tapestry called velus, 
 or velvet, which now we call moquettes, was as commonly seen as any 
 other kind. There were also to be noticed the Salles d'Angleterre, or the 
 tapestries from that country, which, as we hâve said, had previously acquired 
 a great celebrity in that art. Among thèse one was " ynde (blue), with trees 
 and wild men, with wild animais, and castles;" others were vermillon, 
 embroidered with azuré, having vignette borders, and in the centre lions, 
 eagles, and léopards. 
 
 In addition to thèse, Charles V. possessed at his castle of Melun many 
 " silken fabrics and tapestries." At the Louvre one could but admire, among 
 other magnificent pièces of tapestry, " a very lovely green room, ornamented 
 with silt covered with leaves ; and representing in the centre a lion, which 
 
TAPESTRY. 
 
 two queens were in the act of crowning, and a fountain -wherein swans were 
 disporting tliemselves." 
 
 Yet we must not be led away witli tlie idea ttiat it was only the royal 
 palaces whick presented sucli suniptuousness ; for it would be easy to 
 enunierate many instances similar to tbose we hâve given, by looking over 
 the inventories of the personal property of nobles, or those of the treasuries 
 of certain churches and abbeys. In one place the tapestries represent 
 religions subjects taken from the Bible, the Gospels, or the legends of the 
 saints; in another the subjects are either historical or relating to chivahy, 
 more especially battles or hunting scènes (Fig. 30). 
 
 We are thus justified in asserting that the liixnry of tapestry -was gênerai 
 among the higher classes. An expensive taste it was ; because not only does 
 an examination of thèse marvelloiis works show us that they could hâve been 
 purchased only at a very high price, but in old documents we find more than 
 one certain confirmation of this fact. For example, Amaurj^ de Goire, a 
 \vorker in tapestry, received in 1348, from the Duke of Normandy and 
 Guienne, 492 livres, 3 sous, 9 deniers, for " a wooUen cloth," on which were 
 represented scènes from the Old and New Testaments. In 1368, Huchon 
 Barthélmy, monejr-changer, received 900 golden francs for a pièce of "worked 
 tapestry, representing La Quête de St. Graal (the search for the blood of 
 Christ) ; and in 1391, the tapestry exhibiting the history of Theseus, to which 
 we hâve already alluded, was purchased by Charles V. for 1 ,200 livres ; ail 
 thèse sums, considering the period, were really exorbitant. 
 
 The sixteenth century, remarkable for the progress and the excellence 
 to which the arts of every kind had attained, gave a renewed impulse to 
 that of tapestry. A manufactory was established by Francis I., at Fontaine- 
 bleau, where the tapestry was woven in one entire pièce, instead of being 
 made up, as had been the practice, of separate pièces matched and sewn 
 tosether. In this new fabric g-old and silver threads were mixed with 
 silk and wool. 
 
 When Francis sent for the Primate from Italy, he commissioned him to 
 procure designs for several pièces of tapestry, to be made in the workshops of 
 Fontainebleau. But, while liberally rewarding the Italian or Flemish artiste 
 and artisans coUected in the dependencies of his château, the king still 
 continued to employ Parisian tapestry-workers ; proof of which is to be 
 found in a receipt of the sieurs Miolard and Pasquier, who give au 
 
Fig-. 30. — Tapestry representîng a Hunting^ Scène, from the Château d"Effiat. 
 (In the possession of M. Achille Jubinal.) 
 
5° 
 
 TAPESTRY. 
 
 acknowledgment of liaving been paid 410 livres tournois, "to begin the 
 purchase of materials and otber requisites for a pièce of silk tapestry, 
 wbich tbe said seigneur bad ordered tbeni to make for bis coronation, 
 according to tbe patterns wbicb tbe said seigneur bas bad prepared for tbis 
 purpose, and on wbicb must be represented a Leda, witb certain nympbs, 
 satyrs, &c." 
 
 Henry II. did even more tban maintain tbe establisbment at Fontaine- 
 bleau ; in addition be instituted, in compliauce witb tbe request of tbe 
 gaardians of tbe Hôpital de la Trinité, a manufuctory of tapestry in Paris, 
 
 Fig. ji. — The AVeavcr. Drawa and Engraved by J. Amman. 
 
 in wbicb tbe cbildren belonging to tbe bospital were employed in dyeing 
 wool and silk, and in weaving tbem in tbe loom witb a bigb and low warp. 
 
 Tbe new manufactory, wbetber on account of tbe excellence of its 
 productions, or from influential patronage, obtained bo many privilèges tbat 
 tbe public peace was on several occasions seriouslj^ distui'bed by tbe jealousy 
 of tbe guild of tapestry-workers ; an ancient and uumerous corporation still 
 possessing great autbority and influence. 
 
 Tbe manufactory of tbe Hôpital de la Trinité continued to flourisb during 
 tbe reign of Henry III. ; and Sauvai, in bis " Histoire des Antiquités de 
 
•^ .2 
 
 Pi 
 
 w i 
 
 îz; "ts. 
 
 M O ^ 
 
 Et, W ~ 
 
 H "> ë 
 
 agi, 
 
 -S s 
 
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 ^ -S 
 
 «" S" : 
 
 i^ ^ (^ !- ^ iS 
 
 ^ o 
 
 
 ■^^ ■a 
 
 o ^ 
 
 s 
 
 

 2 ç- 
 
 -ïi > 
 
 z 
 
TAPESTRy. 
 
 5' 
 
 Paris," iiilornis ws llial in tlic InlKiwiiii;' rcii^'ii il. l'caclicd ils lii<i;lK'st \w\\\ (if 
 prosperlty. In l")!ll, Duboiirg iiiaile in tlicso \v()ikslu)i)s, fniin llic designs 
 of Loroniboi't, tlio boantifiil ta])o,strios whicli, to a date very ncar oui- own, 
 (locoratiHl tlic Cluircli ol" Saint-^Iorry. ITcnry IV., suys Sauvai, lioaring tliis 
 woi k nuich spokon of, dt'sired to seo it, aud was so jjlcased tliorewith tbat lie 
 resolved to restore the maimfactories in Paris, " which the disorder of 
 prcceding reigns had abolislied." He therefore establishcd Laurent, a 
 cclebrated tapestrj'--\vorker, in tbe mnisoii professe of the Jesuits, wliich had 
 remained closed siuce the trial of Jean Chastel. He allowcd one crown a 
 day, aud one hundi-ed francs a }'ear, as wages to this skilful artist ; his 
 apprcntices receiving ten sous a day, and his fellow-workmen twenty-fîvc, 
 thirty, and even forty sous, accordiug to their skill. At a later period 
 
 Fig. j2. — Banner of the Tapestry Workers of Lyons. 
 
 Dubourg and Laurent, who had entered into partnership, ifrere both installed 
 in the galleries of the Louvre. Henry IV., foUowing the example of 
 Francis I., brought froni Italy skillecl -svorkers in gold and in silk. Thèse 
 he lodged in the Hôtel de la Maque, Eue de la Tisseranderie : the spécial 
 "Works they made vrere hangings in fine cloth of gold and silver (frisé). 
 
 Sabsequently to the sixteenth century, the tapestries fabricated at the 
 manufactories of the Savonnerie, the Gohelins, and at Beauvais, &c., although 
 more perfect as regards the weaving, and therefore presenting greater 
 regularity of design and a better compréhension of colour and perspective, 
 unfortimately lost the original simplicity Avhich characterized them in olden 
 tunes. Approaching the reign of Louis XIV., under the influence of the 
 
TAPESTRY. 
 
 school of Le Brun,* tliey afFected an imitation of Greek and Roman forms, 
 whicli seem ont of place in France. Handsome countenances are thé resuit, 
 eut accompanied by meaningless figures; the frankness of truth. gives place 
 co staid coldness, the idéal usurps the place of nature, conventionality that 
 of spontaneity. We find them ingénions, pretty, and even beautiful produc- 
 tions, but wanting character, the real soûl of works of art. 
 
 * Charles le Brun, a distinguished painter of tlie French school, flourished during; the seven- 
 teenth century. The son of a sculpter, Tvho placed him under Simon Vouet, the young artist 
 made such progress that at the âge of fifteen he painted a remarkable picture, " Hercules Destroy- 
 ing the Horses of Diomede," which brought him at cnce iiito public notice. Le Brun's patron, 
 the Chancelier Seguier, sent him to Italy, with an introduction to Nicholas Poussin, whose pure 
 and correct taste, however, seems to hâve had liltle influence ou the French artist, 'who, though 
 possessing an inventive and somewhat elevated genius, often showed himself a mannerist. — [Ed.] 
 
CERAMIC ART. 
 
 Pottery Workshops in tlie Giillo-Romano Period. — Ceramic Art disiippcars for several Centvirîes in 
 Gaul : is again fouiid in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries. — Probable Influence of Arabian 
 Art in Spain. — Origin of Majolica. — ^Luca délia Robbia and his Successors. — Enamelled Tiles 
 in France, daling l'rom the Twelfih Century. — ïhe Italian Manufactories of Faenza, Rimini, 
 Pesaio, &c. — Beauvais Pottery. — Invention and Works of Bernard Palissy ; his History; 
 hia Chefs-d'œuvre. — The Fii'iencc of Thouars, callcd " Henri II." 
 
 E can assurediy say, with M. Jacquemart, that " the history 
 of the ceramic art of the Middle Ages is shrouded by 
 a veil which probably will always remain im.penetrable. 
 Notwithstanding the constant investigations of local 
 societies, and the numerous documents that hâve been 
 brought to light, nothing bas transpired to remove the 
 doiibts of the archseologist regarding the places where the manufacture of 
 pottery had its birth among us." 
 
 îsevertheless, it is certain that at the Gallo-Romano period — that is to 
 say, ■vrhen the Romans, having made themselves masters of that country, 
 had introduced their customs and their industry — Gaul possessed numerous 
 and considérable pottery workshops, which produced vessels and vases of ail 
 kinds. Maintaiuing the ancient forms and processes of manufacture, thèse 
 factories continued to furnish, tiU about the sixth century, amphorse, basins, 
 cups on stems, dishes, plates, and bottles. They were made, with the aid 
 of the potter's wheel, of grey, yellow, or brOTvn clay. Some of the finest 
 quaHty were covered with a brilliant varnish, resembling red sealing-wax 
 both in colour and appearance ; and thèse articles were often ornamented 
 with much care and delicacy. We find vases surrounded with garlauds 
 of leaves, cups embellished with figures of men and animais ; thèse are so 
 many proofs that this was a manufacture to which the influence of art was 
 by no means unknown. 
 
 Tet it is also évident that this industry — one of a sufficiently elevated 
 kind — nearly disappeared about the period of the invasions and wars 
 amidst the tumult of which French monarchy had its birth ; and there 
 
54 
 
 CERAMIC ART. 
 
 remained but the simple art that provided for ordiuary requirements an 
 assemblage of articles rude and devoid of ebaracter. 
 
 It must be remenabered, bowever, tbat tbe ceramic art wbicb had 
 flourisbed in the West merely migrated, instead of becoming extinct ; and 
 it found, like so many otber arts, a new country in tbat Byzantium destined 
 to be tbe sanctuary of ancient magniiicence. WbateTsr may be tbe reason, 
 ceramic art disappeared from tbe soil of France during- a long period ; and 
 it is still a question wbat was tbe real origin of its revival. Did it revive 
 of itself, or was it under tbe influence of example ? Did it owe its 
 
 -Vases of ancient shape, represcnted in tbe décorative sculptu 
 (Twelfth Century.) 
 
 : of the Chnrch of St. Benoit, Paris. 
 
 resuscitation to any immigration of artisans, or to tbe importation of some 
 process of manufacture ? Tbese questions still remain unanswered. 
 
 Tbe ceramic art, wbich perbaps vre somewbat wrongly style modem, is 
 cbaracterized by tbe use of enamel, or overlaying articles witb a glaze 
 baving a metaUic basis ; tbis tbe fire of tbe oven vitrifies ; it is a process of 
 wbicb tbe ancients were entirely ignorant. 
 
 But, in searcbing tbe tombs tbat belonged to tbe ancient abbey of 
 Jumièges (in Normandy), and wbicb date from tbe year 1120, tbere bave 
 been found fragments of pottery of a fine but porous clay, covered witb a 
 glazing somewbat similar to tbat now used. 
 
CERAMIC ART. 
 
 55 
 
 Morcover, wc read in a chroiiicle of tho aiicient province of Alsace, tliat 
 in the yoar l'JS'i " diod a pottor of Sclielostadt, wlio was tlic first to cover 
 earthen vessels witli glass." 
 
 But we also kiiow tliat at tlie timc wlien thèse isolated atfccmpts were 
 boiiig cai'i'ied ont in France, the Persians aud Ai-menians had long before 
 discovered thc art of making magniâcent enamellcd ware for covering the 
 cxterior of thcir monuments ; and that the Arabs settled in Spain produced 
 wonderful cxamplcs of paiuted and enatnelled earthenware, ■«•ith which they 
 decorated and furnished those palaces tvhose grand ruins are still to us like 
 the fairy visions of a dreara or of enchantment. The vases of the Alhambra, 
 types of an art as original as it was singularly ingenious, claini, and doubtless 
 will always claim, the admiration of minds that ean appreciate the beautiful 
 in whatever form it may présent itself. 
 
 (. — Vases of ancient lorm, represented in the décorative sculptu 
 (Twelfth Ccntur3-.) 
 
 î of the Church of St. Benoît, Paris. 
 
 And now, are we to suppose that the intercoui-se between nations and 
 the transactions of commerce must necessarily hâve made western Europe 
 acquainted with the enamelled dishes of Asia, or the chefs-d'œurre of the 
 African race in Spain ? Or, on the other hand, shall we say that it was by 
 a spontaneous e£Fort of invention that our forefathers opened up the road to 
 a new domain of art ? In the one case we hâve the opinion, deservedly 
 respected, of Scaliger, who affirms the fact, apparently very significant, that 
 diu-ing the Middle Ages there existed in the Balearic Islands manufactories 
 of pottery of Arab origin ; our learned author even adds, that in accordance 
 with the most probable etymology, the name of Majolica, which was first 
 given to Italian ware (the earliest in the European revivul of the ceramic 
 art), was derived from Majorca, the largest, as we know, of the Balearic 
 
56 CERAMIC ART. 
 
 Islands, in whicli locaKty the principal manufactory of thèse pottery wares 
 was situated. But, on the other hand, a comparative examination of Arab 
 and Italian wares excludes ail idea not only of afEliation, but even of imitation 
 or réminiscence between them. 
 
 In the face of such contradictory coincidenoe, if we may say so, it would 
 be as difEcult as it would be rash to pronounce an opinion ; we consider it 
 better, while disregarding problematical indications, to boldly face a train of 
 facts now determined by historical proof. 
 
 " At the commencement of the fifteenth century " — we cannot do better 
 than borrow from M. Jacquemart a passage which he himself took from the 
 Italian work by Passeri, on Majolica (Pesaro, 1838, in 8vo.) — " Luca délia 
 Eobbia, the son of Simone di Marro, apprenticed himself to a Florentine 
 goldsmith, Leonardo, the son of Giovanni; but disliking the confinement 
 of a laboratorj^ he soon became a pupil of the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti, 
 who made the gâtes of the Baptistry at Florence. His rapid progress under 
 so able a master placed him in a position, when he could not hâve been more 
 than fifteen years old, to undertake the task of ornamenting a chapel for 
 Sigismond Malatesta, at Eimini. Two years later, Pietro di Medici, who 
 was having an organ erected in Santa-Maria dei Fiori, at Florence, directed 
 Luca to exécute some marble scidptures in that church. The famé which 
 he gained by thèse works drew everybody's attention to the young sculj)tor. 
 Orders reached him in such numbers that he clearly saw the impossibility 
 of executing them in marble or in bronze ; added to this, he bore with 
 impatience the restraint imposed by working with such rigid materials, of 
 which the laborious handling trammelled the flights of his imagination. 
 Soft and plastic clay was a material far better suited to his readiuess of 
 conception. At the same time, Luca dreamt of the future, and of glory ; 
 and thus having in view the object of executing works which, though less 
 perishable, might be rapidly executed, he devoted ail his eflforts to discover 
 a coating which would give to clay the polish and the hardness of marble. 
 After many trials, a varnish made of tin (étain), which was white, opaque, 
 and of a resisting nature, furnished him with the resuit he hoped for. The 
 art of producing fine earthenware was discovered, which first received the 
 name of vitrified clay {terra invetriata). 
 
 "Luca' s enamel was a most perfect white; he first used it alone for 
 figures, in semi-relief, which were raised on a blue background. At a later 
 
CERAMIC ART. 
 
 57 
 
 pcriod lio vonturcci to colour bis figures, and Picfro di Mcdici was onc of the 
 fivst wLo ciicouraged this kind of work for the décoration of palaces. The 
 faine of this novel art sproad with rajjidit}' ; ail the churches wcre anxious 
 to possess son^e spccinien of the master, so that Luca was soon compelled to 
 nssociate with himself his two brothers Ottaviano and Agostino, in order 
 
 F'S- 33.— Eramelled Terra-cotta, by Luca délia Robbia. 
 
 to keep pace with the requirements of tbe public. He endeavoured, never- 
 theless, to extend the application of bis discovery by painting flowers and 
 groups of figures on a smootb surface , but in the year 1430 deatb eut short 
 his remarkable career, and stayed, in tbe hands of tbe inyentor, the progress 
 of emmeïïed pottery (Fig. 35). 
 
 " The family of Luca, however, naade public tbe secret of his discover^^ 
 
58 CERAMIC ART. 
 
 His two nephews, Luca and Andréa, produced some figures and designs 
 of singular merit in terra- cotta. Luca ornamented tlie floor of the Loggia 
 of Raphaël. Girolamo, a relative of Luca, corne to France, where he 
 decorated tte château of Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Paris. Two 
 females, Lisabetta and Speranza, added to the renown of the family Délia 
 Eobbia." 
 
 Such is the history of the revival, or rather of the création, of ceramic 
 art in Italy, as briefly recorded by a man thoroughly acquainted with the 
 subject. An ancient author, and, moreover, a compétent writer, instances 
 some monuments of an earlier date ; among others a tomb at Bologna, in 
 which were tiles covered with a green and yellow Tarnish, and vessels 
 {écuelïes) of the same kind inserted in the façades or porticoes of the churches 
 of Pesaro and the abbey of Pomposa. But to the honour of Luca délia 
 Robbia it may be remarked, that thèse spécimens of an earlier industry 
 diiïered essentially from his productions ; because the glazing that covered 
 them, the basis of which was lead, was so transparent, that through it could 
 be seen either the clay or the colours underneath ; whereas the enamel 
 discovered by Luca, the basis of which was tin, had, on the contrary, for its 
 essential character, an opacity which may be termed intense. Let us observe, 
 moreover, that in order to embellish his productions with paintings, Luca 
 was accustomed to applj^ colours to the first and gênerai coating, which 
 became fixed by a subséquent process of baking. 
 
 It is b}^ recognising the distinction we hâve just laid down between thèse 
 two processes, that the productions of Itahan ceramic art are ordiuarily 
 classified : the demi-majoUca, with transparent glaze, somewhat like the 
 Spanish-Arabian pottery, and also, perhaps, like Asiatic tiles; then the 
 majoKca, by which we understand fine earthenware, where the clay is covered 
 with a coating of opaque varnish, distiuguishing the invention due to 
 Luca délia Eobbia. 
 
 Having given priority of invention to Luca délia Eobbia, it is as well, 
 nevertheless, hère to state, that from the eleventh and twelfth centuries 
 there existed in France a kind of ceramic art employed especially in the 
 manufacture of varnished pottery-tiles. Many, of baked clay, hâve beeu 
 foimd with drawings and designs in black or brown on a white or yellow 
 ground (Plate IV.). At a later period thèse tUes, of which we see such 
 brilliant spécimens in the small pictures in manuscripts, especially in those 
 
^,-*<l^--^ 
 ^^M *' ^^1 
 
 Il r 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 fc i2b é 
 
 
 3 
 
 ^■^ ^^Kpir 
 
 
 pi 
 
 . ^1^ ^ultl^ 
 
 
 ■L. 
 
 ^B^' 'i''i| t^H 
 
 
 'H 
 
 ^^B^ ^^ 
 
 
 '^^ 
 
 m¥ 
 
 
 P 
 
 PAVING TILES OF THE FOURTEENTH AND FIFTEENTH CENTURIES. 
 
CERAMIC ART. 59 
 
 of the fourtcentli and fiftcenth centuries, were embellished with designs, 
 emblems, armoriai bearings, and scrolls. As already stated, in tbe passage 
 from the autbor wbom we liave taken as our guide, tbe impulse wbicb Luca 
 délia Robbia gave to ceramic art extended itself M-itb rapidity in every 
 direction ; and if anj- otber reason were wanting, beyond tbe intrinsic value 
 of tbis art, to account for its development, we sbould say tbat tbe circum- 
 stances in tbe uiidst of wbicb Luca made bis discovery were eminently 
 favourable to its advaneement. 
 
 Luxurious display was, at tbat tinie, prominent among tbe classes wbo 
 aspired to ostentation. Wben writing of furniture, we saw to wbat a pitcb of 
 splendid profusion kiugs, princes, and nobles carried tbe mania for display- 
 ing tbeir -wealtb. "We particularly pointed out sideboards in tbe dining- 
 rooms, covered 'witb plate and ail kinds of objects, wbicb were only placed 
 tbere to dazzle tbe eyes. Tbe custom of tbese displays baving been intro- 
 duced, it could nevertbeless be only indulged in by tbose in possession of 
 considérable fortunes, and tberefore it will be readily understood bow quickly 
 fasbion afifected tbe productions of ceramic art ; wbicb, in addition to being 
 recognised as works of art, were singularly well suited, botb in cbaracter and 
 by tbeir comparative cbeapness, to tbe spirit of ostentation wbicb bad taken 
 possession of people of inferior rank. It was sufEcient tbat some pièce of 
 majobca sbould bave found a place on tbe sideboard of a prince amidst tbe 
 gold and tbe silver wbicb bitberto bad alone enjoyed tbis privilège, for tbe 
 lower ranks of tbe bourgeoisie and tbe tiers-état to adopt tbe fasbion, in tbeir 
 dining-rooms, of décora ting tbem eitber witb majolica alone, or associated 
 witb plate. 
 
 And admitting tbis fact, tbat tbe productions of ceramic art were tbus 
 allowed to find admittance, and, as it were, in some measure an equally 
 distinguisbed position, amidst plate and objects of precious metals, it resnlted 
 tbat tbis new indiistry, siipported by tbe best artists, soon became remarkable 
 tor Works wbicb were at tbe same time niost beautiful and original. 
 
 As sometbing new in bistorj', we iînd simple pièces of pottery — to give 
 tbem tbeir generic name — passing as valuable offerings among tbe great, 
 and employed on very many occasions to dénote ardent admiration in tbe 
 world of courtly gallantry. It is tbus we bave banded down to us, princi- 
 paUy on cups by renowned masters, portraits of tbe beauties wbo in tbose 
 tunes adorned tbe ranks of tbe nobility : tbe Dianas, tbe Francescas, tbe 
 
6o CERAMIC ART. 
 
 Lucias, the Proserpines, whom their admirers caused to be portrayed in order 
 to offer thein their own likenesses. 
 
 It was at Florence, about the year 1410, tbat Luca délia Robbia first 
 introduced bis inTention ; but as soon as the process became known, the 
 greater part of the towns of Italy, especially those of Tuscany, estabHshed 
 manufactories, among which a remarkable rivalry soon arose : Pesaro, 
 Gabbio, Urbino, Faenza, Rimini, Bologna, Ravenna, Ferrara, Citta Castellana, 
 Bassano, Venice, emulated each other, and almost ail succeeded in giving, 
 as it were, an individual character to their productions. 
 
 Pesaro — the place were the earliest workshops of ornamental pottery in 
 Italy were seated, and the processes of which (derived from Luca deUa 
 Robbia) seem to hâve blended with the ancient Spanish, or Majorquaises — 
 présents to us a design of a rather harsh and stiff character. " The outlines 
 of figures," adds M. Jacquemart, " are drawn in manganèse black, the flesh 
 is the colour of the enamel, and the drapery alone is of uniform tint." 
 
 It was at Pesaro that the celebrated Lanfranco flourished. The ceramic 
 muséum of Sèvres has two of his pièces : it was he who invented the method 
 of applying gold to earthenware, at a time when the early processes of 
 ornamenting this manufacture had ceased to be emploj'ed, and had given 
 place to délicate paintings, which, although no longer executed by the most 
 renowned artists of Italy, were nevertheless the work of intelligent pupUs 
 who had recelved the benefit of their teaching and example. 
 
 The manufactory at Gubbio had for its founder Œorgio Andreoli, who, 
 both as a sculpter and an artist in majolica, executed works as remarkable 
 in form as in eifect. " The palette of minerai colours adopted bj' Andi-eoli 
 was the most perfect of the period ; and coppery yellows, ruby reds, are 
 frequentl}^ used in his works." There are still extant some works signed by 
 this mastcr (a title oificially conferred on him by a patent of nobility) ; 
 one is a slab in the Sèvres collection, and another a tablet representing the 
 Holy Family. 
 
 Urbiao — of which the dukes, especially Guidobaldo IL, signalized 
 themselves as the most zealous patrons of ceramic art — became famous 
 through the works of Francesco Xanto, who executed historical subjects 
 on enamelled clay. Xanto had as a successor Orazio Fontana, who has 
 been named " the Raphaël of Majolica," and who produced, among other 
 magnificeut objects, some vases which, when subsequently seen by Christina 
 
CERAMIC ART. 6i 
 
 of Sweden, so impresscd lier by their beauty that slie ofFered to exchange 
 l'or theiu silver vases of equal size. 
 
 It \vas at the mauufuctory of Deruta that imaginative subjects on majolica 
 wero first introduced ; Bassano was famous for its landscapes witb. ruina ; 
 Venice became celebrated for délicate ware with repoussé reliefs ; Faenza is 
 still proud of lier Gruido Salvaggio ; Florenoe of lier Flaminio Fontana, &c. 
 
 Majolica attained to its higbest point of brilliancy under the Dake of 
 Urbiiio Avhom we bave ali'eady named, Guidobaldo II., wbo was ever ready 
 to make any sacrifice in order that tbis art migbt be introduced into the 
 maniiflictories under his patronage. He even obtained from Raphaël and 
 Giulio Eomano some original drawàngs to serve as esamples ; and this 
 feeHng having once been inculcated, we soon find artists of renown, such as 
 Batista Franco and Raphaël del CollCj tendering their services for the orna- 
 mentation of majolica. Thus the productions of this period are distinguish- 
 able among ail others for harmony of composition and accurate drawing, 
 qualities -which render them specially noteworthy (Fig. 36). Then, almost 
 immediately, followed the décline of this art. WhUe flourishing more 
 and more until the middle of the sixteenth century, the art of making 
 majolica had fallen, at the termination of that epoch, into a kind of 
 degenerate industry, swayed by the caprice of fashion, and thereby 
 reduced to mannerism. 
 
 Nearly at the commencement of the rénovation of ceramic art, Italian 
 artisans had established themselves in varions places, which then became so 
 many artistic centres. Eastern Europe had for its earliest instructors three 
 brothers, Giovanni, Tiseo, and Lazio, who settled at Corfu. Flanders was 
 indebted for the knowledge of thèse processes to Guido of Savino, who took 
 up his abode at Antwerp. And about the year 1520 we find a manufactory 
 at Nuremberg, of which the ware, though materially diifering in character 
 ffom ItaHan majolica, may still very probably bave been derived from Italy. 
 
 We may add that letters of the King of France mention that from 1456 
 there were certain revenues derivable from the " Beauvais Potteries ; " and 
 in the twenty-seventh chapter of the first book of "Pantagruel," published 
 in 1535, Rabelais places among the various articles composing the trophy 
 of Panurge, "a saucer, a salt-cellar of clay, and a Beauvais goblet ;" which 
 proves, as M. de Sommerard remarks, " that as early as this date, there 
 were manufactured in this city vessels of clay suf&ciently good in quality 
 
CERAMIC ART. 
 
 to be placed on tlie table witb silver and pewter utensils ; " but it does not 
 naturally follow that France bad not long to wait for tbe man of genius wbo 
 would soon leave her nothing to covet from Italy. 
 
 About tbe year 1510, in a small village in Périgord, a cbild was born 
 wbo, after receiving tbe rudiments of éducation, was obliged wbile still quite 
 young to try to gain a livelibood by bis own industry. Tbis cbild's name 
 was Bernard Palissy. He first learnt tbe trade of a glazier, or ratber of a 
 
 rig. ■;i^. — Cup, Itali; 
 
 1 Ware. In the Collection of Baron Alph. Rothschild. Taken from MM. Carie Delange 
 and C. Boraeman's work. 
 
 glass-fitter and painter. Tbis trade, wbile it iuitiated bini into tbe principles 
 of drawing, and gave bim a certain insigbt into cbemical manipulations, at 
 the same time aroused in bim a taste for art and tbe study of natural 
 sciences. Wbile " painting figures in order to gain bis daily bread," as 
 be bimself tells us in oue of tbe works be bas left bebind bim, and wbicb 
 gives us tbe bigbest opinion of bis simple yet energetic nature, be appbed 
 bimself to tbe study of tbe true principles of art in tbe works of tbe 
 great Italian paiuters — tbe only artists tben in repute. Owiug to various 
 
CERAMIC ART. 
 
 63 
 
 circumstances tlie trade of glazier proving improfitable, he at once began tlie 
 study of geometry, and soon obtained crédit, in the part of the country 
 whcreiu ho dwolt, as "a clcver drauglitsniun of plans." Such coniparatively 
 mecliaiiical labour as this could not long suffice for the active vigour of a 
 mind thirsting after progress .and discoverj^. Moreover, Palissy, while 
 employed on his calling as a land-surveyor, had never ceased to give close 
 observation to the structure and composition of geological strata. With the 
 purpose of dispelling the doubts in his mind, and also with the object of 
 obtaining substantial confirmation regarding the System he had already 
 originated, he began to travel. The resuit of his journeyings was the 
 inauguration of a theory ■«'hieh, after ha-s-ing long been contemptuously 
 
 Fig. 37. — A figured Border of an Enamelled Dish, by Bernard Palissy. 
 
 rejected by the learned, -vras nevertheless destined to form the foundation 
 of principles which are now considered as the basis of modem geological 
 science. 
 
 But if the certain knowledge which Palissy thought he had acquired as 
 to the early convulsions of the globe had succeeded in satisf jdng his own 
 mind, the glazier-surveyor (who was now a married man with a family) 
 stiU remained in straitened circumstances, and was obliged to find some 
 means of avoiding actual Tvant. We must refer to what he himself 
 says more than a quarter of a century later, and when success had 
 completely crowned his efforts, to learn what were his recollections of his 
 early and hazardous experiments in a new channel. '' Know," says he. 
 
64 CERAMIC ART. 
 
 in his expressive langiiage, " that it is twenty-five years since an earthen 
 vessel was shoTvn to me ; it was turned, enamelled, and of such exquisite 
 beauty, that from tliat very moment I began to argue -with myself, wliile 
 remembering observations made derisively to me by some persons wben I 
 was painting figures. And seeing tbat they were beginning to give up 
 tbe use of tbese objécts in tbe country ^bere I lived, and tbat glazing 
 also was net in great demand, I set myself to tbink tbat bad I but 
 discovered tbe art of making enamel, I migbt make eartben vessels and 
 otber articles of beautiful appearance ; for God bad given me tbe capacity to 
 understand a little about ceramic painting, and from tbat instant, witbout in 
 tbe least regarding my utter ignorance of slliceous substances, I set myself 
 to discover enamels like a man groping in tbe dark." 
 
 It bas been mucb disputed, but we may as well say at once to no purpose, 
 bow to assign witb certainty a particular locality -wbence came tbis object 
 vrbicb inspired Palissy ; but whatever may bave been its origin, it seems to 
 us to be a question of little moment, because at tbe time wben Palissy must 
 bave seen it, tbe Italian manufactories, and even tbose wbicb were after- 
 wards establisbed in various localities, bad succeeded in disseminating tbeir 
 wares far and wide ; and, besides tbis, tbe works of Palissy, wbicb we still 
 see, bear testimony to a style tbat was peculiarly bis own, and in some 
 measure original. 
 
 However tbis may bave been, bere we bave bim seeking ont and grinding 
 ail kinds of substances, mixing tbem, and coating witb tbem pièces of ware 
 wbicb be first subjected to tbe action of an ordinary potter's oven, afterwards 
 to tbe more powerful beat emploj^ed by glass-makers. Tben we see bim 
 building an oven in bis own bouse — taking into bis service a working potter, 
 to wbom, on one occasion, wben be bas no money for tbe payment of wages, 
 be is obliged to give bis own clotbes ; again we find bim turning, single- 
 banded, a mill for grinding bis materials wbicb ordinarily required " two 
 powerful men " to work it ; tben again, wounding bis bands in repairing 
 tbe oven tbat tbe fire cracked, and tbe bricks and mortar of wbicb bad 
 become "liquified and vitrified;" so tbat be is obliged for several days 
 "to eat bis sonp witb bis fingers tied up in rags;" pusbing tbe con- 
 scientiousness and zeal of an experimentalist so far as to ftdl down in a 
 state of inseusibility on finding tbat tbe wbole contents of an oven, on 
 wbicb be bad been relying, proved to bave numerous defects. In despite 
 
:5^s. \- ■^!»»e<I^Ç<ÇSa!S««^ 
 
 BIBERON OF HENRI II WARE. 
 
 Or Oiron fayence. (PovrrUles' Collection i Kow m Uie possession of J- Malcolm. Esii 
 
CERAMIC ART. 65 
 
 of his povei'ty we see hiiu destroying pièces of work tliat he considered were 
 uot quite perfect, tliougli a fair price \ras ofPered him for tliem, merely 
 because " they miglit bring discrédit on bim and loss of réputation;" and 
 finally, we see bim breaking up and putting into tbe fire, for want of otber 
 fuel, tbe flooring of bis bouse and tbe furniture of bis bumble abode. 
 
 Tbe magnificent discorery, brougbt about by tbe single initiatire of an 
 indiWdual wbô bad said tbat be ■«"oïdd succeed, and wbo beroically endured 
 ail kiuds of misery, privations, and bumiliations, in order to attain bis object, 
 was tbe labour of not less tban fifteen years. 
 
 " To console me," relates Palissy, " even tbose from -wboni I bad a rigbt 
 to expect belp laugbed at me " (te bere alludes to bis family — bis wife, and 
 cbildi-en — ^bo bad not tbe same unbounded faitb as bimself in tbe ultimate 
 success of bis labours) ; " tbey paraded tbe town exclaiming tbat I was 
 burning tbe vrood\rork of my bouse ; tbus was my crédit injured, and I 
 was looked upon as a fool. Otbers said I was attempting to make base coin. 
 I went about quite bumiliated, asbamed of myself . I owed money in several 
 quarters, and generally bad two cbildren out at nurse, and not able to pay 
 tbe cost. Ail ridiculed me, saying : ' He deserves to starve, because be bas 
 gÏTen up bis trade.' 
 
 " Struggling on in tbis way, at tbe end of ten years I became so tbin tbat 
 my legs and arms bad no roundness of sbape left about tbem ; my legs were 
 ail of a size [toutes d'une venue) ; so tbat as soon as I began to walk, tbe 
 garters witb wbicb I fastened my stockings used at once to sHp down, 
 
 stockings and ail, on to my beels For many years, having notbing 
 
 wherewitb to cover my ovens, I was exposed ail nigbt long to tbe winds and 
 tbe rains, witbout receiving any belp or consolation, except from tbe screecb- 
 
 owls booting on one side and tbe dogs bowling on tbe otber Some- 
 
 times I found myself, witb ail my garments wet tbrougb from tbe rain, 
 going to bed at midnight, or at dawn of day; and wben proceeding in 
 tbis condition to bed, I went reeling along witbout a ligbt, and stumbling 
 from side to side, like a man drunk witb wine ; I was overcome by previous 
 sorrow, tbe more so because after long-continued work I saw my labour lost. 
 And on entering mj^ cbamber I found a fresb persécution awaiting me — tbe 
 complaiuts of my wife — worse tban tbe fii-st, and wbicb now makes me 
 wonder bow it was I did not die of grief. .... I bave been in sucb anguisb 
 tbat many and many a time I fancied I was at deatb's door." 
 
 K 
 
66 CERAMIC ART. 
 
 At last, despite ail tliese obstacles, disappointments, phj^sical and mental 
 suffering, tlie determined experimentalist succeeded in his anticipations, and 
 gave to tlie world those works he called rustics, and Avliicli were so original 
 and so beautiful tbat thej' had but to be seen in order to invite attention, 
 and to gain for him ail the praise, as well as tbe profit, he received. 
 
 We bave just intimated it was at Saintes tbat Palissy, wben in searcb of 
 immortal famé, underwent his rude apprenticeship. A short time after he 
 had attained thèse definite results, religions questions having caused some 
 disturbances in Saintonge, the Constable de Montmorency, who had been 
 sent to suppress the Huguenot rising, had an opportunity of seeing Palissy's 
 Works : he requested that he should be presented to him, and at once declared 
 himself his friendly protector. And we must take this word protector in its 
 widest seuse, for the potter, who had zealously embraced the doctrines of the 
 Eeformation, and who subsequently pref erred to be imprisoned for lif e rather 
 than abjure his faith (if he did not die in the Bastille, at least he was 
 imprisoned there at the time of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew), indeed 
 required protection, as much for the exercise of liberty of conscience as for 
 carrying on his artistic labours. After Montmorency had commissioned him 
 to exécute some considérable works, which also gained him the patronage 
 of several important personages, he obtained for him the favour of royalty. 
 Palissy was summoned to Paris, and received the title of " inventeur des 
 rustiques figulines du roi et de la reine-mère " — Henri II. and Catherine de 
 Médicis. He was lodged in the Tuileries ; and was not long there before 
 he became renowned, not onlj' for his ceramic productions, but also for his 
 scientific knowledge. 
 
 In the récent building opérations at the Tuileries, on digging a trench 
 in the garden, the workshop of Bernard Palissy was discovered ; being 
 recognised by fragments and varions pièces of enamelled pottery with figures 
 in relievo. Among thèse was found a large fragment of the dish of Palissy, 
 known under the name of the Baptismal Dish, on account of the subject 
 represented thereon. In Julj% 1865, while excavating in the part of the 
 palace where the " Salle des Etats " bas been built, the workmen discovered, 
 below the level of the surface soil, two ovens for baking pottery, in a tolerably 
 good state of préservation. One contained pièces of those muffles {gazettes) 
 Palissj^ is said to hâve invented, and which were employed in baking délicate 
 pièces of work — imprints of varions kinds of ornaments, and figures in alto- 
 
CERAMIC ART. 
 
 67 
 
 reliovo : two of thèse ave describecl b)^ Palissy hiinself in tlie " Devis d'une 
 grotte jiour la royne, mère du roy " (" device of a grotto for tbe queen, tbe 
 king's mother "), and wbicb be tbus indicates in tbe foUowing sentence: — 
 " I sboidd wisb to make certain iigures from nature, following ber so closely, 
 even to tbe small bair in tbe beard and eyebrows, as to make tbem tbe 
 natural size." Tbese peculiarities are to be seen in tbe fragments of tbe 
 moulds wbicb bave been discovered. In tbe same page Palissy says, " Also 
 tbere would be anotber, composed completely of sea-sbells of différent kinds ; 
 tbat is to say, tbe two eyes of two sbells, tbe nose, moutb, and cbin, forebead 
 and cbeeks, ail made out of sea-sbells, as well as even tbe remainder of tbe 
 
 Fig. 38. — Omamentation on Pottery by Bernard Palissy. 
 
 body." Tbis was found in fragments, as also a band moulded from nature, 
 and bolding a sword of ancient make (Fig. 39). Among tbe fragments 
 moulded from tbe naked and tbe draped form, is tbe one wbicb we give 
 (Fig. 40) ; it is tbus described by Palissy : — " Also for tbe sake of astonisbing 
 mankind, I wisbed to make tbree or four (figures) draped, and witb tbeir 
 bair di-essed in quaint ways, wbose dresses and bead-dresses shall be of divers 
 linen, clotbs, or striped materials so natural tbat no man would tbink but it 
 was tbe object itself wbicb tbe workman bad wisbed to imitate." * 
 
 We tbus see bow Palissy, called " Maître Bernard des Tbnilleries," 
 deserved tbe esteem of tbe sovereigns wbo desired be sbould be near tbem. 
 
 * "Historical Topography of Ancient Paris in the district of tlie Louvre and Tuileries." By 
 Berty and Legrand. 
 
68 
 
 CERAMIC ART. 
 
 M. Jacquemart saj's of Palissy ware : — " It is remarkable in more ways 
 than one — for its white paste witli a shade of yellowish grey, for its liardness, 
 and its infusibilitj^, equalling that of fine eartlienware or pipe-claj^. Thèse 
 give it a spécial character, that distinguishes it from Italian productions, the 
 clay of whicli is of a dirty and dusky red. The enamel has great brilliancy ; 
 it is hard, and is not imfrequently wavy {tresaillé). The colours varya little, 
 but they are bright — pure yellow, yellow ochre, indigo blue, grey blue, 
 emerald green produced from copper, yellow green, violet brown, and 
 
 Figs. 39 and 40.— Fragments of Figures 01 which the moulds hâve been found in one of Palissj''s Ovens 
 
 at the Tuileries. 
 
 manganèse violet. As for the white, it is somewhat dull, and cannot be 
 compared with Luca delJa Eobbia ware ; wherefore the most persevering 
 researches of Palissy, who invented ail the processes which he employed in 
 his work, aimed at the attainment of greater brilliancy. The under part 
 of Palissy ware is never of a uniform tone of colour ; it is spotted or tinted 
 with blue, yellow, and violet brown. 
 
 " It would be exceedingly difiicidt, not to say impossible, to enumerate 
 the varions shapes he was able to give to his enamelled ware. Combining in 
 
CERAMIC ART. 
 
 6g 
 
 himself ail tlie avtist-ic talent of his day, lie was at tbe saine time a skilfui 
 designer and an intelligent modcller ; and thiis ho discovercd a tliousand 
 resourccs for thc display of élégance and richncss ; sometimea in the multi- 
 plicity of relicvos and in the outline of his vases, sometimes in the raere 
 application of colonr In nianj^ of his productions, particularly dishes 
 
 Flg. 41. — Goblet, by Bernard Palissy. (Muséum of the Louvre.) 
 
 and bowls, are seen natural objects represented Trith astonishing truthfulness 
 as to form and colour ; nearly ail thèse are modelled from nature, and 
 grouped with perfect taste ; from the lower surface, rippled by streams of 
 water in which fish of the river Seine are swimming, coiled reptiles rise 
 
CERAMIC ART. 
 
 gracefuUy from among fossil sliells (we must remember that Palissy was a 
 geologist), foimd in tlie tertiaiy strata of Paris ; on th.e marli (the slopiag 
 eclge of the dish), amidst délicate ferns arranged in masses, lizards, crayfish, 
 and large-bodied frogs climb and jump (Fig. 42). The accuracy of their 
 movements, the truth of tones produced by a limited variety of colours — ail 
 indicate a close observer. We must not, however, form our opinion of 
 Pah'ssy from thèse rustic works alone, but also from his vases, whare he 
 introduced ail the ornamental richness of those times, and on which he took 
 a pleasure in developiug ail his fertility of composition and his knowledge as 
 
 a designer On this poiat Palissy foUowed the same law to -which ail 
 
 artists of the sixteenth century vs^ere subject — he was a worker in precious 
 metals. By their graceful originality, their fringed (frangées) bordera, their 
 figured accessories, thèse vases put us in mind of métal. How could it hâve 
 been otherwise ? Was not Benvenuto Cellini at that time, we will not say 
 the object of ail imitations, for this would be an insuit to the skilfiil artists 
 of that period, but at ail events the idéal towards which the inspirations of 
 others were directed ? As regards the human figure, Palissy's constant 
 endeavour was to approach the Italian type ; and as doubtless the school of 
 Fontainebleau farnished him with most of his models, in the greater part of 
 his figures we trace that graceful elongation of form, that élégant simplicity, 
 which, ia the worksof Jean Goujon, fall into manuerism (Figs. 43 and 44). 
 
 " Palissy did not limit himself to the production of small and moderate- 
 sized vases for ornamenting sideboards, bu.ffets, tables, and brackets ; he 
 raised pottery to the most gigantic proportions in his rustiques figulines, 
 intended as ornaments for gardens, grottoes, fountains, and the halls of 
 statel}^ mansions. The castles of Nesle and of Chaulnes, of Peux and of 
 Ecouen, and the garden of the Tuileries, contained some remarkable 
 spécimens. AU hâve perished with the dévastation of the buildings in 
 which they stood ; a single fragment of a capital, preserved in the Muséum 
 of Sèvres, proves the truthfidness of the writers of the sixteenth century 
 regarding the monumental créations of the potter of Saiutes. 
 
 " After the death of Palissy, in 1589, the art which he had created 
 insensibly declined, until soon it almost Completel}^ disappeared iu France." 
 
 This latter remark has référence to the style which was peculiarly of 
 Palissy's own invention, and not to the production of ceramic works 
 generaUy ; though the art failed not to give évidence of a certain vitality, 
 
CERAMIC ART. 
 
 7' 
 
 it empkned as guides or models the fanciful examples of Italian ware, 
 in préférence to the really masterly spécimens of tte French artist. Among 
 
 tlie différent centres of manufacture wMcli, at that period, were deserving of 
 notoriety, we must specially name N^evers, wlience came numerous examples 
 eharacterised by subjects taken from biblical narratives, as well as from 
 
72 
 
 CEEA MIC ART. 
 
 Roman and contemporaneous times ; Rouen, where the manufacture probably 
 was not of an earlier date than the beginning of the seventeenth century, 
 and which evidently had to provide its full supply of dishes for the table 
 when, owing to the heavy expenses of war, the courtiers, foUowing the 
 example of Louis XIV., sent their plate to the mint, and " se mirent 
 en fàieiice," " took to earthenware," as Saint-Simon says. Lastly we hâve 
 Montreuil-sur-Mer, which, if we are to crédit the spécimens collected in the 
 district by M. Boucher de Perthes, one of our most learned antiquarians, 
 possessed a manufactory that produced some remarkable " open-work " vases. 
 
 Fig. 43. — Four-handiod Water-jug 
 
 German ware 
 
 of theSixteenth Centurj-. 
 
 • 41 
 
 Egg-shapcd Coffee-pot. 
 German ware 
 of the Sixteenth Century. 
 
 Let us also mention the Dutch pottery, called Delft uare, which, in the 
 beginning of the seventeenth century, began to flnd a place on ail sideboards 
 and dressers. According to M. Brongniart, thèse came from a manufactory 
 founded prior, perhaps, to the sixteenth century. We also instance the 
 fine earthenware, in relievo, manufactui-ed with undoubted ability in 
 Geruiany, especially in the town of jSrui'emberg. In the Louvre and in 
 the Chmy Muséums may be seen magnificent spécimens of euamelled slabs 
 and vases of architectural fornis, ornamented with figures. Majolica was 
 
CERAMIC ART. 73 
 
 equall}" esfeemecl on tlie banks of the Rbine. Many spécimens are found, 
 dating from tlie latest years of the sixteenth century, in whicli identity of 
 form or similarity of niglcs (earths or clays) to primitive works had led 
 to their being, at first, classified among Italian majolica. However, the 
 majorit}- of thèse examples, ornamented with escutcheons and arabesques, 
 combiued generally with Latin or German inscriptions, bear on the reverse a 
 cipher in Gothic letters, leaving no doubt as to the artist's couctry. 
 
 î^ow a Word on a question we ought not to pass in silence, though it 
 yet remains unanswered, and doubtless will never be explained. 
 
 "Why is this name ot faïence commonly given in France, almost from the 
 revival of the ceramic art, to the productions of the new industry ? Some 
 say, " because Faenza was the first among Italian manufactories that 
 introduced, generally, painted and ornamented potteries into France, where 
 it acquired great réputation." Others discover in France itself, a small 
 town called Faïence, near Fréjus, in Provence, "where the manufacture of 
 enamelled clays was in full activity before there was any évidence of it 
 elsewhere;" and thus it gave its name to the pottery called majolica by 
 the Italiens : this would be nothing less than to deprive Luca délia Robbia 
 of the merit, if not of the invention, at least of priority. TJnfortunately 
 for this last opinion, those who state it cannot bring in support of their 
 assertion any certain détails of the nature of the productions ascribed to 
 that locality, and which by their very celebrity ought to bave been safe 
 from destruction. Thus it is évident there is hère a point of dispute 
 regarding which it is difficult to form a décisive opinion. 
 
 Though, in a certain measure, lying out of the province to which our 
 observations hâve hitherto been limited, we hâve still to notice a small 
 group of productions which are known by connoisseurs under the title of 
 faïences fines d'Henri II.; of thèse there are not more than fortj' authen- 
 ticated spécimens. The locality of this manufacture, which seems, so to 
 speak, to hâve been isolated — for the ware is unlike any contemporaneous 
 productions — is quite unknown. " We only know," says M. Jacquemart, 
 "that most of the examples came from the south-west of France, from 
 Saumur, frofa Tours, and especially from Thouars. As to the date, it is 
 mdelibly inscribed on the vases, some having the salamander of Francis I., 
 others the arms of France with three crescents interlaced, the emblem 
 adopted by Henri II. They consist of cups, ewers, drinking-vases, oval 
 
 L 
 
74 
 
 CERAMIC ART. 
 
 sugar-basins, salt-cellars, and candlesticks. The form is ornate and pure, 
 and is relieved by élégant mouldings. On the clay — a yellowisb white, 
 and covered with a crystallized varnish, tbe basis of wbicli is lead, and 
 conseqiiently is transparent — wind bands of yellow ochre bordered Trith 
 dark brown, and interlaced "nàth ail tbe inventive richness wbich charac- 
 terized the period ; small designs in green, violet, black, and occasionally 
 in red, enhance this décoration." 
 
 Much search has been made, but, as yet, without any reliable resuit, 
 for the name of the artist to whoni might be attributed the création of thèse 
 Works, and of the individual style they dénote. 
 
 However this may be, if England claims the first application of pipe-clay 
 to fine earthenware, the French can, by showing her the/aïewce d'Senry IL, 
 prove that, two hundred years before, an unknown artist in France was 
 setting an example in that art in which England now prides herself. 
 
 Fig. 45.— Ornament of a Dish, Italian ware. (Collection of M. le Baron Alph. de Rothschild.) 
 
AEMS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 Anns of the Time of Charlemagne. — Anns of the Normans at the Time of the Conquest of 
 England. — Progress of Armoury imder the Influence of the Cnisades. — The Coat of Mail. — 
 The Crossbow. — The Hauberk and the Hoqueton. — The Helmet, the Hat of Iron, the 
 Cervelière, the Greaves, and the Gauntlet ; the Breastplate and the Cuish. — The Casque 
 ■with Vizor. — Plain Armour and Eibbed Annour. — The Salade Helmet. — Costliness of 
 Armour. — Invention of Gunpowder. — Bombards. — Hand-Cannons. — The Culverin, the 
 Falconet. — The Arquebua with JMetal-holder, -with Match, and -«-ith "Wheel. — The Gun and 
 the Pistol. 
 
 HE- most ancient and authentic document that présents 
 
 to us a just and almost perfect idea of the arms in 
 
 use towards the end of the eleventh century, is the 
 
 celehrated tapestry of Bayeux, of which we hâve 
 
 already spoken. 
 
 It is sufficient to examine with sonie atten- 
 tion that complex and illustrated narrative of 
 the conquest of England in 1066, to learn what 
 was the gênerai aspect of war at that period. But any one vrho has at ail 
 studied the ancient historians and the annals of our earliest career as a 
 people, will not fail to recognise, as so many constituent parts combining 
 to form the equipment of war, most of those weapons that were adopted 
 among various races, the contests and the union of which was to give birth 
 to modem nations. 
 
 If we can rely on the testimony of some miniatures in manuscripts of the 
 time of Charlemagne, Roman customs are constantly recalled in the costume 
 and arms of the warriors of the eighth and ninth centuries (Fig. 46), 
 "but with the modifications necessarily resulting from contemporaneous 
 cornipt taste," as observed by M. de Saulcy, whom, it may be reraarked, we 
 foUow step by step, as it were, in the labours which he has conscientioixsly 
 devoted to the history of warlike arms ; " for at that time the helmets, 
 the bucklers, and the swords had assumed forms very unlike the models 
 whereof they were supposed to be an imitation. One can readily imagine 
 
ARMS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 tliat costume had become subjected to the same sort of cliange as language, 
 corrupted as tliis was by the admisture of German manners with. those 
 of the nations subjected to Rome." 
 
 In the middle of the ninth century the Normans disembarking, possessed 
 themselves of Neustria, and introduced among the French nation, with which 
 they at first contended, and at length concluded a peace, an entire séries of 
 défensive arms entirely novel in form, if not in their nature. It is then, 
 according to certain learued men, that warriors are seen, in illustrated 
 inanuscripts, attired in dresses furnished with small rings or iron scales, 
 
 Pig. 46.-Gallo-Romano Soldiers. Fac-similé of Miniatures in the MS. of Prudentius . (Imp. Library of Paris.) 
 
 wearing pointed helmets, and using shields eut horizontally above, and 
 terminating at the base in a point more or less sharp. 
 
 In the Bayeus tapestry we see the army of William that fought the 
 battle of Hastings composed of three différent bodies of troops : the archers, 
 light infontry, armed with arrows and darts ; foot- soldiers, or heary 
 mfantry, using weightier arms, and clad in iron mail ; and cavalry, in the 
 midst of which figures the Duke WiUiam (Fig. 47). 
 
 The costume exhibits little variety; only two sorts of accoutrements are 
 observable ; one very plain, worn by men who hâve no helmet, is evidently 
 that of an inferior soldier ; the other, covered with iron rings, not inter- 
 
A/i.VS AXD ARMOUR. 
 
 11 
 
 laced, extends from tlie shoulders to the knees, and belongs only to 
 warriors whose liead-drcss is a narrow, conical helmet, more or less sliarph' 
 poiuted, extending- beliind {en couvre nuque) to cover tlie nape of the neck 
 (Fig. 48), and in front provided ■svith a métal protector for tlie face, called 
 tlie nasal. 
 
 Among the horsemen thus encased in iron, are some -svho hâve boots and 
 stirriips, otliers are -«-itliout them, and even wear no spurs. Their shields 
 are convex, secured to the arm by a leather strap, generally circular at 
 
 ^'o- 47- — Kjng William, as représente^ on 
 his seal preserved in Engiand. 
 
 Fig. 48. — Lancer of W'illiam's Anny. 
 
 top, and terminating in a point below. Some, however, are polygonal and 
 convex, and in the centre show a rather long point. 
 
 Offensive arms consist of swords, axes, lances, javelins, and arrows. The 
 swords are long, of uniform width nearly to the extremity which cornes 
 abruptly to a point, and hâve heavy, strong hilts. The axes exhibit no 
 remarkable peculiarity. The spears terminât e in an iron point, probably 
 sharpened, and equal in length to one-sixth of the handle. We see also 
 clubs, maces, and, finally, pronged staves {bâtons fourchus), donbtless the 
 
78 
 
 ARMS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 earliest form of the weapon ; thèse last were subsequently called bisaguë, 
 and, with maces and clubs, were ordinarily used by serfs and peasants ; tbe 
 sword and the spear being reserved for freemen. 
 
 The sling is not to be found in the hands of any -warrior ; but it is 
 remarkable that, in the border of the Bayeux tapestry, it is used by a peasant 
 ainiino" at a bird ; from which it may be inferred that the sling had become 
 a mère -weapon for field-sport. Moreover, this was also the case with 
 the bow among the French ; which was again held in honour after the 
 advent of the Normans, especially since the latter could ascribe to it their 
 success at the battle of Hastings, where Harold, the opponent of William, 
 was killed by an arrow. Î^Tevertheless, the statutes of the Conqueror, who 
 himself excelled with the bow, did not include that weapon among those of 
 the nobility. 
 
 From the conquest of the Normans to the Crusades, we scarcely find any- 
 thing worth notice, except the adoption of a very murderous implement of 
 war, which acquired the name of the flail, or armed whip (fléau, or fouet 
 d'armes) ; it was formed of iron balls studded with points, and was attached 
 to the end of a strong staff by small chains. But we corne to a period when 
 the events which occurred in Asia had a considérable influence on the arms 
 and the military costume of Europe. The first and principal of the importa- 
 tions due to those distant expéditions was that of the coat of mail, then in 
 common use among the Arabs, and which bas since been discovered in the 
 sculptures of the period of the Sassanidse, a royal race that ruled over Persia 
 from the third to the seventh century. 
 
 It is not afhrmed that prier to the first crusade we had no knowledge of 
 iron chain-work, of which the Orientais made défensive helmets ; but we 
 imitated it only in a heavy and clumsy manner. This armour, which 
 was of ponderous weight, and, besides, was far from rendering invul- 
 nérable those who were burdened with it, had not displaced the haubergeons, 
 i\Q Jacques de fer, the brigandines, the armures à macles (Fig. 49), (such were 
 the names given to the cuirasses of leather and of cloth covered with métal 
 plates) ; but when such défensive armour came to be better known, with ail 
 its original good qualities ; and when we had learned to make it according 
 to the Oriental method, there was no further delay in adopting that net- 
 work of iron {fricot) at once flexible, light, and, in some degree, impénétrable. 
 However, since the manufacture of ancient armour was more simple, and 
 
ARMS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 79 
 
 coiiseqiieutly less costly, it was not altogether abandoned. It is only so late 
 as tlie tiiue of Philip Augustus and Louis IX. (the tbirteenth century) that 
 the use of coats of mail became gênerai ; to this some knights attacbed mail 
 hose, to protect the thighs, legs, and feet (Fig. 50). 
 
 In the reign of Louis le Gros (twelftb centui-y) we see the first attempt 
 at a movable vizor adapted to the conical helmet of the Normans ; and to 
 the same period must be referred the invention of the crossbow : or, it may 
 rather be said that a stock, or arhrier, was added to the bow, which afforded 
 gréa ter facility for stretching the string, and also aided in directing the 
 
 Fig. 49. — Norman Archer. 
 
 Fig. 50. — ^Jeau Sansterre, as represented on 
 his Seal. Reproduced by Meyrick. 
 
 arrow. This new weapon, after being esclusively used in the chase, appeared 
 in warfare ; but, in 1139, Pope Innocent IL, confirming the décisions of the 
 Council of Lateran, which had condemned it as too destructive, prohibited its 
 use. The crossbow was not restored to military equipments until the third 
 crusade, under Richard Cœur de Lion, who, having permitted his men to 
 résume the weapon, was subsequently assumed to hâve invented it. 
 
 Dui-ing the first crusade, barons and knights wore a hauberk of links of 
 iron or steel. Every warrior had a helmet — silver-plated for royalty, of steel 
 lor nobles, and of iron for the private soldiers. The crusaders used the lance, 
 the sTvord, a kind of dagger called miséricorde, the club and the battle-axe, 
 the sUng and the bow. 
 
8o ARMS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 In the Windows which. Suger, miuister of Louis VII., caused to be 
 painted for the churcli of the abbey of Saint-Denis, and which represented 
 the principal events of the second crusade, we see the chiefs of the crusaders 
 still clothed in hauberts of links, or macles (plates of iron) ; the helmet is 
 conical and without the nose-piece (nasal) ; and, lastly, the buckler, formed 
 like a scutcheon, covers the breast, generally suspended from the neck by a 
 leather thong. 
 
 Towards the middle of the twelfth century, the iron breastplate is said to 
 hâve been introduced ; it was placed over the chest to support the hauberk, 
 the direct pressure of which being found detrimental to health. But no 
 description of it is to be met with in the romances of chivalry, that furnish 
 the best documentary évidence regarding the armour of the twelfth and 
 thirteenth centuries. 
 
 Under Philip Augustus, who, as we know, was one of the leaders of the 
 
 JF'S- 5i.— Helmet of Don Jaime el Conquistador (Armeria Real, Madrid.) 
 
 third crusade, the conical helmet assumed a cylindrical form ; to this was 
 occasionally added a vizor called rentail, intended to protect the face. 
 Richard I., King of England, is represented on his seal with this kind of 
 helmet ; level with the eyes and also at the height of the mouth are two 
 horizontal slits, which admit of seeing and breathina-. StiU the use of the 
 conical helmet without vizor or nose-piece was retained even to the thirteenth 
 century in Spain, as is proved by that worn by Jaime I., Xing of Aragon 
 (Fig. 51), which is preserved in the Armeria Real, Madrid. It is of polished 
 
AI^MS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 steel, is surmouuted by a dragon's licad, and portions of it are riclily 
 ornamcnted. 
 
 Thus in the tliird crusade tlie use of the " coat-of-arms " becanie gênerai, 
 — a sort of overcoat, if we may so term it, of clotli or of sQk stuff, and the 
 purpose of ■wliicli, at first, was oiily to mitigate the insupportable effect of the 
 
 Figr- 32.— K.nig-ht in his Hauberk (after ilejrickl. 
 
 rays of an Eastern sun on métal armour. This new gannent soon served, 
 moreover, when made of Tarions colours, to distinguish différent nations 
 marching under the standard of the Cross (Fig. 52). It became really a 
 dress of military splendeur, -^vas made of the richest stuffs, and embroidered 
 in gold or silver with excessive refinement. 
 
 The sliugers, who had never been otherwise recruited than from the 
 
 M 
 
82 
 
 AJ?MS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 lower orders, disapiDeared from thé French armies after the reign of St. Louis. 
 As for the archers, those of England wore at that time, over the hauberk, 
 a leather jacket, adopted subsequently by the French archers, and called 
 jacque d'Anglais. An old author, in fact, thus mentions it : — 
 
 " C'étoit un pourpoint de chamois ; 
 Farci de bourre sua et sous ; 
 Un grand vilain jacque d'Anglois, 
 Qui lui pendoit jusqu'aux genoux." 
 
 The jacque having become the fashion in France was soon recognised in 
 every kind of material more or less costly ; it continued in use until the 
 end of the fourteenth century ; Charles VI. wore one of black velvet during 
 a journey he made in Brittany. 
 
 The casque, or helmet, from that time enclosing the head entirelj-, 
 
 ,~n^ 
 
 Fig. 53— Helmet of Hughes, Vidame of Chalons. 
 (End of Thirtcenth Century.) 
 
 F'g. 54- — Tournament Helmet, screwed on the 
 Breastplate. (End of Fifteenth Centurj'.) ; 
 
 assumed, under St. Louis, the form of two tnmcated cônes "réunis par leurs 
 grandes bases." In addition to the helmet there was also worn at that time 
 the chapel de fer, which at first was only a simple cap underneath the hood 
 of the hauberk ; but when, curtaiHng the hood, a brim was added to the cap, 
 it thus became a hat almost of the form of the felts now in use. To 
 proteet the neck there was also attached to the rim of the hat a tippet of 
 mail, fulliug on the shoulders, and caUed camail- The iron cap then took 
 
 • Probably an abbreviation, or corruption, of cap.mail.-[ED.] 
 
CASQUE, MÛRION, AND HELMETS. 
 
 Wiùi înd wifliout inzors, fiom lie Armerii Beal at iladrid. 
 
ARMS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 83 
 
 the nnme of coiffrc or cenelière, and later it became a kind of reversed pot 
 ooncealing the entire hcad, and kept in position bj^ its ■weiglit only (Fig. 53). 
 Again ; thcrc had for some time been manifested a movenient which 
 gradually caused the kuights to be entirely cased in iron. A king of 
 Scotland, contemporary -«-ith Philip Augustus, is represented on his seul 
 with a plate of armour intended to protect the elbow. The loiee-cap followed. 
 
 F'g- 55-— Plain Armour of the Fifteenth Ceutury, about 1460. (iluseum of Artillery, Paris.) 
 
 Under Philip the Bold, successor of St. Louis, the iron grévières (greaves), 
 or half leg-pieces, protecting the front of the legs, were adopted. In the 
 reign of Philip the Fair Tve hâve the first example of an iron gauntlet with 
 its fingers separate and jointed : previously it was merely an inflexible pièce 
 coverrng the back of the hand. About the same time the cervelih-e, either 
 flat or spherical, became poiuted at the top, and took the name of bassinet ; 
 but this bassinet was unlike the casque which, in the following centuiy, 
 
AI^MS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 retained that name and was made completely closed. The exact period 
 of the transition from mailed armour to tliat of plain iron or steel, called 
 also plate-armour, dates from tte first thirty years of the fifteeuth century 
 (Fig. 55). 
 
 The annals of Florence contain a statiite of 1315, requiring every 
 
 Fig. 56.-Convex Armour of the Fifteenth Century, sald to be that of Jlaximilian. (Muséum of Artillery, Paris.) 
 
 horseman serving in a campaigu to hâve a helmet, a breastplate, gauntlets, 
 cuishes, and leg-pieces, ail of iron ; but in France and England the whole 
 of thèse pièces were not adopted imtU somewhat later. In the reigns of 
 Philip Y, and Charles IV. we see the ventail of the helmet with a grating. 
 
ARMS AND ARMOCR. 
 
 8S 
 
 tind tlic ^'izo^ opening- willi a liinge. Tlie bassinet, lighter than the helmet, 
 was at first ■svorn by tbe kniglit ■wlacn uo hostile encounter was anticipated ; 
 but subsequentlj', and at an early date, tbe vizor was added to tbe bassinet, 
 as ■well as to tbe casque ; and tben it became as mucb used as tbe behnet, 
 wbicb, toTvards tbe end of tbe fourteentb century, was abandoned. 
 
 About tbe same period some portions of iron borse-armour began to 
 make tbeir appearance. "We find entered in tbe inveutory of tbe 
 
 ï^i&* 57- — Crossbow Jlen protected by Shîeld-bearers. Fifteenth Centuiy. After a Miniature from 
 tbe Chronicles of Froissart. (MS. Bibl. Imp. de Paris.) 
 
 armour of Louis X., a chanfrein (a plate of iron fastened on tbe borse's 
 forebead). 
 
 The crossbow, for some time probibited by ecclesiastical autbority, was tbe 
 weapon most in use at tbe period spoken of ; as baving tbe double advantage 
 of being drawn witb more power tban tbe ordinary bow, and of tbi'owing 
 its arrows to a longer distance witb greater précision. Historians say tbat at 
 Crecy, in 1346, tbere were fifteen tbousand crossbow men in tbe Frencb 
 army. Tbe Genoese were considered tbe most skilful in Exu-ope ; and next, 
 
86 AJiMS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 those of Paris. A manuscript in the Britisli Museiim shows tliem wearing 
 iron helmets, brassières* and leg-pieces ; and for body-covering, jackets witi. 
 long, hanging sleeves. While the bowmen had both bands occupied in 
 discharging tbeir arrows, sbield-bearers were employed to protect them by 
 means of large bucklers (Fig. 57). 
 
 In the year 1338 the use of firearms is for the first time noted in France. 
 But we think it right to reserve ail we bave to say of thèse modem offensive 
 weapons until our history of the ancient System of armour is iînished. Con- 
 sidering the early imperfections of firearms, the old system must bave long 
 continued, especially among combatants of noble degree — for tbey affected 
 contempt for the new warlike equipments, by means of wbich personal 
 valour became in a manner useless and could no longer ensure victory in 
 battle. 
 
 Under John the Good, that is, in the middle of the fourteenth centurj', 
 plain armour was generally adopted ; the long coat of mail, heavier and less 
 convenient, was entirely abandoned ; but chain-armour still covered certain 
 parts of the body not yet protected by iron plates. The bassinet, then very 
 pointed, was furnished with mail, covering the neck and a portion of the 
 shoulders. The upper part of the arm was protected by a half-armlet, called 
 the épauMte, but the lower part was provided with mail. 
 
 Ornaments began to be introduced in armour in the reign of Charles V. ; 
 until that time it had a simple and plain appearance. For instance ; the 
 camail of the bassinet is embroidered on the shoulders with gold and silver, 
 and the point sui-mounting it is decorated with an imitation of foKage — an 
 ornament which, according to the "Chronicle of Du Gueslin," had the 
 disadvantage of presenting a kind of handle to an opponent. The cuirass, to 
 which it was then deemed sufficient to impart a bright polish, or to paint in 
 ordinary colours, sometimes bright, sometimes dark, began to be engraved 
 and chased towards the end of the foUowing reign. 
 
 In the time of Charles VI. there was introduced, for the first time, four 
 or five flexible plates, called faldes, which protected the lower part of the 
 stomach without impeding the movements of the body. A Kttle later, 
 tassettes were added ; tbey were attached to the top of the thigh to guard 
 the bips and the groin. It appears that at this period the artisans of Milan, 
 
 * Or ii-dsOTc/s— pièces to protect the upper pai-t of the arms.— [Ed.] 
 
ARMS AND ARMOUR. 87 
 
 wcre especially reuowned for the manufacture of armoui" ; for Froissart 
 relates tliat Henry lY., Kiug of England, when Earl of Derby,* and pre- 
 paring to enter the lists with the Duke of îforfolk, requested armour from 
 Galeas, Duke of Mikm, who sent it witli four Milanese armourers. Tlie 
 swords and spears made at Toulouse and at Bordeaux were also kekl in great 
 repute ; so also were the double-handed swords in use from the middle of the 
 thirteeuth century, and manufactured at Lubeck, in Germany. The steel 
 helmets of Montauban were also much in request. 
 
 Tûwards the commencement of the fifteenth century, engines of war, 
 distinct from those ia which powder was used, had attained a remarkable 
 degree of perfection. When John the Fearless, Dtdie of Burgundy, marched 
 upon Paris, in 1411, there was with his army a considérable number 
 of machines called ribaudcqidns, a species of gigantic crossbow drawn 
 by a horse, and which with enormous strength threw javeKns to a great 
 distance. 
 
 Under Charles YII., the breastplate of the cuirass was composed of two 
 parts : one covered the breast ; the other, reaching to the bips, protected 
 the stomach, and was attached to the former by clasps and leather straps. 
 Generally the breastplate was convex. 
 
 Taught by the disastrous defeat of Agincourt, — where ten thousand men, 
 of whom eight thousand were of the nobility, had fallen, owing to the 
 précision and the celerity of the fire of the English archers, — Charles VII. 
 instituted in France the franc archer (Fig. 58), who wore the salade and 
 the jacket or hrigamline, and carried the dagger, the sword, the bow, the 
 quiver or crossbow garnie. Thèse archers were exempt from ail taxes or 
 imposts ; their equipments were declared not distrainable for debts, and 
 during war they received pay at the rate of four livres a month. 
 
 The salade, a part of armour which bas remained particularly celebrated, 
 and the name of which bas been applied subsequently to helmets of divers 
 forms, is pre-eminently the helmet of the epoch of Charles YII. At first it 
 was a head-di-ess for war, composed of a simple cap (timbre), that covered 
 the top of the head, with a pendent pièce of métal of greater or less length 
 at the back, which sometùnes was made for protecting the neck, and 
 
 * This title is not chronologically correct. Henry of BoKngbroke had been created Duke of 
 Hereford nearly a year before Ma intended combat with Norfolk, at CoTentry, in 1398 ; when the 
 king, Richard II., interfered, and banished both nobles fi-om the kingdom. — [Ed.] 
 
ARMS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 sometimes to guard a portion of the slioulders. Towards the end of the 
 fifteenth centary tliere was added to tlie salade a small vizor, that was 
 gradually lengthened downwards to near the upper lip, and in -n-liicli a 
 
 Tiff. sS.-Franc Archers (Fifteenth Century), from the Painted Han^ngs of the To«n of Rheiras. 
 
 narrow opening was then made for the sight. In the reign of Louis XII. 
 the salade received a chin-piece, the lower part of which was a gonjd, that 
 sun-ounded and protected the neck. The top of the cuirass had a cord, 
 
A7?JfS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 89 
 
 to wLicli was attacliocî the salade ; and this lielmet, so diflferent to the 
 primitive salade, eontiuued to boar the sanie name (Fig. 59). 
 
 The hriijandinc, recalling the earl}' armour abandoned for the coat of 
 mail, was composed of small plates of steel or iron arranged on a strong 
 pièce of leather, and stitched or fixed with wire, in the form of the 
 scales of a iish. A decree of Peter II., Duke of Brittany, issued in 1450, 
 ordered the nobles to equip themselves as archers, or in brigandine, if they 
 knew ho«- to use arrows ; but otherwise, to be provided with guisarmes, with 
 good salades, aud leg-armour ; each noble was to be attended by one coustilUer, 
 
 ^i|r- 59- — Knights in complète Armour, with the Salade. (End of Fifteenth Century.) A Single Combat, 
 taken from " The Triumph of Maximilian," by Burgmayer, after a drawing by Albert Diirer. 
 
 and to hâve two good horses. The giiisanne was a sort of two-edged and 
 pomted javelin. The coustilUer was a foot-soldier, or a horseman, whose 
 duty it was to act as a servant to the nobleman, and to carry the coudiïh, a 
 long, slender sword, triangular or square, apparently resembling the foil in 
 our fencing-rooms. 
 
90 
 
 AJ?MS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 About tliis period Frencli noblemen displayed mucli magnificence in the 
 adornment of the chanfrein of their borses. For instance, we know that at 
 tlie siège of Harfleur, in 1449, the charger of tlie Count de Saint-Pol had on 
 its head a massive gold chanfrein, of the most délicate work, valued at not 
 
 -Fig. 60.— Armour ornamented with Lions, supposed to be that of Louis XIL (Muséum of A.tillery, Paris.) 
 
 less than twentj^ thousand crowns. In the same year, at the siège of 
 Bajronne, the Count de Foix entered the couquered citj^ mounted on a horse 
 whûse chanfrein of polished steel was enriched with gold and precious stoues 
 to the value of fifteen thousand gold crowns. 
 
AR^fS AND ARMOUR. 91 
 
 ITalf a century latcr — lliat is, in tlic rcigu of Chai'les VIII. and tliut of 
 Louis XII. — cliargcrs \vore, bcsides the chanfrein, tlie mn ne fa ire, protecting 
 tho neck, the jwitntil, the croupière, the fancoi-s, which rcspectively covei'ed 
 the chcst, the hack, and the flauks of the horse ; and to thèse was addcd 
 anothei- pièce of armour phiced under the tail. 
 
 Of the date of Louis XII., we still see embossed suits of armour orna- 
 mentcd ■n-ith fluting, sometimes blended with beautiful engraved work 
 executed in the métal by the use of aquafortis, or subjects in relievo pro- 
 duced by erabossing : ornamentation of this nature elevated the equipments 
 of the warrior to real works of art (Fig. 60). 
 
 Louis XII. was the first to admit Greek mercenaries into his army. 
 Thèse were named stracUots ; they tendered their military services equally to 
 both Turks and Christians. The armour of thèse troops consisted of a cuirass 
 with sleeves and gauntlets in mail, and over this a jacket ; on their head a 
 vizorless helmet was worn. The stradiots were armed with a large sword, 
 called a braquemart, miich resembling the Turkish sword, but with a cross- 
 handle ; the sword and its scabbard were ornamented with Grecian devices. 
 They carried in addition several small arms at the saddle-bow, and aiso a 
 zagciye, a Tery long lance, tipped at both extremities with iron. 
 
 At this period also was introduced the pertuisane,* the blade of which, 
 wider than that of the lance, formed a crescent immediately above the 
 handle. 
 
 There were at that time two kinds of cross-bows — one for discharging 
 bolts, the other for bullets. The bow was slung by means of a moulinet, a 
 kind of hand-winch. 
 
 Embossed and fluted armour was not the only kind used in France and 
 in Italy at the end of the flfteenth and the commencement of the foUowing 
 century. The monuments in the former country of the time of Louis XII., 
 and on the other side of the Alps, show how prévalent was a peculiar 
 description of plain armour, whereof the cuirass, which was longer than 
 that of the embossed armour, had a rib or raised line in the middle. This 
 rib, which completely altered the character of the cuirass, in that it served to 
 turn aside the thrust of the lance, became increasingly distinctive as the 
 seventeenth centviry drew near. 
 
 In the reign of Francis I. embossed and ribbed armour were equally 
 
 Anglici, partisan — a kind of pike or lance. — [Ed.] 
 
92 
 
 AI?MS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 used (Fig. 61). In the Muséum of Artillery, in Paris, is preserved tho 
 armour wliicli that king wore at the hattle of Pavia. The body is longer 
 
 Fig. 6i. - Damaskeened Armour of the end of the Sixteenth Century. (Portrait of François, Duc d'Alençon, 
 from Montfaucon's " La Monarchie Françoise.") 
 
 than m the cuirass of the preceding century, the rib in the centre is more 
 
A/iJ/S AXD ARMOCR. 93 
 
 raiscd, thc gussct of the shouldcr-piece is macle of several movable plates, 
 and of largo size. The casque, a generic name givcn since those times 
 to ail descriptions of head-armour, assumed a comfortable and élégant shape, 
 which was maintained as long as the use of armour continued. 
 
 Another cuirass of the same date, still longer in the body, was made to 
 turn up towards the lower extremity, and then took an inward bend to fit 
 the hip. It was made with movable plates overlapping from below ; this 
 allowed the wearer to stoop, which it was almost impossible to do when the 
 breast-piece and the back-piece were in one. Sometimes thèse plates were 
 only three or four in number over the stomach, and the others over the 
 breast were only represented, not genuine plates. 
 
 The ai'mour called à éclissc, or à écrevisse, worn at a certain period by the 
 halberdiers, must not be passed over ; it received this name because the 
 cuirass was made of horizontal plates (éclisses), three or four inches in 
 width, which, though they covered the entire body, did not in any way 
 impede its movements. 
 
 We must, however, refer to a peeuliarity in this armour which prevented 
 its gênerai adoption ; it was that as the movement or " play " of the éclkses 
 made it convenient to wear, so from this flexibility it was found that the 
 plates frequentl)^ became disconnected, and thus left a part of the body 
 defenceless. In making the éc/isses to overlap from below, regard was had 
 to the usual direction of a sword-cut or dagger-thrust, which usually came 
 from below ; but there was ail the more danger from blows of the martel * 
 and battle-axe, the stroke of which weapon was directed downwards. 
 
 Bronzed armour came in about the middle of the sixteenth century, and 
 was somewhat commonly worn in 1558 ; it was introduced on account of its 
 being far more easily kept clean than polished steel. For the same reason 
 black armour was tried, but the engravings and chasings, the gildings and 
 damaskeenings were more effective on the greenish ground ; consequently 
 black vamish was given up in faveur of bronze. At the end of the 
 sixteenth century, and during the long civil wars which desolated France, 
 armour took a variety of shapes, and as regards ornamentation at least, there 
 was generally to be seen a strange medley of the st34e of the préviens century 
 
 * Martel-de-fer — a weapon combining a hammer and pick ; used ty caralry in the Middle 
 Ages, lo damage and destroy armour. It was generally hung at the saddle-bow. — [Ed.] 
 
94 ARMS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 witli that of the period (Fig. 61). However, the décline of the use of 
 armoiir, which became in a measure inévitable, was at hand. 
 
 De la Noue, an eminent Huguenot oiEcer of the time of Charles IX., 
 says, in his "Discours Militaires" — "The penetrating power of pikes and 
 arquebuses bas very naturally led to the adoption of armour stronger and 
 more capable of great résistance than formerly. It is now so heavy that one 
 is laden with anvils rather than protected by armour. Our men-at-arms 
 and light cavalrjr in Henry II. 's time presented a much finer appearance, 
 with their helmets, their brassarts, tassets,* and the morion,t carrj^ing the 
 lance with a flag ; their armour was not so heavy but that a strong man 
 was able to support its weight for twenty-four hours ; but those of the pré- 
 sent day are so ponderous that a young knight of thirty has his shoulders 
 quite crippled." 
 
 Thus, in endeavouring to make the résistance of armour keep pace with 
 the improvement in new warlike engines, they rendered it useless ; because 
 the weight was intolérable, especialljr in warm weather, during long marches, 
 or in lengthened combats. Having vainly tried to make suits of armour 
 invulnérable, men began to leave oiï wearing such portions as were of rainer 
 importance, which by degrees were entirely discontinued. Under Louis XIII. 
 we see armour undergoing further modifications, but of fashion rather thun 
 of utility : finally, there is every reason to think that the magnificent armour 
 presented by the Eepublic of Venice to Louis XIV., in 1668, and which is 
 now to be seen in the Muséum of Artillery in Paris, was one of the latest 
 sets made in Europe. 
 
 Let us now retrace our steps to examine a séries of arms, the graduai 
 adoption of which was destined to completely change the art of warfare. 
 
 It is now the almost universal opinion that the invention of guupowder, 
 — assumed to hâve been discovered in 1256, or at aU events its application to 
 artillery, which first dates from 1280, — is due to Berthold Schwartz, au 
 Augustin friar, born at Fribourg. Some writers, however, make thèse dates 
 a century later, and aflSrm that powder and cannons were first known from 
 1330 to 1380. Nevertheless, the employment of artillery onlj'- became 
 gênerai during the wars of Charles-Quint and of Francis L, that is, towards 
 1530, or two centuries after its invention. 
 
 * Tassets — pai'ts of the cuirass. 
 
 t Moi-ioH — a kind of helmet, usually worn by foot-soldicrs.— [Ed.] 
 
AUJ/S AXD ARMOUR. 
 
 95 
 
 But perhaps iu place of giving, as wc hâve done, tlie iiucouditional 
 acceptation to tlie word artillery whicli it now has, we ougtt perhaps to hâve 
 said artillery used with gunpowder ; for long before the invention of 
 guupowder the word artillenj was employed when speaking of ail machines 
 or engines of ■n'ar (Fig. G2). Thus in the middle of the thirteenth century 
 we fiud among the jici'sonnel of the artiUcnj a grand niaster of the erossbow 
 men, masters of the engines, of the cannoniers (the word camion was even 
 then applied to the tube forming one of the principal portions of an engine 
 
 Fig. 62— Engine for hurling Sti 
 
 3 ; taken from a Miniature of the Chevalier au Cygne. {Bibl. Imp. de Paris, 
 No. 340, S. F.) 
 
 for hurling projectiles), and in 1291 we see Philip the Fair appointing a 
 grand master of the artillery of the Louvre. 
 
 In order to foUow methodically the progress of the manufacture of arms 
 such as we shall call novel, we will, in the first place, treat separately of the 
 engmes of large calibre which were first employed, and then of portable 
 arms. 
 
 Jhe earliest allusion to cannons in France is found in 1338, in an account 
 01 the treasurer of war, wherein we read : — " To Henri de Yaumechon, for 
 
96 
 
 AliMS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 buying po'n'der and other necessaries for cannons," wliich had been used at 
 the siège of Puy-Guilhem, in Périgord. 
 
 In Froissart, we next find that, in 1340, the inhabitants of Quesnoy, wlien 
 repelling tbe attack of tbe French, made use of bombards and cannon whick 
 huiied huge bolts at tbe besiegers. But the statement of Villani, that the 
 English were indebted to the employment of artillery for the victory of 
 Crécy, in 1346, must be treated as a pure invention, because it is certain that 
 the firearms which may bave been in use at that time were in no way 
 suited to field warfare; and that they were only employed with the older 
 engines in the attack and defence of fortresses. Not only did their cumbrous 
 weight and the rude construction of their carriages render theni extremely 
 
 Fig. 63.-Bombards on fîxed and roUing carriages. (From tbe JISS. 851 and 852, Bibl. Imp. de Paris.) 
 
 difficult of transport, but, intended as they were to be employed as catapults, 
 they were generally constructed for hurling heavy projectiles, by causing 
 thèse to describe a curved liue, like modem shells ; and their shape is, in 
 fact, much more like that of our mortars than of cannon (Fig. 63). 
 
 " It would seem," says M. de Saulcy, " that, in loading them, hollow 
 cylmders {manchons), or movable chambers, were used, in which the charge 
 was previously laid ; and thèse fitted, by means of a wedge, into the body 
 of the pièce. Sometimes thèse cylinders were at the side, and formed a 
 nght angle with the axis of the pièce, but usually they fitted into the hreech, 
 of which they formed a prolongation." 
 
ARMS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 97 
 
 The iiaïuc homhavdx, wlùeli ^ye bave just used, and wliich is derived, as 
 wo may couclude, from the Greek homhos (noise), was the first employed 
 for designating cannon ; Lut thèse engines were so imperfect in principle, 
 and so feeble in power, that catapults, which had plaj'ed so signal a part in 
 sièges during the Middle Ages, were used in préférence wheu very heavy 
 projectiles had to be hui'led (Fig. 64). 
 
 Originally the pièce rested, as it were, fixedly on a massive support ; 
 but soon thé means of sighting- had to be considered ; thus we see depicted 
 in early mauuscripts pièces that could be moved up and do'syn by means of 
 
 Fig. 64. — ilangonneau ; an Engine of War of the Fifteenth Century. (Miniature in the MS. 7,239, Bibl. Imp, 
 
 . of Paris.) 
 
 trunnions ; or -which were elevated or depressed for firing by a sort of tail 
 or long projection behind the tube ; at other times the muzzle of the 
 cannon is sustained by a fork more or less buried in the ground. This 
 bombard, attached to a platform on wheels, received the dénomination of 
 eerlotana amhulatoria ; this last word conveying the idea of the movability 
 of the engine. 
 
 We hare seen that projectiles were of stone, but there is no doubt that 
 
 o 
 
AJiMS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 from the fourteenth century they were also made of métal ; that was nothing 
 new, for ancient engines of war, including the sling, threw leaden balls and 
 masses of red-hot iron. jSTo doubt it was with tlie object of giving the largest 
 size possible to projectiles of artillery by means of powder tbat stone was 
 used ; whicb, in tbe state of tbe art at that time, was much better adapted 
 tban métal for large balls. 
 
 Christine of Pisa, who wrote in the time of Charles YI. the " Livre des 
 Faits d'Armes et de Chevalrie," has left us a collection of very interesting 
 détails of the condition of artillery used with powder, which, as early as the 
 fifteenth century, had become much more extended tban would be easily 
 believed; moreover, in the descriptions this author gives of armaments, or 
 of narratives of battles, we almost always still see catapults, the large cross - 
 bows, &c., appearing by the side of cannon ; a certain proof that the use of 
 powder found its équivalent in more than one instance in the ancient means 
 of the propulsion of projectiles. 
 
 Fig. 65.— Earliest Models of Cannon. In the Tower of LonJon. 
 
 Valturio, an Italian writer, whose treatise on military art was first 
 printed in 1472, has described and drawn ail the engines of war then in use. 
 Cannons are not forgotten. We observe that the greater number of thèse 
 pièces bave no longer any box forming a movable chamber ; this imphes an 
 important advance in the art of maldng them ; but, on the other hand, thèse 
 cannons, bound with cords to a block of wood, or resting on platforms, must 
 bave been very difficult to move. 
 
 At this period pièces of the largest calibre, which projected enormous 
 balls of stone, were more commonly called bombards ; mortars, the very short 
 cannons throwing heated projectiles; cannons, pièces of médium calibre 
 carrying iron projectiles (Fig. 65) ; culverins, the long pièces loaded with 
 leaden balls, which, as well as the powder, were rammed in with an iron rod ; 
 
ARMS AND ARÂIOUIi. 
 
 99 
 
 hand-cannons, or bâtons à feu (Fig. 66), were in a manner portable, for if 
 they were liandled by one man, it was never without his liaving recourse to 
 auother for firing them. 
 
 Tbis b\st-uamed tenu, bâtons à feu, like tbat of eannon, existed before tbe 
 invention of gimpo\\-der. As swords and lances bad often been designated 
 under tbe generic name of bâtons, it followed tbat tbe name wbicb implied 
 arms in gênerai sbould also be applied to tbe earliest portable firearms. In 
 
 Fig. 66. — Hand Cannon (or Bâton à feu), taken from a pièce of Tapestry belonging to the Churct of Notre 
 Dame de Nantilly, Saumur. 
 
 ancient royal ordinances -we even see tbe term ç/ros bâtons used to designate 
 large pièces of artillery. 
 
 According to M. de Saulcy, tbe most important improvement ever made 
 m artillery is certainly tbat wbicb consisted in placing a gun witb trunnions 
 on a carriage à flasques — uprigbt beams of wood, between wbicb tbe gun can 
 oscillate, and united by cross-pieces ; tbis carriage was mounted on wbeels, 
 and admitted of tbe gvm being inclined by tbe simple use of a wedge of wood 
 
ARMS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 placed under tlie breech. But, strangely enough, it is most difficult to state 
 precisely the date of tliis improvement. Nevertlieless, circumstances tend to 
 the belief tliat it was between 1476 and 1494 — that is, during tbe reigns of 
 Louis XI. and of Charles VIII. — that they succeeded in making pièces of ail 
 calibres carrying iron shot, and also in solidly fixing the trunnions, which 
 not only supported the weight, but also resisted the recoil of the cannon. 
 The carriages for thèse guns were mounted on wheels. From this period the 
 art of fortifying towns underwent a complète révolution, which suddenly 
 changed the whole System. 
 
 When, in 1494, Charles VIII. entered Italy to conquer the kingdom of 
 Naples, the French artillery produced universal admiration. The Italians 
 had only iron guns, drawn by buUocks in rear of the army, and more for 
 appearance than for use. After the first discharge it was some hours 
 before the gun was ready for a second. The French had lighter cannon of 
 bronze, drawn by horses, and moved with so much order that their trans- 
 port hardly delayed the march of the army ; they planted their batteries 
 with incredible promptitude, considering the period, and the rounds were 
 as quickly delivered as they were well aimed. Cotemporaneous Italian 
 writers say that the French used almost exclusively iron shot, and that 
 the guns, both of large and small calibre, were admirably balanced on their 
 cai'riages. 
 
 Yet no single spécimen, or even a drawing, of this remarkable artiUery 
 has been handed down to us. The Muséum of Artillery does, indeed, 
 possess one smaU pièce, on which, between the trunnions and the breech, is 
 this inscription :— " Preseuted by Charles VIII. to Bartemi, Lord of Pins, 
 captain of the bands of artillery, in 1490." This cannon présents nothing 
 remarkable in its construction, for we already recognise the form, one that 
 has scarcely varied since then, and which, it seems, was definitely adopted 
 under Louis XII. and Francis I. Of this period we stiU hâve two magni- 
 flcent bronze cannons. They were found at Algiers in 1830 ; the porcupine, 
 the salamander, and the flem--de-lys that ornament them, made their origin 
 Imown. 
 
 Artillery, which in the reign of Charles VIII. had become an important 
 arm, and had, besides, the prestige of success in Italy, became a subject to 
 which particular attention was given in succeeding reigns. But, we again 
 say, the true principles of manufticture and mounting were already well 
 
AA'MS AND AKJfOUR. 
 
 nscertained, and only improvements in matters of détail rcmained to be 
 discovered. 
 
 The Armouiy lleal of Madrid eoutains a curious (b-aijoiiiieaii* cast at 
 Liège in 1503, which figured in the siège of Sautandei- in 1511 (Fig. 67). 
 The carriage, consisting of a single pièce of carved oak, is by its delicacy 
 and iiuisli wortliy of sustainiug this niasterpiece of bronze-^vork, wbicli 
 présents a double interest, first as regai'ds art, and tben on account of tbe 
 rapid advance ali-eady made in firearms ; for this dragonneau has a double 
 barrel, and is loaded at the breech. 
 
 Pig. 67.— ^Double-barrelled Dragonneau. Armoury Real of Madrid. 
 
 Having arrived at this point, let us again retrace our steps, in order to 
 note, and rapidly follow from its origin, the progress of firearms. 
 
 The earliest of thèse used in the niiddle of the fourteenth century were 
 called hand-cannon, and were merely formed of an iron tube pierced with 
 a vent, -çvithout stock or lock. 
 
 A manuscript of that period represents a warrior who, standing on one 
 o± those little movable towers then forming part of the siège matériel, ia 
 shooting a stone with a gun of this description. The pièce is resting on the 
 parapet. By the side a sKng is placed with its stone — a circunistance which 
 
 * So called, it may be presumed, from its form and make, — [Ed.] 
 
ARMS AND ARMOUR. 
 
 indicates the relative power of the hand-cannon, as no doubt each engine 
 was to be used alternately. In another place is a horseman liolding a 
 smaU gvm with a prolongation ; the muzzle is supported by a prong fixed 
 on the pommel of the saddle. Thns it was impossible for him to take aim, 
 and he appHed the fire with his hand. 
 
 A little later, to prevent the effect of the recoil, there was added below 
 the barrel, a little short of the centre, a sort of hook, intended to serve the 
 purpose of checking the pièce. When fired, it was supported on a fork or ou 
 a wall ; hence the name of arqueliise à croc, which took the place of that of 
 canon à main. 
 
 Fig. 68.— Arquebusier. Drawn and Engraved bj' J. Amman. 
 
 The arquebuse à croc sometimes weighed from fifty to sisty poiinds, 
 measured from five to six feet in length, and in principle was chiefly 
 adapted for firing from a wall ; it was lightened a little that it might be 
 used by foot-soldiers, who, however, never fired it without a fixed or a 
 movable rest. 
 
 The inconvenience of applying fire with the hand, which, moreover, 
 prevented the right direction of the missile, was soon partially superseded 
 by adapting to the barrel a stock to fire from the shoulder, and a look for a 
 match, called a serpenfin, which had only to be let down to ignite the powder 
 
AR]\rS AND ARMOVR. 
 
 '03 
 
 at the touch-holc. Tliis was the matcblock arquebus still used by certain 
 Eastern nations in oui- time, and which secured victoiy to the Spaniards at 
 the battlo of Tavia. 
 
 Although the matchloek arquebus, which was made lighter, and was 
 then called momqud, continued to be the usual arm of infantry until the 
 time of Louis XIII., many serious objections to the use of the serpentin 
 continued. It compelled the soldier always to hâve a lighted match, or 
 some means of striking a light. Besides, for nearly each shot it was 
 necessary so to regulate the match that the end of it, which was placed in 
 the head of the scrpcnfiii (lock), should corne exactly into the priming-pan ; 
 
 Fig. 69. — Arquebus with "Wlieel and Match. 
 
 then the prîming-pan had to be opened ; thèse opérations were, so to speak, 
 impossible for mounted men, who at the same time had to manage their 
 horses. 
 
 About 1517 the Germans invented the screw-plate called à rouet, — 
 wheel-lock (Fig. 69). 
 
 To the Spaniards is due the merit of the improvement that foUowed, 
 the type of which is still in a measure perpetuated in our percussion 
 guns ; which, in their turn, hâve just been replaced by the needle-gun. The 
 Bpanish screw-plate, often called the miquelet screw-plate, had on the outside 
 a spnng, which pressed, at the extremity of its movable limb, on one of 
 the catches of the hammer ; when the gun was cocked the other catch pressed 
 agamst a pin which projected from the inside and traversed the screw- 
 plate ; this pin could be removed, and then the spring acted on the hammer, 
 
104 
 
 A2?jUS and ARMOUR. 
 
 
 wliich was no longer held back ; the flint (for 
 at that time a flint was fitted to the gun) struck 
 upon a ribbed plate of steel forming part of 
 the cover of the priming-pan, the action of the 
 flint on the plate produced the fire. 
 
 Among the arms in use during the six- 
 teenth century was one called pdrinal or 
 poitrinal (petronel), on account of the bent 
 stock, which rested on the chest. This short 
 and heavy arquebus, which coidd only throw 
 balls, but of a very large size, to a short dis- 
 tance, was usually suspended from the shoulder 
 by a strap or a broad cross-belt. 
 
 Light troops were armed with thèse guns, 
 and took the name of carabins,; from this the 
 ■vreapon ■«•as nest called carabine — a désignation 
 which since then has received quite another 
 meaning. 
 
 Then followed the pisfoks and the 2)isfokfs, 
 thus named, it is said, because they were in- 
 vented at Pistoia ; but, with other etymologists, 
 we can also believe that they owed the name to 
 the fact of their bore being of equal diameter 
 with that of the pisfole, a coin of the time. 
 The earliest pistols were made with wheels 
 (à rouet), and the barrel did not measure more 
 than a foot in length. Subsequently they 
 varied in shape and in use ; some ivere made 
 which fired several shots in succession, and in 
 other cases thej' attempted to combine a pistol 
 with the dagger or the battle-axe. (Fig- "0, 
 &c.) This is a notably fine spécimen. 
 
 "We must not forget to note, in what may 
 be called les armes de lu.rc, the joint application 
 of the match-holder and the wheel to highly- 
 '^J:::;^ZZ:T:^:,^::t' ^^^^^^ ^^ms, this comblnation being available. 
 
A7iJ/S A XI) ARMOrR. 
 
 'OS 
 
 The screw-plate à miqtiekt, improved by Freiich experiments, led to the 
 inccbauisra called flint-lock {fusil). There -wcre also tlien pistols and 
 arquebuses with flint-locks, as formerly there had been pistols and arque- 
 buses with wheels. Subsequently the exphiuatory became the absolute terra, 
 and the entire weapon was known us fusil. 
 
 Fig. 71. — Banner oî the Sword-cutlers of Angers. 
 
CAERIAGES AISD SADDLEEY. 
 
 Ilorseniansliip among the Ancients. — The Riding-horse aud the Carriage-horse. — Chariots aiined 
 vnth Scythes. — Vehicles of the Eomans, the Gauls, and the Franks : the Carruca, the 
 Petoiitum, the Cisium, the Plaustrum, the Bastema, the Carpentum. — Différent kinds of 
 Saddle-horses in the Dajs of Chivalrj-. — The Spur a distinctive Sign of Nohility: its Origin. 
 — The Siiddle, its Origin and its Modifications. — The Tilter. — Carriages. — The Mules of 
 Magistrates. — Corporations of Saddlers and Harness-makers, Lorimers, Coachmakers, 
 Chapuiseurs, Blazonniers, and Saddle-eoverers. 
 
 HE horse lias been described by Buffon as " the 
 noblest conquest made by man." Historians, 
 botb sacred and profane, inform us that the con- 
 quest dates from the most remote âges. In the 
 Book of Job we hâve this magnificent descrip- 
 tion : — " Then the Lord said, Hast thou given 
 the horse strength ? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder ? 
 Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper ? the glory 
 of his nostrils is terrible. He paweth in the valley, and 
 rejoiceth in his strength : he goeth on to meet the armed 
 men. He mocketh at fear, and is net affrighted ; neither 
 turneth he back from the sword. The quiver rattleth against 
 him, the glittering spear and the shield. He swalloTveth the ground with 
 fierceness and rage : neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. 
 He saith among the trumpets. Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off." 
 The sacred writer is hère referring expressly to the fiery animal trained for 
 war, and obedient to the master who has trained him. 
 
