DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.29899#0089
Bk. III. Cn. II.
AQUITANIA.
69
567. Plan of Church at-
Moissac. (From Taylor
and Nodier.)
Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
was regarded as tlie most indispensable part of the arrangement of the
church, and to meet this exigency the Southern architects were after-
wards obliged to invent a method of isolating the
choir, by carrying a lofty stone railing or screen
round it, wholly independent of any of the con-
structive parts of the church. This, there is little
doubt, was a mistake, and in every respect a less
beautiful arrangement than that adopted in the
ISTorth ; still, it seems to have been the only means
of meeting the difficulty in the absence of aisles,
and in some instances the richness with which the
screen was ornamented, and the unbroken succes-
sion of bassi-relievi and sculptural ornaments,
make us forget that it is only a piece of church
furniture, and not an integral part of the design of
the building.
One of the earliest examples of this arrangement
which has been preserved is in the church at
Moissac, remarkable for its strange mythical sculpture and rude
pointed architecture, both belonging to the llth century, and as unlike
anything to be found in any
other part of France as can well
be conceived.
At a later age we find in the
cathedral at Alby the same system
carried to its acmé, and still
adhered to in all essential parts in
spite of the influence and pre-
dominance of the pure Gothic
styles, which had then so gene-
rallysuperseded it. Thefoundation
of the church was laid only in the
year 1282, and it was not so far
completed as to admit of its
dedication till 1476. Its choir
and fresco decorations were added
by the celebrated Louis d’Amboise,
who completed the whole in 1512.
As will be seen from the plan
(Woodcut ISTo 568), the church
is one immense unbroken vaulted
568. Plan of Catbedral at Alby. (From Chapuy,
hall, 55 ft. in width by 262 in 'Cathédrales Françaisea.’) Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
length ; or adding the chapels, the internal width is 82 ft., and the
total length upwards of 300 ft.
As will be observed, the whole of the buttresses are internal, as is
AQUITANIA.
69
567. Plan of Church at-
Moissac. (From Taylor
and Nodier.)
Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
was regarded as tlie most indispensable part of the arrangement of the
church, and to meet this exigency the Southern architects were after-
wards obliged to invent a method of isolating the
choir, by carrying a lofty stone railing or screen
round it, wholly independent of any of the con-
structive parts of the church. This, there is little
doubt, was a mistake, and in every respect a less
beautiful arrangement than that adopted in the
ISTorth ; still, it seems to have been the only means
of meeting the difficulty in the absence of aisles,
and in some instances the richness with which the
screen was ornamented, and the unbroken succes-
sion of bassi-relievi and sculptural ornaments,
make us forget that it is only a piece of church
furniture, and not an integral part of the design of
the building.
One of the earliest examples of this arrangement
which has been preserved is in the church at
Moissac, remarkable for its strange mythical sculpture and rude
pointed architecture, both belonging to the llth century, and as unlike
anything to be found in any
other part of France as can well
be conceived.
At a later age we find in the
cathedral at Alby the same system
carried to its acmé, and still
adhered to in all essential parts in
spite of the influence and pre-
dominance of the pure Gothic
styles, which had then so gene-
rallysuperseded it. Thefoundation
of the church was laid only in the
year 1282, and it was not so far
completed as to admit of its
dedication till 1476. Its choir
and fresco decorations were added
by the celebrated Louis d’Amboise,
who completed the whole in 1512.
As will be seen from the plan
(Woodcut ISTo 568), the church
is one immense unbroken vaulted
568. Plan of Catbedral at Alby. (From Chapuy,
hall, 55 ft. in width by 262 in 'Cathédrales Françaisea.’) Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
length ; or adding the chapels, the internal width is 82 ft., and the
total length upwards of 300 ft.
As will be observed, the whole of the buttresses are internal, as is