DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61894#0219
Ch. V. THROUGH ITALY. 189
century, as the church of St. Sophia, erected iia
the sixth, is in that form; but, whenever intro-
duced, its adoption need not be regretted, as it
very happily combines variety with unity, and
beauty with convenience.
We cannot pass the same encomium upon
those partitions, called screens, which divide the
chancel from the nave, and by concealing the
most ornamented part of the church from the
view, and veiling the principal object, the altar,
break the perspective, deprive the edifice of a
proper termination, and apparently reduce its
dimensions to half its real magnitude. When
and why these screens were introduced it may
be difficult to determine, but as they are only
found in Saxon and Gothic churches we may
suppose that they are coeval with those build-
ings, and were from the beginning considered
as constituent parts of them. Their utility is
not very perceptible. Some suppose them ne-
cessary in northern climates, in order to shelter
the congregation from the cold winds that pene-
trate and chill the open parts of such vast edi-
fices as cathedrals; but this reason, which may
appear satisfactory when confined to countries
in which the congregation is seldom so numerous
as to fill the choir of a cathedral, is totally in-
applicable to places where service is attended by
century, as the church of St. Sophia, erected iia
the sixth, is in that form; but, whenever intro-
duced, its adoption need not be regretted, as it
very happily combines variety with unity, and
beauty with convenience.
We cannot pass the same encomium upon
those partitions, called screens, which divide the
chancel from the nave, and by concealing the
most ornamented part of the church from the
view, and veiling the principal object, the altar,
break the perspective, deprive the edifice of a
proper termination, and apparently reduce its
dimensions to half its real magnitude. When
and why these screens were introduced it may
be difficult to determine, but as they are only
found in Saxon and Gothic churches we may
suppose that they are coeval with those build-
ings, and were from the beginning considered
as constituent parts of them. Their utility is
not very perceptible. Some suppose them ne-
cessary in northern climates, in order to shelter
the congregation from the cold winds that pene-
trate and chill the open parts of such vast edi-
fices as cathedrals; but this reason, which may
appear satisfactory when confined to countries
in which the congregation is seldom so numerous
as to fill the choir of a cathedral, is totally in-
applicable to places where service is attended by