 Xenophon, in his " Treatise on Horsemanship " and his " Instructor of 
 Cavalry," and Diodorusin his "Historiés," are among the Grreekswho adduce 
 the most numerous testimonies to the honour in which equestrian exercises 
 were held. Among the Latins, Virgil, in référence to the funereal games 
 celebrated by Acestes in honour of Anchises, tells us that the Roman youth 
 ■were taught equestrian art as practised bj' the Trojans. The horse and 
 
io8 
 
 CARRIAGES AND SADDLERY. 
 
 chariot races, which took place at the solemii games in Greece, liave alwa^'s 
 been justly celebrated ; as were those whicli continued in Rome and in ail 
 the great cities of the Roman world until the fifth or sisth century. 
 , We are disposed to believe that tlie use of tbe saddle-horse and tbe 
 
 Fis. 72.-The Camica, or Pleasure-Carriage, dra™ by a Pair of Horses, dating from tle Fifth to the Tenth 
 Century. (Taken from a MS. of the Nii,th Century, in the Royal Library at Brussels.) 
 
 carnage-laorse was introduced about tbe same time. But it seems that 
 chariots were rarely mounted by any but chiefs, who fought from that 
 ambiilatory élévation while squires managed the horses. 
 
 To Cyrus the Great is ascribed the first idea of arming chariots with 
 
CARRIAGES AXD SADDLERY. 
 
 109 
 
 Scythes, whicli eut to pièces in every direction tliose who opposée! tlie pro- 
 gress of tlie veliicle, or who were tlirown down b}' the violence of the shock. 
 The same war-carriages were found among the Gauls ; for a king namcd 
 Bituitus, having been taken prisoner by the Romans, appeared in bis chariot 
 armed with scythes in the trinmphal procession of the gênerai who had 
 conquered him. 
 
 Eiding on horseback was not only practised, but was carried to the 
 highest degree of perfection, among the nations of antiquity ; and the use of 
 chariots was, in former times, almost gênerai in war and on certain state 
 
 Fiff- 73- — Cart drawn by Oxen, end of the Fîfteenth Centuiy. (Taken from the *' Chroniques de Hainault," 
 MS. in the Royal Library at Brussels.) 
 
 oecasions. The Romans, and in imitation of them the Gauls who prided 
 themselves on being skilful carriage-builders, had several sorts of wheeled 
 vehicles. Those adopted by the Romans and the Gauls, but discountenanced 
 by the Franks, who preferred to ride on horseback, were the carruca, or 
 carnique, Avith two wheels and a pair of horses (Fig. 72), richly ornamented 
 with gold, silver, and irory ; the pilentum, a four-wheel carriage with a 
 cloth canopy ; the jjetoritum, an open carriage suitable for rapid travelling; 
 the cisium, a basket-carriage drawn by mules, and used for long journej's ; 
 and finally, various carts — the plaustrum, the serraciim, the henné, the camuU 
 
CARRIAGES AND SADDLERY. 
 
 (trucks), &c. Tliese last, which were cliiefly employed as field-carts, con- 
 tinued in use even after pleasure-carriages had entirely disappeared. There 
 remained, however, independent of mule-litters, tlie lasterna and cmyentum, 
 state-carriages of the Merovingian period, but only queens and ladies of high 
 rank, who were unequal to long journeys on liorseback, indulged in such 
 means of locomotion, while men— eyen kings and higli personages — ^vould 
 hâve blushed to be conveyed like "holy relies," as picturesquely expressed 
 by one of Charlemagne's courtiers ; but certainly not at the period of the 
 " lazy kings," when, as Boileau bas well said, — 
 
 " In Paris, four oxen, in pace soft and slow, 
 Drew the indolent monarch, when airing he'd go." 
 
 " Chivalry," wrote M. le Marquis de Varenne, " the exercises of which 
 were the image of war, rendered horsemanship a new art always indispensable 
 in the éducation of the nobility ; and chevalier soon became synonymous 
 with a raan of good birth." " The Book of Facts," by the " Bon Chevalier 
 Messire Jean le Maingre, called Baucicmit, Marshal of France," written in 
 the beginning of the fifteenth century, enumerates the exercises which a 
 youth aspiring to the title of a gentleman had to undergo : — " They endea- 
 voured to leap [saillcr) upon a charger, fuUy armed ; item, leaped, without 
 placing the foot in the stirrup, on a charger in ail its armour ; item, leaped 
 from the ground a-straddle on to the shoulders of a tall man on a large horse, 
 seizing the man by the sleeve with one hand, without other assistance ; item, 
 placing one hand on the saddle-bow of a large charger, and the other near 
 the ears, taking him by the mane, and from the level ground jumping to the 
 other side {côté) of the charger." 
 
 The Chevalier Bayard, while yet page to the Duke of Savoy, and only 
 seventeen years of âge, performed, as bis historian relates, wonders in the 
 meadows of Aiuay, at Lyons, before King Charles VIII., " in leaping on bis 
 charger," and by bis management of it creating a favourable impression of 
 bis merits. This will suffice to show the estimation in which horsemanship 
 was held. No one was regarded as a valiant knight until he had proved his 
 prowessin jousts and tournaments (Fig. 74) in the rank of squire. Although 
 his functions were essentially those of serving, a squire, who ranked higher 
 than a page, was to the knight rather an auxiliary and a companion than a 
 servant. It was his duty to carry the arms of the knight, to take charge of 
 
 I 
 
CARRIAGES AND SADDLERV. 
 
 his table, liis liouse, and his horses. On the field of battle he remained in 
 his rear, ready to défend him, to lift him up if he were overthrown, and 
 to provide him, whcn necessaiy, with another horse or other arms. He 
 guarded the prisoners captured by the knight, and occasionally fought for 
 him at his side. 
 
 The principal sign distingnishing knights from squires consisted in the 
 material of which their spurs were made — of gold for the former, of silver 
 for the latter. It is well known that, at the disastrous battle of Courtray, 
 
 Fig. 74. — ^A Knight entering the Lists. (From a Miniature in the " Tournois du Roi René.") 
 
 the Flemings collected after the action, from the slain, four thousand pairs of 
 gold spurs ; consequently, fom- thousand knights of the army of Philip the 
 Fair had fallen. 
 
 In order to u-in hk spurs (of gold) — an expression become proverbial — it 
 was indispensable that one who aspired to the honour should perform some 
 valiant deed, proving him -worthy of being " dubbed," or armed as a knight. 
 The ceremony of admission commenced by presenting the spurs ; and who- 
 
CARRIAGES AND SADDLERY. 
 
 soever conferred tlie order of cliivalry, were he king or prince, condescended 
 to put on and fasten tlie spurs for the récipient. In pursuance of the same 
 principle, when a knight, having committed a fault or any cowardly act, had 
 incurred blâme or correction, it was by deprivation of, or by changing Lis 
 spurs, that his dégradation commenced. For a sliglit ofFence a herald 
 substituted silver spurs for those of gold, which lowered a knigbt to the 
 grade of squire. But in a case of " forfeiture," as it was termed, an execu- 
 tioner or a cook eut off the straps of kis spurs, or they were struck ofF on a 
 dunghill witk an axe : infamy was the future portion of kim wlio kad been 
 subjected to tkat public disgrâce. 
 
 The privilège of wearing spurs was regarded as a mark of independence 
 and authority ; so that when a noble tendered faith and homage to his 
 sovereign, he was obliged to take off hi.s spurs in token of vassalage. In 816, 
 ère chi?alry had been instituted, an assembly of lords and bishops prohibited 
 ecclesiastics frora adopting the profane fashion of wearing spurs then prevail- 
 ing among the higher classes of the clergy. 
 
 The use of the spur appears to date from the most ancient times. The 
 origin of the word has been much disputed. From the time of Louis le 
 Débonnaire it was called spuors, which has become sporen in Germany, 
 sperane in Italian, sjMir in Engksh, éperon in French. The Latins caUed it 
 ciilcar (which originally siguified cock's spur), doubtless from the form first 
 given to the spur. That form has strangely varied during centuries. The 
 oldest known shape is that of the spur found in the tomb of Queen 
 Brunehaut, who died in 613, and which is simply like a skewer. This 
 seems to hâve long continued to be the form ; but, from the commencement 
 of the thirteenth to the end of the sixteenth century, the spur is seen in the 
 form of a rose, or of a star with a turning rowel, and was mostly fashioned in 
 a very rich and délicate manner. At the period when horses were clad in 
 Steel or leather, the spurs were necessarily very long, in order to reach the 
 animal's flanks (Figs. 75 and 76). The spurs of Godfrey of Bouillon, which 
 hâve been preserved (their authenticity is more or less questionable), are in 
 that style. In the reign of Charles VII. the young nobles wore, rather for 
 show than for use, spurs the rowel of which was as large as the hand, and 
 fixed at the end of a métal stem half a foot lono- 
 
 It, therefore, from time immémorial every mounted horse " felt the 
 spur," there was at least a period when every sort of spur could not be 
 
CARRIAGES AND SADDLERY. 
 
 "3 
 
 indiscriminately applied to the flanks of eacli individual of thc eqiiine 
 race. " There ai'e," says Brunetto Latini, a writer of the thirteenth. cen- 
 tury, in his " Treasury of ail Things " — a sort of encyclopœdia of tlie âge — 
 " tbore are horses of several kinds : chargers, or tall horses, for the combat, 
 whence the expression, ' mounting the high horse ; ' others, for gentle 
 exercise, use palfreys, which were also called amblers and hackneys ; others 
 employ pack-horses, courtaiits (cropped horses), to carry a load (somme)." 
 Soiiiine hère signifies a burden, and this, -which we now call baggage, con- 
 
 1 ly'^ 
 
 Fig. 75. — Gerinan Spur. 
 
 Fi». 76. — Italîan Spur. 
 
 sisted of spare arms and hauberk, which a knight was carefiil to take with 
 him when he went to the wars. Mares and idï'-horses (horses carrying the 
 bât, or load) were reserved for agriculture and other field-purposes ; and it 
 ■was clearly on that account that a knight was not allowed to ride them. To 
 make a knight ride iipon a mare was, like the loss of his spurs, one of 
 the most degrading punishments that could be inflicted on him, and thence- 
 lorth " any one who regarded his own bonour would no more hâve touched 
 that disgraced Imight than a shaven idiot (leper)." 
 
 Q 
 
114 
 
 CARRIAGES AND SADDLERF. 
 
 The liorses of French knights were ■without ears or mane ; those 
 of tlie Germans without tails. According to Carrion-Nisas, thé armour 
 of tlie liorse, and the style in -which it was caparisoned, were the cause of 
 
 Fig. 77.-A Knight armed and mouuted for AVar. (Muséum of Artillen-, Paris.) 
 
 thèse mutilations. We liave elsewhere reraarked that if the men were 
 eased m steel their horses were not less heavily cuirassed (Fig. 77). 
 ihe eutire armour and appointments of a horse were called the harness ; 
 
CARRIAGES AXD SADDLERl'. irs 
 
 the plates of steel or leatlier (for leather also was often used) were called 
 bardes. We find enumerated, not only the articles of which the harness 
 consisted — chanfrein, nasal, flancois, &c. — but examples are cited to dénote 
 the sumptuoiisness of this equipment of the horse. We need not, however, 
 dwell longer hère on this subject, that refers more properly to the manu- 
 facture of arms ; but a few -words must be said regarding the saddle, which 
 is, if we may use the expression, an implement of horsemanship, and not a 
 part of the armour. 
 
 The use of saddles seems to hâve been unknown in early times, and 
 never to hâve been introdueed among certain nations which, by the way, 
 were most famous in the art of training the horse and making him 
 serviceable. The Thessalonians and the Numidians rode on the bare back, 
 without saddle or stirrups ; seated tirmly on the horse simply by the pressure 
 of the knees and the calf of the legs ; a position which is still that of the 
 boldest riders in the East and in Africa. Hippocrates has ascribed the 
 common and severe diseases of the hips and legs which afflicted the 
 Scythians to the rider's want of support on horseback. Galen makes the 
 same remark regarding the Roman légions, who only introdueed the use 
 of a saddle about the year 340 of the Christian era. The Gauls and Franks 
 used neither saddles nor stirrups ; but when steel armour was adopted, it 
 would hâve been impossible for knights to préserve an equilibrium without 
 the aid of a saddle, or to sustain the sHghtest shock to which they were 
 exposed, as armour rendered them in a manner rigid, or with little flexi- 
 bility on their large horses. 
 
 They therefore had recourse to a high, or rather a deep, saddle, closely 
 adhering to the thighs and loins, with large stirrups serving as supports to 
 the feet. The several parts of the armour being splendidly ornamented, it 
 followed that the saddles, which also were exposed to view, were no more 
 neglected than other ornaments of the animal. Engraved and chased, they 
 were also gilt and painted, and thus, Avith the shield, helped to distinguish, 
 by the " déviées " they bore, the armed warrior completely cased in his steel 
 covering (Figs. 78 to 81). 
 
 As to stirrups, of which there certainly is no trace among the G-reeks or 
 the Romans, it may be said they were coeval with the invention of saddles. 
 They made their appearance in the earHest days of the Merovingian dynasty; 
 and if we accept the German etymology which the learned hâve ofFered 
 
ii6 
 
 CARRIAGES AND SADDLERY. 
 
 (strehen, to support one's self), the name and tlie object was mtroduced 
 by the Franks into Gaul. However tbat may be, tbey were no longer 
 dispensed witb, especiaUy in war, and wben the wgbt of armour rendered 
 their use necessary. Tbey were of course very large, very massive, and very 
 clumsy in tbe days of cbivalry. Wben tbey diminisbed in size and weigbt 
 
 Figs. 78and7g— lournimcntSaddles omamtnted with Pamtmgs taken from the Armouiy Reil Madrid. 
 Sixteenth Centuiy. (Communicated by M. Ach. Jubinal.) 
 
 tbey were wrougbt vritb more care, and became objects of art, cbarged witb 
 ingenious ornaments, and enibellisbed witb engraving, cbasrng, and gUding. 
 In accordance -witb tbe opinion beld by M. de la Varenne, we bave 
 already ascribed tbe disuse of private carriages to tbe contempt witb wbicb 
 tbe Franks regarded a mode of conveyance deemed by tbem to be effeminate. 
 But, following tbe same autbor, we must observe tbat a reason migbt also 
 
CARRIAGES AND SADDLERl'. 
 
 "7 
 
 be discoYcrcd in tte wretched condition into wliich, after the décline of the 
 lîomans, those magnificeut roads formed by them in ail their conquered 
 provinces had fallcn. In towns, moreover, the streets, narrow, crooked, and 
 ■\rith no regular direction, were very freqiiently so many boles and quag- 
 mires. Philip Augustus I. had some of the streets of Paris paved in that 
 liitêcc* which already, at the time of the Roman conquest, had deserved the 
 significant epithet of miri/. The princes and the nobles who, as MoKère 
 humorously makes Mascarilla say, feared " to leave the impression of their 
 shoes in mud," and conld not without diiSculty drive about the towns in 
 
 Fig. 80. — The Capaxison of the Horse of Isabel the Catholic. (Communicated by M. Ach. Jubinal.) 
 
 carnages, consequently had recourse to the horse or the mule. The ladiea 
 made use of them also ; but very frequently, if not carried in Ktters, they 
 rode on a pillion behind the horseman. 
 
 In the thirteenth century chariots reappeared ; but the fashion did not 
 long prevail, for Philip the Fair discouraged them, in one of the clauses of 
 his simiptuary ordinance of 1294, by declaring that " no citizen may hâve 
 a chariot." 
 
 The Htter continued to be held in repute for processions ; but queens 
 frequently rode on horseback. Isabel of Bavaria rode on a beautiful 
 
 * Latin, Lutcus — muddy. — [Ed.] 
 
ii8 
 
 CARRIAGES AND SADDLERY. 
 
 palfrey, witli lier ladies and her maids also on horseback, on the occasion 
 of her entering Paris to espouse Charles VI. And when Mary of 
 England, who went to be married to Louis XII., made her entry into 
 Abbeville, she also, as Robert de la Marck relates, was mounted on a 
 palfrey, as were most of her ladies, " and the remainder in chariots ; and 
 the king, riding a large, prancing bay horse, came to reçoive his bride, with 
 ail the gentlemen of his household and of his guard on horseback." The 
 meeting of Henry VIII. and Francis I. in the camp of the Field of the 
 
 Fig. 8i.— Saddle-cloth. Sixteentb Centurj'. 
 
 Cloth of Gold, preseuted the most beautifiû display that had ever been 
 seen of caparisoned horses, decorated and furnished with unprecedented 
 richness (Fig. 82). 
 
 Charles V., in conseqiience of fréquent attacks of goût, was soon com- 
 pelled to renounce riding. When he went into the country, or on a 
 journey, he was generally followed by a litter and a chair. Mules bore the 
 litter, m which he could recliue, while bearers carried the chair, which was 
 
 N 
 
< c 
 
 P i 
 < 3 
 
 m I 
 
 O 
 Z 
 -< 
 
 -M 
 
CARRTAGES AXD SADDLERY. 
 
 >'9 
 
 providod ■vrith a movatle back ; its four uprights could be fitted wlth a 
 sort of canopy of canvas or leather. 
 
 In 1457 the ambassadors of Ladislaus V., King of Hungary, presented to 
 Marie of Anjou, Queen of France, a cbariot whicli excited the admiration 
 of tlie whole court and tbe inhabitants of Paris, "because," as the historian 
 of the times says, "it was hmniant (suspended), and very rich." 
 
 It is difficult to reconcile the inference to be drawn from the ordinance 
 of Philip the Fair with the assertion of mari_y historians, that coaches 
 
 3^»<^<<w^«i!rr«q»...»i»«yagswfcfe>''aa=«e» lm)M'< ^-^ 
 
 Fig. 82— Henry. VIII. in the Camp of the Field of the Cloth of Gold (1520). From the Bas-reliefe of 
 the Hôtel of the Bourg Herolde at Rouen. 
 
 first appeared in France only in the time of Francis I. The point 
 is still doubtful. Nevertheless, one may suppose historians to mean 
 that coaches, instead of being the only vehicles eniployed in Paris in 
 the time of Francis L, were but chariots of a grander and more 
 gorgeous description than any seen before that time. But we know for 
 certain that, during the Middle Ages, the horse and the mule were generally 
 ndden by everybody, by citizens and by nobles, by women and by men. 
 The horse-blocks fixed in the streets — too narroTV^ evidently, if not for one 
 carriage, at least for two to pass each other — and the rings fastened on 
 
CARRTAGES AND SADDLERY. 
 
 doors sufficiently dénote tliat it was so. The mule was especially ridden by 
 sedate men, sucli as magistrates and doctors, wlio had to "amble" tbrougb 
 the towns. " To take eare of tbe mule," a proverbial expression signifyiag 
 to wait impatiently, is derived from tbe ciistom of lawyers' servants remain- 
 ing in the court of the Palace to take charge of the riding-horses or mules 
 belonging to their masters. 
 
 According to Sauvai, the two first coaches seen in Paris, and which 
 called forth the wonder of the people, belonged, one to Queen Claude, the 
 first Tvife of Francis I. ; and the other to Diana of Poitiers, his mistress. 
 
 Fig. 83.— Sedan-chair of Charles V. (Armoury Real, Madrid.) 
 
 The fashion was soon foUowed; so rauch so, that even where the 
 sumptuary laws were still regarded as efficient, we find parliament 
 eutreating Charles IX. to prohibit the circulation of coaches [codiez) through 
 the town. The magistrates continued, imtil the commencement of the 
 seventeenth century, to attend at the courts of justice on their mules. 
 Christopher of Thou, father of the celebrated historian, and fii-st Pré- 
 sident of Parliament, was the first who came thither in his carriage ; but 
 only bccause he suffered from goût, for his wife continued to ride on horse- 
 back, seated pilHon-foshion behind a servant. 
 
CARRIAGES AND SADDLERY. 
 
 Henry IV. had only one carriage. "I shall be unable to go and see 
 you," lie one day wxote to Sully, "for my wife uses my coach (coche)." 
 Thèse coaches were neitlier elegaut nor convenient. For doors they were 
 provided -i^-ith leathern aprons, whicti were drawn or opened for entrance or 
 exit, with similar curtains to protect against the rain or the s\m. 
 
 Marsbal Bassompierre, in the tinie of Louis XIII., had a glass coach made 
 for him, which was regarded as a real marvel : it originated the impulse 
 which has led to the productive era of modem coach-buildiag. 
 
 Formerly there were in Paris, as appears £rom num.erous documents, 
 several corporations representing the saddler's trade. First came the selliers- 
 bourreliers, and the selliers-lorniiers-carrossiers. The privilèges of the first 
 secured to them specially the manufacture of saddles and harness (coUars and 
 other articles for draught). The second made also carriages, bridles, reins, 
 &c. Another very ancient corporation was that of the lormiers-éjjeronniers — 
 " artisans," says the Grlossary of Jean de Garlande, " whom the military 
 nobles greatly patronised, because they manufactured silvered and gilt spurs, 
 métal breastplates for their horses, and well-executed bits." There were also 
 chapuissiers, who made saddle-bows and pack-frames for the beasts of burden, 
 which were mostly manvifactured of aider- wood. 
 
 The hlazenniers and cuireurs then covered with leather the packs and 
 the saddles prepared by the chapuissiers; and, finally, saddle-painters were 
 employed to ornament them, either in compliance with fashion, which has 
 always been omnipotent in France, or aecording to the laws of heraldry, 
 when Lntended for men of rank for purposes of state or war. 
 
 Fig. 84. — Banner of the Corporation of the Saddlers of Tonnerre. 
 
î 
 
 i 
 
GOLD AND SILVEE WOEK. 
 
 Its Antiqiiity. — The Trésor de Guarrazar. — The Merovingian and Carlovingian Periods. — Eccle- 
 siastieal Jewellery. — Pre-eminenee of the Byzantine Goldsmiths- — Progress of the Art consé- 
 quent on the Crusades. — The Gold and Enamels of Limoges. — Jewellory eeases to he 
 restricted to Purposes of Religion. — Transparent Enamels. — Jean of Pisa, Agnolo of Sienna. 
 Ghiherti. — Great Painters and Sculptors from the Goldsmiths' Workshops — Benvenuto Cellini. 
 —The Goldsmiths of Paris. 
 
 ' N the remarks upon furniture, we were compelled to trespass 
 on tlie domain ■which. vre now again approach. ; for, haying to 
 trace the history of seeular and religions luxury, we cannot but 
 frequently encounter the goldsmiths and their splendid works. 
 It will thus happen more than once that we shaU hâve to indi- 
 cate brieily certain important facts already described, in some 
 détails, in preceding chapters. 
 
 It is known that in old times, even the most remote, the 
 
 goldsmith's art flourished. There is scarcely any ancient narratÏTe 
 
 which does not allude to jewels ; and every day the discovery of 
 
 precious objects, found in rnins and in tombs, still attests the 
 
 high state of perfection the art of gold and silver work had attained among 
 
 races long since extiact. 
 
 The Gaids, when under Roman dominion, appKed themselves successfiilly 
 to the business of the gold-worker. We may again say that the triumph of 
 the Christian religion, under Constantiae the Great, while encouraging the 
 mterior décoration of places of worship, added a fresh impulse to the develop- 
 ment of this beautiful art. 
 
 The popes succeeding St. Sylvester (who had stimulated the liberality 
 of Constantine) continued to accumulate, in the churches at Rome, the 
 most costlj^ and massive articles of gold-work. Symmachus (498 to 514) 
 alone, according to a calculation made by Seroux d'Agincourt, enriched 
 the treasures of the basilicas to the amount of 130 pounds weight of gold, 
 and 1,700 of silver, forming the material of objects most finely wrought. 
 
,2^ GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 It was from the very court of the Greek emperors that the examples of 
 this Diagnificence were derived ; for we hear St. John Chrysostom exclaim- 
 ing, " AU our admiration is at présent reserved for the goldsmiths and the 
 weavers ;" and it is well known that in conséquence of his bold indiscrétion 
 in rehuking the extravagance of the Empress Eudoxia, this éloquent Father 
 of the Church expiated in exile and persécutions his ardent zeal and his 
 sincerity. 
 
 The brilliant spécimens of the gold-work of the Visigoths, which, in 1858, 
 were exhumed in the field of Guarrazar, near Toledo, and which hâve been 
 obtained for the Cluny Muséum, throw a new light on the monuments of that 
 period. Far from indicating any original style, they aiïord further proof 
 that the barbarians who came from the North became subjected, in the 
 
 Fig. 85.— Gallic Bracelet, from a Cabinet of Antiquities. (Imp. Library, Paris.) 
 
 arts, to Byzantine influence. The most remarkable, net only in its dimen- 
 sions and extrême richness, but in the peculiarity of its ornaments, is a 
 votive crown, intended to be hung, according to the custom of those 
 times, in a sacred place — that of Recesvinthe, who reigned over the Goths 
 of Spain from 653 to 672. It is composed of a large fillet, jointed, and 
 formed of a double plate of the finest gold. Thirty uncut sapphires and 
 as many pearls, regularly alternating, arrangea in three rows and in 
 quincunxes,* are seen on its exterior circle. Chased ornaments occupy the 
 spaces between the stones. The votive crown of King Suintila, which we 
 hère reproduce (Fig. 86), is fully as rich, and about thirty years older. 
 
 • QumcuDx order is a method of arranging five objects, or pièces, in the form of a square ; one 
 being m the centre, and one at each corner.— [Ed.] 
 
GOLD CROSSES OF A KING OF THE GOTHS. 
 
 Found al Guarrazar. Sevcnlli Cenluij. (, Muséum of tlie Hôtel Clunj) 
 'Taken Irom Itu* work of M Perdra and de Lasleyrie.) 
 
GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 125 
 
 It is of massive gold, ornameuted with sapphires and pearls arranged in rose- 
 
 pattern, and set off by two borders similarly set with délicate stones. Bat 
 
 tbe originality of tbis precious gem con- 
 
 sists in tbe letters banging as pendants 
 
 from its lower border. Tbese letters, 
 
 open-worked, are fllled with small pièces 
 
 of red glass set in gold ; their combination 
 
 présents tbe following inscription : — 
 
 " Suinti/aiiKs Rex ojferet " (offering of tbe 
 
 King Suintila). Eacb of tbem is siis- 
 
 pended from tbe fillet by a cbain witb 
 
 double links, sustaining a pendant of 
 
 violet sappbire, pear-sbaped. Finally, 
 
 tbe crown is suspended by four cbains 
 
 attacbed to a circular top of rock-crystal. 
 
 " Five of tbe erowns so fortunately 
 discovered at Guarrazar," says M. de 
 Lasteyrie, "bave crosses. Tbese, at- 
 tacbed by a cbain to tbe same circular 
 top, were evidently intended to remain 
 suspended across tbe circle of tbe crown." 
 Tbe cross belonging to tbe crown of 
 Recesvintbe is by far tbe ricbest ; eigbt 
 large pearls and sis sappbires, ail mounted 
 in open-work, adorn tbe front. Tbe four 
 otber crosses are of tbe form wbieb in 
 beraldry is called croix pâtée ; but tbey 
 differ in size and in tbe ornaments witb 
 wbieb tbey are enricbed. 
 
 We bave already stated tbat tbe 
 kings and grandees of tbe Mero-\-ingian 
 period displayed in tbeir plate and in 
 some of tbeir state-furniture a ricbness 
 of gold-work tbe profuseness of wbieb was ordinarilj- opposed to good taste. 
 vTe bave seen at bis work tbe celebrated Saint Eloi, bisbop-goldsmitb ; 
 and we bave mentioned not only bis remarkable productions, but also tbe 
 
 Fîg. 86. — Votive CrowTi of Suintila, King of the 
 Visigoths from 621 to 631. (Annoury Real, 
 Madrid.) 
 
120 
 
 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 euduring influence he exercised over a whole historical period of art. Fiually, 
 we hâve observed that Cliarlemagne — whose object seems to hâve been not 
 only to imitate Constantine, but to surpass him — ^endowed the churches 
 magnificently with works of art, without préjudice to the numberless sjjlen- 
 dours which his palaces contained. 
 
 t ig. s?, rbe Sword ot Charlemagne. Preserved in the Impérial Treasurj- at Vienna. 
 
 Accordiug to a tradition, the loss of most of the beautiful objects of 
 gold-work belongiug to that monarch may hâve been owing to the circum- 
 stance that they were disposed aronnd him in the sepulchral chamber where 
 
GOLD AXn Sir.VER WORK 
 
 the body was deposited after deatli ; and tlie eniperors of Gormany, his 
 successors, may not hâve scrupled to appropriate thoso riches, of which some 
 rare spccimous, particularly his diadem and sword, are still preserved in the 
 Jluseum ot" Vienna (Figs. 87 and 88). 
 
 Ecclcsiastical display, notably extinct during the period of trouble and 
 siifFering through which the Church passed in the seventh and eighth 
 ccnluries, and to which the p)Ower of Charlemagne was to put an end, 
 inanifestcd itself in an extraordinary degree from that time. For example, 
 
 Fig. SS. — Diadem of Charlemagne. Presen'ed in the Impérial Treasury at Vienna. 
 
 it was calculated that under Léo III., who occapied the pontifical chair 
 from 795 to 816, the weight of the plate which the Pope gave, to enrieh 
 the churches, amoimted to not less than 1,075 pounds of gold and 24,744 
 pounds of silver ! 
 
 To that period belongs the famous gold altar of the basilica of St. Am- 
 brose of Milan, executed in 835, by order of Archbishop Angilbert, by 
 Tolvinius ; and which, notwithstanding its immense intrinsic value, bas 
 corne down to our time. " The four sides of this monument," savs M. 
 
,z8 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 Labarte, " are of extrême richness. The front, eiitirely of gold, is divided 
 into tliree panels by a border of enamel. Tlie centre panel represents a 
 cross of four equal projections, fornied by fillets of ornaments in enamel, 
 alternating with precious stones uncut but polished. Christ is seated in 
 the centre of the cross. The symbols of the Evangelists occupy its branches. 
 Three of the Apostles are placed in each angle. AU thèse figures are in 
 relief. The right and left panels contain each six bas-reliefs, the subjects 
 of which are taken from the life of Christ ; they are encircled bj'' borders 
 of enamels and precious stones alternately disposed. The two sides, in silver 
 reHeved with gold, exhibit very rich crosses, treated in the same style as the 
 borders. The back, which is also of silver relieved with gold, is likewise 
 divided in three large panels ; that in the centre contains four médaillons, 
 and each of the others six bas-reliefs, of which the life of St. Ambrose 
 supplied the subjects. In one of the medallions of the centre panel is 
 seen St. Ambrose receiving the gold altar from the hands of Archbishop 
 Angilbert ; in the other. St. Ambrose is giving his bénédiction to Vchinius, 
 the master goldsmith {magister faher), as he is designated in the inscription 
 transmitting to us the name of the author of this work, of which no 
 description can give an exact idea." 
 
 It was not Italy alone which possessed skUful goldsmiths, and encouraged 
 them. We hâve in particular, among other enlightened and active sup- 
 porters of ecclesiastical gold-work, a succession of the bishops of Auxerre, 
 to whom must be added Hincmar, bishop of Rheims, who caused a splendid 
 shrine to be made for the relies of the iUustrious patron of his church. 
 It was cased in plates of silver, and statues of twelve bishops adorned 
 its borders. 
 
 But, notwithstanding ail its artistic magnificence, the jewellery of the 
 West could only appear to be the reflex of the wonders produced at the 
 same epoch by the goldsmiths of the East, or the Byzantines, to adopt a 
 term generaUy sanctioned. 
 
 Oue of the most curions spécimens of Byzantine art, preserved in Eussia, 
 is a gold reliquary lined with a plate of silver, in the centre of which is 
 an embossed représentation of the Crucifixion. Above the head, on a gilt 
 nimbus, is an inscription in Greek, "Jésus Christ, King of Glory." This 
 treasnre, remarkable for its extrême finish, is covered with a mosaic of precious 
 stones of différent colours, in partitions of gold ; the cross being quartered 
 
GOLD AND SILVKR WoRK. 
 
 129 
 
 in cnarael, with silver filigrco. At the back tbe names of the archiman- 
 drite Nicolos are engraved. It is a work of the tent.h century, and was 
 found in the Iberian monastery on Mount Athos. 
 
 If rare spécimens only of jewellery hâve corne down to us of a date prior 
 to the eleventh ccntiuy, this raay be accounted for not merely by their 
 
 Fig. 89.— Byzantine Reliquary, in Enamel, brought from Jlount Athos. Tenth Centurj'- 
 (Collection of M. Sebastianof.) 
 
 intrinsic value having indicated them to the uncivilised as fit objecta of 
 plunder during the invasions which took place after the reign of Charle- 
 magne, but also, as we hâve elsewhere remarked, by the re-introduction of 
 church furniture, which was in some measure a necessary resuit of renovated 
 architecture. It was right to adapt the style of plate to that of the édifice 
 
'3° 
 
 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 it was to adorn. The forms which were then employed for various objects 
 of churcli-sei'vice sliowed tlie influence of the severe style derived from 
 the original Byzantine type ; the latter, moreover, explained itself by the 
 repute, especially in metaUurgy, enjoyed by the city of Constantine, to 
 which the East generally had recourse when taking in hand any work of 
 importance. 
 
 The German school particularly would acquire a Byzantine character, 
 owing to the marriage of the Emperor Otho II. with the Greek princess 
 Theophania (972) — an alliance which naturally bound the two empires in 
 doser ties, and attracted a considérable number of artists and artisans to 
 
 
 . Cluny Muséum. 
 
 Germany from the East. Of the .vorks of that period still in existence, 
 one of the most remarkable is the rich gold cover of the book of the 
 Gospels, now iu the Royal Library, Munich ; on which are executed, in 
 the embossed style, various bas-reliefs of great deHcacy, and designed with 
 the purity at that time distinguishing the Greek school. 
 
 The Emperor Henry IL was therefore welcomed {hien-venu), and, if one 
 may say so, well served by the condition of art in Germany, when, elerated 
 to the throne in 1002, and inspired by ardent piety," he sought, by 
 Prmcely liberality to the churches, to surpass even' Constantine and 
 
GOI.D AXD SÎLVKR WORK. 
 
 •3' 
 
 Charlemaguc. It is to Henry tliat the Cathedral of Basle owes the deco- 
 riitions of the altar, to whicli noue can be compared for ricbness, except 
 that of Milan ; yet without rccalliug it by its style, wbicb bas lest every 
 trace of tbe antique, and is a clearly-pronounced type of tbe art wbich the 
 Middle Ages ■srere to create as their own. It is right to mention also the 
 crown of tbe sainted eraperor, and that of bis wife, now preserved in the 
 
 Fig. Qi. — Enamelled Shrine, in Limoges "Work of the Twelfth Century. (Muséum of Cluny.) 
 
 Treasury of tbe King of Bavaria ; botb are in six jointed parts, making a 
 circle ; tbe former bears figures of winged angels ; the other, stalks with 
 four leaves designed mtb correctness and grâce, and executed in a manner 
 which évinces tbe greatest dexterity. " Moreover," says M. Labarte, " the 
 taste for je-welleiy was then generally difitised througbout Germany ; and 
 many prelates followed tbe example set by tbe emperor. "Willigis, the 
 first Arcbbisbop of Mayence, may be cited ; be endowed bis cburch with 
 
'32 
 
 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 ■à crucifix weighing 600 pounds, the several parts of which were adjusted 
 with siich art that each could be detached at the joints ; and Bernward, 
 Bishop of Hildeslieim, who, like -St. Eloi, was himself a celebrated gold- 
 smith, and to whom is ascribed a crucifix enricbed 'with precious stones 
 and filigrees, and two magnificent candelabra, which still constitute a portion 
 of the treasures of the chuxch -whereof he was the pastor." 
 
 About the same period — that is, in the early days of the eleventh 
 century — a monk of Dreux, named Odorain, who had made himself famous 
 in France by his works in precious metals, executed a large number of 
 objects for King Robert, intended for the churches the monarch had founded. 
 
 Fig. 92— ïhrine in Coppor Gilt. (End of the Twclfth CenturjN) 
 
 It has been remarked in the preceding chapter, that the Crusades 
 gave a great impulse to the goldsmith's art in Europe, in conséquence of 
 the groat demand for shrines and reliquaries intended for the réception of 
 the venerated remains of saints which the soldiers of the faith brought 
 back from theii- distant expéditions (Figs. 91 and 92). The offerings of 
 consecrated vessels and of altar-fronts were also multipUed. The Holy 
 Scriptures recelved cases and coverings which were so many splendid 
 Works entrusted to the goldsmiths. To speak trulj^ had it not been for 
 the essentially religions direction which, at that period, certain depart- 
 uients of luxury acquired by the Crusaders in the East had taken, we 
 might perhaps hâve seen the arts, that only in the West recommenced a 
 
GOLD AXl) sn.VKR WORK. 133 
 
 real existence, become extinguisbed, and in a manncr pcrish in the first 
 burst of tlieir revival. 
 
 It is chiefly to the minister of Louis le Gros, Suger, Abbot of Saint- 
 Denis, ■who died in 1152, tbat the honour of tbis consécration of arts is 
 duc, for he distinctively proclaimed bimself tbeir protector ; be endeaToured 
 to render legitimate tbeir position in tbe State, by opposing tbeir pious 
 aims to tbe toc exclusÎTe censures of St. Bernard and bis disciples. 
 
 Conjointly with tbe poT^"erful abbot, tbere is deserving of spécial mention 
 a simple monk, Tbeopbilus, an eminent artist wbo wrote in Latin a 
 description of the Industrial Arts of his time {Bicersarum Artium Schedula), 
 and devoted seventj'-nine chapters of his book to tbat of tbe goldsmith. 
 Tbis valuable treatise shows us, in tbe most unmistakable manncr, 
 tbat tbe goldsniiths of tbe twelftb century must bare possessed a com- 
 prehensiveness of knowledge and manipulation, tbe mère enumeration of 
 which surprises us the more now tbat we see industry everywbere tending 
 to an almost infinité di^'ision of labour. At tbat time the goldsmith was 
 required to be at once modeller, sculpter, smelter, enameUer, jewel-mounter, 
 and inlay-worker. He had to cast his own models in wax, as well as to 
 labour with his bammer or embellish with his graver : he had to make tbe 
 chalice, the vases, and the pyx, for the metropolitan churcbes, on which 
 were lavisbed ail tbe resources of art ; and to produce, by the ordinary 
 process of punching, the open-work or the designs of copper intended to 
 omament the books of the poor (libri 2}aiiperi(m), &c. 
 
 The treasury of the Abbey of Saint-Denis still possessed, at the time of 
 the Révolution, several chefs-d'œuvre produced by the artists whose processes 
 are described by Tbeopbilus ; especially the rich mounting of a cup of 
 Oriental agate, bearing tbe name of Suger, which it is believed be used 
 lor the service of mass ; and tbe mounting of an ancient sardonyx vase, 
 known as the cup of the Ptolemies, which Charles the Simple had given to 
 the abbey. Having been deposited, in 1793, in the Cabinet of Medals, 
 Paris, tbe mounting of the cup of the Ptolemies and the chalice of Suger 
 remained there until they were stolen in 1804. 
 
 Among the examples of tbat period still existing, and which, con- 
 ditionaUy, every one is permitted to inspect, we may distinguish, with 
 M. Labarte, — in addition to " the great crown of lights " suspended under 
 the cupola in the cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle, and the magnificent sbrine in 
 
'34 
 
 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 whicli Frederick I. collected the bones of Charlemagne, — in the Muséum of 
 the Louvre, a vase of rock-crystal mounted in gold and embellislied with 
 gems, presented to Louis VIL by his wife Eleanora ; in the Cluny Muséum, 
 several candelabra ; in the Impérial Library in Paris, the covering of a Latin 
 mamiscrij)t, numbered 622 ; a cup of agate onyx (Fig. 93), bordered with 
 a belt of precious stones raised on a groundwork of filigree ; and the beau- 
 tiful gold chalice of St. Eemy (Fig. 94), which, after having appeared in 
 the Cabinet of Antiquities, was restored in 1861 to the treasury of the church 
 of Notre-Dame, Ptheims. 
 
 Severe forms and an elevated style were the characteristics of the jeweUed 
 Works of the eleventh and twelfth centuries ; and, for the principal éléments 
 
 F'K- 9o-— A Drinking Cup, called Gondole, of Agate ; from the Treasury of the Abbey of Saint-Denis. 
 (Cabinet of Antiquities, Imp. Library, Paris.) 
 
 of accessory embellishment, we most frequently see pearls, precious stones, 
 \\ith enamelled divisions which, according to the minute description of 
 Theophilus, are only deHcate mosaics whose varions coloured segments are 
 separated by plates of gold. 
 
 In the days of St. Louis, a period of active and gênerons piety, there was 
 (un assertion which may appear bazardons after what we hâve said of the 
 zeal of preceding centui-ies) a remarkable accession to the number and the 
 splendour of the gifts and offerings of jewellery to the churches. For 
 instance, it was then that Bonnard, Parisian goldsmith, assisted by the 
 ablest artisans, devoted two years to the manufacture of the shrine of 
 
GOLD AXD SU. VER WORK. 
 
 135 
 
 St. Geneviève, on wliich he expended one huudred and ninefy-three marks 
 of silver and seven aud a half marks of ffold ; the mark weiffliins eiffht 
 ounces. The shrine, consecrated in 1212, was iu the form of a little 
 church, with statuettes and bas-reliefs enriched with precious stones. It 
 
 Fig. 94. — Chalice, said to be of St. Remy- (Treasurj- of the Cathedral of Rheims.) 
 
 was deposited in the French mint in 1793 ; but the spoil realised onlj' twenty- 
 three thousand eight himdred and thirty Livres. Half a century earlier, the 
 most celebrated German goldsmiths -were engaged during seventeen years 
 upon the famous reliquary in silver gilt, called the " Great Relies," which the 
 cathedral at Aix-la-ChajDelle still possesses ; it 'was fabricated from the gifts 
 
,36 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 deposited in that space of time by the faithful in the poors'-box of the 
 porch ; an edict of the Emperor Barbarossa having appropriated ail the 
 offerings to that object, " so long as it remained unfinished." 
 
 Moreover, that period, which may be regarded as denoting the zénith 
 of the goldsmith's art for sacred purposes, is also that wherein occurred 
 the important transition which was to introduce into domestic life the same 
 lavishness so long devoted only to objects applicable to ecclesiastical use. 
 But, before entering upon that new phase, we ought to mention, net 
 without much commendatiou, the enamelled gold-work of Limoges, which 
 was greatly celebrated for several centuries. From the Gallo-Eomano 
 period Limoges had acquired a réputation for the works of its goldsmiths. 
 St. Eloi, the great goldsmith in the time of the Merovingian kings 
 (Fig. 95), was originally from that countrj', and he was working under 
 Alban, a goldsmith, and master of the mint at Limoges, when his réputation 
 led to his being called to the court of Clotaire IL The ancient Roman 
 colony had retained its industrial speciality, and during the Middle Ages 
 was remarkable for the production of works of a peculiar character, which 
 are supposed to hâve been fabricated there prior to the third century, if we 
 may judge from a passage in Philostratus, a Greek writer of that period. 
 
 ïhis work consisted of a mixed stj-le, inasmuch as the material formiug 
 the ground of the work is copper ; and, moreover, the principal effects are 
 due not less to the skill of the enameller than to the talent of the worker 
 in métal. The process of fabrication is very simple — that is, in the way of 
 description — yet the exécution must hâve been extremelj^ protracted and 
 minute. 
 
 " After having prepared and polished a plate of copper," says M. Labarte, 
 whose account we transfer to our own pages, "the artist marked ou it ail 
 the parts which were to rise to the surface of the métal, in order to produce 
 the outlines of the drawing or of the figure he wanted to represent ; 
 thon, with gi-avers and scrapers, he dug deeply in the copper ail the sp.icc 
 which the varions metals were to cover. In the hollows thus champlerés 
 (a Word sometimes used to signify the mode of producing this kind of 
 work), he placed the material to be vitrified, which was after wards melted ia 
 a furnace. When the enamelled pièce was cold, he polished it by varions 
 means, so as to bring to the surface of the enamel ail the lines of the draw- 
 ing produced by the copper. Gilding was afterwards applied to the parts 
 
GOLD AND SI L VER WORK. 
 
 '37 
 
 of tbe métal tlius preserved. Until the twelfth century, only the outlines 
 o( the drawing ordinarilj^ rose to the surface of the cnamel, and the tints of 
 
 Fig. 95. — Cross of an Altar, ascribed to St. Eloi. 
 
 the flesh, as well as the dresses, were produced by coloured enamel ; in the 
 thirteenth century enamel was no longer used but to colour the ground- 
 
uS 
 
 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 work. The figures were entirelj'' preserred on thé plate of copper, and the 
 outh'nes of the drawing were then shown by a délicate engraving on the 
 métal." 
 
 Between the enamels partitioned [cloisonnés) and the enamels champlevés 
 the différence, as we can see, is only the first arrangement of the divisions 
 to receive the several vitrifiable compositions. Making allowances for 
 
 Fis. go.-An Abbot's En.imelled Crozicr, made 
 .-it Limoges. (Thirtecnth Ccntury.) 
 
 J^ig. 97. — A Bishop's Crozier, which appears to be 
 of Italian manufacture. (Fourteenth Centurj-. 
 Cathedra! of Metz.) • 
 
 the influence of fashion, thèse two styles of analogous works were held in 
 nlraost equal estimation. Nevertheless, it seems that the préférence onght 
 to be assigned to the goldsmith's art in Limoges, which, at a time when 
 there was manifested a demand for private reHquaries and collectire 
 offenngs to the churches, had this advantage over the other, that it was 
 
GOLD AND S/Ll'EK WVKK. 139 
 
 much Icss costh', and consequently more accessible to ail classes (Fig. 96). 
 In the présent daj- there is scarcely a muséum, or even a private collection, 
 that does not contain some spécimen of the ancient Limousine* industry. 
 
 With the fourteenth century the splendeur of the goldsmith's art ceases 
 to display, as its exclusive object, ecclesiastical décoration and embellish- 
 mcnt ; but it suddenly became so developed among the laity that King John 
 (of France) desiring, or pretending to désire, to restore it to the exclusive 
 line it had till then retained, prohibited by an ordinance, in 1356, the 
 goldsmiths from " working (fabricating) gold or silver plate, vases, or silver 
 jewellery, of more than one mark of gold or silver, excepting for the 
 chiirches." 
 
 But it is possible to issue ordinances in order to show the advantage of 
 evading them, and to benefit exclusively by the exception. This is what 
 appears to hâve then occurred ; for, in the inventory of the treasury of 
 Charles Y., son and successor of the king who signed the sumptuary edict 
 of 1356, the value of the various objects of the goldsmith's art is estimated 
 at not less than nineteen millions. This document, in which the greater 
 nimiber of the articles are described to the minutest détail, uroidd sufHce in 
 itself to exhibit a truthful historical view of the art at that period ; and, 
 at ail events, it affords a striking idea of the artistic progress made in that 
 direction, and of the extravagance to which the trade was subservient. 
 
 When considering the subject of fui-niture in domestic life, -we indicated 
 the names and the uses of several articles which were displayed on the 
 tables or sideboards — plateholders, ewers, urns, goblets, &c. ; we also 
 adverted to the numerous and capricious forms they assumed — flowers, 
 animais, grotesque images ; we need not, therefore, recur to the matter ; 
 but we ought not to overlook the jewellery, of ail sorts — insignia, or 
 ornaments of the head-dress, gems, clasps, chains and necklaces, antique 
 cameos (Fig. 98), which appear in the treasury of the King of France. 
 
 In treating of ecclesiastical furniture we, moreover, observed that the 
 goldsmith's art, although devoting itself to secular ornaments, nevertheless 
 
 * Limousine — a term applied to enamelling, and derived, as some writers assume, from Léonard 
 Limousin, a famous artist in tMs kind of work, résident at Limoges. It is, however, more pro- 
 bable it came from the province Limousin, or Limosin, of -n-hich Limoges was the capital ; and 
 that Léonard acquired the siirname of Limousin from his place of birth or résidence ; just as many 
 of the old painters are best known by theirs. — [Ed.] 
 
140 
 
 GOLD AND SIL VER WORK. 
 
 continued to work marvels in the production of objects for ecclesiastieal use ; 
 it would be mère répétition to sujjport tbis assertion by other examples. 
 
 But, dismissing tbose two questions, let a contemporary poet raise a 
 tbird, wbicb deserves a place bere. Eustacbe Descbamps, wbo died in 1422, 
 equerry and usber-at-arms to Cbarles V. and Cbarles VI., enumerates the 
 
 Fig. 98.-An Ancicnt Camco-setting of tl m ,rles V (Cib. of Ant., Bibl. Imp., Paris.) 
 
 jewels and gems wbicb tbe female nobility of tbe time aspired to possess. 
 " It was indispensable," be says 
 
 '■ Aux matrones, 
 Nobles palais et riches trônes ; 
 Et à celles qui se marient 
 Q.ui moult tôt (bientôt) leurs pensers varient, 
 Elles veulent tenir- d'usaiiro . . . 
 
GOLD AND SU. VER WORK. 141 
 
 Vestements d'or, de draps de soye, 
 
 Couronne, chapel et courroye 
 
 De fin or, espingle d'argent . . . 
 
 Puis couvrechiefs à or batus, 
 
 A pierres et perles dessus . . . 
 
 Encor Tois-je que leurs maris, 
 
 Quand ils reviennent de Paris, 
 
 De Reims, de Rouen et de l'royes. 
 
 Leur rapportent gants et courroyes ... 
 
 Tasses d'argent ou gobelets . . . 
 
 Bourse de pierreries, 
 
 Coulteaux à imagineries, 
 
 Eapingliers (étuis) taillés à émaux." 
 
 They desired, moreover, and said that they ought to hâve given to theni — ■ 
 
 "Pigne (peigne) et miroir d'ivoire . . . 
 Et l'estui qui soit noble et geut (riche et beau), 
 Pendu à chaînes d'argent ; 
 
 Heures (livres de piété) me fault de Notre-Dame, 
 Qui soient de soutil (délicat) ou-sTaige, 
 D'or et d'azur, riches et cointes (jolies), 
 Bien ordonnés et bien pointes (peintes), 
 De fin drap d'or très-bien couvertes, 
 Et quand elles seront ouvertes, 
 Deux fermaux (agrafes) d'or qui fermeront." 
 
 We thus see that, according to the above programme, the jewel-box 
 of a princess, or of a lady of rank, must haye been really splendid. TJn- 
 fortunately for us, the spécimens of thèse female ornaments of the fourteenth 
 and fifteenth centuries are still more rare in collections than objects of 
 massive plate ; and one is almost left to imagine their appearance and 
 their richness from the entries in inventories, that chief source of infor- 
 mation regarding the times of which the memorials hâve disappeared. 
 
 It is there we see the costliness of the fermails, or clasps of cloaks and 
 copes, called aiso pectoraux, because they fastened the garments across 
 the breast ; girdles, chaplets (head- dresses), portable reliqiiaries, and other 
 "little jewels (Fig. 99) pendants et à pendre" the fashion of which we 
 hâve restored under the name of breloques, and which represent every 
 variety of object more or less whimsical. We see, for instance, gold clasps 
 representing a peacock, a fleur-de-lis, two hands " clasped." This one is 
 embellished with six sapphires, sixty pearls, and other large gems ; that 
 one with eighteen rubies, and four emeralds. From a girdle of Charles V., 
 
j^2 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 which is made "of scarlet silk adorned witk eiglit gold mountings," are 
 suspended "a knife, scissors, and a pen-knife," ornamented in gold; the 
 trinkets (pendants) represent " a man on liorseback, a cock holding a mirror 
 in the form of a trefoil," or "a stag of pearls witli enamelled horns;" or, 
 ao-ain, a man mounted on a double-headed serpent, " playing on a Saracenic 
 horn " (of Saracen origin). Finally, we remark that in reliquaries a fasbion 
 
 Fig, 99.— Scent-box in Chased Gold. (A French Work of the Fifteenth Centurj-.) 
 
 long established was maintained, whiicli consisted of forming them of a 
 statuette representing a saint (Fig. 100), or of a subject that comprised 
 his image, and to wbich were attacbed, by a small cbain, relies inlaid m 
 a little tabernacle of gold or silver, preciously wrougbt. 
 
 But now the fifteenth. century opens out, and with it a period of tumult. 
 France suddenly beheld that impulse to industry paralyzed, which, to 
 prosper, requires a condition of affairs very différent from sanguinary civil 
 dissensions and foreign invasion. Not onlj^ were the workshops closed, but 
 princes and nobles were more than once constrained to appropriate the 
 gorgeous décorations of their tables and their collections of gems, to par 
 und arm warriors under their command, or èven to redeem themselves trom 
 captivity. 
 
 At that time the goldsmith's art flourished in the neighbouring country 
 of Flauders, then quietly submissive to the powerful house of Burgimdy, 
 which, with eqnal taste and liberality, encouraged the art, which had installed 
 itâelf in the principal cities. This was also an epoch of magnificeut produc- 
 
GOLD AXD SILVER WORK. 
 
 '43 
 
 tioiis in tliut counti')', Lut not more thau oiie or two examples remain ; 
 
 i*!?. 100. Reliquary, Silver-gilt, surmounted by a Statuette of the Virgin with the Infant Jésus, representîng 
 Jeanne d'Evreux, Queen of France. (Muséum of Sovereîgns, in the Louvre.) 
 
 ttese are attributed to Corneille de Boute, who worked at Ghent, and wa 
 
H4- 
 
 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 generally considered the most skilful goldsmitli of his time (Figs. 101 and 
 102). However that may be, the style of tlie goldsmith's art of the fifteenth 
 century continued, as in the two or three preceding centuries, conformable 
 to the contemporaneous style of architecture. For instance, the shrine of 
 Saint-Germain-des-Près, which was of that period, had the form of a small 
 ogivale* church; and some spécimens still existing in Berlin are of the 
 Gothic character, the prevailing style of the édifices of those times. But an 
 
 Fig. 101.— The Ensig:n of the Collar of the Goldsmiths of Ghent. (Fifteenth'Century.) 
 
 influence was making itself felt that was not long in entirely modifjdng the 
 gênerai aspect of the productions of the trade we are considering. That 
 transfoi-mation must hâve been promoted by Italy ; in the midst of which, 
 in spite of intestine troubles and serious contentions with other nations, 
 a luxury and opulence prevailed. Genoa, Yenice, Florence, Eome, had 
 long been so many centres where the Fine Arts struggled for pre-eminence 
 and inspiration. Among the majority of the wealthy nierchants who had 
 
 • Off„'n!e-a tenu used by Frenoh architecta to dénote the Gothic vault, \vitli its Tibs and 
 cross-spnugora, &c. It is also employed to dénote the pointed arch.— Gwilt's Iliici/clopadia of 
 Arcliitecliirc. — [Ed.] 
 
GOLD AXD SILVER WORK. 
 
 H5 
 
 liecome patriciaus of those gorgeoiis republics were found so man}' îlaeceniises, 
 iiuder wliose patronage flourished great artists whom popes and j^rinces 
 eniulouslv countenauced. " From the moment," savs M. Labarte, " wben 
 
 Fig-. 102. — Escutcheon in Silver-gilt, executed b}- Corneille de Bonté, in the Fifteenth Centur3'. 
 (iluseum of the Hôtel de Ville, Ghent.) 
 
 tbe Nicolases, the Jeans of Pisa, and the Giottos, throwing ofF tbe Byzantine 
 yoke, caused Art to émerge from languor and supiueness, that of the gold- 
 
 u 
 
146 
 
 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 smith coiild no longer find faveur in Italy but by maintaining itself on a 
 level witb the progress of sculijture, wliose daughter it was.* "When we 
 know that tbe great Donatello, — Pbilip Brunelleschi, tbe bold architect of 
 tlie dôme of Florence, — Gbiberti, tbe autbor of tbe marvellous doors of tbe 
 Baptistery, bad goldsmitbs for tbeir earliest masters, we may judge wbat 
 artists tbe Italian goldsmitbs of tbat period must bave been." Tbe first iu 
 date is tbe celebrated Jean of Pisa, son of Nicolas, wbo, brougbt from Arezzo 
 in 1286, to sculpture tbe marble table of tbe bigb-altar, and a group of tbe 
 Virgin between St. Gregory and St. Donato, desired to pay tribute to tbe 
 taste of tbe time by ornamenting tbe altar witb tbose fine cbasings on 
 sUver coloured witb enamels to wbicb we give tbe name of translucid enamels 
 in relief; and also by designing a clasp or jewel witb wbicb be decorated 
 tbe breast of tbe Virgin. Botb cbasings and clasp are now lost. 
 
 To Jean (Giovanni) of Pisa succeeded bis pupils Agostino and Agnolo 
 of Siena. 
 
 In 1316 Andréa of Ognibene executed, for tbe Catbedral of Pistoia, an 
 altar-front, wbicb bas coma down to us, and must bave been followed by 
 more important works. Tben corne Pietro and Paulo of Arezzo, Ugolino of 
 Siena, and finally Master Cione,t tbe autbor of tbe t-n'o silver bas-reliefs 
 still to be seen on tbe altar of tbe Baptistery of Florence. Master Cione, 
 wbose scbool was numerous, bad for bis principal pupils Forzane of Arezzo 
 and Leonardo of Florence, wbo worked on tbe two most noted monuments of 
 tbe goldsraitb's art wbicb time and déprédations bave respected — tbe altar 
 of Saint-Jacques at Pistoia, and tbat same altar of tbe Baptistery to wbicb 
 tbe bas-reliefs of Cione were afterwards adapted. During more tban a 
 bundred and fifty years tbe ornamentation of tbese two altars, of wbicb no 
 description can give an idea, was, if we may so say, tbe arena wberein ail 
 tbe most famous goldsmitbs met. 
 
 At tbe end of tbe fourteentb century Luca délia Eobbia, wbo, as we bave 
 seen, distinguisbed bimself in ceramic art, and afterwards Brunellescbi, no 
 less great as an arcliitect tban as a sculpter, came fortb from tbe studio 
 
 • This is a literal rendering of the text of M. Labarte ; but tho artists to whom allusion is 
 inude wcre only two, Niccola and Giovanni, sculptors and arcbitects of Pisa. According to Vusari, 
 Niccola, father of Giovanni (Jean or John), first worlced under certain Greek sculptors who -(vere 
 executing the figures and other sculptural ornaments of the Duomo of Pisa and the Chapel of 
 Sun Giovanni.— [Ed.] 
 
 t Andréa di Cione Orcag-na;— [Ed.] 
 
GOLD AXD SILVER WORK. 
 
 '+7 
 
 of a gokbmitli. At the same period shone Bacciolbrte and Mazzano of 
 Placentia, Arditi the Florentiue, and Bartoluccio, master of the famous 
 sculjjtor Ghiberti, to whom we owe those doors 
 of the Baptisteiy, which iiichael Angelo pro- 
 nounced worthy of being placed at the entrance 
 to Paradise. 
 
 It is well known that the exécution of thèse 
 doors was, in 1400, subniitted to compétition ; 
 and it may be said, in honour of the goldsmith's 
 art, that Ghiberti, vying with the most celebrated 
 competitors — for ' among them were Donatello 
 and Brunelleschi — owed his triumph, perhaps, 
 to the simple fact that he had treated, as it 
 
 Fig, 103— Sbrine of the Fifteenth Century. iCuUection of Prince Soltykoff.) 
 
 were by habit, his model with ail the delicacy of the goldsmith's art. 
 And it miist be added, and to the praise of the great artist, that although 
 
,^8 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 in great réputation for sculptured works of the highest importance, he 
 adhercd faithMly ail his life to his first profession, and considered it 
 not derogatory even to manufacture jewellery. Thus, for example, in 
 1428 he mounted as a signet for Jean de Medicis, a cornelian said to 
 hâve belonged to the treasury of Nero, and he set it as a winged-dragon 
 emerging from a cluster of ivy leaves ; in 1429, for Pope Martin V., a 
 button of the cope, and a mitre ; and in 1439, for Pope Eugène lY., a 
 golden mitre, embellished with five and a half pounds weight of precious 
 stones, — its front representing Christ surrounded by numerous cherubs, and 
 at the back the Virgin in the midst of the four Evangelists. 
 
 During the forty years employed in the exécution of the doors of the 
 Baptistery, Ghiberti continued to dérive assistance from several goldsmiths, 
 ■who, so giiided, could not fail in their turn to become skilful masters. 
 
 The list would be long of goldsmiths who, by the single force of their 
 talents, or under the direction of renowned sculptors, competed during two 
 centuries in the production of the marvellous works with which the 
 churches of Italy are still crowded ; and in fact it would be only a mono- 
 tonous détail, the interest of which can scarcely be enhanced by an}' descrip- 
 tion we could give of their works. Nevertheless, we may cite the most 
 illustrions of them : for instance, Andréa Verrochio, in whose studio Peru- 
 gino and Leonardo da Vinci "passed their time ; Domenichino Ghirlandajo, 
 so called because when a goldsmith he had invented an ornament in the 
 form of garlands, of which the ladies of Florence were passionately fond; 
 he afterwards relinquished the hammer and the graver for the painter's 
 pencil ; Maso Finiguerra, who, reputed to be the cleverest niello-worker of 
 his time, engraved a p(Lv, or paten, still preserved in the cabinet of bronzes 
 in Florence; it is acknowledged to be the plate of the first engraving 
 pnnted, — the Impérial Library of Paris possesses the only early proof of it. 
 
 In lôOO was born Benvenuto Gellini, who was to be the embodiment of 
 the genius of the goldsmith's art, and who raised it to the zénith of its 
 powcr. " Cellini, a Florentine citizen, now a sculpter," as his contemporary 
 Vasari relates, " had no equal in the goldsmith's art when deAoting himself 
 to it in his youth, and was perhaps for many years without a rival, as well 
 as in the exécution of small figures in fuU relief and in bas-relief, and ail 
 Works of that nature. He mounted precious stones so skllfiilly, and decked 
 thoni m such marvellous settings, with small figures so perfect, and some- 
 
GOl.D A.XD SILVKR WoRK. 149 
 
 times so original and witli such fanuiful taste, that oiie coulrl not imagine 
 anyt-hing bettcr ; nor eau we adequately praise the inedals which, when lie 
 was yoimg, he engraved with incredible care in gold and silyer. At Rome 
 he cxecutcd, for Pope Clément YII., a fastening for the cope, in which he 
 represented w-ith admirable workmanship the Eternal Father. He also 
 mounted with rare talent a diamond, eut to a point, and surrounded by several 
 yoimg chiidren earved in gold. Clément VII. having ordered a gold ehalice 
 with its eup supported by the theological attributes, Benveuuto exeeuted the 
 work in a surprising manuer. Of ail the artists who, in his own time, tried 
 their hands at engraving medals of the Pope, no oue succeeded better, as those 
 well know who possess them or hâve seen them. Also to him was entrusted 
 the exécution of the coins of Rome ; and finer pièces were noTer struck. 
 After the death of Clément VII., Benvenuto returned to Florence, where he 
 engraved the head of Duke Alexander on the coins, which are so beautiful 
 that to this day several spécimens are preserved as precious antique medals ; 
 and rightly so, for in them Benvenuto surpassed himself At length he 
 devoted himself to sculpture and to the art of easting statues. He exeeuted 
 in France, where he was in the service of Francis I., many works in bronze, 
 silver, and in gold. Eeturning to his native eountrj% he was employed by 
 the Duke Cosmo de Medicis, who at once required of him several works in 
 jeweUery, and afterwards some sculptures." 
 
 Thus, Benvenuto is at the same time goldsmith (Fig. 104), engraver in 
 medals, and sculptor, and he excels in thèse three branches of the art, as 
 the productions which hâve survived him attest. ]^evertheless, unfortu- 
 nately, the greater part of his works in the goldsmith's art hâve been 
 destroyed, or are now eonfoim^ded with those of his contemporaries, upon 
 whom ItaHan taste, combined with his original genius, had exercised a 
 powei'ful influence. In France there remains of his works only a magnifi- 
 cent salt-cellar, which he exeeuted for Francis I. ; in Florence is preserved 
 the mounting of a eup in lapis-lazuli, representing three anchors in gold 
 enameUed, heightened by diamonds ; also the cover, in gold enamelled, of 
 another eup of rock-crystal. But, besides the bronze bust of Cosmo L, we 
 may stiU. admire, with the groiip of Perseus and Médusa, which ran k s among 
 grand sculptures, the reduced form, or rather the model of that group, which 
 in size approaches goldsmith's work ; and the bronze pedestal, decorated 
 with statuettes, on which Perseus is plaeed ; works that enable us to see of 
 
150 
 
 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 what Cellini was capable as a goldsmith. And, let us repeat, tlie influence 
 which he exercised over his contemporaries was immense, as well in Florence 
 as in Rome, as well in France as in Germany ; and, had his work been 
 tbougbt utterly wortbless, lie would remain not less justly celebrated for 
 giving an impulse to bis time by imprinting on the art wbicb he pro- 
 fessed a movement as fertile as it was bold. 
 
 Fig. 104.— A Pendant, after a design by Kcnvenuto Cellini. Sixteenth Century. 
 (Cabinet of Antiquities, Bibl. Imp., Paris.) 
 
 Moreover, in imitation of the monk Theophilus, bis predecessor of the 
 twelfth century, Benvenuto Cellini, after having given practical example, 
 desired that the théories ho had found prevailing, and' those which were 
 duo to his tuculty for oiiginating, should be preserved for posterity. A 
 
GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 151 
 
 treatise (" Trattato intorno aile otto principali Arti dell' Orificeria "), in wHcli 
 he describes and teaches ail the best processes of working in gold, remains 
 one of the most vuluable works on tbe subject ; and even in our days 
 ffoldsmiths wbo wisb to refer back to tlie true sources of their art do not 
 
 o 
 
 neglect to consult it. 
 
 Tbe artistic style of tbe celebrated Florentine goldsmith is that of a 
 period wben, by au earnest returu to antiquity, the mythologieal élément was 
 iutroduced everywliere, even in tbe Christian sanctuaries. The character, 
 which we may call autochthone,* of the pious and severe Middle Ages, ceased 
 to influence the production of plastic works, when the models were taken 
 from the glorious remains of idolâtrons Grreece and Eome. The art which 
 the religion of Christ had awakened and upheld suddeuly became again 
 Pagan, and Cellini proved himself one of the enthusiasts of the ancient 
 temples raised in honour of the gods and goddesses of Paganism ; that is to 
 say, nnder the impulse given by him, and in imitation of him, the phalanx 
 of artists, of which he is in a manner the chief, could not fail to go far on 
 the new road by which he had travelled among the first. 
 
 TVhen Cellini came to France he found, as he himself says in his book, 
 that the work consisted "more than elsewhere in grosserie" (the grosserie 
 comprised the church plate, vessels, and silver images), "and that the works 
 there executed with the hammer had attained a degree of perfection nowhere 
 else to be met with." 
 
 The inyentory of the plate and jewels of Henry IL, among which 
 were many by Benvenuto Cellini — the inventory prepared at Fontaine- 
 bleau in 1560 — shows us that, after the departure of the Florentine 
 artist, the French goldsmiths continued to deserve that eulogium ; and to 
 comprehend of what they were capable in the time of Charles IX., it is 
 sufficient to recall the description, preserved in the archives of Paris, of a 
 pièce of plate which the city had caused to be made to offer as a présent to 
 the king on the occasion of his entry into his capital in 1571. 
 
 " It was," saj-s that document, " a large pedestal, supported on four 
 dolphins, and having seated on it Cybele, mother of the gods, representing 
 the mother of the king, accompanied by the gods Neptune and Pluto, and the 
 goddess Juno, as Messeigneurs the brothers, and Madame the sister, of the 
 
 * Autochthone— Te\a.\i-n§ to the aboriginal inhabifants of a country : the use of the word hère is 
 not Tery intelligible.— [Ed.] 
 
GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 king. This Cybele was contemplating Jupiter, who represented our king, 
 and was raised on two columns, thé one of gold, the other of silver, having 
 his de vice iuscribed — ' Pietato et Justitia.' Upon this was a large impérial 
 crown, on one side held in the beak of an eagie perched on the croup of a 
 horse on which Jupiter was mounted ; and on the other side supported by the 
 sceptre he held — thus being, as it were, deified. At the four corners of the 
 pedestal were the iîgures of four kings, his predecessors, ail of the same name 
 — that is, Charles the Great, Charles V., Charles VII., and Charles VIII., 
 who in their time fulfilled their missions, and their reigns were huppy, as we 
 hope will be that of our king. In the frieze of that pedestal were the battles 
 and the victories, of ail kinds, in which he was engaged ; the whole made 
 
 Fiç. 105.— Cup of Lapis-lazuli, mounted in Gold 
 cnriched with Rubies, and a Figure in Gold 
 enamelled. (Italian Work of the i6th Century.) 
 
 Fig. io6.— Vaseof Rock-crystal, mounted 
 in Silver-gilt and enaraelled. (Italian 
 Work of the i6th Century.) 
 
 of fine silver, gilt with ducat gold, chased, engraved, aud iu workmanship so ' 
 executed that the style surpassed the material." ' 
 
 That rare pièce was the work of Jean Eegnard, a Parisian goldsmith : j 
 and the period when such works were produced was precisely that 
 during which religions wars were about to cause the annihilation of a great 
 luimber of the chrfs-cVœmre, ancient and modem, of the goldsmith's art. 
 Tho uew iconoclusts, the Huguenots, shattered and melted down, wherever 
 thoy triumphed, the sacred vessels, the shrines, the reliquaries. Then were 
 lost the most precious gold-wrought memorials of the times of St Eloi, of 
 Charlemagne, of Suger, and of St. Louis. 
 
GOLD AND SIJA'ER WORK. 153 
 
 At the same period Germany, wliere the influence of tlie Italian school 
 had made itself f elt less directlj', but which could not escape from its impulse, 
 possessed also, especiallj^ at Nuremburg and Augsburg, goldsmiths' work- 
 shops of high character ; tliese furnished the empire, and even foreign 
 coimtries, with remarkable works. A new career opened to the German 
 goldsmiths M-hen the cabiuet-makers of their countiy had invented those 
 cabinets, whereof ■we hare already said something (vide Furnituee), and 
 in the intricate décoration of which appear statuettes, silver bas-reliefs, and 
 inlay- work of gold and precious stones. 
 
 The treasitries and the muséums of Germany hâve succeeded in preserving 
 many rich objects of that period ; but one of the most rare collections of 
 the kind is that in Berlin, where, in substitution for the originals in silver 
 ■which hâve been melted down, are gathered a great number of beautiful 
 bas-reliefs in lead, and several vases in tin, — copies of pièces of plate 
 supposed to be of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. And on this 
 point it may be remarked that the high price of the material, together with 
 the svmiptuary laws, not always admitting of the possession of gold or silver 
 vases by the citizens, it sometimes happened that the goldsmiths manu- 
 factured a table-service of tin, on which they bestowed so much pains that 
 thèse articles were transferred from the sideboards of citizens to those of 
 princes. The inventory of the Count d'Angoulême, father of Francis I., 
 alludes to a considérable table-service of tin. Indeed, several goldsmiths 
 devoted themselves exclusively to this description of work ; and, to this day, 
 the tins of François Briot, who flourished in the time of Henry II., are 
 regarded as the most perfect spécimens of plate of the sixteenth century. 
 
 However that may be, after CeUini, and until the reign of Louis XIV., 
 the goldsmith's art did but follow faithfully in the footsteps of the ItaHau 
 master. Elevated by the impulse of the Renaissance, the art succeeded 
 in maintaining itself in that high position without, however, any striking 
 mdividuaKty discovering itself, until, in a century not less illustrions 
 than the sixteenth, new masters appeared and imparted to it additional 
 lustre and magnificence. Thèse are named Ballin, Delaunay, Julien 
 Defontaine, Labarre, Vincent Petit, Roussel, goldsmiths and jewellers of 
 Louis XIV., who retained them in bis pay, and lodged theni in the 
 Louvre. It was for that prince they produced an imposing collection of 
 admirable works, for which Le Brun often furnished the designs, and 
 
 X 
 
154- 
 
 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 under an inspiration altogether French, abandoned the graceful, though 
 ratlier fluette forms of the Renaissance, and gave to tliem a character more 
 diffuse and grand. Then, for a short time, everj^ article of royal furniture 
 proceeded from the hands of the goldsmith. But, alas ! once more the 
 majority of thèse marvels must disa^Dpear, as happened to so many others. 
 Even the monarch who had ordered them despatched his acquisitions to the 
 crucibles of the mint, when, the war having exhausted the public treasuxy, 
 he found himseK compeUed, at least for example's sake, to sacrifice his silver 
 plate and to deck his table with earthenware. 
 
 Having finished this sketch of the goldsmith's art in gênerai, it may 
 not be inappropriate to add a brief notice of the more spécial history of the 
 French goldsmiths, of which the wealthy corporation may be considered 
 not only as the most ancient, but as the model of ail those that vere 
 formed among us in the Middle Ages. But first, since we hâve already 
 referred to the esceptional part taken by the goldsmiths of Limoges in 
 the industrial movement of that period, -we cannot proceed further without 
 noting another description of works, which, although derived from the 
 oldest examples, nevertheless gave, and with justice, a kind of new lustre to 
 the ancient city where the first goldsmiths of France had distinguished 
 themselves. 
 
 " Towards the end of the fourteenth century," says M. Labarte, " the taste 
 for gold and silver articles having led to the disuse of plate of enamelled 
 copper, the Limousine enamellers endeavoured to discover a new mode of 
 applying enamel to the reproduction of graphie subjects. Their researches 
 led them to dispense with the chaser for delineating the outKnes of designs ; 
 the métal was entirely concealed under the enamel, which, spread by the 
 brush, formed altogether both the drawing and the colouring. The first 
 attempts at this novel painting on copper were necessarily very imperfect; 
 but the processes gradually improved, until at length, in 1540, they attained 
 perfection. Prier to that period, the enamels of Limoges were almost 
 exelusively devoted to the reproduction of sacred subjects, of -n-hich the 
 German school fm-nished the designs. But the arrivai of Italian artists at 
 the court of Francis L, and the publication of engravings of the works 
 of Eaphael and other great masters of Italy, gave a ne^sv direction to the 
 school of Limoges, '(vhich adopted the style of that of Italy. Il Eosso 
 aK>d Primaticcio painted cartoons for the Limousine enamellers ; and then 
 
DRAGEOIR, OR TABLE ORXA^klENT 
 
 or Enamellcd and Gilt Copper GErman. latler part of Sixlcentlv Cculuij. 
 
GOLD AND SILVER )VORK. 
 
 '55 
 
 they wlio liud previouslj^ worlced oiily ou plates intendecl to bc set in 
 diptyclis, ou caskets, created a uew spccies of goldsmith's art. Basius, 
 ewers, cups, salt-cellars, vases, and uteusils of ail sorts, manufactured ■with 
 thin sheet-copper in the most élégant forms were decorated with tlieir rich 
 and brilliant paintings." 
 
 In the lùgliest rank of artists who hâve rendered this attractive work 
 illustrions we uiust place Léonard (Limousin), painter to Francis I., who 
 Tvas tke first director of tlie royal manufacture of enamels founded by 
 that Iviug at Limoges. Tben followed Pierre Raymond (Figs. 107 to 110), 
 •wbose Works date from 1534 to 1578, tbe Penicauds, Courteys, Martial 
 Raymond, Mercier, and Jean Limousin, enameller to Aune of Austria. 
 
 t ERCViLES FVT * 1 
 
 Figs. 107 and 108. — Faces of an Hexagonal Enamelled Salt-cellar, representing the Labours of Hercules. 
 Executed at Limoges, for Francis L, by Pierre Raymond. 
 
 I Witb the remark that, at the end of the sisteenth century, Yenice, 
 
 I doubtless imitating Limoges, also manufactured pièces of plate in enamelled 
 copper, Tve return to our national goldsmiths. 
 
 This celebrated corporation could, ■^vithout much trouble, be traced back 
 m Gaul to the epoch of the Roman occupation ; but it is unnecessary to 
 search for its origin beyond St. Eloi, who is still its patron, after having 
 been its founder and protector. Eloi, become prime-minister to Dagobert I. 
 — thanks in some measure to his merits as a goldsmith, Avhich distinguished 
 mm above ail, and gained him the honour of royal friendship — continued 
 I to work no less at his forge as a simple artisan. " He made for the king," 
 
156 
 
 GOLD AND S IL VER WORK. 
 
 says the chronicle, " a great number of gold vases enriched with precious 
 stones, and he worked incessantly, seated witL. liis servant Thillon, a Saxon 
 by birth, at bis sida, wbo followed the lessons of bis master." 
 
 Tbis estract seems to indicate tbat already tbe goldsmitb's art was 
 organised as a corporation, and tbat it comprised tbree ranks of artisans — 
 tbe masters, tbe journeymen, and tbe apprentices. Besides, it is clear tbat 
 St. Eloi founded two distinct corporations of goldsmitbs — one for secular, tbe 
 otber for religions Works, in order tbat tbe objects sacred to worsbip sbould 
 
 Fig. 109.— Interior base of a Salt-cellar, executed at Limoges ; wîth a Portrait of Francis I. 
 
 net be manufactured by tbe same bands tbat executed tbose designed for 
 profane uses or workUy state. Tbe seat of tbe former in Paris was first the 
 Citë, ne;u- tbe very abode of St. Eloi long known as the maison aufèvre, and 
 surrounding tbe monastery of St. Martial. Within tbe jurisdiction of tbat 
 monastery was the space comprised between the streets of La BariUerie, of 
 La Calandre, Aux Fèves, and of La Vieille Draperie, under the dénomination 
 of "St. Eloi's Enelosure." A raging fire destroyed tbe entire quarter 
 inhabited by tbe goldsmitbs, excepting tbe monastery ; and tbe lay goH- 
 
GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 157 
 
 sraitlis wcut forth and establisted tliemselves as a colony, still under the 
 auspices of tlieir patron saint, in the shadow of the Church of St. Paul des 
 Champs, which he had caused to be constructed on the right bank of the 
 Seine. The assemblage of forges and shops of thèse artisans soon formed 
 a sort of suburb, which was called Clôture, or Culture St. JEloi. Subse- 
 quently some of the goldsmiths returned to the Cité ; but they remained 
 on the Grand- Pont, and returned no more to the streets, where the cobblers 
 had established themselves. MoreoTer, the monastery of St. Martial had 
 become, under the administration of its first abbess, St. Anne, a branch of 
 the goldsmith's school which the "Seigneur Eloi " had established in 631 in 
 the Abbey of Solignac, in the environs of Limoges. That abbey, whose 
 
 Fis- iio. — Ewer in Enamel, of Limoges, bj' Pierre Raymond. 
 
 first abbot, Thillon or Théau — a pupil, or, as the chronicle expresses it, 
 a servant of St. Eloi — was also a skilful goldsmith, preserved during several 
 centuries the traditions of its founder, and furnished not only models, but 
 also skilful workmen, to ail the monastic ateliers of Christendom which 
 exclusively manufactured for the churches jewelled and enamelled plate. 
 
 However, the goldsmiths of Paris engaged in secular Works continued to 
 taaintain themselves as a corporation ; and their privilèges, which they 
 ascribed to the spécial regard of Dagobert for St. Eloi, were recognised, it is 
 said, in 768 by a royal charter, and confirmed in 846 in a capitulary of 
 Charles the Bald. Thèse goldsmiths worked in gold and silver only for 
 kings and nobles, whom the strictness of the sumptuary laws did not reach. 
 
158 
 
 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 The Dictionary of Jean de Grarlande informs us that, in the eleYenth century, 
 there were in Paris four classes of workmen in the goldsmith's trade — those 
 who coined money {immmuïarii) , the clasp-makers {firmaculariï) , the manu- 
 facturers of drinking-goblets {cijjharii), and the goldsmiths, properly so 
 called (cturifabri). The ateliers and the shop-windows of thèse last were on 
 the Pont-au-Change (Fig. 111), in compétition with the money-changers, 
 ■who for the most part were Lombards or Italians. Prom that epoch a 
 
 V\S- III.— Intcrior ot the Atelier of Etienne Delaulne, a celebrated goldsmith of Paris, in the Sixteenth 
 Century. Designed and engraved by himself. 
 
 rivalry commenced between thèse t\7o trade guilds, which only ceased on the 
 complète downfall of the monej^-changers. 
 
 T\Tien Etienne Boileau, Provost of Paris in the reign of Louis IX., -nrote 
 iu obédience to the législative designs of the king, his famous " Livre 
 des Métiers," to establish the existence of guilds on permanent foundations, 
 he had scarcely more to do than to transcribe the statutes of the goldsmiths 
 almost the same as those instituted by St. Eloi, with the modifications con- 
 séquent on the new order of things. By the terras of the ordinances di'awn ! 
 np by Louis, the goldsmiths of Paris were exempt from the watch, and from 
 ail other feudal services ; they elected, every three years, two or three anciens 
 
GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 '59 
 
 (seniors) " for tlie protection of tlie tradc," aud tlieso anciens exercised per- 
 manent vigilance ovor tlie works of their colleagues, and over tbe quality of 
 the gold and silvor luaterial used by them. xin apprentice was not admitted 
 as a master until after ten years' apprenticesliip ; and no master could hâve 
 more than one apprentice, in addition to tbose belonging to bis own family. 
 The corporation, so far as concerned the fraternity with respect to -works for 
 charitable and devotioual purposes, had a seal (Fig. 116) wbich placed it 
 under the patronage of St. Eloi ; but, vrith regard to its industrial asso- 
 ciation, it imprinted on manufactured articles a seing, or stamp, which 
 guaranteed the value of the métal. The corporation soon obtained, from 
 Philip of Valois, a coat-of-arms, which conferred on it a sort of professional 
 nobility ; and acquired, owing to the distinguished protection extended to 
 
 Fig. 112. — Stamp of Lyons. 
 
 Fig. 113. — Stamp of Chartres. 
 
 Fig. 114. — Stamp of Melun. 
 
 . 116. — Ancient Corporate Seal of the 
 Goldsmiths of Paris. 
 
 Fig. 115. — Stamp of Orléans. 
 
 it by that king, a position which nevertheless it did not succeed in pre- 
 serving in the united constitution of the sis mercantile bodies ; for, although 
 it laid claim to the first rank on account of its antiquity, it was forced, 
 notwithstanding the undeniable superiority of its works, to be contented 
 hvith the second, and even to descend to the third rank. 
 
 The goldsmiths, at the time of the compilation of the code of professions 
 by Etienne Boileau, were already separated, volimtarily or otherwise, from 
 several trades which had long appeared in their train ; the crisfalliers, or 
 iapidaries ; the gold and silver beaters ; the embroiderers in or/roi (gold- 
 Pringe) ; the iMtenôtriers (bead-stringers) in precious stones lived under their 
 3wn régulations ; the monétaires (bullion- dealers) remained under the control 
 )f the king and his mint ; the hanapiers (drinking-cup makers), the/ermaiikurs 
 
i6o 
 
 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 (makers of clasps), the jjewterers, boxmakers, inferior artisans and others 
 who worked in common metals, had no longer any connection with tte 
 goldsmitlis of Paris. But in the provinces, in towns wliere tlie masters 
 of a trade were insufEcient to constitute a community or fraternity having 
 its ctiefs and its own administration, it was indispensable to reunite under 
 the same banner the trades between which there was the most agreement, 
 or rather the least contrariety. Thus, in certain localities in France and 
 the Low Countries, the goldsmiths, proud as they might be of the nobility 
 of their origin, sometimes found themselves united as equals with the 
 
 Fig. 117.— Arms of the Corporation of Goldsmiths of Paris, with this device ; 
 "Vases Sacrés et Couronnes, voilà notre Œuvre." 
 
 pewterers, the mercers, the braziers, and even the grocers ; and thus it came 
 to pass thut they combined on their banners of fleurs-de-lis the proper arras 
 of each of thèse several trades. Thus, for instance, we see the banner 
 of the goldsmiths of Castellane (Fig. 118) united with the retail mercers 
 and tuilors — it shows a pair of scissors, scales, and an ell measm-e; at 
 Chauny (Fig. 119), a ladder, a hammer, and a vase, indicate that the gold- 
 smiths had for compeers the pewterers and the slaters ; at Guise (Fig. 120). 
 the association of farriers, coppersmiths, and locksmiths, is allied with the 
 goldsmiths by a horse-shoe, a mallet, and a key ; the brewers of Harfleur 
 
GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 i6i 
 
 (Fig. 121) quartered in their arms four barrels between the bars of the 
 cross gtiles cbarged -witli a goblet of gold, which was the emblem of their 
 associâtes the goldsmiths ; at Maringues (Fig. 122), the gold cup on a field 
 guîes sixrmounts the grocer's candies. 
 
 Thèse banners were displayed ouly on great public cérémonies, in solemn 
 processions, réceptions, marriages, the obsequies of kings, queens, princes, 
 and princesses. Exempted from niilitary service, the goldsmiths, unlike 
 other trade corporations, had not the opportunity of distinguishing them- 
 selves in the militia of the communes. They, nevertheless, occupied the first 
 place in the state processions of trades, and frequently filled posts of honour. 
 
 Fij^. iig. 
 
 Fig. 120. 
 
 Thus in Paris they had the custody of the gold and silver plate vrhen the 
 good city entertained some illustrions guest at a banquet; they carried 
 the canopy above the head of the king on his joyful accession ; or, crowned 
 ■with roses, walked bearing on their shoulders the yenerated shrine of 
 St. Gene-riève (Fig. 123). 
 
 In the wealthy cities of Belgium, where the corporations were queens 
 {reines), the goldsmiths, by virtue of their privilèges, dictated the law and 
 swayed the people. ISTo doubt in France they were far from enjoying the 
 same political influence ; nevertheless, one of them was that provost of 
 merchants, Etienne Marcel, who, from 1356 to 1358, played so bold a part 
 
 Y 
 
l62 
 
 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 during the regency of the Dauphin Charles. But it was especially in periods 
 of peace and prosperity that the goldsmith's art in Paris shone in ail its 
 splendeur ; then its banners incessantly waved in the breeze for the festivals 
 and processions of its numerous and wealthy brotherhoods to the churches of 
 Notre-Dame, St. Martial, St. Paul, and St. Denis of Montmartre. 
 
 In 1337 the number of the wardens of the goldsmith's guild in Paris had 
 increased from three to six. They had their names engraved and their 
 
 Fig. 123.— The Corporation of the Goldsmiths of Paris carrying the Shrine of St. Geneviève. 
 (From an engraving of the Seventeenth Centurj'.) 
 
 marks stamped on tablets of copper, which were preserved as archives in the 
 town-hall. Every French goldsmith, admitted a master after the production 
 of his principal work, left the impression of his sign manual, or private 
 mark, on similar tablets of copper deposited in the office of the guild ; whUe 
 the stamp of the community itself was required to be engraved at the 
 inint to authorise its being used. Every corporation thus had its mark, 
 
GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 163 
 
 wliic'h tlio wardens set ou tlie articles after ha-sàng assaj-ed and weighed the 
 métal. Thèse marks, at least in the later centuries, represented in gênerai 
 the spécial arms or emblems of the cities ; for Lyons, it is a lion ; for iMelun, 
 an ecl ; for Chartres, a partridge ; for Orléans, the head of Joan of Arc, &c. 
 (Figs. 112 to 115). 
 
 The goldsmiths of France manifested, and with reason, a jealousy of their 
 privilèges, it being more indispensable for them than for any other artisans 
 to inspire that coniidence without which the trade would hâve been lost ; 
 for their works were required to bear as authentic and légal a value as 
 that of money. Therefore, it may be imderstood that they exercised keen. 
 vigilance over ail gold or sUver objects which were in any way under their 
 
 Fig. 124. — Gold Cross, chased. (A French "Work of the Seventeenth Century.) 
 
 warranty: hence the fréquent visits of the sworn masters to the ateliers 
 and shops of the goldsmiths; hence the perpétuai lawsuits against ail 
 instances of négligence or fraud ; hence those quarrels with other trades 
 which arrogated to themselves the right of working in precious metals 
 without having qualified for it. Confiscation of goods, the whip, the pillory, 
 were penalties inflicted on goldsmiths in contraband trade who altered the 
 standard, concealed copper beneath the gold, or substituted false for precious 
 stones. 
 
 It, indeed, seems remarkable that while for the most part other trades 
 were subject to the control of the goldsmiths, the latter were responsible only 
 to themselves for the aggressions which they constantly committed within 
 
164 
 
 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 the domain of rival iadustries. Wiienever the object to be manufactured 
 was of gold, it belonged to tbe goldsraitb's trade. Tbe goldsmitb made, by 
 turns, spurs as the spur-maker ; armour and arms, as tbe armourer ; girdles 
 and clasps, as tbe belt-maker and tbe clasp-maker. Howeyer, tbere is reason 
 to believetbat ia tbe fabrication of tbese varions objects, tbe goldsmitb bad 
 recoiirse to tbe assistance of spécial artisans, wbo could scarcely fail to 
 dérive ail possible advantage from sucb fortuitous association. Tbus, wben 
 tbe gold-wrougbt sword wbicb Danois carried wben Cbarles VII. entered 
 Lyons in 1449, mounted ia diamonds and rnbies, and valaed at more tban 
 fifteea tbousand crowns, was to be made, tbe work of tbe goldsmitbs 
 probably consisted only of tbe fasbioniag and cbasing tbe bilt, wbile tbe 
 
 ''S- I25-— Pendant, adorned with Diamonds and Precious Stones. (Seventeenth Century.) 
 
 sword-cutler bad to forge and temper tbe blade. In tbe same manner, wben 
 it was reqaired to work a jewelled robe, sucb as Marie de Medicis wore at 
 tlie baptism of ber son in 1606, tbe robe being covered witb tbirty-two 
 tbousand precious stones and tbree tbousand diamonds, tbe goldsmitb bad 
 only to mount tbe stones and furnisb tbe design for fixing tbem on the 
 gold or silk tissue. 
 
 Long before Benvenuto and otber skilful Italian goldsmitbs were 
 summoned by Francis I. to bis court, tbe Frencb goldsmitbs bad proved 
 tbat tbey ueeded only a little encouragement to range tbemselves on a level 
 witb foreign artists. But tbat patronage baving failed tbem, tbey left the 
 couutry and establisbed tbemselves elsewbere ; tbus at tbe court of Flanders, 
 
GOLD AND SIJAER WORK 
 
 '65 
 
 Antoino of Bordeaux, Margerie of Avignon, aud Jean of Rouen, distin- 
 guislicd themselves. It is true that in the reign of Louis XII., wliose 
 excbequer had been exhausted in the Italian expéditions, gold and silver had 
 becomo so scaree in France, tliat tlie king was obliged to probibit the manu- 
 facture of ail sorts of large plate (g rosse rie). But tbe discoveiy of America 
 having biougbt -svitb it an abundance of the precious metals, Louis XII. 
 
 Figs. 126 to 131. — Cbains. 
 
 recalled bis ordinance in 1510 ; and thenceforth the corporations of gold- 
 smiths Trere seen to increase and prosper, as luxuriousness, diffused by the 
 example of the great, descended to the lower ranks of society. SilYer plate 
 soon displaced that of tin ; and before long personal display had attained 
 such a height, " that the wife of a merchant wore on her person more jewels 
 than were seen on the image of the Virgin." The number of the goldsmiths 
 
 Figs. 132 to 136.— Rings. 
 
 then became so great that in the city of Eouen alone there were in 1-563 fwo 
 himdred and sixty-five masters having the right of stamp ! 
 
 To sum up this chapter. Fntil the middle of the fourteenth century it 
 is the religions art which prevails ; the goldsmiths are engaged only in 
 executing shrines, reHquaries, and church ornaments. At the end of that 
 century, and during the one following, they manufactured gold and silver 
 
i66 
 
 GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 plate, enrictiiiig witli their works thé treasuries of kings and nobles, and 
 imparting brilliant display to tlie adornment of dress. In the sixteenth and 
 seventeenth centuries the goUsmiths applied themselves more to chasing, 
 enamelling, and inlay- work. Everywhere are to be seen marvellous trinkets 
 — necklaces, rings, buckles, chains, seals (Figs. 124 to 142). Tbe weigbt of 
 métal is no longer tbe principal merit ; tbe skill of tbe workman is especiaUy 
 appreciated, and tbe goldsmitb exécutes in gold, in silver, and in precious 
 stones, tbe beautiful productions of painters and engravers. Nevertbeless, 
 tbe demand for délicate objects bad tbe disadTantage of requiring mucb 
 solder and alloy, wbicb deteriorated tbe standard of métal. Tben a desperate 
 struggle commenced between tbe goldsmitbs and tbe mint — a struggle whicb 
 was prosecuted tbrougb a maze of légal proceedings, pétitions, and ordi- 
 nances, until tbe middle of tbe reign of Louis XV. At tbe same time 
 tbe Italian and German goldsmitbs making an irruption into France and 
 
 Figs. 137 to 141. — Seals. 
 
 introducing materials of a low standard, tbe old professional integrity 
 became suspected and was soon disregarded. At tbe end of tbe sixteenth 
 century very little plate was ornamented : there is a return to massive plate, 
 tbe weight and standard of whicb could be easily veriiîed. Gold is scarcely 
 any longer employed, except for jewels ; and silver in a thousand forms 
 creeps into tbe manufacture of furniture. After cabinets, covered and 
 ornamented with carving in silver, came tbe articles of silver fui-nitm-e 
 invented by Claude Ballin. But tbe mass of precious métal witbdrawn from 
 circulation was soon returned to it, and tbe fasbion passed away. The 
 goldsmitbs found themselves redueed to manufacture only objects of small 
 size; and for the most part tbey limited themselves to works of jewellery, 
 which subjected them to less annoj-ance from tbe mint. Besides, the art of 
 the lapidary bad almost changed its character, as well as the trade in 
 precious stones. Pierre de Montarsy, jeweUer to tbe king, effected a kind 
 
GOLD AND SILVER WORK. 
 
 if)"! 
 
 of révolution in his art, which tlie travels of Chardin, of Bernier, and of 
 Tavernier, in the East had, so to say, enlarged. The cutting and mounting 
 of precious stones has not since been excelled. It may be said that Montarsy 
 was the lirst jeweller, as Ballin was the last goldsmith. 
 
 Fig. 142.— Chased and Enamelled Brooc'b, embellished with Pearls and Diamonds. (Seventeenth Century.) 
 
ÏÏOEOLOGY. 
 
 Modes of measming Time among the Ancients.— The Gnomon.— The AVater-Clock.— The Hour- 
 Glass.— The Water-Clock, improved by the Persians and by the Italians.— Gerbert invents 
 the Escapement and the moving Weights.— The Striking-bell.— Maistre Jehan des Orloges.— 
 Jacquemart of Dijon.— The first Clock in Paris.— Earliest portable Timepiece.— Invention of 
 the spiral Spring.— First appearance of Watehes.— The Watches, or " Eggs," of Nuremberg. 
 -Invention of the Fusée.— Corporation of Clockmakers.— Noted Clocks at Jena, Strasburg, 
 -Charles-Quint and Jannellus. — The Pendulum. 
 
 jMONGr tte ancients there were three instruments 
 for measui-ing time — tlie gnomon, or sun-dial, -n-hich 
 is only, as we know, a table wliereon lines are so 
 arranged as successively to meet the shadow cast 
 by a gnomon,* tbus indicating the hour of the day 
 according to the height or inclination of the sun ; the 
 water-clock (clepsydra), which had for its principle the measured percolation 
 of a certaia qïiantity of water ; and the hour-glass, wherein the liquid is 
 exchanged for sand. It -would be difficult to détermine which of thèse three 
 chronometric modes can lay claim to priority. There is this to be said that. 
 according to the Bible, in the eighth centurj' before Christ, Ahaz, King 
 of Judah, caused a sun-dial to be constructed at Jérusalem ; again, Hero- 
 dotus says Anasimander introduced the sun-dial into Greece, whence it 
 passed on to the other parts of the then civilised world ; and that, in the 
 year 293 before oui- era, the celebrated Papirius Cursor, to the astonishment 
 of his fellow-citizens, had a sun-dial traced near the temple of Jupiter 
 Quirinus. 
 
 According to the description given by Athena (Athenseus ?), the water- 
 elock was formed of an earthenware or métal vessel filled with Tvater, 
 and then suspended over a réservoir whereon lines were mai'ked indicating 
 
 * Gnomon — literally the upright pièce of wood or métal -n-hich projects the shadow on the plane 
 of the dial.— [Ed.] 
 
lyo 
 
 HOROLOGY. 
 
 the hours, as the water which escaped drop by drop from the upper vessel 
 came to the level. We find this instrument employed by most ancient 
 nations, and in many countries it remained in use until the tenth century 
 of the Christian era. 
 
 In one of his dialogues Plato déclares that the philosophers are far more 
 fortunate than the orators — "thèse being the slaves of a misérable water- 
 clock ; whereas the others are at liberty to make their discourse as long as 
 they please." To explain this passage, we must remember that it ■«■as the 
 practice in the Athenian courts of j ustice, as subsequentlj^ in those of Rome, 
 
 I43-— The Clockmaker. Designed and Engraved by J. Amman. 
 
 to measure the time allowed to the advocates for pleading by means of a 
 water-clock. Three equal portions of water were put into it — one for the 
 prosecutor, one for the défendant, and the third for the judge. A man was 
 charged with the spécial duty of giving timely notice to each of the three 
 speakers that his portion was nearly rim out. If, on some unusual occasion, 
 the time for one or other of the parties was doubled, it was called " addiug 
 wuter-clock to water-clock ; " and when witnesses were giving évidence, or the 
 text ot some law was being read out, the percolation of the water was 
 stopped: this was called mimun sustinere (to retain the water). 
 
HOROLOGl'. 171 
 
 The hour-glass, wliich is still iii use to a considérable extcnt for raeasiin'ng 
 short intervais of time, had great analogy with the water-clock, but was 
 never susceptible of such regularity. In fact, at différent periods important 
 improvements were applied to the water-clock. Vitrurius tells us that, 
 about one hundred years before our era, Ctesibius, a mechanician of 
 Alexandrin, added several cogged-wheels to the water-clock, one of which 
 raoved a hand, showing the hour on a dial. This must hâve been, so îàx as 
 historical documents admit of proof, the first step towards purely mecha- 
 nical horology. 
 
 In order, then, to find an authentic date in the history of horology, we 
 must go to the eighth century, when water-clocks, still farther improved, 
 were either made or imported into France ; among others, one which Pope 
 Paul I. sent to Pépin le Bref. We must, however, believe that thèse 
 instruments can hâve attracted but little attention, or that they -were speedily 
 forgotten ; for, one hundred years later, there appeared a water-clock at the 
 court of Charlemagne, a présent from the famous caliph Aroun-al-Easchid, 
 regarded, indeed almost celebrated, as a notable event. Of this Eginhard 
 has left us an elaborate description. It was, he says, in brass, damaskeened 
 with gold, and marked the hours on a dial. At the end of each hour an equal 
 number of small iron balls fell on a bell, and made it sound as many times 
 as the hour indicated by the needle. Twelve Windows immédiate^ opened, 
 out of which were seen to proceed the same number of horsemen armed cap- 
 à-pie, who, after performing divers évolutions, withdrew into the interior 
 of the mechanism, and then the Windows closed. 
 
 Shortly afterwards Pacificus, Archbishop of Yerona, constructed one far 
 superior to ail that had preceded it ; for, besides giving the hours, it 
 indicated the date of the month, the days of the week, the phases of the 
 moon, &c. But still it was only an improved water-clock. Before 
 horology could really assume an historical date, it was necessary that for 
 motive power weights should be substituted for water, and that the escape- 
 ment should be invented ; yet it was onlj^ in the beginning of the tenth 
 century that thèse important discoveries were made. 
 
