Fergusson, James: A history of architecture in all countries, from the earliest times to the present day: in five volumes (Band 2) (London, 1893)

490

SPANISH AROHITECTUEE.

Part II.

the cathedral at Toledo (75,000), and more than Milan (108,000 ft.),
which, next to Seville, is the largest of Mediæval creations. The
central aisle is 56 ft. wide from centre to centre of the columns, the
side-aisles 40 ft., in the exact proportion of 7 to 10, or of the side of
an isosceles right-angled triangle to the hypothenuse. As will be

explained hereafter, t-his is the proportion arrived at from the intro-
duction of an octagonal dome in the centre of the building, though it
may have arisen hei’e from the existence of an octagonal court in the
centre of the mosque ; but, be that as it may, it is a far more agreeable
proportion than the double dimensions generally adopted by Gothic
architects, and probably the most pleasing that has yet been hit upon.