 "In the reign of Hiigh Capet," says M. Dubois, "there lived ia France 
 a man of great talent and réputation named Gerbert. He was born in the 
 mountains of Auvergne, and had passed bis childhood in tending flocks near 
 Aurillac. One day some monks of the order of St. Benedict met him in the 
 
lyz HOROLOGY. 
 
 fields: they conversed with him, and finding him precociously intelligent, 
 took him into their convent of St. Gérauld. There Gerbert soon acquired 
 a taste for monastic life. Eager for kuowledge, and devoting ail Lis spare 
 moments to study, he became tbe most learned of the community. After 
 he had taken vows, a désire to add to bis scientific attaiuments led 
 him to set ont for Spain. During several years he assiduously frequented 
 the iiniversities of the Iberian peninsula. He soon found bimself too learned 
 for Sjjain ; for, in spite of bis truly sincère piety, ignorant fanatics accused 
 him of sorcery. As that accusation might bave involved him in déplorable 
 conséquences, he preferred not to await the resuit ; and bastily quitting the 
 town of Salamanca, which was bis ordinary résidence, he came to Paris, 
 where he very soon made bimself powerful friends and protectors. At length, 
 after having successively been monk, superior of the convent of Bobbio, in 
 Italy, Archbishop of Rheims, tutor to Robert I., King of France, and to 
 Otho III., Emperor of Germany, who appointed him to the see of Eavenna, 
 Gerbert rose to the pontifical throne under the name of Sylvester II. : he 
 died in 1003. This great man did honour to bis country and to bis âge. 
 He was acquainted with nearly ail the dead and living languages ; he was 
 a mechanician, astronomer, physician, geometrician, algebraist, &c. He 
 introduced the Arab numerals into France. In the seclusion of bis monastic 
 cell, as in bis archiépiscopal palace, bis favourite relaxation was the study 
 of mechanics. He was skiUed in making suu-dials, water-clocks, hour- 
 glasses, and hydraulic organs. It was he who first applied weight as a 
 motive power to horology ; and, in ail probability, he is the inventer of 
 tbat admirable mechanism called escapement — the most beautifiil, as well 
 as the most essential, of ail the inventions which bave been made in 
 horology." 
 
 ibis is not the place to give a description of thèse two mechanisms, 
 whicb can hardly be explained except witb the assistance of purely technical 
 drawmgs, but it may be remarked tbat weights are still the sole motive 
 powcr of large clocks, and the escapement alluded to bas been aloue 
 cmployed throughout the world until the end of the seventeentb century. 
 Xotwitbstauding the importance of thèse two inventions, little use was made 
 of thora during the eleventb, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries. The water- 
 clock and liour-glass (Fig. 144) continued exclusively in use. Some were 
 ornamcntcd and engraved ^^-ith mucb taste ; and they contributed to the 
 
IfOROJ.UCV. 
 
 '73 
 
 décoration of apnrtments, as at prcsent do our bronzes and clocks more or 
 less costly. 
 
 History docs not iuform us who was tlie iiiventor of tlie strikiuo- 
 machnicry ; but it is at least averred that it existed at the commencement 
 
 Fig-. 1^4. — An Hour-glass of thc Sixteenth Centur}-, — Frencli W'ork. 
 
 of the t^yelfth century. The first mention of it is found in the " Usages de 
 1 Ordre de Cîteaux," compiled about 1120. It is there prescribed to the 
 sacristan so to regulate the clock, that it " sounds and awakens him before 
 matms ; in another chapter the monk is ordered to prolong the lecture 
 untd " the clock strikes." At first, in the monasteries, the monks took it in 
 urn to watch, and warn the commimity of the hours for prayer ; and, in the 
 
,y4 HOROLOGT. 
 
 towns, there were night watchmen, who, moreover, were maintained in many 
 places to annovmce in the streets tlie hour denoted by the clocks, the water- 
 clocks, or the liour-glasses. 
 
 The machinery for striking once invented, we do not find that horology 
 had attained to anj' perfection before the end of the thirteenth century ; but, 
 in the commencement of the following it received its impulse, and the art 
 from that time continued to progress. 
 
 To give an idea of what was effected at that time, we will borrow a 
 passage from the earliest writings in which horology is mentioned ; that is, 
 from an unpublished book by Philip de Maizières, entitled " Le Songe du 
 Vieil Pèlerin : " — " It is known that in Italy there is at présent (about 1350) 
 a man generally celebrated in philosophy, in medicine, and in astronomy ; 
 in his station, by common repoi't, singular and grave, excelling in the 
 above three sciences, and of the city of Padua. His surname is lost, and he 
 is called ' Maistre Jehan des Orloges,' residing at présent with the Comte de 
 Vertus ; and, for the treble sciences, he bas for yearly wages and perquisites 
 two thousand florins, or thereabouts. This Maistre Jean des Orloges has 
 made an instrument, by some called a sphère or clock, of the movement of 
 the heavens, in which instrument are ail the motions of the signs (zodiacal), 
 and of the planets, with their circles and epicycles, and multiplied différences, 
 wheels (rocs) without number, with ail their parts, and each planet in 
 the said sphère, distinctly. On any given night, we see clearly in what 
 sign and degree are the planets and the stars of the heavens ; and this 
 sphère is so cunningly made, that notwithstanding the multitude of wheels, 
 which cannot well be numbered without taking the machinery to pièces, 
 their entire mechanism is governed by one single counterpoise, so mar- 
 vellous that the grave astronomers from distant régions corne with great 
 révérence to visit the said Maistre Jean and the work of his hands ; and ail 
 the great clerks of astronomy, of philosophy, and of medicine, déclare that 
 there is no recollection of a man, either in written document or otherwise, 
 who m this world has made so ingénions or so important an instrument of 
 
 the heavenly movements as the said clock Maistre Jean made the 
 
 said clock with his own hands, ail of brass and of copper, without the 
 assistance of any other person, and did nothing else during sixteen entire 
 years, if the writer of the book, who had a great friendship for the siiid 
 Maistre Jean, has been rightlv informed." 
 
HOROLOGV. 175 
 
 It is kuown, ou the otlier hand, tliat the famous clockmaker, whose real 
 nuiue ilaizièrcs assumes to be lost, \vas called Jaques de Dondis ; and tliat, 
 in spitc of the assertion of tbe -writer, he had only to arrange the clock, the 
 parts of \vhich had been executed by au excellent workman named Antoine. 
 Hûwover this may be, placed at the top of oue of the towers of the palace of 
 Padua, the clock of Jaques de Dondis, or of " ilaistre Jean des Orloges," 
 excited gênerai admii-ation, and several princes of Europe being desirous to 
 bave similar clocks, many workmen tried to imitate it. In fact, churches 
 or monasteries were soon able to pride themselves on possessing similar 
 vhefa-iV œuvre: 
 
 Araong the most remarkable clocks of that period, "n-e must refer to that 
 of -^vhich Froissart speaks, and which was carried away from the town of 
 Courtray by Philip the Bold after the battle of Hosbecque in 1382. " The 
 Duke of Burgundy," says our author, "caused to be carried away from the 
 market-place a clock that struck the hours, one of the fînest which could 
 be found on either side the sea ; and he conveyed it pièce by pièce in carts, 
 and the bell also. Which clock was brought and carted into the town of 
 Dijon, in Burgund}', -was there deposited and put up, and there strikes the 
 twenty-four hours between day and uight." 
 
 It is the celebrated clock of Dijon which then as now was surmounted 
 h}' two aiitomata of iron, a' man and a wornan, striking the hours on 
 the bell. The origin of the name of Jacquemart given to thèse figures 
 has been much disputed. Ménage believes that the word is derived from 
 the Latin jaccomarcluanlus (coat of mail — attire of war) ; and he reminds 
 us that, in the Middle Ages, it was the custom to station, on the summit 
 of the towers, men (soldiers wearing the jacque) to give ■warning of the 
 approach of the enemy, of fires, &c. Ménage adds that, -when more efficient 
 watchers occasioned the discontinuance of thèse nocturnal sentinels, it was 
 probably considered désirable to préserve the remembrance of them by 
 putting in the place they had occupied iron figures which struck the hours. 
 Other writers trace the name even to the inventer of this description of 
 clocks, who, according to them, Hved in the fourteenth century, and was 
 called Jacques Marck. Finally, Gabriel Peignot, who has written a dis- 
 sertation on ihe jacquemart of Dijon, asserts that in 1422 a person named 
 Jacquemart, clockmaker and locksmith, residing in the town of Lille, 
 received twenty-tno livres from the Duke of Burgundy, for repairing 
 
■ 76 
 
 HOROLOGT. 
 
 the clock of Dijon ; and from that lie coneludes, seeing how short tlie 
 distance is from Lille to Courtray, "whence the clock of Dijon had been 
 taken, that this Jacquemart might well be tlie son or the grandsou of the 
 clockmaker ivho had constructed it aboiit 1360 ; consequently the name 
 
 I 
 
 F'g- M5--Jacquemart of Notre-Dame at Dijon, made at Courtray in tbe Fourteenth Century. 
 
 of i\Q jacquemavt of Dijon is derived from that of its maker, old Jacque- 
 mart, the clockmaker of Lille (Fig. 145). 
 
 Givmg to each of thèse opinions its due ^-eight, we confine ourselves 
 to stating that, from the end of the fourteenth ceutury to the begiuning of 
 
 IM; 
 
HOROLOGl'. 
 
 177 
 
 the fifteenth, uumerous churclies iu Germany, Italy, and France already 
 \\wiS. jacquemarts. 
 
 The fii'fit clock possessed by Paris was that in the turret of the Palais 
 de Justice. Charles Y. had it constructed in 1370 by a Gerraan artisan, 
 Henri de Vie. It contained a weight for moving power, an oscillating 
 pièce for regulator, and an esciipsment. It was adorned with carvings by 
 Germain Pilon, and was destroyed in the eighteenth century. 
 
 In 1389, the clockmaker Jean Jouvence made one for the Castle of 
 Montargis. Those of Sens and of Auxerre, as well as that of Lund 
 
 Fig. 146, — Clock with ^\^lee^s and Weights. Fifteenth Centiir)-. 
 {Cabinet of Antiquities, Bibl. Imp., Paris.) 
 
 in Sweden, date from the same period. In tlie last, every hour two 
 cavaliers met and gave each other as many blows as the hours to be 
 struck : then a door opened, and the Tirgin. 3Iary appeared sitting on a 
 tarone, with the Infant Jésus in her arms, receiving the visit of the Magi 
 followed by their retinue ; the Magi prostrating themselves and tendering 
 their présents. During the ceremony two trumpets sounded : then ail 
 vanished, to re-appear the following hour. 
 
 iJntil the end of the thirteenth century, clocks were destined exclusively 
 
178 
 
 HOROLOGY. 
 
 to public buildings ; or tbey at least affected, if we may say so, a monumental 
 character wbicb precluded their admission into private bouses. The first 
 cloeks witb weights and tbe flywbeel made for private use appeared in 
 
 Fig. 147.— A portable Clock of the time of the A'alois. 
 
 'lance, m Ihilv, and iu Germany, about tbe commencement of tbe four- 
 teentb centuiy; but naturally tbey were at first so costlv tbat only nobles ; 1 
 
HOROr.OGV. 179 
 
 iuid wealthy porsous coulcl obtaiii theni. Eut an impulse was given whicli 
 led to tlie luaiiufactuie of thcse objects more economically. In fact, it was 
 not long bcfore portable clocks were seen in the most unprctentious abodcs. 
 This of course did not preveut the jjroduction of expensive examplos, elther 
 as regards ornamentation or carving, or in placing the clock on costly 
 pedestals or cases, within which were suspended the weights (Fig. 146). 
 
 The fifteenth century has distinctly left its mark on the progrès» of 
 horology. In 1401 the Cathedral of SeviUe was enriched with a magnifi- 
 cent clock which struck the hours. In 1404, Lazare, a Servian by birth, 
 constructed a similar one for Moscow. That of Lubeck, which was embel- 
 lished '«'ith the figures of the twelve Apostles, dates from 1405. It is 
 proper to notice also the famous clock which Jean-Galeas Yisconti had 
 made for Pavia ; and more especially that of St. Marc of Venice, which was 
 not executed until 1495. 
 
 The spiral spring was invented in the time of Charles YII. : a band 
 of very fine steel, rolled up into a small driim or barrel, produced, in 
 unroUing, the eiïect of the weights on the primitive movemeuts. To the 
 possibUity of enclosing that moving power in a confined space is due the 
 facility of manufacturing Tery small clocks. In fact, one finds in certain 
 collections, clocks of the time of Louis XL, remarkable not only for the 
 artistic richness of their décoration, but still more so for the smaU space 
 they occupy, although they are geuerally of very complicated mechanism ; 
 some marking the date of the month, striking the hour, and servùig also as 
 alarm-clocks. 
 
 It is difiScult, if not impossible, to détermine the exact date of the 
 inTention of watches. But, in truth, we ought perhaps to regard the 
 watch, especially after the invention of the spiral spring, as only the last 
 step taken towards a portable form of clock. It is however true, according 
 to the statements found in Pancirole and Du Yerdier by the authors of 
 the " Encyclopsedia of Sciences," that at the end of the fifteenth centnry 
 watches were made no larger than an almond. Even the names Myrmécides 
 and Carovagius are cited as those of two celebrated artisans in such work. 
 It was said that the latter made an alarm-watch which not only sounded 
 the hour required, but even struck a light to ignite a candie. Besides, we 
 know for' certain that, in the time of Louis XL, there were watches very 
 small yet perfectly manufactured ; and it is proved that, in 1500, at NuTem- 
 
i8o HOROLOGY. 
 
 berg, Peter Hele made them of the form of an egg, and consequently the 
 watches of that country were long known as Nuremberg cggs. 
 
 "We learn, moreover, from history that in ]o42, a watch wLich struck 
 the hours, set in a ring, was offered to Guidobaldo of Eovere ; and that in 
 1575, Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, bequeathed to his brother Richard 
 a cane of Indian wood having a watch placed in its head ; and, tinally, that 
 Heniy VIII. of England wore a verj^ small watuh requiring to be wound up 
 only every eightli day. 
 
 It is not inappropriate hère to remark that the time kept by thèse little 
 machines was not regular until an ingénions workman, whose name bas 
 not come down to us, invented the fusée, a kind of truncated coae ; to the 
 base of this was attached a small pièce of catgut which, spiralh^ rolliug 
 itself up to the top, became fastened to the barrel that enclosed the spring. 
 The advantage of this arrangement is, that owing to the conical form of 
 the fusée, the traction of the spring acting as it relaxes on a greater radius 
 of the cône, it results in establishiilg equilibrium of power between the 
 first and the last movements of the spring. Subsequently a clockmaker 
 named Gruet substituted jointed {articulées) chains for catgut ; the latter 
 having the great disadvantage of being hj-grometric and varying in tension 
 with the state of the atmosphère. 
 
 The use of watches spread rapidly in France. In the reigns of the 
 Valois, a large number were made of very diminutive size, to which the 
 clockmakers gave ail sorts of forms, especially those of an acorn, an almond, 
 a Latin cross, a shell (Figs. 148 to 150). They were engraved, chased, 
 enamelled ; the hand which niarked the hour was very frequently of 
 deHcate workmanship, and sometimes ornamented with precious stones. 
 Some of thèse watches set in motion symbolic figures, as well as Time, 
 Apollo, Diana, the Virgin, the Apostles, and the saints. 
 
 It may be conceived that ail thèse complicated works required numerous 
 craitsmen. It was therefore considered proper to unité thèse artisans in a 
 community. The statutes which they had received from Louis XI. in 
 1483 were confirmed by Francis I. They contained a succession of laws, 
 mtended to protect at the same time the interests of members of the cor- 
 poration and the dignity of their profession. 
 
 No one was admitted as master but on proof of having served eight 
 years of apprenticeship, and after having produced a chef-d'œuvre in the 
 
CI.OCK OF DAMASCENED IRON AND WATCHES 
 
 Of Ihe Fifteenûi aad Sixteenûi Centuries 
 
HOROLOGi: 
 
 housè, or uuder the supervisiou, of one of the inspectors of the corporation. 
 The visitiug' inspectors, electecl by ail the membcrs, as well as by the 
 trustées and the S3'ndics, were authorised when introducing themselves into 
 the workshops, to look after the proper construction of watches and clocks ; 
 and if it happened that they found such as did not appear to be made 
 uccording- to the rides of art, they could not only seize and destroj^ them, 
 
 Figs. 148 to 150. — AVatches of the Valois Epoch. (Sisteenth CenturyO 
 
 but also impose a fine on the maker for the benefit of the corporation. 
 The statutes also gave exclusive right to the accredited masters to trade, 
 directly or otherwise, with ail the stock, new or second-hand, finished or 
 unfinished. 
 
 "TJnder the influence of thèse wise institutions," M. Dubois remarks, 
 "the master-clockmakers had no fear of the compétition of persons not 
 
,82 HOROLOGY. 
 
 belonging to the corporation. If they were afFacted by the artistic 
 superiority of some of their coUeagues, it was with the laudable désire to 
 contend with them for the first places. The work of one day, superior to 
 that of the preceding, was surpassed by that of the day following. It was 
 by this incessant compétition of intelligence and knowledge, by this legiti- 
 mate and invigorating rivalry of aU the members of the same industrious 
 communitj^, that science itself attainsd by degrees the zénith of the excel- 
 lent and the sublime of the beautiful. The ambition of workmen was to 
 rise to the mastership, and they attained that only by force of labour 
 and assiduous efforts. The ambition of the masters was to acquire the 
 honours of the syndicate — that consular magistracy the most honourable 
 of ail, for it was the resuit of élection, and the recompense of services 
 rendered to art and to the communitj^" 
 
 Having thus reached the middle of the sixteenth century, and not wish- 
 ing to exceed the compass assigned to this sketch, we may limit ourselves to 
 the mention of some of the remarkable works produced during a century 
 by an art that had already manifested itself with a power never to be 
 dirainished. 
 
 The clock which Henry II. had constructed for the château of Anet bas 
 long been regarded as very curions. Every time the hand dénotes the hour, 
 a stag appears from the inside of the clock, and darts away foUowed by a 
 pack of hounds; but soon the pack and the stag stop, and the latter, by 
 means of very ingénions mechanism, strikes the hours with one of his feet. 
 
 The clock of Jena (Fig. 151), which is still in existence, is not less 
 famous. Above the dial is a bronze head presumed to represent a buffoon 
 of Ernest, Elector of Saxony, who died in 1486. "VVhen the hour is 
 about to strike, the head — so remarkably ugly as to bave given the clock 
 the name of the momtrous head — opens its very large mouth. A figure 
 representing an old pilgrim offers it a golden apple on the end of a stick ; 
 but just when poor Hans (so M-as the fool called) is about to close his 
 naouth to masticate and swallow the apple, the pilgrim suddenly withdi-aws 
 it. (_)n the left of the head is an angel singing (the arma of the city of 
 Jena), holding in one hand a book, which he raises towards his eyes when- 
 ever the hours strike, and with the other he rings a hand-bell. 
 
 The town of Niort, in Poitou, possessed also an extraordinary clock, 
 ornameuted with a great number of aUegorical figures— the work of Bouhain, 
 
HOROr.OGV. 
 
 '«3 
 
 in 1570. A mucli more famous clock was that of Strasburg' (Fig. 15'2), 
 coiistructcd in 1573, and wliicli was long considered to be tlie greatest of 
 ail \\onders. It was entirely restored in 1842 by M. Schwilgué. Angelo 
 Eooca, in bis " Conimentariura de Camjianis," gives a description of it. Its 
 most important feature was a moving sphère, wbereon were represented 
 tlie planets and the constellations, and wbicb completed its l'otation in 
 
 Fig. 151. — Clock of Jena, in Gerraany. (Fifteenth Centun^) 
 
 three hundred and sixty-tive days. On two sides of tbe dial and below it 
 the principal festivals of the year and the soleninities of the Church were 
 represented by allegorical figures. Other dials, distributed symmetrically 
 on the façade of the tower in whieh the clock is situated, marked the days 
 of the week, the date of the nionth, the signs of the zodiac, the phases of 
 the moon, the rising and setting of the sun, &c. Everv hour two angels 
 
fig, 15=.— Astronomical Clock of the Cathedral at Strasburg, constructed in 1573- 
 
HOROLOGV. 185 
 
 soiiuded tlie tiiunpet. AVlieu the concert was tiaished, tlie bcll toUed ; 
 then immcdiately a cock, perclied on tlie summit, spread his wings noisily, 
 and made his crowing to be heard. The striking machinery, by means of 
 movable trap-doors, cylinders, and springs concealed in the interior of the 
 clock, set iu motion a considérable number of automata, executed with 
 much skill. Angelo Eocca adds that the completion of this chef-d^œucre 
 Avas attributed to Nicolas Coperuicus ; and that when this able mechanician 
 had flnishcd his work, the sheriffs and consuls of the city had his eyes put 
 out in order to render it impossible for him to exécute a similar clock for any 
 other city. This last statement is the more deserving to rank among niere 
 legends from the fact that, independent of existing proof of the clock being 
 made by Conrad Dasj'podius, it would be very difficult to prove that 
 Copernicus ever risited Alsace, or had his eyes put out. 
 
 A similar tradition is attached to the history of another clock still in 
 existence, and which was not less celebrated than that of Strasburg. We 
 refer to that of the Church of St. John at Lyons, made in 1598 by 
 Xicholas Lippius, a clockmaker of Basle ; repaired and enlarged subse- 
 quently by ISTourisson, an artisan of Lyons. Only the horary mechanism 
 now acts ; but the clock is not on that account negiected by "visitors, to 
 whom the -^vorthy attendants stiU repeat, in perfect faith, that Lippius was 
 put to death as soon as he had finished his chef-cV centre. To show the 
 improbability of this pretended penalty it is sufficient to remark, with 
 M. Dubois, that cTen in the sixteenth century persons were not killed for 
 the crime of making chefs-d'œuvre ; and there is, besides, proof that Lippius 
 died in peace, and honoured, in his native country. 
 
 To thèse famous clocks must be added those of St. Lambert at Liège, of 
 K^uremberg, of Augsburg, and of Basle ; that of Médina del Campo, in Spain, 
 and those -which, in the reign of Charles L, or during the Protectorship of 
 Crom-well, were manufactiu?ed and placed in England, at St. Dunstan's in 
 London,* and in the Cathedral of Canterbury, in Edinburgh, and in Glas- 
 gow, &c. 
 
 Before concluding, and to do justice to a century to which we hâve 
 assigned a period of decHne, we are bound to acknowledge that some years 
 before the death of Cardinal Richelieu — that is to say, from 1630 to 1640 
 
 * This clock, as many readers douttless know, was removed some years ago, when St. Uunstari's 
 Church, in Fleet Street, was rebuilt.— [Ed.] 
 
 B B 
 
HOROLOGY. 
 
 — artists of ability made praiseworthy efiforts to create a new era in 
 horology. But the improvements ttey had in view were directed much 
 more to the processes of the construction of the several parts composing the 
 clockwork of watches and docks than to the beauty and ingenuity of the 
 workmanship. This was progress of a purely professional character, in 
 order to create a more ready and inexpensive supply ; a progress which we 
 may regard as services rendered by art to trade. The period of great 
 constructions and délicate marvels was past. Ornamental Jacquemarts were 
 no longer placed in belfries. Mechanical chefs-d'œuvre were no longer set 
 in frail gems. The time was still far off when, laying down the sceptre 
 of that empire on which "the sun never sets," the conqueror of Francis L, 
 retiring to a cloister, employed himself in the construction of the most 
 complicated clockwork. Charles V. had as assistant, if not as teacher, in 
 his work the learned mathematician, Jannellus Turianus, whom he had 
 induced to join him in his retreat. It is said that he enjoyed nothing so 
 much as seeing the monks of Saint-Just standing amazed before his alarum 
 watches and automaton clocks ; but it is also stated that he manifested the 
 greatest despair when obliged to admit it was as impossible to establish 
 perfect concord among clocks as among men. 
 
 In truth, Galileo had not yet arrived to observe and formulate the laws 
 of the pendulum, which Huygens was happily to apply to the movements 
 of horolog3^ 
 
 ' ig- I5ô- Top of .in Hour-Glass, cngraved and gilt. (A Frencli Work of the Sixteenth Centurj-.) 
 
MUSICAL IXSTEIBIENTS. 
 
 ïlusic in the lliddle Ages.— Musical Instruments from the Fourth to the Thirteenth Century.— 
 "Wind Instruments : the Single and Double Flûte, the Pandean Pipes, the Eeed-pipe, the 
 Hautboy, the Flageolet, Trumpets, Horns, Olifants, the Hydraulic Organ, the Bellows- 
 Organ.— Instruments of Percussion: the BeU, the Hand-bell, Cymbals, the Timbre], the 
 Triangle, the Bombuhim, Druras. — Stringed Instruments : the Lyre, the Cithern, the Harp, 
 the Paaltery, the Xable, the Chorus, the Organistrum, the Lute and the Guitar, the Crout, the 
 Mute, the Viola, the Gigue, the Monochord. 
 
 [HE history of Music in the Middle Ages ■w'ould com- 
 mence about the fourth century of our era. In the 
 sixth century, Isidore of Seville, in his " Sentiments 
 sur la Musique," writes as foHows : — "Music is a modu- 
 lation of the voice, and also an accordance of several 
 sounds and their simultaneous union." 
 
 About 384, St. Ambrose, who built the Cathedral 
 of Milan, regulated the mode in which psalms, hymns, 
 and anthems should be performed, by selecting from Greek chants those 
 mélodies he considered best adapted to the Latin Church. 
 
 In 590, Gregory the Great, in order to remedy the disorder which had 
 crept into ecclesiastical singing, coUected ail that remained of the ancient 
 Greek mélodies, with those of St. Ambrose and others, and formed the 
 antiphonary which is called the Centonien, because it is composed of chants 
 of his sélection. Henceforward, ecclesiastical chanting obtained the name 
 of Gregorian ; it was adopted into the whole of the Western Church, 
 and maintained its position almost unaltered down to the middle of the 
 eleveuth century. 
 
 It is thought that originaUy the music of the antiphonary was noted 
 in accordance with Greek and Eoman usage — a notation known as the 
 Boethian, from the name of Boethius the philosopher, by -whom we are 
 informed that in his time (that is, about the end of the fifth century) the 
 notation was composed of the first fifteen letters of the alphabet. 
 
i88 
 
 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 The sounds of the octave were represented-the major by capital letters, 
 the minor by mmU. letters, as foUows :— 
 
 Major mode 
 Minor mode 
 
 A B C D E F G 
 
 a b c d e f g 
 
 Some fragments of music of the eleventli century are stiU preserved, in 
 which the notation is represented by letters having above tbem the signs- 
 of another kind of notation called neume& (Fig. 154). 
 
 i 
 
 \ -■ - , - . 
 
 N cc'clcxrx iri-cox o \f 
 
 H etvm te h X -mifci *o V' 
 
 
 ^ '^ -^-ij 
 
 C timc7'->-i7ze mrmo 
 ?* eame'''aoioxrpi- m\^o^' 
 
 Fig. I54.-Lament composed shortly after the Death of Charlemagne, probably about 814 or 813, and attributed 
 
 to Colomban, Abbot of Saint-Tron. (MS. de la Bibl. Imp., No. 1,154-) • 
 
 Mimeal Notation expressed in Modem Signs, the Text and Translation ofthe 
 Lament on Charlemagne. 
 
 A so lis or tu usquead oc ci du a Lit to 
 
 *' . -,™ r«; Ti^ Tria 
 
 ma ris planctuspul sat pec lo ra Ul tra ma ri na 
 
 as mi na tris 
 
 i 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 i89 
 
 do Jcns plan gc! 
 
 i^^J=FJ^g:?d ^^N ^:^?^:J3;^^ s 
 
 î:un lur et mag na mo les ti a in fan tes, se nés 
 
 ■^^m ^^m^^^ ^às^^^^M 
 
 plo ri o si prin ci pes Nam clan git or bis 
 
 de trimentum Ka ro li 
 
 ^^É^ 
 
 Heu mi hi mi se roi 
 
 A solis ortu usquo ad oecidua 
 Littora maris, planctus puisât pectora ; 
 Ultra marina agmina tvistitia 
 Tetigit ingens cum errore nimio. 
 Heu ! me dolens, plango. 
 
 Franci, Romani, atque cuncti creduli, 
 Lnctu punguntur et magna molestia. 
 Infantes, senes, gloriosi principes ; 
 
 îîam clangit ortis detrimentum Karoli. 
 Heu ! rnihi misero ! 
 
 From the East to the Western shores, 
 sorrow agitâtes every heart ; and inland, 
 this vast grief saddens armies. 
 
 Alae ! in mj' grief, I, toc, weep. 
 
 Frenoh, Eomans, and ail believers are 
 plunged into mourning and profound 
 grief : children, old men, and illustrions 
 princes ; for the wliole world déplores the 
 loss of Charlemagne. 
 
 Alas ! misérable me ! 
 
 About the fourtli century the mûmes were in use in the Grreek Church ; 
 they are spoken of by St. Gregory of Nazianzus. Certain modifications in 
 them Tvere introduced by the Lombards and Saxons. 
 
 "Theywere specially in use from the eighth to the twelfth century," 
 says M. Coussemaker, in his learned work, " Histoire de l'Harmonie au Moyen 
 Age," " and consisted of two sorts of signs : some formed like commas, dots, 
 or small inclined or horizontal strokes, which represented isolated sounds ; 
 others in the shape of hooks, and strokes variously twisted and joined, 
 expressing groups of sound composed of various intervais. 
 
,go MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 " Thèse commas, dots, and inclined or liorizontal strokes were the origin 
 of the long notes, tlie brève and the semibreve, and afterivards of the square 
 notation still in use in the plain-chant of the Church. The hook-shaped 
 signs and the variously twisted and joined strokes gave rise to the ligatures 
 and connections of notes. 
 
 " From the eighth to the end of the twelfth centurj^ — that is, during one 
 bf the brightest periods of musical liturgy — the neinnes were the notation 
 exclusively adopted over the whole of Europe, both in ecclesiastical singing 
 and also in secular music. From the end of the eleventh century, this 
 System of notation was established in France, Italy, Germany, England, 
 and Spain." 
 
 The chief modification to which the notation of music was subject at the 
 end of the eleventh century is due to the monk Guido, of Arezzo. In 
 order to facilitate the reading of the neumes, he invented placing them on 
 Unes, and thèse lines he distinguished by colours. The second, that of the 
 fa, was red ; the fourth, that of the td, was green ; the first and the third 
 are onlj' traced on the vellum with a pen. In order that the seven notes 
 should be better impressed upon the memory, he gave as an example the 
 three first lines of the Hymn of St. John the Baptist, in which the syUables 
 ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, corresponded to the signs of the gamut : — 
 
 " Ut queant Iaxis J^esonare fîbris 
 MivSi gestorura Jî'rîmuli tuorum, 
 Sol\e polluti Lahii reatum, 
 Sancte Joannes." 
 
 The choristers, in siuging this hymn, slightly raised the intonation of 
 each of the italicised syllables, which were soon adopted for indicating six 
 of the notes of the gamut. To supply the seventh, which was not named 
 m this System, the barbarous theory of /nuances (divisions) was introduced, 
 and it was not until the seventeenth century the term si was applied in 
 France. 
 
 But after the commencement of the tenth century many individuals, 
 and especiaUy poets, had invented rhythmical songs, which were entirely 
 différent from those of the Church. " Harmony formed by successions of 
 varions intervais," as we are told by the author whom we hâve before 
 quoted, " obtained in the eleventh century the name of discanfas, in old 
 In-euch dédiant. Francon de Cologne is the most ancient author who 
 
ML SIC A I. INS l'R UMENTS. 
 
 makcs use of tliis word. During the whole course of tlic oloventh century 
 tho composition of mclody was indepcndcut of harmony, and henceforth tho 
 composition of music was dividcd into two vcry distinct parts. Tlic j)eo2)le, 
 and poets and persous in higli life, constructed the melody and the 
 words ; but being ignorant of the science of music, they resorted to a pro- 
 fessional musician to hâve their inspirations written down. The first were 
 very justly called trouvères {trohadori), the others the déchanteurs, or har- 
 monisers. Harmony was then only adapted for two voices — a combination 
 of fifths, and of moyements in unison. 
 
 " In the twelfth century, the constraction of melody continued to be in 
 the hands of poets. The déchanteurs or harmonisers were the professional 
 musicians. Popular songs became very nmnerous. Troubadours mul- 
 tiplied ail over Europe, and the greatest lords deemed it an honour to 
 cultivate both poetry and music. Germany had her ' master-singers,' who 
 were in request at every court. In France, the Châtelain de Coucy, the 
 King of Navarre, the Comte de Béthune, the Comte d'Anjou, and a 
 himdred others acquired a brilliant réputation by songs, of which they 
 composed both the words and the melody. The most celebrated of thèse 
 trouvères was Adam de la Halle, who flourished in 1260." 
 
 In the fourteenth century, the name of counterpoint was substituted for 
 that of dédiant ; and in 1364, at the coronation of Charles V. at Rheims, a 
 mass was simg which was written in four parts, composed by Guillaume de 
 Machault, poet and musician. 
 
 Among the ancients the number of musical instruments was considér- 
 able, but their nanies were even still more numerous, because derived 
 from the shape, the material, the nature and character of the instruments, 
 aU of which varied infinitely, according to the whim of the maker or 
 the musician. Added to this, every country had its national instruments ; 
 and as each in its own language designated them by descriptive names, 
 the same instrument appeared under ten différent dénominations, and a 
 similar name was applied to ten instruments. However, having nothing 
 but monumental représentation to guide us, and in the absence of the 
 mstruments themselves, an almost inextricable confusion arises. 
 
 The Romans carried back to their own country, as the results of con- 
 quest, spécimens of most of the musical instruments they found in use 
 m the countries subdued by them. Thus Greece supplied Rome with 
 
,gz MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 neaiiy ail the soft instruments of tlie class of lyres and flûtes. Germany 
 and the northern provinces, being inhabited by warlike races, gave to their 
 conquerors the taste for loud-sounding instruments, such as trumpets and 
 drums. Asia, and Judœa especially, which had miûtiplied various kiuds of 
 metal-instruments for use in their religions cérémonies, were the means of 
 naturalising in Roman music deep-toned instruments of the class of beUs 
 and tom-toms (a kind of drum). Egypt introduced into Italy the timhrel 
 along with the worship of Isis. Byzantium had no sooner invented the first 
 pneumatic organs than the new religion of Christ took possession of them 
 for exclusive consécration to its service, both in the East and in the West. 
 
 AU the musical instruments of the known world had therefore taken 
 refuge, as it were, in the capital of the E,oman empire ; but their fate was 
 only to disappear and sink into oblivion after they had plaj'ed their part in 
 the last pomps of that falling emjjire, and in the final festivals of the 
 ancieut mythology. In a letter in which he specially treats of "various 
 kinds of musical instruments," St. Jérôme, who lived from 331 to 420, speaks 
 of those which were in use in his time for the requirements of reKgion, 
 war, cérémonial, and art. He mentions, in the first place, the orgau, and 
 describes it as composed of fifteen brazen pipes, two air-reservoirs of 
 elephant's skin, and twelve large sets of bellows, " to imitate the voies of 
 thunder." He next spécifies, under the generic name of tuba, several kinds 
 of trumpets : that which called the people together, that which directed the 
 march of troops, that which proclaimed the victory, that which sounded the 
 charge against the enemy, that which annonnced the closing of the gâtes, 
 &c. One of thèse trumpets, the shape of which is rather difiicidt to gather 
 from his description, had three brazen bells, and roared through four air- 
 conduits. Auother instrument, the homlutum, which must hâve made a 
 frightful uproar, was, as far as we can conjecture from the text of the pious 
 writer, a kind of peal of bells attached to a hoUow metallic column which, by 
 the assistance of twelve pipes, reverberated the sounds of twenty-four bells 
 that were set in motion by one another. îfext come the cithara of the 
 Hebrews, in the shape of a triangle, furnished with twenty-four strings ; the 
 sackbut, of Chaldœan origin, a trumpet formed of several movable tubes of 
 wood, fittiug one into the other ; the psaltery, a small harp provided with 
 ten strings ; and lastly, the ti/mpanum, also called the chorus, a hand-dnuii 
 to which were fixed two métal flute-tubes. 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 '93 
 
 A nomenclature of a similar kind, applyJng to the nintli century, exists 
 in a history of Charlemagne, in Latin verse, by Aymeric de Peyrac. This 
 shows as that, during tlie lapse of four centuries, the number of instruments 
 had been nearly doubled, and that the musical influence of Charlemagne's 
 
 ^*&- 155- — Concert; a Bas-relief, taken from a Capital in Saint-Georges de Boscherville, Normandy. 
 (A Work of the Eleventh Centun.) 
 
 reign Lad made itself felt in tbe revival and improvement of several instru- 
 ments which bad been formerly abandoned. This curious metrical compo- 
 sition enumerates ail the stringed, wind, and pulsatile instruments which 
 celebrated the praise of the great emperor, the protector and restorer of 
 ■ ce 
 
194 
 
 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 music. The number of instruments specified are twenty-four in number, 
 among wbicb we find nearly ail those mentioned by St. Jérôme. 
 
 The names, therefore, of musical instruments had passed through seven 
 or eight centuries without undergoing any kind of change than that 
 naturally resulting from variations in the language. But the instruments 
 themselves, during this long interval of time, had been often modified to 
 such extent that the primitive dénomination not imfrequently appeared 
 to contradict the musical characteristics of the instrument to which it still 
 contiaued to be attached. Thus, the chorus, which had been a foiu'-stringed 
 harp, and from its name seems to indicate a collection of instruments, had 
 
 Fig, 156.— Concert and Musical Instruments. From a Miniature in a Manuscript of the Thirteenth Centun-. 
 
 become a wind-instrument.* So also the psaltery, which was originally 
 touched by a pledrum (stick) or with the fingers, now only gave forth its 
 notes under the influence of a bow ; an instrimient that had had twenty 
 strings now ouly retained eight ; another, the name of which seemed to 
 refer to a square shape, was rounded ; those primitively made of wood 
 were now constructed of métal. There is reason to believe that, gene- 
 rally spealcing, thèse changes were made not so much with the view of any 
 musical improvement, properly so called, as with an idea of gratifying the 
 
 Tho reader wiU notice a discrepancj' between this description of the chorus and that given in 
 n prece ing paragraph. We hâve retained hoth, mainly hecause it is now impossible to détermine 
 ^■hat the instrument really was: no mention of it appears in any book we hare consulted.-[ED.] 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
MCSICAL LXSTRUMENTS. 
 
 «9S 
 
 fancy of the eye (Figs. 155 to 157). Scarcely aiiy fixed rules for the 
 construction of musical instruments existed before the sixteenth century, 
 ■«■hen learncd musicians applied matliematical principles to the theory of 
 manufacture. Down to 1589 musical instruments were made in Paris 
 
 'S* 157. The Tree of Jesse. The ancestors of Jésus Christ are represented with Musical Instruments, and as 
 formmg a Celestial Concert. (Fac-similé from a Miniature in a Manuscript Breviary of the Fifteenth 
 Century. Royal Library, Brussels.) 
 
 by workmen ivho v,-eve organ-makers, lute-makers, or even coppersmitlis, 
 nnder the inspection and guarantee of the community of musicians ; but at 
 tûis epoch the makers of musical instruments vere united in a trade 
 
ig6 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 corporation, and obtained, through the goodwill of Henry III., certain 
 privilèges and spécial statutes. 
 
 As musical instruments hâve always been divided into three particular 
 classes, — stringed, pulsatile, and wind instruments, — -we shall adopt this 
 natural division in passing vmder review the various kinds in use during 
 the Middie Ages and the Renaissance. We shall not, however, prétend to 
 be always able to point out the précise musical value of thèse instruments, 
 for in several instances we hâve no knowledge of them, escept from repré- 
 sentations more or less truthful. 
 
 The class of wind instruments comprised flûtes, trumpets, and organs; 
 each of thèse was, however, subdivided into several very distinct kinds. In 
 the division of flûtes alone, for instance, we tind the straight flûte, the 
 double flûte, the side-mouthed or German flûte, the Pandean pipes, the 
 chorus, the cala mus, the bagpipes {muse or mousette), the doucine or hautboy, 
 the flàios or flageolet, &c. 
 
 The flûte is the most ancient of musical instruments ; even in the 
 Middie Ages no orchestra was considered complète which did not contain 
 an entire order of flûtes, differing both in shape and tone. In prin- 
 ciple, the simple flûte, or flûte à bec, consisted of a straight pipe of hard 
 and sounding wood, made in one pièce, and pierced with four or six holes. 
 But the number of holes being successively increased to eleven, and the 
 pipe being enlarged to a length of seven or eight feet, the resuit was that 
 the Angers were unable to act simultaneously upon ail the openings ; thus, 
 ni order to close the two holes farthest from the mouthpiece, keys were 
 attached to the body of the flûte which the instrumentalist acted on with 
 his foot. 
 
 The simple flûte, of greater or less length, is seen on the figured monu- 
 ments of every epoch. The double flûte, which was equally in use, had, as 
 its name indicates, two pipes, generally of unequal lengths ; the left-hand 
 tube, which was the shortest and therefore called the féminine, produced 
 shnll souuds, while the right-hand, or masculine, gave the low notes. 
 Whether thèse two tubes were united or were separate, this flûte had 
 always two distinct mouths, — although they were often very close together 
 —on which the musician played alteruately. The double flûte (Fig. 158) 
 was the instrument employed in the eleventh century by the jongleurs or 
 jugglers as an accompaniment. 
 
M us ICA L INSTR UMENTS. 
 
 197 
 
 The side-mouthed flûte, wliich was at first very little used, owed its 
 celebrity in the sixteeutli century to the improvements it received from tlie 
 Germans, heuce it acqiiired the name of the Gevman Jiitte (Fig. 160). 
 
 The syriiix was nothing but the ancient Pandean pipes, composed 
 generally of seven tubes of wood or métal, gradiially decreasing in length ; 
 they were closed at the bottom, and at the top took the form of a horizontal 
 plane, which was touched by the lip of the musician as it passed along 
 (Fig. 159). In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the syrinx, which must 
 hâve produced very shrill and discordant music, was generally made in the 
 shape of a semicircle, and contained nine tubes in a metallic case pierced 
 with the same number of holes. 
 
 Fig. 158.— Double Flûte, Fourteenth Century. 
 (From Willemin's "French Monuments.'*) 
 
 Fig. 159. — Seven-tubed Syrinx, Ninth or Tenth 
 Century. (Angers ilS.) 
 
 The chorus, which in the time of St. Jérôme was composed of a skin and 
 two tubes, one forming the mouth, the other the bell-end (Fig. 161), must 
 hâve presented a very great similarity to the modem bagpipes. In the 
 ninth century its shape had changed but little, except that we sometimes 
 find two bell-ends, and the membranous air-reservoir is in some examplea 
 replaced by a kind of case made of métal or résonant wood (lois sonore). 
 Subsequently this instrument was transformed into a simple dulcimer. 
 
 The calamus, called the chalemelle or chalemie, which derived its origin 
 irom the calamus or reed-pipe of the ancients, became in the sixteenth century 
 a treble to the hautboj-, the bombarde being its couuter-bass and ténor, and 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 tte bass being executed on tlie cromorne. Tbere was, however, quite a 
 group of bautboys. Tbe doKçaine or doucine, a soft flûte, tbe great bautboy 
 of Poitou j)layed tbe parts of ténor or of fiftb. Tbe lengtb of tbe bautboy 
 baving been found inconvénient, it was divided into pièces united in a movable 
 cluster (faisceau) known by tbe name of fagot. Tbis instrument was after- 
 wards called couHaut in France, and sourdeline or sampogne in Italy, wbere it 
 bad become a kind of bagpipe, b'ke tbe muse or estive. Tbe muse de blé was a 
 
 Fig. l6o.— Geiman Musicians playing on the Flûte and Goat's Horn. 
 (Drawn and Engraved by J. Amman.) 
 
 simple reed-pipe, but tbe muse d'Aussay (or d'Ausçois, district of Aucb) was 
 certainly a bautboy. Witb regard to tbe bagpipes, properly so called, tbey 
 generally bore tbe name of cliecrette, chevrie, or chièvre, on account of the 
 skm of wbich tbe bag was made. Tbey were also designated by tbe nanies ! 
 oî pythaule and cornemuse, drone-pipe (Fig. 162). 
 
 Tbe flaïos de saus, or reed-flutes, were notbing but mère wbistles, such j 
 as village cbildren are still in tbe babit of making in tbe spring ; but tbere ' 
 were, says an ancient autbor, more tban twenty kinds, " as many loud as 
 soft," wbicb were coupled by pairs in an orcbestra. Tbe fistule, tbe souffle, \ 
 tbe pipe, and tbe fretiau or galoubet, were ail small flageolets played on by 
 
MUSJCA L INSTR UMENTS. 
 
 199 
 
 the left liaiid while the riglit markecl the time on a tambourine or with 
 tho cynibals. The pn»dorium, which bas been classcd among the flûtes 
 without its shape and character of tone being rightly determined, must 
 hâve presented, at least at its origin, some similarity of sound to the 
 stringed instrument called ^artrfore [pandora). 
 
 Trumpets formed a much more numerous class thau the flûtes. In Latin 
 they were called tuba, lituits, huccina, taurea, cornu, claro, salpinx, &c. ; in 
 French, trompe, corne, olifant, cornet, huisine, sambute, &c. In most cases, 
 
 Fig. 161. — Chorus wîth single Bell-end with Holes. 
 (Ninth Century, MS. of Saint-Biaise.) 
 
 Fig. 162. — Bagpiper, Thirteenth Century. 
 (Sculpture on the Musicians' Hall at Rheims.) 
 
 howeTer, they derived their name either from their shape, the sound which 
 they produced, the material whereof they were made, or the use for which 
 they were speciall}' intended. Thus, among miKtary trumpets of copper 
 or hrass, the names of some {claro, clarasius) indicating the piercing sound 
 which they produced ; the names of others seem rather to refer to the 
 appearance of their beU-ends (Fig. 164), which imitated the head of a bird, 
 a horn, a serpent, &c. Some of thèse trumpets were so long and heavy that 
 a foot or stand was required to support them, while the performer took the 
 end in his mouth and blew through it with fuU power of breath (Fig. 163.) 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 The shepherds' horns, made of wood rimraed with brass, were a heavy 
 and powerful kind of speaking-trumpet, which in the eightli century the 
 Welsh herdsmen and those of the landes of Cornouallle always carried 
 with them (Fig. 165.) When the barons or knights desired to convey any 
 signais rendered necessary eitber in war or hunting, tliej^ were in the habit 
 of using horns of a much more portable character, which were suspended at 
 their girdles ; they used them, also, as drinking vessels when occasion 
 required. At first thèse instruments were generally made of nothing but 
 buffalo's or goat's horns ; but when the fashion arose of working delicately 
 
 Fig. 163.— Straight Trumpet with Stand. 
 (Eleventh Century. Cotton MS., British Muséum.) 
 
 Fig. 164, — Curved Trumpet. 
 (Eleventh Centurj-. Cotton MS., British Muséum.) 
 
 m ivory, they took the name of olifant, an appellation destined to become 
 famous iu the old romances of chivalry, in which the olifant played a rery 
 important part (Fig. 166). To cite only one example among a thousand, 
 Roland, when overwhelmed by numbers in the valley of Eonceveaux, 
 sounded the olifant in order to call Charlemagne's army to his aid. 
 
 In the fourteenth century, according to a passage in a manuscript in the 
 Library of Berne, quoted by M. Jubinal, there were in bodies of troops 
 corneurs, trompeurs, and biiisineiirs, who played under certain spécial cir- 
 curastancos. The tron^H-s sounded for the movements of the knights, or 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 mon-iit-in-ins ; the cornox for tlie nioveinonts of tlic !)imners or tlie foot- 
 sokliors, and tlic lnii.ilucs, or clarions, wlicn tlie entiro camp (osf) was to 
 marcb. Tlie heralds-at-arms, Tvliose duty it was to make the announcements 
 or proclamations in tlie public ways, were in tlie habit of using either long 
 trumpets, called à potence, on accoiint of the forked stick whereon they were 
 supported, or trumpets à tortilles (serpentine), the name of which sufficiently 
 indicates their shape. Added to this, the sound of the trumpet or horn 
 accompanied or signalised the principal acts of the citizens both in public 
 and private life. During the meals of great meu, the water, the wine, and 
 the bread, were heralded by sound of trumpet. In towns this instrument 
 
 Fig. 165.— Shepberd's Horn. Eighth Century. 
 (JIS., Britîsh Muséum.) 
 
 Fi^. 166. — Hom, or Olïfanfj Fourteenth Centurj-, 
 (From Willemin's " French Monuments.'') 
 
 announced the opening and closing of the gâtes, the opening and closing 
 of the markets, and the time of curfew, till the time -when the horn and 
 the copper trumpet were superseded in this function by the bells in 
 church-towers. 
 
 Polybius and Ammianus Marcellinus tell us that the ancient Gauls and 
 Germans had a great passion for large, hoarse-sounding trumpets. At the 
 time of Charlemagne, and still more in the days of the Crusades, the inter- 
 course that took place between the men of the "West and the African and 
 Asiatic races introduced amon? the former the use of musical instruments of 
 a harsh and piercing tone. Then it was that the Saracen-horns, made of 
 
 D D 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 copper, replaced tlie wooden or horn trumpets. At the same period sackbuts, 
 or samhutes (Fig. 167), made their appearance ia Italy : in those of the 
 ninth eentury, we find the priuciple of the modem trombone. About the 
 same epoch the Germans introduced great improvements into the trumpet 
 
 Fig. lÙT.—Snmbiite, or Sackbut, of the Ninth Century. (Boulogne MS.) 
 
 by adapting to it the System of holes, which up to that time had been the 
 characteristic of flûtes (Fig. 168). 
 
 But among ail the wiad instruments of the Middle Ages, the 
 organ was the one most imposing in its nature, and destined to the most 
 
 Fig. lOS. German Musician sounding the Military Trumpet. Drawn and Engraved by J. Amman. 
 
 glorious career. ïhe ouly instrument of this Idnd kuown by the ancieuts 
 v^us the water-orgau, in Avhich a key-board of twenty-six keys corresponded 
 to the same number of pipes ; and the air, aeted upon by the pressure of 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 203 
 
 ■water, prodiu'cd most A-aried sounds. Nero, it is said, spent a whole day 
 examining and admiriug the nieclianism of an instrument of tliis kind. 
 
 ïhc water-organ, altliougli described and commcnded by Yitruvius, was 
 not much in use in tlie Middle Ages. EginLard speaks of one constructed, 
 in 826, by a Yenetian priest ; and the last of whicli mention is made existed 
 at Malmesbury in the twelfth century. But this latter might be regarded 
 more in the light of a steam-organ ; for, like the warning whistles of our 
 locomotives, it ■was worked by the effects of the steam of boiling water 
 rushing into brass pipes. 
 
 The water-organ ■«•as, in very early times, superseded by the pneumatic 
 or wind-organ (Fig. 169), the description of which given by St. Jérôme 
 agrées with the représentations on the obelisk erected at Constantinople 
 in the time of Theodosius the Great. We must, however, fix a date as 
 late as the eighth century for the introduction of this instrument into the 
 
 Fig. lÔQ.— Pneumatic Organ of the Pourth Centun-, (Sculpture of that date at Constantinople.) 
 
 West, or at least into France. In 757, Constantine Copronymiis, Emperor 
 of the East, sent to Xing Pépin a number of présents, among which was 
 an organ that excited the admiration of the court. Charlemagne, who 
 received a similar présent from the same monarch, had several organs made 
 fi-om this model. Thèse were pro^-ided, according to the statement of the 
 monk of Saint-Grall, with " brazen pipes which were acted on by bellows 
 made of bull's hide, and imitated the roaring of thunder, the accents of the 
 lyre, and the clang of cymbals." Thèse primitive organs, notwith standing 
 the power and richness of their musical resources, were of dimensions which 
 rendered them quite portable. It was, in fact, only in conséquence of 
 its almost exclusive application to the solemnities of Catholic worship that 
 the organ became developed on an almost gigantic scale. In 951, there 
 existed in Winchester Cathedral an organ which was divided into two parts, 
 each provided with its apparatus of bellows, its key-board, and its organist. 
 
204 
 
 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 Twelve bellows above, and fourteen below, were worked by seventy strong 
 men, and tlie air was distributed by means of forty valves into four hundred 
 pipes, arrauged in groups or choirs of ten, each group corresponding witt 
 one of the twenty-four keys of eacli key-board (Fig. 170). 
 
 In tbe nin'h centiuy, the German organ-makers acquired great renown. 
 The monk Gerbert, wbo, as we bave already remarked, became pope under 
 the name of Sylvester II., and co-operated so efi&ciently in the progress of 
 the horological art, established in the monastery of which he was abbot a 
 workshop for the manufacture of organs. We must add, that ail the musical 
 treatises written from the ninth to the twelfth century entered into very 
 
 Fiff. I70.-Great Organ, with Bellows and double Key-board, of the Twelfth Century. ( JIS. at Cambridge.) 
 
 considérable détails concerning the arrangement and -svorking of this instru- 
 ment. Nevertheless, the admission of the organ into churches did not fail 
 to meet with earnest opponents araong the bishops and priests of the day. 
 But while some complained of the thunder and rumbling of the organs, others 
 appealed to the examples of king David and the prophet EUsha. FinaUy, 
 m the thirteenth century, the right of placing organs in ail churches was 
 no longer disputed, and the only question was, who could build the most 
 powerful and most magnificent instruments. At Milan was an organ the 
 pipes of which were of silver ; at Venice some were made of pure gold. The 
 luimber of thèse pipes was varied and multiplied to an infinité extent, 
 according to the efiPects the instrument was required to produce. The 
 
M us ICA L INSTR UMENTS. 
 
 205 
 
 mechanism ■\vas, gcncrally speaking, ratlior coinplicatcd, aiid thc working of 
 the bellows very laborious. In large organs tlie key-board was made up 
 of kcy-plates five or six inches wide, wbich the organist, his hands defended 
 by thickly padded gloves, had to strike with his clenched fist in order to 
 bring out thc notes (Fig. 171). 
 
 Fig. 171. — Organ wlth single Key-board of the Fourteenth Centurj-. 
 (Miniature from a Latin Psalter, No. 175, Bibl. Imp., Paris.) 
 
 The organ, which, as we hâve seen, was at first of a portable nature, 
 in some cases resumed its original dimensions (Fig. 172). It was then 
 sometimes called ûm^-\ portaiif (hand-organ), and sometimes régale ov positif 
 
 Fig. 172.— Portable Organ of the Fifteenth Centurj-. 
 (Miniature in Vincent de Beauvais' " Miroir Historial," MS. in the Bibl. Imp., Paris.) 
 
 (choir-organ). Raphaël, in one of his famous pictures, represents St. Cecilia 
 singing sacred hymn.s, and accompanying herself on a choir-organ. 
 
206 
 
 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 The class of pulsatile instruments was formed of hclls, cymbals, and 
 drums. 
 
 There can be no doubt tbat tlie ancients were acqnainted witb large bells, 
 hand-bells, and strung-bells {grehis). But vre mnst ascribe to tbe require- 
 ments of Christian worship the first introduction of the bell, properly so 
 called, formed of cast-metal {campana or nola, the first having been made, it 
 is said, at jSTola), which was employed from the first in summoning the 
 faithful to the public services. In the first instance the bell was merely held 
 in the hand and shaken bj' some monk or ecclesiastic who stood in front of 
 the chiirch-door, or mounted a raised platform for the purpose. This tintin- 
 
 !''&■ 173' — Tï'ntinnaèuluvi or Hand- 
 
 Bell of the Ninth Centun-, 
 
 (Boulogne MS.) 
 
 Fig". 174. — The Sau/ang oî St. Ce- 
 
 cilia's at Cologne. 
 
 (Sixth Century.) 
 
 . 175.— Bell in a Tower of 
 Siena. 
 (Twelfth Centurj-.) 
 
 nahulum (Fig. 173), or portable bell, subsequently passed into the hands 
 of the public criers, the societies of riugers, and those who rang knells 
 for the dead, at a time when most of the churches were provided -nith cnm- 
 paniles or bell-towers, wh.erein were hung the parish bells, which daily 
 assunied dimensions of increasing importance. Thèse great bells, of which 
 the Saufang of Cologne (sisth century) is an example (Fig. 174), were at 
 first made of wrought-iron plates laid one over the other, and riveted 
 together. But in the eighth century they began to cast bells of copper and 
 OTen of silver. One of the most ancient still esisting is that in the 
 tower of Bisdomini at Siena (Fig. 175). It bears the date of 1159, and is 
 
MCSICAL AXSna'J/AWTS. 207 
 
 ioruied in tlic shapo of a cask, beiug rathcr more tliau a yard high : the 
 Sound it produces is verj' sharp. The couibinatioa of several bells of varions 
 sizes naturallj' produced the peal or chime ; this at first consisted of an 
 arch of wood or iron whereon were suspended the bells, which the player 
 struok witli a small hammer (Fig. 176). The number and classification of 
 the bells becomiug subsequeutly rather more complicated, the hand of the 
 chimer was superseded by a mechanical arrangement. This was the origin 
 of those i^eals of bells for ■^'shich there was such a demand in the Middle 
 Ages, and of which certain towns are still so proud. 
 
 The désignations of cymbaliun and flagelliun were, in the first instance, 
 applied to small hand-chimes ; but there were also regular cymbals {cymhalu 
 or acdabula), spherical or hollowed plates of silver, brass, or copper. 
 Some of thèse were shaken at the ends of the fingers, or fastened to the knees 
 or feet, so as to be put in m.otion by the movement of the body. Thèse small 
 cymbals, or crotales, were a kind of rattle [grelots), causing the dancers to 
 make a noise in their performance, as do the Spanish castanets, which in 
 the sisteenth century were called in France maronnettes, and were the same 
 as the cliquettes, or snappers, used by lepers in former daj's. Small strung- 
 bells became so much the fashion at a certain epoch that not only was 
 the harness of horses adorned with them, but they were suspended to the 
 clothes both of men and women, who at the slightest movement made a 
 ringing, tinkling noise, sounding like so many perambulating chimes. 
 
 The use of pulsatile instruments producing a metallic sound increased 
 greatly in Europe, especiallj^ after the return from the Crusades. But 
 even before this date the Egyptian timbrel was used in reKgious and festival 
 music ; this instrument was composed of a circle whereon rings were hung, 
 which tiokled as they struok together when the timbrel was shaken. The 
 Oriental triangle was also used on thèse occasions ; this was almost the same 
 then as it is at the présent day. 
 
 The drum has always been a hollow case covered with a stretched skin, 
 but the shape and size of this instrument hâve caused great variations in 
 its name, and also in the way in which it was used. In the Middle Ages 
 it was called taborellits, taloriium, and tympanum. It generally made its 
 appearance in festal music, and especially in processions ; but it was not 
 uutil the fourteenth century that it began to take a place in military bands, 
 at least in France ; the Arabians, however, hâve used it from the earliest 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 âges. In thé thirteenth century the taburel was a kind of tambourine, 
 played on witli only a drum-stick ; in the tahornum we may recognise the 
 military drum of the présent day ; and the tympanum was équivalent to 
 our tambourine. Sometimes, as seen in a sculpture in the Musicians' Hall 
 at Rheims, this instrument was attached to the right shoulder of the 
 performer, who plaj'ed upon it by striking it with his head, while at the 
 
 Fig. 176.— Chime of Bells of the Ninth Centur)\ 
 (ils. do Scxint-Blaise.) 
 
 Fig. lyj.— Tympanum of the Thirteenth Centur.v. 
 {Sculpture on the ilusicians' Hall, Rheims.) 
 
 same time he blew through two métal flûtes communicating with the inside 
 of the drum (Fig. 177). 
 
 We hâve now to speak of stringed instruments, the whole of which may 
 be divided into three principal classes: those played on by the fingers, 
 those that are struck, and those which are rubbed {frottées) by means of 
 some appliance. 
 
 As a matter of fact, there are some stringed instruments which may 
 be said to belong to ail three of thèse classes, as ail three modes of playing 
 upon them has been adopted either simultnneously or in succession. 
 
 The most ancient are doubtless those that are played on by the fingers, 
 first among which, in right of its antiquity, we must'name the lyre; from 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 209 
 
 this hâve spning the citliern, tlio Larp, thc psaltery, tlie nabulon, &c. 
 lu tlie Middle Ages, lio\Yevei', considérable confusion arose from the fact 
 that thèse original names were at the time often diverted from their real 
 acceptation. 
 
 The lyre, the stringed instrument par excelknce of the Greeks and 
 Romans, preserved its primitive form as late as the tenth centurj'. The 
 strings were generally of twisted gut, but sometimes also of brass wire, 
 and varied in number from three to eight. The sounding-box, which was 
 ahvays placed at the lower part of the instrument, was more often made of 
 wood than of either métal or tortoise-shell (Fig. 178). 
 
 The lyre was held upon the knees, and the performer touched or rubbed 
 
 Fig. 178.— Ancient Lyre. (Angers MS.) Fig. 179.— Ls-re of the North. (Ninth Centurj'.) 
 
 the stiings mth one hand, either with the fingers or by means of a pledrum. 
 The lyre specified as " Northern " (Fig. 179), was certainly the origin of 
 the violin, to the shape of which it even then bore some resemblance ; it was 
 fastened at the top, and had a cordier at the end of the soimding-board, as 
 weU as a bridge in the centre of the face of the instrument. 
 
 The lyre was superseded by the psaltery and the cithern. The psaltery, 
 which never was furnished with fewer than ten, or more than twenty, 
 strings, diiFered essentially from the lyre and the cithern by the sounding- 
 board being placed at the top of the instrument. Psalteries were made of 
 a round, square, oblong, or buckler-shaped form (Fig. 181) ; and sometimes 
 the sounding-box was lengthened so as to rest upon the shoulder of the 
 
 E E 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 musician (Fig. 180). The psaltery disappeared in tte tenth century and 
 gave place to the cithern (cithara), a name which had been at first applied to 
 ail kinds of stringed instruments. The shape of the cithern, which in the 
 days of St. Jérôme resembled a Greek delta (A), varied in différent countries, 
 as is proved by the epithets — barbarica, Teutonica, Anglica, which we find at 
 différent times coupled with its generic name. In other places, in con- 
 
 Fig. i8 
 
 -Psalter}' to produce a prolongea Sound. Ninth Century. 
 (MS. in the Bibl. Imp., Paris.) 
 
 séquence of thèse local transformations, it became the nabuhim, the c/iorus, 
 and the salfcrion or psalferion (which latter must not be confoimded with the 
 psaltery, a primary derivative of the lyre). 
 
 The iwbti/um * (Fig. 182) was made either in the shape of a triangle with 
 truncated corners, or of a semicircle joined at the two extremities ; its 
 
 • S'ahiiliini—ii name evidently derived from the Hebrew word ncbd, generally translated in the 
 Seripturcs as a psiiltciy.— [Ed.] 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS- 
 
 soundiug-board occupied the whole of the rounded part, and left but a 
 vory limited space for the twelve strings. The chorus or cJioron, the 
 imperfect représentation of which in the manuscripts of the ninth and tenth 
 
 Fig. ï8i. — Buckler-shaped Psalterj- with many Strings. 
 (Xinth Centurj-. Boulogne MS.) 
 
 Fig. 182. — Nabulum. Ninth Centurj'. 
 (MS. d'Angers.) 
 
 centuries calls to mind the appearance of a long semicircular window or 
 of a Gothic capital ^, generally had one of its sides prolonged, on which 
 
 /^ 
 
 Fig. 183. — Choron. Ninth Century. 
 (Boulogne US.) 
 
 Fig. li^.—Psallerwn. Twellth Century. 
 
 the performer leaned so as to hold the instrument in the same way as a 
 harp (Fig. 183). 
 
 The psalferion, which was in use ail over Europe after the twelfth century, 
 and is thought to hâve originated in the East, -^here it -svas found by the 
 Crusaders, was at ôrst composed of a flat box of sounding wood, with two 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 oblique sides ; it assumed the shape of a triangle truncated at its top, witli 
 twelve or sisteen metallic strings either of gold or silver, wMcli were played 
 upon by means of a small bow of wood, ivory, or horn (Fig. 184) ; subse- 
 quently the strings were made more slender, the number being iacreased to 
 as maiiy as twenty-two ; the three angles of the sounding-box were eut off, 
 and holes were made, sometimes one only in the middle, sometimes one at 
 each angle, and sometimes as many as five, sj'mmetrically arranged. The 
 performer plaeed the instrument against his chest, and held it so as to touch 
 
 Fig. 185. — Performer on the Psslta 
 
 Fourteenth Century. (MS. No. 703 in the Bibl. Imp. of Paris.) 
 
 the strings either with the fingers of the two hands, or with a pen or 
 pledrnm (Fig. 185). This instrument, which in the représentations of poets 
 and painters never failed to figure in celestial concerts, produced tones of 
 incomparable softness. The old romances of chivalry exhausted ail the 
 phrases of admiration in describing the psaUerion. But the highest eidogium 
 which can be passed on this instrument is that it formed the starting-poiut 
 of the harpsichord, or of the stringed instruments struck or played on by 
 means of mechanism. 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 2'3 
 
 It is, in fact, tbouglit tLiit a kiiid of harpsicliord with tour octaves, which 
 in the Iburteentli ccntury was called dulcimer or dulcciiiclos, and is but 
 imperfectly described, was nothing else than a psalterion, with a sound- 
 ing apparatus that assumed the proportions of a large box, to -which 
 also a ke3'-board had been adapted. This instrument, wben it had but 
 three octaves, was called clavicord or manicordioii, and in the sixteenth 
 century produced forty-two to fifty tones or senii-tones : oue string 
 expressed several notes, and this was eiïeeted by means of plates of métal 
 which, ser^-ing• as a movable bridge to each string, either increased or 
 diminished the intensity of its vibration. The grand-pianos of the présent 
 daj' unquestionably hâve their key-boards placed in the same position as 
 they were in the dulcimer and cîacicorde. The earKest improvements in 
 metaUic stringed instruments constructed with a kej'-board are due to the 
 
 Fig. i86. — Orgatiistrum. Ninth Century. tilS. de Saint- Biaise.) 
 
 Italians ; thèse improvements soon had the efFect of throwing the psalterion 
 into oblivion. 
 
 In the ninth century a stringed instrument was in use the mechanism 
 of which, although not very perfect, evidently tended to an imitation of 
 the key-board applied to organs : this was the organistrum (Fig. 186), an 
 enormous guitar pierced with two sound holes, and provided with three 
 strings set in -s-ibration by a small winch ; eight movable screws, rising or 
 faUing at will along the finger-board, formed so many keys which served to 
 vary the tones. In the first instance two persons performed on the orga- 
 nistrum — one turning the winch whilo the other touched the keys. When 
 its size was decreased it became the vielle (hurdy-gurdy) properly so caUed, 
 which could be managed by one musician. It was at first caUed rubelle, 
 rehel, and sgmphoiiie ; subsequently this last name was corrupted into chifonie 
 and sifouie, and we may remark that even now in certain districts of central 
 
21 + 
 
 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 France the melle still tears the popular name of chin/orgne. The chifonie 
 never found a place in musical concerts, and fell almost immediately into the 
 hands of the mendicants, who solicited alms accompanied \>j the doleful and 
 somewhat discordant notes of this instrument, and thence obtaining the name 
 of chifoniens. 
 
 Netwithstanding ail the efforts which were made to substitute wheels and 
 key-boards for the action of the fingers on the strings of instruments, still 
 those that were played on by the hand only, such as harps and lûtes, did not 
 fail to maintain the préférence among skilful musicians. 
 
 The harp was certainly Saxon in its origin, although some hâve imagined 
 they could discover traces of it in Greek, Roman, and even Egyptian 
 antiquities. This instrument was at first nothing but a triangular cithern 
 
 Fig. 187.— Triangular Saxon Harp of the Ninth 
 Centurj'. (Bible of Charles le Chauve.) 
 
 Fig. 188.— Fifteen-stringed Harp of the Twelfth 
 Century. (IIS. in the Bibl. Imp., Paris.) 
 
 (Fig. 187), in which the soundiug-board occupied the whole of one side 
 from top to bottom, instead of being limited to the lower angle, as in the 
 primitive cithara, or confined to the upper part as in the psaltery. The 
 English harp {cithara AiujUca) of the ninth century differed but little from 
 the modem instrument ; the simplicity and good judgment shown in its 
 shape bear witness to the perfection it had already attained (Fig. 188). The 
 number of strings and the shape of this instrument varied constantly 
 from time to time. The sounding-box was sometimes made square, some- 
 times elongated, and sometimes round. The arms were sometimes straight 
 and sometimes curved; the upper side was often lengthened so as to 
 represent an animal's head (Fig. 189) and the lower angle, on which the 
 mstrumeut rested on the ground, terminated in a griffin's claw. AccorJing 
 to the miniatures in mauuscripts, the harp was of a size that the top of it 
 
ML 'SIC A L INSTR l 'MENT S. 
 
 did not extend higlier than the head of the performer, who played upon it 
 in a sitting posture (Fig. 190). Thei-e were, however, liarps of a lighter 
 cbaractcr, wliicli the musician bore suspended from his neck by a strap, and 
 played \ipon wliile standing np. This portable harp was the one that niay 
 par excellence be called noble, and was the instrument on which the trouvères 
 accompanied their voices when reciting ballads and nietrical taies (Fig. 191). 
 
 Fig. 189. — Harpers of the Tweifth Centuty, from 
 
 a Miniature in a Bible. 
 
 (MS. in the Bibl. Imp., Paris.) 
 
 Fig. 190. — Harp-plaj-er of the Fifteenth Century. 
 
 From an Enamelled Dish found near Soissons, and 
 
 preserved in the Bibl. Imp., Paris. 
 
 In the romances of chivalry harpers are constantly introduced, and their 
 harps are ever tuned to some lay of love or war ; we find this taking place 
 as -well in the north as in the south. " The harp," says Guillaume de 
 Machaut — 
 
 " tous instruments passe, 
 Quand sagement bien en joue et compassé." 
 
 In the sixteenth century, however, it began to fall into disfaTOur ; 
 it Tvas supplanted by the lute (Fig. 192), an instrument much used in the 
 thirteenth century, and by the guitar, -which was brought into fashion 
 m France from Spain. and Italy, and formed the delight both of the court 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 and private circles. At that time eveiy great lord, imitating kings and 
 princesses, wished to hâve Hs lute or guitar player, and the poet Bonaventure 
 des Périers, valet de chambre of Marguerite de Navarre, composed for ter 
 " La Manière de bien et justement entoucher les Lues et Guiternes." The 
 lute and the guitar, which for about two centuries were in high favour in 
 what was called " chamber music," hâve since the above-named epoch scareely 
 been altered in shape. With certain modifications, however, they gave rise 
 to the theorho and the manclolin, which never attained more than a transient 
 or local favour. 
 
 Stringed instruments that were played on by means of bows were not 
 known before the fifth century, and belonged to the northern races; they 
 
 Fig. igi.— Minstrel's Harp, of the Fifteenth Cenlurj'. 
 (MS. in Ihe Miroir Hùton'al of Vincent de Beauvais.) 
 
 Fig. Ig2. — Five-stringed Lute. Thirteentb Century. 
 (MS. in the Bibl. Imp., Paris.) 
 
 did not become prévalent in Europe generaUy until after the Korman 
 invasion. At first they were but roughly made and rendered indiffèrent 
 service to musical art ; but from the twelfth to the sixteenth century, 
 thèse instruments were subject to many changes both in form and name, 
 and were brought to perfection according as the exécution of musicians 
 also improved. The most ancient of thèse instruments is the crout (Fig. 193), 
 which must hâve produced the rote, so dear to the minstrels and the trouvères 
 of the thirteentb century. Tbe crout, which is the instrument placed by 
 tradition in the hands of the Armorican, Breton, and Scotch bards,* was 
 
 * The AVeUh or Scotch Critrf.— [Tk.] 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 217 
 
 coinposed of an oblong sounding-box, more or less hollowed eut at the two 
 sides, with a handle fixed in the body of the instrument, in which wcre 
 made two ojjenings that allowed the perfonner to hold it by the left 
 hand and at the sanie time to touch the strings ; thèse, as a matter of 
 priuciple, were only three in number. Subsequently it had four strings, 
 and then six — two of which were played open (à vide). The musician 
 
 '?\%. 193. — Three-stringed Croiit of the Ninth Centurj-. From a Jlinîature. 
 
 played on it with a straight or convex bow, provided with a single thread 
 either of iron wire or of twisted hair. Except in England, where the crout 
 was national, it did not last beyond the eleventh century. It was replaced 
 by the rote, which was not, as its name (apparentlj^ derived from 7-ota, a 
 wheel) would seem to intiniate, a vielle or symphonie. It would be useless 
 to seek for the dérivation of the name of rota, except in the word crotta, the 
 Latin form of the term crout. 
 
2l8 
 
 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 In the earliest rotes (Fig. 194), those made in the thirteenth century, 
 there is an évident intention of conibining the two modes of playing on the 
 strings — rubbing witli a bow and touching with tbe fingers. The box, 
 which was not hoUowed ont and rounded at the two ends, was much deeper 
 at the lower end, where the strings commenced, than higher up, near the 
 pegs, where thèse strings are sounded open under the action of the finger, 
 which reaches them throiigh an aperture ; the bow acting on them near the 
 
 Fig. 194— King David playing- on a Roie. From a Painted Window of the Thirteenth Centun-. 
 (Chapel of the Virgin, Cathedral of Troyes.) 
 
 string-bridge in front of the sounding-holes. It must hâve been difficult to 
 touch with the bow one string alone, but it should be remarked that the 
 harmonie idéal of this instrument consisted in forming accords by con- 
 sonances of thirds, fifths, and eighths. The rote was soon developed into 
 a new instrument, assuming the form that our violoncellos hâve almost 
 exactly retained. The box was increased in size, the handle was lengthened 
 beyond the body of the instrument, the nuniber of strings was reduced to 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 219 
 
 three or four, stretched over a bridge, and the sounding-holes were made in 
 tbe shape of a crescent. From tliis time the rote acquired a spécial cha- 
 racter it had not lost eveu in the sixteenth centurj^ when it became the 
 bass-viol. This -ivas its true destination. The size of the instrument 
 dictated the inanner in which it was held, either on the knees or on the 
 ground between the legs (Fig. 195). 
 
 The ùelh or viole, which had no affinity except in shape \^ath the cielle 
 (hurdy-gurdy) of the présent day, was at first a small rote held by the 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 ^P 
 
 ^^M 1 
 
 i^ 
 
 ^Kd 
 
 m 
 
 B 
 
 É 
 
 ^^^% 
 
 
 "éM 
 
 ^Pl 
 
 
 ^m 
 
 ^^t^^S 
 
 -ï?™! 
 
 ^^^É 
 
 Fig". 195. — German Musicians playing on the Violin and Bass-Viol. 
 Drawn and Engraved by J. Amman. 
 
 performer against his chin or his breast, in much the same way as the 
 violin is now used (Fig. 196), The box, which was at first conical and 
 convex, became gradually oval in shape, and the handle remained short 
 and wide. It was, perhaps, this handle ■^"hich terminated in a kind of 
 ornamental scroU in the shape of a violet {viola), that originated the 
 name of the instrument. The viole, just as the rote, formed the accompani- 
 ment ohligato of certain songs ; and among the jugglers who played upon 
 it good porformers were rare (Figs. 197, 198). Improvements in the nelle 
 came for the most part from Italy, where the co- opération of a number of 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 skilful liite-players was the means of gradually forming the violin. Even 
 before tlie famous Dnifloprugar, born in the Italian Tyrol, had hit upon the 
 model of his admirable violins, the handle of the vielle had been lengthened, 
 
 Fig. :96.— Oval K/f/&with Three Strings, of tbe 
 
 Thirteenth Century. 
 
 (Sculpture on the Cathedral of Amiens.) 
 
 fg- 197- — ^Juggler playing on a Vielle^ hollowed 
 
 out at the Sides. Fifteenth Century. 
 
 (" Heures du Roi René," MS. No. 159 in the Bibl. 
 
 Imp. of the Arsenal, Paris. 
 
 its sides hollowed out, and its strings had received a more extended field of 
 action by removing the stringer {cordier) from the centre of the sounding- 
 
 Fig. ï98.-Playeron the ViMe. Thirteenth Centur}-. 
 (ïaken from an Enamelled Dish at Soissons.) 
 
 Fîg. 199. — Angel Playing on a Three-stringed 
 
 Fiddle. Thirteenth Century. 
 
 (Sculpture in the Cathedral of Amiens.) 
 
 board. Henceforth the play of the board became more free and easv, the 
 pevfonner was uble to touch eyery string singly, and was in a position to 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 substitute effects more cliiu-acteristic instead ot" tlie former monotonous 
 consonances. 
 
 England was thc birtlijjlace of tlie crout ; France inventcd fhe rote, and 
 Italy thc vioh' ; Gerinanj' originated the (jiijKc* tlie name of whicli may 
 pcrhaps be derived from the similarity presented by the shape of the instru- 
 ment to the thigh of a kid. The gidue was provided with three strings 
 (Fig. 199), and its spécial distinction from the viole was, that instead of the 
 handle being as it were indepeudent of the body of the instrument, it was 
 
 Fig. 200.— Rebec, of the Sixteenth Centun-, 
 From Willemin. 
 
 Fig. 201.— Long Monochord played on n-itli a Dow. 
 
 Fifteenth Century. 
 
 (MS. of Froissart, in the Bibl. Imp., Paris.) 
 
 a kind of prolongation of the sounding-board. The gigue, which bore a 
 considérable resemblance to the modem mandoKn, was an. instrument on 
 which the Germans were accustomed to work Tvonders in the way of per- 
 formance ; according, at least, to the statement of Adenès, the trouvère, who 
 speaks with admiration of the " gigueours of Germany." The gigue, how- 
 erer, entirely disappeared, at least in France, in the fifteenth century ; but 
 its name stiU remained as the désignation of a joyous dance, -which for a 
 considérable period was enlivened by the sound of this instrument. 
 
 In German Oeigt, " fiddle." — [Th.] 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 
 
 Among the musical instruments of this class in the Middle Ages, we 
 hâve still to mention the rebec (Fig. 200), which was so ofteu quoted by 
 the authors of the daj', and yet is so little known, although it figured in the 
 court concerts in the time of Rabelais, who spécifies it by the term aulique, 
 in contrast to the rustic cornemuse (bagpipes). 
 
 We must, in conclusion, speak of the monochord {monocordiuin), which 
 is alwaj^s meutioned by the authors of the Middle Ages with feelings of 
 pleasure, although it appears to bave been nothing more than the most 
 simple and primitive expression of ail the other stringed instruments 
 (Fig. 201). It was composed of a narrow oblong box, on each end of 
 the front-board were fixed two immovable bridges supporting a metaUic 
 string stretched from one to the other, and corresponding to a scale of notes 
 traced out on the instrument. A movable bridge, which was shifted up and 
 down between the string and the scale, produced whatever notes the per- 
 former wished to bring out. In the eighth century there was a kind of 
 vioUn or mandolin furnished with a single metallic string played on with a 
 metalUc bow. Later still, we find a kind of harp formed of a long sovmding- 
 box traversed by a single string, over which the musician moved a small bow 
 handled with a sudden and rapid movement. 
 
 The instruments we bave named do not, however, embrace aU those in 
 use in the Middle Ages and the Eenaissance. There certainly were others 
 which, in spite of the most intelligent investigations, and the most judicious 
 déductions, are now known to us only by name. As regards, for instance, 
 the nature and appearance of the êles or ceks, the échaqueil or échequier, 
 the eiimorachc, and the micamon, we are left to the vaguest conjectures. 
 
 Fig. 202.— Triangle of the Ninth Century. (MS. of Saint-En 
 
PLAYING-CAEDS. 
 
 Supposed Date of fteir Invention.— Existed in India in the Twelfth Century.-Their connection 
 with the Game of Chess.— Brought into Europe after the Crusades.— First Mention of a Game 
 with Cards in 1379.— Cards well known in the Fifteenth Century in Spain, Germany, and 
 France, under Ihe name of Tarofs.—Caids called Charles the Sixth's must hâve been Tarots.— 
 Ancient Cards, French, Italian, and German.— Cards contrihutjng to the Invention of AVoed- 
 EngraiTng and Printing. 
 
 HE origin of playing-cards Las for many years 
 past formed a spécial subject of investigation 
 among scholars and antiquarians. For, however 
 trifling the matter may appear in itself, this 
 curions point is connected with two of the most 
 important inventions of modem times — engraving 
 and printing. 
 
 We must not, however, take upon ourselves to 
 assert too positively that ail the profound researches, persevering study, and 
 ingenious déductions which hâve been applied to the subject hâve entirely 
 succeeded in elucidating the question. Nevertheless, a certain degree of 
 hght has been thrown upon it, by which we shall endeavpur to profit. 
 
 The question is, at what date are we to fix the invention of playing- 
 cards, and to whom are we to attributs it ? In order to solve thèse queries, 
 they must be divided ; for, although the introduction of plajn'ng-cards into 
 -tiUrope may not date back beyond the fourteenth century, and the invention 
 of Dur game of piquet may not hâve been prior to the reign of Charles VII., 
 it is at least asserted — (Ist), that playing-cards existed in India in the 
 twelfth century ; (2nd), that the ancients played at games in which certain 
 ligures and numbers were represented on dice or tablets ; (3rd), that in 
 comparatively récent times the game of chess and the game of cards pre- 
 sented striking affinities, proving the common origin of thèse two ganies 
 one connected with painting, the other with sculpture. 
 J-i we are to believe Herodotus, the Lydians, in order to beguile the 
 
2 2+ PLAYING-CARDS. 
 
 sufferings of liunger during a long and cruel famine, invented nearly every 
 game, especiaUy that of dice. Later autliors ascribe the honour of thèse 
 inventions to the Greeks, when irritated at the tedious delays of the siège 
 of Troy. Cicero even mentions by name Pja-rhus and Palamedes as the 
 originators of the "games in use in camps" (htdos castrenses). What were 
 thèse games ? Some saj^, chess ; others, dice or knuckle-bones. 
 
 Certain very ancient spécimens prove unquestionably that the Indian 
 cards were nothing but a transformation of the game of chess ; for the 
 principal pièces in this game are reproduced on the cards, but in such a way 
 that eight players instead of two could take part in it. In the game of chess 
 there were only two armies of pawns, each having at its head a king, a vizier 
 (who was afterwards turned into a " queen "), a knight, an éléphant (which 
 became a "bishop"), and a dromedary (afterwards a "castle"). There can 
 be no doubt that the course and arrangement of thèse games were very 
 différent ; but in both may be f ound an original affinity in the f act that they 
 recalled to mind the terrible game of war, in which each adversary had to 
 attack by means of stratagems, combinations, and vigilance. 
 
 We hâve now learned from certain authority (Abel de Eémusat, 
 Journal Asiatique, September, 1822) that playing-cards, proceeding from 
 ludia and China, were, Hke the game of chess (Fig. 203), in the hauds of 
 the Arabiaus and the Saracens at the commencement of the twelfth ceutury. 
 It is therefore ahnost certain they must hâve been brought into Europe 
 after the Crusades, with the arts, traditions, and customs which the men of 
 the "West then derived from their Oriental antagonists. There is, however, 
 every reason to believe that the use of cards spread but slowly ; for at au 
 epoch when the civil and ecclesiastical authorities were constantly issuiug 
 ordinances against games of chance, we do not find that cards were ever the 
 subject of légal proceedings, Uke dice and chess. 
 
 The first formai mention made of playing-cards is found in a manustript 
 chronicle of Nicolas de Covelluzzo, preserved in the archives of Yiterbo. 
 " In the year 1379," says the chronicler, " there was introdueed at Yiterbo 
 the game of cards, which comes from the country of the Saracens, aud is 
 called by the latter mfib." There is, in fact, a German book, the " Jeu 
 d'Or," printed at Augsbourg in 1472, which testifies to the fact that 
 cards existed in Germany in the year 1300. But, in the first place, 
 this évidence is not contemporary with the fact aUeged ; and, besides, 
 
 H 
 
 il 
 
PLAYING-CARDS. 
 
 225 
 
 we iiuiv well supj)ose that tlie vanity of the Germans, wliicli Lad attri- 
 buted to tbcmselves the discoverj'^ of priuting, desired, with about as 
 mucb reason, to appropriate also tbe invention of caixls — that is, of wood- 
 ongraving. AYe sball, therefore, act judiciously in ixiying but little attention 
 to this doubtfid assertion, and bold to the account given by the chronicler 
 of Yiterbo. But the latter, unfortunately, furnishes us with no détails as 
 to the nature of thèse cards. Was the game similar to that which is still 
 
 Fig. 203.— Chess-Players. Fac-similé of a Miniature of the Thirteenth Century. (MS. 7,266, Bibl. Imp., Paris. 
 
 estant in India ? Or was it one peculiar to the Arabs ? Thèse are ques- 
 tions which must remain unsolved. The only facts presented to our notice 
 are, that in 1379 cards made their appearance in Europe, brought froni 
 Arabia, or the country of the Saracens, and that their original name is given. 
 The Italians for a long time gave to cards the name of ndïhi. In Spain they 
 are still called naijpes. If it be understood that the word ndib in Arabie 
 fflgnifies "captain," we shaU see that the game in question was one of a 
 
 G G 
 
226 PLAYING-CARDS. 
 
 military character, like that of chess, and we stall be led to recognise iu 
 tliese primitive cards the tarots which were for a long time current in the 
 south of Europe. 
 
 In 1387, John I., King of Castile, issned an ordinance proMbiting to 
 play witli dice, naypes, or at chess. 
 
 In tlie archives of the Audit Office, in Paris, there formerly existed an 
 account of the treasurer, Poupart, who states that, in 1392, he had " paid to 
 Jacquemin Gringonneur, painter, for three packs of cards in gold and various 
 colours, ornamented with nuinerous devices, to lay before the lord the Mng 
 (Charles VI.) for his amusement, 50 sols of Paris." This game, which 
 seemed at first intended only for the amusement of the king in his mental 
 dérangement, subsequently spread so much among the people, that the 
 provost of Paris, in an ordinance of January 22, 1397, issued a prohibition 
 "to persons engaged in trade from playing at tennis, bowls, dice, cards, 
 and skittles, except on feast-days." We must remark that, twenty-eight 
 years previously, Charles V., in a celebrated ordinance which enumerates 
 ail the games of chance, did not mention cards. 
 
 The " Red Book " of the town of Ulm, a manuscript register preserved 
 in the archives of that town, contains an ordinance dated in 1397, in which 
 is conveyed a prohibition of games with cards. 
 
 Thèse facts are the only authenticated évidence which can be brought 
 foiward with a view of iîxing the approximate period of the introduction of 
 cards iuto Europe. Some authors hâve certainly imagined they were in a 
 position to détermine an earlier epoch, but they bave gone upon data the 
 value of which bas since been destroyed by more thorough investigation. 
 
 In the fifteenth century there are évident traces both of the existence 
 and popularity of cards in Italj', Spain, Germany, and France. Theii- names, 
 colours, and emblems, their number and forms, were indeed constantly 
 changiug, aceording to the country in which they were used and the fancy 
 of the players. But whether calLed tarots or " French cards," they were 
 m fact uothing but modifications of the primitive Oriental cards, and au 
 imitation more or less faithful of the ancient game of chess. 
 
 Eeckouing from the fifteenth century, we meet with cards in every 
 enumeration of games of chance ; we fiud them also proscribed aud 
 coudemned in ecclesiastical aud royal ordinances. The clergy, too, raised 
 theu- voices agaiust them ; but thèse measures did not prevent the trade iu 
 
PLAYING-CARDS. 
 
 thcm from increasing, nor great attention to their improvcd manufacture. 
 Poets and romance-writers vied with each other in speaking of thcm ; they 
 
 • 204 and 205. — Jean Dunoîs, King Alexander, Julius Csesar, King^ Arthur, Charles the Great, and Godefroi 
 de Bouillon. From ancient coloured Wood-Engravings ; prints analogous to the first Playing-Cards of the 
 Fifteenth Century. (Bibl. Imp., Paris, Department of Manuscripts.) 
 
 appeared in the miniatures in manuscripts, and also in the first attempts at 
 engraving on wood and copper (Figs. 204 and 205). And, notwithstanding 
 
228 PLAYING-CARDS. 
 
 the fragile nature of the cards themselves, some hâve beeu préservée! which 
 belong to tlie earliest years of the fifteenth century. 
 
 As we hâve already seen, cards had, in principle, been classed among 
 the number of childish games ; but it may be safely asserted that this 
 could net hâve long been the case, else how could we explain the légal 
 strictures and the ecclesiastical anathemas of which they were the subject ? 
 
 St. Bernard, for example, speaking on the 5th of March, 1423, to 
 the crowd assembled in front of a church at Siena, inveighed with so 
 much energy, and fulminated with so much persuasion, against games of 
 chance, that ail who heard ran at once and fetched their dice, chess, 
 and carcU, and burnt them on the very spot. But, adds the chronicle, 
 there vras a card-maker who, being ruined bj' the sermon of the saint, 
 went to seek him, and with a ilood of tears said to him : " Father, I am a 
 maker of cards, and I hâve no other trade by which to live. By pre- 
 venting me from foUowing my trade, y ou condemn me to die of hunger." 
 " If painting is ail you are capable of," replied the preacher, " paint this 
 picture." And he showed him an image of a radiating sun, in the centre 
 of which shone the monogram of Christ — I. H. S. The artisan followed 
 his advice, and soon made bis fortune by painting this représentation, which 
 was adopted by St. Bernard as his device. 
 
 Although in every direction similar censures were directed against cards, 
 they nevertheless did not fail to come much into fashion, especially in Italy ; 
 and to hâve a considérable sale. Thus, in 1441, we find the master card- 
 makers at Venice " who formed a rather numerous association," claiming 
 and obtaining from the senate a kind of prohibitory order against " the 
 large quantity of painted and printed cards which were made eut of Yenice 
 and were introdneed into the town, to the great détriment of their art." 
 It is important to notice that mention is made hère of printed as weU as 
 of painted cards. The fact is, that at this date, not only did ail the cities 
 m Italy make their own cards, but, in conséquence of the invention of 
 wood-engraving, Germany and HoUand exported a large quantity of them. 
 "We must also point ont that documents of the same date appear lo estabhsh 
 a distinction between the primitive nàibi and cards properly so called, with- 
 out, however, affording any detailed characteristics of either. It is, how- 
 ever, known that prior to the year 1419, one François Fibbia, a noble of 
 Pisa who died in exile at Bologna, obtained from the "reforraers" of this 
 
PLAriXG-CAJiDS. 22g 
 
 city, on the score of his being the inventor of the game of tcirrochino, the 
 right of placing his escutcheon of arms on the "queen de bâton," and that 
 of his wife's arms on the " queen de denier." Bâtons, deniers, with coupes and 
 épécs, were thcn the suits of the Italian cards, as carreau (diamond), trèfle 
 (club), cœur (heart), anà j^ique (spade), were those of the French cards. 
 
 îio original spécimen has been preserved of the tarots (iarrochi, tarro- 
 c/iiiii) or Italian cards of this epoch ; but we possess a pack engraved about 
 1460, which is known to be an exact copy of them. Added to this, Raphaël 
 Maffei, who lived at the end of the fifteenth century, has left in his 
 " Commentaries " a description of tarots, Tvhieh were, he says, " a nevr 
 invention," — in comparison, doubtless, with the origin of playing-cards. 
 From thèse tvro documents — though they présent some différences — we 
 may gather that the pack of tarots was then composed of four or five séries 
 or suits, each of ten cards, bearing consécutive numbers, and presenting so 
 many deniers, bâtons, coupes, and épécs, equal in number to that of the 
 card. To thèse séries we must add a whole assortment of figures, repre- 
 senting the King, the Queen, the Knight, the Foot-trareller, the World, 
 Justice, an Ange/, the Sun, the Devil, a Castle, Death, a Gibbet, the Pope, 
 Love, a Buffoon (Fig. 206), &c. 
 
 It is évident that tarots were current in France long before the invention 
 of the game of piquet, which is unquestionably of French origin ; and 
 among •thèse tnrots we must class the cards that are called those of 
 Charles VI. (Figs. 207 and 208), and are now preserved in the Print-Room 
 of the Bibliothèque Impériale in Paris; thèse may be considered as the 
 oldest to be found in any collection, either public or private. The 
 Abbé de Longuerue states that he saw the pack with ail its cards com- 
 plète ; but only seventeen hâve been preserved to our day. Thèse cards 
 are painted with delicacy, like the miniatures in manuscripts, on a gilt 
 ground, filled with dots forming a perforated ornamentaiion ; they are also 
 surrounded by a silvered border in which a similar dotting depicts a spirally 
 twisted ribbon. This dotting is doubtless the tare, a kind of gofifering 
 produced by small holes pricked out and arranged in compartments, to 
 which the tarots owe their names, and of which our présent cards still 
 retain a kind of réminiscence, in their backs being covered with arabesques 
 or dotted over in black or various colours. Thèse cards were about seven 
 mches long and three and a half inches wide, and were painted in distemper 
 
230 
 
 PLAYING-CARDS. 
 
 on cardboard -039 inch thick. The composition of tbem is ingénions and 
 to some extent skilful, the drawing correct and full of character, and the 
 colouring or illumination brilliant. 
 
 Among the subjects they represent are some which deserve ail the 
 more attention, because they can hardly fail to recall to mind a con- 
 ception somewhat similar to that of the " Dance of Death," that terrible 
 
 Fig. 206.— The Buffoon, a Card from a Pack of Tarots. Fifteenth Centurj'- 
 
 " niorality " which, dating from this epoch, was destined to increase 
 more and more in popularity. Thus, for instance, by the side of the 
 Empcvor, who is covered with silver armour and holds the globe and the 
 sceptre, a Hennit makes his appearance as an old man muffled in a cowl 
 and holding up an hour-glass, an emblem of the rapidity of time. Theii 
 wc huve the Pope, who, with the tiara on his head, sits between twd 
 cardiuals ; but Bcath is also there, mounted on a grey horse with a roTigh 
 
PLAYING-CARDS. 
 
 2J' 
 
 and shaggy coat, and sweeping down with his scythe kings, popes, bishops, 
 and otlier great men of tlie earth. If we see Love, represented by three 
 couples of lovers who embrace as they converse, while two cupids dart 
 at them their arrows from a cloud above ; we also see a Gibhef, 
 on which hangs a gambler suspended by one foot, and still holding in 
 his hand a bag of money. An Esquire, clothed in gold and scarlet, 
 
 ■:".'<'.! 
 
 >u.cx-<:x>:::x:.-x:.r:.-:>:;-.-^| 
 
 ;< 
 
 /<î'Â:^:t:?>>v 
 
 k' 
 
 
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 _>'-.. 
 
 •-.,.-■ 
 
 /îV-l;-*'' ^ — ^ï'^ 
 
 
 V 
 
 ^to /^jTvT^ ~^'^'^ 
 
 K 
 
 W 
 
 T^^\;ê-\~Wr<f^ TïïïV' 
 
 
 (/ 
 
 '^i\ \ >il^îs?=^^"î)^ 
 
 
 
 ■j ' ■?■ '.- ;.•■■'»■. --;■'■'" 7\a!':ï( 
 
 
 Œ\'3xWm 
 
 
 
 :->^ vi^iy?';:' -JÂ 
 
 
 Vj 
 
 iii=ïsSrt!iMàl /--f 'ï^j^ï y\ 
 
 
 
 L 
 
 •■"A^^*'^^. V ■■ "/vvi- ■■■■■ ' ■/''^X ^^31 
 
 '^iBM^X 
 
 ^^npS^^^'^^^Wni r^, Tj 
 
 w 
 
 '-''' L'LT^^T^^i^^H 
 
 i 
 
 K^M^fef 
 
 fl 
 
 i 
 
 y ' If '^ "^'iii 
 
 
 
 t^ 
 
 Fig. 207.— The Moon. Fig- 208.— Justice. 
 
 (Cards taken from the Pack, said to be of Charles VI., preserved in the Bibl. Imp., Paris.) 
 
 rides gaUantly along, proudly waving his sword ; a Chariot bears in 
 triumph an ofEcer in fuU armour ; a Fool places his cap and bells xinder 
 his arm that he may count upon his fingers. FinaUy, the last trumpets 
 are waking up the dead, who corne out of their graves to appear at the 
 Last Judgment. 
 
 Most of thèse allegorical subjects hâve been retained in the tarots, which 
 include, independent of the sixteen figures of our piquet-pack, twenty-two 
 
232 PLAYING-CARDS. 
 
 cards, representing the Euiperor, the Lover, the Chariot, the Hennit,' ÛiQ 
 G-ibbef, Beath, the House of God, the End of the World, &c. 
 
 We should scarcely be justified in imagining that thèse tarots, presenting 
 as they did a picture of life so gloomily philosophical, regarded from a 
 Christian point of view, could hâve enjoyed any great favour in the centre of 
 a frivolous and corrupt court, devoted to little else but fêtes, masquerades, 
 and singing ; this, too, at a time when the State, a prey to every kind of 
 intrigue, was falling into ruin, and the voice of insurrection was surging up 
 among a people burdened by taxes, and decimated by pestilence and famine. 
 On the other hand thèse tarots might well please the imagination of certain 
 good people who, having been deprived of their property in some of the 
 disturbances incidental to thèse times, could net fail to accept as a consola- 
 tion such emblematical représentations of life and death. Artists of every 
 kind tried their best to reproduce them in ail forms ; and as thèse designs 
 found a place even in the ornaments of the female sex, it was scarcely 
 probable that playing-cards would form an exception. 
 
 We are in possession of the remains of two ancient packs of cards, 
 produced by nieans of engraved plates ; they were discovered, like most 
 cards of this date which hâve corne to light, in the bindings of books of the 
 fifteenth century. Thèse cards, which belong to the reign of Charles TH., 
 are essentially French in their character. We find in them the king, the 
 queen, and the knave of each suit, as in our présent pack of piquet cards. 
 In one of thèse ancient packs we notice, however, traces of the Saracenic 
 origin of the ndiU ; the Mussulman " crescent" being substituted for the 
 " diamond," while the "club" is depicted in the Arabian or Moorish fashion; 
 that is, with four similar branches. There is also another peculiarity ; the 
 "kmg of hearts" is represented by a kind of savage, or hairy ape, leaniug 
 upon a knotty stick. The " queen " of the same suit is Kkewise covered with 
 hair, and holds a torch in her hand. The " knave of clubs," who is well 
 fitted to serve as an escort to the " king " and " queen of hearts," is also 
 covered with hair, and carries a knotty stick on his shoulder. We may, 
 besides, notice the legs of a fourth hairy personage among tbose which 
 hâve been separated from their bodies by the kuife of the bookbinder. But, 
 with the exception of thèse, ail the other personages are clothed accordiug 
 to the fashion or the étiquette which prevailed at the court of Charles A'H. 
 The " queen of crescents " is represented in a costume similar to that of 
 
PLAFING-CARDS. 
 
 Z33 
 
 Mary of Anjou, the wife of the king ; or in that of Gérarde Gassinel, his 
 raistress. The représentations of the kings, the hairy one excepted, are 
 
 Fig. 209.— Charles VI. on his Throne, from a Miniature in the MS. of the Kings of France. (Bibl. Imp., Paris.); 
 
 identical -«-ith those we hâve of Charles YII. himseK, or the nobles of his 
 suite. Their costume was a velvet hat surmounted by the crown ornamented 
 with fleurs-de-lis ; a robe open in front and Kned with ermine or menu rair, 
 
234- PLAYING-CARDS. 
 
 a tiglit doublet, and close stockings. The "knaves" are copied from the 
 pages and sergeants-at-arms of tlie period ; one wears the plumed flat cap 
 and long cloak ; anotlier, on the contrary, is clad in a short dress, and stands 
 erect in his close-fittiag doublet and tightly drawn breeches. The latter 
 displays, written on a streamer which he is unrolling, the name of the card- 
 maker, " F. Clerc." Thèse are certainly cards of French invention, or, at 
 any rate, of French manufacture ; but what explanation are we to give of 
 the présence of the sarage "king" and "queen," and the "hairy knave," 
 aniong the kings, queens, and knaves ail dressed according to the fashion 
 of the time of Charles VII. ? We may, perhaps, find a satisfactory reply by 
 referring to the chronicles of the preceding reign. 
 
 On the 29th of January, 1392, there was a grand fête at the mansion of 
 Queen Blanche in honour of the marriage of a Chevalier de Vermandois with 
 one of the queen's ladies. The king, Charles VI., had only just recovered 
 from his mental malady. One of his favourites, Hugonin de Janzay, projected 
 an entertainment in Avhich the king and five lords were to take a part. 
 "It was," saj^s Juvénal des Ursins, "a masquerade of wild men chained 
 together, and ail shaggy ; their dress was made to fit close to their body, and 
 was rendered rough by flax and tow fastened on by resinous pitch, greased 
 so as to shine the better." Froissart, who was an eye-witness of this fête, 
 says that the six actors in the haUet entered the hall yelling and shaking 
 their chains. As it was not known who thèse maskers were, the Duke of 
 Orléans, brother of the king, wishing to find out, took a lighted torch from 
 the hands of his servant, and held it so close to one of thèse strange 
 personages that "the beat of the fire caught the flax." The king was 
 fortunately separated from his companions, who were ail burned, with the 
 exception of one only, who threw himself into a tub faU of water. Although 
 Charles VI. escaped from this péril, he was deeply afi'ected by the thought 
 of the danger to which he had been exposed, and the resuit was a relapse 
 into his former insanity. 
 
 This fearfiû ballet des ardents left such an impression on the minds of 
 people generally, that seventy years afterwards a German engraver made 
 it the siibject of a print. Should we, then, be venturing on an inadmissible 
 hypothesis if we attribute to a cardmaker of this epoch the idea of intro- 
 ducing the same subject in a pack of cards ? which, as is abundantly proved, 
 was modified according to the whim of the artist. In order to justify the 
 
PLAYING-CARDS. 235 
 
 costume of a female savage and the torcli which are given to the "queen of 
 hearts," we must not forget that Isabel of Bavaria, consort of Charles YL, 
 is accused of having assisted in devising this fatal masquerade, wliich was 
 intended to get rid of the king ; and of having taken as her accomplice the 
 Duke of Orléans, her brother-in-law, ^ho is said to hâve purposely set are 
 to the clothing of thèse pretended wild men, among Tvhoni was the king. 
 
 The second pack, or fragment of a pack, which is dated back to this 
 epoch, présents a similarity to our présent cards of a yet more striking 
 nature, at least in the characters and costumes of the figures ; although 
 the names and devices of the personages stOl are suggestive of their 
 Saracenic origin. "We must remark, xmder this head, that for several 
 centuries the names coupled with the dilFerent personages were incessantly 
 varyiag. In this pack we find " kings," " queens," and " knaves " of 
 clubs, hearts, spades, and diamonds ; the Saracenic crescent has disappeared. 
 The "kings" are ail holding sceptres, and the "queens" carry flowers. 
 Everything in the représentations is not only in harmony with the fashions 
 of the period, but in addition to this, there are no violations either of the 
 laws of heraldry or of the usages of chivalry. 
 
 According to tradition, this pack, the true piquet-pack, which super- 
 seded the ItaKan taroU and the cards of Charles YI., and soon became 
 generaHy used in France, was the invention of EMenne Yignoles, called 
 La Hire, one of the bravest and most active soldiers of that period. The 
 tradition has a right to our respect, for the mère examination of this 
 piquet-pack proves that it must hâve been the work of some accomplished 
 chevalier, or at least of a mind profoundly imbued with the manners and 
 customs of chivalry. But, without any wish to exclude La Hire, who, 
 as the historians say, " always had bis helmet on bis head and his lance 
 in his hand, ready to attack the Engiish, and never rested until he 
 died of his wounds," we are led rather to ascribe the honour of this 
 ingénions invention to one of his contemporaries, Etienne Chevalier, secre- 
 tary and treasurer to the king, who was distinguished by bis skill in 
 designing. Jacques Cœur, whose commercial relations with the East 
 brought upon him the accusation of having " sent arms to the Saracens," 
 might well bave become the importer of Asiatic cards into France, and 
 ChevaHer might then hâve amused himself by applying devices to them 
 or, as was then said, by moraVmng or symbolising them. In India it 
 
235 
 
 PLAYING-CARDS. 
 
 had been the game of the vizier and of war ; the royal treasurer turned 
 it into a pack having référence to the knight and cliivalry. In tlie 
 first j)lace he placed on it bis own armoriai bearings, tlie uuicorn, wliicli 
 figures in several ancient packs of cards. He did not forget the allusive 
 arms of Jacques Cœur, and substituted " hearts " for the coupes. He made 
 the " clubs " imitate the heraldic flower of Agnes Sorel; and also changed the 
 deniers into diamonds, or arrow-heads (Fig. 210), and the épées into spades, 
 
 Fig. 210.— Ancient French Card of the Fifteenth 
 Century. (Bibl. Imp., Paris.) 
 
 Fig. 211.— Spécimen of a Pack of Cards of the 
 Sixteenth Century. (Bibl. Imp., Paris.) 
 
 to do honour to the two brothers Jean and Gaspard Bureau, grand-masters 
 of artillery in France. 
 
 Etienne Chevalier, as the most skilful designer of emblems of the period, 
 was eminently capable of substituting, in playing-cards, ladies or queens 
 for the Oriental " viziers " or Italian " knights " which, on the tarais, figmed 
 alone among the " kings " and "knaves." We must, however, repeat 
 that \ve hâve no intention of depriving La Hire of the honour of the inven- 
 
PLAnXG-CARDS. 237 
 
 tion, and onlj- liazard a supposition in addition to the opinion generally 
 received. 
 
 Thèse cards, which bear ail tlie characteristics of the reign of Charles VII., 
 must be looked upon as the first attempts at -wood-engraving, and at printing 
 by means of engraved blocks. They were probably executed between 1420 
 and 1440, that is to say, prier to most of the known xylographie produc- 
 tions. Playing-cards, therefore, served as a Idnd of introduction or prélude 
 to printing from engraved blocks, an invention which considerably preceded 
 the printing froni movable characters. 
 
 When, however, we observe that so early as the middle of the fifteenth 
 century playing-cards were spread ail over Europe, it is but natural to 
 imagine that some economical plan of manufacture had been discovered and 
 employed. Thus, as we hâve already mentioned, Jacquemin Gringonneur, in 
 1392, Tvas paid fifty-six sols of Paris, that is about £7 Is. M. of our présent 
 monej', for three packs of tarots, painted for the King of France. One 
 single pack of tarots, admirably painted, about the year 1415, by Marziano, 
 secretary to the Duke of Milan, cost one thousand five hundred golden 
 crowns (about £625) ; but in 1454, a pack of cards intended for the Dauphin 
 of France cost no more than five sous of Tours (about eleven or twelve 
 shillings). In the interval between 1392 and 1454 means had been dis- 
 covered of making plaj-ing-cards at a cheap rate, and of converting them 
 into an object of trade ; mercers were accustomed to sell them together with 
 the "pins," which then took the place of copper and silver counters; hence 
 the French proverb, " Tirer son épingle du jeu " (to get out of a scrape). 
 
 Although the use of playing-cards continued to extend more and more, 
 we must not imagine that they had ceased to be the subject of prohibitory 
 and condemnatory ordinances on the part of the civil and ecclesiastical 
 authorities. On the contrary, a long list might be made of the decrees 
 launched against cards themselves and those that used them. Princes 
 and lords, as a matter of right, felt themselves above thèse proldbitions ; 
 the lower orders and the dissolute did not faU to infringe them. It was 
 nevertheless the case, that in the face of thèse constantly-renewed prohibi- 
 tions, the manufacture of playing-cards could only be developed, or rather 
 perhaps be carried on, in some indirect mode. Thus, we find the business 
 at first was concealed, as it were, under that of a stationer or iUuminator. 
 îfot until December, 1581— that is, in the reign of Henry III.— do we find 
 
23» 
 
 PL A riNG- CARDS. 
 
 the first reo-ulation fixing tlie statutes of the "master-cardmakers." Thèse 
 statiites, confirmée! by letters patent in 1584 and 1613, remained in force 
 down to the (French) Révolution. In the confirmation of corporate 
 privilèges granted at the latter date, it is laid down as a rule that 
 henceforth master-cardmakers should be bound to place their names, sur- 
 names, signs, and devices on the " knave of clubs " (Figs. 212, 213) of 
 every pack of cards. This prescription appears to hâve done nothing more 
 than légalise an old custom — a fact which may be proved by an examination 
 
 Figs. 212 and 2] 
 
 ).— The " Knave of Clubs" in the Packs of Cards of R. Passerel and R. Le Cornu. 
 (Sixteenth Century. Bibl. Imp., Paris.) 
 
 of the curions collection of ancient cards in the Print-Room of the 
 Bibliothèque Impériale. We hâve already stated that for a period of many 
 years the names given to the various personages in the pack varied con- 
 stantly, according to the fancy of the cardmaker ; a mère glance at the 
 collection just mentioned will confirm this assertion. 
 
 The cards that might be styled those of Charles VII., which appear to 
 us to convey some réminiscence of the halld des ardents, hâve no inscription 
 but the name of the cardmaker. But in the other pack of the same date 
 
PLAFING-CARDS. 239 
 
 the "kuavo of clubs" bears as a legeud the word Rolan ; the " king of clubs," 
 Sans Souci; tbe "queen of clubs," Tromperie; the "king of diamonds," 
 Corsiihe; the "qiieen of diamonds," En foi te fie ; the "king of spades," 
 Apollin, &c. This collection of names reveals to us the threefold influence 
 of the Saracenic origin of plaj'ing-cards, the ideas conveyed at that period 
 to the mind by the reading of the old romances of chivaby, and the effect of 
 contemporary events. In fact, in the ancient epics, Apollin (or Apollo) is a 
 deity by ^rhom the Saracens were accustomed to S'wear ; Corsuhe is a knight 
 of Cordova {Corsuha). Sans Souci is evidently one of those sobriquets which 
 squires acquired the habit of adopting at the time they were proving them- 
 selves worthy of the title of knight. Roland, the mighty Paladin \rho 
 died at Eoncevaus fighting against the Saracens, seems to hâve been placed 
 upon the cards in order to oppose the memory of his glory to that of the 
 infidel kings. The queen " En toi te fie " might well allude to Joan of 
 Arc. The queen " Tromperie " recalls to mind Isabel of Bayaria, vfho was 
 an unfaithful wife and a cruel mother ; and, moreover, had betrayed France 
 to England. Ail thèse ideas are doubtless mère suppositions, but such as 
 a critical examination of a more minute and extended character would 
 perhaps succeed in changing into unquestionable certainties. 
 
 Next after the cards of the time of Charles YII. folio w, as the most 
 ancient in point of date, two packs which certainly belong to the reign of 
 Louis XII. One of thèse packs does not bear any kind of legend ; in the 
 other the "king of hearts" is called Charles; the "king of diamonds," 
 Cœsar; the "king of clubs," Arthur; the "king of spades," David; the 
 "queen of hearts," Héleine ; the "queen of diamonds," Judith; the "queen 
 of clubs," Rachel; the " queen of spades," Persahée (doubtless for Bathsheba). 
 
 In a pack of cards belonging to the reign of Francis I., the " king of 
 clubs" becomes Alexander, and the name of Judith is transferred to the 
 " queen of hearts ;" and for the first time (at least in the spécimens which 
 hâve been preserred) some of the " knaves " bear spécial names — the 
 "knare of hearts" is La Sire, and the "knaye of diamonds" Hector of 
 Trois (sic). 
 
 A few years later, about the time of the battle of PaTÏa and of the 
 khig's captivity, the influence of Spanish and Italian fashions begins 
 to affect the legends on packs of cards. It is remarked that the " knave 
 of spades," which présents nothing in the way of a legend but the name of 
 
240 PLAYING-CARDS. 
 
 the cardmaker, is made to resemble Charles-Quint (Fig. 211). The three 
 other knaves hear the singular dénominations of Prieii Roman, Capita Fili, 
 and Capitane Vaïlant. The kings are: "hearts," JuKus Cœsar; "diamonds," 
 Charles; "clubs," Hector; " spades," David. The queens are: "hearts," 
 Héleine; "diamonds," Lucresse; "clubs," Pentaxlée (Penthesilea) ; "spades," 
 Beciabée (Bathsheba). 
 
 In the reign of Henry II-, the names given to the personages corne 
 much nearer to the arrangement obserYed in our présent cards. Cœsar is 
 the "king of diamonds;" David, the "king of spades;" Alexander, the 
 "king of clubs." Rachelisihe " queen of diamonds;" Argine, of "clubs;" 
 Pallas, of " spades." Hogier, Hector of Troy, and La Hire, are the 
 "knaves" of "spades," "diamonds," and "hearts," respectively. 
 
 At the time of Henry III., who devoted himself much more to regulat- 
 ing the fashions than to governing his kingdom, and was the first to grant 
 statutes to the association of cardmakers, the pack of cards became the 
 mirror of the extravagant fashions of this effeminate reign, The " kings " 
 bave the pointed beard, the starched coUar, the plumed hat, the breeches 
 puffing out round the loins, the slashed doublet, and the tight-fitting hose. 
 The " queens " bave their hair drawn back and crisped, the dress close 
 roimd the body, and made à vertugarde (in the form of a hoop-petticoat). 
 We see a Diclo, an Elizaheth, and a Clotilde, make their appearance in the 
 respective characters of "queens" of " diamonds," "hearts," and "spades." 
 Among the kings figure Constantine, Clovis, Augustus, and Solomon. 
 
 The valiant Béarnais* mounts the throne, and the cards still reflect the 
 aspect of his court. But soon Astrea and a whole cortège of tender and 
 gallant heroes begin to assume an iniluence over refined minds, and we then 
 find Cyrus and Semiramis as "king and queen" of diamonds; Roxana is the 
 "queen of hearts" (Fig. 214), Ninus the "king of spades," &c. 
 
 In the regency of Marie de Medicis, in the reign of Louis XIII., or 
 rather of Richelieu, in the time of Anne of Austria and Louis XIV., 
 playing-cards continued to assume the character of the period, foUow- 
 ing the whim of the court, or the fancy of the cardmaker. At a certain 
 time they began to take an Italian character. The "king of diamonds" 
 was called Carel; his queen, Lucres! ; the "queen of spades," Barbera; the 
 "queen of clubs," Pcnfhamée; the " knave of diamonds," capit. Meh. 
 
 * Henry IV., 'boni at Pau, in the Béarn.— [Ed.] 
 
PLAVING-CARDS. 241 
 
 A vast field of iavestigation would lie before us if, in tracing out the 
 detailed history of thèse numerous variations, we Avere to endeavour to 
 distiuguisli and settle the différent causes which gave rise to tliem. One 
 f;ict must cci'tainly strike auy one devoting himself to such inquiry ; he 
 would see that, in contradistinction to tlie changes which hâve affected 
 the personages on the cards and their names, a continuous state of stability 
 has been the characteristic of the four suits in the French cards or the 
 piquet-pack, which ■s\-ere adopted from the very commencement, and that no 
 attempt has ever been made against their arrangement and nature. Cœur 
 (hearts), carreau (diamonds), trèfle (clubs), and pique (spades) — thèse were 
 the di^dsions established by La Hire or Chevalier, and they are still faith- 
 fully maintained in the présent day, although at various times endeavoui's 
 hâve been made to define their symbolical signification. 
 
 For a long time the opinion of Father Menestrier was the prévalent 
 one; that "hearts" were an emblem of the clergj^ or the choir (chœur); 
 " diamonds," of the citizens, who had their rooms paved with square 
 tiles; "clubs," of labourers ; and "spades," of military men. But 
 Menestrier was in egregious error. A much clearer view of the matter 
 was taken by Father Daniel, who, like ail sensible interpreters, recognising 
 in cards a game of an essentially military character, asserted that "hearts" 
 denoted the courage of the commanders and soldiers ; "clubs" [trèfle — 
 "trefoil") the stores of forage ; "spades" aud "diamonds," the magazines 
 of arms. This was a view which, as we think, cornes much doser to the 
 real interprétation of the suits ; and Bullet was still nearer the mark wheu 
 he recognised offensive arvas in "clubs" and "spades," and défensive arms 
 in "hearts" and "diamonds." The first were the sword and the lance; 
 the second, the target and the shield. 
 
 But in order to do full honour to French cards, we must not esclude 
 from our attention the tarots, which preceded om- game of piquet, aud 
 continued to be simultaneously used even in France. 
 
 The Spanish and Italiau cardmakers, who had been nearly always 
 established in France, made a large quantity of tarots (Fig. 215) ; but they 
 made a certain concession to French politeness by substituting " queens " 
 for the " cavaliers " of their national game. We must remark hère, that even 
 at the epoch of the conquests of Charles YIII. and Louis XII., French 
 cards with the four "queens " replacing the "cavaliers " never succeeded in 
 
 I I 
 
242 
 
 PLAYING-CARDS. 
 
 nationalising themselves in Italy, and still less in Spain ; on the contrary, 
 the fact was that as regards this point of fashion, the vanquislied people 
 obtained tlae advantage over their conquerors, and tlie iarot% came into full 
 favour among the victorious soldiery. 
 
 The Spaniards must certainly hâve received the Oriental ndih from the 
 îloors and Saracens a long time prior to the introduction of this game 
 into Europe at Viterbo ; but we hâve no written proofs which certify to 
 the existence of cards among the Saracens of Spain. The first document 
 
 Figf. 214. — Roxana, Queen of Hearts. 
 
 (Spccimen of the Cards of the time 
 
 of Henry IV.) 
 
 ig. 215.— Card of Italian Tatois, from the Pack of the 
 tninchiaie. 
 (Collection of Playing-Cards, Bibl. Imp., Paris.) 
 
 iu whieh they are mentioned is the edict of John L, of the date of 1387, to 
 which référence has been made. Certain mvants hâve endeavoui-ed to ascertain 
 the signification of the four suits of the Spanish naypcs, and hâve faiicied 
 that they could distinguish in them a spécial symbolism. In their view, 
 the dineros, copas, hasfos, and spadas, denoted the four estâtes which 
 composed the population : the merchants, who hâve the money ; the priests, 
 \vhohoId the challce or cup ; the peasantry, who handle the staff; and the 
 
PLAllNG-CARDS. 
 
 H3 
 
 nobles, wlio wear tbc sword. This explanation, although ingenious, doos 
 not apijear to us to bc based on any veiy solid foundation. The signs or 
 suits of the mimerai cards were fixed upon in the East, and Spain as well 
 as llaly nierely adoptcd them without taking much trouble to pcnetrate 
 into their allegorical meaning. The Spaniards became so addicted to this 
 game that they soon preferred it to anjr other récréation ; and we know 
 that when the companions of Christopher Columbus, who had just discovered 
 
 Figs. 216 and 217.— The " Three " and "Eight" of "Bells." German Cards of the Sixteenth Centurj'- 
 (Bibl. Imp. of Paris. Print-Room. ) 
 
 America, formed their first settlement at St. Domingo, they almost instantly 
 set to work to make playing-cards ont of the leayes of trees- 
 
 There can be no doubt that playing-cards very soon made their way 
 from Italy into Germany; but as they advanced towards the North they 
 almost immediately lost their Oriental characteristics and Saracenic name. 
 There is, in fact, no longer any etymological trace to be found in the old 
 German language of the words ndih, ndihi, or naypes. Cards were called 
 
244 
 
 PLAYING-CARDS. 
 
 Briefe, that is, letters ; the game itself Spieïbriefe, game of letfcers ; the 
 earliest cardmakers were Briefmaler, painters of letters. The four suits of 
 the Briefe were neither Italian nor French in character ; they bore the name 
 of ScheUen, "bells" (Figs. 216, 217, 218), or roth (red), grûn (green), and 
 Eicheln (acorns) (Fig. 219). The Germans, in their love of symbolism, 
 had comprehended the real original signification of the game of cards, and 
 although they introduced many marked changes, they made it their study, 
 
 ^:-g^^ 
 
 Figs. 2i8 and 219.— The " Two of Bells '•' and the " King of Acorns," taken from a Pack of Cards of the 
 
 Sixteenth Centurj-, designed and engraved by a German Master. 
 
 (Bibl. Imp. of Paris. Print-Room.) 
 
 at least m principle, to préserve its miHtary characteristics. Their suits 
 depicted, it is said, the triumphs or the honours of war— the crowns 
 of oak-leaves or ivy, the beUs were the bright insignia of the Germau 
 nobihty, and the purple was the recompense of their valiant warriors. 
 The Germans were carefd nof to admit ladies iuto the thoroughly 
 warlike company of Idngs, captains {oler), and officers {untcr). The ace 
 was always the flag, the ivarlike emblem par excelle iice ; in addition to 
 
PLAVING-CARDS. 
 
 24s 
 
 this, the olilcst game was the Landsknecht, or lansquenet (Fig. 220), the 
 elistiuctive term of the soldier. 
 
 TN^e ai'e sjjoakiug hère only of tlie earliest Gorman cards, for, aftcr a 
 certain date, tlie essential forni and cmblematical rules of the pack depended 
 on nothing hut the fancy and whini of the maker or the en graver. The 
 figures were but seldom designated by a proper name, but often bore devices 
 in German or Latin. Among the collections of ancient cards we find one 
 pack half German and half French, w-ith the names of the Pagan god.s. 
 
 Fig. 220.— The "Two " of a Pack of German Lans- 
 quenet Cards. 
 (Bibl. Imp. of Paris.) 
 
 Fig. 22r. — Card from a Game of "Logic," invented 
 by Th. Mumer, and copied from his " Charti- 
 ludium Logices." (Cracow, 1507.) 
 
 There are also several sets of cards with five suits (of fourteen cards each), 
 among others those of "roses" and " pomegranates." 
 
 The Germans were the first who entertained the idea of applying cards 
 to the instruction of youth ; and, as it were, of nioralising a game of chance 
 by making it express ail the catégories of scholastic science. Thomas 
 Murner, a Franciscan monk, and professor of philosophy, made in 1507 an 
 
2+6 PLAYING-CARDS. 
 
 attempt of this kind (Fig. 221.) He designed a pack of fifty-two cards, 
 divided into sixteen suits, corresponding to the same number of scholastic 
 treatises ; each card is covered witL. so many symbols tliat a description 
 woidd resemble the setting fortli of some obscure riddle {ténébreux logogriphé). 
 The German universities, whicli were far from being dismayed at a little 
 mysticism, were only the more eager to study the arcana of grammar and 
 logic while plajàng at cards. Imitations of Murner's cards were multiphed 
 ad infiiiitum. 
 
 A game and pack of cards attributed to the celebrated Martin Schœn- 
 gauer, or to one of his pupils, must also be dated in the fifteenth 
 century. The cards are distinguished by their form, number, and design; 
 they are roimd in shape, and much resemble Persian cards, are painted 
 on ivory and covered with arabesques, flowers, and birds. This pack, only 
 a few pièces of which now exist in some of the German collections, was 
 composed of fifty-two cards divided into four numéral séries of nine cards 
 each, and with four figures in each séries — the king, the queen, the 
 squire, and the knave. The suits or marks are the "Hare," the "Parrot," 
 the " Carnation," and the " Columbine." Each of the aces represents the 
 type of the suit, and they bear philosophical devices in Latin. The four 
 figures of the "Parrot" suit are of African character; those of the 
 " Hare " are Asiatic or Turkish ; those of the " Carnation " and the 
 "Columbine" belong to Europe. The "kings" and "queens" are on 
 horseback ; the " squires " and " knaves " are so similar that it is difficult 
 to distinguish them, with the exception of the knaves of "Columbine" 
 and "Carnation" (Figs. 222 to 227). 
 
 The English also were in possession of playing-cards at an early date, 
 obtaining them through the médium of the trade which they carried on 
 with the ïïanseatic towns and HoUand ; but they did not manutactiu'e 
 cards before the end of the sixteenth century ; for we know that in the 
 reign of Queen Elizabeth the Government retained in its own hands the 
 monopoly of playing-cards, "which were imported from abroad." The 
 Eughsh, while adopting indiscriminately cards of a German, French, 
 Itahan, or Spanish character, gave to the valet the characteristic appellation 
 of "knave."* 
 
 * The English " knave " is only our old équivalent for the German l;nabc, and had originally 
 the Siwnc meanmg of scn-ant ; it is also nearly eimilar in sensé to the French wfc^.— [Tk.] 
 
Figs. 222 to 227. — German Round-sbaped Cards, with the Monogram T. "W". 
 I. "King of Parrots." 2. *' Queen of Carnations." 3. " Knave of Columbine." 4. "KnaveofHan 
 5. "Three of Parrots." 6. "Ace of Carnations." 
 (Bibl. Imp. of Paris.) 
 
PLATING-CARDS. 
 
 Wood-engraving, -whicli was invented at the commencement of tlie 
 fifteentli century, and perhaps even before, miist hâve been applied at 
 the very first and almost simiûtaneously to the reproduction of sacred 
 IDictures and the manufacture of plajdng-cards. Holland and Germany 
 
 xy , xW---»-;:;^^-;?^^' 
 
 -La Damoiselle, from a Pack of Cards engraved by " The Master of 1466." 
 (Bibl. Imp. of Paris. Print-Room.) 
 
 have contended for the honour of havin^ been the cradle of this invention. 
 Takmg advantage of this, they have also even thought themselves war- 
 rauted in hiying chiim to the crédit of the orio-inal manufacture of cards ; 
 
PLA17XG-CARDS. 
 
 2+9 
 
 whereas the fact is that ail they can claim is to hâve been the first to 
 produce them by some more expeditious method of making. According 
 to the opinion of several savants, Laurent Coster of Haerlem was only an 
 engraver of wood-blocks for cards and pictures, before he became a printer 
 
 
 Fig. 229.— The Knight, from a Pack of Cards engraved by " The Master of 1466." 
 (Bibl. Imp. of Paris ) 
 
 of books. It certainly is a fact that wood-engraving, which was for a long 
 time limited to a few studios in HoUand and Upper Germany, owed a large 
 share of its progress to the trade in playing-cards — one whieh was carried 
 on with such activity that, as we read in an old chronicle of the city of Tira, 
 
PLAYING-CARDS. 
 
 about the year 1397, " they were in tlie habit of sending playing-cards in 
 baies to Italy, Sicily, and other soutbern countries, to exchange for groceries 
 and varions merchandise." 
 
 A few years later, engraving on métal or copper-plate was employed in 
 producing playing-cards of a really artistic cbaracter, among which we 
 may mention those of " The Master of 1466" (Figs. 228 and 229), and by 
 his anonymous rivais. The pack of cards of this engraver exists only ia a 
 small number of print- collections, and it is in every case incomplète. As far 
 as we can judge, it must hâve been composed of sixty cards, consisting of 
 forty numéral cards divided into five séries, and twenty picture-cards, beiag 
 four to each séries. The figures are the king, queen, knight, and knave. 
 The suits, or marks, présent rather a strange sélection of wild men, ferocious 
 quadrupeds, deer, birds of prey, and various flowers. Thèse objects are 
 numerically grouped and tolerably well arranged, so as to allosv the numbers 
 indicated to be distinguished at first sight. 
 
 Thus, as we hâve seen, playing-cards made their wa}' through Arabia 
 from India to Europe, where thej^ first arrived about the year 1370. Within 
 a few years they spread from the south to the north of the latter country ; 
 but those who, under the influence of a passion for play, had so eagerly 
 welcomed them, were far indeed from suspecting that this new game 
 contained within itself the germ of two of the most beautiful inventions 
 ever devised by the human mind — those of engraving and printing. There 
 eau be no doubt that playing-cards were in use for many a long year, ère the 
 public voice had proclaimed the almost simultaneous discovery of the arts of 
 engraving on wood and métal, and of printing. 
 
 Fig-. !jo.— Coat of Arms of the Cardmakers of Paris. 
 
GLASS-PAINTING. 
 
 Painting on Glass mentioned by Historians in the Third Century of our Era. — Glazed Windows 
 at Brioude in the Sixth Century. — Colouied Glass at St. John Lateran and St. Peter's in 
 Rome. — Church- Windows of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries in France : Saint-Denis, 
 Sens, Poitiers, Chartres, Eheims, &c. — In the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries the Art was 
 at its Zenith.— Jean Cousin. — The Célestins of Paris; Saint-Gervais. Robert Pinaigrier 
 and hia Sons. — Bernard Palissy décorâtes the Chapel of the Castle of Ecouen. — Foreigu Art ; 
 Albert Durer. 
 
 ^E have aiready established the fact that the art of 
 manufacturing and colouring glass was known to 
 the most ancient nations ; and, says ChampoUion- 
 Figeac, " if we study the various fragments of this 
 fragile substance that have been handed down to 
 our time, if we take into considération the varied 
 ornamentation with which they are covered, even 
 the human figures which some of them represent, it would 
 be difficult to assert that antiquity was unacquainted with 
 the means of combining glass with painting. If antiquity 
 did not produce what are now called painted-windows, the real cause 
 doubtless was because the custom of employing glass in Windows did 
 not then exist." Some few spécimens of it have, however, been found 
 in the Windows of the houses exhumed at Pompeii ; but this must have been 
 an exception, for the third century of our era is the earliest date in which 
 traces are found in history of wiadow-glass being used ia buildings ; and we 
 must bring down our researches as late as the times of St. John Chrysostom 
 and St. Jérôme (the fourth century) in order to find any reliable affirmation 
 as to its adoption. 
 
 In the sixth century Gregory of Tours relates that a soldier broke the 
 glass-window of a church at Brioude in order to enter it secretly and 
 commit robbery ; and we know that when this prelate caused the restoration 
 
252 GLASS-PAINTING. 
 
 of the Churcli of St. Martin of Tours, he took care to fill its Windows 
 with glass " of varied colours." About the same time Fortunatus, the 
 poet-bishop of Poitiers, highly extols the splendeur of the glass-window 
 of a church in Paris, the nanie of which he does not mention ; but the 
 learned investigations of Foncemagne with référence to the first kings of 
 France inform us that the church built at Paris by Childebert I. in honour 
 of the Holy Cross and St. Vincent, as well as the churches of Lyons and 
 Boui'ges, were closed in with glass-windows. Du Cange, in his " Constanti- 
 nople Chrétienne," describes the glass-windows of the basiHca of St. SopHa, 
 rebuilt by Justinian ; and Paul, the Silentiary,* dwells with enthusiasm on 
 the marvellous effect produced by the rays of the sun upon this assemblage 
 of varions coloured glasses. 
 
 In the eighth century, the epoch at which the use of .glass-windows 
 was becoming gênerai, the basilica of St. John Lateran and the Church 
 of St. Peter at Pome possessed coloured glass-windows ; and Charlemagne, 
 who had caused mosaics of coloured glass to be made in a large number 
 of churches, did not fail to avail himself of this kind of ornament in the 
 cathedral erected by him at Aix-la-Chapelle. 
 
 TJp to this time the only method of making glass was in small pièces, 
 generally round, and designated by the name of cives, a number of which 
 by means of a network of plaster, wooden frames, or strips of lead, were 
 used to fill up the Windows. This material being, however, very costly, it 
 could only be introduced into édifices of great importance. Added to this, 
 it can scarcely be a source of wonder if, at a time when ail branches of 
 art had relapsed into a sort of barbarism, and glass was only exceptionaUy 
 employed in ordinary purposes, no one thought of decorating it with painted 
 figures and ornaments. 
 
 With regard to mosaic, either in marble or coloured glass, Martial, 
 Lucretius, and other writers of antiquity, mention it in their works. Egypt 
 had a knowledge of it even before Greece ; the Eomans were accustomed to 
 employ it in ornamenting the roofs and pavement of their temples, and 
 even their colmnns and streets. Some magnificent spécimens of thèse 
 
 • Paul, the SUcnUarij, h so named irom holding in the court of Justinian the office of chicf of 
 the SUentiarii, persons who had the care of the palace. He wrote a poem on the rehuilding of 
 St. Sophia, at Constantinople, which was ti-anslated from Greek into Latin, and puhlished with 
 notes, by Du Cange, of Pai-is, in 16?0. It is this to which M. Lecroix refers in the text.-[ED.] 
 
GLASS-FAIiYTIXG. 253 
 
 décorations litive remaiued to our tiiue, aud they are considered as insépa- 
 rable from tlie architecture of tlie emperors. 
 
 Some hâve desired to attribute the ciistom of employing coloured glass in 
 mosaics to the rarity of coloured marbles. Would it not be a more probable 
 hypothesis that the simultaneous use of marble and glass for this purpose 
 was the resuit of improveraents in the art of making mosaics ? for glass 
 that, by metallic mixtures, may be brought to a variety of colours, is much 
 more easily adapted to pictorial combinations than marble, the tints of which 
 are the resuit of the caprices of nature. Seneca, alluding to the use of 
 coloured glasses in mosaic, complains of people not being able " to walk 
 except on precious stones ;" this sho'n's how prévalent the use of rich mosaics 
 had become in Eome. But this art must hâve siagularly fallen into decay, 
 for the fe'sv esamples of the kind we now possess, which date from the 
 first centuries of Christianity, are marked with a character of simplicity 
 that fuUy harmonises with the rudeness of the artists of those times. 
 Among thèse spécimens must be mentioned a pavement discovered at 
 Eheims, upon which are represented the twelve signs of the zodiac, the 
 seasons of the year, and Abraham' s Sacrifice; another on which are depicted 
 Theseus and the labyrinth of Crète, in juxtaposition with Da\-id and Goliath. 
 It is, moreover, Icnown that there existed in the Forum of jS'aples a portrait 
 in mosaic of Theodoric, king of the Goths, who had caused a représenta- 
 tion of the Baptism of Christ to be executed, in the church of Eavenna, by 
 the same process. Sidonius Apollinaris, describing the excessive luxury 
 of Consentius at jS"arbonne, speaks of arches and pavements ornamented 
 with mosaics. The churches of St. John Lateran, St. Clément, and St. George 
 in Telabro, at Rome, still display mosaics of this period. Lastly, Charle- 
 magne caused the greater part of the churches constructed by him to be 
 ornamented with mosaics. 
 
 To return to glass-work, we find that in the time of Charles the Bald, 
 in 863, mention is made of two artisans, Ragenat and Balderic, who became 
 as it were the heads of the race of French glass-makers. We also learn 
 from the chronicle of St. Benignus of Dijon, that in 1052 there existed in 
 that church a "very ancient painted window," representing St. Paschasie, 
 which was said to hâve been taken from the earlier church. "We hâve 
 therefore a right to conclude that at this period the custom of painting on 
 glass had long been common. 
 
254 GLASS-PAINTING. 
 
 In the tenth century glass-makers must hâve acquired some degree of 
 importance, for the reigning Dukes of I^orinandy of tiiat era established 
 certain privilèges in their faveur ; but, says ChampoUion-Figeac, " as ail 
 privilège was the prérogative of the order of nobility, they contrived to 
 give them to noble families whose fortunes were precarious. Four Norman 
 familles obtained this distinction. But although it was understood that in 
 devoting themselves to the trade thèse titled individuals incurred no 
 dégradation, it was never said, as is commonly believed, that the profession 
 of this art conferred nobility ; on the contrary, a proverb arose whict 
 long continued in use, namely, that ' in order to make a gentleman glass- 
 maker, you must first take a gentleman.' " 
 
 Although painting on glass was from that time carried on with considér- 
 able activity, in many cases it was still very far from being accomplished by 
 the processes which were destined to make it one of the most remarkable 
 productions of art. The application of the brush to vitrifiable colours 
 was not generally adopted. In the examples of this period that remaia 
 to DUT days, we indeed find large cims cast in white glass, upon which 
 characters were painted by the artist ; but, as the colour was not désignai 
 to be incorporated with the glass by the action of fire, with a view to ensure 
 the préservation of the painting, another transparent but thick cive was 
 placed over the first and closely soldered to it. 
 
 While glass-painting was thus seeking to perfect its processes, mosaic 
 work gradually declined. Only a very small number of mosaics of the tenth 
 and eleventh centuries exist at the présent day, and thèse, moreover, are 
 very incorrect in design, and entirely wanting in taste and colour. 
 
 In the twelfth century ail the arts began to revive. The fear of the end 
 of the world, which had thrown mankind into a strange state of perturbation, 
 was dissipated. The Christian faith everywhere stirred up the zeal of its 
 disciples. Magnificent cathedrals with imposing arches sprang up in various 
 places, and the 'art of the glass-maker came to the aid of architecture in 
 order to diffuse over the iuteriors consecrated to worship the light, both 
 prismatic and harmonious, which affords the calm necessary for holy médi- 
 tation. But though, in the painted Windows of this period, we are forced 
 to admire the ingénions combinatian of colours for the rose-work (rose- 
 wiudows), the case is very différent as regards the drawing and colouring 
 of the designs. The figures are generallv traced in rough, stiff lines on 
 
 ■**^'il 
 
GLASS-PAnVIVA'G. 
 
 glass of a duU tint, which absorbs ail the expression of the heads ; the 
 entire drapery of the costume is heavy ; the figure is spoilt by the folds of 
 
 ■tig. 231. — St. Timothy the Martyr, Coloured Glass of the end of the Eleventh Centurj\ found in the 
 
 Church of Neuwiller (Bas-Rhin) by M. Eœswillwald. 
 
 (From the " History of Glass-Painting-," by il. Lasteyrie.) 
 
 its vestments as if it were enclosed in a long sheath. This is the gênerai 
 cnaracter of the exaniples of that period as they are knoTm to us (Fig. '231), 
 
2-6 GLASS-PAINTING. 
 
 The painted Windows wMcli Suger made to adorn the abbey-cturcli of 
 St. Denis, some of which exist in our days, date from the twelfth century. 
 The abbot made inquiries in every country, and gathered together at a great 
 es^Dense the best artists he could find, in order to assist in this décoration. 
 The Adoration of the Magi, the Annunciation, the History of Moses, and 
 varions allégories, are there represented in the chapel of the Virgin and 
 those of St. Osman and St. Hilary. Among the principal pictures may be 
 also observed a portrait of Suger himself at the feet of the Virgin. The 
 borders surrounding the subjects may be considered as models of harmony 
 and good arrangement of efFect ; but still the taste shown in the sélection and 
 combination of colours is carried to the highest point in the subjects them- 
 selves, the designs of which are very excellent. 
 
 In the Church of St. Maurice, at Angers, we find examples of a rather 
 earlier date — perhaps the most ancient spécimens of painted Windows in 
 France ; thèse are the history of St. Catherine and that of the Virgin, which, 
 in truth, are not equal in merit, as regards exécution and taste, to the 
 ancient Windows of the Church of St. Denis. 
 
 We still hâve to mention some fragments contained in the Church of 
 St. Serge, and the chapel of the Hospital, in the town of Angers ; also a 
 glass-window in the Abbey of Fontevrault ; another in the Church of 
 St. Peter, at Dreux, in which is represented Queen Anne of Brittany. We 
 will, in conclusion, mention one of the Windows of tbe choir in the Church 
 of the Trinity, at Vendôme ; it represents the Glorification of the Virgin, 
 who bears on her forehead an auréola, the shape of which, called amandaire* 
 has furnished archœologists with a subject for long discussions ; some being 
 desirous of proving that this auréola, which does not appear to be depicted 
 m the same way on any other painted window, tends to show that the 
 Works of the Poitevine glass-makers, to whom it is attributed, had been 
 subject to the influence of the Byzantine school ; others assert that the 
 almond-shaped crown is a symbol exclusively reserved for the Virgin. 
 Before we proceed, to the examples handed do\ra to us from the twelfth 
 century, we must mention some remains of glass to be seen at Chartres, 
 Mans, Sens, and Bourges (Fig. 232), &c. We may also add, as an incident 
 
 • --l»w»(fa»-<;— almond-shaped. Slrictly speaking, the auréola 13 the nimbus of the whole 
 body, as the nimbus is the auréola of the head. In Fairholt's " Dictionary of Terms- in Art" ia 
 an engraving showing a saint standing in the centre of an almond-shaped auréola— [Ed.] 
 
GLA SS-PAINTING. 
 
 257 
 
 not without interest, that a chapter of the order of the Cistercians, consider- 
 iiig tlie preat, expense to which tlie acquisition of painted Windows led, 
 prohibitcd the use of them in churches under the rule of St. Bernard. 
 
 Fig. 232. — Fragment of a Church-window, representing the " Prodiguai Son " Thirteenth Century. 
 {Presented to the Cathedral of Bourges by the Guild of Tanneis.) 
 
 "The architecture of the thirteenth century," according to the judicious 
 rcmarks of Champollion-Figeac, " by its style of moulding, which is more 
 slender and graceful than the massive forms of Eonian art, opened a wider 
 
 L I, 
 
258 GLASS-PAINTING. 
 
 and more favourable field for artists in glass. The small pillars then pro- 
 jected, and extended themselves witli a novel élégance, and the tapering and 
 délicate spires of the steeples lost themselves in the clouds. The Windows 
 occupied more space, and likewise had the appearance of springing lightly 
 and gracefully upwards. They were adorned with symbolical ornaments, 
 griffins, and other fantastic animais ; leaves and boughs cross and intertwine 
 with one another, producing that varied rose-work which is the admiration 
 of modem glass-makers. The colours are more skilfuUjr combined and better 
 blended than in the windows of the preceding century ; and although some 
 of the figures are still wanting in expression, and hâve not thrown off ail 
 the stiffness which characterised them, the draperies, at least, are lighter 
 and better drawn." Examples of the thirteenth century which hâve re- 
 mained to our time are very numerous. There is at Poitiers some painted 
 glass composed of small roses, and chiefly placed in one of the windows in 
 the centre of the church and in the " Calvary " of the apse ; at Sens, the 
 legend of St. Thomas of Canterbury is represented in a number of small 
 médaillons, caUed verrières légendaires ; at Mans is glass representing the 
 corporations of trades ; at Chartres, the painted glass in the cathedral, a 
 work both magnificent and extensive, contains no fewer than one thousand 
 three hundred and fifty subjects, distribu ted throughout one hundred 
 and forty-three windows. At Rheims, the painted glass is perhaps less 
 important, but it is remarkable both for the brilliancy of its colours and 
 also for its characteristic fitness to the style of the édifice. Bourges, Tours, 
 Angers, and Notre-Dame in Paris, présent very beautiful spécimens. The 
 Cathedral of Eouen possesses, to this day, a window which bears the name 
 of Clément of Chartres, master glazier, the first artist of this kind who bas 
 left behind him any work bearing his signature. We must, in conclusion, 
 mention the Sainte-Chapelle, Paris, which is unquestionably the highest 
 représentation of what the art is capable of producing. The designs of the 
 Windows in this last édifice are legendury, and although some few inaccuracies 
 may be noticed in the figures, the fault is redeemed by the studied 
 élégance of the ornamentation and the harmony of colours, which combine 
 to render them one of the most consistent and perfect works of painting 
 on glass. 
 
 In the thirteenth century "grisaille" first made its appearance; it was 
 quite a new style, and bas been often since employod in the borders and 
 
GLASS-PAINTING. 259 
 
 onianients of painted Windows. " Grisaille,"* the name of wliich is to some 
 extcnt sufficicnt to describe its aspect, was used simultaneously with the 
 mosaics of variegated glass, as we see in the Church of St. Thomas, 
 Strasbourg, in the Cathedral of Freybourg in Brisgau, and in raany ehurches 
 of Bourges. 
 
 The large number of paintings on glass belonging to the thirteenth 
 century, which may still be studied in various ehurches, has given rise to 
 the idea of classifying ail thèse monuments, and arranging them under 
 certain schools, which hâve been designated by the names of Franco-Norman, 
 Germanie, &c. Some hâve even gone further, and desired to recognise in 
 the style peculiar to the artists of ancient France a Norman style, a Poitevin 
 style (the latter recognisable, it is said, by the want of harmony in the 
 colours), &c. We can hardly admit thèse last distinctions, and are the less 
 inclined to do so, as those who propound them seem to base their théories 
 rather on the defects than the good qualities of the artists. Besides, at a 
 period in which a nobleman sometimes possessed several provinces very 
 distant from each other — as, for example, Anjou and Provence — it might so 
 happen that the artists he took with him to his différent résidences could 
 scarcely fail, by the union of their various works, to cause any provincial 
 influences to disappear, and would finally reduce the distinction between 
 what is called the Poitevin style, the Norman style, &c., to a question of a 
 more or less skilful manufacture, or of a more or less advanced improvement. 
 
 In the fourteenth century the artist in glass became separated from the 
 architect ; although naturally subordiaate to the designer of the édifice, in 
 which the Windows were to be only an accessory ornament, he wished to 
 give effect to his o^vn inspiration. The whole of the building was subjected 
 by him to the effect of his more learned and correct drawing, and his purer 
 and more striking colouring. It mattered little to him should some part of 
 the church hâve too much light, or not light enough, if a flood of radiance 
 deluged the apse or the choir, instead of being gradually diffased every- 
 where, as in earlier buildings. He desired his labour to recommend him, 
 and his work to do him honour. 
 
 The court-poets, Guillaume de Mâchant and Eustache Deschamps, cele- 
 brate in their poems several works in painted glass of their time, and even 
 give some détails in verse on the mode of fabricating them. 
 
 * Grisaille — white and black. —[Ed.] 
 
200 
 
 GLASS-PAINTING. 
 
 In 1347 a royal ordinance was proclaimed in favour of the workmen of 
 
 FiK. 2.;-,.— Leprendof the Jewof theRuedes Billettes Paris, piercing the Holy Wafer with bis Knife. 
 From a. Window of the Churcb of St. Alpin, at Châlons-sur-Mame. Fourteenth Centurj-) 
 
 layons. The custom existed at that time of adorning with painted windows 
 
 tU 
 
GLA SS-PAINTING. 
 
 «6| 
 
 :i\ 
 
 royal and lordly habitations. The artists produced their owu designs, 
 udapting them to the use that was made, in private 
 lite, of the halls t'oi- which they were intended. 
 Some of thèse Windows representing familiar 
 legends adorned even the churches (Fig. 233). 
 
 Among the most important works of the four- 
 teenth century, we must mention in the first place 
 the Windows of the cathedrals of Mans, Beauvais, 
 Evreux (Fig. 234), and the rose-windows of St. 
 Thomas at Strasbourg. Next corne the Windows 
 of the ChuTch of St. Nazaire at Carcassonne and 
 of the Cathedral of JS^arbonne. There are, besides, 
 in the Church of St. John at Lyons, in Notre- 
 Dame of Semur, in Ais in Provence, at Bourges, 
 and at Metz, church-windows in every respect 
 worthy of attention. 
 
 The fifteenth century only continues the tra- 
 ditions of the preceding one. The principal works 
 
 dating from this epoch begin, according to the order 
 
 of merit, with the window of the Cathedral of Mans, 
 
 which represents Yolande* of Aragon, and Louis IL, 
 
 King of îfaples and Sicily, ancestors of the good 
 
 King René ; after them we shall place the Windows 
 
 of the Sainte-Chapelle, Riom ; St. Vincent, Rouen ; 
 
 the Cathedral of Tours ; and that of Bourges, 
 
 representing a mémorial of Jacques Cœur, &c. 
 
 The sixteenth century, although bringing with 
 
 it, owing to religions troubles, many ravages of 
 
 new iconoclasts, has handed down to us a variety 
 
 of numerous and remarkable church-windows. ^Ve 
 
 are, of course, unable to mention them ail ; but it 
 
 seems expédient — adopting the rule of most arch- 
 
 seologists — to divide them into three branches or 
 
 sehools, which are actually formed by the différent 
 
 styles of the artists of that epoch ; the French 
 
 ik 
 
 X 
 
 Fig. 234. — Fragment of aWindow pre- 
 sented to the Cathedral ofEvreux by 
 the Eishop Guillaume de Gantiers, 
 Fourteenth Century, 
 
 Probably Alfonso is thus desigiiateL — [Ed.] 
 
2f62 
 
 GLA SS-PA IiXTIA'G. 
 
 scliool, the German school, and the Lorraine scHool (Fig. 235), whict 
 partakes of the characteristics of the two preceding. 
 
 -V) PALLADIS l 
 
 Fig. 235-— Allegorical Window, representing the "Citadel of Pallas." 
 (Lorraine work of the Sixteenth Centurj-, presen-ed in the Librarj- at Strasbourg.) ■ ■ 
 
 At the head of the French school figures the celebrated Jean Cousin, -n-ho 
 decorated the chapel of Tincennes ; he also made for the Célestins monastery, ■ 
 
GLASS-PAIXTTNG. ïôj 
 
 Paris, a représentation of C.ilvary ; for St. Gervais, in 1587, the Windows 
 representing the " Martyrdom of St. Lawrence," thc " Samaritan conversing 
 with Christ," and the " Paralytic." In thèse works, which belong to a high 
 style of painting, the best method of arrangement, vigorous drawing, and'- 
 powerful colouring, seem to reflect the work of Eaphael. "Windows in 
 "grisaille," made from the cartoons of Jean Cousin, also decorated the 
 Castle of Anet. 
 
 Another artist, named Robert Pinaigrier, who, although inferior to 
 Cousin, was much more fertile in production, assisted by his sons Jean, 
 Nicholas, and Louis, and several of his pupils, executed a number of Win- 
 dows for the churches of Paris, of which the greater part hâve disappeared : 
 Saint-Jacques la Boucherie, the Madeleine, Sainte-Croix en la Cité, Saint 
 Barthélémy, &c. Magnificent spécimens of his work stiïl remain at Saint- 
 Merry, Saint-Gervais, Saint-Etienne du Mont, and in the Cathedral of 
 Chartres. Pinaigrier's works in the décorations of châteaux and the 
 mansions of the nobility are perhaps equally numerous. 
 
 At this period several windows were made from the drawings of Raphaël, 
 Leonardo da Tinci, and Parmigiano ; it may also be remarked that two 
 patterns of the latter's work were used by Bernard Palissy, who was a glass- 
 maker before he became an enameller, in forming windows in "grisaille" 
 for the chapel of the Château of Ecouen. For the same place, following the 
 style of Raphaël, and from the drawings of Rosso, caUed Maître Houx, 
 Bernard Palissy executed thirty pictures on glass, representing the history 
 of Psyché, which are justly considered as ranking among the most beautiful 
 compositions of the epoch ; but it is not now known what has become of 
 thèse Taluable windows, which at the Révolution were transported to the 
 Muséum of French Monuments. 
 
 They were, it is said, executed under the direction of Léonard of 
 Limoges, who, like aU the masters of that school (Fig. 236), applied to 
 painting on glass the processes of enamelling, and vice versa. In the collec- 
 tions of the Louvre and of several amateurs, there are still examples of his 
 composition, on which he employed the best glass-painters of his time ; for 
 ie eould not himself work on ail the objects that proceeded from his studios, 
 and which were almost exclusively destined for the king's palace. 
 
 The French art of glass-working became cosmopolitan. It was intro- 
 Quced into Spain and also into the Low Countries under the protection of 
 
264 
 
 GLASS-PAINTING. 
 
 Charles Y. and the Duke of Alba. It even appears to hâve crossed the 
 Alps ; for we know that in 1512 a glass-painter of the name of Claude 
 adorned with his works the large Windows of the Yatican ; and Julius II. 
 summoned Guillaume of Marseilles to the Eternal City, the pontifF when 
 
 Fig- 236.— St. Paul, an Enamel of Limoges, by Etienne Jlercier. 
 
 occupying the sees of Carpentras and Avignon having appreciated his talent. 
 We nnnst not omit to mention, among the Flemish artists who escaped this 
 foreign influence, the name of Dirk of Haarlem (Fig. 237), the niost 
 celebrated master in this art at the close of the fifteenth century. 
 
 While French art was thus spreading over the continent, foreign art 
 
GLASS-PAINTING. 
 
 i6s 
 
 wiis bciiig' iiiti'oduced iuto France. Albert Diirer cmployed liis peiicil in 
 painting- twenty windows in the churcli of tho Old Temple, in Paris, and 
 prodiu'i'd a collection of pictures characteriscd bj' vigonms diawin^r, ^nid 
 
 Fig. 237-— Flemîsh Window (Fifteenth Century), half life-size. Painted in Monochrome, relieved with 5-ello-n-, 
 by Dirk of Haarlem. (Collection of M. Benoni-Verhelst, Ghent.) 
 
 warm and intense colourinar. The celebrated German did net -n-ork alone — 
 other artists assisted him ; and, notwitbstanding the deTastations which took 
 place during the Révolution, in manj^ a church and mansion traces of thèse 
 
 Jl M 
 
266 GLASS-PAINTING. 
 
 skilful masters may still be found ; their compositious, which are generally 
 as well arranged as they are executed, are marked witk a tinge of German 
 simplicity very suitable to the pious nature of the subjects tbey represent. 
 
 In 1600, Nicholas Pinaigrier placed in the Windows of the Castle of 
 La Briffe seven pictures in " grisaille," copied froni the designs of Francis 
 Floris, a Flemish master, who was born in 1520. At this same period Van 
 Haeck, Herreyn, John Dox, and Pelgrin Eôsen, ail belonging to the school 
 of Antwerp, and other artists who had decorated the Windows of most of 
 the churches in Belgium, especially St. Gudule in Brussels, influeuced 
 either directly or indirectly the glass-painters of the east and north of 
 France. Another group of artists, the Provençals, imitators of the Italian 
 style, or rather perhaps inspired by the same luminary, the sun of Michael 
 Angelo, trod a similar path to that which Jean Cousin, Pinaigrier, and 
 Palissy had followed with so niuch renown. The chiefs of this school were 
 Claude, and Guillaume of Marseilles, who, as we hâve just mentioned, carried 
 their talent and their works into Italy, where they succeeded in educating 
 some clever pupils. 
 
 With regard to the school of Messin or Lorraine, it is principally repre- 
 sented by a disciple of Michael Angelo, Valentin Bousch, the Alsatian, who 
 died in 1541 at Metz, where he had executed, since 1521, an immense 
 number of works. The windows of the churches of St. Barbe, St. Nicolas du 
 Port, Autrey, and Flavigny-sur- Moselle, are due to the same school, in which 
 Israël Henriet was also brought up ; he became the chief of a school 
 exclusively belonging to Lorraine, at the time when Charles III. had 
 invited the arts to unité under the patronage of the ducal throne. Thierry 
 Alix, in a "Description inédite de la Lorraine," written in 1590, and 
 mentioned by M. Bégin, speaks of " large plates of glass of ail colours," 
 made in his time in the mountains of Vosges, where " ail the herhs and 
 other things necessary to painting" were found. M. Bégin, after having 
 quoted this curions statement, adds that the windows which at that era 
 were produced in the studios of Vosges, and subsequently carried to ail 
 parts of Europe, constituted a very active branch of commerce. 
 
 " Nevertheless," says Champollion-Figeac, "art was declining. Christian 
 art especially was disappearing, and had almost come to an end, when 
 Protestantism stepped in and gave it the last blow ; this is proved by the 
 window in the cathedral church of Berne, in which tlie artist, Frédéric 
 
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 iJ^iÉI 
 
 FRANCIS I. AND ELEONORA AT THEIR DEVOTIONS. 
 
 Portion of a Slamed Gliss Wmdow m ihe Clmroli of SI GvidTile at Biussels. 
 
GLASS-PA/XnXG. 
 
 267 
 
 Walter, dured to laiinch his satire agaiiist doctrine itself, and to ridicule 
 trausubstantiation by representing a pojjc shovolling four evangclists into 
 a mill, from which come forth a number of wafers ; thèse a bishop is 
 receiving into a cup in order to distribute them to tbo wondering people. 
 Any édification of the masses by the powerful efiect of transparent images 
 placed, so to speak, between the earth and heaven, soon ceascd to bc possible, 
 aud glass-painting, henceforth alienated from the spécial aim of its origin, 
 was destined also to disappear." 
 
 Fif. 238.-Temptation of St. Mars, a Hermit of Auvergne, by the Devil disguised as a Woman. Fragment of ; 
 
 Window of the Sainte-Chapelle of Riom. Fifteenth Century. 
 
 (From " Histoire de la Peinture sur Verre," by M. F. de Lasteyrie.) 
 
FRESCO-PAINTINΠ
 
 The Nature of Fresco.— Employed by the Ancients.— Paintin^is at Pompeii.— Greek and Roman 
 Schools. — Mural Paintings destroyed by the Iconoclasts and Barbarians. — Re^-ival of Fresco, 
 in the îfinth Century, in Italy. — Fresco -Painters since Guido of Siena.— Principal Works of 
 thèse Painters. — Successors of Eaphael and Micliael Angelc— Fresco in SijraJîto.—'Muval 
 Paintings in France frora the Twelfth Century.— Gothic Frescoes of Spain.— Mural Paintings 
 in the Low Countries, Gennany, and Switzerland. 
 
 00 frequently in conversational language and even 
 in the writings of grave authors," says il. Ernest 
 Breton, " the word fresco is made synonymous with 
 mural painting in gênerai. This confusion of terms 
 has sometimes caused the most fatal errors. The 
 etj^mology of the word is the hest définition of the 
 subject. The Italians give the name of jjaintings 
 
 ■J&''4'' ^•^' ' in fresco or a fresco, that is to say, à frais, or sur le 
 
 ^^* frais, to those works executed upon damp stucco iato 
 
 which the colour pénétrâtes to a certaia depth. The ancient 
 
 French authors, preserving the différence existing between the 
 
 Italian fresco and the French frais, wrote the word fraisque. At the 
 
 présent day Italian orthography has prevailed, and with us this word has 
 
 now more relation to its etymology than its real signification." 
 
 Whatever maj^ be the common acceptation of the word, we must, in 
 order to keep within the limits of our subject, hère only take into consi- 
 dération real frescoes, or in other words, works of art executed upon a bare 
 wall, properly prepared for the purpose, with which they are as it were 
 incorporated ; for in the roU of art aU are excluded from the catalogue of 
 mural paintings, rightly so called, which, although applied to waUs either 
 directly or by the aid of panels or fixed canvas, are produced otherwise 
 than with water-colours, and used in such a manner as to penetrate the 
 spécial kind of plaster with which the wall had been previously covered. 
 
FRESCO-PAINTING. 
 
 We will mention as a striking example of this the famous " Lord's 
 Supper " of Leonardo da Vinci, wHch lias manj^ times been called a fresco 
 (it is well known to hâve been painted upon tbe wall of tbe refectory of 
 Santa Maria délia Gratia, at Milan), but is notbing but a painting in 
 distempei'* on a diy partition — a circumstance, by-the-bye, which bas not 
 a Kttle contributed to tbe détérioration of tbis magnificent work. 
 
 Fresco bas long been considered tbe most ancient st}de of painting. 
 Yasari, wbo wrote in tbe middle of tbe sixteentb century, says in apt terras 
 tbat " tbe ancients generally practised painting in fresco, and tbe first 
 painters of tbe modem scbools bave only followed tbe antique metbods;" 
 and, in our own à^j, Millin, in bis " Dictionnaire des Beaux-Arts," asserts 
 tbat tbe great paintings in tbe " Pœcile " of Atbens and tbe "Lescbe" of 
 Delpbi, by Pansenus and Polygnotus, spoken of by Pausanias, were executed 
 by tbis process ; tbe same autbor also ranks among frescoes tbe numerous 
 paintings left by tbe Egyptians in tbeir temples and catacombs. " It was," 
 be remarks, " wbat tbe E,omans called in udo pariete pingere (to paint on a 
 damp wall ) ; tbey say in cretuîa pingere (to paint on cbalk) to designate 
 water-colour painting on a dry ground." 
 
 Some persons bave considered tbe paintings found at Herculaneum and 
 Pompeii to be frescoes ; nevertbeless Winckelmann, wbo is an autbority in 
 tbese matters, said, a bundred years ago, in speaking of tbose works, " It 
 is to be remarked tbat tbe greater part of tbese pictures were not painted 
 on damp lime, but upon a dry ground, wbicb is rendered very évident by 
 several of tbe figures baving scaled off in sucb a way as to sbow distinctly 
 tbe ground upon wbicb tbey rest." 
 
 Tbe wbole mistake bas arisen from taking tbe expression " in udo 
 ■pariete" found in Pliny, in too literal a sensé ; tbe error, wbicb migbt at ail 
 events bave been dissipated by an attentive examination of tbe examples 
 tbemselves, would not bave lasted long if tbe passage from PHny bad 
 
 * This is obviously a misconception. Lanzi, alluding to the picture, says, " Had Leonardo 
 desired to foUow the practice of his âge in painting in distemper, the art at this time would bave 
 been in possession of this treasnre. But being always fond of attempting new methods, he 
 painted -this masterpiece upon a peculiar ground, formed of distilled oils, which was the reason 
 that it gradually detached itself from the wall," &c. And a later authority, Kugler, thus writes : 
 " The détermination of Leonardo to exécute the -work in oil-colours instead of fresco, in order to 
 bave the power of fiuisbing tbe minutest détails in so great an undertaking, appears to bave been 
 unfortunate." Distemper differs from fresco in tbat it ia painted ou a dry, and not a damp, wall; 
 but in both tbe vehicle used is of an aqueous, and not an oily, nature.— [Ed.] 
 
FRESCO-PA TNTING. 27 1 
 
 been compared witli a statement of Vitru-saus, whicli informs us fliat tLcy 
 applied to frest walls uniform tints of black, blue, yclknv, or rod, which 
 were destined to form the grounds of paintings, or evcn allowcd flicin fo 
 remain plain, like our présent coloured walls. The employaient of this 
 process may also be easily recognised in the paintings of Pompcii, where 
 this uniform colouring has sometimes penetrated nearly an inch into the 
 stucco of the wall. On this ground, when it was perfectly dry, ornamental 
 suhjects were painted either in distemper or encaustic. 
 
 Thus, therefore, it is shown that the process of paiuting iii frrxco was 
 iinknown to the ancients, and was invented by artists of succeeding times ; 
 but it would be difficult to assign any précise date to this invention ; for 
 however far we go back, we do not find any authors who fix the epoch at 
 which the new method was for the first time followed. We are, therefore, 
 compelled to notice the âge of some particular example which shows that 
 the discovery had then taken place, without being able to détermine the 
 exact date of its commencement. 
 
 Painting, which with the Greeks attained its greatest height in the reign 
 of Alexander, fell, says M. Breton, "with the power of Greece. In losing 
 its liberty, the country of the Fine Arts lost, too, the perception of the 
 beautiful." At Rome, painting never reached the same degree of perfec- 
 tion as it did in Greece ; for a long time it was only practised by men of 
 the lowest rank and by slaves. A few patricians, such as Amulius, Fabius 
 Picfor (painter), and Cornélius Pinus, were, at the best, able to bring about 
 only some slight revival. After the twelve Cassars, painting followed the 
 movement of décadence which carried away with it ail the arts ; like 
 them, it received its death-blow in the fourth century, on the day when 
 Constantine, quitting Rome in order to establish the seat of empire at 
 Byzantium, took with him into his new capital not only the best artists, but 
 also a prodigious number of their productions, and of those of the artists 
 who preceded them. Several other causes may also be mentioned as having 
 led to the décline of art, or to the destruction of examples which would 
 now hear witness to its power in remote âges. In the first place, there was 
 the birth of Christian Art, which rose on the ruins of Paganism ; then, the 
 invasion of barbarians which took place in the fifth century ; lastly, in the 
 eighth and ninth centuries, the fury of the Iconoclasts, or Image-breakers, 
 a sect at the head of which figured several emperors of the East, from Léo 
 
2^2 FRESCO-PÂINTING. 
 
 tlie Isaurian, who reigned in 717, down to Micliael tte Stammerer and 
 Theophilus, wlio respectively ascended thé impérial throne in 820 and 829. 
 
 Even among the ignorant niasses, to whom -we owe the loss of so many 
 chefs-d' autre, were some individuals wlio formed honourable exceptions, 
 net only by opposing the dévastations, but also by manifesting a laudable 
 conservative instinct. Cassiodorus tells us tbat Tbeodoric, king of the 
 Goths, re-established the office of ceiiturio nitentium rerum (guardian of 
 beautiful objects), instituted by the emperor Constantius ; and we know that 
 the Lombard kings who succeeded this prince and reigned in Italy for 218 
 j^ears, although less zealous in the culture of the arts, did not fail to honour 
 and protect them. In Paul the Deacon * we read that, in the sixth century, 
 queeu Teudelinde, wife of Autharis and afterwards of Agilulphus, caused 
 the yalorous deeds of the first Lombard kings to be painted on the hcmïica 
 that she had consecrated at Monza under the name of St. John. Other 
 paintings of the same epoch may still be seen at Pavia. The Church of 
 St. Nazaire at Verona possesses in its crypt paintings spoken of by MafPei, 
 which hâve been engraved by Ciampini and Frisi : thèse must date back to 
 the sixth and seventh centuries. Lastly, they hâve recently found in the 
 subterranean chapel of the basilica of St. Clément, in Eome, some admirable 
 mural paintings, which archseologists refer to the same epoch. 
 
 The Eastern artists, driven away by the persécutions of the Iconoclasts, 
 sought an asylum in Italy, where the Latin Church, obedient to the 
 prescriptions of the Council of Nice, seemed determined to multiplj^ sacred 
 images as much as possible. The arrivai of the Grecian artists in the West 
 was also singularly promoted by the commercial relations which from that 
 time were established between ail points of the Mediterranean shore and the 
 maritime or mercantile towns of Italy — Pisa, Genoa, and Yenice. Thus 
 was brought about the movement which, although taking place on Italian 
 soil, drew from an entirely Eastern soiu-ce the inspiration of the revival of 
 the Fine Arts ; thus was continued the so-called Byzantine school, destined 
 to be the foundation of aU modem art. 
 
 In 817 some Greek artists, by order of Pope Pascal L, executed under 
 the portico of the Church of St. Cecilia in Eome a séries of frescoes, the 
 subjects of which were taken from the life of the saint. To the same school 
 
 * Deacon of the Chnrcli at Aquila, and afterwards attached to tke court of Charlemugne., 
 Piiul, who died about the j-ear 799, was distinguished as a poet and historian.— [Ed.] 
 
F/^/:'.S('()-P.i/x//X(;. 
 
 ^li 
 
 wc are indebtcd for the sitting figures of Christ aiul Ilis inother (Fig. 2;{9), 
 in the old Chiirch of Santa-Maria Ïrans-Tibcria, in liome ; the largo 
 Madonna painted ou the walls of Santa-Maria doUa Scala, Milan, which, at 
 the time when this church \vas destroyed and replaced by the théâtre of 
 La Scala, was taken away and carried to the Church of Santa-Fidelia, wliore 
 it still reraains ; a séries of portraits of the Popes after St. Léo, a collection 
 of which a large portion perished in the fire of St. Paul-extra-JIuros, Rome 
 
 Fig. 239. — Christ and His ilother. Fresco-Painting of the Ninth Centurj-, in the Apse of Santa-Maria 
 Trans-Tiberia, Rome. 
 
 (Fig. 240) ; and lastly, the paintings in the vaults of the Cathedral of 
 Aquila. 
 
 "The Works of thèse earliest painters," observes M.Breton, "seem to 
 mark the transition from painting to scidpture : they are long figures as 
 stiff as columns, single or arranged symmetrically, forming neither groups 
 nor compositions, without perspective or efiects of light and shade, and 
 having nothing to express their meaning than a sort of legend proceeding 
 out of the mouths of the characters. Thèse frescoes, which are so weak 
 
 îf N 
 
274 
 
 FRESCO-PAINTING. 
 
 when looked at in an artistic point of view, are remarkable for their material 
 exécution, being extremely solid in tbeir workmansliip. It is astonisliing 
 to see the wonderful préservation of some pictures of saints tiiat adorn 
 the pilasters of St. Mcholas in Treviso and fhe walls of thé churcli in 
 Fiesole, wbereon are preserved the frescoes of Fra Angelico." 
 
 Among tlie paintings remaining to our time, the first in which the 
 aiithors departed from the uniform style of the Bj^zantine niasters are 
 those which adorn the interior of the ancient temple of Bacchus, now the 
 
 Fig. 240. l^ortrait of the Pope Sylvester I. Fresco-Painting in Mosaic, on a gold ground, in the Basilica 
 of St. PauI-extra-Muros, Rome, 
 
 Church of St. Urhan in the Campagna of Rome : there is nothing Grecian 
 either in the figures or draperies, and it is impossible not to recognise 
 in them an Italian pencil ; the date, howeyer, is 1011. Pesaro, Aquila, 
 Orvieto, and Fiesole, possess examples of the same epoch. 
 
 At last, in the thirteenth century, notwithstanding its fierce intestine 
 struggles, Italy, and especiaUy Tuscany, witnessed the dawn of the sun of 
 the Fine Arts, which, after a long period of darkness, was to shine with so 
 much brilliancy over the whole world. Pisa and Siena, earliest in the 
 
FRi:S('n-PAL\-J7NG. 
 
 ^75 
 
 revival, gave birth respectively to Giunta aud Guido (ruliiuTucci), ciidi 
 of whom in liis time acquired great rciiown ; but tho only works of thèse 
 
 
 ^v- 
 
 
 Si^Nl, 
 
 •m^S^Afiv m» "tel* 
 
 
 
 Fig. 241.— The Apostles in the Garden of Getisemane. Fresco by Berna, at San-Geminiano. 
 (Fourteenth Century.) 
 
 artists which remain now, in the Cathedral of Assisi, seem but to indicate 
 a désire of progress witbout manifesting any real advancement ia art. 
 
 To Guido of Siena succeeds, but not immediately, tbe friend of Petrareh, 
 
276 
 
 FRESCO-PAINTIXG. 
 
 Simon Memmi, whose frescoes in the Campo Santo of Pisa testify to Lis 
 powerM genius, and dénote the iirst remarkable stage of art. 
 
 In the colleo-iate church of San-Gerainiano* may be still seen a fresco 
 by Berna (Fig. 241), an eminent master in the scliool of Siena, who died 
 in 1370. 
 
 Passing, but not withont mention, Margaritone and Bonaventura 
 Berlinghieri, who were only the timid harbingers of a great individnality, 
 the Florentine school places in the first rank of its celebrities Cimabue 
 (1240—1300), j'ustly regarded by the artistic world as the true restorer of 
 painting. Cimabue pointed ont the path ; Giotto, his pupil, trod it. He 
 took nature for his guide, and bas been surnamed " nature's pupil." Eeal 
 imitation was the object of bis endeavour, and as he found this System 
 marvellously applied in the beautiful antique marbles wbicli had already 
 insjjired, in the preceding centurj', the sculptors John and Nicolas of Pisa, 
 he made an earnest study of thèse ancient chefs-d'œuvre. The impulse was 
 given, and the Campo Santo of Pisa shows us its first results in " The 
 Dream of Life." 
 
 For two centuries there was a slow but always progressive improvement, 
 owing to the industry of Buffamalco, Taddeo Gaddi, Orcagna, Splnello of 
 Lucca, and Masolino of Panieale. "With the fifteenth century appeared 
 Fra Angelico of Fiesole (Figs. 242 and 246), and Benozzo Gozzoli ; then 
 Masaccio, Pisanello, Mantegna, Zingaro, Pinturiccbio, and lastly Perugino, 
 the Master oftbe divine Eaphael. In the sisteentb century art attained its 
 culminating point. At this epocb Eaphael and bis pupils painted the 
 "Farnesina" and the "Stanze" and "Loggie" of the Vatican (it is known 
 tbat the two first pictures of the "Loggie" (Fig. 243) were painted solely 
 by the band of Haphael) ; Micbael Angelo alone executed the immense 
 expanse of the "Last Judgment," and Paul Veronese painted the ceilings 
 of tbe palace of the Doges at Venice. Then Giulio Romano covered with his 
 Works tbe waUs of the Te palace at Mantua ; Andréa del Sarto, those of 
 the " Annunziata " and " Dello Scalzo " at Florence. Daniel of Yolterra 
 painted his famous " Descent from tbe Cross " for the Trinité du Mont, 
 P,ome ; at Parma, the Pencil of Correggio worked marvels on the circle of 
 the dôme of the catbedral. Leonardo da Yinci, besides tbe picture of tbe 
 " Lord's Supper," wbich we before mentioned only to exclude it from tbe 
 
 * OrSan-Gemignano, a sniall town "between Florence and Siena. — [Ed.] 
 
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FRESCO-PA /X7IXU. 
 
 277 
 
 nuinbcr of frescoes, enclowed thc monastery of St Onofrio ut Ilomu wiili 
 a luagiiiiicent Madoima, and the palace of Caravaggio, uear IJergaiiio, witli 
 
 Fig-. 242.— Group of Saints, taken from the large Fresco of "The Passion " in the Convent of St. Mark. 
 Painted by Fra Angelico of Fiesole. 
 
 a colossal Virgin. It was, in short, the âge of splendid productions in 
 
278 
 
 FRESCO-PAINTING. 
 
 mural painting, that in wMcli the great Buonarotti exclaimed when engaged 
 in enthusiastic labour on one of his subHme conceptions — " Fresco is the 
 only painting ; painting in oils is only the art of women and idle and 
 unenergetic nien." And yet, at least as regards improvements in the 
 process of exécution, fresco had hardly reached its climax. 
 
 In the seventeenth ceutury the school of Bologna, after having for a 
 long time maintained a nierely imitative style of art, shone forth with 
 independent Hght under the influence of the Carracci, who, summoned to 
 Eome, covered the walls of the Farnesian gallery with frescoes, to which 
 none others could be compared for brilliancy and powerful effect. As 
 
 Fig- 243.— First Picture of the Loggie of Raphaël—" God creating the Heaven and the Earth." 
 
 much must be said of the works of their pupils : the "Martyrdom of 
 St. Sébastian," in the Church of St. Mary of the Angels ; the "Miracles 
 of St. Nil," at Grotta-Ferrata, near Rome ; the " Death of St. Cecilia," at 
 Saint-Louis-des-Français, by Domenichino ; " Aurora," by Guercino, at the 
 Villa Ludovici; the "Chariot of the Sun," by Guide, in the Rospigliosi 
 Palace, &c. 
 
 Luca Giordano, a Neapolitan painter, founder of the gallery of the 
 Ricciardi Palace at Florence, and author of the frescoes in numerous 
 churches in Italy and Spain, must not be forgotten ; and with him must 
 
FRESCO-PAJXT/XC. 270 
 
 bc mcntioncd Pictro da Cortona, of tlic Roman schnol, wlio fs])('ciallv 
 (lisliiiLViiishcd liiiiisolf in thc pciliiios of tlic Barberini Palaco, at Homo. 
 
 "\Vc still bave to ineiitimi tlic i'crlilc piiiiiters of tho Genoese and 
 Parmesan scliools — Lanfranc, Carloni, and Francavilla ; but the hour of 
 décadence had corne ^^■ben thèse artists appeared ; thej^ had more bohbiess 
 than talent, they aimed at tbc majestic, but only succeeded in attaininj? to 
 the g'igantic ; their pencils were skilful, but thcir soûl lackod fcrvour and 
 conviction ; in spite of their efforts, fresco-painting dcclincd undcr their 
 hands, and since that time has only decayed and gradually sunk into 
 oblivion. 
 
 We must net quit the classical ground of the Fine Arts without racn- 
 tioning a process of painting which is closely allied to fresco, and bears the 
 characteristic name of sgraffifo (literally, a scratch). This style of painting, 
 or rather of drawing (for the works had the appearance of a large drawing 
 in black crayon), was more generally used for the esterior of buildings, and 
 ■R'as produced by covering the wall first with black stucco, then with a 
 second layer of white, and afterwards by removing -(vith an iron instrument 
 the second layer so as to lay bare, in places, the black ground. The most 
 important work executed in this style is the ornamentation of the monastic 
 house of the knights of St. Stephen, at Pisa ; this work is by Yasari, to 
 ■ïvhom also has been attributed — but wrongfully — the invention of sgraffifo, 
 which was used long before his time. 
 
 Hitherto we hâve chieily confined our remarks to Italj' and Italian 
 artists ; however, in the considération of them we hâve nearly summed up 
 our brief history of fresco. If we would look to France for any remark- 
 able -Works of this kind, we must refer to the epochs in which Italy sent 
 Simon jMemmi to decorate the palace of the popes at Avignon, and Rosso 
 and Primaticcio to adorn that of the kings at Fontainebleau. Prior to this, 
 ail we meet with are, at the most, a few primitive, not to say barbarous, 
 subjects, painted hère and there, in distemper, by unknown artists, on the 
 walls of churches or monasteries. Among thèse conventional examj)les it 
 is, however, only just to distinguish some pictures of powerful effect, if not 
 in exécution, at least for the ideas they are intended to convey ; we would 
 speak of the " Pance of Death," or " Dance of the Dead," like that which 
 existed at Paris in the Cemetery of the Innocents, and another still to 
 he seen in the Abbey of Chaise-Dieu, in Auvergne; legends more than 
 
2So 
 
 FRESCO-PAINTING. 
 
 pictures, and philosoplaical compositions ratlier than manifestations of art. 
 Spain, too, bas no reason to be proud of her national productions ; for, 
 
 Fig. 244. — "Fraternit}' of the Cross-bownien.'* 
 (Fresco-Painting of the Fifteenth Century, in lie ancient Chapel of St. John and St. Paul, Ghent.) 
 
 with the exception of tlie Gotbic frescoes still existing in tbe Cathedral 
 of Toledo, representing tbe combats between tbe Moors and tbe Toledans 
 
FRESCO-PA INTING. 
 
 281 
 
 (picturcs spccially worthy of tho attoutioii of archœologi«tsj , Uio oiily IVcr-curH 
 of Spanisb. origin \ve can mention are the paintings of a few ceiling.s in tljo 
 Escurial and in a cliapter-room in the Cathedral of Tok'do ; ail iho other 
 frescoes must be attributed to Italian artists. 
 
 Whenever tlie northern artists, usually so cold and metliodical in thcir 
 mode of opération, devoted themselves to mural painting, it secms to hâve 
 been necessary that they should enliven their tempérament in tlie sunny 
 
 Fig. 245. — "Death and the Jew." 
 
 An épisode from the " Dance of Death." Painted in 1441, in the Cemetery ot the Dominicans, Basie. 
 
 (Facsimile from the Engraving of JI. ]\Iérian.} 
 
 rays of a southern sky ; for while in HoUand and Belginm we notice but 
 few walls covered with décorative painting, we find a large number of Italian 
 churches and palaces which contain frescoes bearing the signature of 
 Flemish masters. 
 
 There was considérable escitement manifested a few years ago at the 
 discovery of the mural paintings in the ancient Chapel of St. John and 
 St. Paul, in Ghent (Fig. 244). Thèse works are of the fifteenth century, 
 
FRESCO-PAINTING. 
 
 and althougli satisfactory enoiigh as regards tlie design, they dérive more 
 importance from the subjects which th.ey represent tlian from any merit of 
 exécution. 
 
 In speaking of Germany, we should not omit to mention the ancient 
 " Dance of Death " (Fig. 245), at Basle, in the cemetery of the Dominicans, 
 painted in the middle of the fifteenth century ; also another " Dance of 
 Death " much more famous, and the façades of several houses, painted at 
 Basle hy Holbein. We must also indicate the paintings with which (in 
 1466) Israël de Meckenheim covered the walls of a chapel of St. Mary of 
 the Capitol, at Cologne ; and the frescoes of St. Etienne and St. Augustine, 
 at Vienna. But it does not foUow, from this limited enumeration of works, 
 that Germany either created or foUowed any spécial school. 
 
 Fig. 246. — Fra Angelico, of Fiesole. 
 
PATiNTING ON AYOOD, CANVAS, ETC. 
 
 The Kiso of Christian Painting. — The Byzantine School.— First Revival in Italy.— 0111131)116, 
 Giotto, Fra Angelico. — Florentine Sihool : Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo. — Eoman 
 Srhool: Perugino, Kaphacl. — Venetian School: Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese.— L'imbard 
 School : Correggio, Purmigianiiio.— Spanish School.— German and Flemish Schools : Stephan 
 o{ Cologne, John of Bruges, Lacas van Leyden, Albert Diirer, Lucas van Cranach, Holbein. — 
 Painting in France duiing the Middle Ages^ — Italian Masters in France. — Jean Cousin. 
 
 FTER its first weak manifestations ia the dark 
 sliadows of the Catacombs — the place of refuge to 
 Tvhich the earKest believers had to resort to celebrate 
 their holy mysteries — Christian painting made its 
 first attempt to display itself in open day at the time 
 wheu the new faith found in Constantine the 
 high protection of a crowned disciple. But this 
 art felt an instinctive répugnance to draw its inspirations from 
 Works which had been created under the empire of decayed 
 and contemned creeds. In the completely spiritual Tyorship 
 of the true God, it seemed but natural to seek for other tj'pes 
 than those which had been consecrated by the fancies of materialistic 
 mythologies. 
 
 The school of idea, which was substituted for the school of form, desired 
 to owe nothing to its frivolous predecessor. It would baye considered it a 
 reproach to give even the semblance of permanence to reprobated tradi- 
 tions, and it set itself to work to create an art completely nevr in ail its 
 features. The rule it laid down, therefore, was to regard as non-existent 
 the cliefs-d'œufre which recalled to mind the days of moral errer ; rejecting 
 the inspiration to be derived from the magnificent relies of the past, it 
 resolred to commence an era of its own, and to exist on its own ideas. 
 Ilence that principle of energetic simplicitj- which, although it maj' hâve 
 hindered art from elevating itself to the perfection we call classical, had at 
 least this advantage, that it sought by graduai development to imprint on 
 
28+ PAINTING ON WOOD, CANVAS, ETC. 
 
 Christian art a stamp of individuality from wMcli it was to dérive both its 
 power and its glory. 
 
 Thus, by the entbusiasm of faith, was called into existence that really 
 primitive Scbool of Painting whicli bas received tbe name of Byzantine; 
 because at tbe very time wben it obtained tbe liberty of displaying itself, 
 Constantine, transferring tbe seat of empire to Byzantium, necessarily took 
 witb him tbe body of artists of wbom be was the protector ; because, too, 
 as we bave before observed, Byzantium hencefortb became for many centu- 
 ries the sole focus whence light radiated towards the West, which was now 
 plunged in barbarism. We must, therefore, go bact to the Byzantine 
 school, if we wish to trace to their origin ail the forms of European painting. 
 "AUegory," says M. Micbiels, "was tbe first language of Christian 
 painting ; not only did it express typically tbe Evangelical teachings, but 
 the Divine personages themselves were metamorphosed into symbols. Some- 
 times, for instance. Christ appeared in the form of a young shepherd, bear- 
 ing on bis shoulders and carrying back to the fold a wandering sheep ; 
 sometimes He was represented as the Orpheus of tbe new faith, charming 
 and taming ferocious animais by the sound of His lute. . . . He also was 
 made to assume the form of tbe lamb without spot, or of a phœnix spreading 
 its wings, tbe conqueror of death and the spirits of darkness. Thus was 
 the transition softened down ; thus did they escape the raillery of Pagans 
 who would bave turned into ridicule the heroic suiïerings and the glorious 
 humiliations of the Son of man. But this timidity could not long continue. 
 . . Tbe council held at Constantinople in 692 commanded that allegory 
 should be repudiated, and that the objects of their vénération should he 
 displayed to the faithful without the veil hitherto employed. Now was 
 exhibited to view a spectacle new indeed to men ; a Deity crowned with 
 thorns, enduring the outrages of a vile populace, or stretched upon a cross 
 and pierced with a lance, turning His sad glance to heaven and wrestling 
 witb His agony. The Greeks and Latins were but slow in adoptiug this 
 mode of représentation, and did so with regret. . . . But the perception ot 
 moral dignity was destined to éclipse the vain pomp of Pagan grandeur. 
 Tbe gênerons sufferings of sacrifice were to become the greatest of ail 
 glories." 
 
 " Christian painting, when once established as an art on the tanks of the 
 Bosphorus, assumed a certain immobility of character. Forms, attitudes, 
 
 I 
 
PAINThXG ON WOOB, CAN]:\S, /■r/C. 285 
 
 jîroHps, and vcstments — ail wcre rcgulatcd by ecclcsiastical proscription. 
 Theve was, as it wcre, an inflexible toxt-book, to which artists wcrc bound 
 to subniit. Dclicacy of colouring and nobility of attitude wcre tbc oiily 
 (bin<i;s to rccall tbe bcauty of ancicnt art. l'ivcn in our days tbe Grcek 
 and Russian painters follow a similar plan, drawing and arranging their 
 figures in tbe sarae mauuer as tbeir ancestors of tbe time of Honorius and 
 the Palaîologi." 
 
 Even in tbc West tbe case was nearly tbe same, so long as tbe practice 
 of paiuting rcraaiucd almost exclusivelj- confined to artists comiug from 
 Constantinople. Tbus, in some celebrated manuscripts of tbe eigbtb and 
 nintb centuries we find compositions tbat give a very exact representa- 
 tation of tbe state of tbe art in tbese remote times, tbougb tbe paintings 
 tbemselves bave been destroyed by tbe Iconoclasts. In fact, during 
 ten centuries it seemed tbat tbe Western races resisted any expression 
 of artistio individuality or invention. Tbrougbout tbis long period we 
 find Greek painters tbe suprême arbiters of taste and knowledge in tbe 
 countries of Western Europe, forcing upon tbem tbeir own barren style, and 
 teacbing tbem tbeir contracted perceptions. Art among tbem seemed always 
 to be but a mère instinct. Constant immigrations took place wbicb were 
 continually leading tbem to every point in Western Europe, but none of 
 them ever brougbt anytbing novel in art beyond wbat tbeir predecessors bad 
 already introduced. If tbey took root in a new country, tbe son repeated 
 tbe Works of bis fatber. Tbe pupil took no means to enlarge bis tbougbts ; 
 he adopted as bis model and bis idéal notbing but tbe work of bis master, 
 and tbe poor forni of tradition was continued witbout entbusiasm and witbout 
 progress (Fig. 247). Genius is altogetber wanting, or if its sacred spark 
 sprung fortb from beaven, it was soon extinguisbed wben it reacbed tbe 
 eartb for want of a soûl wbicb could receive it, and be kindled by its fire. 
 Tbe Greek masters doubtless affected some pride in tbe grandeur of tbeir 
 native name, but tbey were none tbe less living proofs tbat tbe sources 
 from wbicb flowed tbe inspiration of a Zeuxis, a Protogenes, or an Apelles, 
 bad since tbose far -distant days been long dried up. Tbe East bad for ever 
 terminated its ancient cbaracter of artistic création, and tbe most it seemed 
 destined to acbieve during tbe Middle Ages was to préserve tbe germ wbicb 
 tbe West was to bring again into active life. 
 
 Ital}% and more particularly Tuscany, may lay claim to tbe bonour of 
 
PAINTING ON WOOD, CANVAS, ETC. 
 
 having witnessed, about the end of tlie tliirteentli and thé beginning of tlie 
 fourteentli century, tbe dawn of the great revival of artistic light. The 
 
 Fii;r. 247. — " Baptism of King Clovi?." 
 (Fragment of a Painting on Canvas at Rlieini;^. Fifteentli Century.) 
 
 names of Giunta of Pisa, Guido of Siena, and Duccio, liad, however, already 
 
PAINTING ON WOOD, CANVAS, ETC. 287 
 
 coinineiicocl the glorious li.st of Italiau aitists, who wero thc first to cndeavour 
 to niodily the iininutable Greck maiiucr. ïlicir attempts, no doubt, seem 
 but insignificaut, looking at tJho immense progress subsequeutly accom- 
 plishcd ; but, however slight it may appear to be, the first step made beyond 
 thc beaten path which bas been troddeu for centuiies is often évidence of 
 the most courageous daring. 
 
 The ycar 1240 witnessed the birth of Cimabue : as a j'oung man, he 
 bccame enamoured of art by watching the laboiu's of the Greck paintcrs who 
 had been summoned to Florence to decorate the chapel of the Goudi. It was 
 purposed to make him a savant and a lawyer ; but he succeeded in abandoning 
 the pen in favour of the pencil, and, from the lessons of the timid Byzantines, 
 he soon became a master whose eyery thought was henceforth dcToted to the 
 émancipation of an art that he foimd condemned to a kind of immobility. 
 Thanks to him, the expression of faces, which up to that time had been 
 entirely conventional in character, was animated by a truer sentiment ; the 
 Unes of drawing, which had been hard and stiff, were broken up into well- 
 ordered grâce ; the colouring, hitherto dull and gloomy, assumed soft 
 brilliancy and harmonious relief. It is said that Cimabue's chef-d'œuvre, 
 the " Madonna " which is still to be seen in the Church of Santa- Maria- 
 NoTella, was carried in procession by the crowd to the place which it now 
 occupies; the painter was received with shouts, and, it is added, the joy of 
 the people at the sight of the picture was so great that the part of the city 
 whereiu Cimabue's studio was situated recelyed, after this erent, the name 
 of Borgo Allegro (the Joyous Town). One day when Cimabue was in the 
 country, he noticed a young shepherd-boy who was amusing himself by 
 sketching on a rock the sheep he tended. The painter took charge of the 
 boy ; he became his favourite pupil, and was the celebrated Giotto, who 
 happily persevered in the reform commenced by Cimabue. Giotto, the first 
 among the artists of his time, ventured to paint portraits, and succeeded 
 well in them. To him we owe our acquaintance with the real features of 
 his friend Dante ; and we still admire, at least as manifestations of an 
 adventurous genius, the paintings he left in the Church of Santa Clara 
 at Naples, in the Cathedra! of Assisi, and especiaUy in the Campo Santo 
 at Pisa, where he painted in fresco the history of Job. 
 
 Giotto died in 1336, but he left behind him to continue his work, Taddeo 
 Gaddi, Giottino, Stefano, Andréa Orcagna, and Simon Menuni, who were 
 
PAINTING ON WOOD, CANVAS, ETC. 
 
 eacli destined to open out some new patL. in art. In the Campo Santo 
 at Pisa we may see how great was tlie power of tlie genius of thèse masters, 
 especially of Andi'ea Orcagna (1329 — 1389), who bas there représentée!, 
 with. an equal measure of beauty and of sombre and terrible energy, 
 the " Dream of Life," facing the " Triumpb of Deatb." Taddeo Gaddi 
 remained a fervent disciple of bis master, and continued bis délicate 
 accuracy of design, and tbe living fresbness of bis colouriag. Stefano suc- 
 ceeded bim in tbe boldness of bis compositions, in bis studious knowledge 
 of tbe nude, and of perspective effect wbicb bad been bitberto neglected. 
 Giottino inberited bis serions inspirations. Memmi endeavoured to recall 
 bis mystical and gracefiil sentiment. Orcagna, wbo was at once painter, 
 sculptor, arcbitect, and poet, seemed to possess in turn ail tbe qualities 
 wbicb bis fellow-disciples bad sbared among tbem, and could represent 
 witb equal success tbe terrors of tbe infernal régions and tbe visions of 
 beaven. 
 
 Tbe progress of wbicb tbese painters bad constituted tbemselves tbe 
 apostles was not carried out witbout exciting some opposition. In addition 
 to tbe Greek masters, wbo naturally felt compelled to contend witb tbe 
 innovators, certain individuals were found among tbe Italian artists wbo 
 energetically embraced tbe party of tbe past. We will onl}^ mention one, 
 Margaritone of Arezzo, wbo wore out bis long life in a useless dévotion to 
 a cause wbicb was already lost ; even bis name we sbould not bave 
 particularised, if it bad not been tbat tbe art owed bim some gratitude 
 for tbe service be rendered it, by substituting tbe use of canvas prepared 
 for painting iustead of panels of wood, wbicb bad bitberto been exclusively 
 employed. 
 
 Tbe Florentine scbool (for tbus we call tbe group of artists wbo trod ia 
 tbe footsteps of Cimabue and Giotto) bad for its représentative, at the 
 beginning of tbe fifteentb century, Giovanni of Fiesole, surnamed Fra 
 AngeUco, tbe personification of entbusiasm ia artistic subKmity ; wbose 
 Works, too, resemble so many bymns of adoration. Born iu tbe year 138< , 
 and inberitiag great wealtb, be was endowed witb a contemplative mind, 
 and, ignorant of tbe talent wbicb inspired bim, be sougbt oblivion from the 
 world in tbe garb of a Dominican, little suspecting tbat glory awaited him 
 in the very deptb of bis humiHty. At first, as a kind of pious récréation, 
 be covered witb miniatures several pages of manuscripts ; next, bis com- 
 
PAINTIXG OA' WOOD, CANVAS, ETC. 289 
 
 jiiiiiioiis in tlic l'idistor rinjucslcd Iiim to paiiil a picturi'. lie (ilicycd, i'uulilii,' 
 couvincod tliat llio iiis]>irati(iii \\liicli slirrcd \\ Itliiii liiiii was a manifestation 
 of tho Divine sjjirit, and it was with tlic mnst artk'sa siniplicily that lie 
 roforrcd to tbis celestial origin tlie chrf-d'œurre which procccded from his 
 haiids. His réputation spread far and wide. At the invitation of the hoad 
 of the Christian Chnrch, he repaired to Rome in order to paint one of the 
 chapcls of the Vatican. And when the pontiff, full of enthusiasm at his 
 tak'ut, wished to coufer upon him as a reward the dignity of archbishop, 
 Angelico retired raodestly to his cell in order to dévote himself without 
 interruption to that art which ivas to him a continuai prayer, and a per- 
 pétuai soaring up to that heavenly country on which he unceasingly 
 mcditated with ail the unutterable feeKngs of the elect. 
 
 About the same era as the " seraphic monk," who died full of years in 
 1455, appeared Tomaso Guidi, for whom a kind of unconsciousness of every- 
 day life had obtaiued the ironical sobriquet of Masaccio (the Stupid) ; who, 
 however, astonished the world by his works to such extent that it was 
 said concerning them, " those of his predecessors were painted, but his were 
 lin'iig." Masaccio was one of the first (and this fact shows how slowly art 
 may progress even in bold hands) to place in his pictures firmly on the 
 soles of their feet figures presenting a full front, instead of making theni 
 stand upon their great-toes, as his predecessors had done from a want of 
 knowledge of the requisite foreshortening. Masaccio died in 1443. 
 
 Philippe Lippi, who devoted himself more specially to the studj' of 
 nature, both in the human physiognomy and also in the accessory détails of 
 his Works, marks as it were the last stage of the art, when it approached the 
 State of full vigour in which it was to m.anifest the whole extent of its power, 
 We are now at the end of the fifteenth century, and the masters of the gre:;f 
 imsters are in existence. It was Andréa Yerrochio who, at the sight of an 
 angel which Leonardo da Vinci, his pupil, had painted in one of his works, 
 for ever abandoned his pencil. It was Domenico Ghirlandajo who, jealous 
 of the supsrior qualities which he recognised in his pupil, the youthful 
 Buonarotti, not only endeavoured, but succeeded in diverting his talents, at 
 least for a time, to sculpture. It was Fra Bartolommeo (1469 — 1517) who 
 was affected with such profound grief at the death of his friend Savonarola, 
 that he embraced a monastic life. Baccio délia Porta (such was the name 
 of the Brother) was a very great painter (Fig. 248) ; the vigour and 
 
 p p 
 
JiiiJIJiiltlltjiiJiilltiiiti «|i1iiîii!niiilliiiii!iin;iiiiiliiliili3 
 
 Fig. 248.—" The Patriarch Job." A Painting on Panel, by Fra Bartolommeo. Fifteenth Centurj". 
 (In the Gallerj- at Florence.) 
 
PALXTf.Xd OX WOOD, CAXVAS, ETC. zc)i 
 
 hannony of colouiing whicli lie showcd, cspccially in his last produc- 
 tions, lias somctinics caiised tliom to l)c attributcd to Raphacl, witli wlioni 
 lie was t'or some tinio uiiitcd in tlie bonds of fViendsliip. 15ut wu niust 
 not coufiiie ourselves to cliaractcrisiug thc works of ouo single group of 
 artists ; for, altliougli tlic rcvival took its rise on tbe banks of the Arno, it 
 spread far and wide beyond those limits. Added to tHis, Giotto, whon 
 visiting Verona, Padua, and Rome, left in each place the still resplendent 
 traces of his présence. "VYhen Fra Angelico '«•ent to adorn the Vatican, 
 his genius spread around it a fruitful irradiation which everywhcre dinimed 
 the ancieut renown of the Byzantine painters who had hilhcrto prevailed 
 in the Italian cities. 
 
 At Rome we find flourishing in succession Pietro Cavalliiii, whoin Giotto 
 had instructed during the sojourn of the latter in. the Eternal City ; Gentile 
 da Fabriauo, who drew his inspiration froni Fra Angelico; and Pietro délia 
 Francesca, who has beeu regarded as the originator of perspective. We 
 next meet with Pietro Vannucci, called Perugino, who was born in 1-146 ; 
 it was owing to nothing but the force of his genius and his character that he 
 became one of the most celebrated masters of his time. At the close of his 
 career, Perugino had the honour of initiating into the practice of his art 
 Raphaël Sanzio of Urbino, who was in his own day, a^ he still is, the prince 
 of painting. 
 
 At Yenice a body of pioneers, still more numerous and compact, pre- 
 pared the way for the new era, destined to be made illustrions by Titian, 
 Tintoretto, and Paul Yeronese. "We will mention also Gentile and Jacopo 
 BeUini ; the former was incessantly absorbed in investigating the théories of 
 an art which he nevertheless exercised with ail the abandon of an inspired 
 genius ; the latter constantly devoted himself to the combination of power 
 and grâce ; and, at the âge of seventy-five years, seemed to regain a second 
 youth in foUowing with happy boldness the example of his pupil Giorgione.* 
 This painter, who was born in 1477, and died in 1511, introduced ail kinds 
 of innovations in respect to design and colouring, and was the master of 
 Giovanni da IJdine, Sébastian del Piombo, Jacques Palma, and Pordenone, 
 
 * Giorgione studied under Giovanni BeUini, younger brother of Gentile, and son of Jacopo. 
 il. Lacroix does not even mention GioTanni Bellini, thougli he is generally esteemed before his 
 father and brother, besides being the master of two of the greatest painters of the Venetian 
 school, Titian and Giorgione ; who, however, soou cast aside tlie antiquated style of their early 
 instructor.— [Ed.] 
 
292 
 
 PAINTING ON WOOD, CANVAS, ETC. 
 
 fellow-pupils and sometimes rivais of the three great artists by wliose -works 
 the Venetian school was to mark its individuality. 
 
 At Parma a local school was represented by Antonio Allegri, called 
 Correggio, boni in 1494 ; and by Francesco Mazzuoli, called Parmigianino, 
 born in 1503. 
 
 In other places, too, talents of a vigorous or of a gracefid character were 
 developed, but we can only cast a comprebensive glance on tbis mémorable 
 
 Fiç^. 24g. — Portrait ot Leonardo da Vinci, from a Venetian Engjaving of the Siïteenth Century. 
 
 artistic epocb, and are unable to ofFer a detailed re\iew of the artists 
 and tbeir works. And wbat further luminaries of art could we wish to 
 embrace in our summary after having displayed in it, sbining, so to speak, 
 at one and the same epocb, Leonardo da Vinci (Fig. 249), Micbael Angelo, 
 Raphaël, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Correggio, and Parmigianino ? 
 
 Four principal scbools compete with one another — the Florentine school. 
 
PAIXI/XG OX U'OOI), (WXIAS, ETC. 
 
 293 
 
 tlio fluiructeristics of wliicli aro trutli of design, cncrçy of colouriii<>;, ;iiul 
 graiuloiu- of conception ; tlio Roman school, wbicli secks its idéal in thc 
 skilt'ul and sober judgment of its lines, tlie dignity of its compositions, 
 propriety of expression and beauty of foi-m ; tbe Venetian school, whicli 
 oecasionally neglected correctness of drawing, and devoted itsclf more to 
 tlie brilliancy aud magical effect of colour; lastly, the school of Parma, 
 whieh is distinguished espccially by its softness of touch and by its know- 
 ledge of light and sbade. Ail such estimations of tbe difi'erent qualities 
 of thèse varions groups must not, however, be looked upon as in any way 
 absoluto. 
 
 As chiefs of the first school we hâve two men, each of whom présents 
 to us one of the richest organisations and the most widely estending genius 
 which human nature has, perhaps, ever produced ; thèse were Leonardo da 
 Vinci and Michael Angelo, both of whom were sculptors as M"ell as 
 painters ; and also architects, musicians, and poets. "^^e will first speak 
 of Leonardo da Vinci, whose stylo présents two verv distinct epochs ; 
 the first tending to vigour in. the shadows, to a mistiness in reflected 
 lights, to a gênerai effect produced by a certain oddness, or rather by a 
 strange représentation of truth ; a combination of qualities which, as 
 M. Michiels saj-s, makes Leonardo the " most northerly of the Italian 
 painters " (Fig. 250). His second style, " clear, serene, and précise," 
 transports us into a " completely southern sphère." But some secret 
 influence drew the artist so forcibly towards his earlier manner, that he 
 returned to it at an advanced âge in painting the famous portrait of Mona 
 Lisa, which adorns the gallery of the Louvre. We must not forget the 
 fact that we hâve to attribute to Pope Léo X. the great revival of the arts, 
 and especially of painting, in Italy at the commencement of the sixteenth 
 century. 
 
 " In Michael Angelo," still to quote the words of il. Michiels, " science, 
 power, grandeur, and ail the more severe qualities are combined. 'So vulgar 
 artifice and no affectation. The painter was imbued with a sublime idéal 
 of majestic types from which nothing was able to divert him. He felt 
 as if there were existing in himself a whole population of heroes, whom, by 
 the aid of painting and sculpture, he endeavoured to withdraw from their 
 mental concealment, and to embody in incarnate forms. His personages 
 scarcely seem to belong to our race ; thej' appear to be créatures worthy 
 
2 94 
 
 PAINTING ON WOOD, CANVAS, ETC. 
 
 of some more spacious world, to the j)roportioiis of whicli their physical 
 vigour and their moral energy would well respond. The very women do net 
 possess the grâce of their sex ; we might fancy them valiant Amazons well 
 capable of mastering a horse or of crushing an enemy. This great man's 
 object was neither to charm nor to please ; his delight rather was to astonish 
 and to strike with admiration or terror ; but it is this very excess of power 
 which enabled him to win the approbation of ail." 
 
 Fig. 250. — The Holy Family, by Leonardo da Vinci, from the Picture in the .Muséum at St. Petersburg. 
 
 Next we hâve Raphaël, il dkiiio Sanzio, as he was called by his numerous 
 admirers, whose genius was constantly attaining to grandeur by means ot 
 simplicity, and to power by means of reserve, Michael Angelo always 
 seems as if he were only able to represent a limited portion of his 
 gigantic conceptions on the wall he covered with his designs ; but it was 
 
r.uxnxG ox woun, canvas, etc. 295 
 
 8ufRoiont for liapliLul to place soiiie tranijuil liLTiirc on a iiarrow square of 
 cnnviis, and wc liave before us the briglit image of the most pcrfect and 
 delicious inspiration. He crcated for himself a heaven whicli hc peopled 
 with the purest and most venerated tj-pes of the human race ; and 
 a light, as froni ou higli, bearas with régal sj^lendour on thèse graceful 
 visions. In Ixaphael, cven more than in Leonardo da Vinci, it seenied 
 as if two artists of equal sublimitj^ succeeded one another. At first 
 we hâve the charming dreamer who, in the fresh enthusiasm of bis early 
 youth, croates jMadonnas, artless daughters of the earth in whose look and 
 countenance a sacred light shines in ail its ineffable purity ; next he is the 
 master full of the deepest science, for whom the real beauties of création 
 hâve no concealment ; who, in representiug nature, succeeded in trans- 
 forming to her the magnificent idéal of which his own soûl appears to bave 
 received the impression frora association with the divine régions. 
 
 " The principal characteristic of Raphaël," still foUowing the very just 
 remarks of il. Michiels, " is the universality of his famé. It becomes almost 
 painful to hear the vulgar crowd constantly repeating a magie name, the 
 true signification of which they do not understand." As the spoiled child 
 of fortune, the creator of Yirgins and " The Transfiguration," he is 
 almost without detractors from bis famé ; and it is impossible to reckon 
 the number of his admirers. " One circumstance in his life affords us an 
 emblem of bis destiny. Having sent to Palermo the famous canvas of the 
 ' Spasimo,' * a tempest overwhelmed the ship which carried it ; but the 
 waves seemed to respect the chef-cF œuvre. After having drifted more than 
 fifty leagues through the sea, the box which enclosed the precious produc- 
 tion floated gentb' on shore at the port of Genoa. The picture was in no 
 way injured. The Sicilian monks, for whom it was intended, did not fail 
 to claim it ; and since that time, thanks to the mercy of tbe waves, it 
 attracts to the Ibot of Etna numerous pilgrims to the shrine of genius." 
 
 At Yeniee, we first bave Titian, the painter of Charles V. and Francis I. 
 " The genius of Titian," says Alexander Lenoir, " is always great and 
 noble. No painter bas ever produced fiesh-colours so beautiful and life-like. 
 In Titian tbere is no apparent tone ; tbe colouring of his flesh is so well 
 
 * The famous picture, an allar-piece, representiug " Christ bearing his Cross," kno-mi ty the 
 rame of Lo Spasimo ai Sicilia, from its having been painted for the convent of Santa Maria della 
 Spasimo at Palermo, in Sicily. It is now in the lluseum of Madrid. — [Ed.] 
 
296 PAINTING ON WOOD, CANVAS, ETC. 
 
 blended, that it seems as difîicult to imitate as thc model itself. Add to his 
 pictures their truth and expression of action, and the élégance and ricliness 
 of the drapeiy, and we sliall hâve some idea of the great works which he 
 left behind him." 
 
 Next Jacques Robusti présents himself, who, from the profession of Lis 
 father was surnamed Tintoretto (the Dj'er). He was at first a pupil of 
 Titian, who, it is said, from motives of jealousy, dismissed him from his 
 studio; but the fervour of uninterrupted labour was ail that Tintoretto 
 required in order to mature the most productive talent. " The drawing of 
 Michael Angelo, and the colouring of Titian " — such was the ambitions 
 motto he "wrote over the door of his humble atelier, and we are almost 
 justified in stating that he was enabled, by force of study and labour, to 
 fulfil his aspirations, if we look only at some of his pièces esecu.ted before a 
 certain fever of exubérant production had seized upon and necessarily 
 weakened his vigorous talents. To form some estimate of the extent to 
 which Tintoretto was impelled by this impulse of création, we may recoUect 
 that even Paul Veronese reproached him with being unable to restrain 
 himself — Veronese, the most indefatigable of producers ! 
 
 With regard to the latter, his works are characterised not only by 
 the number of figures in them, but also by the striking brilliancy of the 
 mise en scène. Although he multiplies his actors, they are grouped in 
 perfect order ; although he paints a multitude, he knows how to avoid a 
 crowd. Notice how a feeling of life prof usely pervades the whole of his 
 vast pictures of important events ; an idea of space is everywhere given ; 
 everywhere light plays a powerf ul part, and imagination bas full scope. He 
 is the painter yjff;- crcellence of feasts and cérémonies : at once pompous aud 
 natural, his copiousness is only equalled by his dazzling facility ; and we are 
 compelled to forgive the errors with which he mingles on the same canvas 
 the religions ideas of sacred subjects and the profane splendeur of modem 
 times. 
 
 "Wliat shall we say about Correggio ? There is no methodical scale by 
 which to measure grâce ; and there is no formula laid down of delicious soft- 
 ness. But if, at the Louvre, we examine his "Antiope asleep," we shall 
 not soon forget the fasciuating power of the old Allegri (Correggio). 
 
 From Correggio to Parmigianino the distance is of the kind that admi- 
 ration can easily till up. It was said of the latter that he had more tue 
 
PAINThXG ON wnon, CÀNVAS, ETC. zq; 
 
 nppoarancc of an angel than of a man ; and the Romans of his own day uscd 
 fo add tliat the sijirit of Raphacl bad passed into his bodj-. In more than 
 one instance his genius was kindled by the sun of Correggio, and ripened in 
 the studios of Michael Angelo and Raphaël; but in addition to (his, his 
 flexible and varled talent cnabled him to fiud a place by himself betwecn 
 thèse two masters. " St. Francis receiving the Stigmata," and " The 
 Marriage of St. Catherine," which he painted before he had attained his 
 eighteenth A'ear, are still regarded as equal to the chefs-d'œuvre signed by 
 Allegri. It is well known that a "St. Margaret," executed bj' Parmigianino 
 fifteen years later for a ehurch at Bologna, was placed by Guido in the same 
 rank as the " St. Cecilia ' ' of Raphaël. 
 
 By the side of, or after, thèse famous men, in whom the glory of Italian 
 painting seems to bave brilliantly culminated, how many noble names still 
 remain to be cited ; how many remarkable names are there still to mention, 
 even among those who, in following the glorious path opened out for 
 them by the great masters, began to show glimpses of the earliest symptoms 
 of decay, exhaustion, and lassitude ! It does not form a part of our plan to 
 dwell upon tlie varions phases of this décadence ; but before we glance at 
 the last sparks of light which were shed forth, we must not forget the fact 
 that the Italian pléiades were not exclusively privileged to illumine the 
 artistic horizon. 
 
 It is certainly the case that ail over Europe the Byzantine tradition had 
 been the sole possessor of the throne of art since the earliest centuries of the 
 Middle Ages. In Germany as in Italy, in France as in the coun tries 
 bounding it on the north, we find nothing but the same school displaying 
 the dead level of its inflexibiUty. At varions epochs, however, certain feeble 
 attempts at independence were hère and there manifested ; but thèse aspira- 
 tions were at first generally isolated, and therefore transient in their 
 character. Finally, however, as if the hour of revival had been simul- 
 taneously agreed upon at ail points of the intellectual world, thèse desires for 
 émancipation manifested themselves in a corresponding effort to reject the 
 former too absolute form, and to substitute the élément of life for the 
 principle of conventionality. 
 
 In Spain a strange combat was waging on the soil itself, for the 
 possession of which two hostile races, two irreconcilable faiths, were in 
 fierce contention. The Mahometan built the Alhambra, the halls of 
 
 Q Q 
 
2o8 FAIiYT/A'G ON WOOD, CANVAS, ETC. 
 
 which were destined to be subsequently adorned by a Christian pencil. In 
 the paintiugs that eiiliven the arches of this marvellous édifice an art is 
 manifested which is both siiûple and grand in its character ; but in this one 
 uudertaking it appears to hâve exhausted the share of vitality time had 
 awurded to it ; for immediately afterwards it seems to hâve died away. If, 
 however, any fresh masters of the art of painting appeared on the Iberian 
 soil, they had songht in Italy the flame of inspiration, or some mighty art- 
 pilgrim visited their country. We must corne down to a later epoch, from 
 the considération of which we are now precluded, in order to meet with an 
 Ilerrera, a Ribera, a Velasquez, or a Murillo, the glory of whom, although 
 comparatively late, may perhaps hold its own by the side of the great ItaHan 
 schools, but cannot prétend to éclipse them. Among the predecessors of 
 thèse real and distinct individualities, we will, however, mention the 
 fullowing : — Alonzo Berruguete, born in 1480, at once painter, architect, 
 aud sculptor ; he was a pupil of Michael Angelo, in whose Works he often 
 took a share ; Pedro Campagna, born in 1503, who studied under the same 
 master — his cluf-d'œurre is still admired in the Cathedra! of Seville; Luis 
 de Vargas, born in 1502, who was able in many points to appropriate the 
 secrets of Sanzio, from whom he appeared to bave received lessons; Morales, 
 whose paintings are still admired for the harmony of their liaes and the 
 delicacy of their touch ; Vicente Juanes, whose purity of design aud sober 
 vigour of colouring obtained for him the title (certainly by some exaggera- 
 tion of praise) of the "Raphaël of Valencia;" lastly, Fernandez Navarette, 
 born in 1526, who, perhaps less hyperbolically, was surnamed the " Spanish 
 Titian;" and Sanchez Coello, born about 1500, who, excelling in portraits, 
 has handed down the likenesses of some celebrated personages of his time. 
 
 In Germany and the Low Countries we find similar traces of the feeling 
 of régénération actuating the minds of artists at a much earlier period. The 
 first name which présents itself to us beyond the Rhine is that mentioned 
 in the Chronicle of Limburg, of the date of 1380. " There was then at 
 Cologne," says the chronicler, " a painter named Wilhelm. Accordiag to 
 the masters, he was the be?t in ail the countries of Germany ; he has painted 
 meu of every description as if they were alive." We hâve nothing left ot 
 the Works of this artist except some panels Avithout signatui-e, which, m 
 considération of the date they bear, are attributed to him ; an exami- 
 nât ion shows that, considering the epoch at which he lived, "Wilhelm 
 
PAiXT/XG ox woon. r.\x\:\s, etc. 299 
 
 iniglif justly 1h^ loolvofl iipon as a créative geniiis. He was siipcccfled liy 
 liis most talentcd pupil, Maître Stcplian. A triptych of lus work may be 
 eeeii at the Catlicdral of Cologne, representing " The Adoration of the Magi," 
 "St. Gereon," "St. Ursula," aud " The Annunciation." Tliis work, which 
 exhibits charming finish as wcll as harmonious simplicity, is .sufficicnt 
 évidence that its autlior was posses.sed of much natural alnlily as well as a 
 certain extent of kuowledge ; and if wo makc it our stiidy to scek out the 
 relies of the artistic movcment of the period, we can in no way fcel surprise 
 at seeing that the influence of this early master made itself felt in a verj' 
 èxtended radius. 
 
 But at this epoch, that is, at the commencement of the fifteenth century, 
 in a city of Flanders, a new luminary made its appearance, which was 
 destined to éclipse the hrilliancy of the somewhat weak German innovation. 
 Two hrothers, Hubert and John van Eyck, together with their sister 
 Margaret, established themselves in the " triumphant city of Bruges," 
 as it is called by an historian ; and very soon ail the Flemish and Bhenish 
 régions resounded with the name of Yan Eyck, their works being the only 
 représentations which were admired and followed ; and even in those early 
 days it was a title of glory to form a part of their brilliant school. 
 
 John, the younger of the two brothers, was the one to whom renown 
 more particularly attached (Fig. 251). He is reputed to bave been the 
 inventer of oil-painting ; but ail he did was to improve the methods 
 femployed. Nevertheless, tradition tells us that an Italian master, Antonello 
 X>i Messina, made a journey to Flanders, with the object of finding out the 
 secret of John Bruges (by which name Van Eyck is often called) ; and 
 that he subsequently circulated it throughout the Italian schools. Be 
 this as it may, John of Bruges, apart from any similarity in manner (for 
 it was by the force of bis colouring, as much as by bis new théories of 
 composition, that he succeeded inrevolutionising the old school of painting), 
 may be considered as the Giotto of the ISTorth ; but we must add that the 
 effeets of his attempts were much more rapidly décisive. At one leap, so 
 to speak, the somewhat cold painting of the Gothic school decked itself 
 with a splendeur which left but little for the future Venetian school to 
 achieve beyond it ; with one flight of genius, stiff and methodical concep- 
 tions became imbued with suppleness and vital action. Finally, we hâve 
 the first notable sia-n of the true feeling of an art combining science and 
 
300 
 
 PAINTING ON WOOD, CANVAS, ETC. 
 
 grâce — a knowledge of anatomy is shown in tlie life-like flesli and under 
 the brilliant draperies. There is, however, a considérable distance, which 
 cannot fail to be remarked, separating tbe two reformers of art wliose names 
 we bave just brougbt togetber. One, Giotto, desired to grasp tbe real in 
 order to make it conduce to tbe triumpb of tbe idéal ; wbile Van Eyck 
 only accepted tbe idéal because be bad as yet been unable to apprebend 
 tbe deepest secrets of tbe real. AU tbe otber masters are but as tbe 
 fruit yielded bj^ tbe scbool of tbe great Florentine, and by tbose wbicb tbe 
 
 Fig, 251.— "The Holy Virgin, St. George, and St. Donat." By John van Kyck. (M 
 
 descendants of tbe Flemisb masters -«'ère destined to prodiice. At Gbent, 
 ^Ye still bave as an object of admiration, an altar-piece, a chef-d'œurve of 
 Van Eyck ; it is an immense composition, some portions of wbicb bave 
 been removed ; but at first it did not contain less tban tbree bundred 
 figures, represeuting tbe " Adoration of tbe Pascbal Lamb by tbe "^'irgius 
 of tbe Apocalypse." 
 
 Jobn van Ej'ck resided for some time at tbe court of Portugal, wbitber 
 be bad been sent by Pbilip tbe Good, Duke of Burgundy, to deliucate 
 
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ST CATHERINE AND ST. AGNES. 
 
 Pamting aftriiTiled lo Margaret Van Ejck. ( M. Juedeville's Collection.). 
 
PA/X7L\G OX UVOn, CAM'AS, ETC. 301 
 
 tlio foatures of liis fiancer, tho Princcss Elizabctli (1428). The influence 
 exercised by liis labours is thouglit to bave brougbt about that tondcncy to 
 brilliancy and realisni wbicli, at'tcr its first manifestation in the earliest 
 Spanisli luanuer, gave way before tbe encroacbments of" Ilaliau genius, only 
 to reappear in ail its power in tbe great national scbool. 
 
 Among tbe best pupils tbat Yau Eyck left boliiud biiii at Bruges, we 
 must not omit tbe naine of Hugo van der Goes, wbose works are rare. 
 
 Roger vau der AVeyden, of wbose paiiitings but few are now extant, 
 ■was tbe favoiu-ite pnjiil of Jobn of Bruges, and tbe master of ïïemliug, 
 ■wbose réputation \Yas destined to equal, if not to surpass, tbat of tbe chief 
 of bis scbool. " Hemling," says M. Micbiels, so eminent a judge on tbis 
 subject, " wbose ruost ancient picture bears tbe date 1450, possesses more 
 sweetness and grâce tban tbe Van Eycks. His figures cbarni by an idéal 
 élégance ; bis expression never exceeds tbe limits of tranquil feeling and 
 agreeable émotion. Quite contrary to Jobn van Eyck, be prefers tbe 
 sleader and ricb cbaracter of tbe Grotbic (Fig. 252) to tbe beaviness and 
 seanty détail of Roman arcbitecture. His colouring, altbougb less vigorous, 
 is softer ; tbe water, tbe woods, tbe sites^ tbe grass. and tbe distances of 
 bis pictures cause a dream-like feeling." 
 
 A kind of instinctive reaction was manifested in tbe pupil, but tbe 
 master was not altogetber forgotten. We sball, bowever, find elsewbere 
 tbe effects of bis direct influence ; but in order not to bave to return to tbe 
 scbool of Bruges, we will first mention Jérôme Boscb, wbo, contrary to 
 bis countryman Hemling, aougbt after opposition of effects and singularities 
 of invention ; and next Erasmus, tbe great tbinker and writer, wbo was 
 also a painter in bis day ; * lastly, Cornélius Engelbrecbtsen, tbe master of 
 Lucas van Leyden, born in 1494. Tbe latter was as famous witb tbe pencil 
 as witb tbe graving tool, and introduced into ail bis works a powerful and 
 sometimes strange originality wbicb caused bim to be looked upon as tbe 
 first painter of "genre." Lucas ven Leyden must close our list of tbe 
 artists wbo opened ont tbe patbs wbicb were destined to be followed, 
 thougb witb many a diversity of metbod and of style, by Breugbel, 
 Teniers, Van Ostade, Porbus, and ScbeUincks. At tbe bead of tbese 
 masters was subsequently to rise tbe magnificent Rubena, and tbe energetic 
 Rembrandt, tbe king of tbe palette, tbe great cbief of tbe scbool, wbo 
 
 * Wti can find no aulhority to support tbis statement. — [Ed.] 
 
Fig'. 252. — " St. Ursula.*' By Heraling. 
 
P.l/X/7Xi; OX WOOD, CANVAS, ETC. 303 
 
 tùwers loftily over ail lus piipils, Gérard Dow, Ferdinand Bol, Van Eckhout, 
 Govaort Fliuck, vtc, as well us over his imitators and contcmporaries — 
 Aliraliani lîloeniacrt, Gérard Ilonthorst, Adrian Brauwer, So"-hcrs, &c. 
 
 AVlioii tlio ^'au Eycks niadc thcir appoarance, Gennaa art — wliidi, 
 under tlie inii)ulsc of Stophau of Cologne, liad appeared as if dcstined to 
 direct thc niovomont — allowed itself to be led away and influenced by thc 
 Flemish scliool, \vithout, bowevcr, entirely divesting itself of the individual 
 characteristics ■whicb are, to aome extent, inberent in tbe région whereiu it 
 flonrisbed. In Alsatia, we see tbe style pcculiar to the scbool of Bruges 
 showing itself in Martin Scbôn (1460) ; in Suabia, it bad as its interpréter 
 Frederick Herlen (1467) ; at Augsburg, it was old Ilolbein ; at Nurem- 
 berg, it was first Micbael "Woblgemutb, and after bim Albert Diirer (1471), 
 whose vigorous individuality did not fail to reflect tbe tempérament of tbe 
 Van Eycks. 
 
 " Tbe Works of Albert Diirer présent a singular combination of tbe 
 fuiitastic and tbe real (Fig. 253). Tbe principal tendencies peculiar to tbe 
 character of tbe nortbem mind are alwaj's to be found in tbem. Tbe 
 thougbts of tbe artist are always transporting bim iuto a world of abstrac- 
 tion and cbimeras ; but tbe ever-present consciousness of tbe diiBcidties of 
 life under tbe cold nortbem sky always draws him back to tbe détails of 
 existence. On tbe one hand, tberefore, be seems to love pbdosopbical, and 
 even supernatural subjects ; but, on tbe other, tbe minute détails of bis 
 exécution bind bim clown to eartb. His models, bis action, bis positions, 
 the muscular development of bis nude subjects, tbe innumerable folds of 
 his di-aperies, tbe expression wbicb be gives to joy, grief, and batred, 
 aU seem to bear a manifest character of exaggeration. Added to tbis, 
 he is déficient in grâce ; a rudeness entirelj' nortbern in its character 
 closes tbe patb to any of tbe softer qualities of art. The panels of Albert 
 Diirer ail seem to bave a touch of tbe antique barbarism of tbe Germanie 
 hordes. He bimself was in the habit of wearing his hair long, like the 
 ancient German kings. IJpon the whole, however, bis beautiful colouring, 
 the skilful firmuess of his drawing, his grand characteristics, his depth of 
 thought, the poetry, often terrible, of his composition, place him ia the 
 first rank of masters " (ilichiels). 
 
 While Albert Diirer was endeavouring to combine in bis works every 
 type of the strangest character, Lucas van Cranach made it his study 
 
Fig-. 253.—" Jésus Crowned -with Thorns," painled on Wood by Albert Durer ; a Fac-similé traced from the 
 original of the same size. (In the Collection of M. de Quedeville.) 
 
r.\/XT/X(: ox iwon, c.ixr.is, etc. 
 
 305 
 
 lo rcpvesoiit willi 110 loss success ploaMiut Icgciuls ur lia' iiici.sl cliarniiiig 
 rcalities. He is tlie painter of artless yoiitlis, aerially viikd, aiul of sportive 
 iiiul enc'liantiiiii' vit'uins ; aiul il' somo antinue scène is created liy liis 
 délicate aiul original peucil, it sccin, to bc metamorphosed l)y a biip[)y 
 
 sS^ScïSg^v,'- 
 
 Fig. 254. — " Princess Sibj-lla of Saxony," by Lucas van Cranach. (Suermondt Collection.) 
 
 facility into something that appears to hâve tte cliaracter of a German 
 réminiscence (Fig. 254). 
 
 Bet\veen thèse two masters, so equally endowed 'with power in their 
 
 R R 
 
3o6 PAINTING ON WOOD, CANVAS, ETC. 
 
 respective lines of art, tlie great Holbein takes his place, as if embodying 
 the ratlier abrupt A'igour of tbe one, and tbe sentimental delicacy of tbe 
 other. This painter's artistic career was carried ont almost entirely in 
 England, but the cliaracter of his genius belongs unquestionably to the 
 country where he left behind him his " Dance of Death," a pièce of tragic 
 raillery justly held to be the most wonderful among ail the créations of fancy. 
 
 Albert Durer, who died in 1528, and Lucas Tan Cranach, and Holbein, 
 who died in 1553,* were destined to croate a race of painters, and a host of 
 successors were soon at work. But the movement, which was impeded 
 by troubles of a religious character, died away in the terrible convulsions of 
 the Thirty Years' "War, and was never again renewed. 
 
 The era in which German art seemed ail at once to décline was that 
 wherein the Italian school flourished in full splendeur, and exercised an 
 unrivalled influence over every European country occupied by the Latin 
 races. France yielded ail the more readily to this foreign influence, 
 becausc the Papal court at Avignon had already given an asylum to 
 Giotto in the first place, and afterwards to Simon Memmi ; both of whom, 
 and especially the last, hâve left master-like traces of their présence on 
 French soil. 
 
 As a matter of fact, although French painting, regarded in the light of 
 a national art, cannot boast of having spontaneously produced, as a thing of 
 home-growth, any of those essays of complète independence of which 
 Germany and Italy are so proud ; the memorials of French art at least bear 
 witness that, during the long reign of Byzantine tradition, it never ceased 
 to struggle with some force under the yoke ; at a time, indeed, when Italy 
 and Germany themselves seemed, on the contrary, to bear the burden with 
 the most submissive servitude. 
 
 The tenth centurj', in becoming subject to the influence of a foolish but 
 heartfelt terror (the fear of the end of the world), marked a period of fatal 
 obstruction to every kind of effort, and progress died away ; but if we 
 look bej-ond this we shall perçoive that, fi-om the earliest days of the 
 monarchy, painting was held in honour, and painters themselves afforded 
 proofs of power, if not of genius. We shall, for instance, find that the 
 basilica of St. Germain-des-Prés, built by Childebert I., had its walls 
 decorated with " élégant paintings." "We shall find Gondebaud, the son of 
 * Holbein died of the plague which prevailed in London in 155i. — [Ed.] 
 
PALynXU OX WOOD, CANVAS, etc. 307 
 
 Clotnire, bimself haudling tlie pciicil and " paiuting (ho walls and roofs of 
 oratories." In tlie reign of Cliarlcniagne, M'o discover tho texts wbich the 
 bishops and priests were compellcd to paint on " tbe wbole interior surface " 
 of tbeir cburches, iu ordcr tbat tbe cburiu of tbc colouring and of tbe 
 compositions migbt aid tbe fervoui- of faitb in tbe congrégations. But 
 ail tbis is but évidence recorded in tbe pages of tbe aucicnt cbroniclcs. 
 "We bave otber tcstimouy derived from works still existing, on wbicb 
 a judgment may be pi-actically passed. Some frescoes discovered at 
 St. Savin, in tbe departnient of Vienne, and at Nobant-Yicq, in tbe depart- 
 ment of Indre, wbicb must be attributed to tbe eleventb and twelith 
 centuries, attest, in ail tbeir rude simplicity, tbe efforts of a tbougbtful 
 art, and speciaUy bear tbe stamp of a true spirit of independence. 
 
 Tbe Sainte-Cbapelle, in Paris, by its painted Windows and tbe mural 
 paintings of its crypt, asserts tbe real vitaKty of an artistic feeling, wbicb 
 only waited for tbe signal of a bolder spirit to rise to loftier tbiugs. 
 Moreover, if otber examples are wanting, tbere are manuscripts, on tbe 
 ornamentation of wbicb the most skilful painters bave concentrated tbeir 
 powers, tbat would suifice to point out the tendencies and artistic standard 
 of every succeeding âge. (See tbe article on Mixiature-Paixting.) 
 However little we may consult bistory, we scarcely ever fail to discover 
 traces of certain groups of artists wbose names or works bave survived. 
 Tbus, a séries of paintings preserved in tbe Catbedral of Amiens, as well 
 as tbe " Sacre de Louis XII." and tbe " Vierge au Froment," in tbe 
 muséum at Cluny, prove to us tbe existence, at tbe end of tbe fifteentb 
 centmy, of tbe scbool of Picardy, wbicb possessed skill in composition, 
 combined witb a feeling for colour and a certain knowledge of bandling. 
 Tbus, too, tbe researcbes of tbe learned bave traced out tbe laborious 
 career of tbe Clouet family, sung by Ronsard and otbers, but wbose 
 Works are almost entirely lost ; tbus, aiso, we find tbe names of Bourdicbon, 
 Perréal, Foucquet, wbo worked for Louis XL and Charles VIII. , aind tbat 
 of tbe peaceful King Eené of Provence, wbo tbought it not beneatb bis 
 dignity to make bimself tbe practical chief of a scbool wbose nameless 
 productions are still scattered over tbe soutb of France. 
 
 Witb tbe sixteentb century commenced tbe âge of tbe great Italian 
 painters. In 1515, Francis I. persuaded Leonardo da Vinci to corne to 
 France, and to afEord the example of bis wonderful genius. But tbe illus- 
 
3o8 PAINTING ON WOOD, CANVAS, ETC. 
 
 trious Creator of " La Gioconda " (tte famous portrait of Mona Lisa), 
 burthened witL. years and worn eut with. work, yisited France as if only to 
 draw his last breath (1519). Andréa del Sarto, tlie graceful piipil of tlie 
 severe Michael Angelo, came to France in 1517; but, after baving painted 
 for his roj'al protector a few pictures, among wbicb was the magnificent 
 " Charity " in tbe Louvre, be again repaired to tbe Italian soil, to wbich 
 bis unbappy raarriage recalled bitn to bis doom. 
 
 In 1520 Eapbael died, at tbe âge of only thirty-seven years. Giulio Pippi 
 (called Giulio Romano), Francis Penni (called il Fattore), and Perino del 
 Vaga, wbom be named as bis beirs and cbarged witb tbe completion of bis 
 unfinisbed works, did tbeir best to repbice tbe illustrions dead. For a sbort 
 time itmigbt bave been tbougbt tbat tbe inspiration of tbe master still 
 remained witb bis pupils ; but soon a séparation of tbis group of artists, wbo 
 bad found tbeir principal power in unity of tbougbt, took place ; and, 
 fifteen or twenty years after tbe tomb bad closed on Rapbael, tbe tradition 
 of bis scbool was notbing more tban a glorious ruin. 
 
 Micbael Angelo, wbo died in 1563, was destined to bave a longer career; 
 but it was only to become a witness of tbe rapid décadence of tbe great 
 movement be bad belped to call fortb. After Daniele di Volterra, tbe painter 
 of tbe " Descent from tbe Cross," wbicb is classed among tbe tbree most 
 beautiful works tbat Rome possesses ; after Vasari, wbo possessed a double 
 title to celebrity as a skilful painter and tbe bistorian of tbe Italian scbools; 
 after Rosso, wbose renown subsequently suffered at tbe court of France ; 
 and Bronzino, wbo sougbt success in taste and delicacy ; the scbool of tbe 
 great Buonarotti produced notbing but works wbicb seemed to wander from 
 exaggeration to bad taste. Tbe dwarfs wbo attempted to walk in tbe footsteps 
 of the giant were soon exbausted, and only succeeded in rendering tbemselves 
 ridiculous. 
 
 The Venetian scbool, tbe great masters of which did not become extinct 
 before tbe end of tbe sixteenth century, bad its period of décadence at a later 
 epoch ; this will not come under our considération. Tbe Lombard scbool, 
 which, by tbe deaths of Correggio and Parmigianino, bad been left witbout 
 its cbiefs before the middle of tbis century (153i and 1540), seemed for a 
 moment as if it would disappear as it bad risen. B ut in Micbael Angelo 
 Caravaggio (Fig. 255) it met witb a powerful master, wbo was able for 
 some time to arrest tbe progress of its décadence. 
 
310 PAINTING ON WOOD, CANVAS, ETC. 
 
 We liave as yet done little more than hint at the présence of Rosso, or 
 Maître Roux, at the court of France. He came in 1530, at tlie invitation of 
 Francis I., to clecorate the Palace of Fontainebleau. " His engraved work," 
 says M. Michiels, " shows him to be a feeble and prétentions man, devoid both 
 of taste and inspiration, who exhibited laboured refinement in the place of 
 vigour, mistaking want of proportion for grandeur, and absence of truth for 
 originality. Being nominated by the king as Canon of the Sainte-Chapelle, 
 he had as his assistants Léonard, a Fleming, the Frenchmen Michel Samsoa 
 and Louis Dubreuil, and the Italians Lucca Penni, Bartolommeo Miniati, &c. 
 But in 1531, Primaticcio arrived from Mantua, and a contest arose hence- 
 
 forth between them Le Rosso having ended his days by suicide, 
 
 Primaticcio reniained master of the field. His most taleuted pupil decorated 
 under his direction the magnificent ball-room. Primaticcio painted with 
 less exaggeration and more delicacy aud élégance than Rosso ; but stUl he 
 formed one of that troop of awkward and affected copyists who exag- 
 
 gerated the errors of Caravaggio His empire of forty years' duration, 
 
 in the midst of a foreign population, was, however, an undisturbed, one. 
 Henry IL, Francis IL, Charles IX., and Catherine de Medicis, showed 
 him no less favour than Francis I. He died in 1570, loaded with honours 
 and riches. 
 
 " The number of French artists who allowed themselves to be influenced 
 by the Italian method was considérable. At last a man of more vigorous 
 character arose who would not permit false taste to rule him, and adopted 
 ail the- improvements of modem art, without foUowing in the footsteps of 
 court favourites. His talents inaugurated a new period in the history 
 of French painting. We are speaking of Jean Cousin, who was born at 
 Soucy, about 1530 ; he adorned with his compositions both glass and canvas, 
 and was, in addition, a skilfal sculpter. His famous picture of the " Last 
 Judgment," in the Louvre, suggests a high opinion of him. The colounng 
 is harsh and monotonous, but the drawing of the figures and the arrange- 
 ment of the pièce prove that he had the habit of thought and also of 
 reckoning on his own powers and of seeking out novel dispositions, pro- 
 ducing eiïects hitherto unkuown." 
 
 The beautiful composition we introduce hère (Fig. 256) is taken from 
 M. A. Firmin Didot's " jSTotice sur Jean Cousin," in which a large 
 number of ojher subjects are reproduced ; some of them may hâve heen 
 
PAINTING ON UVOn, C.LVrAS, ETC. 
 
 3" 
 
 engnived l>y thc iwliiter hiinsolf. I.ikc Albert Diiror and irolboin, Je 
 
 Fig. 256-— Composition by Jean Cousin. First Sketch of his "Last Judgment," from a "W ood-Engraving 
 in the Romance of " Gérard d'Euphrate." Paris, 154g. (Cabinet of M. A. F. Didot.) 
 
 Cousin did not disdain to apply his talents to tte omamentation of books. 
 
3^2 
 
 PAINTING ON WOOD, CANVAS, ETC. 
 
 Jean Cousin is generally looked upon as the real chief of the French 
 school. After him, and by his side, we must place the Janets,* who 
 although of Flemish. origin, are actually French in their style and the 
 character of their pictures. The most celebrated of them, François Clouet, 
 portrayed, with a realism full of élégance and distinction, the nobles and 
 beautifnl ladies of the court of Valois. 
 
 We should hère close our remarks, were it net that we might be accused 
 of an important omission in this review of the principal schools. For 
 nothing has been said of the Bolognese school, whose origin, though not its 
 
 Fig. 257. — Sketch of the Virgin of Alba. Chalk-drawing by Raphaël. 
 
 maturity, belongs to the epoch we hâve made our studj^ But the material 
 circumstances we now mention must be our justification : although the school 
 of Bologna gave signs of its existence in the thirteenth century, and under 
 the impulse of Guido, Yentura, and Ursone, showed itself to be industrious, 
 active, and numerous ; and also in the fourteenth century, under that of | 
 Jacopo d'Avanzo and Lippodi Dalmasio ; yet it died away, reviving only at 
 the commencement of the sixteenth century, again to become extinct after 
 the death of the poetic Raibolini, called Francia, without having produced 
 
 * This name is generally written Jeannet, and, according to Womum's " Epochs of Painting, 
 seems to hâve been applied Indiscriminately almost to the two painters, Jehannet or Jehan 
 Clouet, father and son. M. Lacroix appears also to include François under the same geneial 
 cognomen ; which, indeed, appears to hâve been a species of surnanie. — [Ed.] 
 
PAINTING OX nVOI), CANVAS, ETC. 
 
 3>J 
 
 any of tliose great individualities to whose glory aloiie \ve are compelled 
 to dovote our attention. 
 
 We must, howover, confess tliat this school, wliicli suddenly retrieved 
 ita position at a tirae wlien ail otlier schools were in a state of complète 
 décadence, foimd three illustrious chiefs iustead of one, and acquired the 
 singular glory of resuscitating, by a kind of potent eclecticism, the etisemble 
 of tlie noblest traditions. But it was not till the latter part of the 
 sixteenth century that Bologna witnessed the opening by the Carracci of 
 that studio wheuce were destined to proceed Guido, Albano, Domenichino, 
 Guercino, Caravaggio, Pietro of Cortona and Luca Giordano — a magnificent 
 phalanx of men who, by their own works and the force of their example, 
 were to become the honour of an âge into which it does not form a portion 
 of our task to follow them. 
 
ENGRAVING. 
 
 Origin of Wood-Engraving.— The St. Christopher of 142;!.— "The Virgin and Child Jésus."— The 
 earliest Masters of Wood-Engraving. — Bernard Milnet.— Erigraving in Caowïfw.— Origin of 
 En^raving on Métal.— The " Pax- " of Maso Finiguerra.— The earliest Engravers on Métal. 
 — Xiello Work.—leMa!lrc of 1466.— ie JlaUrc of 1486.— Martin Schongauer, Israël van 
 îlecken, Wenccslaus of Olmutz, Albert Diirer, Marc Antonio, Lucas van Leyden.— Jean Duret 
 and the French School.— The Dutch School.— The Masters of Engraving. 
 
 LMOST ail authors wlio hâve devoted themselves 
 to investigate this subject hâve asserted, but 
 doubtless veiy erroneously, that engraving on 
 métal was naturally derived from engraving on 
 wood. Nevertheless, any one who gives but a 
 slight considération to the différence existing be- 
 tween the two processes must be led to the belief 
 that the two arts must resuit from two distinct 
 inventions. In wood-engraving, the impression 
 is, in fact, formed by the portions of the block which are in relief; while 
 in engraving on métal, the incised strokes give the lines of the print. 
 îfow, no one who has any knowledge of professional matters can for a 
 moment doubt that, in spite of the similar appearance of the productions, 
 there is a radical différence in the starting-points and modes of exécution 
 of thèse two methods. 
 
 We certainly must consider it probable that the appearance of prints 
 produced by wood-engraving may hâve suggested the idea of seeking to 
 ohtain a similar or better resuit by some other process ; but that a process 
 should be assimilated, as if by affiliation, to another diametrically opposed 
 to it is a view we do not feel called upon to accept without réservation. 
 
 Be this as it may, certain authors look upon wood-engraving as having 
 been invented in Germany at the commencement of the fifteenth century. 
 Others hâve derived it from China, where it was in use in the year 1000 of 
 our era. Others, again, propound the opinion that the art of printing stuffs 
 
3i6 
 
 ENGRA VING. 
 
 by means of engraved blocks was employed in différent parts of Asia, to 
 which it had been imported from ancient Egypt, at a period long before it 
 was first tbought of in Europe. Thèse hypothèses being admitted, the 
 whole question reduces itself into an inquiry as to the way in which the art 
 
 Fig. 258.—" The Virgin and Infant Jésus." Fac-similé of a Wood-Engraving of the Fifteenth Century. 
 (Bibl. Imp., Paris.) 
 
 made its entrance iato Western Europe in the first half of the fifteenth 
 century ; this being the earKest date at which we find engravings made m 
 Germany, France, and the Low Countries. 
 
EXGRAV/XG. 
 
 3'7 
 
 The most ancient dated impression known of ii eut engraved on wood is a 
 St. Christopher, -vrithout either mark or name of its autlior, bcaring a Latin 
 inscription and the date of 14'J3. This spccimcn is so roughly engraved, and 
 in drawing is so faiilty, tliat it is only natural to assume it must be one of 
 the earliest attempts at wood-engraving. There is, however, an engraving 
 in the Impérial Library, Paris, representing the Virgin holding the Child 
 Jésus seated iu her arms (Fig. 258), which may perhaps be considered 
 an earlier spécimen than the St. Christopher. The back of the niche is a 
 kind of mosaic, forraed of diamond-shaped quadrilaterals ; the aureolw and 
 ornaments of the niche are coloured a yellowish brown. There is, how- 
 ever, one singularity in this engraving ■which testifîes to its great antiquity ; 
 it is printed on paper made of cotton, and is unsized, and the impression 
 sinks so deeply into it that it may be seen nearly as weU on the back of the 
 print as on the front. We must not omit to mention another engraving, 
 preserved in the Royal Library, Brussels ; this is also a " Virgin vrith the 
 Child Jésus," surrounded by four saints (Fig. 259). It is a composition 
 of a somewhat grand style, and does not agrée very ■svell with the date, 
 Mccccxviii., which is seen at the foot of the print. 
 
 We miist, doubtless, attribute to nearly the same time some spécimens of 
 playing-cards, — thèse we hâve already mentioned when deaKng speciaUy with 
 this subject ; and also a séries of figures of the Twelve Apostles with Latin 
 legends, underneath which are the same number of phrases in French, or 
 rather in the ancient dialect of Picardy, reproducing the whole text of the 
 Decalogue ; one of thèse xylographie plates may be seen in the chapter on 
 "Pkintixg." In thèse engravings each figure is standing up, clothed in 
 a long tunic, and covered with a wide mantle ; the ink, so to speak, is 
 bistre, and the mantles are coloured, red and green alternately. The 
 Apostles ail bear the symbolieal sign which distinguishes them, and are 
 surrounded with a lons" fillet, whereon is traced in Latin the sentence of the 
 Creed attributed to each, and one of the ten Commandments. St. Peter, for 
 instance, has for his motto this French sentence, " Gardois Dieu le roy 
 moult sain ; " St. Andrew, " jS^e jurets point son nome en vain ; " St. John, 
 " Père et Mère tosjours honoras ; " St. James the Greater, " Les fiestes et 
 dymeng. garderas," &c. 
 
 There are other engravings belonging to the middle of the fifteenth 
 century which make known the fact that the art of engra-sdng was prac- 
 
3it 
 
 ENGRA VING. 
 
 tisèd by sevéral artists in France ; and that withont doing any injustice 
 
 I Clnld." A Wood-Engra\nng of tl 
 (Bibl. Roy., Brussels.) 
 
 to Germany we can attributs several anonymous works to Frencb masters, 
 
 Fig. 259.—" The Virgin and Cliild." A Wood-Engrai-ing of the Fifteenth Century (?). 
 (Bibl. Roy., Brussels.) 
 
EXGRA VhXG. 
 
 3 '9 
 
 Htit we must in any case claiin the very churacteristic works of an ongraver 
 iiiimcd Bernard Milnet. In tlic engravings of tliis mastcr tboro are neither 
 liues nor cross-hatcliing ; the grouiid of the print is black ; the lights are 
 
 rig. 260. " St. Catherine on her Knees." Fac-similé of an Engraving on "Wood, by Bernard Milnet, 
 called the " Master with the dotted backgrounds." (Bibl. Imp., Paris.l 
 
 lormed by an infinité number of white dots varying in size according to the 
 requirement and taste of the artist. This engraver does not ajjpear to bave 
 had any imitators ; and, to tell the truth, bis mode of opération must bave 
 
320 ENGRAVING. 
 
 presented many difSciilties in exécution. There are only six known 
 spécimens of his work — a " Virgin with the Child Jésus," " St. Catlieriae 
 Kneeling" (Fig. 260), the "Scourging of Christ," a group of "St. John, 
 St. Paul, and St. Veronica," a "St. George," and a " St. Bernard." 
 
 Although engravings of this time are now extremely rare, it does 
 not necessarily follow that they were equally scarce at the dates when 
 they were executed. M. Michiels, in his " Histoire de la Peinture en 
 Flandre," says that, " according to ancient custom, on feast-days the 
 Lazarists, and others belonging to religions orders who were accustomed to 
 nurse the sick, carried in the streets a large wax candie ornamented with 
 mouldings and glass-trinkets, and distributed to the children wood- 
 engravings illuminated with brilliant colours, and representing sacred 
 subjects. There must, therefore, hâve been a considérable number of thèse 
 engravings." 
 
 In the sixteenth century wood-engraving, improved by the pupils of 
 Albert Diirer, and especially by John Burgkmair (Fig. 261), was very 
 estensively developed ; and the art was then practised with a superiority 
 of style which left far behind the timid attempts of the preceding century. 
 
 The Works of most of the wood-engravers of this period are anonymous ; 
 nevertheless, the names of a few of thèse artists hâve survived. But it is 
 only by an error that, in the nomenclature of the latter, certain painters and 
 designers, such as Albert Diirer, Lucas van Leyden, and Lucas van Cranach^ 
 hâve long been made to figure. There are wood-engravings which do 
 actuaUy bear the signatures or monograms of thèse masters ; but the fact is, 
 that the latter were often in the habit of drawing their designs on the wood, 
 as is frequently the practice with artists in our own day ; and the engraver 
 (or rather the formschneider, form-cutter, to employ the usual expression), 
 in reproducing the composition drawn with a pencil or pen, has copied also 
 the signature which the designer of the subject added. An error often 
 committed by writers may be thus easily set right. 
 
 We must not quit the subject of wood-engraving without mentioning 
 engraving in camaïeu; a process of ItaHan origin, in which three or 
 four blocks, applying in succession to the print uniform tints of more or less 
 intense tones, ultimately produced engravings of a very remarkable eilect, 
 imitating drawings with the stunip or the pencil. At the commencement 
 of the sixteenth century several artists distinguished themselves in this 
 
EiXGRA\7X(;. 
 
 32' 
 
 F.ff.26i.-Th^ Archdukes and High Barons of Germany assisting, in State Costume, at the Coronation of the 
 ^n,perorMaz.m,l,an. A fragnient taken from a large collection of Engra^-ings, entitled the " Trinmph of 
 Ma.x,œ,l,an I.," by J. Burgkmair. (Sixteenth Centun-.) 
 
32 2 ENGRAVING. 
 
 mode of engraving, especiallj^ TJgo di Carpi, wlio worked at Modena about thé 
 year 1518 ; Antonio Fantuzzi, a pnpil of Francis Paruiigianino, who accom- 
 panied and assisted Primaticcio at Fontainebleau ; Gualtier, and Andrew 
 Andreani ; and lastly, Bartbolomew Coriolano, of Bologna, who would bave 
 been the last engraver in this style, were it not for Antonio M. Zanetti, a 
 celebrated Venetian amateur, wbo was still nearer to us in point of date. 
 Two or tbree Germans, Jobn Ulricb in tbe sixteenlb, and Louis Buriag* 
 in tbe seventeentb, century, also made some engravings in camdieu, but 
 only witb two blocks : one giving tbe design of tbe subject witb tbe outHne 
 and cross-batcbing, tbe otber introducing a colour, usually bistre, on wbicb 
 ail tbe ligbts were taken eut, so as to leave tbe ground of tbe paper wbite. 
 Tbese spécimens imitated a pen-and ink drawing on coloured paper, and 
 finisbed with the brusb or pencU. 
 
 We must now go back to tbe year 1452, whicb is generall}' fixed upon 
 as tbe date of tbe invention of engraving on métal (Fig. 262). t Wben 
 discussing tbe subject of " Goldsmitb's Work," we mentioned, among tbe 
 pupils of tbe illustrious Gbiberti, Maso Finiguerra, and stated tbat this 
 artist bad engraved on silver a " Fax " intended for tbe treasury of the 
 Churcb of St. Jobn. Certain writers baving recognised in a print now 
 in tbe Impérial Library of Paris, and also in another print in the Library 
 of the Arsenal, an exact impression of this engraving, were led to attributs 
 to the celebrated Florentine goldsmith the honour of an invention in which 
 he might perbaps bave bad no share at ail. Possibly this process of printing 
 off an impression, wbicb was a very natural thing to do, bad been actually 
 practised by goldsmitbs long before Finiguerra ; tbey wisbed, doubtless, to 
 préserve a pattern of their nieUo-worli, or to see bow it progressed in its 
 various stages. The proofs, thus taken ofE by band, baving been lost, 
 Finiguerra may bave been considered tbe originator of a method which he 
 only applied as a matter of course to bis goldsmitb's work. The two cir- 
 cumstances — tbat tbe plate is made of silver and not of sxnj common métal, 
 and tbat it may be classed among the numerous nielU, engraved plates ot 
 décorative goldsmitb's work, which bave been handed down to us and are 
 of even earlier dates — wlU alone suffice, in our opinion, to dispose of the 
 
 « Hiisiiick is the name by which this old wood-engraver is generally known. — [Ed.] 
 t The legend which accompanies this engraving is iu old Italian ; it relates to the fainous 
 prophecy of Isaiah as to the birth of Chi'ist (Isaiah vii. 14). 
 
EXGRA y/A'G. 
 
 323 
 
 ECCHOLAVERGIH CHECHOHCEPEPA 
 
 ELNOynE DÊLftGLVOL ZlCHt^Af RA 
 E/W\NVELCHEDETTO iMTÉRPETilANDO 
 lt)DlE-CH0N622O NOl E/AAGERA 
 H™^. E/neLE ACCIO CHEWPRONDO 
 JAPPI FVCGIRE ËLMAL CHEE VI0O2Q 
 EEUGGERt ELLEN CHEVîRTVOiO 
 
 Flg-. 262.— The Propliet Isaiah, holding in his tand the saw which was the instrument of his martyrdom. 
 (Fac-simile from an Engraring on Copper by an unknown Italian Jlaster of the Fifteenth Century.) 
 
324 ENGRAVING. 
 
 idea that tbis work was expressly esecuted in order to furnish impressions 
 on paper. It was nothing but chance that in this case introduced the 
 name of Piniguerra, which would not hâve become known in this connec- 
 tion, if it had not beeu for the préservation of two ancient impressions 
 of his niello-worli ; while those taken from other and perhaps older 
 plates had been desti'oj"ed. Thus the date, or the asserted date, of the 
 invention of engra^'ing ou métal was fixed bj' the ascertained date of 
 the pièce of goldsmith's work. 
 
 Be this as it may, the print of the " Pax," or rather of the " Assump- 
 tion," engraved by Finiguerra, does not fail, in the oj)inion of ail writers and 
 amateurs, to bear the title of the earliest jJrint from métal ; a title to which 
 it has a perfect right, and in thus regarding it we are induced to give a 
 brief description of the subject represented in the engraving. Jésus Christ, 
 seated on a lofty throne and wearing a cap similar to that of the Doges, 
 places, with both his hands, a crown on the head of the Virgin, who, with her 
 hands crossed upon her breast, is seated upon the same throne ; St. Augustine 
 and St. Ambrose are kneeling ; in the centre, below, and on the right, several 
 saints are standing, among whom we can distinguish St. Catherine and 
 St. Agnes ; on the left, in the rear of St. Augustine, we see St. John the 
 Baptist and other saints ; lastly, on both sides of the throne a number of 
 angels are blowing trumpets ; and, above, are others holding a streamer, 
 on which we read : " Assvmpta . est . Maria . in . celvm . ave . exeiicit\^ . 
 AXGELORVM ; " " Mary is taken up into Heaven. Hail, army of angels ! " 
 
 The first of the impressions of this niello found its way into the Eoyal 
 Library with the MaroUes Collection, bought by Louis XIV. in 1667 : the 
 other was discovered only in 1841, by M. Robert Damesnil, who, in the 
 Librarj' of the Arsenal, was turning over the leaves of a volume containing 
 engravings by Callot and Sébastian Le Clerc. This latter impression, 
 though taken on inferior jJaper, is nevertheless in a much better state of 
 préservation than the other ; but the ink is of a greyer hue, and one might 
 readily fancy that, as M. Duchesne, the learned writer, asserts, it was printed 
 before the final completion of the plate. 
 
 In support of the opinion which we before indirectly expressed, that the 
 practice of taking impressions from engraved plates of métal might well 
 be a kiud of fortuitous resuit of a mère professional tradition incidental to 
 the goldsmith's art, we may remark that most of the engravings svhich hâve 
 
ENGRAVING. 
 
 3»S 
 
 beeii liaiulod dowii lo us as bolonging to (hc cra fîxcrl iiiioii for tlio in- 
 vontioii ot' cngraxing, ai-o tho work of Italian goldsinitli-cngravors. ^lore 
 than four huiulrod sjiecimens of tliis date liave becn prcscrvcd ; among the 
 artists we must meution Araeriglii, Michacl Aiigelo Bandinelli, and Philippo 
 Brunellescbi, of Florence ; Forzoni Spinelli, of Arezzo ; Furnio, Gosso, Rossi, 
 and Raibolini, of Bologna ; Teucreo, of Siena ; Caradosso and Arcioni, of 
 Milan ; Nicholas Rosex, of Modena, of wliose work we bave three nielli and 
 niorc than sixty eugraviugs ; Antonio Pollajuolo, who engraved a print called 
 
 Fig. 263. — Fac-similé of a Niello executed on Ivorj', from the orig^inal design of Stradan, representing 
 Columbus on board his Ship, during bis first Voyage to the "West. 
 
 the " Figbt witli Cutlasses," representing ten naked men fighting ; lastly, 
 the niost skilf ul of the metal-chasing goldsmiths after Finiguerra, Peregrino 
 of Cesena, who has left his name and his mark on sixty-six nielli. 
 
 More spécial mention must be made of Bartholomew Baldini, better 
 known under the name of Baccio, to whom we owe, in addition to some 
 large engravings both of a sacred and of a mythological character, twenty 
 ■vignettes designed for the folio édition (1481) of Dante's " Inferno ; " of 
 Andréa Mantegna, a renowned paiuter, who himself engraved many or 
 his own compositions ; and of John van der Straet, called Stradan (Fig. 263), 
 who executed at Florence many remarkable plates. 
 
3 26 ENGRAVING. 
 
 "We find in Germany an engraver wlio dates several of his works in the 
 j^ear 1466, but on none of tliem bas lie left more tTian his initiais, E. S. 
 This lias not failed to tax thé ingenuity of tliose wlio would establish. his 
 individuality in some authentic wajr. Some hâve agreed to call Hm Edward 
 Schôn or Stern, on account of the stars he frequentlj^ introduces into the 
 borders of the vestments of his figures ; one asserts that he was born ia 
 Bavaria, because in a spécimen of his works is the figure of a woman holding 
 a shield emblazoned with the arms of that country ; another believes him to 
 hâve been a S'ï^àss, because he twice engraved the " Pilgrimage of St. Mary 
 of Einsiedeln," the most celebrated in the country. But those amateurs 
 who, upon the whole, think more of the work than the workman, are content 
 to designate him as the Master of 1466. 
 
 This engraver has left behind him three hundred examples, most of them 
 of small dimensions, among which, independently of sundry very curious 
 compositions, we must notice two important séries, namely, an Alphabet 
 composed of grotesque figures (Fig. 264), and a pack of Numéral Cardi, the 
 greater part of which are in the Impérial Library. 
 
 At almost the same epoch HoUand also présents us with an anonjTnous 
 engraver, who might be called the Master of 1486, from the date on one 
 only of his engravings. The works of this artist, whose manner exhibits 
 a powerful and original style, are very rare in any collections not belong- 
 ing to the country in which he worked. The Cabinet of Engravings at 
 Amsterdam possesses seventjr-six of them, while that of Yienna has but 
 two, that of Berlin one only, and that of Paris six, among which we may 
 remark " Samson sleeping on the knees of Delilah," and " St. George," on 
 foot, piercing with his sword the throat of the dragon which menaced the 
 life of the Queen of Lydia. 
 
 "We hâve still three comparatively celebrated engravers to mention before 
 reaching the epoch at which Marc Antonio Raimondi in Italy, Albert 
 Diirer in Germany, and Lucas van Leyden in HoUand, ail simultaneously 
 flourished. 
 
 Martin Schongauer, for some time designated by the name of Martin 
 Schôn, who died at Colmar in 1488, was a good painter as well as a skilful 
 engraver. More than one hundred and twenty spécimens of his work are 
 known, the most important of which are — " Christ bearing his Cross, 
 " The Battle of the Christians " (waged against the iufidels by the apostle 
 
ENGRA VING. 
 
 327 
 
 St. Jiimes), both very rare compositions of large size ; tho " Passion of Jésus 
 Christ," tlie " Death of the Virgin," and " St. Anthony torraented by 
 Démons," one proof of which, it is said, was coloured by Michael Angelo. 
 Wo inust add (aiid this l'iixumstance shows again tlic kiiid of direct 
 
 Fig. 264. — Fac-similé of the letter N from the *' Grotesque Alphabet," engraved by the " Master of 1466.' 
 
 relation which we bave already noted as existing between engraving and 
 goldsmith's work), that Martin Schongauer also engraved a pastoral staff 
 and a censer, botb of yery beautiful workmanship. 
 
 Israël van Mecken (or Meckenem), supposed to be a pupil of Francis 
 
,28 EXGRA VIN G. 
 
 van Bocholt, as lie worked at Bocholt previous to the year 1500, is, of ail 
 German engravers of this epocb, the one whose Works are most extensively 
 known. The Cabinet of Engravings in the Impérial Library, Paris, 
 possesses three volumes of his engravings, containing two hundred and 
 twenty-eight superb examples ; among thèse we must especially notice a 
 composition engraved on two plates of the same height ; " St. Grregory 
 perceiving the Man of Sorrows at the Moment of the Mass." We must 
 confine ourselves to the mention, in addition, of his " St. Luke painting 
 the Portrait of the Vii-gin ; " "St. Odile releasing from Purgatory, by his 
 prayers, the Soûl of his Father, Duke Etichon ; " " Herodias " (Fig. 265) ; 
 and " Lucretia killing herself in the présence of Collatinus and others," 
 which last is the only subject this artist bas taken from profane history. 
 
 We mention Wenceslaus of Olmutz, who was engaged in engraving 
 from the year 1481 to 1497, with the especial object of describing an 
 allegorical print due to his hurin ; it may serve to give a notion of the 
 fantastic tendency impressed on the ideas of the day by the religious dis- 
 sensions which arose at this epoch between several princes of Germany and 
 the court of Rome. This print, or rather this graphie satire, most of the 
 allusions in which are now lost to us, represents the monstrous figure of 
 a woman entirely naked, seen in profile and turning to the left, her body 
 covered with scales, with the head and mane of an ass ; her right leg 
 terminâtes in a cloven foot, and the left in a bird's claw ; her right arm is 
 terminated by the paw of a Kon, and the left by a woman's hand. The back 
 of this fantastic being is covered with a hairy mask, and in the place of a 
 tail she bas the neck of a chimera, with a deformed head from which darts 
 a serpent's tongue. Above the engraving is written, " JRonia Capiit Mundi" 
 ("Pome the head of the world"). On the left hand is a three-storied 
 tower, upon which a flag adorned with the kej's of St. Peter is floating. On 
 the château is written, " Castelagno " (Castle of St. Angelo) ; in the fore- 
 ground is a river, upon whose waves is traced the word " Tecere " (the 
 Tiber) ; lower still is the word " lanvarii " (January), below the date 1496: 
 on the right, in the background, is a square tower, upon which is written, 
 " Tore Bi Nona " (Tower of the Nones) ; on the same side, in front, is a vase 
 with two handles, and in the centre of the lower part the letter W, the 
 monogrammatic signature of the engraver. Our interest in this plate 
 is increased bj' the date it bears ; for, being engraved by means ci 
 
u u 
 
330 ENGRAVING. 
 
 aquafortis, it proves that Albert Durer is wrongfullj^ regarded as the 
 inventer of this mode of engraving, more expéditions tHan with the burin, 
 as tlie oldest aquafortis work of Albert Durer is dated 1515, tliat is to say, 
 nineteen years later than tbat of Wenceslaus of Olmiitz. 
 
 We now come to three great artists wlio, at a period in which the 
 art of engraving had made the most remarkable progress, availed them- 
 selves of it for producing works which eminently characterise each master 
 respectively. 
 
 Albert Diirer, born at Nuremberg in 1471, was a vigorous painter, aad 
 was not less remarkable for the productions of his burin and etching- 
 needle. "We do not intend to describe ail his works, though ail are 
 worthy of notice, but must content ourselves with mentioning " Adam and 
 Eve standing by the Tree of Knowledge of Grood and EvU," a small plate 
 of délicate workmanship and admirable perfeetness of design ; the " Passion 
 of Jésus Christ," in a séries of sixteen plates ; " Christ praying ia the 
 Garden of Gethsemane," the first work executed by this master by means 
 of aqiuifortis, then a new method, which, being less soft than the burin, gave 
 rise to an idea not dispelled for some time, that this print and several 
 others were engraved on iron or tin ; several figures of the " Virgin with 
 the Infant Jésus," which are ail remarkable for expression and simplicity, 
 and hâve received odd sobriquets on account of some accessory object which 
 accompanies them (for instance, the " Virgin with the pear, butterfly, 
 ape," &c.) ; the " Prodigal Son keeping Swine," a composition in which 
 the painter himself is represented; "St. Hubert praying before the Cross 
 borne by a Stag " (Fig. 266), a very rare and beautiful plate ; the 
 " Chevalier and his Lady ; " lastly, the " Chevalier of Death," a chef- 
 d'œuvre, dated 1515, and representing Francis of Sickingen, who was 
 destined to be the firmest supporter of Luther's Reformation.* 
 
 Marc Antonio Raimondi, born at Bologna about the year 1475, was first a 
 pupil of Francis RaiboUni, and afterwards of Raphaël, t whose style he often 
 
 * We présume this plate to be that commonly known among collectors of prints as " Death s 
 Horse ; " it represents a knight on horsebaok followed hy Death. The hest impressions of this 
 plate are prior to the date 1513. It is also caUed "The Christian Knight," and "The Knight, 
 Death, and the Devil." — [Ed.] 
 
 t That Marc Antonio atudied paiuting rnider Kaphael, as is hère implied, is more than 
 doubtful, though he engraved a very large number of his varions compositions, and was highly 
 esteemed by the great master. — [Ed.] 
 
Fig-, 266.—" St. Hubert praj-ing before the Cross borne by a Stag." Kngraved by AILert Diirer. 
 
332 ENGRAVING. 
 
 followed, and in his compositions did Lis utmost to imitate his pure and 
 noble manner. EverytHing in his designs is ideally true, and ail is liarmo- 
 nious in the ensemble of his works. Most of his engravings still existing are 
 very much sought after, and as any description we could give would only 
 convey but an imperfect idea of the excellence of thèse works, the strongest 
 testimony in favour of their merit will be to mention the high priées given 
 for certain prints by this master at the public sale which took place in 1844. 
 For example : — "Adam and Eve," a print after Raphaël, 1,010 francs 
 (£40) ; " God commanding Noah to build the Ark," from the same master, 
 700 francs (£28) ; the "Massacre of the Innocents," 1,200 francs (£48); 
 "St. Paul preaching at Athens," 2,500 francs (£100); the " Lord's 
 Supper," 2,900 francs (£116) ; the " Judgment of Paris," which is 
 regarded as the chcf-iV œuvre of Marc Antonio, 3,350 francs (£134) ; three 
 pendentives of the " Farnesina," 1,620 francs (£64 lO.s.), &e. Subsequently, 
 thèse enormous priées hâve beeii even exceeded. 
 
 Lucas van Leyden, born in 1494, and, like Albert Diirer, a élever painter 
 as well as skilful engraver, has left about eighty plates, the most remarkable 
 of which are " David playlng the Harp before Saul ;" the " Adoration of the 
 Magi ; " a large " Ecce Homo," engraved by the artist at the âge of sixteen; 
 a " Peasant and Peasant-woman with a Cow ; " the " Monk Sergius killed by 
 Mahomet;" the "Seven Virtues;" a plate called the " Little Milkmaid," 
 very rare ; lastly, a " Poor Family travelling," of which only five proofs are 
 known ; they were bought for sixteen louis d'or by the Abbot of Marolles, 
 when he formed his cabinet of prints, which became one of the richest 
 additions to the Impérial Library. 
 
 In a befitting rank below thèse famous artists we may class a French 
 engraver, Jean Duret, born at Langres in 1488, who was goldsmith to 
 Henri IL, and executed several beautiful allegorical plates on the intrigues 
 of the king and Diana of Poitiers, as well as twenty-four compositions taken 
 from the Apocalypse ; also Pierre Woeiriot (or Voeiriot), an engraver and 
 goldsmith of Lorraine, born in 1531, who produced numerous fine works 
 down to the end of the century ; the most famous of them, designated by 
 the name of the "Bull of Phalaris " (Fig. 267), represents the tyrant of 
 Agrigentum shutting up human victims destined to be burnt alive in a 
 brazen bull. 
 
 There were at work in Italy at the same epoch Augustine of Musi 
 
'ï- 7- Phalaris, Tyrant of Agrigentum, causing Victims destined to be bumt alive to be sbat up in a Brazen Bull.' 
 Engravedby P. Woeiriot. (French Scbool or the Sixteenth Centurj-.) 
 
334- 
 
 ENGRA VING. 
 
 (Agustino de Musis, called the Venetian), Giacomo Caraglio, tlie Ghisis,* 
 Eneas Vico ; in Germany, Altdorfer (Fig. 268), George Pencz,t Aldegrever, 
 
 Jacque Binck, Bartel and Hans Sebald 
 Beham (Fig. 269), -who are designated 
 under tlie collective name of the " Little 
 Masters;" in HoUand, Thierry (Dirk) van 
 Staren. 
 
 In the conrse of thé sixteenth century 
 engraving reached its culminating point, 
 and at that time Italy and Germany no 
 longer took the lead in this branch of 
 art, for the most skilful and renowned 
 masters then belonged to HoUand and 
 France. 
 
 Those of HoUand were Henry Golt- 
 zius (or Goltz), born in 1558, and his 
 pupils Matham and the MuUers, whose 
 vigorous gravers might remind one of 
 brilliant effects of colour -without any loss 
 of purity of design; the two brothers, 
 Boetius and Scheltius Bolswaert, so called 
 from their native town Bolswaert, born 
 in 1580 and 1586 respectively ; Paul 
 Pontius and Lucas Vorsterman, both born in 1690, -whose engravings so 
 ■well represent the chiaroscuro and colour of Van Dyck and Jordaens. 
 
 In France was Jacques Callot, born in 1594, -whose works were both 
 numerous and original, and enjoyed a some-what popular celebrity; among 
 them the most worthy of remark are the " Temptation of St. Anthony, 
 the " Fair of the Madonna d'Iraprunette," " The Garden" and the "Parterre," 
 both scènes in Nancy ; as -well as several séries, such as the " Miseries of 
 War," &c. There were also Michael Lasne, born in 1596, -who engraved a 
 nuniber of historical portraits ; and Etienne (Stephen) Baudet, who repro- 
 duced eight large landscapes after Poussin. 
 
 * Giovanni B. B. Ghisi ; Giorgio and Adams, his two sons ; and Diana, his daughter.— [Ed.] 
 t ïhis engraver, generally known hy the single name of George, usually signed his plates 
 ■wiih the siirname Peins or Penlz. — [Kd.] 
 
 Fig. 268. — " Repose of the Holy Family." 
 Engraved by A. Altdorfer. 
 
ENGRA VING. 
 
 35i 
 
 
 
 ^:KI[^WS'A-SVMMD<1FERDNAN•0VS'CA^SARE•CARID p 
 REX-R0MAN0RVTil*5IG°TVIÎT»0RA?GEM\S 1^1 
 
 >M.*D*XXXÎ » 
 
 Fif. 269.—" Ferdinand I., Brother of Charles V." Engraved by Bart. Betam in 1531. 
 
336 ENGRAVING. 
 
 A separate notice is reserved for Jonas Suj'deroef, born at Leyden in 
 1600, who, by combining the graver, the etchiug-needle, and aquafortis, 
 gave an exceptional cbaracter to his works. Among tbe two bundred 
 engravings by tbis master tbe most admired are tbe " Treaty of Munster," 
 after Terburg ; and the " Burgomasters of Amsterdam recei^^ng tbe News 
 of tbe Arrivai of Queen Mary of Medicis, " after De Keyser. 
 
 "We are now toucbing closely upon, even if we bave not already exceeded, 
 tbe limita to wbicb we are prescribed by tbe scope of our notices ; but 
 as the bistory of engraving does not présent, like that of so many other 
 arts, the spectacle of a grievous décadence after a period of brilliancy, we 
 cannot witliout regret corne to a conclusion, wben mention might still be 
 made of many distinguished names among tbe engravers of everj^ country. 
 
 We sbould also scarcely be able to pass on to anotber subject without 
 having alluded to tbose men whose works belong, indeed, to tbe following 
 epocb, but tbe date of wbose birtb connects tbem with that we are 
 considering. We could not, in fact, assume to bave treated of engraving 
 had we passed over in silence Van Dyck, Claude Lorraine, and Rembrandt 
 (Fig. 270), tbose greatest of masters who were equally celebrated for 
 painting and engraving. In truth, perbaps, we could not say anytbiag 
 of tbem wbicb would not be superfluous. 
 
 Wbo is not acquainted witb at least some few works by Yan Dyck? 
 Tbis celebrated pupil of Rubens bas left in painting as many masterpieces 
 as canvases ; and in engraving be knew how to give to bis etcbing-needle 
 so much verm and spirit, that bis prints are perfect models to foUow, and 
 bave never been surpassed. Wbo is tbere that does not admire tbe land- 
 scapes of Claude Lorraine, wbich are equally remarkable for tbe light diffused 
 over tbem, and tbe misty atmosphère that tempers its brilliancy ? We 
 ail know tbis master produeed, as if for récréation, certain engravings 
 wbich for truth and melancholy (inélancoHe) are bardly surpassed by bis 
 marvellous paintings. And how can we speak of Rembrandt witbout 
 seeming to be commonplace ? For bis fertile and varied talent no difficulty 
 evei? seemed to exist ; a thème, tbe most simple and common in appearance, 
 becomes in bis hands the basis of a masterly conception ; nature, to wbicb 
 be seemed to lend a new life, wbile seizing upon its most striking reaUties, 
 was for bim an inexbaustible source of powerful compositions. 
 
 The mention of thèse artists on the tbreshold of an epocb into wbicb we 
 
ENGRA VING. 
 
 337 
 
 arc precludcd i'ioiii following tliem, must suffice to convey some idea o£ the 
 height tliat art Lad attained during this century. Wo will, bowever, 
 enumerate after them a few names among foreign engravers. The Flemish 
 artists, Nicolas Eorglicm and Paul Potter, both great unimal-painters, bave 
 
 Fîg. 270. — " Portrait of John Lutma, Goldsmith of Groningen." Designed and Engraved !n aquafortis 
 
 by Rembrandt. 
 
 left some prints in aquafortis for tbe possession of wbicb amateurs contend ; 
 Wenceslaus HoUar, tbe Englishman,* engraved "Tbe Queen of Sbeba," 
 after Veronese ; to Cornélius Visscber, a Dutcbman, we owe tbe famous 
 
 He was bom at Prague, although moat of his works were exeeuted in England. — [Te-] 
 
 X X 
 
338 
 
 ENGRA VING. 
 
 "Seller of Ratsbane ;" and to Stefano délia Bella, of Florence, the "View 
 from the Pont-Neuf, Paris." Rupert, the Prince-Palatine (nephew of 
 Charles I. of England), was the inventor of the mezzo-tinto, or black style 
 of engraving ; and William Faithorne, an Englishman, engraved several 
 portraits after Van Dj^ck. France also présents to our notice some justly 
 celebrated names. The views of towns by Israël Silvestre, of Nancy, are 
 very beautiful ; François de Poilly, of Abbeville, reproduced several pictures 
 by Paphael ; Jean Pesne, of Rouen, himself a painter, engraved especially 
 after Poussin ; Antoine Masson, of Orléans, has lefb a print of the " Pilgrims 
 of Emmaus," after the picture by Titian, which is regarded as a chef- d' œuvre. 
 Lastly, Robert Nanteuil, of Rheims, the famous portrait-painter, engraved 
 Péréfixe, Archbishop of Paris, four times ; the Archbishop of Rheims 
 five times ; Colbert six times ; Michel Le Tellier, Chancellor of France, 
 ten times ; Louis XIV. eleven times, and Cardinal Mazarin fourteen times. 
 
 y 
 
 Fig. 271.—" The Holy \ irgin." Engraved by Aldegrever in 1527. 
 
SCULPTUEE. 
 
 Origin of Christian Sculpture. — Statues in Gold and Silver. — Traditions of Antique Art.— Sculp- 
 ture in Ivory. — Iconoclasts. — Diptychs.— The highest Style of Sculpture foUows the Phases 
 of Architecture. — Cathedrals and Jlonasteries from the Year 1000. — Schools of Burgundy, 
 Champagne, Normandy, Lorraine, &c. — German, English, Spanish, and Italian Schools. — 
 Nicholas of Pisa and his Successors. — Position of French Sculpture in the Thirteenth 
 Century. — Florentine Sculptiire and Ghiherti. — French Sculptors from the Fifteenth to the 
 Sixteenth Century. 
 
 T is an indisputable fact that the epocli in whicL. the Emperor 
 Constantine, by receiving baptism, etfected tbe triumpb of Cbris- 
 tianity, developed a kind of re-sival in the movement of the 
 décorative arts, the ideas of which were then esclusively directed 
 to the exaltation of the new faith. To construct numerous 
 basilicas, to adorn them magnificently, and by means of the 
 chisel to embody in a material form the spirituaKsm of the 
 Gospel, were the objects of this pious monarch. Gold and 
 silver were the less spared, as marble was considered too common a 
 substance in which to represent the sacred personages of the divine 
 hierarchy. At Constantinople, in the basilica constructed by Constantine, 
 there was represented, on one side of the apse, a seated figure of our 
 Saviour surrounded by His twelve disciples; on the other side, Christ 
 was represented also sitting on a throne and accompanied by four 
 angels, who had precious stones of Alabanda, ialaid, to represent their 
 eyes. AU thèse figures were life-size, and made of silver rejwussé ; each 
 one Tveighing from ninety to a hundred and ten pounds. In the sanie 
 church, a canopy representing the Apostles and cherubim in relief, of 
 polished silver, weighed more than two thousand pounds. But thèse 
 splendeurs were even eclipsed by those of the font of porphyry in which 
 Constantine received baptism from. the hands of Bishop Sylvester. The 
 part whence the water flowed away was adorned with massive silver over 
 an extent of five feet, and for the purpose three thousand pounds of this 
 
34° 
 
 SCULPTURE. 
 
 precious métal were employed. In tlie centre, columns of gold supported a 
 lamp of the same métal weighing fifty-two pounds, in wMch, during the 
 feast of Easter, two hundred poimds of perfumed oil were burnt. The water 
 was poTired into thé font through the image of a lamb of solid gold, weiglinig 
 thirty pounds. On the right was a life-size représentation of our Saviour, 
 weighing a hundred and seventy pounds ; on the left was a statue of 
 John the Baptist of the same size ; while seven hinds of silver placed around 
 the font, and pouring water into the basin, harmonised in their dimensions 
 and materials with the other figures. 
 
 We would not assert that thèse works, pompously enumerated by 
 Anastasius, the Librarian, corresponded in purity and élévation of style 
 
 Fig. 272. — Altar of Castor (a Gallo-Roman Sculpture), discovered in 1711 under the Choir 1 
 
 of Notre-Dame, Paris. 
 
 with the richness of the materials emploj^ed ; for we know, on the contrarr, 
 that in order to comply with the wishes of the powerful emperor, artists were 
 found who, by simple substitution of heads, attributes, or inscriptions, 
 converted without any scruple a Jupiter into God the Father, or a Venus 
 into a Virgin. The large cities were not as yet depopulated of the 
 innumerable crowd of statues which adorned them ; and it was only m 
 proYÏnces far from the metropolis that the images of the false gods were 
 buried under the fragments of their overthrown temples (Figs. 272 and 273). 
 In fact, before the art had adopted, or rather created, the System of 
 Christian symbolism, it was absolutely necessary to borrow the éléments 
 of its existence from the glorious materials of the past, and even to 
 imitate the works of Pagan art. 
 
SCULPTURE. 
 
 34' 
 
 In Greecc more tliau clscwlicrc — and by Grcoco wc includo Constanti- 
 nople — statuary prosorvod, iiuder Constant iiie and liis carlicst succcssors, a 
 certain dcgroo of powcr whicli we might cuU original. The design still 
 adhercd to beautiful fonus, and, in thé arrangement of subjects, the principles 
 of the ancients were for a long time applied, as if instinctively. Although 
 artists no longer studied nature, they were, at ail cvcnts, surrounded bj' 
 excellent models, which guided them with somewhat imjjerious rule. 
 
 We hâve already seen tliat, among the barbarie chiefs who iiivaded 
 the empire of the Cœsars aud seated themselves on the Impérial throne of 
 Eome, were some who, at a certain period, professed to be, if not the 
 protectors of the Fine Arts, which had then sunk into torpor, at least 
 
 ■ Fig. 273.— Altar of Jupiter Ceraunus (Gallo-Roman Sculpture), discovered in 1711, 
 under the Choir of Notre-Damej Paris. 
 
 the préservera of the Greek and Roman monuments belonging to the 
 nohlest epoch of Ai-t. The statues were no longer broken down ; the 
 inscriptions and bas-reliefs ceased to be mutilated; the triimiphal arches 
 (Fig. 274), the palaces, and the théâtres, were respected, or, rather, were 
 left standing. But a kind of deadness had corne over the artistic world, 
 and a few sympathetic manifestations of this kind were not suificient to 
 reanimate its enervated spirit ; it was necessary that the period of repose 
 should be fuUy accomplished — a period which, in the views of Providence, 
 was perhaps a phase of profound contemplation or preparatory development. 
 
 Nevertheless, although the art which gives life to marble and bronze — 
 a high style of sculpture — was in a stationary or rétrograde state, the lower 
 kind, which we may caU domestic, preserved some degree of activity. 
 
342 
 
 SCULPTURE. 
 
 For instance, it was then tlie custom for great personages to send as présents 
 diptychs of ivory, on tlie outer face of whicli -çvere carved bas-reliefs 
 recalling some mémorable event. Monarchs, on tbeir accession, were in the 
 habit of conferring diptj^clis of tMs kind on tbe governors of provinces 
 and bishops ; and the latter, in order to testify to the good understanding 
 existing between the civil and religions authorities, placed the diptych on 
 the altar. A marriage, a baptism, or any success, gave occasion for the 
 
 Fig. 274. — Restoration of a Roman Triuraphal Arcb, with its Bas-reliefs. 
 
 présentation of diptychs. For two centuries artists lived on nothing but 
 this kind of work. It needed events of some very extraordiaary character 
 to cause the production of any moniiment of real sculpture. 
 
 In the sixth century the cathedi-als of Rome, Trêves, Metz, Lyons, 
 Rhodez, Arles, Bourges, and the abbeys of St. Médard at Soissons, St. Ouen 
 at Rouen, and St. Martin at Tours, are mentioned as remarkable ; and yet 
 the walls of thèse édifices were nothing but bare stone, without either oma- 
 ment or scidpture. " To become living stones," says M. J. Duseigneur, 
 
SCULPTURE. 
 
 343 
 
 " thcy had to wait for aiiotlicr agc. The whole of tlie ornamentation was 
 exclusively applied to (hc altar and tho baptismal font, The tombs even of 
 great personagcs présent the most primitive simplicity." (Fig. 275.) 
 
 Ancient Gaul, in spite of its disasters, still retained, in certain parts of its 
 territory, men, or rather groupa of men, in whose hearts the cultivation of 
 Art still i-emaincd a living principle. This was the case in Provence, round 
 the arclibishops of Arles ; in Austrasia (Metz), near the tbrone of Brunchaut ; 
 in Burgundy, at the court of King Gontran. Most of tbe works and even 
 the names of thèse artists are now lost ; but bistory bas recorded tbe move- 
 ment, wbich -was, as it •were, a bappy link destined to abbreviate tbe solution 
 of continuity in artistic tradition. 
 
 At tbe time wben Greek art, in its degenerate state, had sunk down into 
 a department of mère goldsmitb's work, casting over Europe only a pale 
 and feeble ligbt ; wben artists, in representing sacred or profane subjects. 
 
 Fig, 275. — A Stone Tomb, of one of the first Abbots of St. Germain-des-Prés, Paris. 
 
 contented tbemselves witb simple médaillons of bronze, gold, or silver, 
 which -ff-ere generally inserted in a sbrine, or suspended on tbe walls ; across 
 the seas Byzantine art was springing into life ; an art wbicb blended 
 HeUenic réminiscences witb Christian sentiment. 
 
 In tbe eigbtb century, tbe epocb of the uprising of tbe Iconoclasts against 
 images of ail kinds, Byzantine sculpture had acquired certain well-marked 
 characteristics : rigidness of outline, meagreness of form, elongation of tbe 
 proportions, combined witb great prof useness of costume ; ail -was tbe expres- 
 sion of saddened résignation and costly grandeur. Tbe monumental statuary 
 of this âge bas, bowever, almost entirelv disappeared, and we sbould be nearly 
 destitute of any accurate record as to tbe state of Art for a period of several 
 centuries, were it not for numerous diptycbs wliich, to some extent, supply 
 this want. Many of thèse sacred diptycbs were exquisitely -wrougbt. 
 
34+ SCULPTURE. 
 
 Grori, in Ms " Trésor des Diptyques," written in Latin and published at 
 Florence in 1759, divides thèse monuments into four classes : diptychs 
 intended to receive the names of tlie newly baptised ; those wlierein were 
 ■written tlie names of the benefactors of the cliurcli, sovereigns, and popes ; 
 and those destined to préserve the memory of the faithful -who had died in 
 the bosom of the church (Fig. 276). Their outward surface generaUy 
 represented some scène taken from the Evangelists, in which Christ was 
 especially depicted as young and beardless, his head glorified with a nimbus 
 without a cross. The more thèse représentations were condemned, the more 
 they who paid respect to them endeavoured to perpetuate their use. The 
 Greek artists, being unable to find a livelihood in their own country, made 
 their way into Italy in such numbers that the popes Paul I., Adrian L, 
 and Pascal I., erected monasteries to receive them. Owing to the influence 
 of this immigration, Art, which in the West was germinating in an 
 undecided state between a weak style of originality and an awkward mode 
 of imitation, was compelled to assume a character of its own, and this 
 necessarily was the Byzantine character ; that is, a manner which was firm, 
 clear, and, in gênerai, impressed with a certain imposing nobility of style. 
 This style attained ail the more success by its being illustrated by very 
 eminent artists, whom Charlemagne patronised as fully adéquate to tbe 
 magnificence of his ideas ; and also because the richness of ornament which 
 this style combined with its work was likely to render it pleasing to the 
 populace. 
 
 The royal palaces of Aix-la-Chapelle, Groddinga, Attiniacum, and 
 Theodonis Villa, and the monasteries of St. Arnulph, Trêves, St. GaU, 
 Salzbourg, and Priim felt the salutary influence which Chai'lemagne 
 exercised on ail kinds of Art. Prior to 1793, in thèse varions localities 
 precious remaius were still to be seen, reaching back to the eighth century ; 
 they testified to the fact that, apart from Byzantine influence, and bearing 
 the impress of a simple Christian sentiment, sculpture stiU clung, owing to 
 Lombard ascendancy, to some of the grand traditions of antiquity. 
 
 This union of principles gave rise to a number of Works bearing 
 a remarkable character. The foundation of the abbeys of St. Mihiel 
 (Lorraine), Isle-Barbe (near Lyons), of Ambernay and Romans ; the érec- 
 tion of several of the great monasteries in Alsace, Soissonnais, Brittany, 
 Normandy, Provence, Languedoc, and Aquitaine; the construction of the 
 
SCULPTURE. 
 
 345 
 
 ';^]i !'»'-«-•■ "Tiff* 
 
 Fig. 276.— Diptychs in Carved Ivory of the Eleventh Century. (M. RigoUof s Collection, Amiens.) 
 The first compartment represents St. Remy, Bishop of Rheims, healing a paralytic ; the second, St. Remy 
 healing a sick man by the invocation of the sacrament on the altar; the third, St. Remy, assisted by a holy 
 bishop, baptising King Clovis in the présence of Queen Clotilda. and receiving from the Holy Spirit the 
 sacred antpulla. 
 
346 SCULPTURE. 
 
 important clilirclies of Metz, Toul, Verdun, Eheims, Autun, &c. ; thé 
 restorations whicli took place at tlie abbeys of Bèze, St. Gall, St. Benignus 
 of Dijon, Hemiremont, St. Arnulplie-lès-Metz, and Luxeuil, were of suffi- 
 cient importance to occupy an immense number of artists, arcbitects, and 
 sculptors, who, like tbe monk Gundelandus, abbot of Lauresheim, handled 
 tlie compassés and tbe mallet with. as much authority as tbe crucifix. 
 STothing could equal the splendour of some of tbe monasteries, wMch were 
 perfect centres of genius and skill, in wbich. ail tbe Fine Arts united were a 
 mutual assistance to one anotber ; directed, perbaps, by a master wbo was 
 bimself inspired by a feeling for elevated production (Fig. 277). 
 
 Nevertbeless, tbe smaller examples of sculpture and carving con- 
 stituted tbe principal work of tbe artists of tbe eigbtb century. In the 
 exécution of any larger objects tbey were deterred by a dread of the 
 Iconoclasts, wbo still continued tbeir course of destruction, neither was it 
 much less after tbe deatb of Cbarlemagne, owing to tbe civil wars and 
 invasions wbich, in every direction, put a stop to or ruined architectural 
 ■viTorks. A sbrine or an altar might perbaps be saved, but a church- 
 front or doorway could not be protected ; and tbe hereditary hatred with 
 wbicb princes pursued one anotber did not fail to be wreaked on their 
 effigies. At tbat time tbere were neither artists nor monks ; every one 
 became a soldier, and tbe common péril gave some energy to our alarmed 
 ancestors. 
 
 When thèse invasions bad almost corne to an end in Europe, the very 
 disasters they bad caused assisted to some estent the progress both of 
 architecture and sculpture. In tbe first place tbere sprang up a complète 
 order of new buildings, originated by tbe need tbat arose for fresh 
 édifices for the purpose of public worship ; tbe Church, having a thousand 
 disasters to repair, built or restored a niimber of monasteries wbich assumed 
 a decided character of individualit}^. The cathedrals of Auserre, Clermont, 
 Toul, the Church of St. Paul at Verdun, the abbeys of Montier-en-Der and 
 of Gorze, of Munster, Cluny, Celles-sur-Cher, &c., were specially adorned 
 with tbe sculptural characteristics of this epoch. Crucifixes in high rehef 
 were multiplied, the introduction of wbich into monumental sculpture din 
 not take place before tbe pontificate of Léo III. In the arched recesses 
 over doorways représentations of the good and tbe bad were placed 
 opposite to one anotber ; the worship of tbe Virgin was celebrated in ail 
 
SCULPTURE. 
 
 347 
 
 kinds of artistic productions ; and, in short, sculpture was displayed overy- 
 where with an cxtraordinarj^ aniount of richncss. Nothing escaped, so 
 to speak, its luxurious growth : ambons* seats, arches, baptismal fonts, 
 cohuniis, cornices, bell-turrets, and gargoyles— cverything, in short, tostified 
 that sculpture and stone -were now in fuU harmony. Almost ail the 
 
 Fig. 277.— Bas-relief in the Abbey-Church of St. Denis ; a reproduction'of tlie ancient Statue of 
 Dagobert I., destroyed in the Ninth Century. 
 
 figures were then represented as clothed in the Eoman style, with a 
 short tunic, and the chlamys clasped upon the shoulder; this still con- 
 tmued to be the court-costume, and consequently the only one suitable 
 to the représentation of the exalted foUowers of Christianity. 
 
 * Amhons — a kiiid of pulpit in the early Christian churches. — fEo.] 
 
348 SCULPTURE. 
 
 \ 
 
 It is worthy of remark tliat the morLuments of tHs âge are generally 
 ■svanting botli in dates and the name of tlie sculptor. Not more tlian five 
 or six of the principal artists or directors o£ artistic works of the period are 
 mentioned by name in any historical records. Among them, however, are 
 Tutilon, a monk of Saint- Grall, who at once poet, sculptor, and painter, 
 ornamented with his works the churches of Mayence and Metz ; Hugues, 
 Abbot of Montier-en-Der ; Austée, Abbot of St. Arnulph, in the diocèse of 
 Metz ; Morard, who, with the co-operation of King Eobert, rebiùlt, towards 
 the end of the tenth century, the old chiu-ch of St. Germain-des-Prés, at 
 Paris ; lastly, Guillaume, Abbot of St. Benignus, at Dijon, who took under 
 his direction forty monasteries, and became chief of a school of Art, as weU 
 as their head on religious matters. The doorways of the churches of 
 Avallon, Nantua, and Yermanton, executed at this epoch, bear witness to 
 the rigour of an improved taste ; and it may be well said that this abbot 
 Guillaume, who for a long séries of years directed a number of artists, who 
 also in their turn became chiefs of schools, exercised as powerful an influence 
 on French art as Mcholas of Pisa on Tuscan art in the foUowing century. 
 
 But although it embraced within its influence a very extended sphère, 
 the school of Burgundy did not fail to find on the ancient GaUic soU 
 Tery skilful and industrious rivais. The districts of Messin, Lorraine, 
 Alsace, Champagne, Normandy, and the Ile-de-France, in short ail the 
 Yarious centres of the South, possessed numerous artists, each of whom 
 impressed on their works their own spécial character of individuality. 
 
 While ail this activity was prevaUing in France, Italy had as yet taken 
 so insignificant a part in the revival of Art, that in 976 Peter Orseolo, Doge 
 of Venice, having formed the idea of rebiiilding the basilica of St. Mark, 
 was compelled to summon from Constantinople both architects and artists. 
 
 A period of check to any progress took place in Fi-ance, however, just 
 as in ail the rest of Europe, when, at the approach of the year 1000, the 
 whole population became subject to an idéal dread that the end of the world 
 was at hand ; but when this date was once passed, every school of art set 
 vigorously to work, and the most remarkable monuments of Romanesque 
 architecture sprang up throughout Europe in every direction. 
 
 Then it was that the artists of Burgundy built and ornamented, among 
 other churches and monasteries, the Abbey of Cluny, the apse of which con- 
 sisted of a bold cupola, supported by six columns thirty-six feet in height, of 
 
SCULPTURE. 
 
 349 
 
 Fig. 278.— Tomb of Dagobert, executed bj- order of St. Louis, in the Abbey-Church of St. Denis. It represents 
 the King carried away by Démons, after bis death, towards the Infernal Bark, from which he is rescued by 
 Angels and the Fathers of the Church. (Thirteenth Century.) 
 
3S0 
 
 SCULPTURE. 
 
 Cipolin and Pentelican marble, mtli captials, cornices, and friezes, carved 
 painted, and decorated witli bronze. In Lorraine they worked at the cathe- 
 drals of Toul and Yerdun, and tlie abbey of St. Viton. In the diocèse of Metz 
 Gontran and Adélard, celebrated abbots of St. Trudon, covered Hasbaye 
 witb new buildings. " Adélard," says a cbronicler, " superintended the 
 construction of fourteen churches, and bis outlay was so great that the 
 impérial treasury would scarcely bave sufficed for it." In Alsace, the 
 cathedra! at Strasbourg and the two churches of Colmar and Schelestadt 
 simultaneously arose, and in Switzerland the Cathedral of Basle. Thèse 
 magnificent édifices are still standing to show the vigour and majestic 
 simplicity witb wbich the art of sculpture was then able to embody its ideas ; 
 and, by lending its aid to architecture, to manifest, so to speak, the faith 
 whioh actuated it. It was in this century that Fulbert, Bisbop of Chartres, 
 who was doubtless a sculptor also, superintended the restoration of his 
 church, the splendeur of which is still open to the admiration of ail. 
 Art, too, did not less distinguish herself in the décoration of certain additions 
 made at that time to édifices already existing. The doorways of the 
 churches of Laon, Châteaudun, and St. Ayoult of Provins, grand works of 
 the earKest years of the twelfth century, yield the palm only to the splendid 
 external ornamentation of the Abbey of St. Denis, executed between the 
 years 1137 and 1180. The Abbot Suger, who was himself an eminent 
 artist, does not name any of the sculptors to whose care this important 
 task was committed. "W"e are equally ignorant as to the sculptors of the 
 statues of Dagobert and of Queen ÎTanthilde, bis wife; and also as to the 
 artists of a large golden crucifix, the foot of which was enriched with 
 bas- reliefs, and the figure of Christ, that presented, says Suger, " an expres- 
 sion really divine." The names of the sculptors of the cathedral chui'ch of 
 Paris are likewise concealed from our admiration. One might suppose 
 that a body of artists fired with the same inspiration, and with a common 
 sentiment both in thought and action, had there assembled to design 
 their works ; some sculpturing in marble the sarcophagus of Philip of 
 France ; some peopling the rood-loft and the apse with tall figures and a 
 long gallery of Biblical subjects ; others decorating the façade and extenor 
 witb statues, ail of every diversified character, but yet ail appearing to 
 unité in the expression of the same feelings and the same faith (Fig. 279). 
 In the twelfth century, tbe Burgundian artists continued their marvellous 
 
SCULPTURE. 
 
 35' 
 
 work. The tomb of TTugues, Abbot of Cluny ; the doorway of tlic monastcry 
 
 Fig. 279.— Extemal Bas-relîef of Norte-Dame, in Paris, representing Citizens relie-ring Poor Scholare. 
 (The work of Jean de Chelles. Date 1257.) 
 
 of St. Jean, that of tbe Church of St. Lazare at Autun ; tbe nave and the 
 west front of Semur-en-Ausois, are ail of this school, and of this epoch. 
 
 IJ 
 
352 
 
 SCULPTURE. 
 
 The school of Champagne raised to the memory of Count Henry I., in 
 the Church of St. Etienne, at Troyes, a tomb surrounded with fortjr-four 
 columns of gilded bronze, surmounted by a slab of silver on which were 
 placed, in a recumbent position, the statues of the Connt and of one of his 
 sons ; bas-reliefs, in bronze and silver, representing the Holy Family, the 
 celestial court, angels, and prophète, surrounded this monument. The tomb 
 of Count Henry was a triumph of sculpture in métal; and, at that time, 
 surpassed ail other tombs in Trance, just as the Cathedral of Rheims was 
 destined, ère long, to excel ail others. 
 
 In Normandy we find the same enthusiasm, the same zeal, the same 
 skill in Art ; and there, at least, we learn the names of some of the 
 artists : Otho, the builder of the Cathedral of Séez ; Garnier, of Fécamp ; 
 Anquetil, of Petit- Ville, &c. The masons and sculptors, too, formed at this 
 epoch a numerous and powerful corporation. 
 
 In the South, Asquilinus, Abbot of Moissac, near Cahors, ornamented 
 with fine statues the cloister and front of his church, and affised to the 
 sides of the apse a Crucifixion so skilfuUy carved, that it was belieyed 
 to hâve emanated from some divine hand (" ut non humano, sed divine 
 artificio facta"). In Auvergne, Provence, and Languedoc, many other 
 important works of sculpture were executed. But the chief masterpiece 
 of ail, which combines the difierent styles of the southern schools, is the 
 famous Church of St. Trophimus of Arles, the front of which, where the 
 breadth and grâce of the Greek style is allied with the purest Christian 
 simplicity, carries back the imagination to the brightest epochs of the art. ! 
 
 Towards the end of the eleventh and the commencement of the tweLfth 
 century, the sculptors' studios of the districts of Messin and Lorraine were j 
 in full activit}^ Several magnificent churches having been destroyed by \ 
 fire, particularly that of Verdun, the whole population assisted, either with 
 money or labour, in the restoration of thèse édifices. It was a perfect i 
 artistic crusade, in which several bishops and abbots, who were clever artists 
 as well as spirit\ial chiefs, took the lead in the movement. j 
 
 In Alsace, art asserted its position in the magnificent Cathedral ci | 
 Strasbourg,* a kind of challena-e thrown out to the artists on the other side oi 
 the Rhine, who were unable, even at Cologne, to carry an édifice to such au 
 
 * Strasbourg spire is 468 feet in heighf, the highest in tlie world. Amiens, the next, a mère j 
 niche, is 422 feet.— [Tk.] j 
 
•H 
 
 i^ 
 
 m^ 
 
 m mM 
 
 Cl.OVIS I \ND CI.OTILUE HIS WLYV. 
 
 Stalues formerlv atltie Entrancc of Uie Church of Notre Dame aX Corieil. Twpil* fenlory 
 
SCULPTl-RE. 
 
 353 
 
 cuonnous luMg-li(, or to adovii it with sufh ;i clivursilicd nuillitudu of statues. 
 Althoug'h bolongiiig- iiiorc especially to the thirteenth centuiy, it may be 
 taken as the sturling-point of the prodigious works executed by an associa- 
 tion of freemasons, who hâve markcd with theii- hicroglyphic signatures 
 the stones of this cditice, as of ail others executed 
 by thom iu the vallcy of the Rhinc, froiu Dussel- 
 dorf to the Alps. 
 
 "\Te are, howevcr, led to bclieve that Germaiiy 
 also did uot fail to be subject to the influence of 
 this artistic school, for among contemporary monu- 
 ments are several in a style which manifestly 
 testifies to the effects of the neighbouring country 
 of Alsace. 
 
 Flemish art of that time is exemplified by the 
 Church of St. Gudule at Brussels, the style of 
 which is especially rich -with décorations borrowed 
 from churches on the banks of the Rhine, the 
 Moselle, the Sarre, and the TTpper !Meuse. 
 
 If we include in one comprehensive glance 
 French, German, and Flemish sculptural works, we 
 shall recognise in ail, notwithstanding the pré- 
 dominance of any particular school, one original 
 and spécial type. The characteristics of this are 
 elongated faces with a calm, contemplative, and 
 pénitent expression ; stifihess of attitude, and a kind 
 of ecstatic immobility, rather than any glow of ani- 
 mation ; draperies with small narrow folds and close- 
 fitting, as if wetted ; pearled fringes or ribbons, 
 set ofF with gems (Fig. 280). We see statues of 
 lofty proportions reared up ; représentations of 
 various personages are multiplied on the tombs ; 
 Greek art is disappearing and its learned théories 
 are giving way before Christian sentiment ; thought 
 is obtaining the mastery over mère form ; symbolism makes its appearance 
 and becomes a science. 
 
 But let us turn our eyes towards Italy. Venice had scarcely raised 
 
 z z 
 
 Fig. 280. — Statue said to be of 
 Clovis I., formerly in the 
 porch of St. Germain-des- 
 Prés, Paris. 
 
 (Twelfih Centurj-.) 
 
354 SCULPTURE. 
 
 her lofly dôme ere Pisa aspired to hâve one also. Many a Tuscan stip, 
 launched vipon the sea for conquests of a new kind, brought from Greece 
 an infinity of monuments, statues, bas-reliefs, capitals, friezes, and various 
 fragments ; and tbe Tuscan people, the best organised race in Europe for 
 fuUy appreciating ail tbe beauty of form, were called upon to draw tbeir 
 inspiration from tbe relies of ancient works of Art. Tbe entbusiasm became 
 gênerai. In 1016, Buscbetto, regarded as tbe first arcbitect of bis time, 
 undertook tbe building of tbe Catbedral of Pisa, wbere ancient fragments 
 are still conspicvious amid tbe works of more modem création : a kind of 
 bolograpbic testament tbe benefit of wbicb tbe foUowers of tbe art of Phidias 
 bave thus banded down to posterity. Tbe pupils of Buscbetto, accepting 
 tbe impulse of bis masterly band and reproducing bis ideas, soon spread 
 ail over tbe peninsula, and tbe cathedrals of Amalfi, Pistoia, Siena, and 
 Lucca arose, tbe Byzantine cbaracter of whicb differed from tbe Lombard 
 style presented by tbe Catbedral of Milan. One might almost bave fancied 
 tbat tbe bosom of tbe eartb brought forth statues •wbicb, as if by enchant- 
 ment, peopled every pedestal ; and tbat from beaven descended tbe ray 
 wbicb animated them witb tbeir sublime expression. Tbe art of casting in 
 bronze, bitberto almost unknown in Italy, became naturalised there as 
 mucb as tbe art of carving in stone. 
 
 Wbile in tbe West tbe Arts were making sucb a spring, in tbe East 
 tbey bad relapsed into tbe lowest stage of debasement, at tbe period wben 
 Byzantium was simultaneously tbreatened bj^ tbe Bulgarians and tbe 
 Crusaders ; altbougb for a time tbey bad appeared to revive, owing to tbe 
 zeal of Basil tbe Macedonian, Constantine VIIL, and some of tbeir suc- 
 cessors. Eastern sculpture disappeared wben tbe Latins sacked tbe ancient 
 capital of tbe first Christian emperor (1204). 
 
 At tbe approach of tbe thirteentb century, wbicb was destined to be 
 tbe great âge of Christian architecture and sculpture, artists no longer 
 looked, as tbey bad bitberto done, towards Byzantium, thej" depended 
 on themselves ; and altbougb some hésitation might still be felt, tbey 
 found ail round tbe.m models tbey could imitate, traditions tbey could 
 follow, and masters to wbom tbey could listen. Christian art bad now an 
 independent existence, and tbe various scbools asserted tbeir styles in a way 
 wbicb became every day more clear, more powerful, and more original. 
 
 "The style of tbe head of Christ at Amiens" (Fig. 281), says M. 
 
SCULPTURE. 
 
 .Î5.i 
 
 Viollet-le-Uiu-, writiiin- on lliis sul,jrc(, '• l'uUy (Irscrvcs (Ik- atteuliun k,^ 
 
 Fig. 281.—" The Beau Dieu <r Amiens ; " a Statue of Christ in the Front of the Cathedral of Amiens. 
 (Thirteenth Century.) 
 
 sculptors. This carving is treated in the same way as the Greek heads 
 
356 
 
 SCULPTURE. 
 
 called Eginetic. There is the same simplicitj^ of model, tlie saine purity 
 of outline, the same stjde of exécution, at once broad and délicate. It well 
 représenta the features of Christ as a man : a blending of sweetness with 
 firniness, a gravity devoid of sadness." 
 
 This is not the place to assert any minute comparisons between 
 différent manners and stj^les ; even the bare enumeration of the many 
 monuments to which this fervent âge gave birth might prove wearisome. 
 We call it a " fervent âge," and fully are we justified, for, at a time 
 when a whole woi'ld of artist-sculptors of ornaments and figures were 
 devoting themselves to the most délicate and marvellous works of sculpture 
 (Fig. 282), none seemed desirous of displaying his own personal distinc- 
 tion. We find, for instance, numerous sculptors setting aside ail claim 
 to individual merit, and carrying this self-denial so far that, instead of 
 their own names, they inscribed that of the Yirgin Mary on the carvings 
 of the churches which they had enriched with their finest works: "Hoc 
 panthema pia CEelaverat ipsa Maria." 
 
 In Germany, Christian art became specially enthroned in Saxony ; and 
 Dresden, which has been justly styled the German Athens, can date back 
 her architecto- sculptural adornments to the tenth century. On the banks 
 of the Ehine, at Cologne, Coblentz, and Mayence, we find again the school 
 of Saint-Gall, which, having been planted in 971, under the auspices of 
 Notker, Bishop of Laodicea, left its stamp, during a period of two centuries, 
 in a séries of remai'kable works. 
 
 England, as early as the seventh centurj^, had called to her aid some of 
 the French " masters in stone"and best workmen, and she subsequently 
 continued to do so for the building and ornamentation of her finest religious 
 édifices. William of Sens, a very skilful artist {artifex suhtiKssimus), pro- 
 ceeded, in 1176, to rebuild Canterbury Cathedral. Norman and French 
 artists also restored the abbeys of Croyland and Wearmouth, and York 
 Cathedral, alreadv enriched with Byzantine and French sculpture. 
 
 Spain and Portugal, the soil of which had long been the théâtre of au 
 inveterate couflict between two races embracing two irreconcilable religions, 
 were destined to inherit from thèse very struggles the création of a sin- 
 gularly characteristic style of art. Jn adoptiùg the Byzantine style, the 
 Moors had deprived it of its character of simple earnestness, and made it 
 to harmonise with the tendencies of their refined sensualism. Even when 
 
 { 
 
SCULPTURE. 
 
 3S7 
 
 Christian art was alile to exercise au luidivided rule, it coulcl not fail to be 
 influeiiceil hy tlie l)uil(lin<i;s erected by tbe Moors ; and the fact (bat tbis 
 
 Fig. 282.— Statues in the South Porch of Bourges Cathedral. (Twelfth Centur)-.) 
 
 alliance of arcbitectural and sculptural styles succeeded in producing 
 masterpieces is well attested by tbe catbedrals of Guenca, Yittoria, and 
 some portions of tbose of Seville, Barcelona, and Lugo in Galicia. 
 
358 SCULPTURE. 
 
 Sicily and the kingdom of Naples folio wed the movement made in 
 other countries of Europe ; but hère, again, was fait the influence of various 
 foreign importations. Sonie of thein were of Greek origin, coming from 
 Byzantium. ; some northern, from Normandj^ and perhaps also from Ger- 
 many ; most, however, from Spain, and especially from the important school 
 of Aragon. 
 
 " Nicolas of Pisa," says Emeric David, " was born towards the end of tbe 
 twelfth century, in a town then peopled with Greek masters and the pupils 
 of those masters, and full of Greek monuments of every âge ; a town which 
 might be called altogether Greek. He had the good sensé to disdain the 
 productions of his own time and to dévote himself to the more elevated 
 contemplation of the chef s-d' œuvre of ancient Greece. This proof of undoubted 
 discernment, and a high degree of taste on his part, could not but lead to 
 very marked progress. But a prématuré study of the antique is not so sure 
 a guide to the desired end as the contemplation of nature, to which Guide 
 of Siena, his contemporary, and a little later Cimabue and Giotto, taught 
 perhaps by his errors, assiduously applied themselves." There can, however, 
 be no doubt that the first development of Christian sculpture in Italy must 
 unquestionably be referred to Nicolas of Pisa. He had, nevertheless, some 
 rivais who were well worthy of competing with him. Among thèse were 
 Fuccio, sculptor of the magnificent tomb of the Queen of Cyprus, in the 
 Church of San Francesco at Florence ; and also Marchione of Arezzo, who in 
 1216 carved his name over the doorway of the church of that town. Giovanni 
 of Pisa, son of Nicolas, who sculptured many beautiful works at Arezzo, 
 Pistoia, and Florence, and even surpassed himself in the Campo Santo at 
 Pisa, perhaps the most remarkable monument in Christian Europe, has 
 been placed by some far below his father in rank as a sculptor, ou 
 account of an accusation made against him of having abandoned the Greek 
 style. But this renunciation was, in fact, a real trait of genius, and actually 
 constitutes his glory ; for, by neglecting form to some extent, he was enabled 
 to carry religions idealism and power of expression to its very highest 
 limits. We must, therefore, consider Giovanni and Margaritone, pupQs of 
 Nicolas ; Andréa TJgolino, pupil of Giovanni ; Agnolo and Agostino of 
 Siena ; and the celebrated Giotto, who was at once architect, sculptor, and 
 painter, as real regenerators of the art. Indeed, we might call thèse great 
 artists the creators of Christian sculpture in Italy — that art in which simul- 
 
SCCLPTl^RF. 
 
 359 
 
 tuiieously shono forth scriousiiGss of composition, grâce and case of attitude, 
 simplicity of imitation, élévation of sentiment ; in short, ail the great har- 
 monies of a style which seemed to breathe forth a hymn of love and faith. 
 
 Thanks to the studios of Agnolo and Agostlno, Siena, a small town 
 which calls to niind the ancient Sicyone, so wcak in a political point of vicw 
 and yet so Icarned and polished, was for some time the rival of Pisa, up to 
 the period when Florence absorbed the artistic eplendour of the two citics. 
 Florence, as the home of the Arts, became the centre of radiation, whence 
 artists took their flight over the whole of Italy, and from Italy spread among 
 ail the nations of Europe. 
 
 Towards the end of the thirteenth century, the churches of Florence, on 
 which the fraternities combined their efforts, and some of the civil buildings 
 of this rich and flourishing city, were filled with statues. The foundation of 
 the municipal palace in 1282, and that of the cathedral in 1298, made thèse 
 two wonderful édifices real muséums of sculpture, in which, among the 
 Works of Eastern artists, those of Giovanni of Arezzo and Giotto are 
 distinguished. Agostino and Agnolo of Pisa executed at that time some 
 magnificent examples at Santa Maria in Orvieto, San Francisco in Bologna, 
 and in the subterranean Church of Assisi, &c. Lastly, Andréa of Pisa, a 
 contemporary of Giotto, as he died only in 1345, estracted from antiquity 
 ail that Christian sculpture cordd borrow from it ; that is, he combined 
 subHmity both of form and expression. At Pisa, the chancel of Santa Maria 
 a Ponte; at Florence, the campanile and the high-altar of Santa Maria 
 de' Fiori, and a door of San Giovanni ; in the Cathedral of Pistoia, the tomb 
 of Cino, are ail of them so many masterpieces ; above which, however, the 
 old Pisan master proudly classed the works of his son Nino. This young 
 artist, who carved the monument of the Scaligers at Verona, became, in 
 fact, the worthj' foUower of the school which recognised Andréa as its chief. 
 Jacopo délia Quercia and Niccolo Aretino enriched also with magnificent 
 Works the towns of Siena, Lucca, Bologna, Arezzo, and Milan, as well as 
 Florence. But when, in 1424, the tomb closed over Jacopo délia Quercia, 
 the lofty destinies of the art seemed to come to a termination, and soon 
 rapidly declined. In Venice, at the death of FiKppo Calendario, which 
 occurred in 1355, Italian sculpture had already lost much of its nobility 
 and vigour of style. 
 
 Italian sculpture (Fig. 283), as remarked by Emeric David, raised itself 
 
360 
 
 SCULPTURE. 
 
 to the height of the sublime by merely striving after a simple and exact 
 imitation of nature. It was by the same course of action tbat French 
 sculpture always emnlated its Transalpine rival ; but, in order to attain tbe 
 same end, the imitation foUowed a différent path. In Italy, Art raised itself 
 to the idéal by an attentive study of Greek forms ; while on this side of 
 the Alps, when sentiment required it, form was, if not sacrificed, at least 
 neglected. French art showed more respect for the orthodoxy of Christian 
 
 Fig. 283. — Bas-relief on one of the Bronze Gates of St. Peter's at Rome, representing the Coronation of the 
 Emperor Sigismund by Pope Eugène IV., in 1433. (Sculpture of the Fifteenth Centurj'.) 
 
 thought ; she did not introduce into the sanctuary of the Hoh' of Holies 
 any of those profane and material ideas that niight hâve been inspired 
 by the marbles ' of Greece. In spite of the pointed architecture which 
 everywhere prevailed, l'rench sculpture, replète with a certain éloquent 
 unction, preserved for a considérable period the Byzantine style in the 
 appearance of the head and in the deKcacj^ of draperies ; without, how- 
 ever, altogether renouncing its individuality of character, and without 
 ceasing to seek for models peculiar to its own soil. 
 
SCULPTURE. 
 
 361 
 
 Unfbi-tunatoly for the personal glory of the Prench sculptors, the histo- 
 riiiiis of the tiiue havc scarcely takcn the trouhle to record their naines. In 
 order to discover but a few of theni, Icarncd mon of iiiodern days havc bcoa 
 conipcllcd to imdortake laborious rescarches ; whilo niany, and tho.so the niost 
 remarkable— worthy, no doubt, to bo comparcd with the greatest Italian 
 artists — arc and must remain ever imkuowu (Fig. 284). The Italians were 
 more fortunate ; to them Vasari, their rival and contemporary, bas raised a 
 lastiug monument. In French art, the list of the sculptors of so many 
 
 Fig. 284.— Statuette of St. A-vit, in the Church of Notre-Dame de Corbeil, demolished in 1820. 
 (Eleventh Century.) 
 
 masterpieces must come to a close when we bave mentioned Enguerrand, 
 who, from 1201 to 1212, commenced the Cathedral and the Church du Bue, 
 at Rouen, and had for bis successor Gautier de Meulan ; Eobert de Coucy, 
 chief of the body of artists who, in 1211, caused the Cathedral of Eheims 
 to rise loftily from the earth ; Hugues Libergier, M-ho rebuilt the ancient 
 basilica of St. Jovin ; Robert de Luzarches, the founder, in 1220, of the 
 Cathedral of Amiens, continued after bis death by Thomas de Cormont and 
 his son Regnault ; Jean, Abbot of St. Germain-des-Prés, who in 1212 under- 
 
362 
 
 SCULPTURE. 
 
 took tlie Churcli of St. Cosme, Paris ; that of St. Julien le Pauvre bein^ 
 restored and adorned with sculpture at the same date, from tlie designs of 
 the abbot and the " bretbren " of Long-pont (Fig. 285) ; Jean des Champs, 
 wbo in 1248 worked at tbe ancient Catbedral of Clermont ; lastly, the two 
 Jeans de Montereau, who at one time as militarj^ architects, at another as 
 sculptors of sacred subjects, were at the command of St. Louis, and produced 
 some extraordinary works both of construction and sculpture. 
 
 Alsace manifested no less enthusiasm than France for the new archi- 
 tectural System, and sculpture was also subject to a similar developmeut. 
 From Basle to Mayence, the slopes of the Vosges and the long Talley of 
 
 (iT iTTiïT^Tr'- 
 
 Fig. 285. — Ras-relief formerly over the Doorway of St. Julien le Pauvre, Paris, representing St. Julien and 
 St. Basilissa, his wife, conveying in their boat Jésus Christ under the figure of a Laper. 
 (Thirteenth Century.) 
 
 the Rhine, became f ull of édifices enriched with sculpture and peopled with 
 statues. Erwin of Steinbach (who died in 1318), assisted by Sabina, his 
 daughter, and William of Marbourg, were the most renowned masters in 
 thèse parts. 
 
 The extraordinary advance that French sculpture made in this âge 
 was assisted — if not as regards the higher style of work, which could do 
 without this help, at least in respect to the minor détails of the art — 
 by the institution of the fraternities of the Conception Notre-Dame. In 
 many to-svns the sculi^tors of images and the painters, the moulders, the 
 
se r/. /'■/■( -A'/:. 
 
 i'^S 
 
 lia/niticrs, or carvers iu wcuxl, liyrii, aiul ivory ÇPig- '^80), wcrc ail iiiiiU'd 
 Ululer tlio samc liauncr. In Geniumy and lU'lj;iuni also existcd hanses, 
 or guilds, wliii'h wcro in direct coninuinit-atiiin willi ihose of Alsace, and 
 who acccptcd as guides Frencli artists of known ability ; as, for instance, 
 Yolbert and Gérard, arcbitect-sculptors, wlio werc simultaneously engagcd 
 in tlie construction of the Churcli of tlie Iloly Apostles, Cologne. 
 
 With respect to tlie works commenced or finished in tlie fourteenth 
 
 Fig". 286.— Fragment of a small Reredos, in can-ed Bone (Fourteenth Centur>). 
 
 Presented by Jean, Duc de Berry, Brotter of Charles V., to the church of the ancient Abbey of Poissy. 
 
 (iluseura of the Louvre.) 
 
 century, the only diiEculty is to make a choice among tbese wonderfiil 
 monuments of Art ; -which, however, must be looked upon. as the last mani- 
 festations of Christian art, properly so-called. We must, howeyer, point eut 
 the polychrome sculptures of Chartres, of St. Eemy, Eheims ; St. Martin, 
 Laon ; St. Tved, Braisne ; St. Jean des Vignes, Soissons ; of the Chartreux. 
 Dijon. In this ducal city we find, in 1357, Guy le Maçon, a celebrated 
 
36+ 
 
 SCULPTURE. 
 
 sculptor ; at Bourges, about the same date, Aguillon, of Droues ; at Mont- 
 pellier, between 1331 and 1360, the two Alamans, John and Henry ; at 
 Troyes, Denisot and Drouin of Mantes, &c. Beyond France, Matthias of 
 Arras, in 1343, laid the foundations of the Cathedral of Prague, which was 
 to be continued and finished by another French artist, Pierre of Boulogne. 
 
 Fig. 287. — "Le Bon Dieu " in the old Chapel of the Charnier des Innocents, Paris. 
 (Fifteenth Centurj ) 
 
 Arrested as our attention niust be by the statues and bas-reliefs which Tvere 
 multiplied under the porches, in the niches (Fig. 287), and on ail the tombs, 
 we can cast but a very cursory glance on the immense number of wood- 
 carvings, figures in ivory, and movable pièces of sculpture, executed by . ^^^ 
 
 t 
 
SCULPTURE. 36s 
 
 artists wlio iniiy lie dixidod iiiiii Iwo vory dislinct cliisscs, (lio Noniiaii uud 
 tlio Ulu'iiisli; ail (iT (itlier .sidiools appcar (0 lia\c lici'ii iKilhiiii;- but imitators 
 
 of tllOSO. 
 
 In 1400 tho Mallrc ricrrc Pérat, arcliitccl of tlirec catliedrals, who was 
 at once liotli civil engineer and sculptor, and one of tlie greatest mastcrs of 
 wliom France can boast, died at Metz, where lie was intcrrcd witli ail tlic 
 liouours due to his wonderful talents. Just at the same time a mémorable 
 compétition was opened at Florence. The object in view was to finish the 
 doors of the Baptistery of St. John. The formai annouucemeut of the com- 
 pétition, which was made ail over Italy, did not fail to call forth the most 
 skilful artists. Seven of thèse were selected, on account of their renown, to 
 furnish designs: they consisted of three Florentines — Filippo Brunelleschi, 
 Donatello, and the goldsmith, Lorenzo Grhiberti ; Jacopo délia Quercia of 
 Siena ; Nicolo Lamberti d'Arezzo ; Francesco da Valdambrina ; and Simone 
 da Colle, called de' Broiizi. To each of thèse competitors the republic 
 graated one year's salary, on condition that, at the end of the period, each 
 of them shonld furnish a panel of wrought bronze of the same size as those 
 of which the doors of St. John were to be composed. On the day fixed for 
 the examination of the works, the most celebrated artists of Italy were 
 summoned. Thirty-four judges were selected, and before this tribunal the 
 seven models were exhibited, in the présence of the magistracy and the 
 public. After the judges had audibly discussed the respective merits of the 
 Works, those of Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, and Donatello were preferred. But 
 to whom of the three was the palm to be awarded ? They hesitated. Then 
 Brunelleschi and Donatello retired apart and exchanged a few words ; after 
 which one of them, commencing to address the assembly, said : — " Magis- 
 trates and citizens, we déclare to you that in our own judgment Ghiberti 
 has surpassed us. Award him the préférence, for our country will thus 
 acquire the greater glory. It is less discrédit to us to make known our 
 opinion than to keep silence." 
 
 Thèse doors, at which Ghiberti worked for forty years, with the assistance 
 of his father, his sons, and his pupils, are perhaps the finest work we hâve 
 ia sculptured métal. 
 
 At the date when Lorenzo Ghiberti, Donatello, Brunelleschi, and their 
 -pupils were the représentatives of Florentine sculpture, the French school 
 also produced its masters and its works of Art. Nicholas Flamel, the famous 
 
366 
 
 SCULPTURE. 
 
 writer [écrivain) of the parish of St. Jacques la Boucherie, ornamented the 
 cliurches and mortuary chapels of Paris with mystical and alchemical 
 {alchimiques) sculptures, of which he was the designer if not the actual 
 artist. Thury executed the tombs of Charles VI. and Isabelle of Bavaria ; 
 Claux Sluter, author of the "Euits de Moïse," at Dijon, assisted by James 
 
 Fig. 
 
 -" St. Eloi, Patron of Goldsmiths and Farrîers." A Sculpture of the Fifteenth Centurj-, 
 in the Church of Notre-Dame d'Armançon, at Semur, Burgundy. 
 
 de la Barre, multiplied the works of monumental sculpture in Burgundy 
 (Fig. 288). In Alsace, under the impulse of King René, himself an 
 artist, the sculptor's art j)roduced examples bearing the impress of a remark- 
 able individuality. In the district of Messin, Henry de Eanconval, his 
 
SCULPTURE. 367 
 
 son Jehan, nnd Olnusse, were distinguished. In Touraine, Michael Columb 
 executed llic ((niib of Francis II., Duke of Brittany ; Jehan Juste, thut 
 of the children of Charles VIIL, as introductory to the mausoleum of 
 Louis XTI., which he executed hetween 1518 and 1530, for the basilica 
 of St. Denis ; a Qerman, Conrad of Cologne, assisted by Laurent "Wrine, 
 master of the ordnance to the king, cast in métal the effigy for the tomb 
 of Louis XL lu Champagne appeared Jean de Vitry, sculpter of the stalls 
 of the Church of St. Claude (Jura) ; in Berry, Jacquet Gendre, mmter- 
 mmon and _figiire-mnker for the Hôtel de Ville, Bourges, &c. 
 
 At the end of the same century. Peter Brucy, of Brussels, exercised his 
 art at Toulouse ; the inspiration of the Alsacian artists was developed in 
 the magnifieent sculpture of Thann, Kaisersberg, and Dusenbach ; while 
 Germany, achieving but a late independence, sheltered the faults of her 
 early genius under the illustrions names of Lucas Moser, Peter Vischer, 
 Schiihlein, Michel Wohlgemuth, Albert Diirer (Fig. 289), &c. 
 
 In sculptural works, as in every other branch of art, historical sentiment 
 and faith seemed to die out with the fifteenth century. Mediaeval art was 
 subjected to protest ; the désire seemed to be to re-create beauty of form 
 by going back to the antique ; but the emphatically Christian individuality 
 was no longer reached, and this pretended renaissance, in which eyen earnest 
 minds were induced to gratify themselves, only served to exhibit the feeble 
 efforts of an epoch that sought to reproduce the glories of a vanished âge. 
 In the time of Charles YIII. and Louis XII., Lombarde- Yenetian art, 
 the affected and ingénions imitation of the Greek style, was introduced into 
 France ; it suited the common people, and pleased médiocre intellect. The 
 i sculptors who came at that period to seek their fortimes at the court of the 
 French kings worked exclusively for the aristocracy, and vied vrith one 
 another in adorning, with an ardent infatuation for Italian art, the royal 
 and aristocratie palaces which were being built or restored in every direc- 
 tion, such as the Châteaux of Amboise and Gaillon. But they failed to do 
 any injury to French artists, who still remained charged with the works 
 of sacred sculptures ; and their stj-le became but sHghtly, if at ail, influeneed 
 by this foreign immigration. Even Benvenuto Cellini himself failed to 
 exercise much effect on the Tigorous schools of Tours, Troyes, Metz, Dijon, 
 and Angers ; his réputation and his works never passed, so to speak, 
 beyond the Hmits of the court of France, and the briUiant traces they 
 
368 
 
 SCULPTURE. 
 
 left bekind them were confined to tlie school of Fontainebleau. Ere long, 
 some zealous art.ists from ail the principal centres of the French schools 
 left their conntry and betook themselves to Italy ; among thèse were 
 
 iig. 2S9 — ht. John thc Baptibt preaLliing in tbc DcSLrt. ' ha^ rclitt 111 Caned A\ ood bj \lbert Durer. 
 (Brunswick Gallery.) 
 
 Eacbelier of Languedoc, Simon and Ligier Eichier of Lorraine, Yaleutiue 
 Bouscb of Alsace, and Jacques of Angoulêiue, wbo had the bonour of a 
 victory over bis master, Micbael Angelo, in a compétition of statuary (many 
 
SCULPTURE. 
 
 Z^^ 
 
 of thc fonner artisf s Works now exist in the Vatican) ; Jean de Boulogne, 
 and scvcral otliers. Some of them, after they liad become celobruted ou tho 
 other side of the Alps, returned to their native country, bringing back to 
 it their o^vn native genius matured by tlie lessons of tlie Italians. There was, 
 therefore, always a French school that preserved its individual character- 
 istics, its generic good qualities and defects, wliich are so well represented 
 in tlie sculptures of tlie Hôtel du Bourgtlieroulde, Rouen (Fig. 290). 
 
 Michael Augelo was born on the 6th of March, 1475, and died on the 
 irth of February, 1564, without having shown any signs of décadence ; 
 greater, possibly, by his genius than by his works, he is the personifica- 
 
 Fig. aqo.— Bas-relief of the Hôtel du Bourgtheroulde, Rouen, representinj a Scène in the Interview between 
 Francis I. and Henry VIII., on the Field of the Cloth of Gold. 
 
 tion of the Renaissance. It would be, perhaps, irreverent to say that 
 this âge was an âge of decay; we might fear of desecrating the tomb 
 01 Buonarotti if we laid to his charge that his grand boldness led 
 ordinary talents astray ; and it is not a pleasant subject of thought that, 
 influenced by two currents 'of ideas — one coming from Italy, the other 
 froni Germany — the art of the century operated to its own suicide. TThen 
 the very soil itself seemed to be shaken, and the Christian pedestal which 
 nad formed both its grandeur and power overturned, what could be done 
 
 3 B 
 
37° 
 
 SCULPTURE. 
 
 in the way of opposition to the downfall of Art by Jean Goujon, Jean 
 Cousin (Fig. 291), Germain Pilon, François Marchand, Pierre Bontemps, 
 those stars of French sculpture in tlie sixteenth. century ? 
 
 A final manifestation of the old religious feeling was, however, appa- 
 rent in the tombs of the Church of Brou, designed by Jean Perréal, the 
 great painter of Lyons, executed by Conrad Meyt, and carved by Gourât and 
 Michael Columb ; also in the mausoleum of Francis II., carved by Columb 
 and his family ; in the sepulchre of St. Mihiel (Fig. 292) by Richier ; 
 of the Saints de Soiesme, in the tombs of Langey du Bellay, and of 
 the Chancellor De Birague, by Germain Pilon, .&c. But fushion and 
 
 Fig. 291.— Statue in Alabaster of Philip Chabot, Admirai of France, by Jean Cousin. Formerly in the 
 Church of the Célestins, Paris, now in the iMuseum of the Louvre. 
 
 the prevailing taste now required from artists nothing but profane and 
 voluptuous compositions, and they adopted this line of Art ail the more 
 readily, seeing, as they did every day, most beautiful works of Christian 
 sculpture mutilated by a new tribe of Iconoclasts, the Huguenots, wno 
 seldom showed mercy to the figured monuments in Catholic churches. 
 The stalls of the Cathedral of Amiens, by Jean Rupin, the rood-loft by 
 Jean Boudin, and a number of other works of the same kind, testify to the 
 irruption of the Greek style, its implantation in religious art, and its hybrid 
 association with pointed architecture. It is, however, only due to our 
 sculptors of the sixteenth century to say, that when they sacrificed theffi- 
 
SCULPTVRK. 
 
 37' 
 
 splvos to (lie rcquirements of their âge in imitalinn' tlie miisteqîieces of 
 Italy, tlicy approaclied (lie natural grâce of Rapliacl mucli ctloscr tlian 
 
 Cellini, Primaticcio, or aay of tlie otlier Italian artists wlio were se(tled in 
 France; that they corabined in the best possible way the mytbological 
 
372 
 
 SCULPTURE. 
 
 expression of the ancients witli our modem ideas, and that, thanks to 
 them, France is enabled to point with pride to a natural art, original and 
 indépendant, whict has been handed down to our days in direct succession 
 by Sarrazain, Puget, Girardon, and Coysevox. 
 
 Figs. 293, 294.— Gargoyies on the Palace of Justice, Rouen. (Fifteenth Century.) 
 
ARCÏÏITECTUEE. 
 
 The Basilica the fîrst Christian Church.— Modification of Ancient Architecture.— Byzantine Style. 
 —Formation of the Norman Style.— Principal Norman Churches.— Age of the Transition 
 from Norman to Gothic.— Origin and Importance of the 0<7Ù'c.— Principal Edifices in the pure 
 Gothic Style.— The Gothic Church, an Emhlem of the Eeligious Spirit in the Middle Ages.— 
 Florid Gothic— Flamboyant Gothic— Decadencj.— Civil and Military Architecture : Castles, 
 Fortified Enclosures, Private Houses, Town Halls,— Italian Eenaissance : Pisa, Florence, 
 Eome.— French Eenaissance : Mansiona and Palaces. 
 
 HEjN" the Christian family, humble and per- 
 secuted, was beginning to form itself into congré- 
 gations ; when it was forbidden to consecrate any 
 spécial édifice to the performance of the services of its 
 religion — a religion which opposed to the gorgeoua 
 cérémonies of polytheism the most austère simplicity 
 — any refuge might hâve seemed good enough whiçh 
 ofEered to the faithful the means of assembling themselves to- 
 gether in security ; any retreat must haye appeared sufficiently 
 ornamented which would recall to the disciples of the crucified 
 Saviour the mournful events preceding the glorification of that Divine 
 sacrifice. But when the religion proscribed one day found itself on the 
 next the religion of the State, things changed. 
 
 Constantine, in the mighty ardour of his zeal, wished to see the worship 
 of the true God eiface in pomp and in magnificence ail the solemnities of 
 the heathen world. In espelling the idols from their temples, the idea 
 could not hâve suggested itself of using thèse buildings for the new religion, 
 because they were generally of excessively limitéd dimensions, and the 
 plan on which they were built would hâve but indifferently ansTvered the 
 requirements of the Christian cérémonial. What was necessary for thèse 
 services was principally a spacious nave, in which a large congrégation 
 could assemble to hear the same word, to joiri in the same prayer, and 
 to intone the same chants. The Christians sought, therefore, among the 
 
37+ 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 édifices then. in existence (Fig. 295), for such. as wonld test answer 
 thèse piirposes. The hcmlicas presented themselves ; thèse buildings served 
 at once as law-courts and places of assembly for tradesmen and money- 
 changers, and were generally composed of one immense hall, with latéral 
 galleries and tribunes adjoining it. The name of badlica, derived from the 
 Greek word basUeus (a king), was given them, according to some writers, 
 from the fact that former ly the kings themselves used to administer justice 
 within their walls ; according to others, because the basilica of Athens 
 served as a tribunal of the second archou, who bore the title of king ; 
 
 Fig, 295.— Basilica of Constantine, at Trêves, transfornicd into a Fortress in the Jliddle Ages. 
 
 whence the édifice was called sfoa basiliké (royal porch), a désignation et 
 which the Eomans preserved only the adjective, the substantive being 
 understood. 
 
 "The Christian basilica," saj's M. A^audoyer, in his learned treatise on 
 architecture in France, " was most certainlj' an imitation of the heathen 
 basilica ; but it is of importance to observe that from one cause or 
 another the Christians, in the construction of their basilicas, very soon 
 substituted for the Grecian architecture of the ancient basilicas a System of 
 arches reposing directly on isolated columns, which served as their supports ; 
 a perfectly new contrivanee, of which there existed no provious examplf • 
 
ARrilITF.CTVRE. 375 
 
 This iicw nioilo of construction, wliich bas generally bccn iittributed to tho 
 want of skill in the builclers of tliis period, or to tbo nature of tlic matcrials 
 tlu'v luul al. tlioii- disposai, uas, howevcr, to becomo tlio fuiidaiiiciital prin- 
 ciplc of Christian art ; a principlc cliaractcriscd by tho breakinj^ up of 
 the range of arches, aud by tbo abandoument of tbe System of rcctiliucar 
 construction of the Grceks and Konians. 
 
 "Indeed, tbe arcade, -wbicb bad become tbe dominant élément of Roman 
 architecture, bad nevertbeless remained subject to tbe proportions of tbe 
 Greek orders, of -wbicb tbe entablature served as an indispensable accom- 
 panimeut ; aud from this medley of éléments so diverse was produced tbe 
 mixed style wbicb cbaracterises the Greco-Romau arcbitecture. But tbe 
 Cbristians, in separatiag or breaking up tbe arcade, in abandonino- the 
 use of the aucieut orders, and in making tbe columu tbe real support of 
 the arch, laid the foundatious of a new style, wbich led to tbe exclusive 
 employment of arches and vaults in Christian édifices. Tbe Churcb of 
 St. Sophia at Constantinople, built by Justinian in the middle of the sixtb 
 centmy, affords the most ancient example of this System of construction 
 by arches and vaults in a Christian churcb of large dimensions." 
 
 Transported to the East, the Latin style there assumed a new character, 
 owing especially to the adoption and généralisation of tbe cupola, of which 
 there were some examples in Roman architectui'e, but only as an accessory ; 
 whereas, in wbat is called Byzantine architecture, this form became dominant, 
 and, as it were, fundamental ; tbus, at ail periods and at each time that the 
 architectural influence of the East made itself felt in the West, we see the 
 cupola introduced into buildings. The Churcb of St. Vital at Ravenna 
 affords, in its plan (Fig. 296) and in its gênerai appearance, an example of 
 this influence, wbicb is quite Byzantine. 
 
 Edifices of Latin architecture, properly so called, are rare, we might 
 almost saj' that they bave ail disappeared (Figs. 297 and 298) ; but if some 
 churches in Rome, whose foundation dates back to the fifth and sixtb 
 centuries, can be considered as spécimens of this first period of Christian 
 art, it is in the arrangement of the plan much more than in the détails of 
 exécution, which for à long subséquent time since bave been united witb 
 the work of later periods. 
 
 In the days when Christianity was so triumphantly established as to bave 
 no fear nor scruple to utilise, in the construction of its churches, the ruins 
 
376 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 of the ancient temples, it generally happened that tlie architect, conforming 
 himself to new requirements, endeavoured, by a prudent return towards the 
 traditions of thé past, to avoid those striking incongruities which would hâve 
 deprived of ail their value the magnificent materials he had at his disposai. 
 Hence arose a style still undecided ; hence mixed créations, which it will 
 suffice merely to mention. Then we must not forget — to say nothing of the 
 
 x:::::s:::zi'?f::. 
 
 Fig. 296. — Church of St. Vital, at Ravenna. Bjzantine stj'le. (Sixth Century.l 
 
 case in which, as in the old Roman city, Christian basilicas might be built 
 with the marble of heathen sanctuaries — the monuments of this same Eome 
 were still the only models that presented themselves for imitation. Finally, 
 for this architecture which the Christian religion was to croate as its own, it 
 was obvions there would be an infancy, an âge of groping in the dark and 
 of uncertainty ; and at length that there should be a séparation from the 
 past, and a gradually experienced feeling of individual strength. (Fig. 299.) 
 
ARCIflTECTURE. 
 
 377 
 
 Tins infancy lasted about five or six centuries ; for it was only aboiit 
 tho ycar 1000 tliat tlie now style — which wc see at fîrst mudo up o£ "recol- 
 lections" niul wcak innovations — assumée! an alniost dcterminate forni. 
 This is tbc pcriod callcd Norman,* whicli, according to aVI. Yaudoyor, lias 
 left us somc monuments tliat are "the noblest, the simplcst, and tbe 
 severcst expression of tbe Cbristian temple." 
 
 Fïg- 297. — The Church of St. Agnes, at Rome, Latin 
 stj-le (Fifth Centurj-). Restored and debased in 
 the Seventeenth Centurj'. 
 
 Fig. 298. — The Church of St. ilartîn, at Tours 
 (Sisth Century). Rebuilt or restored in the 
 Eleventh Century. 
 
 " Tbree years after the year 1000, -which was supposed was to be the 
 last year of the world," says the monk Eaoul Glaber, "cburches were 
 reuewed in nearly every pairt of the imiTerse, especially in Italy and in Gaul, 
 although the greater number were still in a condition good enough to require 
 
 * SI. Lacroix usea the Word Somalie thro.ighout, with référence to this style of architecture; 
 ■we haTe adopted Xoniion as that most commonly associated with it, and becaiise it is a generic 
 term comprehending Romanesque, Lombardic, and even Byzantine. — [Ed.] 
 
 3 c 
 
378 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 no repairs." " It was to this period, that is to say, the eleventli century," 
 adds M. Vaudoyer, "must be assigned tlie greater nmnber of the ancient 
 churclies of France, grander and more magnificenttlian ail those of preceding 
 centuries ; it was then, also, tiie first associations of builders were formed, 
 wbereof the abbots and tbe prelates themselves formed a portion, and wbich 
 were essentially composed of men bound by a religions vow ; tbe Arts were 
 cultivated in the convents, the chiirches were built under the direction of 
 bishops ; the monks co-operated in works of ail kinds. . . . The plan of the 
 
 Fig. 299. — Remains of the Church of Mouen, in Normandy. Arclaitecture of the Fifth or Sixth Century. 
 
 Western churches preserved the primitire arrangement of the Latin basilica 
 — that is, the elongated form and the latéral galleries ; the most important 
 modifications were the lengtheniug of the choir and of the galleries, or ot 
 the cross, a free passage established round the apse (Fig. 300) ; and, lastly, 
 the combination of chapels, which grouped themselves around the sanctuary. 
 In the construction the isolated columns of the nave are sometimes replaced 
 by pillars, the spaces between which are filled up with semicircular arches. 
 
ARCIlITECrURE. 
 
 370 
 
 und a gênerai System of vaiilted roofs is substituted for the ceilîngs and 
 tiniber roofs of the ancient Latin basilicas The use of bells, which 
 
 »*m. 
 
 Fig- 300. — Notre-Dame, Rouen, ogival style. (Thirteentb Centurj-.) 
 
 was but sparingly adopted in the East, contributed to give to the churches 
 
38o ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 of the West a character and an appearance quite their own, and which tliey 
 owe particularly to those lofty towers that had become the essential part of 
 their façade." 
 
 The façade itself is generally of great simplicity. "We enter the édifice 
 by one of three doors, above which runs, in most cases, a little gallery 
 formed of very small columns close to each other, supportiug a range of 
 arcades ; and thèse arcades are often ornamented with statues, as we find 
 in the church of JSTotre-Dame at Poitiers, which — together with the churches 
 of JÎ^otre-Dame des Doms, at Avignon ; of St. Paul, at Issoire ; of St. Sernin, 
 at Toulouse ; of Notre-Dame du Port, at Clermont, &c. — naay be considered 
 as one of the most complète spécimens of Norman architecture. 
 
 In churches of this style, as for instance those of St. Front, at Périgueux ; 
 of Notre-Dame, at Puy en Velay ; of St. Etienne, at Nevers, are seen also 
 some cupolas ; but we must not forget that the Byzantine architects, whose 
 migrations towards the West were constantly taking place at this period, 
 could not fail to leave traces of their wanderings, and we must acknowledge 
 that, especially in our own country (France), where Oriental influence was 
 never more than partial, the union of the two architectonic principles 
 produced the happiest résulta. The Cathedral of Angoulême, for example, is 
 justly regarded as one of the édifices in which Oriental taste harmonises the 
 best with the Noi'man style. 
 
 At the beginning of this period, the bell-towers were of very little 
 importance ; but gradually we find them rising higher and higher, and 
 attaining to great élévations. Some cathedrals on the borders of the Rhiae, 
 and the Church of St. Etienne at Caen, are examples of the extraordinary 
 height to which thèse towers were built. In principle, we may add, there 
 was only one bell-tower (Fig. 301) ; but it generally happened that two 
 were given to churches built or restored after the year 1000 : St. Germain- 
 des-Prés had three bell-towers — one over the portai, and one at each side 
 of the transept ; certain churches had four and even five beU-towers. 
 
 Norman bell-towers are generally square, exhibiting, in stories, two 
 or three ranges of round-arched arcades, and terminating in a pyramidal 
 roof resting on an octagonal base. The Abbey of St. Germain dAuxerre 
 possesses one of the most remarkable bell-towers of the Norman style; 
 then corne, although built subsequentlj' to the principal édifice, those of 
 the Abbaye aux Hommes, at Oaen. 
 
ARCIiriF.CTURK. 
 
 381 
 
 Tho sim's l'iiys ponetratcd into tlie Norman church first through tho 
 orii/iiH* a vast round opouing- iutendcd to .'ulinit liy;lit intu tlie navo, and 
 
 Fig". 301. — Ancient Church of St. Paul-des-Champs, at Paris, founded, in the Seventb Centurj'* by St. Eloi. 
 Restored and in part rebuilt in the Thirteenth Century. 
 
 situated aboYe tlie façade, wliich geuerally rose in the form of a gable 
 
 * Ocuhis (ej-e). — This word ia not kno-n-n in the Tocabulaiy of Eaglish arciitects ; but it is 
 evidently intended to signify a cii-cular window.— [Ed.] 
 
382 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 above one or several rows of small columns on the exterior. A séries of 
 latéral Windows opened on the side-aisles of the édifice ; another was 
 pierced on a level with the galleries ; and a third between the vaulted 
 arches of the nave. 
 
 The crypt, a sort of subterranean sanctuary, which generally contained 
 the tomb of some beatified saint, or of some martyr to whom the édifice was 
 dedicated, formed very often an intégral part of the Norman church. The 
 architecture of the crypt, which had for its idéal object to recall to the mind 
 the period when the offices of the Christian religion were performed in 
 caverns and in catacombs, was generally of a massive and imposing severity, 
 well suited to express the sentiment which must hâve presided over the 
 earliest Christian buildings. 
 
 The Norman style, that is to say, the primitive idea of Christian 
 architecture, freed from its remaining servility to the antique, seems to 
 hâve caught a glimpse of the defi.nitive formula of Christian art. Many a 
 majestic monument already attested the austère power of this style; and 
 perhaps a final and masterly inspiration would hâve sufficed, perfection 
 being attained, to cause the researches of the maîtres cCœuvre* made 
 as they felt their way forward, to cease of themselves Already, too, as 
 a sign of maturity, Norman édifices, instead of remaining in the somewhat 
 too Tinadorned simplicity of the first period, became gradually ornamented, 
 till in time they resembled, fromi their base to the summit, a délicate work 
 •of embroidery. It is to this florid Norman style, which in France reigns 
 especially to the south of the Loire, that the charming façade of the Church 
 of Notre-Dame de Poitiers (Fig. 302) belongs, which we hâve already cited 
 as a perfect type of the Norman style itself ; the façade of St. Trophimus, at 
 Arles (Figs. 303 and 304), an example in the gênerai arrangement of which 
 the same character of original unity does not prevail ; and that of the Church 
 of St. Gilles, which M. Mérimée cites as the most élégant expression of the 
 florid Norman. 
 
 In short, let us repeat it, the Norman style, grandiose in its austerity, 
 still quiet and compact even in its richest phantasy, was on the eve et 
 individuaUsing for ever, perhaps, Christian architecture ; its rounded arches, 
 uniting their fuU soft curves to the simple profiles of columns, robust eveu 
 in their lightness, seemed to characterise at one and the same time the 
 
 * Officers who had jurisdiction over, and were inspectors of, woiks of masonry and carpentry. 
 
ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 383 
 
 Fig. 302.— Notre-Dame la Grande of Poitiers (Twelfth Centur>). 
 
3 «4 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 elevated calm of liope and the humble gravi ty of faith. But lo ! the ogive 
 sprang up ; not, indeed, as certain autliors hâve thought tliey were riglit iii 
 afErming, from an outburst of spontaneous invention, for we find the prin- 
 ciple and the application of it not only in many édifices of the Norman 
 period, but even in the architectiiral contrivances of the most remote times. 
 And it happened that this simple breaking up of the round arch, this 
 " sharpness " of the arch, if we may use the expression, which the Norman 
 builders had skilfully utilised, giving more of slenderness or graceful 
 strength to vaults of great estent, becarae the fundamental élément of a 
 style which, in less than a century, was to shut the future to a tradition 
 
 Fig. 303. — Tympanura of the Portai of St. Trophimus, at Arles {Twelfth Centur\). 
 
 dating from six or eight centuries, and which could with justice pride itself 
 on the most beautiful architectural conceptions. (Fig. 305.) 
 
 From the twelfth to the thirteenth century the transition took place. 
 The Norman style, which is distinguished by its round arch, maintaiued the 
 struggle with the Gothic style, of which the ogive is the original mark. In 
 the churches of this period we find also, with regard to the ground-plan 
 of édifices, the choir assuming larger dimensions, necessitated no doubt 
 by increased cérémonials in the services. The Latin cross, which was the 
 ground-plan whereon up to this time the greater number of sanctuaries 
 were built, ceased to indicate as precisely as heretofore its outlines ; the 
 
ARCIIITECTVRE. 
 
 385 
 
 navo Wiis ruisod l'inisidiTably in hoiylil, tbo latéral chapcls wero multiplicrl, 
 and ol'toii bioko tlic i)crspective of thc sido-aisles ; bcll-towcrs assuiiied 
 groaloi- iiiii)iirlaiieo, and llie plarino- of imuu'iiso oryaiis abovo (Ijo piiiicinal 
 
 ""_ J.21 
 
 1> jb>^V«* 
 
 Fig. 304. — Détails of tho Portai of St. Trophimus, at Arles. (Twelfth Century.) 
 
 entrance gave rise to a new system of elevated galleries in this part of the 
 building. 
 
 The cburches of St. Eemy, Rheims ; of the Abbey of St. Denis ; of 
 
 3 D 
 
386 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 St. Nicholas, Blois ; the Abbey of Jumiéges ; and tbe Cathedral of Chàlons- 
 sur- Marne, are the principal examples of tbe arcbitecture of the mixed style. 
 It should be remarked that for a long while, in the north of France, 
 the pointed arch had prevailed almost entirely over the round arch, at the 
 time -when, in the south, Norman tradition, blended with the Byzantine, 
 
 Fig-. 305. — Cloister of tbe Abbey of jMoissac, Guyenne. (Twelfth Century.) 
 
 still continued to inspire the builders. ÎTevertheless, the démarcation 
 cannot be rigorously established, for, at the time when édifices of the purest 
 Norman style showed themselyes in our (French) northern counties (as, 
 for example, the Church of St. Germain-des-Prés, and the apse ci 
 
PL. XXVI' 
 
 DECORATION OF LA SAINTE CHAPELLE. PARIS. 
 
 ïlurleentlt Cenhirv. 
 
ARCHITECTURE. 387 
 
 St. Martin-dcs-Champs, Paris), we find, at Toulouse, at Carcassonne, at 
 Montpellier, tlie most romarkablc spccimcns of the Gotliic style. At lawt 
 Gothic architecture gained thc da}-. "Its principle," saj-s ]il. Vitet, "is 
 in cmancipation, in libcrty, in tho spirit of association and commerce, in 
 sentiments quite indigeuous and quite national : it is homelj', and more than 
 that, it is French, EngUsli, Teutonic, &c. Norman architecture, on thc 
 contrary, is sacerdotal." 
 
 And M. Yaudoyer adds : " The rounded arch is the dcterminate and 
 invariable fonn ; the pointed arch is the free and indefinite form which leuds 
 itself to unlimited modifications. If, then, the Pointed style has no longer 
 the austerity of the Norman, it is because it belongs to that second phase 
 of aU civilisation, in which élégance and richness replace the strength and 
 the severity of primordial types." 
 
 It was, moreover, at this period that architecture, like ail the other arts, 
 left the monasteries to pass into the hands of lay architects oi'ganised into 
 confraternities, who travelled from place to place, and thus transmitted the 
 traditional types ; the resuit of this was that buildings raised at very great 
 distances from each other presented a striMng analogy, and often even a 
 complète similitude to each other. 
 
 There has been much discussion not only on the origin of the pointed 
 arch, but also as to the beauty and excellence of its form. According to some 
 it was suggested by the sight of many arches interlaced, and only constituted 
 one of those fantastical f orms which an art in quest of novelty adopts ; others, 
 among whom is M. Vaudoyer, attribute to it the most remote origin, by 
 making it resuit quite naturally in the first attempts at building in stone, — 
 " from a succession of courses of stone so arranged that each overhung the 
 other ;" or else in wooden constructions, "from the greater facility there was 
 in forming with beams a pointed rather than a perfectly rounded arch ; " 
 others consider the adoption of the Pointed style, as we said aboTQ, as 
 nothing but a proof of the religious independence succeeding the rigid faith 
 of earlier days. A third opinion, again, is that of M. Michiels, who looks 
 on the Pointed style as in some sort an inévitable resuit of the boldness of 
 the Norman, and who considers the Gothic, of which it is the cha]-ac- 
 teristic, as " expressing the spirit of a period when religious feeling had 
 attained its most perfect maturity, and Catholic civilisation produced its 
 sweetest and most agreeable fruits." 
 
Fig. 306.-Mayence Cathedral. Rhenish Norman. (Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries). 
 
ARCIUTKCTURI-:. 
 
 3«9 
 
 Whatever may bc tlio merits of tlieso difforont opinions, into tho dis- 
 cussion of wliich wc need not enter, it is now gcnonilly ussunicd t!mt tho 
 Pointed style, propevly so cullod, spninj^^ up llrst williiu \\w. limits of tlie 
 ancient Ile-de-Fraucc, wliGiicc it prop;igated itsolf by degrecs towards the 
 soutliern aud eastcrn provinces. 
 
 M. Micliiels, agreeing on tliis point witli tho celebrated architect Lassus, 
 points ont that it wonld be as difficult to attribute the création of tliis style 
 to Germany as to Spain. It was in the thirteenth century that the finest 
 Gothic buildings appeared in France ; while in Germany, except the chiu-ches 
 built, as it were, on the French frontier, we find nothing at that period but 
 Norman churches (Fig. 306) ; and it is reasonable to suppose that, if we 
 owed the gênerai adoption of the pointed arch to Spain, the introduction of 
 it would hâve been gradually .made through that part of the country situated 
 beyond the Loire, where, however, the ISTorman style continued to be in great 
 fayour when it vas almost entirely abandoned in the north of France. 
 
 A century sufficed to bring the Pointed style to its highest perfection. 
 Notre-Dame (Fig. 307) and the Sainte- Chapelle, in Paris ; Notre-Dame, 
 Chartres; the cathedrals of Amiens (Fig. 308), Sens, Bourges, Coutances, 
 in France ; those of Strasbourg, Fribourg, Altenberg, and Cologne, in 
 Germany, the dates of whose construction succeed each other at intervais 
 from the first half of the twelfth. to the middle of the thirteenth century, 
 are so many admirable spécimens or tj^pes of this art, which we may hère 
 call relatively new. 
 
 To know to what marvellous varietj' of combinations and eifects, by 
 merely modifying it in height and breadth from its original type, this 
 pointed arch, which, taken by itself, might appear the simplest of forms, 
 can attain, one must hâve passed some time in dividing into the difierent 
 parts of which it is composed, by an accurate esamination of its tout 
 ensemble, such. an édifice as Notre-Dame, Paris, or as the Cathedral of 
 Strasboiirg ; tbe first of which attracts attention by the sustained boldness 
 of its lines, strong as they are graceful ; the second, by its perfectly bold 
 mdependence, seeming, as it does, to taper away as by enchantment, in 
 order to bear to a surprising height the évidence of its incompréhensible 
 temerity. 
 
 We must rise in thought above the édifice to grasp the plan of its 
 first conception ; we must, from below, study it on ail sides to perceive 
 
39° 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 yig. 307._Notre-Dame, Paris (Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries) 
 View of the principal F^ade before the restoration executed by Messrs. Lassus and V.ol.et-le-Duc. 
 
ARriJI lECTURE. 
 
 39' 
 
3'92 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 with what art its varions parts are arranged, grouped, placed at certain 
 intervais from each other ; we must seek to discover thé contrivance by 
 virtue of which tlie immense évidage (sloping) of numerous buttresses, the 
 beight of tbe towers, tbe retiring of tbe laterals, and tbe curve of tbe apse 
 are harmonised ; we must enter tbe cburcb and stand in its nave, witb its 
 interminable délicate ribs — bow many clusters of small columns extend 
 above tbe slender pillars ! — we must contemplate tbe beautifui fancies of tbe 
 rose-windows, wbicb by tbeir manj^-coloured glass sober down tbe glare 
 of tbe ligbt passing tbrougb tbem ; we must gain tbe summit of tbose 
 towers, tbose spires, and from tbem command tbe dizzy extent of aërial 
 
 ^'&- 309. — Capital of a Column in the Abbey oi 
 
 St. Geneviève (destroyed), Paris. 
 
 (Eleventh Century.) 
 
 T\g. 310.— Capital of a Column in the Church of 
 
 St. Julien the Poor (destroyed), Paris. 
 
 (Twelfth Century.) 
 
 space, and tbe landscape stretcbing out around tbem below ; we must foUow 
 attentively witb our eye tbe strikingly bold outlines wbicb tbe turrets, 
 tbe ornamented gables, tbe guivres, tbe tops of tbe bell-towers trace upon 
 tbe sky. Tbis done, we sbould yet bave paid but a brief tribute ot 
 attention to tbese prodigious édifices. Wbat, tben, if we wisbed to dévote 
 sufilcient time to tbe ornamentation of tbe détails (Figs. 309 to 312) ? it 
 we desired to obtain a tolerably exact idea of tbe people from tbe statues 
 wbicb swarm from tbe porcb to tbe pinnacle, and of tbe flom and fauna, 
 real or idéal, tbat give movement to every projection or animate ever} 
 wall? if one counted on success in findins' out tbe key to ail tbe crossnigs 
 
ARiiirrr.ciTRh:. 
 
 393 
 
 nncl intersections of the liucs, of tlie well-adjusted conceptions wliicli, wliili; 
 thcy deccivc tho oye, contrilmte to tlic niajesty or llie solidity of Ihc 
 wliolo ? if, tinally, wc were most carcful iiot, to loso aiiy ono of tho miilti- 
 farious thoughts tliat havo bccn flxed iu tho stones of the gigantic édifice ? 
 Tho mind bccomes confused ; and certaiuly the eflect produced by so much 
 imagination and so much enterprise, by so much skill and taste, wonderliilly 
 élevâtes the soûl, which searches with more love after the Creator wlien it 
 secs such a work proceeding from the hands of the créature. 
 
 ïig. 311.— Vestige of the Architecture of the Goths 
 at Toledo. (Seventh Centiiry.) 
 
 Fig. 312. — Capital in the Church of the Célestins 
 (destroyed), Paris. {Fourteenth Century.) 
 
 When you approach the Gothic church, when you stand beneath its 
 lofty roof, it is as if a new country were receiving you, possesssing you, 
 casting around you an atmosphère of subduing rêverie in which you feel 
 your wretched servitude to -svorldly interests vanishing away, and you 
 become conscious of more solid, more important ties, springing up in 
 you. The Deity whom our flnite nature can figure to ourselves seems in 
 fact to inhabit this immense biùlding, to be willing to put himself in 
 direct communion with the humble Christian who approaches to bow down 
 before Him. There is nothing in it of the human dwelling-place — ail 
 
 3 E 
 
394 
 
 ARC HI TEC TURE. 
 
 relating to our poor and misérable existence is hère forgotten ; He for 
 wliom this résidence was constructed is the Strong, the Great, tlie Magnifi- 
 cent, and it is from a paternal condescension that He receives us into His 
 lioly habitation, as weab, little, misérable. It is tbe idéal of the faitt 
 ■whicb is realised ; ail tbe articles of tbe belief in wbicb we bave been 
 brougbt up are bere embodied before our eyes ; it is, lastly, tbe cbosea 
 spot wbere tbe meeting of mortal notbingness and Divine Majesty is 
 quietly accompHsbed. 
 
 Tbe Cbristianity of tbe Middie Ages bad tben been able to find ia tbe 
 Gotbic style a tongue as tractable as it was energetic, as simple as it was 
 ingénions, wbicb, for tbe pious excitement of souJs, was to déclare to tbe 
 sensés ail its ineffable poetry. But as tbe unbounded faitb, of wbicb it was 
 tbe faitbful organ, was on tbe next dawn of its most ardent aspirations 
 about to décline, so tbis splendid style was almost as soon to lose its vigour, 
 and to exbaust itself in tbe unrestrained manifestation of its power. 
 
 Springing into existence witb tbe warm entbusiasm of tbe first 
 Crusades, tbe Pointed style seems to follow in its différent phases tbe 
 décline of faitb in tbe time of thèse adventurous enterprises. It began by 
 a sincère outburst, and was produced by a bold, unsbackled genius ; tbea 
 a factitious or refiected ardour gave birtb to elaborateness and mannerism ; 
 tben tbe fervent zeal and the artistic sentiment dwindled away : this is tbe 
 decadency. 
 
 Gotbic art raised itself in less tban a century to its culminating poiat ; 
 within two centuries more it was to reacb the fatal point wbere it would 
 begin to décline. Tbe tbirteentb century saw it in ail its glory, witb tbe 
 édifices we bave mentioned ; in the f ourteentb it bad become the Florid or 
 Rayonnant Gotbic, wbicb produced tbe cburcbes of St. Ouen at Rouen, and 
 of St. Etienne at Metz. "Tben," saj-s M. A. Lefèvre, one of tbe latest 
 historians of architecture, " no more walls ; everywhere open screen-work 
 supported by slender arcades ; no more capitals, rows of foliage imitated 
 directly from nature; no more colunms, lofty pUlars ornamented witb 
 round or bevelled mouldùigs. As yet, however, there was nothing weakly 
 in its extrême élégance ; slim and délicate witbout being gaunt, the Florid 
 style did not ia the least disfigure tbe cburcbes of tbe tbirteentb ceutmy, 
 wbicb it bounded and decorated. 
 
 " But after tbe Rayonnant Gotbic came tbe Flamboyant, wbicb, always 
 
ARCHITECTURE. 3^,5 
 
 \incler tho prctcxt of liglitncss and graco, dénaturalises tLe ornaments, tlic 
 forms, and oven the i^roportions of (l\c architectural meiiibcra. It efFace.i 
 the horizontal Unes which uscd to give two storics to tho Windows of the 
 nave, fîUs up the nave with irregidar compartraents, cœurs, soufflets, and 
 flammes; suppresses the angles of the pillars and sharpens the mouldings; 
 leaves even to the most massive supports nothing but an undulating, 
 vanishing, impalpable form, wherc shadow cannot fix itself ; changes the 
 lancet-arches iuto braces, or into flat-arched vaults more or less dciircssed, 
 and the fîorid ornameutation of the pinnacles into whinisical scroUs. It 
 reserved ail its riches for accessory or exterior décorations, stalls, pulpits, 
 hanging key-stones, running friezes, rood-screens, and bell-towers. Visible 
 decadencj' of the whole corresponds with great progress in détails." 
 (Fig. 313.) 
 
 The churches of St. "Wulfran, Abbeville ; of Notre-Dame, Cléry-sur- 
 Loire ; of St. Riquier ; of CorbeH ; and the cathedrals of Orléans and of 
 Nantes, may be cited as the principal spécimens of the Flamboyant stj-le, and 
 as the last notable manifestations of an art which thenceforward diverged 
 more and more from its original inspiration. The middle of the fifteenth 
 century is generally fixed as the limit beyond which the handsome Gothic 
 buildings that stUl rose were no longer, in any degree, the normal produc- 
 tions of their period, but were félicitons copies or imitations of works already 
 consecrated by the history of the art. 
 
 A remark may hère be made showing to what extent religions feeling 
 predominated in the Middle Ages ; it is that at the very moment when 
 the Norman and Gothic architects were designing and producing so 
 many marvellous habitations for the Deity, they seemed to bestow scarcely 
 any attention on the construction of comfortable or luxurious dwellings for 
 man, even those destined for the most exalted personages of the State. 
 In proportion as this sentiment of original faith lost its intensity, Art 
 occupied itself more and more with princely and lordly habitations. 
 The middle class was the last favoiu-ed by this progress, and the feeling 
 of their position as citizens had taken the place of a zeal exclusively pious ; 
 so we find the " town-haUs " absorbing the splendeur and élégance of which 
 private houses remained destitute ; thèse being generally built of wood and 
 plaster, and in the heart of the towns, so close together that they seemed to 
 be disputing for light and air. 
 
ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 397 
 
 Everywhcrc, duiiug tlie Middle Ages, rose the churcli — tho home of 
 poacc ; but cverywhere also towered up at the sanie tinic thc castlc, tliat 
 chnracterised the permanent sfatc of war in whirh feudal soeiety livod, 
 delightcd, and gloried. 
 
 " Thc castlcs of tho richest and most powerful nobles," says ÎI. Vaudoyer, 
 "consisted of irrcgular, uncorafortable buildings, pierccd with a few narrow 
 Windows, standing- within one or two fortifîed cnclosures, and surroundcd 
 by moats. The donjon, a large high tower, generally occupiod the centre, 
 
 IFîgr. 314. — Ancient Castle of Marcoussis, near Rambouillet. (Tiiirteenth Century.) 
 
 and other towers, more or less numerous, flanked the walls, and served 
 for the defenceof the place." (Fig. 314). "Thèse castles," adds M. Mérimée, 
 "generally présent the same characteristics as the ancient casteïïum; but 
 a certain ruggedness, a striking quaintuess in plan and exécution, bear 
 witness to a personal will, and that tendency to isolation which is the 
 instinctive sentiment of the feudal System." 
 
 In most of the buildings destined for the privileged classes, it seems as 
 if it -were deemed unnecessary that care should be taken to secure harmony 
 
398 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 of form. The décorative style of the period showed itself chiefly in thé 
 interior of some of the principal apartments, the habitable quarters of 
 the lord of the castle and of his family. There were vast fireplaces with 
 enormous chimney-corners surmounted by projecting mantelpieces ; the 
 vaulted roof was ornamented with pendants of Tarions devices, and with 
 painted or carved escutcheons. Narrow closets, contrived in the walls, 
 served as sleeping places. The embrasures of the Windows pierced in the 
 excessively thick walls formcd so many little chambers, raised a few steps 
 above the floor of the room to which they admitted light. Stone seats ran 
 alons: each side of thèse embrasures. Hère the inmates of the tower 
 
 1 ^ ir I 11 1 
 
 iliiiii 
 
 *> 
 
 
 Fig. 315.— Staircase of a Tower. 
 
 Fîg^. 316. — Pointed Window with Stone Seats. 
 
 (Thirteenth Centurj'.) 
 
 generally sat when the cold did not oblige them to draw near to the 
 fireplaces. (Figs. 315 and 316.) 
 
 With the exception of thèse slight sacrifices made to the comforts of 
 life, everything in the castle was arranged, contrived, and disposed with a 
 view to strength and résistance ; and yet it cannot be denied that, uniQ- 
 tentionally, the builders of thèse silent {taciturnes) édifices bave many a 
 time — aided often, it is true, by the picturesque sites which encircle their 
 Works — attained to a majestj' of height and a grandeur of form truly 
 extraordinary. 
 
 If the Norman church expresses with gentle severity, and the Gothic 
 
 I 
 
ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 399 
 
 churcli with sumptuous fancy, tho important and sublime doctrines of tho 
 Gospel, we must cqually allow that tho castle, iu somo sort, loiidly procluims 
 tho storu and unciviliscd notions of tho foudal authorily of which it was at 
 once the instrument and tho synibol. 
 
 Placed, in most cases, on natural or artificial cminenccs, it is not without 
 
 ï"ig' 317- — The Castle of Coucy in its ancient state. 
 (From a Miniature taken from a Manuscript of the Thirteenth Century.) 
 
 a sort of éloquent boldness that the towers and the donjons shoot into the 
 air, succeed each other at intervais, command and support each other. It 
 is frequently not without a sort of fantastic grâce that the walls scale the 
 rising ground, making an infinity of the strangest bends, or coiling them- 
 selves about with the supple ease of a serpent. 
 
 Fig. Jl8.— The Castle of Vincennes, as it was in the Seventeenth Century. 
 
 Evidently, if the castle raises its gloomy head high into the air, it has no 
 other object in doing so than to secure to itself the advantages of distance 
 and height ; but not the less on that account does it stand out on the sky 
 a grand object. The masses of its walls unsjTnmetrically pierced with 
 sombre loop-holes présent an abrupt and naked appearance ; but the mono- 
 
400 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 tony of their lines is picturesquely broken by the projection of overbanging 
 turrets, by the corbels of tbe macbicolated arches, and by the embrasures of 
 the battlements. 
 
 A vast amount of civilisation still exists for him who recalls the past in 
 the multitude of ruins which were the witnesses of bloody f eudal divisions ; 
 and vre must add to the System of isolated castles that often commanded 
 
 * Fig. 319. — Tour de Nesle, whicli occupied the site of the Eschange on the banks of the Seine, Paris. 
 (From an Engravîng of the Seventeenth Centnr>'.) 
 
 the most déserted vallej^s, the apparatus of strength and defence of cities 
 and towns — gâtes, ramparts, towers, citadels, &c., immense works which, 
 although inspired solely by the genius of strife and dissension, did not fail 
 nevertheless, in many instances, to combine harmony and variety of détail 
 ■with the gênerai grandeur of the whale. 
 
 We may cite, as examples of architecture purely feudal, the castles of 
 
ARCUFTECTURE. 
 
 401 
 
 Coucy (Fig. 317), Vincennes (Fig. 318), Pierrefonds, the old Louvre, 
 the Bastille, tlie Tour de Nesle (Fig. 319), the Tiilais de Justice, Tlessis- 
 les-Tours, &c. ; and as spécimens of the fortified to^vn in the Middle Ages, 
 Avignon and the city of Carcassonne. Let us add that Aigucs-Mortcs, in 
 rrovence ; Narbonnc, Thaini (Ilaut-Rhin), Yendôrae, Villencuvc-le-lloi, 
 Moulins, jMoret (Fig. 320), Provins (Fig. 321), aftbrd j'et again the most 
 characteristic remains of analogous fortifications. 
 
 While the nobles, jealous and suspicions, sheltcred thcmselves in tlie 
 
 Fig. 320.— Gâte of Moret. (Twelttli Centuiy.) 
 
 shadow of their donjons built with many strategical contrivances and of 
 substantial materials; while the large and small towns were surrounded 
 with deep moats, high walls, impregnable towers, the most primitive sim- 
 pHcity presided over the construction of private dwellings. Stone hardly 
 ever, and brick but seldom, figured among the number of the materials 
 employed. Sawed or squared timbers serving as ribs, mud or clay filling 
 up the interstices, were ail that was at first required for the érection 
 of houses as small as they were comfortiess, and following each other in 
 
 3 F 
 
40 2 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 irregular Unes along the narrow streets. The beams of the corbels, it is true, 
 began to be adorned with carvings and paintings, tbe façades witli panes 
 (glass) of différent colours ; but we must reacb tbe last baK of tbe fifteentb 
 century before we see tbe resources of arcbitecture applied to tbe érection 
 and ornamentation of private bouses. Moreover, faitb was already growing 
 weak ; and no longer was it possible to direct ail tbe resources of an 
 entire province to tbe bonour of tbe Deity by tbe érection of a cburch ; 
 tbe use of gunpowder, by revolutionising tbe art of war, came to 
 lessen, if it did not annibilate, tbe vast strengtb of walls ; tbe decHne of 
 
 Y\z. 321. — Gâte of St. John, with Drawbridge, Provins. (Fourteenth Century.) 
 
 feudaKsm itself bad commenced ; and, lastly, tbe enfrancbisement of cor- 
 porations gave rise to a perfectly new order of individuals wbo took tbeir 
 place in bistory. We must refer to tbis period tbe house of Jacques Cœur, 
 Bourges ; tbe Hôtel de Sens, Paris (Fig. 322) ; tbe Palais de Justice, 
 Rouen ; and tbose town-balls in Tvbicb tbe belfry was tben considered as a 
 sort of palladium, in wbose sbade tbe sacred rigbts of tbe commumty 
 sbeltered tbemselves. It is in our (Frencb) nortbern towns — St. Quentin, 
 Arras, Noyon ; and in tbe ancient cities of Eelgium — Brussels (Fig. 323), 
 Louvain, Ypres, tbat tbese édifices assume tbe most sumptuous cbaracter. 
 In Germany, wbere for a time it reigned almost exclusively, Gotbic art 
 
 II 
 
ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 103 
 
 estiiblisbcd tlie cathedrals of Erfurt, of Cologne, Fribourg, and of Vicnna ; 
 thon it died away in tho growtb of tbe Flamboijaiit style. In England, 
 after having Icft some maguificcnt examplos of pure inspiration, it funnd 
 its décline in tlie atteuuatcd meagreness and tlic coniplicatcd onuimentation 
 of the style called Ferpendkukir oyical. If it pcnctrated also into Spain, it 
 was to contend ■«'itli difficulty against the mighty Moorish school, which had 
 toc many imposing chefs-â œuvre va. the past to surrender without résistance 
 the country of its former triumphs (Fig- 324). In Italy it clashed net 
 only with the Latin and Byzantine schools, but also with a style that, just 
 beginning to form itself, was soon to dispute with it the empire of taste. 
 
 Fig. 322.— Doonvays of the Hôtel de Sens, at Paris ; the last remaining portion of the Hôtel Royal de 
 Saint-Pol, built in the reign of Charles V. (Fourteenth Century.) 
 
 and to dethrone it in that very land which had been its cradle. The 
 cathedrals of Assisi, of Siena, of Milan, are the splendid works in which 
 its influence triumphed over local traditions and over the Renaissanee that 
 was preparing to follow ; yet we must not think that it succeeded even 
 there in renderiag itself absolutely the master, as it had done on the 
 Rhenish or British territories. Sacrifices were made in its favour; but 
 thèse sacrifices did not amount to an entire immolation. 
 
 When we use the word Renaissance, we seem to be speaking of a return 
 to an âge already gone by, of the résurrection of a period that had passed 
 
40+ 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 away. It is not strictly in tHs sensé that the word must be understood 
 in the présent instance. 
 
 laheriting from of old tlie artistic tempérament of Greece, ratlier than 
 
 Fig. 323. — Belfry of Brussels (Fifteenth Centurj-), from an engraring of the Seventeenth Century. 
 
 spontaneously creating of herself any style, Italy, amoDg ail tlie nations of 
 •Europe, was tlie country whicli Lad niost successfully resisted the profound 
 
4o5 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 darkness of barbarism, and the first on wliich tlie light of modem civilisation 
 shone. 
 
 At the period of this new dawn of genius, Italj^ had only to ransack tte 
 ruins its first magnificence had bequeathed it to find among ttem examples 
 it might foUow ; moreover, it was tte time when the active rivalry of its 
 republics caused ail the treasures of ancient Grreece to flow into it. But 
 while it derived inspiration from thèse abundant manifestations of another 
 âge, it never entertained the idea of abandoning itself exclusively to a 
 servile imitation ; it had — and in this consists its chief title to glory — 
 while giving a peculiar direction to the revivais of the antique, the good 
 sensé to remain under the poetic influence of that simple and congenial art 
 which had consoled the world during the whole continuance of that pro- 
 tracted infancy of a civilisation which was at last advancing with rapid 
 strides towards perfect manhood. 
 
 Prom the twelfth century, Pisa gave an impetus to the art by building 
 its Duomo, its Baptistery, its Leaning Tower, and the cloisters of its famous 
 Campo Santo ; so many admirable works forming an era in the history 
 of modem art, and in a briUiant manner opening the career on which so 
 many distinguished men were to enter, rivalHng each other in invention, 
 in science, and in genius. In thèse monuments the union of Oriental 
 taste with the traditions of âges gone by created an originality as grand as 
 it was graceful. " It is," as M. A. Lefèvre points out, " the Antique without 
 its nudity, the Byzantine without its heaviness, the fervour of the "Western 
 Gothic without its ghastliness " {effroi). 
 
 In 1294 the magistrates of Florence passed the following decree, charg- 
 ing the architect, Arnolfo di Cambio, to convert into a cathedral the church, 
 till then of little importance, of Santa Maria de' Fiori : — " Forasmuch," they 
 said, " as it is in the highest degree prudent for a people of illustrions origia 
 to proceed in their affairs in such manner that their public works may 
 cause their grandeur and wisdom to be acknowledged, the order is given to 
 Arnolfo, master-architect of our town, to make plans for repairing the 
 Church of Santa Maria with the greatest and most lavish magnificence, so 
 that the skill and prudence of men may never invent, nor ever be able to 
 undertake, anything more important or more beautiful." 
 
 ArnoKo applied himself to his task, and conceived a plan which the 
 shortness of human life did not allow him to carry out ; but Giotto succeeded 
 
ARCIIITECTURE. 
 
 407 
 
 Fig- 325- — Interior of the Basilica of St. Peter's, Rome. 
 
4o8 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 him, and to Giotto succeeded Orcagna, and to Orcagna, Brunellesclii, who 
 designed and almost conipleted tliat Duomo, of wliicli Michael Angelo said 
 it would be difScult to equal, and impossible to surpass, it. 
 
 Arnolfo, Giotto, Orcagna, Brunelleschi — does it not suffice to cite thèse 
 great names for us to form an idea of tbe movement going on at tins 
 period ? and wbicli was soon to produce Alberti, Bramante, Michael Angelo, 
 Jacques délia Porta, Baldassare Peruzzi, Antonio and Juliano de Sangallo, 
 Giocondo, Vignola, Serlio, and even Raphaël, who, when he liked, was as 
 raighty an architect as he was a marvellous painter. It was in Rome that 
 thèse princes of the art congregated together, as the splendeurs of St. Peter's 
 (Fig. 325), to mention only one of their grand créations, stiH attest ; so, it is 
 from this city that henceforward light and example are to corne. 
 
 In the style which this masterly phalanx created, the Latin rounded 
 arch regained ail its ancient faYour, and united itself to the ancient orders, 
 which became intermingled, or, at any rate, superposed. The ogive was 
 abandoned, but the columns to decorate their capitals, and the entablatures 
 to give more grâce to their projections, borrowed a certain fantastical stjde 
 which yielded in nothing to the ogival ; the Grecian pediment reappeared, 
 changing sometimes the upper lines of its triangle into a depressed semi- 
 circle ; lastly the cupola, that striking object which was the characteristic 
 feature of the Byzantine style, became the dôme, whose ample curve defied, 
 in the daring heights whereto it rose, the wonders of the Perpendicular 
 Gothic. 
 
 The Italian Renaissance was now accomplished, the Gothic âge at an end. 
 Rome and Florence sent in every direction their architects, who, as they 
 travelled far from thèse metropolises of the new style, were once more 
 subjected to certain territorial influences, but who knew how to make the 
 tradition of which they were the apostles triumphant. It was then that 
 France inaugurated in its turn a Renaissance peculiar to herself ; it was then 
 that, under the reign of Charles VIII., after his expédition into Italy, began, 
 with the Château de Gaillon, a long succession of édifices, which in mauy 
 cases yielded neither in richness nor in majesty to the works of the pre- 
 ceding period. Under Louis XII. rose the Château de Blois, and the 
 Hôtel de la Cour des Comptes, Paris, a splendid building destroyed by fii'e 
 in the eighteenth century. Under Francis I., Chambord (Fig. 326), Fon- 
 tainebleau, Madrid (near Paris), magnificent royal " humours," contended lu 
 
ARClIlTF.CrURE. 
 
 409 
 
 élégance and grâce with the cliâtoîiux of Nantouillcf, OlK'iKiiuu'iiux, and 
 
 Fig, 326. — Château de Chambord, with its Ancient Moat. (Seventeenth Centurj-.) 
 
 Azai-le-Eideau ; and witli thé manor-house of Ango, near Dieppe, ail sump- 
 
 3 G 
 
410 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 tuous, lordly mansions ; the old Louvre, the palace of kings, the cradle of 
 monarcliy, was regenerated under the care of Peter Lescot ; the Hôtel de 
 ViUe, Paris, still bears witness to the varied talent of Dominique Cortona, 
 who, as M. Vaudoyer said of him, " justly understood that, in building for 
 France, he should act in a perfectly différent manner to that in which he 
 would hâve acted in Italy." Under Henry 'II. and Charles IX. this activity 
 continued, and the architects who sought their inspirations in Grecian and 
 Roman antiquity, as much as in the souvenirs of the Italian Penaissance, 
 delighted in loading ail the élégant and graceful buildings with ornaments, 
 •with bas-reliefs, and with statues, which they seemed to carve in the 
 stone, as delicately wrovight as a pièce of goldsmith's work. Philibert 
 
 Fig. 327. — Porte de Hal, Erussels. (Fourteenth Centur}'-) 
 
 Delorme built for Diana of Poitiers the Château d'Anet, that architectural 
 jewel whose portico, transported pièce by pièce at the time of the revo- 
 lutionary disorders, now décorâtes the court of the Ecole des Beaux- Arts ; 
 Jean BuUant built Ecouen for the Constable Anne de Montmorency ; and 
 the architect d'Anet undertook, by order of Catherine de Medicis, the 
 construction of the Palace of the Tuileries, which, by a sort of exigency 
 resulting from its particular destination, seemed typically to characterise 
 the stj'le of the French Penaissance. 
 
 We must not burden with détails this summary of one of the most 
 important branches of art. The history of architecture is among those vast 
 
ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 4" 
 
 domnins which demand eitlier a short epitome or a thoroughly dccp investi- 
 gation. The cpitomo bcing alone consistent ■fA'Ca. thc phm of our work, we 
 miist confine ourselves to its limits ; but we may, perhaps, be allowed to 
 think that thc fow rapid pages thus dcvotcd to the subject havo inspircd the 
 readcr with the désire of penetrating farther into a study which is capable 
 of offering him so many agreeable surprises, so many rational delights. 
 
l 
 
PAPiCHMENT AND PAPER. 
 
 Parchment in Ancient Times.— Papyrus.— Préparation of P.irchment and Velhim in tho Sriddlo 
 Ages.— Sais of Parchment at the Pair of Lendit.— Privilège of tlie Universily of Paris on 
 the Sale and Purcliase of Parchment. — Différent Applications of Parchment. — Cotton Paper 
 imported from China. — Order of the Emperor Frederick II. conceming Paper.- The 
 Employment of Liuen Paper dating from the Twelfth Century. — Ancient Water-llarka on 
 Paper.— Paper Manufactoiies in France and other parts of Europe. 
 
 .,„,£r(S^^^^^^ LTHOTJGH mo.st autliors who speak of parch- 
 ment attribute the invention of it, on the testi- 
 mony of Pliny, to Eumenius, king of Pergamus 
 (doubtlessly from the etymology of the word by 
 Tvhich it was designated, viz., Pergamena), it seems 
 to be proved, according to Peignot, that the use 
 of it is much more ancient, and that its origin 
 is utterly lost. Certainly, in many passages of 
 the Old Testament we find a Hebrew Word, in 
 Latin rolumen, which can only be understood to mean a roll 
 formed of prepared skia or of the leaves of papyrus, and it is 
 consequently évident that the Je^s, from the time of Moses, 
 wrote the tables of the Law on roUs of parchment. 
 Herodotus says that the lonians called books diplitheva {ct(p6épa, a pre- 
 pared hide), because, at a time when the biblos (fitpXoç, the inner bark of the 
 papyrus) was scarco, they wrote on skins of goats or of sheep. Diodorus 
 Siculus affirms that the ancient Persians wrote their annals on skins, and 
 we must suppose that Pliny's assertion refers only to some improvements 
 the King of Pergamus had made in the art of preparing a material that 
 could supply the place of papyrus, which Ptolemy Epiphanius would no 
 longer allow to leave Egypt. The absolute deficiency of papyrus raised 
 into activity the fabrication of parchment, and soon so large a quantity was 
 seen to flow into Pergamus that this town was considered as the cradle of 
 the new trade, already so flourishing. There were then books of two kinds. 
 
414- PARCHMENT AND PAPER. 
 
 the one in roUs composed of many leaves se'n^ed together, on one side of 
 which only was there writing ; the otliers, square-shaped, were written upon 
 both. sides. The gTammarian Crates, ambassador of Eumenius at Rome, 
 passed as tbe inventor of vellum. 
 
 Ordinary parcbment is the skin of a goat, sheep, or lamb, prepared in 
 lime, dressed, scraped, and rendered smooth by pumice-stone. Its principal 
 qiialities are whiteness, thinness, and stiâhess ; but the work of the currier 
 must hâve been formerly very imperfect, for Hildebert, Archbishop of 
 Tours in the eleventh century, tells us that the writer, before beginning 
 bis occupation, " was in the habit of clearing away from the parchment, 
 with the aid of a razor, the remains of fat and other gross impurities, and 
 then ■with pumice-stone to make the hair and tendons disappear:" this 
 almost amounts to affirming that the scribes bought the hide undressed, and, 
 by an elaborate préparation, made them fît for proper use. Virgin parch- 
 ment, which in its grain and colour resembles vellum, was niade of the 
 skins of those lambs and goats which had been clipped. Yellum, more 
 polished, whiter, more transparent, is made, as its name indicates, of the 
 hide of the calf.* 
 
 It is probable that with the Komans, papyrus, considering the faciHty 
 they had of procuring it for themselves, was more frequently used than 
 parchment, which, at first, was rare and costly. But parchment, more 
 durable and of greater résistance than papyrus, was reserved for the tran- 
 scription of the most important works. Cicero, who had many books on 
 parchment in bis magnificent Kbrary, said that he had seen the " Iliad " 
 copied on a scroll of pergcmiena which went into a niit-shell. Many of 
 Martial's epigrams prove to us that in the time of this poet books 
 of such kind were still more numerous. TJnfortunately, there remaias to 
 us no writing on parchment dating from this distant period. The Virgil in 
 the Vatican, and the Terence at Florence, are of the fourth and fifth century 
 of our era. Admitting that time destroys ail, and also that the work of the 
 rude tribes on many occasions assisted this natural cause of destruction, we 
 must not forget that at certain periods, to supply the place of new parch- 
 ment when it was scarce, a plan had been devised of making the 
 parchment roUs which had already been used for manuscripts serve again 
 
 * The -Word is deiived from rellus, which merely signifies the skin of any heast, not of a calf 
 only. — [Ed.] 
 
PARCHMENT AND PAPER. 
 
 41S 
 
 'S- 328. Miniature of the Ninth Centur}', representing- an Evangelist who is transcribing with the Calaniiis. 
 on Parchment, the Sacred Text, of which he is receiving the révélation. 
 (Bibl. de Bourgogne, Brusseïs.) 
 
4i6 
 
 PARCHMENT AND PAPER. 
 
 for a similar purpose, either by scraping and rubbing them -witli pumice- 
 stone, or by boiling them in water or soaking in lime. There is no doubt 
 but the scarceness and the dearness of parchment was the cause of the loss 
 of very many excellent works. Muratori cites, for example, a manuscript of 
 the Ambrosian Library, of which the writing, dating from eight or nine 
 centuries back, had been substituted for another of more than a thousand 
 years old; and Maffei informs us that the employment of ancient parch- 
 ment scraped and washed became se gênerai, in the fourteenth and fifteenth 
 
 Fig. 329. — View of the Ancient Abbey of St. Denis and its Dcpendenu 
 
 centiiries, throughout Grermany, that the Emperors put a stop to this 
 dangerous abuse by issuing an order to the notariés to use nothing but 
 parchment " quite new." 
 
 Grenerally, the quality of parchment serves to détermine the date of 
 its manufacture. The vellum of manuscripts till the middle of the 
 eleventh century is very white and thin ; the parchment of the twelfth 
 century is thick, rough, and brownish, which often shovrs it has been 
 scraped or washed. The greater number of fine manuscripts are on 
 
PARC/IMKNT AXD PAPr.R. 
 
 ^'7 
 
 virgin parchmcnt, wliicli from its nature was suîtcd to thc delicacios of 
 ciilligi'apliy and illumination. ]\rorcovcr, \ve sco froiu a statute of tho 
 University of Paris, da(ed l'J!)!, (luit thc parchnicnl trade had attained 
 at that period to considérable developnient ; so, as a protection against tho 
 frands and déceptions wliicli might resuit from tbc great cojnijctition of 
 traders in it, and to insure a good article being furnished to students 
 and artists, a sj)ecial ^''ivilpge was granted to tbe university, wbich, in 
 
 Fig. 330.— Seal of the Universitj- of Paris (Fourteenth Centur}'), after one of the Dies preserced in the 
 Collection of Medals in the Impérial Librar^-, Paris. 
 
 the person of its rector, had not only the right of inspection, but also 
 the refusai of ail parcbment bought in Paris, no niatter whence it had 
 corne. Besides which, at the fair of Lendit, -which Avas held every 
 year at Saint-Denis, on the domains of the abbey (Fig. 329), and at the 
 fair of Saint-Lazare, the rector Kkewise caused the parchment brought 
 to them to be esamined, and the merchants of Paris could not purchase 
 any tiU the king's agents, those of the Bishop of Paris, and the masters 
 and scholars of the university, had provided themselves with what they 
 required (Fig. 330). Let us add that the rector was paid a duty on ail 
 
 3 H 
 
41 8 PARCHMENT AND PAPER. 
 
 parchment sold, and the resuit of this tax was the only source of income 
 attaclied to tlie rectorship in the seventeeutli century. 
 
 Although white parchment seems to be the best suited for writing, tbe 
 Middle Ages, following the example of antiquity, gave to the material 
 varions tints, especially purple and yellow. The purple was chiefly intended 
 to receive characters of gold or silver. The Emperor Maximinius, the 
 younger, inherited from his niother the works of Homer inscribed in gold 
 on purple vellura ; and parchment tinted in this vpay was, during the first 
 centuries, one of the prérogatives reserved for princes and the great 
 dignitaries of the Church. It is remarkable that the barbarism of the 
 seventh and eighth centuries did not diminish the faveur in which thèse 
 luxurious manuscripts were held. Little by little, however, the custom 
 (of writing the en tire work in gold or colours) dwindled away. Scribes 
 began by colouring a few pages only in each volume, then some margins 
 or frontispieces ; and lastly this décoration was restricted to the heads of 
 chapters, or to words to which great prominence was to be given, or to 
 capital letters. The ruhricatores (Uterally, writers in red), workmen who 
 performed this opération, came in time to be mère painters of letters or 
 rubrics (so called because they were originally painted red), of whose 
 assistance, however, the first printers availed themselves to ruhric or colour 
 the initiais of missals. Bibles, and law books. 
 
 The dimensions or sizes of our books at the présent day hâve their origin 
 in the sizes of the parchment in olden times. The en tire skin of the animal, 
 eut square and folded in two, represented the " in-folio," which, moreover, 
 varied in length and breadth ; and we bave every reason to suppose that 
 paper, from the day it was invented, followed the ordinary sizes of the 
 folded parchment. 
 
 As to the dimensions of the parchment employed for diplomas, they 
 varied according to the time, the brevity of the matter, or the nature of its 
 employment. Among the ancients, who wrote only on one side of the 
 parchment, the skins were eut in bands joined together so as to form volumes 
 or roUs, which were unroUed as their contents were read. This custom was 
 preserved for public and judicial acts for a long time after the invention of 
 the square book [codex) had caused the opisthographie writing to be adopted, 
 bj' which is to be understood writing on both sides of the page. lu 
 principle, only the final formulas, or the signatures, were written on the back 
 
PARCHMENT AND PAPKR. 
 
 419 
 
 of the document. By dcgrccs pcoplo adopted tlio pnictîce of writmp on 
 the back as wcU as tlic front of tlie page ; but it was not till tho sixtoenth 
 ceiitury that tliis custoiu bccanic gênerai. 
 
 Jiulicial acts, composed sometimes of many skins sewcd togethcr, came 
 in tinie to form roUs of tweuty feet in leugtli ; to such extrême pro- 
 portions did Ihoy reach, though at first tbey were so small in size that 
 their limited dimensions are truly incredible ; for in 1233 and 1252 we find 
 contracts of sales of two inches long by fîve inclies wide, and in 1258 a 
 
 Fis- 33i--Seal of the King of La Basoche. (This title was suppressed, with ail its prérogatives, by Henn- Kl.' 
 
 will written on a pièce of parcbment of two inches by three and a half. 
 It was by way of compensating for the great cost of parchment that opistbo- 
 graphic writing was adopted and rolls were put aside ; and the name alone 
 remains as applied to the rolls of procédure. The size that leaves should 
 assume was also fixed, according to the différent uses for which they were 
 intended. For instance, the leaves of parliamentary documents were nine 
 inches and a half long by seven and a half wide ; those of the council, 
 ten by eight ; those of finance and of private contracts, twelve and a half 
 
420 
 
 PARCHMENT AND PAPER. 
 
 by nine and a half ; letters of pardon, under tlie king's hand, were to be 
 on entire skins squared, two feet two incbes by one foot eigbt incbes in 
 diameter. 
 
 But wbile tbe use of parcbment was still strictly employed in tbe 
 chancellor's offices and tbe tribunals, wbere tbe basoche (a brotberbood of 
 lawyers of ail grades) considered it as one of tbeir most lucrative privilèges 
 (Fig. 331), it bad for a long wbile ceased to be used anywbere else. Paper, 
 after baving during many centuries competed witb parcbment, at last 
 almost entirely replaced it (Fig. 332) ; for if less durable, it bad tbe great 
 
 Fig. 332.— The Papei -Maker, drawn and engraved in the Sixteenth Century by J. Amman. 
 
 advantage of costing mucb less. Formerly notbing but tbe ancient pap3nnis 
 of Egypt was known, and it was made use of concurrently witb parcbment 
 till tbere was brougbt into Europe, towards tbe tentb century, cotton paper, 
 wbicb is generaUy believed to be a Cbinese invention, and wbicb was at first 
 called Grecian parchment, because tbe Veuetians, wbo introduced it iato tbe 
 West, bad found it in use in Greece. 
 
 Actually, tbis paper was at first of a very inferior quaUty, coarse, 
 spongy, dull, and subject to tbe attacks of damp and worms ; so mucb so 
 tbat tbe Emperor Frederick II. issued, in 1221, an order declaring null and 
 
PARCHMENT AND PAPER. 
 
 4ÏI 
 
 void ail documents written on it, and fixing the term at two yeara by wliicli 
 ail were to be transcribed on parcbmcnt. 
 
 Tho lise and the knowledgc of tlio process of manufacturing papcr 
 froni cotton soon led to the fabrication of pupcr froin lincn or ragH. It 
 is, however, impossible to say when and wherc it was accomplished — tho 
 
 ^Kw^ 
 
 Fig. 333.— "Water-Marts on Paper, from the Fourteenth to the Fifteenth Centun'. 
 
 assertions and the testimonies on this point are so contradictory. Some 
 think that the paper was brought from the East by the Spanish Saracens ; 
 others say it came from China ; thèse affii-m it bas been employed since 
 the tenth century; those, that we can only find spécimens of it as far 
 back as the reign of St. Louis. 
 
422 
 
 PARCHMENT AND PAPER. 
 
 At any rate, thé most ancient writing on paper made of rags known at 
 tte présent day is a letter from Joinville to Louis X., dated 1315 ; we 
 may, moreover, mention witli certainty, as written on linen paper, an 
 inventory of goods belonging to a certain Prior Henry, wlio died in 1340, 
 ■wticli is preserved at Canterbury, and many authentic writings, datiug back 
 as far as 1335, preserved in tbe British Muséum, London. The first 
 paper-manufactory establisbed in England was, it is said, at Hertford, 
 whicb dates only from 1588 ; but important paper-manufactories existed 
 in France from tbe reign of Philippe de Valois, that is, from the middle 
 of the fourteenth century ; particularly at Essonne and at Troyes. The 
 paper which came from thèse manufactories bore generally, in the paper 
 itself, différent marks (Fig. 333) called water-marks, such as a bull's head, 
 a cross, a serpent, a star, a crown, &c., according to the quality or desti- 
 nation of the paper. Many other countrles in Europe had also flourishing 
 paper-manufactories in the fourteenth centiiry. From this period we find, 
 indeed, a large number of documents written on paper made of rags, the 
 use of which thus preceded by about a century the invention of printing. 
 
 Fig. 334. — Banner of tlie Paper-Makers of Paris, 
 
MANUSCEIPTS. 
 
 Manuscripta in Olden Times. — Their Form. — llaterials of which they were composcd. — Thoir 
 Dostiuction by the Goths. — Rare at the Beginning of the Middle Ages. — The Cutholio 
 Church preservfîd and multiplied them. — Copyists. — Transcription of Diplomaa. — Corpora- 
 tion of Scribea and Bootsollers. — Palœography. — Greek Writing-s.— TJncial and Cursivo 
 Manuscripta. — Sclavonic Writings. — Latin Writers. — Tironian Shorthand. — Lombardic 
 Characters. — Diplomatie. — Capetian. — Ludovicinian. — Gothic. — Eunic. — Viaigothic. — Anglo- 
 Saxon. — Irish. 
 
 ET the reader refer to the chapters on 
 Pakchment and Bixuing, and he will 
 find a few remarks on the purely material 
 part of manuscripts ; we may, then, hère 
 treat this question very sununarily ; and 
 for that purpose we shall avail ourselves 
 of the remarkable work of J. J. Cham- 
 pollion-Figeac. 
 
 TThen writing was once invented, and 
 
 had passed into gênerai use in civilised 
 
 Society, the choice of substances suited 
 
 for its réception, and to fix it in a durable manner, was very diversified, 
 
 although depending on the nature of the text to be written. 
 
 People wrote on atone, on metals, on the bark and leaves of many 
 kinds of trees, on dried or baked clay, on wood, on ivory, wax, linen, the 
 hides of quadrupeds, on parchment, the best of thèse préparations ; on 
 papyrus, which is the inner bark of a reed growing in the iS'ile ; then on 
 paper made of cotton ; and lastly, on paper made from henip and flax, called 
 rag paper. The Eoman world had adopted the use of papyrus, which was 
 a very important branch of commerce at Alexandria. We find proof of 
 this in the writers of antiquity : St. Jérôme bears witness to it as far as 
 regards the fifth century of our era. The Latin and Greek emperors 
 gave their diplonias on papyrus. Popes traced their most ancient bulls 
 
42+ MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 upon it. The charters of the kings of France of the first race were also 
 issued on papyrus. From the eightli century parchment coBtended with 
 papyrus ; a little later cotton paper also became its competitor, and the 
 eleventh century is generally fixed on as the period when papyrus was 
 entirely superseded by the new materials appropriated to the préservation 
 of writing. 
 
 For writing on papyrus the brush or reed was employed, with inks of 
 différent colours ; black ink was, however, most generally used. There 
 grew on the banks of the Nile, at the time when the reed furnished 
 papyrus, another sort of reed, stiffer and also more flexible, and admirably 
 suited for the manufacture of the calamus, an instrument supplying the 
 place of the pen, which was not adopted before the eighth centurj'. 
 
 The size of manuscripts was in no way subject to fixed rules, there 
 were volumes of ail dimensions ; the most ancient on parchment are, in 
 gênerai, longer than they are broad, or else are square ; the writing rests on 
 a Une traced with the dry point of the calamus, and afterwards with black- 
 lead ; the parts making up a volume are composed of an indeterminate 
 number of leaves ; a word or a figure, placed at the bottom of the last 
 page of each part and at the end of the volume, serves as a catcJumrd from 
 one fasciculus to another. 
 
 The emperors of Constantinople used to sign in red ink the acts of 
 their sovereignty ; their first secretary was the guardian of the vase con- 
 taining the cinnabar (vermillon), which the emperor alone might use. 
 Some diplomas of the kings of France of the second race are signed 
 in the same mauner. In valuable manuscripts, great use was made of 
 golden ink, especially when the parchment was dj^ed purple ; but red ink 
 was almost always employed for capital letters or for the titles of books, 
 and for a long time after the invention of printing the vohimes still had 
 the ruhrics {riiher, red) painted or beautifully executed with the pen. 
 
 The greater number of rich manuscripts, even when they contained 
 the text o£ some ancient secular author, were destined to be presented to 
 the treasuries of churches and abbeys, and thèse offerings were not made 
 without great display : the book, whatever its contents might be, was 
 placed on the altar, and a solemn mass was celebrated on the occasion ; 
 moreover, an inscription at the end of the work mentioned the bornage 
 which had been paid for it to God and to the saints in paradise. 
 
MANUSCK/PrS. 425 
 
 We must not forget that in this time of almost nniversal ipiioniiico, 
 the Church was the only depository of literaturc and science ; slie Rought 
 aftor tliosc lieatlien authors wlio could instruct Iht in clcKnicnce tliat nii^ht 
 be emi)loyed in advancing the faith, almost as much as slio souglif for sacred 
 bocks ; it was not rare evcn to see Christian zeal exalting itsclf so far as 
 to lind prophets of the Messiah in writers very anterior to the doctrines 
 of Christ. Thus the best Greek and Latin manuscripts of profane authors 
 are the work of monks, as were the Bibles and the writings of tho Fathers 
 of the Church. The rules of the most ancient brotherhoods recommended 
 the monks who could write and who \nished to please God to re-copy the 
 manuscripts, and those who were illiterate to learn to hind them. "The 
 work of the copyist," said the learned Alcuin to his coutemporaries, " is 
 a meritorious work, which is profitable to the soûl, while the work of the 
 ploughman is profitable only to the belly." 
 
 At ail periods of history we find mention made of certain celebrated 
 manuscripts. We will not go so far back as the Greek traditions relating 
 to the Works of Homer, of which some copies were ornamented with a 
 richness that has, probably, never been surpassed. In the fifth century 
 St. Jérôme possessed twenty-five parts of the works of Origen, which 
 Pamphilus the Martyr had copied with his own hand. St. Ambrose, 
 St. Fulgentius, Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims, men as learned as they 
 were pious, applied themselves to reproducing with their own hands the 
 best ancient texts. A copyist by profession was called scriha, seriptor ; 
 the place in which they generally worked was called scriptorium. The 
 capitularies against bad copyists were frequently renewed. " We ordain 
 that no scribe write incorrectly," we find in the collection of Baluze. "We 
 read in the same collection, in 789, " There shall be good Catholic texts 
 in ail monasteries, so that prayers shall not be made to God in faulty 
 language." In 805, "If the Gospels, the Psalter, or the Missal are to 
 he copied, only careful middle-aged men are to be employed ; Terbal errors 
 may otherwise be introduced into the faith." There were," moreover, 
 correcfors who rectified the work of the copyists, and attested the work, 
 on the volumes, by the words contuU, emendavi (" I hâve coUated, I hâve 
 revised "). A copy of Origen's works has been mentioned, corrected by the 
 hand of Charlemagne himself, to whom is also attributed the introduction 
 of fuU stops and commas. 
 
 3 I 
 
42 6 MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 The same care presided over thé préparation of royal charters and 
 diplomas ; the referendaries or chancellors drew them up and superintended 
 their despatch ; the principal officers of the crown intervened, as guarantors 
 or witnesses to them, and thèse acts were read publicly before they were 
 signed and sealed. Notariés and witnesses guaranteed the authenticity of 
 private charters. 
 
 As long as printing did not exist in France, the corporation of scribes, 
 copj'ists of charters, and copyists of nianuscripts, which counted among 
 them booksellers, was very numerous and yery influential, since it vas 
 composed of graduâtes of the university that patronised them and placed 
 them among the number of its indispensable agents. He who desired to 
 become a bookseller had to give proof of his instruction and of his ability ; 
 he was obliged to take an oath "not to commit any déception, fraud, or evil 
 thing which might damage or préjudice the university, its scholars and 
 frequenters, nor to rob nor speak ill of them." Besides which he was 
 compelled to deposit a sum of flfty francs (livres jMrisis) as caution-money. 
 
 The rules imposed on scribes and on booksellers were always very strict, 
 and this severity was only too justly occasioned by the abuses that existed, 
 and by the scandalous disorder of the people who exercised thèse professions 
 In the year 1324 the university published this order : — " There will be 
 admitted only people of good conduct and morals, sufficiently acquainted 
 with the book trade, and previously approved by the university. The book- 
 seller may not take a clerk into his service till that clerk bas sworn, before 
 the university, to exercise his profession according to the ordinances. The 
 bookseller must give to the university a list of the works which he sells ; 
 he must not refuse to let a manuscript to whomsoever may wish to make a 
 copy of it, on payment of the indemnity fixed bj^ the university. He is 
 forbidden to let out books that hâve not been corrected, and those students 
 who find an incorrect copy are requested to denounce it publicly to the 
 rector, so that the bookseller who has let it out may be punished, and that 
 the cop)^ may be corrected by scholares (learned men or scholars). There 
 shall be every year four commissioners chosen to fix the priée of books. 
 One bookseller shall not sell a work to another bookseller before he has 
 exposed the work for sale during four days. In any case the seller is 
 obliged to register the name of the purchaser, to describe him, and to state 
 the price for which the book was sold." 
 
MANUSCRIPTS. 417 
 
 From century to century this législation underwent variations, according 
 to tbe ideas of the times : and when tho printing-prcss camo, in tho middlo 
 of the fifteenth century, to change the face of tho world, tho corporation of 
 scribes rose at first against tho new art whicli was to ruin thcm. " But at 
 last," says Champollion-Figeac, "they submitted, and tcmporary nicasures 
 were rccommended to the public authorities for the defence of au ancient 
 order of things which could not long resist the new." 
 
 Now let us go back to the first centuries of the Middle Ages, to résume 
 the question from a palœographic point of view. 
 
 The languages and literature of modem Europe are ail Grcek or Latin' 
 Sclavonic or Gothic ; thèse four great familles of jjeoples and of languages 
 bave cxisted in spite of the vicissitudes of politics. Such is the basis 
 whereon must be fbund ail the researches by which we are to establish the 
 origin and nature of the writing peculiar to each literature. 
 
 The Greeks of Constantinople taught writing to the Sclavonic race, and 
 with it the Christian faith. The most ancient Greek writing (we speak of 
 the Christian era only) was the capital writing, regular and well-propor- 
 tioned ; as it became gênerai it was simplified more and more. Af ter this 
 sort of writing, examples of which are found only on stone or bronze, we 
 corne to the writing called, although we do not know whj', uncial* which 
 was the first step towards the Greek ctirsive (flowing). 
 
 Uncial writing was employed, in Greek manuscripts, up to the ninth 
 century ; we may observe the transition from the uncial to the half-uncial, 
 and from the half-uncial to the minuscule.^ In the tenth century manuscripts 
 in minuscule became very abundant — the tachygraphers (rax^ï, quick, and 
 ypâ<j)0), I Write), or the partisans of qmck writing, gained the day ; the 
 caligraphers (mÀôç, beautiful, and ypâc^io I write) desired to follow their 
 example. Thèse employed a great deal of time in painting the initiais of 
 running letters : the new method, which produced more in the same space 
 of time, easily got into favour ; the caligraphers abandoned the uncial and 
 adopted the minuscule characters connected together, which combined good 
 
 * The Word is derived from the Latin imeialis, and is appUed to letters of a round or hook- 
 shaped form : such were used by the ancients as numerals, or for words in ahhreviated inscrip- 
 tions. — [Ed.] 
 
 t Mi,nisa(le.—l.ess or Httle. The term is evidently hère intended to distinguish smaU letters 
 from capitals.— [En.] 
 
42<S MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 forms with greater facility of exécution. Thenceforward, tlie uncial was no 
 longer emploj'ed except for tlie titles or headings of books. 
 
 Among the fine spécimens of tliis epoch which hâve been preserved, 
 we may mention, in the Impérial Library of Paris, a Book of the Gospels, 
 called Cardinal Mazarin's, and the Commentaries of Gregory Nazianzus ; at 
 the Laurentinean Library, Florence, are a Plutarch and a Book of the 
 Gospels, written with gold in kin large and massive minuscule cursive 
 characters ; and lastly, a book of ecclesiastical ofiices, belonging also to the 
 Impérial Library in Paris, and which bears this super scription in Greek : — 
 " Praj' for Euthymus, a poor monk, priest of the monastery of St. Lazare. 
 This volume was finished in the month of May, Convocation S, in the year 
 6515," a date which, according to the computation of the Greek Church, 
 corresponds to the month of May of the year 1007 of the Christian era. 
 
 To the twelfth century is assigned the beautiful Greek manuscript which 
 was afterwards given to Louis XIY. by Chrysanthes Noras, Patriarch of 
 Jérusalem ; to the thirteenth century belongs another manuscript, in very 
 unall cursive letters, ornamented with portraits, presented by the Emperor 
 Palseologos to St. Louis. It was only in the fourteenth century that 
 manuscripts half Latin and half Greek, appeared. Lastly came Ange 
 Yégèce, of Corfu, who, towards the middle of the fifteenth century, made 
 for himself, as a Greek caligrapher,, such a réputation that he gave, it is 
 said, rise to the proverb, " Ecrire comme un ange." 
 
 The Greek alphabet, when it penetrated into the countries of the 
 north with the Christian religion and civilisation, underwent important 
 modifications. On the right bauk of the Danube, in aneient Mœsia, 
 Ulphilas, the descendant of a Cappadocian family formerly taken prisoner 
 by the Goths, invented, in the fourth century, the alphabet bearing, ou 
 that accoxmt, the name of Mœso-Gof/iir, and which is of Greek origin, with 
 a mixture of Latin characters and other peculiar signs. This writmg is 
 heavy, without being élégant ; difiering, as if by au instinct of nationality, 
 from the types which it imitâtes. The Mœso-Gothic manuscripts are, 
 however, very rare ; only two or three being known. 
 
 The Sclavonic writing, which is also a daughter of Greece, has a history 
 nearly similar to that of the Mœso-Gothic. When the people of this 
 family were converted to Christianity, they were brought over to it by 
 Greek -Christians^ and the Patriarch Cyril, in the ninth century, becamo 
 
MANUSCRIPTS. 429 
 
 tlieir teuchor ; lie tiiuglit. tliom Imw lo write (wliiili llioynovor know till 
 thon), and it was thc Greck iilpliabet tbey adopled, addiiij^ to it, howovor, 
 a few new signs, so that tboy raiglit be able to express the sounds pcculiar 
 to tbcir language. Sclavonic manuscripts are positlvcly numcrous in public 
 libraries. Wc fîud tbeni in Paris, Bologna, and llomc, but above ail in 
 Germuiiy, aud in tbe comitry under tbe dominion ot' thc Muscovite. One 
 of tbe most celebrated is tbat bclouging to tbe town ot' Rlieims, and wbich 
 is kuowu b}' tbe name of " Texte du Sacre," because a tradition (an 
 erroneous one, bdwever) asserts tbat tbe kings of Franco, at tbe time of 
 their coronation at Rbeims, took tbe oaths on tbis book, wbich was said 
 to be written by tbe band of St. Procopius. Tbe Sclavonic manuscripts 
 in gênerai recomniend tbemselves less by tbe élégance of tbeir exécution 
 thau by tbe ricbness of tbeir bindings. 
 
 Tbe actual Pussiau alpbabet is but an abridgment of tbe alphabet 
 caUed the CyrUian, reduced to forty-two signs by the Emperor Peter I. ; 
 so that the Sclavonic nations knew two CyriUan alphabets, tbe ancient 
 Sclavonic for tbe liturgical writings, and tbe modem Sclavonic, or Pussian, 
 in gênerai use. Of the first no manuscripts exist earlier than the eleventh 
 century of our era. 
 
 Tbe manuscripts of the Latins are, witbout doubt, more numerous and 
 more varied, because the Latin Church is more exteusive, and because 
 Roman civilisation spread itself over a larger number of European provinces. 
 At the head of the manuscripts of the Latin writing is placed a fragment 
 of papyrus, found in Egypt, on wbich is inscribed an impérial edict 
 for the annidment of a sale of property, agreed upon in conséquence of 
 some violence committed by a certain, man named Isidore ; the date of this 
 document bas been âxed as the third century. For the fourth century 
 we hâve the " Virgil," with miniatures, which we mention elsewhere 
 (Miniatures of Manuscripts), and a " Terence," both belonging to the 
 Vatican Library, and both written in capital letters ; in the latter, however, 
 they are irregular, and called, on that account, rustic capitals. 
 
 To the same period we must refer the " Treatise on the Republic," by 
 Cicero, which bas but lately been foimd in a volume from wbich the 
 previous writing bad been effaced, as was often the case (see Parchment 
 AND Paper), in order to make room for the new writing. For the fifth 
 century we bave a second " Virgil," with miniatures, which passed from 
 
430 MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 tlie library of the Abbey of St. Denis into tbat of tbe Vatican. Tte 
 " Prudence," wbich. the Impérial Library of Paris still possesses, is a very 
 fine manuscript of tbe sixtb century, written in rustic capitals, quaint but 
 élégant. 
 
 Two other kinds of writing were, at the same period, in use among 
 the Latins ; this same rustic capital, ceasing to be rectangular, and rounded 
 in its principal strokes, became the uncial ; and for that very reason beiug 
 much more expéditions, was reserved especially for the copjàng of works ; 
 while the cursive, although sometimes employed for manuscripts, was used 
 chiefly in letter-writing. Of the first of thèse two writings, the uncial, 
 we hâve two fine spécimens of the sixth century in the " Sermons " of 
 St. Augustine, on papyrus (Fig. 336), and in a Psalter of St. Germain- 
 des-Prés, written in letters of silver on purple vellum, both of which now 
 belong to the Impérial Library, Paris. 
 
 In the same century, we find a kiad of writing called half-uneial, which 
 became more and more expeditious by the change made in certain of its 
 forms. There was then also a Gallican uncial, the form of which we can 
 see in the manuscript said to be by St. Prosper (Impérial Library, Paris) ; 
 and an uncial of Italj', among which figure the Bible of Mont-Amiati, at 
 Florence ; the paKmpsest* Homilies of the Vatican, and the admirable Book 
 of the Gospels at Notre-Dame, Paris (Fig. 337). 
 
 The most ancient stj^le of cursive writing, employed in charts and 
 diplomas, is to be seen in the deeds known by the name of charters of 
 Ravenna, from the name of the town in which they were first discovered. 
 We may consider as analogous to thèse the writing of the Acts of our early 
 kings, very difficult to read on account of the exaggerated manner in which 
 the thin strokes join the letters together, and by the indefinite forms of the 
 up and down strokes. We give a fragment (Fig. 338) taken from an 
 original chart, on parchment, of Childebert III. We see what the same 
 writing had become in 784 by Fig. 339, copied from an original capitulary 
 of Charlemagne. 
 
 To the same period belongs the employment, in ordinary use among 
 chanceliers and notariés, of a writing completely tachygraphic ; it is com- 
 posed of ciphers, one of which took the place of a syllable or a word. This 
 writing was called Tironian, because the invention of it is attributed to 
 
 * Falimpsest — a kind of parchment from which an}-thing written could easily be erased. — [Ed.] 
 
MANUSCRTPTS. 43, 
 
 Tiro, Cicero's freed-man, who made use of it in tacliygrapliing, or, as we 
 should now say, stenograpliing (sliort-band), the siicechos of tho illustrious 
 orator. Fig. ;î40 is taken from u iDsaltcr of tlio ciglidi centiiry, of wliioli 
 the lext is traiiscribed with the tuchygrajjliic cluiractcr.s of thut pL-riod. 
 
 The namo of Yixigothic is g-iven to the -writing of maiiuscripts cxecuted 
 iu the south of France and in Sjjain during the rulc of tlie Goths and tho 
 Visigoths ; this writing, still rather Roman, is generallj' round and enibel- 
 lished with fauciful strokes, which render it agreeable to the eye. 
 
 We also find in Italy the Lomhardic, in use for diplomas till the twelfth 
 century. 
 
 The heautifiû mauuscripts on purple vellum are of the time of Charle- 
 magne, when luxurj^ in the arts showed itself iu ail forms. There is in 
 the Impérial Library, Paris, a magnificent volume, which came from the 
 ancient domain of Soubise, that contains the Epistles and Gospels for ail the 
 festivals of the year : the exécution of this work is perfect ; the gigantic 
 capital letters, of Anglo-Saxon form, are coloured, and rendered still richer 
 by being dotted with gold. 
 
 A valuable manuscript of the " Tractus Temporum " of the Yenerable 
 Bede, a manuscript posterior by more than two hundred years to the author, 
 who lived in the beginning of the eighth centurj', affords a spécimen of one 
 of the varieties of minuscule writings, which in France was called the 
 Lomhardic tcriting of books, because it was in use during the reign of the 
 Lombard kings beyond the Alps ; it is more difEcult to read than the 
 Roman, though similar in form, because the words are not separated. A 
 beautiful manuscript of "Horace" (Impérial Library, Paris), which présents 
 a mixture of the différent kinds of Roman writing of the period, is 
 attributed to the same century. "We bave in Fig. 341 an élégant orna- 
 mental capital, taken from a manuscript, " Commentaries of St. Jérôme," 
 also in the Impérial Librarj'. We find spécimens of writing of Anglo- 
 Saxon origin, capital letters, and running text, in many books of the Gospel. 
 The diplomatie writing of the tenth century is hère represented by a 
 charter of the king, Hugh Capet, from which we borrow Fig. 3-42 ; it 
 must bave been issued between 988 and 996. In this fragment, the first 
 Hne only is composed of characters very elongated, close togetber, mixed 
 with some capital letters and some singular forms. It b3ars witness to the 
 fact that the fine Merovingian writing had then singularly degenerated. 
 
432 
 
 MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 In the eleventli century tte minuscule of manuscripts was ctaracterised 
 by its angular forms, whicli caused it to receive the name of Capetian. Tten 
 the Capetian, exaggerated in its tendency towards its strokes and angles, 
 became the Ludovician, which annoimces the thirteenth centurjr, and charac- 
 terises the reign of St. Louis. 
 
 However, manuscripts of the thirteenth century abound, and the history 
 of the writing of the period of St. Louis and of the three centuries suc- 
 ceeding it, may be sununed up in thèse words : — " The Capetian writing 
 called Ludovician, when it had corne to diifer still more from the beautiful 
 forms of the writings of Charlemagne's time or the renovated Roman, 
 
 Fig. 335. — Scribe or Copyist, in his Worlc-room, surrounded by Open ilanuscripts, and Writing at a Desk. 
 {From a Miniature of the Fitteenth Century.) 
 
 was more and more deformed, and thèse successive dégradations became 
 so complicated that the writing, in the seventeenth century, resulted in 
 being perfectly illegible. Thus can be generalised ail the precepts relative 
 to the state of writing, in the manuscripts and the charters in France, for 
 this period of three hundred years " (Fig. 343). 
 
 It was, however, tbe era of the richest manuscripts, that in which 
 was brought to perfection the art of ornamenting them, when the pencil 
 of the miniature-painter and the pen of the caligrapher, coBJointly. 
 produced some masterpieces (Fig. 344). This was also the time when the 
 corporation of writers became numerous and powerful (Fig. 335). One ot 
 
MANUSCR/P7S. ^33 
 
 tho most distinguished mcmbers of this society w;is that Nicholas Flamcl, 
 nbout wboni so iiuuiy fabulons logoiids bavo bocn iuventcd. We give, as a 
 spccimou of bis luagnificcnt cursive writing (Fig. 345), the fac-similo of one 
 of tbe ex lihris inscriptions be pbiced at tbe beginning of ail thc books 
 belonging to Duke Jcau de Beny, wbose secretary and boohsriler bo was.* 
 
 In otber countries tban France, in Germany especially, Gothic writing 
 was easily diôused. German manuscripts diffor little from tliosc of France. 
 We observe only tbat German writing contiuued to be vcry fine till tbe 
 middle of tbe tbirteentb century, at wbicb period it became irregular, 
 angular, and bristling witb sbarp points. 
 
 Tbat wbicb bas just beeu said of Germany in particular is naturallv 
 applicable to East and West Flanders, and to tbe Low Countries. 
 During tbe fifteentb century, under tbe impulse given by tbe Didies of 
 Burgundy, wbose influence we bave already mentioned, tbe most important 
 cbronicles, tbe best bistories tben extant, were magnificently transcribed in 
 tbat beautif ul Gotbic minuscide, tbick, massive and angular, wbicb was called 
 kUre de forme ; and we find it again in some ancient éditions of tbe end 
 of tbe fifteentb century (Fig. 346), and of tbe beginning of tbe sixteentb. 
 
 In more nortbern countries tbe Runic alpbabet was made use of, to 
 wbicb for a long wbile a marvellous origin was attributed, but wbicb tbe 
 Bénédictines justly regarded as an imitation, or ratber as a corruption, of 
 tbe Latin alpbabet. Tbere exist in tbe Runic language inscriptions on stone 
 and on wood, some manuscripts on vellum, and Irisb books on parcbment 
 and on paper. 
 
 In tbe soutb, tbe writing seems constantly to bave reflected tbe lively 
 and frank spirit of its inbabitants, among wbom was perpetuated tbe 
 profound impress of tbe old Eoman civilisation. Tbe minuscule continued 
 as bigb as it was long, tbin, and distinct ; even wben it was altered by tbe 
 influence of tbe Gotbic, it was still beautiful, and, above aU, legible, as we 
 may be con^'inced of by examining a fine manuscript entitled " Speccbio 
 délia Croce" ("Mirrorof tbe Cross"), of tbe tbirteentb century; and a 
 precious manuscript of Dante, of tbe fourteentb century, botb belonging 
 to tbe Impérial Library, Paris. 
 
 We may adopt for Spain tbe same opinions as for Italy. Tbere was 
 
 * Librarian probably ; though libraire means only a bookseUer, bibliothécaire being the French 
 for a librarian.— [Tr.] 
 
 3 K 
 
Fig. 338. — Writing of tbe end of the Seventh Century, after a Diploraa of Childebert III., for the Gift of a Villa to the 
 Abbey of St. Denis. (This Fac-similé gives only the half of the length of the lines. 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 îr^ 
 
 
 , 
 
 ,cfi. 
 
 îfW[#î^)'(^i)l!irJ)â^int^)f| 
 
 Text. — Childeberthm rex 
 
 Se ojjortune bénéficia ad loca sanctorum quod pro juvameii servorum. . . . 
 
 Et hoc nobis ad eterna retributione pertenire confidemus. Ideoque. . . . 
 
 Fig. 33g. — "Writing of the Eighth Century, from a Capitulary of Charlemagne, addressed to Pope Adrian I. in 7S4. 
 
 (Impérial Librar}^ Paris.) 
 
 Text. — Primo Capitulo. Salutant vos doniinus noster, filius vester, Carolus rex [etfilia restra 
 damna nostra Fastrada, Jilii ei\filicB domini nostri siiind, et omnis domiis sua. 
 
 II. Salutant vos cuncti sacerdotes, episcopi et abbates, atque omnis conç/regatio illontm [in Ufi 
 servicio constituta etiam, et universiis] 2>opuliis Francorum. 
 
 TB.4.NSLAT10N. — I. Om- lord, your son, King Charles [and your daughter our Lady Fastrada, 
 salute thee, also the sons and] daughters of our Lord, and ail his house. 
 
 n. Ail the priests, bishops, and abbots salute thee, as also the whole congrégation [of those 
 who are established in the service of God, and the whole] of the French people. 
 
Vig. 3,|0.-Ti™ni.in Wriling of llio E>eblh CL-n<ury. Itom ^ Ulin l'.ilirt. llnp»(.I I-lbncy. p.ri».) 
 
 ç.-yvw', '"'■■» '".- ^mv4n,',vn,f;,„(.,„,„„r..,.,r. .••• 
 
 
 
 Text. — Exsurge, Domine, in ira tua et exultare injinibus inimicorum meorum, et 
 exsurge, Domine Deus meus, in precepto qitod maiidastl ; et sinagoija populorum circom- 
 dabit, te, et propter hanc in altum regredere. 
 
 Translation. — Alise, Lord, in thine anger, lift up thj-self because of the rage 
 of mine enemies : and awate for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded. 
 
 So shall the congrégation of the people compass thee about : for thcir sakcH 
 therefore return thou on high. — (Psalm %'ii. 6, 7.) 
 
 Fig. 341. — Writing of the Tenth Century, after a Manuscrîpt of the " Commentarics of St. Jcromc.*' 
 (Impérial Libran'. Paris.) 
 
 N/NO 
 
 itn.r tn~ei' evif 
 Lx.f<pAix.ix c^m r-L*vi- 
 
 itrCeio cnxervte: clip « ff'er \Kxuxn ^ u-C ' 
 
 Text.— Q»i nolunt inter epistolas Paidi eam reoipere qua ad Fikmonem scrihitur 
 aiiint non semper apostoltim nec omnia Christo in se loqwnte dixisse. Quia neque . . . 
 Tkanslation.— Those who are unwiUing to receive among the epistles of St. Paul 
 thatwhich is written to Philemon, deny that the Apostles spoke everything and at 
 i ail times under the inspii-ation of Christ. Because neither . . . 
 
Fig. 342. — Diplomatie Writing of the Tentb Century, frora a Charter of Hug-h Capet. {Archives of the Empire.) 
 This Fac-similé g'ives only half the length of the Unes. 
 
 iwzu cnjàhnîaT^'' |aafrfnr< h^otyyr 
 
 -e{^o. 
 
 uiujj'fiaTài 
 
 ùhi'hr 
 
 J] 
 
 Text (completely restored.) — In nomine sanctœ et individuœ Trinitatis, Hugo gratîa De 
 Francorum rex. [Mos et consuetudo regum prœdecessorum nostrorum semper exstiiit ut ecclesia 
 Dei suhlimarent et justis petit.{oni]hus servorum Dei clementer /avèrent, et oppression[em eonii 
 bénigne sublevarent, ut Deum propitium] haberent, cvjus amore id fecissmit. Hujus rei f/rati[i 
 auditis clamorihiis venerabiKs Abbonis abbatis] nionaslerii S. Mariœ, S. Pétri et S. Benedic 
 Flori[acensis et monacJiorum sub eo degentium, nostrcmi] presentiam adeuntium, 23ro malis coi 
 suetudi\jiibus et assiduis rapinis ... 
 
 Translation. — In the name of the holy and indivisible Trinity, Hugh, by the grâce of Go( 
 Kiûg of the Francs. 
 
 The custom and habit of the kings our predecessors has always been to honour the churchi 
 of God, and to show themselves mercifully favom-able to the just pétitions of the servants of Go 
 and to dehver them kindly from oppression, so that God might be propitious to them, for tl 
 love of whom they thus aoted. For this cause, having heard the complaints of the vénérai 
 Abbon, Abbot of the Monastery of Our Lady, St. Peter and St. Benedict, of Fleury-sur-Loii 
 and those of the monks living under his direction, and who came into our présence, on accou 
 of the bad customs and continuai rapines . . . 
 
 h 
 
 t 
 
 mi 
 
 i 
 
Fif^. 343.— Cursive Writing of the Fiftccnth Centurj-, aftcr an Original Lctter, takcn from '* Recueil de» lettres de Roii." 
 
 \ Impérial Librarj', Paris.) 
 
 L 
 
 — y;^^r— ^ f/% --r..^ çw-^ ^ l^^ 
 
 
 T^XT.—Messeigneurs et frères, si très humblement que faire pms a roz bonnes .jraces me 
 recommande. Messeigneurs, fay receu voz lettres par le présent porteur: ensemble la requeste et 
 arrest de la court par icelle ensuivy. J'ay le tout communiqué a messeigneurs les generaulx de 
 Langue doil et Normandie, et nous avons souuant esté ensemble. Hz trouuent bien estrange, aussi 
 font daultres, qui zelent le bien- et honneur de la chambre ausquelz pareillement . . . 
 
 ÏBANSLATioN.-My lords and brothers, I commend myself as hnmbly as possible to your 
 good g..aces. My lords, I received yom- letters by tbe bearer of this, togetber witb tbe pehtion 
 and the decree of the co.xrt accompaBying them. I communieated tbe whole to my lords the 
 gênerais of La Langue d'OU and of Normandy, and we bave often oonferred together on the 
 matter. Thcy think it very strange, as do others also, who are zealo.s for tbe good and tbe 
 honour of the chamber, to whicb equally . . ■ 
 
Fis- 344.— Writing of the Fourteenth Centur)-, after a Manuscript of " L'Histoire Romaine ;" being a 
 paraphrase of the teit of Valcrius Maximus. (Impérial Library, Paris.) 
 
 ^^^^ ou quint Uutr/^-CV»tir()V 
 cP^O'rttxoirqtic ou temps qite 
 ? ça\s auotcut pifc ipuM- ^P 
 nflii Kc mpituk 51 euic il cftMt 
 t«iiiiuMl;>rtuoit ^c^nls le rapv 
 tolCUn iciuw: h5uic if auoit uon 
 cç-afns 't^biue qui intoit ît' \a li^ 
 nicïc^fiibicus^ <Jt pur auoirliV 
 ojugriuïUli'ancc w ccÇtc ïiiytiic cft 
 aiTauoir AuCfi que il y ofr aCûs^^ 
 y tes ît lômc iaî>i5 bue cite qui 
 cftoît AfpcTcc çabima.X aqucle 
 cite av»zf5 iTumlt îc mcouiicnt 
 m$ -Te lïn^v arôuic ^xrtclrou. 
 tirnmit' que il ilTaicut cttcxcs 
 
 Text. — Eadem, d-c. — Glose. Ceste histoire touche Titus Liuius ou quint Hure. 
 Pourquoi) il est assauoir que ou temps que les Gais auoient prise Homme et assis le 
 Capitale, si comme il est dit deuant, il y auoit dedcns le Capitale un jeune homme qui 
 auoit non Gai/us Fabius qui estait de la- lirjnie des Fahiens. Et pour auoir la 
 congnoissance de ceste liijnie est assauoir aussi que il y ot asses près de Romi ne jadis une 
 cite qui estait appelée Gahinia: laquele cite après moult de inconueniens se rendi a 
 Romme par tel conuenant que il seraient citoiens de Romne. 
 
 Translation. — ^Eadem, &c. — Glose. Livy, in his fifth bock, touches on this 
 history. We must know that at the time when the Gauls had taken Eome and 
 besieged the Capitol, as was said above, there was in the Capitol a young man 
 named Caius Fabius, and who was of the Fabian race ; and to know this race we 
 must also know that there was formerly near Rome a town called Gabinia ; which 
 town, after many vicissitudes, sui-rendered to Rome, on the condition that ail its 
 inhabitants shoiild be considered as citizens of Rome. 
 
Fig. 3t5.-Fac-simile of the Inscription Ex libris, &c., in the beginning of a llanuscript cxccutcd by John Flan.ci 
 
 Scribe and Librarian to the Duke de Berrj-, at the end of the Fourtecnth Century. 
 
 (Impérial Librarj-, Paris.) 
 
 
 I 
 
 Text. — Ccste Bible cal a Muiiseiijneur le Duc de Berry. 
 
 Flamel. 
 
 Tkanslatxon.— Thib Bible belongs to Monseigneur the Duke de Berry. 
 
 Flahel. 
 
 NoTE.-Tbo Duke do Berry, John, brother of King Charles V., and uncle to King Charles VI., 
 was a great amateur of fine books. He spent very large sums in having manuscnpts copied and 
 iUuminated. The Impérial Library, Paris, préserves a large number of the most valuable ot them 
 
 3 L 
 
Fig. 346. — ^Writing of the Fifteenth Century, after the First Page of a Breviary. (Royal Library, Brussels.) 
 
 inmtaliir^rmsliiptr 
 
 
 ctfuiftttitoîimd^mtte 
 
 Text. — Sabbato in aduentu Domini, ad vesperas, super psalnws antiphona, Beiie- 
 dictus, psalmus, ipsiim cmn ceteris antiphonis et psalmis. Iiifra capitulum. 
 Ecce dies veniunt, dicit Dominus, et suscitabo Dauid yermen. 
 
 Translation. — On Saturday in Advent, at vespers, before tlie psalms chanted 
 alternately, (cornes) the hymn Benedictus, with the other antiphons and psalms. 
 After the lesson . . . 
 
 " Behold the days are coming, saith the Lord, and I will restore the seed of 
 David." 
 
MINIATUEES IN MANUSCEIPTS. 
 
 Miniatures at tlie Beginning; of Ihe Middle Ages. — The two " Vatican " Virgils. — Painting of 
 Manuscripts under Charlemagne and Louis le Débonnaire. — Tradition of Greek Art in 
 Europe. — Décline of the Miniature in the Tenth Century. — Origin of Gothic Art. — Fine 
 Manuscript of the time of St. Louis. — Clérical and Lay Miniature-Paiaters. — Caricature 
 and the Grotesque. — Miniatures in Monochrome and in Grisaille. — Illuminators at the Court 
 of France and to the Dûtes of Burgundy. — School of John Fouquet. — Italian Miniature- 
 Painters. — Giulo Clovio. — French School under Louis XII. 
 
 ONTEMPOEANEOUS, almost, 
 with the idea which first caused 
 oral traditions, chronicles, 
 speeches, and poetry to be col- 
 lected together under tlie form 
 and name of bool-, is the art of 
 ornamenting manuscripts with 
 miniatures. Our intention is 
 net to go back to the sources 
 — as obscure as they are dis- 
 tant— of that art, but only to 
 point out its principal phases 
 of improvement or of decay 
 during the Middle Ages. 
 The most ancient known miniatures date from the very 
 commencement of that period which is generaUy called the 
 Middle Ages ; that is to say, from the third and fourth centuries. 
 Thèse paintings, of which there exist but two or three spéci- 
 mens in the libraries of Europe, nevertheless offer, m their 
 correctness and masterly beauty, the great charactenstics of 
 ancient Art. The most celebrated are those of the "Virgil. 
 preserved in the Vatican Library (Fig. 348), a manuscript long 
 celebrated among learned men for the authenticity of its te^t. 
 
444 
 
 MINIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 Another "Yirgil," of the date of about a century later, and which, before 
 its présentation to the Pope, was one of the most beautiful ornaments 
 of tbe ancient library of the Abbey of St. Denis, in France, contains 
 paintings not less rcmarkable in respect of colour, biit yery inferior as far 
 its dravring and the style of the compositions are concerned. Thèse two 
 
 Fig. 348. — Miniature taken from the " Virgil '' in the Librarj' of the Vatican, Rome. 
 (Third or Fourth Centurj'.) 
 
 incomparable examples are sufficient in tbemselves to show the state of 
 the painting of manuscripts at the beginning of the Middle Ages. 
 
 The sixth and seventh centuries hâve left us no books with miniatures ; 
 the utmost we find at that period are some capital letters embellished by 
 caligraphy. In the eighth century, on the contrary, the ornaments were 
 
MINIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 445 
 
 multiplied, and some rallier élégant paintings can be point ed ont; thc fart 
 is, under tlie reign of Charlemagne a movement of rénovation loolc place in 
 the Arts as in literature : tlie Latin writing, which liad become illegible, 
 
 e^lSBRO 
 
 *yiN au 
 
 Fig. ,4..-Pa1nted CapiU, lotte., taUen fro. Manu.crlpt. of t.e Ei.Mh or Nint. Centun". 
 
 was refornicd, and tbe style of painting munnscripts assunied so^ething of 
 tbe form of tbe fine antique examples still extant at tbat penod. (F.g. 350.) 
 
44-6 
 
 MINIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 t _ 
 
 If we would Lave an idea of the heaviness and tbe 
 ungraceful character of the writing and of the ornaments 
 which accompanied it before the period of Ctarlemagne, 
 it will suffice to examine Fig. 349. " It was then quite 
 time," says M. Aimé ChampoUion-Figeac, "tliat tte 
 salutary influence exercised by the illustrions monarcb 
 made itself felt in the Arts as well as in letters." The 
 first manuscripts which seem to bear witness to this 
 progress are first a sacramentary, said to be that of 
 Gellonius, the allegorical paintings of which are of 
 great interest in the history of Christian symbolism ; 
 and a Book of the Gospels, now in the Louvre : the 
 latter is said to hâve belonged to the great emperor 
 himself, and we reproduce one of the paintings from it 
 (Fig. 351). We may mention, as of the ninth century, 
 raany Books of the Gospels, in one of which, given by 
 Louis le Débonnaire to the Abbey St. Médard de Sois- 
 sons, the purest Byzantine style shows itself ; then the 
 Bible called the " Metz " Bible, in which are paintings 
 of large dimensions, remarkable for the felicitous group- 
 ings of the figures and for the beauty of the dra- 
 peries. One of thèse miniatures excites an interest quite 
 peculiar, inasmuch as King David, who is represented 
 in it, is but a copy of an ancient Apollo, roimd 
 whom the artist has personified Courage, Justice, 
 Prudence, &c. 
 
 Let us mention still further two Bibles and a book 
 of prayers, the last containing a very fine portrait of 
 the king, Charles the Bald, to whom it belonged; and 
 lastly, two books really worth attention, on account of 
 the delicacy and freedom of the outline drawings, for the 
 attitudes of the characters represented, and for the 
 draperies, which resemble those of ancient statues. 
 Thèse books are a " Terence," preserved in the Impérial 
 Library, Paris, number 7,899 in the catalogue ; and a 
 " Lectionary of the Cathedal of Metz," from which the 
 
MINIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 4+7 
 
 Wer (Fig. 352) is takon. Whilo in Franco tho a.-t of painting „.„„..enpta 
 had progressed so much as to produco somo porfect model.s of doli..a..y „„d 
 
 ^iff* 351- — Miniature from the Book of the Gospels of Charlemagne. 
 {Manuscript in the Library of the Lou\Te.) 
 
 taste, Germany had never got beyond the simplest compositions, as we see 
 
448 
 
 MINIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 iu the " Paraphrase on the Gospels," in Theotisc (the 
 old Teutonic language), belonging to tlie Library of 
 Vienna. 
 
 The artistic traditions of the ancients in the ninth 
 century are attested by the maniiscripts of Christian 
 Greece, whereof the Impérial Librarj', Paris, possesses 
 many magnificent sjjecimcns, at the head of which we 
 must place the " Conimentaries of Gregory Nazianzus," 
 omamented with an infinité nuniber of paintings, in 
 which ail the resources of ancient art are applied to 
 the représentation of Christian subjects (Fig. 353). 
 The hcads of the characters portrayed are admirably 
 expressive, and of the finest style ; the colouring of the 
 miniatures is warm and soft ; the costumes, the repré- 
 sentations of buildings and of the accessories, offer, 
 moreover, very interesting subjects of study. TJnfor- 
 tunatelj', thèse paintings were executed on a very 
 crumbling surface, which bas in many places peeled 
 off: it is sad to see one of the most precious monu- 
 ments of Greek and Christian Art in a déplorable state 
 of dilapidation. 
 
 The masterpiece of the tenth century, which again 
 is due to the artists of Greece, is a " Psalter, with 
 Commen taries," belonging also to the Impérial Library 
 (number 139 among the Greek manuscripts), a work 
 B I in which the miniature-painter seems not to hâve been 
 
 able to disengage himseK from the Pagan creeds in 
 illustratuig Biblical épisodes. Two celebrated manu- 
 scripts of the same time, but executed in France, and 
 preserved in the same collection, show, by the stiffness 
 and incorrectness of the drawing, that the impetus 
 given by the genius of Charlemagne had abated : thèse 
 are the "Bible de Noailles," and the "Bible de 
 St. Martial," of Limoges (Fig. 355). 
 
 To speak tridy, if in France there was a decadency, 
 the Anglo-Saxon and Yisigothic artists of this period 
 
3 M 
 
450 
 
 MINIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 ^ 1 J^ 
 
 .ts 
 
 #*. 
 
 were also very inferior, to judge from a Latin 
 Book of the Gospels of the tentli century painted 
 in England (Fig. 356) ; it, however, proves 
 that the art of ornamenting books liad degene- 
 rated less tliau that of dra\ying the human 
 
 ■ 354" — Fac-smile of a JNIiniature drawn with the pen, taken from a 
 Bible of the Eleventh Century. (Impérial Library, Paris.) 
 
 figure. Another manuscript with paintings, 
 called Yisigothic, containing the Apocalypse of 
 St. John, gives, in its fantastic ornaments and 
 animais, an example of the strange style adopted 
 by a certain school of miniature-painters. 
 
MINIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 4S' 
 
 ^ 
 
 ~rs. 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 yr-i 
 
 Germany now began to 
 improve in the art of paint- 
 ing miniatures. It owed 
 this happy resuit to the 
 émigration of Greek artists, 
 who came to the German 
 court to take refuge from 
 the troubles of the East. 
 The progress accomplisbed 
 in tbis part of Europe shows 
 itself in tbe drawing of the 
 figures of a German Book 
 of the Gospels of the begin- 
 ning of the eleventh cen- 
 tury, a work very superior 
 to that of the Teutonic 
 Book of the Gospels just 
 referred to. The border of 
 which we give a fac-similé 
 in Fig. 357 shows also a 
 certain degree of improve- 
 ment; it is taken from a 
 Book of the Gospels of the 
 same period, preserved in 
 the Eoyal Library, Munich. 
 
 But in France, to foreign 
 invasions and to misf or tunes 
 of ail kinds, which, since 
 the death of Charlemagne, 
 had afflicted the country, 
 -was added the terror caused 
 by the gênerai expectation 
 that the world was coming 
 to an end at the expiration 
 of the first millennial. 
 People were, therefore, 
 
 .^Ç^P\X 
 
 i^ 
 
 
452 
 
 MINIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 otherwiso employed than in ornamenting books. Accordinglj', this epoch 
 is one of the most barren in religions or other paintings. Fig. 358 
 represents the last degree of abasement in this art. Nothing in the world 
 could be more barbarous, nor farther removed from ail sentiment of the 
 beautiful, and even from the instinctive idea of drawing. Ornamentation, 
 however, reraained sufficiently good, although under very heavy forius, as 
 
 Fig. 358.— iliniaturc taken from a Missal of the Beginning of the Eleventh Century. 
 (Impérial Library, Paris, No. 821.) 
 
 the Sacramentary of ^thelgar, which is preserved in the Library of Rouen, 
 shows (Fig. 359). The decadency, however, seems to hâve corne to a stop 
 in France towards the end of the eleventh century, if we judge of the art 
 from paintings, executed in 1060, and contained in a Latin manuscript, 
 bearing the number 818, in the Impérial Library. 
 
MINIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 4S3 
 
 In. the manuscripts of the twelfth 
 century, tlie influence of the Crusades 
 made itself alrëady felt. At this period, 
 the East regenerated in some sort the 
 West in ail that concemed arts, sciences, 
 and literature. Many examples witness 
 that the painting of manuscripts was not 
 the last to undergo this singular trans- 
 formation. ETerything the imagination 
 could invent of the most fantastic was 
 particularly brought into play to give to 
 the Latin letters a peculiar character 
 ■ — imitated, moreover, from the orna- 
 ments of Saracenic architecture. This 
 practice was even applied to publie acts 
 and documents, as Eig. 360 proves ; it 
 represents some of the initial letters in 
 the " Rouleau Mortuaire " of St. Vital. 
 Callot, in his " Temptation of St. An- 
 thony," bas, we think, imagined nothing 
 stranger than the figure we gire ; a démon 
 standing on the back of Cerberus forms 
 the vertical Une in the letter T ; while 
 two other démons, whose feet ai'e in the 
 mouth of the first, form the two latéral 
 branches of the letter. 
 
 In the thirteenth century, Saracenic 
 or Gothic art universally prevailed. 
 Everywhere figures assumed gaunt, elon- 
 gated forms ; coats-of-arms invaded the 
 miniatures ; but the colouring Avas of 
 marvellous purity and brightness ; bur- 
 nished gold, applied with the greatest 
 skill, stood ont from blue or purple back- 
 grounds which even in our own day hâve 
 lest nothing of their original freshness. 
 
+5+ 
 
 MIXIATCRES IX MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 Among tte most remarkable manuscripts of this cenhuy we must 
 mention a Psalter in five colouvs, contaiuing tlie French, Hebrew, and 
 Roman versions, witli some commentaries (Impérial Library, No. 1,132 hk). 
 One should analyse the greater number of subjects depicted in this manu- 
 script to understand ail their importance ; \re will mention onh' that among 
 
 Fig. 360. — Initial Letters extracted from the " Rouleau Mortuaire '* of St. Vital, Twelfth Century. 
 (Impérial Archives of France.) 
 
 them are sièges of towns, Gotbic fortresses, interiors of Italian banking- 
 bouses, varions musical instruments, &c. Tbere is, perbaps, no otber manu- 
 script wbicb equals tbis in tbe ricbness, tbe beauty, and multiplicity of its 
 paintings : it contains ninety-nine large miniatures, independently of ninety- 
 
45 6 
 
 .V/XIATm£S IX JL-LYrSCUlPTS. 
 
 é^^^ 
 
 >^^N> 
 
 six médaillons representing divers épisodes sug- 
 gested by the test of the Psalms (Fig. 361). After 
 this psalter we must place the Breviary of St. 
 Louis, or rather of Queen Blanche, formerly pre- 
 served in the Arsenal Library, Paris, and now in 
 the Musée des Souverains ; a celebrated manuscript 
 which has, on folio 191, this inscription : " C'est 
 le Psautier monseigneur St. Loys, lequel fu à 
 sa mère."* But the volume is not rich in 
 large miniatures. "We observe in it, however, 
 a calendar ornamented with small subjects very 
 delicately executed, representing the labours ap- 
 propriate to each month, according to the seasons 
 of the year. The character of the paintiags 
 exhibits a style anterior to the reign of Louis IX. ; 
 and it is supposed, indeed, that this book flrst 
 belonged to the mother of that king. 
 
 We must now mention another Psalter, which 
 ■was actuaUy used by St. Louis ; as is proved 
 not only by an inscription at the beginning of 
 the volume, but still further by the fleurs-de-lis 
 of the king, the arms of Blanche of Castile, his 
 mother, and perhaps also les "pah de gueules 
 of Margaret of Provence, his wife. Nothing can 
 equal the beautif ul préservation of the miniatures 
 in this volume, which contains seventy-eight 
 subjects, Avith as many explanatory texts in 
 French. The heads of the characters, though 
 almost microscopic, hâve nevertheless, generally, 
 a fine expression. 
 
 The "Livre de Clergie," which bears the 
 date of 1260, merits far less attention : so does 
 the " E,oman du Roi Artus," No. 6,963, in the 
 Impérial Library, Paris, executed in 1276. But 
 
 * Translation : " This is Monseigneur St. Louis' Psalter, 
 which belonged to his mother." 
 
MINIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 4.S7 
 
 we must point out two of the most beautiful examples of this 
 period, a Book of the Gospels in Latin, No. 665 in the Supplément, 
 Impérial Library, from wliicli we hâve borrowed an élégant border 
 (Fig. 362), and the " Eoman du Saint-Graal," No. 6,769, also in the 
 Impérial Library. 
 
 Italy was then at the head of civilisation in everything ; it had 
 particularly inherited the grand traditions of painting which had gono 
 to sleep for ever in Greece only to wake up again in Europe. 
 
 Hère we must introduce a remark, the resuit of a gênerai examination 
 of the manuscripts bequeathed to us by the thirteenth century ; namely, 
 that the miniatures in sacred books are much more beautifuUy and care- 
 
 Fig. 363.— Facsimile of a Miniature of the Thirteenth Century, representing a scène of an old Romance : the 
 beautiful Josiane, disguised as a female juggler, playing a Welsh air on the RoU (Fiddle). to make herself 
 known to her friend Bewis. (Impérial Library, Paris.) 
 
 folly executed than those of the romances of chivalry and the chronicles 
 of the same period (Figs. 363 and 364). Must we attribute this superiority 
 to the power of religious inspiration ? Must we suppose that in the 
 monasteries alone élever artists met with sufficient rémunération ? Before 
 answering thèse questions, or rather as an answer to them, let us remember 
 that in those days religious institutions absorbed nearly aU the social mtel- 
 lectual movemcut, as well as the effective possession of material riches, if 
 not of territorial property. Solely occupied with distant wars or intestine 
 quarrels which impoverished them, the nobles were altogether unable to 
 become protectors of literature and Art. In the abbeys and convents were 
 lay-brethren who somctimes had taken no vow, but whose fervent spirits, 
 
 3 N 
 
45^ 
 
 MINIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 burniiig ■with poetical imagination, souglit in tlie monastic retreat rédemp- 
 tion from tlieir past sins : thèse men of faith were happy to consecrate their 
 whole existence to the ornameutatiou of a single sacred book destined for 
 the community whieh gave them in excbange ail tbe necessarics of life. 
 
 This cxplains tbe absence of tbe names of tbe miniature-painters 
 in ancient raanuscripts, particiilarly in tbose wbicb are written in Latin. 
 However, ■when romances and cbronicles in tbe vulgar tongue began to 
 corne into fasbion, artists of great talent eagerlj- prescnted tbcmselves to bo 
 
 Fig 364. — The Four Sons of Aj-mon on their good Steed, Bayart. From a Miniature in the Romance of the 
 " Four Sons of Aymon," a llanuscript of the Thirteenth Century. (Impérial Library, Paris.) 
 
 engaged by princes and nobles who wisbed to bave tbis sort of books 
 ornamented ; but tbe anonj^mous wbicb tbese lay artists generally preserved 
 is explained by tbe circumstance tbat in most cases tbey were considered 
 only as artistic assistants in tbe lordly bouses wbere tbey were employed, 
 and in wbicb tbey fulfiUed some otber domestic duty ; for instance, Colard 
 de Laon, tbe favourite painter of Louis of Orléans, was also valet-de- 
 chambre to tbis prince ; Pietro Andréa, another artist, doubtless an Italian, 
 to -judge from bis Christian name, was gentleman-usber ; and we see tbis 
 
F\g. 36s.-Mi„iature taken from the "Roman de Fauvel " (Fifteenth Century), representing Fauvel. or the Fos, 
 
 reprimanding a Widow who ias married again, and to whom is being given a Sérénade of Rougb Mus.c. 
 
 (Impérial Library, Paris.) 
 
46o MIXIATVRES IX MAXl'SCRTPTS. 
 
 same painter "sent from Blois to Tours, to procure certain matters for 
 thé accouchment of Madame the Duchess ;" or again, " from Blois to 
 Romorantin, to inquire after Madame d'Angoulesme, who was reported 
 to be very unwell." 
 
 Certain artists, to-weTer, who tlien took the modest name of illuminators, 
 lived entirely by tbeir profession ; working at tableaux benoîts (blessed 
 pictures), or popular paintings, wliicb were sold at the cliurcli-doors. 
 Others, again, wers paid assistants of the recognised paintei's to princes or 
 nobles ; and the anonj'mous -vras quite naturally imposed upon them by their 
 subordinate position, if not by the simple modesty whlch was for a long time 
 the accompaniment of talent. In the fourteenth century the study of minia- 
 tures is peculiarly interesting, on account of the scènes of public and private 
 life, of manners and customs, we find reproduced in them. Portraits after 
 life, d'après le vif, as they were called in those days, made their appearance ; 
 and caricature, at ail times so powerful in France, already began to show 
 itself with a daring which, occupying itself with the clergy, women, and 
 chivalry, stopped only before the prestige of royal ty. 
 
 The miniatures of a French manuscript, dated 1313 (Impérial Library, 
 Paris, No. 8,504, F. L.), deserve to be mentioned, especially on account of 
 the varions subjects they represent ; for, besides the ceremony of the 
 réception of the King of Navarre into the order of chivalry, we see 
 in it philosophers discussing, judges administering the law, various scènes 
 of conjugal life, singers accompanying themselves on divers instruments 
 of music, villagers engaged in the labours of country life, &c. We must 
 mention also a manuscript of the " Roman de Fauvel," in which is especially 
 prominent the very original scène of a popular concert of rough music, by 
 masked performers, given, according to an old custom, to a widow who 
 had married a second time (Fig. 365). 
 
 The period during which Charles V. occupied the throne of France is 
 one of those that produced the finest spécimens of manuscript-painting. 
 This monarch, the founder of the Royal Library, was an admirer of 
 illustrated books, and had accumulated, at great cost, a large collection 
 in the great tower of the Louvre. A royal prince, whom we bave already 
 mentioned as being excessively devoted to artistic luxuries, was the rival of 
 Charles V. in this respect : this was his brother, the Duke Jean de Berry, 
 who devoted enormous sums to the purchase and production of manuscripts. 
 
MINI A TURES IN MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 461 
 
 ^'iW 
 
 
 \js^, 
 
 ff 
 
 i1h 
 
 « 
 
 4^ 
 
 'V.^XV 
 
 ^'- 
 
 '^ 
 
 Even under Charles VI. tliis impulse 
 did not abate, and the art of painting 
 manuscripts was never in a more flourishing 
 condition. The border taken from the 
 "Livre d'Heures," or prayer-book, of the 
 Duke d'Anjou, uncle of the king (Fig. 366), 
 is an example of this. We might mention, 
 as spécimens of illustrated works of this 
 period, the book of the " Demandes et 
 
 JFig. 367.— Miniature taken from "Les Femmes Illustres,' 
 translated from Boccacio. (Impérial Library, Paris.) 
 
 Réponses," by Peter Salmon, a manuscript 
 executed for tbe king, and ornamented with 
 esquisito miniatures, in whicb ail the 
 cbaracters aretrue historical portraits, beau- 
 tifully finished. Neyertheless, the master- 
 pieces of the Frencb school at this period 
 sho^v themselves in the miniatures of two 
 translations of Boccacio's "De Claris Muli- 
 eribus" ("BeautifulWomen") (Fig. 367). 
 
^. ^^-^, 
 
 \ 
 
 i= 
 
 m^M^LM^. .t^i 
 
 Fig. 368.— Miniature of the Psalter of John, Duke of Berrj-, representing the Jlan of Sorrow, or Christ, showlng 
 the Sign of the Cross. (Impérial Library, Paris.) 
 
.y/.v/.r/rA'As /x maxcscr/pts. 
 
 463 
 
 At that tiiuu two iiow 
 styles appeared in the paint- 
 ing of mmiuscripts : minia- 
 tures 01 ca III d'il' Il (in one 
 colour only), and miniatures 
 en (jrUaille (in two coloui's, 
 viz., a liglit colour sbaded, generally with 
 brown). Of the first kind, we may instance 
 " Les Petites Heures " of John, Duke de 
 Berry (Fig. 368), and " Les Miracles de 
 Notre-Dame." 
 
 Grermany did not in this respect ri.^e 
 to the height of France ; but miniatiire- 
 painting in Italy progressed more and more 
 towards perfection. A remarkable spécimen 
 of Italian art of this period is the Bible 
 called Clément VII.'s (Fig. 369), which is 
 preserved in the Impérial Library, Paris. 
 But there exists one more admirable still 
 in the same establishment, so rich in curio- 
 sities, of the manuscript of "The Institution 
 of the Order of the Holy Ghost," an order of 
 chivalry founded at Naples in 1352, by Louis 
 de Tarento, Xing of Xaples, during a feast 
 on the day of Pentecost ; it is in this superb 
 manuscript, executed by Italian or French 
 artists, may, perhaps, be found the most 
 exquisite miniatures of that day (Fig. 370) ; 
 especially remarkable are the beautiful por- 
 traits in caindieu of King Louis and his wife, 
 Jane L, Queen of Naples. A valuable copy 
 of the romance of "Lancelotdu Lac," of the 
 same date, recommends itself to the attention 
 of connoisseurs by a rare peculiarity : one 
 can foUow in it the successive opérations of 
 the painter in miniature ; thus are presented 
 
464 
 
 .MIXTATUKES 7X MAXUSCRIPTS. 
 
 to us consecutively the outline-drawing, then the first tints, generally 
 vuiiform, executed by the illuminator; uext the surface on which the gold 
 is to be applied ; then the reul work of the miuiature-paiuter in the heads, 
 costumes, &c. 
 
 France, in spite of the g-reat troubles which agitated her, and the wars 
 she had to maintain -nàth foreign powers during the lifteenth centurj^ saw, 
 nevertheless, the art of the painter improve very considerably. The fine copy 
 
 ^1 l! 
 
 DTlJiiijiïii \\ 1! iiïiirftra 
 
 Fig- 370. — Miniature frora a Manuscript of the Fourteenth Centur)', representing Louis de Tarento, second 
 
 Husband of Queen Jane of Naples, instituting the Order of the Holy Ghost, 
 
 (Impérial Librar^-, Paris.) 
 
 of Froissart in the Impérial Library, Paris (Fig. 371), might alone suffice 
 to prove the truth of this assertion. The name of John Foucquet, painter to 
 King Louis XI., deserves to be mentioned with eulogy, as that of one of the 
 artists who contributed most to the progress of painting on manuscripts. 
 Everything thenceforward announoed the Renaissance which was to take 
 place in the sixteenth century ; and if we wish to follow the onward 
 progress of art from the beginning of the fifteenth century till the time 
 
'^^^mm^mm^^^ 
 
 ^^ç?^f^?^^Ç^'^ 
 
 'V'.'v'» 'v'.". " 
 
 CORONATION OF CHARLES Y. KING OF FRANCE. 
 
 Mmiatare Irom ftoissarfs Cliromcles m lie National fctraxy. Paris. 
 
MIiYIATURES IN MANUSCIiJPT^. 
 
 46s 
 
 of Raphaël, it is in tlie 
 miniatures of niaiiu- 
 scripts we shall find 
 tlie best évidences of 
 it- Let us observe, 
 by tbe way, tlaat the 
 Flemish scliool of the 
 Dukes of Burgundy 
 exercised great influ- 
 ence over this mar- 
 vellous art for a period 
 of more than a cen- 
 tury. Spain was also 
 progressing ; but it is 
 to the Italian artists 
 we must, from that 
 time forward, look for 
 the most remarkable 
 Works. The Impérial 
 Library of Paris pos- 
 sesses many manu- 
 scripts which bear 
 witness to the marked 
 improvement inminia- 
 ture-paiating at this 
 period; among others 
 an "Ovid" of the 
 fif teenth century (Fig. 
 372) ; but in order to 
 see the highest ex- 
 pression of the art, we 
 must examine an ia- 
 coraparable copy of 
 Dante's works, pre- 
 served in the Vatican, 
 a manuscript proceed- 
 
 3 G 
 
 '^ 
 
466 
 
 MINIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 ing from tlie liands of Giiilio Clovio (Fig. 373), an illustrious painter, pupil 
 and imitator of RapHael : his miniatui-es arc remarkable for beauty. 
 
 Fig. 373, — Jliniature, painted by Giulio Clovio, of the Sixteentli Century, taken from Dante's " Paradise, 
 representing the Poet and Béatrice transported to the Aloon, the abode of Women devoted to 
 Chastity, (Manuscript in the Vatican Library, Rome.) 
 
 Lastly, in the reign of Louis XII., the complète régénération of the Arts 
 
MINIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 4O7 
 
 l 
 
 was effected. We should, howevcr, 
 mention that at this period tlicrc were 
 two very distinct scliools : one wlio.se 
 style still showed the influence of 
 ancient Gotliic traditions, tlie othcr 
 entirely dépendent on Italian taste. 
 Tlie Missal of Pope Paul V. emanatcd 
 from this last sctool (Fig. 374). 
 Ttis immense progress, which showed itself 
 simultaneously in France and in Italy by thé 
 production of many original works, seems to 
 liave attained its climax in the exécution of 
 a justly celebrated manuscript, known by the 
 name of "Heures d'Anne de Bretagne" (Fig. 
 375). Aniong tlie numerous pictures which 
 decorate tbis book of prayers, many would not 
 be unwortby of Eapbaers pencil : tbe expres- 
 sion in tbe face of tbe Yirgin Mary is, witb. 
 many otbers, remarkable for its sweetness ; tbe 
 beads of tbe angels bave sometbiag divine in 
 tbem ; and tbe ornaments wbicb occupy tbe 
 margin of eacb page are composed of flowers, 
 fruits, and insects, represented witb ail tbe fresb- 
 ness and brilliancy of nature. This inimitable 
 masterpiece was, like a sort of sublime testa- 
 ment, to mark tbe glorious boundary-line of an 
 art wbicb must necessarUy degenerate now tbat 
 the printing-press was causing tbe numerous 
 class of scribes and illuminators of tbe Middle 
 Ages to disappear. It bas never revived since, 
 but at intervais ; and tben more to meet tbe 
 requirements of fancy tban to be of any real use. 
 A few manuscripts adorned witb miniatures 
 of tbe end of tbe sixteentb century may stiU be 
 mentioned, especially two "Livres d'Heures" 
 (prayer-books) painted in grisaille, wbicb be- 
 
468 JTIXIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 ï'igr- 375- — Miniature from the Prayer-book of Anne de Bretagne, representing the Archangel St. Michael. 
 (Musée des Souverains.) 
 
MINIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS- 
 
 469 
 
 longed to Henry IL, King of France (now in the Musée des Souverains) 
 and the "Livre d'Heures," exeeuted for the Margrave of Baden by a pointer 
 of Lorraine or of Metz named Brentel (Fig. 376), who, however, did nothin-^ 
 
 ^'ff- 376. — Miniature in the " Livre d'Heures " belongîng to the Margrave of Baden, representing the Portrait 
 
 of the blessed Bernard of Baden, who died in the odour of Sanctîty, on July 15, 1458. 
 
 (Impérial Library, Paris.} 
 
 but put together designs copied from the great masters of Italy and Flanders. 
 There were, nevei'theless, good miniature-painters in France up to the seven- 
 teenth centuiy, to illustrate the manuscripts exeeuted with so much taste 
 
470 
 
 MINIATURES IN MANUSCRIPTS. 
 
 by tlie famous Jarry and the caligraphers of his school. The last mani- 
 festation of the art shines forth, for example, in the magnificent " Livre 
 d'Heures " presented to Louis XIV. by the pensioners of the Hôtel des 
 Invalides, a remarkable work, but yet unworthy to appear by the side of 
 the "Livre d'Heures d'Anne de Bretagne," which the painter seems to 
 hâve adopted as his model. 
 
 Fig. 377. — Escutcheon of France, taken from sorae Omaments in the Manuscript of the " Institution of the 
 Order of the Holy Ghost." (Fourteenth Century.) 
 
 T 
 
BOOKBINDING. 
 
 Primitive Binding of Books. — Booktinding; among the Komans. — Bookbinding with Goldsmith's 
 Work from the Fifth Century. — Chained Books. — Corporation of Lieurs, or Bookbinders. — 
 Books bound in Wood, with Métal Corners and Clasps. — First Bindings in Leather, honey- 
 combed {waffled?) and gilt. — Description of some celebrated Bindings of the Fourteenth and 
 Fifteenth Centuries. — Sources of Modem Bookbinding. — John Grollier. — Président De Thou. 
 — Kings and Queens of France Bibliomaniacs.— Superiority of Bookbinding in France. 
 
 S soon as the ancients had made square books, 
 more convenient to read than the roUs, 
 binding- — that is to say, the art of réuni ting 
 the leares stitched or stuck iligati) into a 
 movable back, between two square pièces of 
 wood, ivory, métal, or leather — bookbinding 
 was invented. This primitive binding, which 
 had no other object than that of preserving 
 the books, no other merit than than of solidity, 
 was not long ère it became associated with 
 ornament, and thus put itself in relation with 
 the luxury of Greek and Eoman civilisation. 
 Not contented with placing on each side of 
 the volume a little tablet of cedar-wood or 
 of oak, on which was written the title of the book (for books were then laid 
 flat on the shelves of the library), a pièce of leather was stretched over the 
 edge to préserve it from dust, if the book was valuable, and the volume was 
 tied up with a strap passed round it many times, and which was subsequently 
 replaced by clasps. In certain instances the volume was enveloped m 
 thick cloth, and even enclosed in a case of wood or leather. Such was the 
 state of bookbinding in ancient times. 
 
 There were then, as now, good and bad bookbinders. Cicero, in his 
 letters to Atticus. asks for two of his slaves who were very clever 
 
47^ 
 
 BOOKBINDING. 
 
 Ugatores Ubrontm (bookbinders). Bookbinding, however, was not an art 
 verj generally knovm, for square books, notwitbstanding the convenience of 
 their sbape, had not yet superseded rolls ; but we see, in tbe Notices of tbe 
 Dignities of the Eastern Empire ("Xotitia Dignitatum Imperii), written 
 towards 450, that this aceessory art had already made immense progress ; 
 since certain officers of the empire used to carry, in the public cérémonies, 
 large square books containing the administrative instructions of the 
 emperor : thèse books were bound, covered with green, red, blue, or yellow 
 leather^ closed by means of leathern straps or by hooks, and ornamented with 
 little golden rods disposed horizontally, or lozengewise, with the portrait of 
 the sovereign painted or gilt on their sides. From the fifth century gold- 
 smiths and lapidaries ornamented binding M-ith great richness. And so we 
 hear St. Jérôme exclaiming : — " Your books are covered with precious stones, 
 and Christ died naked before the gâte of bis temple !" " The Book of the 
 Gospels," in Grreek, given to the basilica of Monza by Theodelinda, queen 
 of the Lombards, about 600, bas still one of thèse costly bindings. 
 
 A spécimen of Byzantine art, preserved in the Louvre, is a sort of small 
 plate, which is supposed to be one of the sides of the cover of a book ; on 
 it we find executed in bas-relief the "Visit of the Holy Women to the 
 Tomb," and several other scènes from the Gospels. In this example the 
 beauty of the figures, the taste which dictated the arrangement of the 
 draperies, and the finish in the exécution, furnish us with évidence that, 
 in the industrial arts, the Greeks had maintained till the twelfth century 
 their pre-eminence over ail the people of Europe. 
 
 In those days the binding of ordinary books was executed without anj'^ 
 ornamentation, this being reserved for sacred books. If, in the treasures of 
 churches, abbej's, and palaces, a few manuscripts covered with gold, silver, 
 and precious stones were kept as relies, books in common use were simply 
 covered in boards or leather ; but not without much attention being given 
 to the binding, which was merely intended to préserve the volumes. Many 
 documents bear witness to the great care and précision with which, in 
 certain monasteries, books were bound and preserved. Ail sorts of skins 
 were employed in covering them when they had been once pressed and 
 joined together between boards of hard wood that would not readily decay : 
 in the North, even the skins of seals and of sharks were employed, but 
 pig-skin seems to hâve been used in préférence to ail others. 
 
 
PANEL OF A BOOK COVER. 
 
 Bas-relief m Goid Keponssé- NinUi Centary i in ft« Lo^Te 
 

 bï 
 
 y 
 
 ma 
 St. 
 
 eue 
 
 I bsi 
 
 tlat 
 
 fetB 
 
BOOKBINDING. 473 
 
 It must be admitted that \ve, perhaps, owe to tlieir rich liiudiu"'s, wliicli 
 were well calculated to tempt thieves, the destruction of a uuuibtr of 
 valuable manuscripts wben towns or monasteries were sacked ; but, ou 
 the otber band, the sumptuous bindings with which kings and nobles 
 covered Bibles, the Gospels, antiphonaries,* and naissais, bave certain] v 
 preserved to us very many curions examples that, without them, would 
 by degrees bave deteriorated, or would not hâve escaped ail the chances 
 of destruction to which they were esposed. It is thus, for instance, that 
 the famous manuscript of Sens has descended to us, which contains 
 "La Messe des Fous," set to music in the twelfth century; it is bouud 
 between two pièces of ivory, with bas-relief carvings of the fourth century, 
 representing the festivals of Bacchus. AU great public collections show 
 with pride some of thèse rare and vénérable bindings, decorated with 
 gold, silver, or copper, engraved, chased, or inlaid with precious stones 
 or coloured glass, with cameos or antique ivories (Fig- 378). The 
 greater nuniber of rich books of the Gospels mentioned in history date 
 back as far as the period of Charlemagne, and among thèse we must 
 mention, above ail, one given by the emperor himself to the Abbey of 
 St. Eiquier, "covered with plates of silver, and ornamented with gold 
 and gems ; " that of St. Maximinius of Trêves, which came from Ada, 
 daughter of Pépin, sister of Charlemagne, and was ornamented with an 
 engraved agate representing Ada, the emperor, and bis sons ; and lastly, 
 one that was to be seen as late as 1727 in the couvent of Hautvillers, near 
 Epernay, and which was bound in carved ivory. 
 
 Sometimes thèse sumptuous volumes were enclosed in an envelope 
 made of rich stuflf; or, in pursuance of an ancient custom, a casket not 
 less gorgeously decorated than the binding, contained it. The Prayer- 
 book of Charlemagne, now preserved in the Library of the Louvre, is 
 known to hâve been originally enclosed in a small casket of silver gilt, 
 on which were represented in relief the "Mysteries of the Passion." 
 
 Thèse books, however, bound with goldsmith's work, were not those 
 that were chained in churches and in certain Hbraries (Fig. 379), as some 
 volumes stiU in existence show, with the rings through which passed the 
 Chain that fastened them to the desk. Thèse catemti (chained books) 
 were generally Bibles and missals, bound in wood and heavily ornamented 
 
 • Antipkonarie.-^..^. containing the responses, &c., u.ed iu Catholic churph.services.-[EB.] 
 
 3 p 
 
+7+ 
 
 BOOKBINDIKG. 
 
 with metallic corners ; which, while placée! at the disposition of the faithfiil 
 and of the public in gênerai, thcir owners wished to guarantee agaiiist 
 being stolen. 
 
 "We must net forget to mention, among the most beautiful bindino;s 
 
 Fig. 378.— Binding in Gold, adorned with precious Stones which covered a " Book of the Gospels" of the 
 Eleventh Century, representing Jésus Crucified, with the Virgin and St. John at the Foot of the Cross. 
 
 (Musée du Louvre). 
 
 of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the coverings of books in enamelled 
 copper (Fig. 380). The Muséum of Cluny possesses two plates of incrusted 
 enamel of Limoges, which must bave belonged to one of thèse bindmgs : 
 the first bas for its subject the "Adoration of the Magi;" the otber 
 
I\'OR.Y DIPTYCH OF THE I.OWER EMPIRE, 
 
 Scrvmg as a Book Cover, " rOffice des fous." Un Ae l^™^' "f Sens.) 
 
BOOKBINDING. 
 
 475 
 
 représenta tlie monk Etienne de Muret, founder of the order of Grandmont 
 (in the twelftii century), conversing with St. Nicholas. The Cathedral of 
 Milan contains in its treasury the covering of a book still more ancient 
 and much richer, about fourteen inches long by twelve inches wide, and 
 profusely covered with incrusted enamel, mounted and ornimented with 
 poliAed, but uncut, precious stones of various colours. 
 
 But ail thèse were only the work of enamellers, goldsmiths, illuminators, 
 and clasp-makers. The binders, or bookbinders proporly so called, fastened 
 together the leaves of books, and placed them between two boards, which 
 
 Fig. 3;9.-Library of the University of Leyden, in which ail the Books were chained, even in the 
 Seventeenth Century. 
 
 they then covered with leather, skin, stuff, or parchment ; they added to 
 thèse coverings sometimes leathern straps, sometimes métal clasps, sometimes 
 hooks, to keep the volume firmly closed, and almost always nails, whose 
 round and projecting heads preserved the flat surface of the binding from 
 
 being rubbed. 
 
 In the year 1299, when the tax was imposed upon the inhabitants of 
 Paris for the exigencies of the king, it was ascertained that the number 
 of bookbinders then actually in the town amounted only to seventeen, who. 
 as wcU as the scribes and booksellers, were directly dépendent on the 
 
'}L£Më^ 
 
 ^^: 
 
 Y\g. 380. — Larg^e Painted Initial Letter in a Manuscript in the Ro3-al T.ibrar}', Erussels, showinff tlie arrangement 
 of the Binding, in enamelled Métal, of a book of the Gospels. (Ninth or Tenth Centurj-.) 
 
BOOKBINDING. 4.7 
 
 University, the authorities of wliict placed tliem undcr tlie survcillanoc of 
 four sworn bookbinders, who were considered the agenU of the Univorsitv. 
 We must except, however, from this jurisdiction the acknowledged book- 
 binder to the " Chambre des Comptes," who, before he could l)e appointed 
 to this office, had to make an affirmation that he could neither read nor mite. 
 
 In the musters, or processions, of the University of Paris, the bookbinders 
 came after the booksellers. To esplain the relatively small number of pro- 
 fessed bookbinders, we must remember that at this period the majority 
 of scholars bound their own books, as divers passages of ancient authors 
 prove ; while the monasteries, which were the principal centres of book- 
 makers, had one or many members of their community whose spécial 
 fanction it was to bind the works written within their walls. Tritheimius, 
 Abbot of Spanheim at the end of the fifteenth century, does not forget 
 the bookbinders in the enumeration he makes of the différent employ- 
 ments of his monks : — " Let that one," says he, " fasten the leaves 
 together, and bind the book with boards. You, prépare those boards ; you, 
 dress the leather ; you, the métal plates, which are to adorn the binding." 
 Thèse bindings are represented on the seal of the University of Oxford 
 (Fig. 381), and on the banners of some French corporation of printers and 
 booksellers (Figs. 3S2 and 386). 
 
 The métal plates, the corners, the nails, the clasps with which thèse 
 volumes were then laden rendered them so heavy that, in order to enable 
 the reader to turn over the leaves with facility, they were placed on one of 
 those revolving desks having space for many open folios at the same time, 
 and which were capable of accommodating many readers simultaneously. 
 It is said that Petrarcb had caused a volume containing the " Epistles of 
 Cicero," transcribed by himself, to be bound so massively, that as he was 
 continually reading it, he often let it fall and injured his leg ; so badly 
 once that he was threatened with amputation. This manuscript in Petrarch's 
 handwriting is still to be seen in the Laurentian Library at Florence; it is 
 bound in wood, with edges and clasps of copper. 
 
 The Crusades, which introduced into Europe many luxurious customs, 
 must bave had great influence on bookbinding, since the Arabs had for 
 Ion- while known the art of preparing, dyeing, stamping, and gilding 
 the skins they emploved to make covers for books: thèse covers took 
 the name of «te (wings), no doubt from the resemblance between them and 
 
 a 
 
478 
 
 BOOKBINDING. 
 
 the wings of a bird of ricli plumage. The Crusaders haviug brought back 
 irom their expéditions spécimens of Orieutal binding, our European work- 
 men did not fail to turn tbeir brilliaiit models to account. 
 
 An en tire révolution, moreover, wbicb had taken place in the forma- 
 tion of royal and princely libraries, was to produce a révolution in binding 
 also. Bibles, missals, reproductions of ancient authors, treatises on theology, 
 were no longer the only books in common use. The new language had 
 given rise to historiés, romances, and poeras, which were the delight of a 
 
 Fig. 381. — Seal of the University of Oxford, in which is a Book bound with Corners and Clasps. 
 
 Society becoming more and more polished every day. For the pleasure 
 of readers, the gallant of one sex and the fair of the other, books were 
 required more agreeable to the eye, and less rough to the touch, than those 
 nsed for the édification of monks or the instruction of scholars. And 
 first of ail were substituted, for the purpose of manuscripts, sizes more 
 portable than the grave folio. Then fine and smooth vellum was used for 
 writing, and books were covered in velvet, silk, or wooUen stufFs. More- 
 over, paper, a récent invention, opened up a new era for libraries ; but 
 
BOOKBINDING. 
 
 470 
 
 two centuries were to elapse before pastehoard hiirl cntiroly tnki'ii tlic nliico 
 of wooden covers. 
 
 It is in thé inventories, in the accounts, and in the archivas of kings 
 and princes, we must look for the history of hookhinding in the fourteciith 
 and fifteenth centuries (Fig. 383). We shall limit ourselves to giving 
 a description of some costly bindings, taken from the inventories of the 
 magnijficent libraries of the Dukes of Burgundy and of Orléans, now partly 
 destroyed, and partly scattered about among the great public collections 
 of France and other countries. 
 
 Belonging to the Dukes of Burgundy, Philip the Bold, Jean sans 
 Peur, and Philip the Grood, we see a small Book of the Gospels and of 
 the " Heures de la Crois " (a kind of prayer-book), with " a binding 
 
 Fig, 382.— Bannerof the Corporation of Printers-Booksellers of Angers. 
 
 erabellished with gold and fifty-eight large pearls, in a case made of 
 camlet, with one large pearl and a cluster of smaU pearls;" the romance 
 of the "Moralité des Hommes sur le Ju (jeu) des Esohiers " (the game 
 of chess), "covered in silk, with white and red flowers, and silver-gilt 
 nails, on a green ground;" a Book of Grisons, " covered in red leather, 
 with silver-gilt nails;" a Psalter, " having two silver-gilt clasps, boimd 
 in blue, with a golden eagle with two heads and red talons, to which is 
 attached a little silver-gilt instrument for turning over the leaves, with 
 three escutcheons of the same arms, covered with a red velvet chemiser * 
 
 • "Garni de deux fermaulx d'argent, dorez, armoiez d'azur à une aigle d'or à deux testes 
 onçlé de gueuUes, auquel a ung tuyau d'argent doré pour tourner les feudles, a trcs escus.on. 
 deeditea armes, couvert d'une chemise de veluyau vermeil." 
 
480 
 
 BOOKBIXDLXG. 
 
 ïig'- 583- — Fragment of an eng^aved and stamped Binding in an unknown ilaterial (Fifteentli Century), 
 
 representing the mysticaJ Chase of the Unicom, wfaich is takîng reluge in the lap of the Virgin. 
 
 (Public Librarj-, Rouen. 
 
BOOKBINDING. 481 
 
 The chemise was a sort of pocket in which certain valuable books wero 
 enveloped. The " Heures de St. Louis " (St. Louis's Prayor-book), now 
 in the Musée des Souverains, is still in its chemise of red sandal-wood. 
 
 Belonging to the Duke of Orléans, brother of Charles VI., we find 
 Végèce's book, " On GhiTalry," " covered in red leather inlaid, which has 
 two little brass clasps ; " the book of " MeHadus," " covered in green 
 velvet, with two silver-gilt clasps, enamelled with the arms of his Royal 
 Highness ; " the book of Boèce, " On Consolation," " covered in figured 
 silk ; " " The Grolden Legend," " covered in black velvet, without clasps ; " 
 the " Heures de Notre-Dame," " covered in white leather." 
 
 The same inventories give an account of the priées paid for some 
 bindings and their accessories. Thus, in 1386, Martin Lhuillier, a book- 
 seller at Paris, received from the Duke of Burgundy 16 francs (équivalent 
 to about 114 francs French money of the présent time), " for binding eight 
 books, of which six were covered in grained leather ; " on Sept. 19, 1394, 
 the Duke of Orléans paid to Peter Blondel, goldsmith, 12 livres 15 sols, 
 " for having wrought, besides the duke's silver seal, two clasps " for the book 
 of Boèce; and on Jan. 15, 1398, to Emelot de Eubert, an embroideress 
 at Paris, 50 sols tournois, "for having eut ont and worked iu gold and 
 silk two covers of green Dampmas cloth, one for the Breviary, the other for 
 the Book of Hours of the aforesaid nobleman, and for having made fifteen 
 markers {sinets) and four pair of silk and gold straps for the said books." 
 
 The old style of thick, heavy, in some sort armour-plated, binding, could 
 not exist long after the invention of priating, which, while multiplying 
 books, diminished their weight, reduced their size, and, moreover, gave 
 them a less intrinsic value. Wooden boards were replaced by compressed 
 cardboard, nails and clasps were gradually laid aside, and stuffs of différent 
 kinds nô longer used ; only skin, leather, and parchment were employed. 
 This was the beginning of modem binding ; but bookbinders were as yet 
 but mechanics working for the booksellers, who, when they had on their 
 premises a bookbinding-room (Fig. 384), assumed, in their éditions, the 
 double title of Uhr aire-relieur (bookseller-bookbinder) (Fig. 385). In 1578, 
 Nicholas Eve still placed on his books and his sign-board, "BookseUer to 
 the University of Paris and Bookbinder to the King." No volume was sold 
 
 unbound. 
 
 From the end of the fifteenth century, although bookbinding was always 
 
 3 Q 
 
4^2 
 
 BOOKBINDING. 
 
 considered as an adjunct to the bookseller's shop, certain amateurs who had 
 a taste for art required richer aud more recherché exteriors for tlieir books. 
 Italy set us the example of beautiful bindings in morocco, stamped and gilt ; 
 imitated, bowever, from those of the Koran and otber Arabian manu- 
 scripts, which Yenetian navigators frequently brought back with them 
 from the East. The expédition of Charles YIII. and the wars of Louis XII. 
 introduced into France not only Italian bindings, but Italian binders 
 also. Without renouncing, however, at least for the livres d'heures, the 
 bindings ornamented with goldsmith's work and gems, France had very soon 
 
 Fig. 384. — Bookbinders' Work-room, drawn and engraved in the Sixteenth Centurj-, by J. Amman. 
 
 binders of her own, surpassing those who had been to them as imtiators 
 or masters. Jean Grollier, of Lyons, loved books too much not to wish to 
 give them an exterior ornamentation worthy of the wealth of knowledge 
 they contaiued. Treasurer of War, and Intendant of the Milanese before 
 the battle of Pavia, he had begun to croate a library, which he subse- 
 quently transported iato France, and did not cease to enlarge and to enrich 
 till bis death, which happened in 1565. His books were bound in morocco 
 from the Levant, with such care and taste that, under the supervision of this 
 exacting amateur, bookbinding seemed to bave already attained perfection. 
 
BOOKBINDING. 
 
 483 
 
 Princes and ladies of the court prided themselves on their love of books 
 and the désire to acquire tliem ; they founded libraries, and encouraged the 
 Works and inventions of good bookbinders who produced masterpieces of 
 patience and ability in decorating the covers of books, either with enamelled 
 paintings, or with mosaics made of différent pièces inlaid, or with phiin 
 gildings stamped on the surface with small irons. It would be impossible 
 to enumerate the splendid bindings in ail styles that the French bookbinders 
 of the sixteenth century hâve left us, and which hâve never been surpassed 
 since. The painter, the engraver, and even the goldsmith, co-operated with 
 the bookbinder in his art, by furnishing him with designs for ornaments. 
 
 Fig. 385.-Mark of William Eustace (1512), Bookseller and Binder, Paris. 
 
 We now see reappearing some plates obtained from hot or cold dies, 
 representing various subjects, and the designs from which they were 
 taken, reproduced from those that had been in fashion towards the 
 beginning of the sixteenth century, were often drawn hy distmguished 
 artists, such as Jean Cousin, Stephen de Laulne, &c. 
 
 Nearly ail the French kings, especially the Valois, were pass.onately 
 fond of splending bindings. Catherine de Medicis was such a conno.sseur 
 of fincly-bound books, that authors and bookseUers. who eagerly presen ed 
 her with copies of their works, tried to distinguish theniselves m the 
 
484 
 
 BOOKBINDING. 
 
 choice and beauty of the bindings wliicli they had made expressly for her. 
 Henry III., wbo appreciated bandsomely-bound books no less tban bis 
 motber, invented a very singular binding, wben be bad instituted tbe 
 Order of " Pénitents ; " tbis consisted of deatb's beads and cross bones, 
 tears, crosses, and otber instruments of tbe Passion, gilt or stamped on 
 black morocco leatber, and baviug tbe following device, " Spes mea Deus " 
 (" God is my hope "), witb or witbout tbe arms of France. 
 
 It is impossible to associate tbese superb bindings witb tbe usual 
 and common work executed at tbe booksellers' sbojDS, and under tbeir 
 superintendence. Some booksellers of Paris and of Lyons, tbe bouses 
 of Grypbe and Tournes, of Estienne and Vascosan, paid a little more 
 attention, bowever, tban otbers of tbe fraternity, to tbe binding of books 
 wbicb tbey sold to tbe reading public ; tbey adopted patterns of dun- 
 coloured calf, in compartments ; or wbite vellum, witb fillets and arabesques 
 in gold, fine spécimens of wbicb are now very rare. 
 
 At tbis period Italian bookbinding bad reacbed tbe most complète state 
 of decadency, while in Germany and otber parts of Europe tbe old massive 
 bindings, — ^bindings in wood, leatber, and parcbment, witb fastenings of 
 iron or brass, — still beld tbeir ground. In France, bowever, tbe binders, 
 wbom tbe booksellers kept in a state of obscurity and servitude, bad not 
 even be able to form tbemselves into a guild or fraternity. Tbey migbt 
 produce masterpieces of tbeir art, but were not allowed to append tbeir 
 names to tbeir works ; and we must come down as far as tbe famous Gascon 
 (1641) before we can introduce tbe name of any illustrious bookbinder. 
 
 Fig. 386. — Banner of tbe Corporation of Printers-Booksellers of Autun. 
 
mimim. 
 
 Who waa the Inventor of Printing ?— Movable Letters in Ancient Times.— Bloclc Printing.— 
 Laurent Coster.—Donati and Spécula.— Grutenhevg' s Process.— Partnership of Gutenberg 
 and Faust.— Schoeffer.— The Mayence Bible.— The Paalter of 14.57.— The " Rationale " of 
 1459.— Gutenburg prints by himself.— The " Catholicon " of 1460.— Printing at Cologne, 
 Strasbourg, Venice, and Paris.— Louis XL and Nicholas Jensou.— German Printers at 
 Eome. — Inmnabula. — Colart Mansion. — Caxton. — Improvement of Typographical Processes 
 up to the Sixteenth Century. 
 
 IFTEEN towns hâve laid claim to the honour 
 of being the birthplace of printing, and writers 
 who hâve applied themselves to search out the 
 origin of this admirable invention, far from coming to 
 any agreement on the point in their endeavours to clear 
 up the question, hâve only confused it. Now, ho'wever, 
 after many centuries of learned and earnest contro- 
 versy, there only remain three antagonistic propositions, with 
 three names of towns, four names of inventors, and three dif- 
 férent dates. The three places are Haarlem, Strasbourg, and 
 Mayence ; the four inventors, Laurent Coster, Gutenberg, Faust, 
 and Schoeffer; the three dates which are assigned to the in- 
 vention of printing are 1420, 1440, 1450. In our opinion thèse 
 three propositions, which some try to combat and destroy by opposing each 
 to the other, ought, on the contrary, to be blended into one, and combined 
 chronologically in such a manner as to represent the three principal periods 
 of the discovery of printing. 
 
 There is no doubt that printing existed in the germ in ancient times ; 
 that it was known and made use of by the ancients. There were stamps 
 and seals bearing legends traced the wrong way, from Tvhich positive 
 impressions were obtained on papyrus or parchment, in wax, ink, or colour. 
 We are shown, in muséums, plates of copper or of cedar-wood, covered 
 with characters carved or eut out in them, which seem to hâve been 
 
486 
 
 PRINTING. 
 
 intended for the purpose of printing, and wliich resemble the block plates 
 of the fifteentli century. 
 
 Something very much like the process of printing in movtible type is 
 desci'ibed by Cicero in a passage in wbich be réfutes tbe doctrine of Epicurus 
 on the création of the world by atoms : " Why not believe, also, that by 
 
 
 / I I I \ 
 
 
 T^^^ 
 
 ////Il rrr 
 
 Fig. 387. — Ancient Wood-block Print, eut in Flanders before 1440, representing Je: 
 FlageUatîon. {Delbecq's Collection, Ghent.) 
 
 i Christ after fais 
 
 throwing together, indiscriminately, innumerable forms of letters of the 
 alphabet, either in gold or in any other substance, one can print with thèse 
 letters, on the ground, the ^«««/s of Ennius?" The movable letters pos- 
 sessed by the ancients were carved in box-wood or ivory ; but they were 
 only employed for teaching children to read, as Quinctilian testifies in his 
 
PRINTING. 
 
 487 
 
 "Oratorical Institutions," and St. Jérôme in Lis "Epistles." There was 
 then only wanting a fortunate ctiance to cause this carved alphabet to create 
 the typographie art fifteen centuries earlier than its actual birth. 
 
 "The art of taking impressions once discovered," says M. Léon de 
 Laborde, " and applied to engraving in relief, gave rise to printino-, 
 
 ^^l^(3.^^ -10 1- 
 
 g — OTO 9.^ 
 
 
 
 ^idt^ 
 
 ^o2 
 
 ^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 (7 
 
 \\(q\v 
 
 Q. 
 
 ,_.0 
 
 1^5 
 o -o S- 
 
 Gsie) I ""^S,^ ."-P^ ' (5IJT3 ?^jq)J.^ 
 
 ^J °J 
 
 OG^IO rr£ig — o V 
 
 o :^o 
 
 
 FIg. j88.-fac-simile ot an Engraving on Wood, by an ancient Flemish Engraver Jabout 1438); wh.ch 
 was inserted, after the manner of a Miniature, in a Manuscript of the Fifteenth Centnry, contammg 
 Prayers for the use of the People. (Delbecq's Collection, Ghent.) 
 
 which was only the perfection to which a natural and rapid progression 
 of attempts and efforts would naturally lead." "But it was only," adds 
 M. Ambroise-Firmin Didot, "when the art of making paper-that art 
 familiar to the Ghinese from the beginning of our era-spread in Europe 
 and became generally known, that the reproduction, by pressing, of texts. 
 
488 
 
 PRINTING. 
 
 figures, playing-cards, &c., first by the tabular process, called xylography 
 (block-printing), tben witb movable types, became easy, and was conse- 
 quently to appear simultaneously in difierent places." 
 
 But, at the end of tbe fourteenth century, at Huarlera, in Holland, 
 
 •wood-engraving bad been discovered, 
 and consequently tabular impression, 
 with wbicb tbe Cbinese, it is said, 
 vrere already acquainted tbree or 
 four bundred years before tbe modem 
 era. Perbaps it was some Cbinese 
 book or pack of cards brougbt to 
 Haarlem by a mercbant or a navi- 
 gator, tbat revealed to tbe cardmakers 
 and printsellers of tbe industrious 
 Netberlands a process of impressing 
 more expéditions and more econo- 
 mical. Xylograpby began on tbe day 
 wben a legend was engraved on a 
 wood-block ; tbis legend, limited at 
 first to a few lines, very soon occu- 
 pied a wbole page; tben tbis page 
 was net long in becoming a volume 
 (Fig 387 to 389). 
 
 Hère is an extract from tbe ac- 
 count given by Adrian Junius, in bis 
 Latin work entitled " Batavia," of 
 tbe discovery of printing at Haarlem, 
 written in 1572 : — " More tban one 
 bundred and tbirty-two years ago 
 tbere lived at Haarlem, close to the 
 
 Fijr. jSo. — W^ood-block, eut in France, about 1440, - -, x i t i. _ 
 
 -, f =^ T .1, r t royal palace, one J obn Laurent, sur- 
 
 representmg an Image of St. James the Great, ■" J r > 
 
 with one of the Commandments as a Text. jjamed Coster (or govemer), for tbis 
 
 (Impérial Library, Paris, Collection of Prints.) 
 
 bonourable post came to bim by in- 
 beritance, being handed down in bis family from fatber to son. One day, 
 about 1420, as be was walking after dinner in a wood near tbe town, be 
 set to work and eut tbe bark of beecb-trees into tbe sbape of letters. 
 
 
PRTNTING. 
 
 489 
 
 with whicli hé traced, on paper, by pressing one after tlie other upon it, 
 a model composed of many lines for the instruction of bis cbildren. 
 Encouraged by tbis success, bis genius took a bigber fligbt, and tlien, 
 in concert witb bis son-in-law, Tbomas Pierre, be invented a species of ink 
 more glutinous and tenacious than tbat employed in writing, . and be 
 tbus printed figures (images) to wbicb be added bis wooden letters. I bave 
 myself seen many copies of tbis first attempt at printing. Tbe text 
 is on one side only of tbe paper. Tbe book printed was written in tbe 
 vulgar tongue, by an anonymous autbor, baving as its title ' Spéculum 
 nostras Salutis' ('Tbe Mirror of our Salvation'). Later, Laurent Coster 
 cbanged bis wooden types into leaden, tben tbese into pewter. Laurent's 
 new invention, encouraged by studious men, attracted from ail parts 
 an immense concourse of purcbasers. Tbe love of tbe art increased, tbe 
 labours of bis worksbop increased also, and Laurent was obliged to 
 add bired workmen to tbe members of bis family, to assist in bis 
 opérations. Among tbese workmen tbere was a certain Jobn, wbom I 
 suspect of being none otber tban Faust, wbo was treacberous and fatal 
 to bis master. Initiated, under tbe seal of an oatb, into ail tbe secrets of 
 printing, and baving become very expert in casting type, in setting it 
 up, and in tbe otber processes of bis trade, tbis Jobn took advantage of a 
 Cbristmas evening, wbile every one was in cburcb, to rifle bis master's 
 workshop and to carry ofiP bis typograpbical implements. He fled witb 
 bis booty to Amsterdam, tbence to Cologne, and afterwards to Mayence, 
 wbere be establisbed bimself ; and calculating upon safety bere, set up a 
 printing-office. In tbat very same year, 1422, be printed witb tbe type 
 wbicb Laurent bad employed at Haarlem, a grammar tben in use, caUed 
 'Alexandri Galli Doctrinale,' and a ' Treatise of Peter tbe Spaniard ' 
 ('Pétri Hispani Tractatus' )." 
 
 Tbis account, wbicb came, indeed, ratber late, altbougb tbe autbor 
 referred to tbe most respectable autborities in support of it, met at first 
 with notbing but incredulity and contempt. At tHs period tbe rigbt of 
 Mayence to be considered tbe birtbplace of printing could only be senously 
 counterbalanced by tbe rigbt Strasbourg bad to be so considered. Tbe tbree 
 names of Gutenberg, of Faust, and of Scbœffer were abeady consecrated by 
 nniversal gratitude. Everyvvhere, tben, except in Holland, tbis new testi- 
 mony was rejected ; everywbere tbe new inventer, wbose claim bad just been 
 
 3 R 
 
490 PRINTIXG. 
 
 made for a share of the honoux, was rejected as an apocryptal or legendary 
 being. But very soon, however, criticism, raising itself above tlie influences 
 of nationality, took up tbe question, discussed the account given by Junius, 
 examined that famous " Spéculum " whicb no one had yet pointed out, 
 proved the existence of xylographie impressions, sought for those which could 
 be attributed to Coster, and opposed to the Abbé Tritheim (or Trithemius), 
 ■^vho had -written on the origin of printing from information furnished by 
 Peter Schœffer himself, the more disinterested testimony of the anonymous 
 chronicler of Cologne in 1465, -n-ho had learned from Ulric Zell, one of 
 Gutenberg's ■vcorkmen, and the first printer of Cologne in 1465, this 
 important peculiarity: — "Although the typographie art -was invented at 
 Mayence," says he, " nevertheless the first rough sketch of this art was 
 invented in Holland, and it is in imitation of the ' Donatus ' (the Latin 
 syntax by Cœlius Donatus, a grammarian of the fourth century, a book 
 then in use in the schools of Europe), which long before that time was 
 printed there ; it is in imitation of this, and on account of it, that the 
 said art began under the auspices of Gutenberg." 
 
 If Gutenberg imitated the " Donatus," which was printed in Holland 
 before the time he himself printed at Mayence, Gutenberg was not the 
 inventer of printing. It was in 1450 that Gutenberg began to print 
 at Mayence (Fig. 390) ; but from as early a date as 1436 he had tried to 
 print at Strasbourg ; and, before his first attempts, there had been printed 
 in HoUand, — at Haarlem, and Dordrecht, — "Spécula" and "Donati" on 
 wooden boards ; a process known by the name of xylorjraphy (engraving on 
 wood), while the attempts at typography (printing with movable type) made 
 by Gutenberg entirely differed from the other ; since the letters, engraved at 
 first on steel points {poinçons), and afterwards forced into a copper matrix 
 reproduced by means of casting in a métal more fusible than copper the 
 impress of the point on shanks (tiges) made of pewter or lead, hardened by 
 an alloy (Fig. 391). 
 
 îfow, a rather singular circumstance cornes to corroborate what was said 
 by Adxian Junius. A Latin édition of the "Spéculum,'' an in-folio of sixty- 
 three leaves, with wood engravings in two compartments at the head of 
 each leaf, consists of a mixture of twenty xylographie leaves, and of forty- 
 one leaves printed with movable type, but very imperfect, and cast in 
 moulds which were probably made of baked earth : an édition of a Dutch 
 
PRINTING. 
 
 49' 
 
 " Spéculum," in folio, bas also two pages in a type smaller aud doser than 
 the rest of the text. How are we to explain thèse anomalies ? On the one 
 hand, a mixture of xylograpliy and typography ; on the other, a combination 
 of two différent kinds of movable type. My hypothesis is, if indeed the 
 détails given by Junius, open to suspicion as tbey are, be correct, that the 
 dishonest workman who, according to bis owu account, stole the implements 
 
 tionî^ qurppofimaiij0 ^ar 
 
 - ^fai^aurromplftautmîifsr 
 
 aîîtiîîiîîmf|>it!|î0fitmîitt0t mMx 
 ^mi|.0îîîîï:'€afu6 mt ^Quot cafo^i 
 îBiîû'iSîîK^c^U0iiiiisïtna©appo- 
 ItfîOîifôartirafusriîfaîr.apîi.ante, 
 a0uerri!m.(i$.ntra,ftrfii.circa.rotra. 
 er^a^jrtramîtrantraMraàuj^ia ot^ 
 iiam.pct«îfapt^rft^ntîi0fttrâîtô 
 tiltra.p^fttnûipia.arfttfnîîf(pXfcu0. 
 
 ajiînCmHa.ante r ùrs^ejucrfuntlmnii 
 
 Fig. 3,o.-Fac-s™ile of a Pa.e of .he .ost aocient Xylo.rapWc "Bonatus.. (Chapte. on Prepo.tlons,, 
 printed at Mayence, by Fust and Gutenberg, abont .450. 
 
 exnployed in the workshop of Laurent Coster, and wbo must bave acted with 
 a certain amount of précipitation, contented himself with carrying off some 
 forms of the "Spéculum" just ready for the press. Tbe type employed 
 for twenty or twenty-two pages was sufficient to serve as models for a 
 connterfeit édition, and also for a book of smaU extent, such as the 
 .' Alexandri Galli Doctrinale," and the "Pétri Hispam Tractatus. It 
 
492 
 
 PRINTING. 
 
 probable tbat the Latin and Dutch éditions of the " Spéculum " were both 
 entirely composed, set up, and prepared for tbe text to be struck off, wben 
 tbe tbief took at bazard tbe twenty-two forms, wbicb be determined to turn 
 to account, at any rate as a model for tbe couuterfeit édition be intended to 
 publisb. In cast-iron type, tbese forms could not bave weigbed more tban 
 sixty pounds ; in wooden type, not balf as mucb ; if we add to tbese tbe 
 eomposiag-sticka, tbe pincers, tbe galleys, and otber indispensable éléments 
 of tbe tradc, we sball find tbat tbe booty was not beyond tbe strengtb of a 
 man to carry easily on bis sboulders. As for tbe press, about tbat tbere 
 
 Fig. 391. — Portrait of Gutenberg, from an Engraving of the Sîxteenth Century. 
 (Impérial Library of Paris, Print Room.) 
 
 could be no question, since tbe impressions produced at Haarlem were made 
 witb a pad and by band, as is still tbe case witb playing-cards and prints. 
 
 It romains now to discover wbo was tbis Jobn wbo appropriated tbe 
 secret of priating, and took it from Haarlem to Mayence. Was it Jobn Fust 
 or Faust, as Adrian Junius suspected ? Was it Jobn Gutenberg, as many 
 Dutcb writers bave alleged? or was it not ratber Jobn Gensfleiscb tbe elder,, 
 a relation of Gutenberg, as, from a very esplicit passage of tbe learned 
 Josepb Wimpfeling, bis contemporary, tbe latest defenders of tbe Haarlem 
 tradition tbink ? Tbe question is still undecided. 
 
 Tbe " Spéculum," bowever, is not tbe only book of tbe kind wbicb 
 
PRINTING. 
 
 493 
 
 /gSnïiSpS^ 
 
 ^Slgèferog^^^^^^'^'ëi^^^^ 
 
 t^feeyiql 
 
 Fig. 392.-Fac-simile of the Twenty-eighth Xylographie Page of the " Biblia Pauperum ; " represeoting, 
 wîth Texts taken from the Old Testament, David slaying Goliath, and Christ causmg the Soûls of the 
 Patriarchs and Prophets to como out of Purgatory. 
 
494 PRINTING. 
 
 had appeared in the Low Coimtries before the period assigned to the dis- 
 covery of printing in Holland. Some of thèse were evidently xylographie, 
 others show signs of having been printed with movable type of wood, uot 
 of métal. Ail hâve engravings of the same character as those of the 
 " Spéculum," especially the " Biblia Pauperum " (" Poor Men's Bible ") 
 (Fig. 392), the " Ars iloriendi" ("The Art of Dying") (Fig. 393) the 
 " Ars Memorandi " (" The Art of Remembering "), which had a very wide 
 circulation. 
 
 However this may be, Laurent Coster, notwithstanding the progress 
 he had made with his invention, was certainly ignorant of its importance. 
 In those days the only libraries were those belonging to couvents aud to a 
 few nobles of literary acquirements ; private individuals, with the excep- 
 tion of some learned men who were richer than their fellows, possessed 
 no books at ail. The copyists and illuminators by profession were employed 
 exclusively in reproducing " Livres d'Heures" (prayer-books), and school 
 books : the first were sumptuous volumes, objects of an industry quite 
 exceptional ; the second, destined for children, were always simply executed, 
 and composed of a few leaves of strong paper or parchment. The pupils 
 limited themselves to writing passages of their lessons from the dictation of 
 their teachers ; to the monks was assigned the task of transcribiag, at fuU 
 leno-th, the sacred and profane authors. Coster could not even hâve 
 thouo'ht of reproducing thèse works, the sale of which would hâve seemed 
 to him impossible, and he at first fell back upon the " Spécula," religious 
 books which addressed themselves to ail the faithful, even to those who 
 could not read, by means of the stories or illustrations (Jmages) of which 
 thèse books were composed ; then he occupied himself with the " Donati," 
 which he reprinted mauy times from xylographie plates, if not with 
 movable type, and for which he must hâve found a considérable demand. 
 It was one of thèse " Donati " that, falling under the eyes of Gfutenberg, 
 revealed to him, according to the " Chronique de Cologne," the secret of 
 printing. 
 
 This secret was kept faithfuUy for fifteeu or twenty years by the work- 
 men employed in his printing-house, who were not initiated into the 
 mysteries of the new art till they had served a certain time of probation aud 
 apprenticeship : a terrible oath bound together those whom the master had 
 considered worthy of entering into parinership with him ; for on the pre- 
 
PRINTING. 
 
 495 
 
 servation of the secret depended tbe prosperlty or the ruin of the inventor 
 and his coadjutors, since ail printed books were then sold as maniiRrripts. 
 
 theSinner on bis Death-bed surrounded by b.s Fam.ly. Two Uemon 
 " Think of thy treasure," and " Distribute it lo thy fr.ends. 
 
 But while the secret was so scrupulously maintained by the first Dutch 
 
496 PRIXTING. 
 
 printer and his partners, a lawsuit was brouglit before the superior court of 
 Strasbourg which, though the raotÏTes for it were apparently but of private 
 interest, was nevertheless to give the public the key to the mysterious 
 trade of the typographer. This lawsuit, — the curions documents relating 
 to which ■were found only in 1760, in an old tower at Strasbourg, — was 
 brought against John Gensfleisch, called Gutenberg (who was born at 
 Mayence, but was exiled from his native town during the political troubles, 
 and had settled at Strasbourg since 1420), by George and Mcholas 
 Dritzehen, who, as heirs of the deceased Andrew Dritzehen, their brother, 
 and formerly Gutenberg's partner, desired to be admitted as his repré- 
 sentatives into an association of whose object they were ignorant, but from 
 which they no doubt knew their brother expected to dérive some bénéficiai 
 résulta. It was, in short, printing itself which was on its trial at Strasbourg 
 towards the end of the year 1439 ; that is, more than fourteen years before 
 the period at which printing is known to hâve been first employed in 
 Mayence. 
 
 Hère is a sumraary, as we find them in the documents relating to this 
 lawsuit, of the facts stated before the judge. Gutenberg, an ingenious but a 
 poor man, possessed divers secrets for becoming rich. Andrew Dritzehen came 
 to him with a request that he would teach him many arts. Gutenberg there- 
 upon initiated him into the art of polishing stones, and Andrew " derived 
 great profit from this secret." Subsequently, with the object of carrying 
 out another art during the pilgrimage of Aix-la-Chapelle,* Gutenberg agreed 
 with Hans Riffen, mayor of Lichtenau, to form a company, which Andrew 
 Dritzehen and a man named Andrew Heilman desired to join. Gutenberg 
 consented to this on condition that they would together purchase of him 
 the right to a third of the profits, for a sum of 160 florins, payable on 
 the day of the contract, and 80 florins payable at a later date. The 
 agreement being made, he taught them the art which they were to exercise 
 at the proper period in Aix-la-Chapelle ; but the pilgrimage was postponed 
 to the following year, and the partners required of Gutenberg that he 
 should not conceal from them any of the arts and inventions of which he 
 was cognisant. New stipulations were entered upon whereby the partners 
 pledged themselves to pay an additional sum, and in which it was stated that 
 
 * ProbaWy this "pilgrimage" refêrs to some one of the great European Councils or Diets 
 held in the city during the Middle Ages, as -were Congresses in later times. — [-Ed.] 
 
PRINTING. 
 
 497 
 
 the art should be carried on for the beuefit of tbe four partners during tho 
 space of five years ; and that, in the erent of one of them dying, ail thc 
 implenients of the art, and ail the works alrcady produced, sbould belong to 
 the surviving partners ; the heirs of the deceased being entitled to receive 
 no more than an indemnity of 100 florins at the expiration of the said five 
 years. 
 
 G-utenberg accordingly offered to pay the heirs of his late partner the 
 stipulated sum ; but they demanded of him an account of the capital invested 
 by Andrew Dritzehen, which, as they alleged, had been absorbed in the 
 spéculation. They mentioned especially a certain account for lend, for which 
 their brother had made hiuiself responsible. Without denying this account, 
 Gutenberg refused to satisfy their demands. 
 
 IN'umerous witnesses gave évidence, and their dépositions for and against 
 the object of the association show us a faithful picture of what must hâve 
 been the inner life of four partners eshausting themselves and their 
 money in efîbrts to realise a scheme the nature of which they were very 
 careful to conceal, but from which they expected to dérive the most 
 splendid résulta. 
 
 We Énd them worbing by night ; we hear them answering those who 
 questioned them on the object of their work, that they were "mirror- 
 makers " [sjnegel-macher) ; we find them borrowing money, hecause they had 
 in hand "something in which they could not invest too much money." 
 Andrew Dritzehen, in whose care the press was left, being dead, Gutenberg's 
 first object was to send to the deceased's house a man he could trust, 
 who was commissioned to unscrew the press, so that the pièces (or 
 forms), which were fixed closely together by it, might become detached 
 from each other, and then to place thèse forms in or on the press "in such 
 a manner that no one might be able to understand what they were." 
 Gutenberg regrets that his servant did not bring him back ail the forms, 
 many of which "were not to be found." Lastly, we find figuring among 
 the witnesses a turner, a timber-merchant, and a goldsmith who declared 
 that be had worked during three years for Gutenberg, and that he had 
 gained more than 100 florins by preparing for him " the things belonging 
 to printing " {dm zu dem Trucken gehoret). 
 
 Truchen—^Tmimg\ Thus the grand word was pronounced in the 
 course of the lawsuit, but certainly without producing the least efi'ect on 
 
 3 s 
 
49» PJiIXTIXG. 
 
 the audience, who wondered what was this occult art wLich Gutenberg and 
 his partners had carried ou with so mucli trouble, and at sucli great 
 expense. Ilowever, it is qiiite certain that, with the exception of the 
 indiscrétion, really very insigniiicant, of the goldsmith, Gutenberg's 
 secret remained iindiscovered, for it 'n'as supposed it had to do with the 
 poUshing of sfoiies and the manufacture of inirrors. The judge, being 
 informed as to the good faith of Gutenberg, pronounced the oifers he made 
 to the plaintiffs satisfactory, dccided against the heirs of Andrew Dritzehen, 
 and the three other partners remained sole proprietors of their process, and 
 continued to carry it out. 
 
 If we study with some attention the documents rehiting to this singular 
 trial at Strasbourg, and if we also notice, that our word mirror is the 
 translation of the Gerraan word spietjel and of the Latin word spéculum, it 
 is impossible not to recognisc ail the f)rocesses, ail the implements made 
 use of in printing, with the naraes they haA'e not ceased to bear, and 
 which were given to them as soon as they were invented ; the forms, the 
 screw (which is not the priiidng-'pTess, for they printed in those days with 
 the frottoii, or rubber, but the frame in which the types were jjressed), the 
 lead, the work, the art, &c. TVe see Gutenberg accompanied by a turner 
 who made the screw for the press, the timber merchant who had supplied 
 the planks of box or of pear wood, the goldsmith who had engraved or cast 
 the type. Then we ascertain that thèse "mirrors," in the préparation 
 of which the partners were occupied, and which were to be sold at the 
 pilgrimage of Aix-la-Chapelle, were no other than the future copies of 
 the " Spéculum Ilumanaî Salvationis," an imitation more or less perfect of 
 the famous book of illustrations of which Holland had already published 
 three or four éditions, in Latin and in Dutch. 
 
 We know, on the other hand, that thèse "Mirrors"' or "Spécula" were, 
 in the earliest days of printing, so much in request, that in every place 
 the first printers rivalled each other in executing and publishing différent 
 éditions of the book with illustrations. Hère, there was the reprint of the 
 "Spéculum," abridged by L. Coster; there, the "Spéculum" of Gutenberg, 
 taken entirely from manuscripts ; now it was the " Spéculum Vitae 
 Humanse," by Roderick, Bishop of Zamora ; then the " Spéculum Con- 
 scienciœ," of Arnold Gheyloven ; then the " Spéculum Sacerdotum," or 
 again, the voluminous "Spéculum" of Vincent de Beauvais, &c. 
 
PRINTING. 
 
 499 
 
 It cannot now any longer be assumed that Gutonberg really mude 
 rairrors or looking-glasses at Strasbourg, and that those pièces " laid in a 
 press," tbose " forms which came to pièces," tbat lead sold or wrought 
 by a goldsmitb, were, as tbey wisbed it to be supposed, only iutendcd to bo 
 used " for printing ornaments on the frames of looking-glasses ! " 
 
 "Would it not bave been surprising tbat tbé pilgrims wbo were to 
 visit Ais-la-Cbapelle on tbe occasion of tbe grand jubilee of 1-i-lO, sbould 
 be so anxious to buy ornamented mirrors ? As to tbe art " of polkhing 
 stones," wbicb Gutenberg bad taugbt at first to Andrew Dritzeben, wbo 
 
 Fig. 394.-Interior of a Printing-office in the Sixteenth Centurj-, by J. Amman. 
 
 derived from it '' so muck profit ," ta.ing anytbing to do witb printing was, 
 no doubt, also questionable ; but we bave not been able to solve tbe en.gma, 
 and wait to clear up tbe difficulty tiU a new incunable {inamMa, a 
 cradle," tbe word is applied to tbe first éditions ever printed) .s d.scovered 
 tbe work of some Peter (.>o. " a stone ") or otber ; as, for example tbe 
 Latin sermons of ïïennann de Petra on tbe Lord's Prayer ; for Gutenberg 
 wben speakiug of poUsUn, stones, migbt bave enigmat.caUy de.gn ted a 
 book be was printing; Just as bis partner, in answer ^J^^J^ 
 after baving raised bis band on bigb and sworn to g.ve true e.dence. 
 
500 PRINTING. 
 
 coiild call himself a maker of mirroiv, without telling a falsehood, without 
 coramitting perjuiy. The secret of printing was to be religiously kept by 
 those who knew it. 
 
 In short, it results from ail this that Gutenberg, " an ingenious man 
 and a man of invention," having seen a xylographie " Donatus," had 
 endeavoured to imitate it, aud had succeeded in doing so, the secret being 
 confided to Andrew Dritzehen ; that the other arts, which Gutenberg at first 
 kept to himself, but which he subsequently communicated to his partners, 
 consisted in the idea of substituting movable type for tabular printing ; a 
 substitution that could ouly be effected after numerous experiments had 
 been made, and which were just about to be crowned with success when 
 Andrew Dritzehen died. We may thon consider it as nearly certain that 
 printing was in some sort discovered twice successively — the first tirne by 
 Laurent Coster, whose small printed books, or books in letterpress {eu 
 moule), attracted the attention of Gutenberg; and the second time by 
 Gutenberg, who raised the art to a degree of perfection such as haduever 
 been attained by his predecessor. 
 
 It was after the Strasbourg lawsuit between the years 1440 or 1442, as 
 stated by many historians, that Gutenberg went to Holland, and there 
 became a workman in the establishment of Coster ; this is asserted in order 
 that they might be able to accuse him of the theft which Junius bas laid to 
 the account of a certain man whose name was John. Only — and the coïnci- 
 dence is not, in this case, unworthy of remark — two unedited chronicles of 
 Strasbourg and the Alsatian Wimpfeling relate, almost at the same time, a 
 robbery of tj'pe and implements used iu printing, but mentioning Strasbourg 
 instead of Haarlem, Gutenberg instead of Laurent Coster, and naming the 
 thief John Gensfleisch. But, according to the Strasbourg tradition, this 
 John Gensfleisch the elder, related to and employed by Gutenberg, robbed 
 him of his secret and his tools, after having been his rival in the dis- 
 covery of printing, and established himself at Mayence, where, by a just 
 ■Visitation of Providence, he was soon struck blind. It was then, adds the 
 tradition, that in his repentance he sent for his former master to come to 
 Mayence, and gave up to him the business he had founded. But this 
 last part of the tradition seems to savour too much of the moral 
 déductions of a story; and as it is very improbable, moreover, that two 
 thefts of the samc kind were committed at the same period, and under the 
 
PRINTIXG. 50, 
 
 saine circumstances, we are inclined to believe that the John mentioned 
 by Junius was, in fact, Gutenberg's relative, who went to Haarlom to 
 perfect Hmself in the art of printing, and robbed Costor ; for thcro 
 really existed at Mayence, at the time mentioned, a John Gen.sfluiscli, 
 who might hâve printed, before Gutenberg went to join him thcre, the 
 two school books, "Doctrinale Alexandri Galli," and "Pétri Hispani 
 Tractatus." This is rendered still more probable from tho fact that, after 
 search had been long made for thèse books, which were absolutely 
 unknown when Junius mentioned them, three fragments of the "Doc- 
 trinale," printed on vellum with the type of the Dutch " Spéculum," were 
 at length found. 
 
 However, Gutenberg had not succeeded with his printing at Strasbourg. 
 When he quitted the town, where he left such pupils as John Mentell and 
 Henry Eggestein, he removed to Mayence, and established himseK in the 
 house of Zum Jungen. There he again printed, but he exhausted his 
 means in experiments, alternately taking up and laying aside the 
 varions processes he had em|)loyed — xylography, movable types of wood, 
 lead, and cast iron. He used, for printing, a hand-press which he had 
 made on the sarae principle as a wine-press ; he invented new tools ; he 
 began ten works and could finish none. At last, his resources aU gone, 
 and himself in a state of despair, he was just going to give up the art 
 altogether, when chance sent him a partner, John Fust or Faust, a rich 
 goldsmith of Mayence. 
 
 This partnership took place in 1450. Fust, by a deed properly drawn 
 up by a notary, promised Gutenberg to advance him 800 gold florins for 
 the manufacture of implements and tools, and 300 for other expenses— 
 servants' wages, rent, firing, parchment, paper, ink, &c. Besides the 
 " Spécula " and " Donati " already in circulation, which Gutenberg prohably 
 continued to print, the object of the partnership was the printing of a 
 Bible in folio of two columns, in large type, with initial letters engraved 
 on wood ; an important work requiring a great outlay. 
 
 A caligrapher was attached to Gutenberg's printing estabhshment, 
 either to trace on wood the characters to be engraved, or to ruhricate 
 the printed pages; in other words, to write in red ink, to paint with a 
 brush or to illuminate {au frotton) the initiais, the capital letters, and the 
 headings of chapters. This caligrapher was probably Peter SchœfFer or 
 
502 PRINIIXG. 
 
 Schoiffer, of Gernsbeim, a snaall town iu the diocèse of Darmstadt, a clcrk of 
 the diocèse of Mayence, as he styles himself, and perhaps a Gerraan student 
 in the University of Paris ; since a manuscript copied by liim, and preserved 
 at Strasbourg, is terrainated by an inscription in wbicb be testifies tbat be 
 bimself wrote it in tbe yeur 1449, in " tbo very glorious University of 
 Paris." Scbœfi'er was not only a literary man, but was also a man of 
 ingenuity and prudence (iiigeniostis et prudens). Having entered Guten- 
 berg's establishment, on whom Fust had forced him, in 1452, to take part 
 in tbe new association tbey ■were tben fonuing, Scbœffer invented au 
 improved mould with which he could cast separately ail tbe letters of tbe 
 alphabet in métal, •\vhereas up to this time tbey had been obliged to engrave 
 the type with a burin. He concealed bis discovery from Gutenberg, wbo 
 would naturally bave avaUed bimself of it ; but he confided the secret to 
 Fust, wbo, being very experienced in casting metals, carried eut bis idea. 
 It was evidently with this cast type, wbicb resisted tbe action of the press, 
 tbat Scbœffer composcd and executed a "Donatus," of wbicb four leaves, in 
 parchment, were found at Trêves in 1803, in the interior of an old book- 
 covcr, and were deposited in the Impérial Library of Paris. An inscription 
 in this édition, printed in red, announces formally tbat Peter Scbœffer alone 
 had executed it, with its type and its initial letters, according to tbe " new 
 art of the printer, without the help of the pen." 
 
 Tbat was certainly the first public disclosure of tbe existence of printing, 
 wbicb up to this time had passed off its productions as tbe work of 
 caligrapbers. It seems tbat Scbœffer tbus desired to mark tbe date 
 and to appropriate to bimself tbe invention of Gutenberg. It is certain 
 tbat Fust, allured by the results Scbœffer had obtained, secretly entered 
 into partnership with him, and, in order to get rid of Gutenberg, 
 profited by the power wbicb bis bond gave him over tbat unfortunate 
 individual. Gutenberg, summoned to dissolve the partnership and to return 
 tbe sums he had received, wbicb he was quite incapable of paying, was 
 obliged, in order to satisfy the demands of bis pitiless créditer, to give up 
 to him bis printing establishment with ail tbe materials it contained ; among 
 them was included this same Bible, the last leaves of wbicb were, perhaps, 
 in tbe press at tbe moment wben tbey robbed bim of tbe fruits of bis 
 long-protracted labours. 
 
 Gutenberg evicted, Peter Scbœffer, and Fust, wbo had given Scbœffer 
 
PRINTING. 503 
 
 his daugliter in marriage, completed thé great Bible, wliich was ready for 
 sale in the early months of 1456. Tliis Bible, being passed off as a manu- 
 script, must hâve comraanded a very higb price. This accounts for thc 
 non-appearance on it of any inscription to show by what raeans this immense 
 ■\Tork had been esecuted ; let us add that in any case we may well suppose 
 Schceffer and Fust were not willing to gire to Gutenberg a share of the 
 glory which they dared not yet appropriate to themselves. 
 
 The Latin Bible, without date, which ail bibliographers agrée in con- 
 
 Jiocut^ l autcfaui aîï)^onatl]an 
 ^ filmmfmîm^ttaîï 0meôfooâ 
 •^v J:ut ottîmtcîEuiîï.j^iîtro Fotta^ 
 tliao fdi^faulî)ili0elîat îsauitïiîate. 
 f tinOuauitpouatteB ùauiD Dîcea 
 iDuciitraulpr îtteuô omîitretc.iDua- 
 pro^t ijWua te qfo mant^mancbie 
 rlamrratitcôîcaô f go autccgtcDife 
 rtabaîuirapatrêîncuiaicDî3lîîriiq; 
 fucrit'rtcgoioriuartet'caîi]H«enim- 
 \ qBcûC0 uîîitco ufictak ttbiiocut^ 
 rftfrçroronati)a0îeDauiîibana:aîï 
 faulpatrem ruum.Uîritqf aîi m, ^e 
 
 Fig. 395.-Fac-simile of the Bible of 1456 d Samuel xix. 1-5). printed at Mayence by Gutenberg. 
 
 sidering as that of Gutenberg, is a large in-folio of six hundred and 
 forty-one leaves, divided into two, or three, or even four volumes. It 
 is printed in double columns, of forty-two lines each in the full pages, 
 with the exception of the first ten, which consisted of only forty or 
 forty-one lines (Fig. 395). The characters are Gothic ; the leaves are 
 ail numbered, and hâve neither .i.nature. nor catcMœré. Some copes 
 of it are on vellum, others on paper. The number of copies wh.ch were 
 
504 PniXTIXG. 
 
 printed of this Bible may be estimated at one hundred and fifty — a 
 considérable number for that period. The simiiltaneons publication of 
 so many Bibles, exactly alike, did net contribute less than the lawsuit 
 of Gutenberg and Fust to make known the discovery of printing. 
 Besides ■which, Fust and bis new partner, although they bad mutually 
 agreed to keep the secret as long as possible, were the first to reveal it, in 
 order to get ail the crédit of the invention for themselves, when public 
 rumour allowed theni no longer to conccal it within their printing-office. 
 
 It was then they printed the " Psalmorum Codex" (Collection of 
 Psalms), the earliest book bearing their names, and which fixed, in 
 a manner, for the first time, a date for the new art they had so much 
 improved. The colopJion, or inscription at the end of the "Psalmorum 
 Codex," announces that the book was executed " without the help of the 
 pen, by an ingenious process, in the year of our Lord, 1457." 
 
 This magnificent Psalter, which went through three éditions without 
 any considérable altérations being raade in it in the space of thirty-three 
 years, is a large in-folio volume of one hundred and seventy-five leaves, 
 printed in red and black characters, imitated from those used in the 
 liturgical manuscripts of the fifteenth centuiy. There exists, however, of 
 the rarest édition of this book but six or seven copies on vellum (Fig. 396). 
 
 From this period printing, instead of concealing itself, endeavoured, on 
 the contrary, to make itself generally known. But it does not as yet seem 
 to bave occurred to any one that it could be applied to the reproduction 
 of other books than Bibles, psalters, and missals, because thèse were the 
 only books that commanded a quick and extensive sale. Fust and Schœffer 
 then undertook the printing of a voluminous work, which served as a 
 liturgical manual to the whole of Christendom, the celebrated " Rationale 
 Divinorum OfBciorum" (" Manual of Divine Offices"), by William Durand, 
 Bishop of Mende, in the thirteenth century. It suffices to glance 
 over this " Rationale," and to compare it with the coarse " Spécula " 
 printed in Holland, to be convinced that in the year 1459 printing had 
 reached the highest degree of perfection. This édition, dated from 
 Mayence {Mogimtiœ), was no longer intend ed for a small number of buyers; 
 it was addressed to the entire CathoKc world, and copies of it on vellum 
 and ou paper were disseminated so rapidly over the whole of Europe as 
 to cause the belief, thenceforward^ that printing was invented at Mayence. 
 
PRINTIKG. 
 
 50s 
 
 c 
 
 <^È 
 
 ma r^ltenms \m\M, 
 
 Xultateiu 
 
 ftiînîiûûrrr 
 
 ôfitemîîi 
 
 ___ MterioDerf 
 
 anmteftmtîfûnouû: 
 
 ff tdcôri^îareitû éùbû 
 
 mftîe:l3fligrtîntffôiam 
 
 î)nifllenaefttrd.CΣ*o 
 ftfpmtaDZteau0omi0 
 
 f tl,. Psalter of 1459, second editio-, or the second copy that ^ 
 
 struck ofF. 
 
 3 T 
 
.So6 
 
 PRINTING. 
 
 The fourtli work printed by Fust and Scliœffer, and dated 1460, is tlie 
 collection of the Constitutions of Pope Clément V., known by tbe name of 
 " Clémentines " — a large in-folio in double columns, haviug superb initial 
 letters painted in gold and colours in the small number of copies still extant. 
 
 But Gutenberg, thougb deprived of bis typographie apparatus, had not 
 renounced the art of which he considered himself, and with reason, the prin- 
 cipal inventer. He was, above ail, anxious to prove himself as capable as 
 his former partners of producing books "without the help of the pen." He 
 formed a new association, and fitted up a printing-of&ce which, we know by 
 tradition, was actively at work till 1460, the year wherein appeared the 
 " Catholicon" (a kind of encyclopsedia of the thirteenth century), by John 
 
 n] Urim's okcombuô poni 
 
 rtms urjfajtia filips Jn çrc 
 
 dô ûo Dcoiiibus pb.ut or 
 
 pbGus pbcrott. tTiootamcn 
 
 frire t»b<?mu$.<î' non tam 
 
 ffots ifâbîjs ^nudanoa cft F 
 
 'îquô pb.atcp B IblJ întcrcR' 
 
 '+ncut oiat prifcUnufein prt 
 
 'ibro majons. 
 
 vntè fdbanus à û quoO fifae fabifurquot^pcr 
 tinct- dî) Fabas.et b fab^riuô.t.cdnt-oi' et &icebati 
 tur apub gcntUcs cantôtcs pabarij.oa lUo Icgu 
 Toinc -maxime urcbanT m ccbo.cf'g componem 
 
 Fiff. 397. — Fac-similé of tbe "Catholicon " ot 1460, printed at Mayence by Gutenberg. 
 
 Balbi, of Genoa, the only important work the printing of which can be 
 attributed to Gutenberg (Fig. 397), and which can bear comparison with the 
 éditions of Fust and Schœffer. Gutenberg, who had imitated the Dutch 
 " Donati " and " Spécula," doubtless felt a répugnance at appropriating to 
 hims^elf the crédit of an invention he had only improved ; accordingly, in the 
 long and explicit anonymous inscription placed at the end of the volume, 
 he attributed to God alone the glory of this divine invention, declaring that 
 the "Catholicon" had been printed without the assistance of reed, stylus, or 
 pen, but by a marvellous combination of points, matrices, and letters. 
 
 This undertaking brought to a happy termination, Gutenberg, no doiibt 
 weary of the annoyances incident to business, transferred his printing- 
 
PRINTING. tn- 
 
 5"/ 
 
 office to his workmen, Hemy and Nicholas lîcchlcnnunc/n, Wci>an.I 
 Spyes, and Ulric Zoll. Then, liaving retircd ncar to A.IoIi.I.um II., 
 elector and archbisliop of Mayence, wLcrc hc occupicd tho po.st ol' frcuûc. 
 man of the ecclesiastical court of that prince, lie contentcd liiinself with 
 the modest stipend attacTied to that office, and died at a date net uuthen- 
 tically determined, but which cannot be later tban February 24, 14G8. llis 
 friand, Adam Gelth, erected in tbe Church of the Récollots ut îlayciicc, 
 a monument to his memory, with an epitaph styh'ng hiin forniullv " the 
 inventer of the typographie art." 
 
 Fust and Schœifer did not the less continue to priut books with iiidc- 
 fatigable ardour. In 1462 they completed a new édition of the Bible, much 
 more perfect than that of 1456, and of which copies were probably sold, 
 as were those of the first édition, as manuscripts, especially in countries 
 where, as in France, printing did not already exist. It seems that the 
 appearance in Paris of this Bible, (called the Mayence Bible), greatly 
 excited the community of scribes and booksellers, who saw in tlie new 
 method of producing books, icithout the aicl of the peu, "the destruction of 
 their trade." They charged, it is said, the sellers of thèse books with 
 magie ; but it is more probable the latter were proceeded against, and con- 
 demned to fine and imprisonment, for having omitted to procure from the 
 University authority for the sale of their Bible ; such permission being then 
 indispensable for the sale of every kind of book. 
 
 In the meantime the town of Mayence had been taken by assault and 
 given up to pillage (October 27, 1462). This event, in conséquence of 
 which the printing-office of Fust and Schœffer remained shut up for two 
 years, resulted in the dissémination over the whole of Europe of printers 
 and the art of printing. Cologne, Hamburg, and Strasbourg appear to hâve 
 been the first towns in which the emigrants estabHshed themselves. 
 
 When thèse printers left Mayence, and carried their art elsewhere, it 
 had never produced any book of classic literature ; but it had proved by 
 important publications, such as the Bible and the " CathoKcon,» that it 
 could create entire libraries, and thus propagate, ad infinitum, the master- 
 pieces of human genius. It was reserved for the printing-office of Fust 
 and Schœffer to set the example in that direction, and of prmtmg the 
 first classical work. In 1465, Cicero's treatise "De Officiis," issued from 
 the press of thèse two faithful associâtes, and marked, as we may say, the 
 
5o8 PRINTING. 
 
 commencement of the printing of books for libraries, and with so great 
 success that in the followiug year a new édition of the treatise was 
 published, in quarto. 
 
 At this period, Fust himself came to Paris, where he established a dépôt 
 of printed books, but left the management of the concern to one of his own 
 fellow-countrymen. This person dying soon afterwards, the books found 
 in his house, being the property of a foréigner, were sold by right of 
 forfeiture, for the king's benefit. But upon the pétition of Peter Schœffer, 
 backed up by the Elector of Mayence, the King, Louis XL, granted 
 to the petitioners a sum of 2,425 golden dollars, " in considération of the 
 trouble and labour which the said petitioners had taken for the said 
 art and trade of printing, and of the benefit and utility which resulted 
 and may resuit from this art to the whole world, as well by increasing 
 knowledge as in other waj-s." This mémorable decree of the King of 
 France bears date April 21, 1475. 
 
 "We must mention, however, that about the year 1462, Louis XL, inqui- 
 sitive and uneasy at what he had heard of the invention of Gutenberg, 
 sent to Mayence Nicholas Jenson, a clever engraver, attached to the mint 
 at Tours, "to obtain secret information of the cutting of the points and 
 type, by means of which the rarest manuscripts could be multiplied, and 
 to earry off surreptitiously the invention and introduce it into France." 
 Nicholas Jenson, after having succeeded in his mission, did not return 
 to France (it was never known why), but went to Venice and established 
 himself there as a printer. It would seem, however, that Louis XL, 
 not discouraged at the ill success of his attempt, despatched, it is said, 
 another envoy, less enterprising but more conscientious than the first, 
 to discover the secrets of printing. In 1469, three Grerman printers, Ulric 
 Gering, Martin Crantz, and Michael Friburger, began to print in Paris, 
 in a room of the Sorbonne, of which their fellow-countryman, John Heylin, 
 named De la Pierre, was then the prier ; in the following year they 
 dedicated to the king, "their protector," one of their éditions, revised by 
 the leamed William Fichet ; and in the space of four years they published 
 about fifteen works, quartos and folios, the majority being printed for 
 the first time. Then, when they were forced to leave the Sorbonne, because 
 John de la Pierre, who had returned to Germany, had no longer authority 
 over the institution, they set up in the Rue Saint-Jacques a new printing 
 
PRINTING. 509 
 
 establishmeat, wliose siga-board was the " Soleil d'Or," froni wlileli, durino- 
 the next five years, were issued twelve other important works. 
 
 The Sorbonne then, like the TJniversity, was the cradlc and the foster- 
 mother in Paris of the art of printing, which soon attained to a flourish- 
 ing condition, and produced, during the last twenty years of the fourteenth* 
 century, numerous fine books of history, poetry, literature, and dévotion, 
 under the direction of the able and learned Pierre Caron, Pasquier Bon- 
 homme, Anthony Yérard, Simon Vostre (Fig. 398), &c. 
 
 After the capture of Mayence, two workmen, who had been dismissed 
 from the establishment of Fust and Schœffer, Conrad Sweynheim and 
 Arnold Pannartz, carried bej'ond the Alps the secret that had been confided 
 to them under the guarantee of an oath. They remained for a time in the 
 Couvent of Subiaco, near Rome, in which were some German monks, and 
 there they organised a printing apparatus, and printed many fine éditions 
 of Lactantius, Cicero, St. Augustine, &c. They were soon invited to 
 Rome, and met with an asylum in the house of the illustrions family of 
 Massimi ; but they found an opponent in the city in one of their own work- 
 men from the couvent, who had come to Rome and engaged himself as 
 printer to the cardinal John of Torquemada. Henceforward sprang up 
 between the two printing establishments a rivalry which showed itself in 
 unparalleled zeal and activity on both sides. In ten years the greater 
 niunber of the writings of the ancient Latin authors, which had been 
 preserved in manuscripts more or less rare, passed through the press. 
 In 1476 there were in Rome more than twenty printers, who employed 
 about a hundred presses, and whose great object was to surpass each 
 other in the rapidity with which they produced their pubHcations ; so 
 that the day soon arrived when the most precious manuscripts retained 
 any value only because they contained what had not been already made 
 public by printing. Those of which printed éditions already existed were 
 80 universally disregarded, that we must refer to this period the destruc- 
 tion of a large number. They were used, when written on parchment, for 
 binding the new books ; and to this circumstance may be attributed the loss 
 of certain celebrated works which printing in nowise tended to préserve 
 from the knife of the binder. 
 
 While printing was displaying such prodigious activity in Rome, it was 
 
 . Hic; but it should eviJeatly be the fifteeath century .-[Ed.] 
 
t^^^Â'^-^tJ^^?,S'=i^ :^A??^^Aç^J^\^_^i^^^^^i:^e>e>^f>i>>^V^'^>, 
 
 H>n).Coî^c(caTilmûtPîifto cananiuB ^Coîid.Jn 
 i)iiîfacri& foCcuniiepîCccCfi faCuatoîio nofîti ff= 
 pufc§iU'c>.Otimc6vg'Diuur) couâregati cofCauÔc 
 mttcôofflinuicfuindùl^wn.Hti^ie ac.î>P. ff(f\ 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Fig. 39S. — Fac-sîmile of a page of a " Livre d'Heures " printed in Paris, in 1512, 
 by Simon Vostre. 
 
PRINTING. 
 
 S" 
 
 net less active in Yenice, where it .eems to havo bceu imponcl l.y .l,at 
 Nzcholas Jenson whom Louis XL had sent to Gutenbo... and wl.om for a 
 long time even the Venetians looked on as the inventor of thc art with 
 which he had clandestinely become acquainted at Mayonce. From the 
 
 ^h^ 
 
 rig- 399— The Mark of Gérard Lecu, Printer at 
 Gouwe {1482). 
 
 Fig, 400.— The Mark of Fust and Schœffer, 
 Printers. (Fifteenth Century.) 
 
 year 1469, however, Jenson had no longer the monopoly of printing in 
 Venice, where John de Spire had arrived, bringing also from Mayence 
 ail the improvements Gutenberg and Schœffer had obtained. This 
 art having ceased to be a secret in the city of the Doges, great 
 
 Fiff. 401.— Mark of Arnold de Keyser, Printer at Ghent. 
 (1480.) 
 
 compétition arose among printers, who flocked to Yenice, ■where they 
 found a market for their volumes which a thousand ships earried to ail 
 parts of the world. At this period important and admirable publications 
 issued from the numerous rival printing establishments in Venice. 
 
S«2 
 
 PRINTING. 
 
 Christopher "Wiiltdorfer, of Ratisbon, published in 1471 tho first édition 
 of the " Decameron " of Boccacio, of wliicli a copy was sold for £2,080 
 at the Roxburgli sale ; John of Cologne published, in the same year, 
 the first dated édition of " Terence ; " Adam of Amberg reprinted, 
 from the Roman éditions, "Lactantius" and "Yirgil," &c. Finally, 
 Venice already possessed more than two hundred printers, when in 
 1494 the great Aldo Manuzio made his appearance, the precursor of 
 the Estiennes,* v;\o were the glory of Freneh printing. From every 
 part of Europe printing spread itself and flourished (Figs. 399 to 411) ; the 
 printers, however, often neglected, perhaps intentionally, to date their 
 
 ^ait et fmpumc 
 aeaigeeparco&irî) 
 manf\i)t)&ii)ctJout 
 îJcfTufcliS 
 
 FÎR. 402. — Mark of Colard 
 Mansion, Printer at Bruges. 
 (1477.) 
 
 Fig. 403. — Mark of Trechsel, 
 
 Printer at Lyons. 
 
 (1489.) 
 
 productions. In the course of 1469 there were only two towns, Venice 
 and Milan, that revealed, by their dated éditions, the time at which 
 printing was first estabUshed within their walls ; in 1470, five towns — 
 Nuremberg, Paris, Foligno, Treviso, and Verona ; in 1471, eight towns — 
 Strasbourg, Spires, Treviso, Bologna, Ferrara, JSTaples, Pavia, and Florence ; 
 in 1472, eight others — Cremona, Felizzano, Padua, Mantua, Montreuil, 
 Jesi, Munster, and Parma ; in 1473, ten — Brescia, Messina, Ubn, Bude, 
 
 * Anglicè, Stephens, by which name this illustrioua family of scholara and printers is most 
 popularly known in England. They were ten in number, wlio flourisbed between 1512 and about 
 1660. Anthony, the last distinguisbed représentative of the family, died in poverty at the Hôtel 
 Dieu, Paris, in 1674, at the âge of eighty-two. — [Ed.] 
 
PRINTING. 
 
 m 
 
 \ 
 
 Lauingen, Mersebourg, Alost, Utrecht, Lyons, and St. Ursio, n,.ar Vironxa • 
 m 1474, thirteen to^ns, among wliich are Valentia (in Spain) and London •' 
 m 1475, twelve towns, &c. Each year we find the art guining ground, unci 
 eacli year an mcrease in the number of books newly edited, rendering science 
 and literature popular by considerably diminishing tbe price of books! Tlms, 
 for example, at the beginning of the fifteenth century, the illustrions 
 Poggio sold his fine manuscript of "Liyy," to raise money cnough to 
 buy himself a ^iUa near Florence; Anthony of Palermo mortgaged his 
 
 Fig^, 404. — Mark of Simon Vostre, Printer at Paris, 
 in 1531, living in tbe Rue Neuve Nostre-Dame, 
 at the Sign of St. John the Evangelist. 
 
 Fig. 405.— Mark of Galliot du Pré, Bookseller at 
 Paris. (1J31.) 
 
 estate in order to be able to purchase a manuscript of the same historical 
 writer, valued at a hundred and twenty-fiTO dollars ; yet a few years later 
 the "Livy," printed at Rome by Sweynheim and Pannartz, in one folio 
 volume on vellum, was worth only five golden dollars. 
 
 The largest number of the early éditions resembled each other, for 
 they were generally printed in Gothic characters, or lettres de 60?«me— letters 
 which bristled with points and angular appendices. Thèse characters, -ïvhen 
 printing was only jnst invented, had preserved in Holland and in Germany 
 
 3 u 
 
514 
 
 PRINTING. 
 
 their original form ; and the celebrated printer of Bruges, Colard Mansion, 
 only improved on them in liis raluable publications, which were almost con- 
 teniporaneous with Gutenberg's " Catholicon ; " but tbey bad already under- 
 gone in France a semi metamorpbosis in getting rid of tbeir angularities and 
 tlieir most extravagant features. Tbese lettres de somme were then adopted 
 under the name of bâtarde (bastard) or ronde (round), in tbe first books 
 printed in France, and wben Nicbolas Jenson estabHsbed himself in Venice 
 he used the Roman, which were only au élégant variety of the lettres de 
 
 Fig, 406. — ^ilark of Philippe le Noir, Printer, Book- 
 seller, and Bookbinder, at Paris, 1536, living in 
 the Rue St. Jacques, at the sign of the " Rose 
 Couronnée." 
 
 Fig. 407. — Mark of Temporal, Printer at Lyons, 1550 
 — 1559, with two devices ; one in Latin, '* And 
 in the meanwhile time flietb, flieth irreparably ;'* 
 the other in Greek, " Mark, or know, Time.** 
 (Observe the play upon the words ieinpiis, Kaipôç 
 and Temporal.) 
 
 somme of France (Gothic characters). Aldo Manuzio, with the sole object of 
 insuring that Venice should not owe its national type to a Frenchman, 
 adopted the Italie character, renewed from the writing called cursive or de 
 chancellerie (of the chancellor's ofEce), which was never generally used in 
 printing, notwithstanding the fine éditions of Aldo. Hereaf ter the Ciceronean 
 character was to corne into use, so called because it had been employed at 
 Rome in the first édition of the " Epistolœ Familiares " (Familiar Letters) of 
 Cicero, in 1467. The character called "St. Augustinian," which appeared 
 
PRINTING. 
 
 5'S 
 
 later, Ukewise owes its name to thé large édition of the works of S(. Auf,^,»- 
 tfne, published at Basle in 1506. Moreover, during thi. first poriod in 
 whicli each printer engraved, or caused to be engravcd under lii.s own direc- 
 
 u 
 
 > 
 
 H 
 
 Fig-. 408.— Mark of Robert Estienne, 
 
 Printer at Paris, 1536. 
 
 * Do not aspire to know high things." 
 
 Fig. 409. — ilark of Gryphe, Printer 
 at Lyons, 152g. 
 " Virtue my Leader, Fortune my Companion.' 
 
 tiens, the characters he made use of, there was an infinité number of différent 
 types. The register, a table indicative of the quires which composed the 
 book, '(vas necessary to point out in what order thèse were to be arranged 
 
 Fig. 410.— Mark of Plantin, Printer, 
 
 at Antwerp, 1557. 
 
 "Chfist the true Vine." 
 
 Fig. 411.— Mark of J. Le Xoble, Printer 
 at Troyes. (1595.) 
 
 and bound together. After the register came the catehwords, which, at the 
 end of each quire or of each leaf, were destined to serve an analogous pur- 
 pose ; and the signatures, indicating the place of quires or of leaves by letters 
 or figures; but signatures and catehwords existed already in the manuscripts, 
 
SIS 
 
 PRINTING. 
 
 k°^:<»:#>:^ 
 
 and typographers had only to reproduce 
 thein in their éditions. There was at first 
 a perfect identity between the manuscripts 
 and the books printed from them. The 
 typographie art seems to hâve considered 
 it imperative to respect the abbreviations 
 ■with which the manuscripts were so en- 
 cumbered as often to become unintelligible ; 
 but, as it was not easy to transfer them 
 precisely from the manuscripts, they were 
 soon expressed in such a way, and in so 
 complicated a manner, that in 1483 a spécial 
 explanatory treatise had to be published to 
 render them intelligible. The punctuation 
 was generally very capriciously presented : 
 hère, it was nearly nil ; there, it admitted 
 only of the full stop in various positions ; 
 the rests were often indicated by oblique 
 strokes ; sometimes the full stop was round, 
 sometimes square, and we find also the star 
 or asterisk employed as a sign of punctua- 
 tion. The new paragraphs, or breaks, are 
 placed indlfferently in the same line with 
 the rest of the text, projecting beyond it or 
 not reaching to it. 
 
 Fig. 412. — Border from the "Livre d'Heures" of Anthony Vérard (1488), representing the Assumption of the 
 Virgin in the présence of the Apostles and Holy Women, and at the bottom of the page two Mystical Figures , 
 
PRINTING. 
 
 in 
 
 The book, on leaving the press, wenl, 
 Hke its predecessorthemanuscript, first into 
 the hands of the corrector, who revised tke 
 text, rectifying wrong letters, and restoring 
 those tlie press had left in blank ; then 
 mto the hands of the rubricator, who printed 
 m red, blue, or other colours, the initial 
 letters, the capitals, and the new para- 
 graphs. The leaves, before the adoption of 
 signatures, were numbered by hand. 
 
 At first, nearly ail books were printed 
 in folio and quarto sizes, the resuit of fold- 
 ing the sheet of paper in two or in four 
 respectively ; but the length and breadth of 
 thèse sizes varied according to the require- 
 ments of typography and the dimensions 
 of the press. At the end of the fifteenth 
 century, however, the advantages of the 
 octavo were already appreciated, which soon 
 became in France the sex-decimo, and in 
 Italy the duo-decimo. 
 
 Paper and ink employed by the earliest 
 printer seem to hâve required no improve- 
 ment as the art of printing progressed. 
 
 Fig. 413.— Border taken from tte "Livre d'Heures" of Geoffroi Tory (152, 
 
5iS 
 
 PRINTING. 
 
 The ink was black, briglit, indelible, un- 
 alterable, penetrating deeply into tlie paper, 
 and composed, as aiready were tbe colours, 
 of oil-paint. The paper, which was cer- 
 tainly rather grey or yellow, and often 
 coarse and rough, had the advantage of 
 being strong, durable, and was almost fit, 
 in virtue of thèse qualifies, to replace parch- 
 nient and velluni, both of which materials 
 were scarce and too expensive. Editors 
 contented themselves with having struck oiï 
 on membrane (a thin and white vellum) a 
 sniall number of copies of each édition ; 
 never exceeding three hundred. Thèse 
 sumptuous copies, rubricated, illuminated, 
 bound with care, resembling in every respect 
 the iinest manuscripts, were generally pre- 
 sented to kings, princes, and great per- 
 sonages, whose patronage or assistance the 
 printer sought. Xor was any expense 
 spared to add to typography ail the orna- 
 ments which wood-engraviags could confer 
 upon it ; and f rom the year 1475, numerous 
 
 Fig. 414.—" Livre d'Heures," by Guillaume RoviUe (1551), a composition in the style of the school of Lyons, 
 with Caryatides representing female Saints semi-veiled. 
 
PR/N'UNG. 
 
 S'9 
 
 m^^- 
 
 ^-, 
 
 illustrated editious, of which au exaniplc was 
 foimd in tliefirst "Spécula," especially those 
 printed in Germany, were enrichcd wiili 
 figures, portraits, heraldic escutclieons, and 
 a multitude of ornamented margins (Fio-s. 
 412 to 415). For more than a century 
 the painters and engravers worked hand iu 
 hand with the printers and booksellers. 
 
 The taste for books spread over the 
 whole of Europe ; the uumber of buyers 
 and of amateurs was every day increas- 
 ing. In the libraries of princes, scholars, 
 or monks, printed books were collected as 
 formerly were manuscripts. Henceforth 
 printing found everywhere the same protec- 
 tion, the same encouragement, the same 
 rivalry. Typographers sometimes travelled 
 with their apparatus, opened a printing- office 
 in a small town, and then went on elsewhere 
 after they had sold one édition. Fiually, 
 such was the incredible activity of typo- 
 graphy, from its origin till 1500, that the 
 
 ■^/r, 
 
 I 
 
 
 /! 
 
 Fig. 415.— 
 
 -Border employed by John of Tournes, in 1557, orn.mented with Antique Masks and AUegorical 
 Persoiiages bearing Baskets containing Laurel Branches. 
 
 .3 X 
 
520 
 
 PRINTING. 
 
 niimber of éditions published in Europe in the space of half a century 
 amounted to sixteeii tlioitsand. But the most remarkable resuit of printing 
 ■was the important part it played in the movement of the sixteenth century, 
 from which resulted the transformation of the arts, of literature, and science ; 
 the discoveries of Laurent Coster and of Gutenberg had cast a new light 
 over the world, and the press made its appearance to modif}' profoundly 
 the conditions of the intellectual life of peoples. 
 
 Fig-. 416. — iMark of Bonaventure and Abraham Elsevier, Printers at Leyden, 1620. 
 
MUSIC. 
 
 Music in the Time of the Emperors. — Christian Music in ihe Foiu-th Century.— St. Aiiiljrose's 
 riain Chant.— The Music of Northern Peoples.— The Gregorian Musical Eefonn.— Eeligious 
 and National Music undei- the Kings of the Franks. — Divisions {Neumœ) and old Notations. — 
 The Scale invented by Guy d'Axezzo. — Diaphony and Descant. — Slinstrels and Trouvères. — 
 The Confratemity of Itlinstrels at Paris.— Dramatic Music.— Hroswtha and Adam de la Haie. 
 — Musicians in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centur-ies. — Kené d'Anjou and other princely 
 Musicians. — Printers of Music. — Music at the Court of the Valois. — Protestant Music. — 
 Ballet Music. 
 
 ETTERS of naturalisation were soon obtained for Greek 
 mnsic iu ancient Rome, which had no national music, and 
 ^^-hicll readily adapted this foreign music, in the time of the 
 emperors, to ail the usages of public and private as of 
 civil and religions life. Art remained Grecian, and 
 most of the singers and composers came from Greece 
 to take service under the wealthy patricians. The 
 varions forms of Latin prosody were but thinly 
 disguised beneath a veil of lonic, Doric, and 
 Lydian mélodies, even when the Christians 
 waged a relentless war upon profane music, not 
 only as an accompaniment of the rites of the 
 pagan religion, but as played in the circus and 
 other popular resorts to excite the brutal passions of the multitude, or at the 
 nocturnal orgies of the aristocracy. The décadence and the disappearance 
 of Greek music in Italy and the West date from the reign of Theodosius ; and 
 when the games of the capitol were put down, about the year 384, the Greek 
 musicians either returned to the East or abandoned their art. Church 
 music, which alone survived, and which is, in fact, a sort of chant derived 
 from the solemn and raonotonous déclamation of the sacred hymns of paganism, 
 became the invariable accessory of the public célébration of the Christian 
 religion ; but there can be no doubt that it was practised in a very rude form ; 
 the clergy and congrégations alike were ignorant of the first éléments of the 
 
52 2 J/US/C. 
 
 art. Pope Sylvester I. (a.ti. .330) was so strnck by the insufficiency of the 
 new musical System adopted by tbe primitive Cburcb that he founded 
 singing-scbools at Rome, and in several towns where the Catholic religion 
 bad implanted itself. Tbe clerks were tbus taugbt to sing before being 
 ordained priests. Tbese schools increased in number, and soon beeame a part 
 of every catbedral. St. Ambrose, Bisbop of ]Milan, who bad just bnilt bis 
 catbedral, aud -was anxious to associate it TAÎtb ail the pomp of wbich 
 Christianity could boast, hiraself arranged tbe pitch of ecclesiastical singing 
 and the mode of exécution for bymns, psalms, and anthems. He simplified 
 musical teacbing in tbe choristers' schools by suppressing the three Systems 
 of grave, médium, and acute, and by substituting for ail the scales gamuts 
 of the four principal tones which represented tbe ancient scales of Greek 
 music — Dorian, Phrygian, Eolian, and Mixolydian. 
 
 At this distant period churcb singing was only known — and tbat in a 
 Tery primitive form — in a few diocèses. Pope Damasus (a.d. 371) was the 
 first to introduce into tbe Cburch of Rome the custom of chanting the 
 
 1" espèce de qiiinle. 2'^ idem. 3« idem. 'i^ idi^m. 
 
 psalms, which bad before been recited aloud by the congrégation. There is 
 reason to believe that thèse first attempts at plain chant were improved upon 
 and multiplied, though slowly and not without difficulty, for the barbarian 
 invasions succeeded each other at rapid intervais in Western Europe, and 
 interfered with the solemn célébrations of the Catholic religion. Chanting, 
 hoTTever, never ceased being the principal feature in thèse célébrations ; and 
 Gregory of Tours relates that the baptism of Clovis, at Rheims, was accom- 
 panied by music, which produced sucb an impression upon the royal couvert 
 that ■when he afterwards signed a treaty of peace with Theodoric, Xing of 
 the Ostrogoths, he insisted upon that prince sending bim from Italy a good 
 band of music and an accoraplished lute-player. 
 
 Tbe Franks, no doubt, like other invading and conquering peoples, especialty 
 tbose who came from tbe north, such as Celts, Welsh, Danes, &c., bad a 
 common sort of national music, differing altogether from Cburch music. This 
 common music, datingfrom the most remote antiquity, was merely rhythmical 
 music, which served for the popular songs, regulated by a sort of savage 
 
MUSTC. 
 
 w.i 
 
 
 Fig. 417.— Pneumatic Organ, Fourth Centurj'. After a sculpture of tlie Gallo-Roman epocll, preserved in thc 
 
 Arles Muséum. 
 
 from an artistic point of view, and without becoming subject to fixed and 
 intelligible rules. Religions mnsic, on the eontrarj, was in tbe way of once 
 more becoming a fixed science, like Greek music, when Pope Gregory I. 
 inaugurated bis musical reform by collecting tbe fragments of the mélodies 
 of tbe primitive Cburch in order to form a book of antbems, and by modify- 
 ing the fonr tonal scales of St. Ambrose. Thèse four scales be divided into 
 eigbt, so tbat tbe gênerai scale of tbe sounds contained in tbe eigbt notes 
 extended from tbe la grave to tbe sol of tbe second octave. He made use of 
 the old Latin notation to represent the tones, and he employed the first seven 
 
5H 
 
 AIUSIC. 
 
 letters of the Eoman alphabet, in capitals and small print, as the signs of the 
 two octaves. This notation was as follows : — 
 
 I.a, Se, rt, Re, 3Ii, Fa, Sol, La, Se, Tt, Ee, 3Ii, Fa, Sol. 
 A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G. 
 
 A B C D E F 
 
 §=,^zii=o=5 
 
 IQTI?^ 
 
 X— O-Cï ft 
 
 a \) c 
 a Jj c 
 
 ^S:=cs 
 
 - ô— «2»: 
 
 Ecclesiastical music, executed in the churches by the clergy with the 
 congrégation joining in at intervais, was alwaj^s accompanied by wind, percus- 
 sion, and stringed instruments ; that is to saj^, by trumpets, organs, and harps ; 
 
 Fig. 418. — Eleven -stringed Harp, Tenth Centui 
 Saxon Psalter. {MS. in British Muséum.) 
 
 Fig. 419. — Thirteen-stringed Harp, Tenth Cen- 
 turj'. (MS. at Cambridge University.) 
 
 but the powerful harmony of this music resulted from the time and rhythm 
 of the rhymed verses which were used as hymns. Thus Chilperic I., who 
 prided himself upon being a poet and musician, added four letters to the 
 alphabet in order to facilitate the rhj'me and soften the singing. He cared 
 more for music and poetry than for State affairs, and ail the Merovingian 
 princes were, like him, passionately fond of vocal and instrumental music. 
 At the baptism of Clotaire II., son of Chilperic, his uncle Gontran, King of 
 Burgundy and Orléans, convoked in the latter city a number of bishops, who 
 arrived with an escort of choristers and musicians, in order to add to the 
 splendeur of the ceremony. There was still a lack of theoretical knowledge 
 
j\rusrc. 
 
 about Church music, the oiily fonu of music wliicli (M.jny.,.(l any popukrity ; 
 but it had already produced many remarkable soug.s, wliicli llic nioBt iUuH- 
 trious princes and prelates were proud to hâve composed. 
 
 Dagobert I., who founded monasteries and built clmrches, was a warm patron 
 of sacred music, and be was particularly fond of cbanting. Whilo at vespera 
 one afternoon in the Abbey of Rumilly, be was struclc by the bcautiful voice 
 of a nun, and, after ascertaining who she was, he fell se inuch iu love with 
 ber tbat be put away bis queen, Gomatrude, and niarried bur. ïlie kings of 
 the Carlovingian dynasty were also very generous protcctors of Church 
 music, and it is almost certain tbat Pépin was the first French king who had 
 a full choir attacbed to bis cbapel and placed under the authority of a master, 
 or minister, who was afterwards called menestrcux in the language of the 
 eleventb century. The St. Ambrose scale, altered no doubt by barbarian 
 superfluities, had beld its own in the Cburcb of the Gauls ; and Cbarlcmagne, 
 who set up to be bis own chapel-master, at first declared in favour of the old 
 Ambrosian chant, as it bad been transformed by the usage of four centuries, 
 against the PojDe's own chapel-master. He soon abandoned it, however, 
 after be bad beard mass chanted in the Gregorian mode ; and when he left 
 Rome he took with bim a certain number of Italian choristers, wbom he 
 specially attacbed to Tours Catbedral, where tbey formed a scbool of plain 
 chant, in wbicb the metbod of St. Gregory was taught. It was thus, as the 
 Cbronicle of the Monks of Angoulême (Duchesne's " History of France," 
 vol. il. p. 73) says, tbat the Eomans taught the French choristers tbc art of 
 organizing {in arfe organandi)—th.at is to say, of commingling sympatbetically 
 the sounds of voices and instruments ; for what was termed orrjnnum was 
 notbing more than a song composed of symphonies, and intended to imitate 
 the différent stops of an organ. Music was also taught in the scbool of 
 Cbarlemagne's palace, but it was taught in a scholastic manner, as one of the 
 branches of arithmetic, and it was only in the scbool attacbed to Tours 
 Catbedral tbat it was taught practically. It may be said tbat barred music 
 existed at tbat time, for the monk Scotus Erigena, who was one of the masters 
 at the Palatine Scbool in the reign of Charles the Bald, says, in bis treatise 
 upon the Divine Nature, "An organic chant is composed of qualities and 
 quantities wbicb seem incohérent and impossible of association when they 
 are considered separately, but wbicb can nevertheless be adapted to one • 
 anotber, and put together according to the rules of musical art, so as to 
 
525 MU SIC. 
 
 produce a certain natiu-al charm upou tiie ear." This passsge, which clifFei-ent 
 savants hâve interpreted in différent waj-s, seems to us to apply more espe- 
 cially to tlie vulgar music, of which the time and rhytlim were tlie principal 
 éléments. Ttis vulgar or profane music, wliich was the true national music 
 of barbarian people, was more the antagonist than the rival of Church music, 
 ■which eventually won the day by the aid of the secular authority, which 
 forbade the ancient songs devoted to love, dancing, and festivity. Even the 
 warlike tongs, cammemorating military achievements and historieal events, 
 were with difBculty saved. Charlemague formed a collection of the songs, 
 which is not, iinfortunately, estant ; and ail that hâve been discovered are 
 somewhat posterior to his reign, but similar no doubt to those which he sought 
 to hand down to us. The only historieal song of an earlier period which bas 
 been preserved is one which was composed in rhymed prose and cadence to 
 celebrate the victory won by the Saxons (622). Hildegaire, Bishop of 
 Meaux, in his " Life of St. Faro," says, " A popular song was composed after 
 the victory, and this song, on account of its simplicity, went from mouth to 
 mouth : the women sang it while dancing, and keeping time with their 
 hands." 
 
 Historieal songs were composed sometimes in Latin, sometimes in the 
 vulgar tongue, and sometimes in a mixture of both. Thus we hâve the song 
 in the Teutonic tongue, which was composed in honour of Louis the German 
 after his victory over the Normans in 881 ; but the music of this song, which 
 must first hâve been written in Latin, as it was sung not onlj' on the banks 
 of the Ehine, but in the French provinces menaced by the German invasion, 
 has not been preserved to us. It is supposed, with much show of reasou, 
 that the music of the national songs was often adapted to fresh words, either 
 moral or religions, so that the people, who knew it by heart, might be able 
 to go on singing it without disobeying the civil and ecclesiastical laws. This 
 common music, the tonality of which was whoUy différent from that of sacred 
 music, was much more powerful and extensive in its mode of exécution. 
 Hucbald, a monk of St. Amand, in Flanders, at the end of the ninth 
 century, speaks as follows of the common music of that day : — " The players 
 of the lute, the ffute, and other instruments, as well as the profane men- 
 singers and women-singers, do ail they can to sing and play well, in order to 
 charm the ears of their audiences." There can be no doubt that the ancient 
 hymns of the Church were songs composed by the Christian poets to compete 
 
J\IUSIC. ... 
 
 wifh the secular songs, and tliat thcy adopted as mudi as pr.ssiMr popuL.r 
 mélodies to thèse hymns, whicli were originally inteuded to bo auug ut pions 
 gatherings apart from the cérémonies of tlie Cliurch. Among the historicul 
 songs which hâve been discovered, with theii- original music, in tlic manu- 
 scripts of the ninth century, may be mentioned ouc relating tbc bat tic of 
 Fontanet, or Fontenailles, in 841, composed by a Frank nanied Angrlbcrt 
 (see Fig. 420) ; the song upon the death of Eric of Frioul in 7!i!), al tri - 
 buted to Paulinus, Patriarch of Aquileia, wbo dicd at the end of Ibe ninth 
 
 
 ^-. 
 
 T 
 S 
 
 s 
 
 u 
 
 ■^C TA. fo nV.'^NETo\ 
 
 ViîOA <!i C Vvvi >>«) MOM A/V£ 
 
 S/Txxm no c t cm c\■\^x\A.a^ 
 
 : b 6 aci^Tinoni lixijpixu 
 
 •djrt cu-rntc»*? lîum 
 
 e frcc ccr-n clT upro-pa^e 
 
 cL\xd<k' dcryxorx iTn^it(-] » 
 
 Fig. . 
 
 3.-First stanza of tlie popular song on the Battle of Fontanet, in Burgnnd}-. (MS. in National Librar)-, 
 Paris, No. 1154.) 
 
 century ; the lament on the death of Charlemagne, which may be attributed 
 to a contemporary monk named Columban (see Fig. 421) ; and some other 
 songs and ballads of the same epoch. In thèse mélodies, according to 
 Ooussemaker, the tonaHty is Tery similar to that of modem music, " whicb," 
 he says, "bas only one tone, properly speaking, for the major tone differs 
 only from the minor by the tierce, wbich is major in the one, minor m the 
 other. It further happens that, by a sort of la^ of attraction inhérent m the 
 disposition of the sounds of this scale, the ear demands a pause m the tune at 
 certain notes." Such was the character of common music m the nmth and 
 
 3 Y 
 
528 MUSIC. 
 
 tenth centuries. We also possess some airs of comnion music belonging to 
 this, if not perhaps to an even earlier epocb, composed for the Odes of Horace, 
 wliicli were still stmg in the tenth centuiy, as thej' had been in the time of 
 the Roman emperors, and in thèse airs the melody nearly always brings out 
 the long and short notes of Latin poetry. 
 
 Musical notation, invented by St. Gregory, for Church singing did not 
 
 l NCîElï L LA s:<rLC 
 
 A.^ ^ -r -^ nxnciromccm 
 
 •■*/•• j • . ■* , ♦ 
 
 y fquetrwtfccc'ianct. -j ,,^^.i:^ - 
 
 \, ^ -^ ^ 1^0210 fjj3 y- met pe^r 
 
 ^ f .•''•.«. tieamichimxÇcyv y 
 
 U *^* • * '•/» 7 *7 ''^ 
 
 Fig-. 421. — Lament composed shortly after tlie death of Charleraagne, probably about 814 or 815, and attributed to 
 Columban, Abbot of St. Tron. (MS. in National Libraiy, Paris, No. 1154.} 
 
 consist solely of the seven letters of the alphabet in two characters, for to 
 St. Gregory is also ascribed the invention of the Neumse (divisions), which 
 were employed throughout Europe up to the end of the twelfth ceutury, 
 notwithstanding the simultaneous use of the seven capitals for musical 
 notation, and which hâve continued to be a sort of musical hieroglyphics, in 
 despite of several ingenious attempts at interprétation made by distinguished 
 
MUSIC. 
 
 >29 
 
 savants — last of ail by Fétis, who lias sumnicd iip ami ijoi-roc.tcil tlu; Ialn)iii-i 
 of his preclecessors in his two treatiscs, tlic "Biography of Jlusicians " aiul (lie 
 " General Histoiy of Music." If tlie Neiimro werc not cmploycd beforc 
 tbe middle of the seventli century, they would, thcrcforc, bo subséquent t(i 
 tho death of St. Gregory, wbicb took place in 604. The musical Higns 
 bave uiiqiiGstionably been imitated from tbe graphie signs which formed 
 a sort of abbreviated writing araong the Romans, known by (be nanic of 
 Nota Romaiia, or Tironian notes, because to a certain Tiro, frcedman and 
 secretary of Cicero, was attributed the improvement cffcctcd in this mysterious 
 
 >'^ mi^ef cmc^rauoUauîbe Ç^Crm:' 
 
 A * ^A 
 
 A A 
 
 ncfiiiu tmçxUpûiSin (^ccialt i^mà^isU 
 
 ineloCTzra^ ce lofdiiïtc liguû ilulct c%iu 
 
 crabm tnclodia^ 
 
 Fig. 4...-Beginn;n, of the prose sung at the Festival of the Holy Cross. (MS. of the Twelfth Cen.u^O 
 
 writing. Tbe principal difficulty in the .vay of a regular and complète 
 explanation of the Neuma. is their infinité variety, for in the space of h^e 
 centuries they bave been subjected to the most startling métamorphoses, 
 according to the period, the country, and the System of the mus.cans 
 Coussemaker is of opinion that the signs formed like commas dots and 
 horizontal or straight lines represented the sonnds, and the signs formed Uke 
 books, or twisted and continued lines, the groups of sonnds composedof 
 .ario.; inter.als. There is a différence of opinion e.en as - ^he .^^^^ 
 of the .ord. Many savants say that it is der.ved from tbe Greek . d 
 ...>a, breath or sound, though it is probable that the Latin 
 
530 MUSIC. 
 
 is its rigtt dérivation, for Neuma namcd or designated tlie note (see 
 Fig. 4-22). 
 
 The notation by meaus of Neuma; was not perhaps so defective as it was 
 for a long lime believed to be ; and it had tliis advantage over the system of 
 notation by letters, that it represented the degree of intonation by the éléva- 
 tion or lowering of the sign, which enabled the eye to see what the voice had 
 to exécute. Errors, however, fi-equently occurred, owing to the négligence or 
 unskilfulness of the copyist. The Neumœ, like the Tironian tachygraphy, 
 had for their basis the comma and the fuU-stop, which represented the accents 
 of sounds as well as of words, for the accent is neither more nor less than a 
 modification of the voice in regard to tone and duration of notes. The 
 simple Neumœ were, imfortunately, so complicated by the varions signs 
 employed that this system of notation became quite incompréhensible, and 
 John Cotton, a musical writer of the twelfth centmy, referring to the 
 obscurity of the Neuma?, said, "If one rarely finds three persons agreed as 
 to the same song, still more rare is it to find a hundred in agreement as to 
 the value of the ISTeumaî." 
 
 The shape of the Neumaj in course of time became more distinct, and this 
 was the origin of the square note, which took the place of thèse distorted 
 and running passages. Guido or Guy d'Arezzo, in the beginning of the 
 eleventh century, was the first inventor of the system of placing the Neumse 
 in straight lines, so that each sign might hâve its appointed place. It was 
 he, too, who instead of a single line of notation placed two, one red and the 
 other yellow or green, upon the top of one another, the latter reserved for 
 the ut note, and the former for the fa note. He next added two other lines 
 traced with the etching-point upon vellum, the first between the two 
 coloured lines, and the second below the yellow or green line. The tonality 
 was henceforward regulated by letters, which answered the purpose of keys, 
 and the regular Neumœ took the place of the ancient ones, which had become 
 so irregular as to be unintelligible. It was from this time that the treatises 
 of music and the books of liturgy were compiled with the large square notes, 
 estending over four or five lines, for the number of lines which went to make 
 up the stave was not yet definitely fixed (see Fig. 423). It was not, however, 
 for a century after the time of Guy d'Arezzo that the system which has been 
 erroneously attributed to him made its appearance. This system may be 
 represented by the shape of the left hand, the articulations being made to 
 
MUSfC. ^3, 
 
 charactenze tie notes of the scale by mo.uB oi' a vcry conipliouled .nucImniMn, 
 which necessitated the absence of tlie note .si m this incomplète seule. 
 
 The invention of the six-uote scale was attributed to Guy d'AiL-z/o, 
 because he had given as a copy of the tonal order of thèse six notes tl.c first 
 six verses of an old hymn of St. John the Baptist, i.i which Iho syllablcs »/, 
 re, mi, fa, sol, la, corresponded with this g-roup of notes : 
 
 Vt queant Iaxis 
 iîcsonare fibris 
 Miia, gestorum 
 Jï'ainuli tuorum, 
 Solve poUuti 
 iaM reatum, 
 Sancte Johanncs. 
 
 rX3t 
 
 
 Udiipa 
 
 r-*h: 
 
 otmie$ att0t U t m lauMr e 
 
 Jz 
 
 XI ti-l^ t^^ jN P t/ 
 
 utn omucs tnmi use ut^of 
 
 Fig. 423.— Spécimen of Notation upon four lines, after a Lombarde -German Graduai of the Fourteentli Centurj'- 
 
 The choristers, when they sang this hymn at the mass of St. John the 
 Baptist, increased by one degree the intonation of the first syUable of each 
 verse, and thèse six syllables were soon adopted to designate the notes of the 
 scale. With regard to the note si, which was not admitted into the scale 
 until the seventeenth century, it was replaced by lights and shades of expres- 
 sion which we]-e not nearly so barbarous as the names which were giveu 
 them. As early as the ninth century there were musicographists who wrote 
 obscure and learned treatises upon the theory of music, which was a field for 
 the most diffuse dissertation. One of thèse gênerai définitions of music ran, 
 
532 j/rs/c. 
 
 according to an old Latin MS. qiioted by Du Cange, as follows : — " Music is 
 the art of raodulating sounds ; it consists of song, and compi-ises three parts : 
 harmony, which distinguishes the grave and acute sound ; rhythm, which is 
 good or bad according as the words corne ont ; and mètre, wliicb measures the 
 time according to the différent kinds of verse." Isidore of Seville, in his 
 treatise on music, written ia the tweifth century, saj's, " Harmonious music 
 is a modulation of the voice ; it is also a concordance of several sounds and 
 their simultaneous union. Symphony is the consonance of grave and acute 
 notes either in vocal or instrumental music. The reverse of the symphony is 
 diaphony, which consists of discordant aud dissonant notes ; " and his défini- 
 tion of harmony does not give a very favourable idea of what it was in those 
 early times. 
 
 ISTcvertheless, although the rcgular diaphonies, which were foi'med at that 
 time by the means of harmonie différences of pitch, must hâve produced very 
 hard and grating sounds, the séquences of fifths, fourlhs, and octaves must 
 hâve had a strange and not altogether displeasing effect upon the ear. 
 Hucbald described diaphony as the harmonio\is singing of dissimilar notes 
 heard at the same time ; and he gives several spécimens of diaphony in which 
 the unison, the second, the tierce minor, the fourth, and the fifth are used 
 together, and in which one finds the three times — direct, oblique, and counter 
 — which constitute one of the principal éléments of modem music. More- 
 over, the diaphony, also called organum, because it continued ail at once the 
 varions accents of the human organ, was only made use of in plain chant : 
 it needed at least two singers to exécute it, so that while one was singing the 
 principal melody, the other circulated round it, if such an expression may be 
 vised, the two voices meeting at each pause, and joining at the unison or the 
 octave. In addition to the diaphony, there existed, towards the close of the 
 eleventh century, another harmony named the discantus, from the Latin words 
 dis (two), and confus (song), which had a great influence upon the former. 
 It was a sort of harmony improvised by those who were able chanters from 
 the book, and it was consequently full of skips from one note to another, 
 which was very much in opposition to the gênerai System of Church music. 
 This will explain how it was that the discantus, which long survived diaphony, 
 was soon introduced into secular music, when the Church choristers had 
 formed the bad habit of embellishing the chant and the double chant so 
 extravagantly, each one improvising his own part at the lectern, and trying 
 
MUSIC. 
 
 to outdo his fellow. The abuse was sucli Uiut sovrral p.ipcs publUlicl I.ulls 
 to repress it and maintam tlie integrity of ecclcslastical chauting. l'n], 
 John XXII., nevertheless, in 1322, intimatcd that thc choristcrs worc 
 occasionally to be allowed, especially at high festivals, to cmploy consonances 
 and concorda as accompaniments of the Gregorian chant, in ordcr to give it 
 more colour and briUiancy. It was thus that simultancous sound ruusic 
 went on from diaphony to discantus to the fourteeuth ceutury, whcn llie 
 coimterpoint was founded upon the principles of diatonic harmouy. 
 
 Music was still taught in the schools after the traditions of Eocthius and 
 Scotus Erigena, and formed part of the scholastic course, rauking second 
 among the libéral arts, immediately after astronomy, and beforc goomctry. 
 As may be supposed, this mode of teaching did not contribute to thc pro- 
 gress of the art. AU the learned men who hâve written about music, except 
 Guy d'Arezzo, had but a theoretical knowledge of it. The celebrated 
 Francis of Cologne, John Cotton, Jean de Mûris, Aurelian of Kéomé, Remy 
 of Auxerre, and a host of others, were more of dialecticians than musiciuns, 
 and they left some very valuable treatises upon the musical science of their 
 day. It may be noted, though, that Abélard was the composer of the mélodies 
 of his Latin songs, whieh he sang himself with great talent ; and when Héloïse 
 became Abbess of Paraclete she wrote to him, " You had two gifts more 
 particularly which would hâve at once won you the heart of any womau : 
 that of speech and that of song. No other philosopher ever possessed them 
 to such an extent. It is by means of thèse talents that, as a relaxation from 
 your philosophical studios, you hâve composed thèse love songs, which, 
 repeated everywhere by reason of their charms both of poetry and music, 
 hâve caused your nanie to be in every mouth ; so mach so that the softness of 
 the melody caused even unlearned people to remember you. The resuit is 
 that women were ail sighing with love for you ! " 
 
 Common music, which had certainly been the most powerful vehicle of 
 vulgar speech, was in the greatest faveur with women, and the popular song 
 was its first and most vivid expression. The heroic songs found no listeners 
 unless they were toned down to the expression of softer and more tender senti- 
 ments. Eobert Wace, in the " Roman du Rou," relates that the minsti-el TaiUe- 
 fer had sung the songs of Charlemagne, Roland, and OHvier in the présence 
 of the Norman army before the battle of Hastings (1066). But the minstrels, 
 trouvères, and jongleurs (itinérant musicians) had invented a new art, as it 
 
534 
 
 MUSTC. 
 
 was designated in the twelftla centuiy, by the composition of simple and 
 graceful mélodies as accompaniments for their songs about love, gallantrj', 
 and adventure. Thèse song composers, known as troveors in the North and 
 as trovadors in the South, were net, as a rule, capable of noting the music 
 which they composed, so they had recourse to hannonizers, who undertook, 
 for a given sum agreed to beforehand, to write and organize the music which 
 was sung or played to them. The harmony was only for two, and consisted 
 merely of a combination of quints with time in unison. 
 
 Thèse Iiarmonizers were professional musicians, who were learned in 
 musical science, and who were able to put its rules into application ; but the 
 minstrels and trouvères were real composers, who combined poetical talent 
 with musical genius, and who excelled in lighting upon poetical and 
 
 Figs. 424-426, — Minstrels and Kings as itinérant musicians, plaj'ing varions instruments. After MS. in National 
 
 Library, Paris. 
 
 melodious inspirations. It has been argued, with much show of probability, 
 that the Crusades contributed in no small degree to the development of 
 common music, and that this music had borrowed from that of Eastern 
 peoples the shakes and the fiorid embellishments which made the fortune 
 of the trouvères. Thèse poet-musicians multiplied throughout Europe, but 
 they were less numerous and successful in Italy than in France. Kings, 
 princes, and nobles took part in this sort of musical crusade (Figs. 424 
 —426). 
 
 Among the court trouvères who were poets and musicians in the 
 thirteenth century were the Lord of Coucy, the King of Navarre, the 
 Comte de Béthune, the Comte d'Anjou, the Comte de Soissons, and the Duc 
 de Brabant. Others, not less famous for their poetry and music, were of 
 more plebeian birth, such as Adam de la Haie, Perrin d'Angecourt, Gautier 
 
KING RENÉ AND HIS MUSICAL COURT 
 
 Miniature froni the 
 
 Breviary of king René, m. s. oî the X7«^ 
 
 century, in the Arsenal Library, Paris. 
 
MUSIC. ,,, 
 
 d'Argies, Audefroy le Bâtard, Blondeau de Nesle, Colart lo Boudilli.r, Goco 
 Bucé, Ricliard de Fournival, &c. The appearanco of tlic IroubadourH in 
 Provence and the southern provinces preccded the great cpocli of tho 
 trouvères ; and tlie former, wlio belongod to a musical school which was moro 
 Italian tlian Frencli, were as much in favour as tlie poets of the longue of Oil. 
 Their music was more languishing and lackadaisical than the brighfcr and 
 crisper compositions of the trouvères. 
 
 Thèse varions kinds of compositions were always accompanied by a stringod 
 instrument, generally the harp, the psaltery (see Fig. 434), the violin, and tbe 
 lute. Some of the names given to them were the lovc-song, tho scrvento, 
 the rostruenges, the pastorals, the parturcs, the lay and virelay, the ballad, 
 and the ballad song. This last named resembled the virelay with regard to 
 the laws of literary composition, and the ballad from the musical point of 
 view, being thus characterized by Guillaume Machault in the fourteenth 
 century : — 
 
 " Puisqu'il vous plaist, lors sans delay, 
 Enoonunencerai ce ■^'irelay, 
 Qu'on clame chanson baUadée ; 
 Enfin doit-elle estre nommée." 
 
 The plain ballad was generally written in several parts, like the roundels 
 and the motets. The lay consisted of several couplets which were sung to 
 différent tunes, whereas in the songs properly so caUed the same tune was 
 repeated in each stanza. 
 
 The great favour shown to the first trouvères in the courts of kings and 
 the houses of the nobility brought about what may be described as an 
 incursion of mindrek, sincjen, jongleurs [jocuMores) , and instrument players, 
 who traveUed in troops through the country. Going from town to town and 
 château to château, exercising their calling at weddings, feudal festivals, 
 and village feasts, they were welcome everywhere, treated to the best the 
 house contained, and well paid, so that the accusations of drunkenness and 
 debauchery which hâve been brought against them may not hâve beau 
 
 groundless. 
 
 It was for the purpose, no doubt, of disproving thèse charges that two 
 jugglers, named Jacques Grue and Hugues or Huet of Lorrame, founded a 
 chu:ch and hospital at Paris in 1321. They bought ^^J^^ ^^ ^^^ 
 Montmartre a pièce of ground, upon which they built m the Eue St. Martm 
 
 3 z 
 
536 MUSIC. 
 
 a chapel dedicated to St. Julian and St. Gcnest, the patron saints of 
 comedians and minstrels. The chapel and hospital were built in the space 
 of fifteen years with the money which the founders had coUected from the 
 inhabitants of Paris, and thèse founders placed themselves at the head of an 
 association of minstrels and itinérant mnsicians, maie and female, the statutes 
 of their confraternity receiving the sanction of the provost of Paris. The 
 members of this corporation enjoyed the exclusive right of executing music 
 at the festivals and weddings celebrated in the city ; and minstrels not 
 belonging to the association were liable to fine and banishment from Paris 
 for a year and a day if they ventured to compete with the confraternity, 
 which was uuder the authority of a king of the minstrels and a provost of 
 St. Julian. The foreign minstrels and jongleurs who came to Paris, and 
 who were not authorised to foUow their profession in the city, were received 
 as guests at the hospital of the confraternity. Violent quarrels occasionally 
 occurred between the associâtes and the free minstrels, but the corporation 
 insisted upon the observance of its statutes, which remained in force as long 
 as it existed. 
 
 To the trouvères attaches the honour of having composed and brought out 
 the first opéra ever given in France. This opéra, or 02oéra comique, which 
 dates from 1285, was the work of Adam de la Haie, who composed the words 
 and the music. It was called Le Jeu de Rohîn et Mariou, and was partitioned 
 into scènes, with an intermixture of songs. The plot is a very simple one. 
 The shepherdess Marion is in love with the shepherd Robin, and though a 
 chevalier appears on the stage and attempts to win her away from him, she 
 remains true to him. It was in this pastoral that Adam de la Haie 
 introduced the famous air of the "Homme Armé," which was so often 
 reproduced and imitated by the musicians of the Middle Ages that it is held, 
 rightly or wrongly, by the most learned musicographers, to be the war song 
 which the Crusaders sang in chorus when they entered Jérusalem. Adam 
 de la Haie, in adapting common music to the dramatic art, did the same as 
 the pious authors of the liturgical drama, which had been utilised for 
 religions purposes during the two préviens centuries. The original object 
 of the liturgical drama was to draw away the faithful from the corrupt 
 amusements of the profane stage. This musical drama had been so im- 
 planted in the liturgy that it came to be an essential part of religions céré- 
 monies, and at the festivals of the Nativity, of the Adoration, of the Passion, 
 
•i/r.syr. 
 
 •nd of tbe Resurrect.o,, deacon« and d.on.st... .opresenlod t i,...ide tl.e 
 
 church, but under tbe porcL ov iu eue of tl.e chapte.-.oon., tl.e épisode. i„ 
 the hfe of Chr,st abncst as thoy wore rel.ted ia iha Clu.rcl. nervico („.,. 
 Chapter on the Théâtre). Fivo or six of thèse liturgical dra,aa« havo bc.n 
 iouud, among others the oldest of Al-The Wke aud th. Fooli^h Vinji,,, 
 The archangel Gabriel announces the coming of Christ; the fooh'sh vir-n-ns 
 confess tbeir sins, and entreat the .vise virgins to belp them ; the laUor 
 refuse, and the merchauts décline to sell the foolish virgins the oil to li-^hl 
 their lamps. Ail the Latin stanzas, ending with a ritournelle in the vulgar 
 tongue, are sung to a différent tune by each pcrsonage (see Fig. 427). 
 Coussemaker, speaking of thèse liturgical dramas, says, " We fiud in thcm 
 
 ■ • ' * .1 • . 
 
 
 crri muf o •îdUtvtai ^ clj^ituiàC^ tcopinucin donmta /lofa» p=^ 
 
 Fig. 427.— Song of the Foolish Virgins, talcen from the Mysiery of the ll'ise and the Foolish Vir^iiu, religious 
 drama, noted in Neumœ. (MS. 1139 in the National Librarj-, Paris, Tcnth Ccntuiy.) 
 
 neither passions, nor intrigues, nor the scenic movements which occupy the 
 principal place in profane drama; on the contrary, the ijrevailing points 
 are the calm and simplicity of the récital, the élévation and nobUity of the 
 thoughts expressed, and the purity of the moral principles. The music 
 required to interpret sentiments such as thèse, and to give them a more 
 powerful expression, could not be of the rhythmical kind, which is suitable f o 
 excite worldly passions, but one arranged according to the rules of the plain 
 chant, having regard, of course, to certain laws of rhythm and accentua- 
 tion." 
 
 Other musical dramas on devotional subjects were also played in the 
 cloisters as a pastime by the monks and nuns. The pièces by Hrosvitha, a 
 nun at Gandersheim, in Saxony, are very good types of this drama ; but the 
 
538 MUSIC. 
 
 music, wMci. is mixed up in a dialogue interlarded with prayers and Church 
 songs, is of sucli a character that we can only conjecture that it was con- 
 ducted and supported by the organ. This kind of drama, which was more 
 religions than liturgical, difFered from the profane music of the drama not 
 only in regard to the nature of the subject and the aim of the représentation : 
 in the one case the music was grave and solenin, like chanting ; in the other 
 it flowed in light and melodious cadences, -which harmonized with the sounds 
 of violins and harps. 
 
 This was the music of the troubadours and trouvères, who composed songs 
 for three or four voiees ; and thèse pièces, many of which hâve been rescued 
 from the oblivion into which they had fallen, are as remarkable for the 
 graceful forms of the melody as for the embellishments of the singing and 
 for their harmonious contexture. Belgium and Germany had, like France 
 and Italy, their schools of master-singers, their musical académies and 
 associations. "W"e even know the names of the minstrels and minnesingers 
 who were the most in vogue, and whose compositions deserved the famé 
 which they enjoyed. Among them are several who became leaders of a 
 school, and who hâve left spécial treatises upon their art, such as Guillaume 
 Dufay, Egide Binchois, De Busnois, Firmin Caron, Yincent Faugues, Eloy, 
 and Brassart, in the fourteenth century. The first named, who became 
 chapel-master to the Pope in 1380, invented the pauses which occur at 
 intervais in the partition, and in one of his masses he first tried the fugue 
 called canon, which was so notable a feature in the music of the sixteenth 
 century. 
 
 There were a great many poet-musicians in France during the fourteenth 
 century, from Adam de la Haie, whose motets and songs were so generally 
 admired that the music of them was transposed into the Church songs and 
 chants (see Fig. 428). It was no uncommon thing at that time to find an 
 entire mass written after the réminiscence of some profane air, which was 
 transferred, song and words, into a Sanctus or Benedicamus. It was in this way 
 that E-obert of Anjou, King of Naples and Sicily, one of the best musicians 
 of his day, composed in honour of St. Louis, Bishop of Toulouse, a mass which 
 was celebrated in the churches down to the time of the Council of Trent, 
 while the profane music which had been employed as the thème for the 
 varions parts of the mass was still being played by the minstrels. The poet 
 Michael de Machault also composed a mass for four voiees at the consecra- 
 
MUSIC. , ,^ 
 
 tion of Charles V. ; but thougli lie composed a quuntity of imiwc l'.ir lim love 
 songs, we do not learn that he imitated aiiy of thom in bis coroniition muM, 
 in whicli thé melody and liarmony were entircly his work. Ilurmony 
 continued to make as niuch progress in sacred as in scculur music; but 
 tbese two kinds of music gradually assimilated; the pkin chant bccamo 
 disorderly, owing to the excesses of the descant, and gradually tranH- 
 formed itself into a sort of musical enigma, in wbich the chapcl-muster 
 
 Adieu commanl amou-re-tes, Car je men vois Dolaiis pour les dou-chc-tes Fort 
 
 dou dons pa - is d'Arloi-s Qui est si mus et destrois, Pour chc que li 
 bùurgois Ont es-lé si four-me-nés Qu'il n'i queurt drois ne lois Gros tournois 
 
 .— --b 
 
 ont a -nu - lés contes et rois , Jus-liches et prelas tant de fois Que mainle 
 
 be-le compaingne dont Ar-ras mehaingne Laissent a-mis et maisons et harnois, 
 Et fui-ent chà deus, chà trois, Sou-spirant en terre es-lrain-gnc. 
 
 , ,r it Aj j 1 w=lo pffpr the MS. (No. 2736) in the National Libran-. 
 Fig. 428.-Original Notation of a Motet by Adam de la Haie, atter tue lua. ( ,i l 
 
 Paris (Fourteentt Century). 
 
 had accumulated the most eccentric combinations and the most fancifui 
 
 conceptions. . .■> 
 
 A few conaposers of sacred music remained true, nevertheless, to the 
 severest principles of art ; as, for instance, Éloy, who wrote masses m yhxch 
 
 „ n R„f fnv nll that French and itahan 
 
 heobserved the rulesof pure harmony. But, toi aU tnat, j? re 
 
 • +^ rv„irph music Amanuscript coUection ot 
 songs were always superior to LhurcH music. r _ 
 
 „.m„ „f the „„.icia.s of this period, .»ong wh.m w. Jacp. da Bolog... 
 
5+0 MUSIC. 
 
 Francesco degli Organi, Don Donato da Cascia, Maestro Giovanni da Firenze, 
 the Abbot Yicenzio da Imola, &c. From 1420 to 1450 tlie most renowned 
 Frencb musicians were Domart, Barbingant, Praylois, Le Rouge, De Courbet, 
 and De Humbert. Belgium supplied several of the sovereigns of Europe 
 witli chapel-masters, Jean OckegLem, who forraed tbe princijDal musicians of 
 tbe time, having held that post under Charles VII. ; -n-hile another Belgian, 
 Jean Tinctor, or Tinctoris, who was reputed to be the first theorist of the 
 âge, founded a school of music at Naples, and became the chapel-master of 
 King Ferdinand of Aragon and of IsabeUa of Castile. Home, Milan, and 
 other Italian cities also recruited from the Low Countries varions leaders of 
 schools, who exaggerated the novelties of their art under pretence of perfect- 
 ing its scientiiic principles. Ockeghem more especially, who had a very 
 great influence upon Italian music, developed much imitative harmony, and 
 obtained very happy effects from the canon with three or four parts. 
 
 Kings and princes were always the warmest patrons of music, and most 
 of them could boast of being themselves musicians. René of Anjou, Count 
 of Provence and titular King of Naples, was also, like ail the princes of the 
 house of Anjou, very fond of music, and himself a distinguished composer. 
 He wrote masses for bis chapel, military marches for bis tournaments, and 
 mélodies for bis chamber music, which be sang with much taste, playing bis 
 own accompaniment upon différent instruments. He is représented, in the 
 first miniature of the excellent psalter which he had prepared for bis own 
 use, as himself directing one of thèse concerts, in which be took part in the 
 vocal and instrumental exécution, which was intrusted to real artists of both 
 sexes. His contemporary, James I. of Scotland, was also a skilled musician, 
 for he could play aU tbe instruments known in bis day (see Fig. 429). 
 Louis XL had no pretensions to tbe talent of his father-in-law, James I. ; 
 and it may even be supposed that he cared little for music, as be was very 
 averse to his wife, Margaret of Scotland, composing or listening to the 
 ballads and roundelays of which she was so fond. But the King, who pre- 
 ferred " good stories " to thèse love ballads, was very particular that his 
 chapel music, on which large sums were spent, should not be inferior to that 
 of any other court in Europe. Charles VIII. brought back from bis expédi- 
 tion to Italy as many musicians as be did painters and architects ; but he 
 cared most for military music, although, with its overwhelming clatter of 
 big Swiss drums, it was the least melodious of ail. 
 
S42 MUSIC. 
 
 François I. was too fond of poetry not to like music ; and his predecessor, 
 Louis XII., had left him a choir whicli had no equal in the world, and whicli 
 ■was nnder tlie direction of Guillaume Guinand, formerly chapel-master to 
 Ludovic Sforza, tte last Duke of Milan. This was the choir which 
 François I. took with him to Milan in 1515, and which had the honour of 
 singing before Léo X., when that pope celebrated mass in the Bologna 
 Cathedral during his stay in that city to meet the King of France and sign 
 the concordat. The principal musicians of that time were a Frenchman 
 named Jean de Lotin ; two Belgians, Guillaume Garnier and Bernard Hycart ; 
 and Godendach, a German résident in Italy. The Germans deservedly had 
 the réputation of being the best organists and instrument makers (see 
 Fig. 430). Chamber music was much in faveur at the court of François I., 
 for there was an endless succession of balls, masquerades, and réceptions 
 ■when the King ■was residing in one of his royal châteaux. But François I. 
 did not neglect the teaching of higher music ; for when he founded the Royal 
 Collège in 1530, the third chair ■was one of music, and thè two professors 
 appointed to fiU it were Oronce Fine and Jean Martin, both of them excellent 
 mathematicians. 
 
 Rabelais, in a remarkable passage of " Pantagruel " (Prologue of Book IV., 
 published in 1552), arranged in two distinct groups the names of fifty-eight 
 French, Belgian, and Italian musicians, who were held in great esteem as 
 composers and performers at two diiïerent epochs in the reign of François I., 
 first in 1515, and then in 1551. Rabelais was himself a dialectician and 
 theorist in music, for he was conversant with ail the sciences taught in the 
 schools of the Paris University, and he doubtless recalled with pleasure 
 having been présent at the house of the brothers Du Bellay, who were his 
 fellow-students, to hear a vocal and instrumental concert by the foUowing 
 artists : — Josquin des Prés, Ockeghem, Hobrecht, Agricola, Brumel, Camelin, 
 Vigoris, De la Fage, Bruyer, Prioris, Seguin, Delarue, Midy, Moulu, Mouton, 
 Gascogne, Loysel, Compère, Pevet, Fevin, Rouzée, Richafford, Consilion, 
 Costantio Festi, and Jacquet Bercan. Most of thèse musicians Avere pupils of 
 the old Belgian master, Jean Ockeghem, who died at Tours about 1510, and 
 of his learned rival, Josquin des Prés, who was the true leader of the French 
 school. This latter not only composed some magnificent Church songs, but 
 he also was the author of songs for several voices which were lively, and even 
 comic to a degree previously unknown. Thirty-five years later Rabelais 
 
Musrc. 
 
 paicl a visit at Rome to Du Bellay, wl.o 1i;m1 l,eco.no u .•nnlin,,!, ■i,„l ihere ho 
 
 Fig. 430.-German musician executing a pièce of music upon a portable organ. Fac-similé of an engravi„g by 
 Israël van'Mecken. End of the Fifteentb Centuiy. 
 
 heard another concert not less interesting, by thirty-three musicians telong- 
 
 4 A 
 
54+ 
 
 MUSIC. 
 
 ing to tte Franco-Italian scliool, the leader of whom was Adrian Villaert, a 
 pupil of Josquin des Prés, and chapel-master at St. Mark's, Venice. This 
 
 Fig. 431. — Personification of Music, with, the auxiliaries, the Poets and the Musicîans. Fac-similé of a Wood 
 Engraving of the "Margarita philosophica nova" (Strasburg édition, J. GriJninger, 1508, in quarto}. 
 
 great Belgian master of counterpoint had at his side the Frencliman Claude 
 Goudimel, wlio was tlie master of the illustrions Palestrina. 
 
MUSIC. ,^, 
 
 Musio at that time was familiar to every ouo in iM.n.p,., a,„l Hier.. «•«« 
 scarcely any one but what could play or sing. Printing had donc mwh t.. 
 propagate this love of music (see Fig. 431) ; and iu somo of the first hwU 
 printed at Mayence, Schoiffer and Fust engraved iipon wooden plates tho 
 notation of the plain chant for their édition of the Psalter and of the ilissals. 
 It was the Eoman, Octavio Petrucci, who discovered at Venicc, in \'m, the 
 secret of printing music in movahle type. This valuable discovery enablcd 
 him to multiply the impressions, and the cost was much reduced in consé- 
 quence. Music printing-presses were established throughout Europe, and an 
 immense quantity of compilations, containing masses, motets, 8ong.s, and 
 instrumental compositions, published in separate parts so as to facilitate the 
 exécution, were produced during the next two centuries. Robert Ballard, 
 the " sole printer of Church music for the King's chamber," obtained from 
 Henri II. the exclusive privilège of printing music in Paris, and this 
 privilège, confirmed by the kings, Charles IX. and Henri III., lasted till 
 the end of the seventeenth century. 
 
 The Kings of France remained true to the royal tradition which, from 
 the earliest days of the monarchy, had inspired them with a taste, and even 
 it may be said a passion, for music. François I. and Henri II. not only 
 wrote pious songs and love songs, but set them to music and sang them to 
 their own accompaniment of the lute or guitar. Charles IX. and his brothers 
 were even fonder of music and poetry ; and Brantôme tells us how Xing 
 Charles would rise from his seat during mass, and like his father, the late 
 King Henri, go over to the choristers' place and join in the chanting. 
 Brantôme adds, " The King (Henri III.), like his brother, also sang very 
 well, but they differed very much in regard to their favomite tunes." The 
 court of the Valois wa s fiUed with poets and musicians, but most of the 
 latter hailed from Italy and Belgium. One of the poets of the Pleiad, Antoine 
 de Baïf, who was as much musician as he was poet, founded at his own house 
 in the Faubourg St. Marcel an academy of music, where aU foreign 
 musicians of repute arriving in Paris were received and hospitably enter- 
 tained. This academy of music gave every week a grand instrumental 
 and vocal concert, at which Charles IX. was ahnost always présent. 
 Like the poet Baïf, Marguerite de Valois, Queen of Kavarre, also de- 
 termined to hâve her academy of music, and she presided in person 
 at concerts given at her house near Issy, thèse concerts being held m 
 
54*^ 
 
 MUSIC. 
 
 the gardens to the accompaniment of the biibbling waters of a fountain, 
 whicli the poets of the day named CastaUne, after that which flowed at the 
 foot of Parnassus, and which the Greeks had consecrated to the Muses (see 
 Fig. 432). 
 
 Sacred and profane music lived, so to speak, in a state of ingenuous 
 
 Fij;. 432. — Castaline Fountain, in marble and coloured lead, purchased by M. Léopold Double at tbe démolition 
 of the Château d'Issy ; now erected at his house in the Rue Louis-le-Grand, Paris. . 
 
 promiscuity ; and it did not strike people as incongruous to hear in a church 
 the same tunes which they had listened to a few hours before at a bail or a 
 festival. But the austère reformers, who were desirous of preserving religious 
 music in the Lutheran or Calvinistic creed, protested against what they 
 regarded as scandalous, and composed for their own use spécial mélodies, which 
 
jMCS/C. 
 
 <;4: 
 
 were reserved exclusively for tho Psahns uud CuntfcIc.H. '• f )f evcrj-thinR 
 which is calculated to give récréation and deligbt to man," nays Jeun Calvin, 
 in his epistle to ail CJmstiam and lovers of God's Word, xvliich is j.rinfc.î 
 as a préface to the translation of the Tsalnis of David l.y Cldment Marot, 
 " music is the first, or one of tlie first, and we niust suppose tliat it is a gift 
 bestowed by God for tliis purpose. . . . Care should bc takcn that singing is 
 neither light nor flighty, but that it possesses gravity and majesty, us 
 St. Augustine says, so that there may be a decided différence between tho 
 music which is played to euliven people when at table and in thcir bouses, 
 and that of Psalms sung in church in the présence of God and of the 
 angels." Charles IX. was so fond of religious music that he readily granted, 
 in 1563, to Antoine Vincent, a bookseller at Lyons, a nionopoly of ten years' 
 duration for printing ail the Psalms of the prophct David, " translated 
 according to the Hebrew truth, and put into French rhyme and good 
 music." 
 
 In Italy Palestrina had effected a reform of Church music, iu accordance 
 with the desires of the Catholic priesthood, which since the fifteenth century 
 had been fulmiuating against the impious and absurd medley of profane 
 songs and anthems. The Council of Trent was upon the point of excluding 
 from the Church ail music which was not plain chant, when Palestrina com- 
 posed his first mass, called the " Mass of Pope Marcel." This caused a com- 
 plète révolution in sacred music, and Palestrina and his imitators nearly 
 always used as subjects of their religious composition the ancient hymns of 
 the Catholic Church, to which they gave a grave and solemn tone, in keeping 
 with the majesty of religious worship. 
 
 At the end of the sixteentn century every country in Europe possessed 
 skilful and ingénions musicians, who instructed many students, and whose 
 Works, reproduced by the printing-press, passed from hand to hand in the 
 musical world. Schools of music became universal, and masters were 
 appointed to them from ail parts of Europe. The celebrated Claude Gou- 
 dimel, who opened the first school of music at Eome, Protestant though he 
 was, came back to Paris, and was one of the victims of the St. Bartholomew ; 
 the Belgian Archadelt was leader of the choristers in the pontifical chapel ; 
 and his compatriot, Orland de Lassus, a native of Mons, was chapel-master to 
 Duke Albert at Munich. Yet there was no lack of native musicians in Italy 
 — Animuccia, Constant Festa, and Zarlino ; in Spain, Tittoria ; in Ki.gland, 
 
548 
 
 MUSIC. 
 
 "William Bircl, Tallîs, and Morley; in Germany, Senfl, Walther, and Hassler; 
 in Eelgium and Holland, Philippe de Mons, Andi'é Pevernage, and Jacquet 
 de Wert. Ail of thèse were composers of érudition and excellent instru- 
 mentalists. Yet France did not lag behind, for Claude de Sermisy, chapel- 
 master to François I., and Clément Jannequin were succeeded by Du Cauroy, 
 music-master of Henri III., and Claude Lejeune, author of so many charm- 
 ing and original works. Music and poetry seemed to create a pleasing 
 
 Fig. 433.— A Court Concert. Fac-simile of a Copper Engravinff from the Ballet de la Rayiie, by Balthazar de 
 Beaujoyeulx. (Paris, Mamert Pâtisson, 1582, in quarto.) 
 
 diversion amid the incessant troubles of civil and religions warfare ; the 
 people danced and sang upon the eve or morrow of a public disaster ; the 
 nobility, upon their return from the army, after having left several of their 
 number on the battle-field, also found relief in concerts ; the great lords and 
 pi'inces, when their council-meetings were over, assisted at a Fa-Burden 
 mass or took part in a court ballet (see Fig. 433) ; the Louvre resounded 
 night and day with the harmonious sound of voices and instruments of 
 music. It remained for the League, in its savage fanaticism and amid its 
 
MUSIC. 
 
 W> 
 
 sinister plotting, to silence thèse musical prodivities al u tiiiie wlion Ituly, 
 wliicli had entered upon a period of pcaco and prospcri(y, inuugiiratod tlu; 
 musical and spectacular drama, transfornicd the tonality by u ncw nrrungn- 
 ment of the scale, increased tlie instrumental power, and modified at once the 
 Systems of Church, chamber, and theatrical music. 
 
 jr; 434._Psalter)'. Fifteenth Centurj'. (MS. from tbe ■' Miroir historial " of Vincent de Beauvaii.l 
 
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