Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/18

2 Had the Germans been as pure Aryans as they are sometimes supposed to be, they might under certain circumstances have resolved themselves into an aggregation of village communities under one paramount protector. The presence of a Celtic dominion on their western frontier, always greedy for territory, and always prepared to fight either for its acquisition or for anything else, prevented such a catastrophe as this. But the tendency in those parts of Germany where the blood was purest was towards every city becoming an independent community, every trade an independent guild, and every lordship a little kingdom in so far as independence was concerned. All this, however, was the natural tendency of the race, and by no means involved the cutting up of the country into separate architectural provinces. Had the country, indeed, been divided into 1000 or 1500 separate principalities and free cities, instead of one-tenth of that number, the uniformity would have been greater than it is, and from the Alps to the Baltic we should have had only one style, as was very nearly being the case during the Middle Ages. The greatest difference that strikes the observer at first sight, is the change of style between the buildings on the banks of the Rhine and those on the shores of the Baltic. This, however, is more superficial than real, and arose from the fact of no stone being found on the sandy plains of Prussia. The inhabitants of Northern Germany were forced to use brick, and that only, and consequently employed forms which were different from those used in stone countries, but varying from them constructively more than essentially. There may, nevertheless, be a certain infusion of Wendish blood in Northern Germany, which may to some extent have influenced the style, but it is not easy to trace or isolate it.

On the eastern boundary of the province a well-marked ethnographic distinction may easily be detected. In Bohemia and Moravia a strong infusion of Sclavonic feeling does tincture the art, but not to its advantage. In these countries there are some very grand Gothic buildings; but they are wild and ill-understood as Gothic designs, and by no means satisfy the judgment of any one who is familiar with the best examples in France or England. In Siebenburgen, as might be expected, the style is still more abnormal, but it would take more trouble and more illustration to describe it than its importance deserves; for, except the cathedral at Karlsburg, it does not possess any building of great architectural magnificence. Its general characteristic is that it is more Italian than German, though not the less interesting for that very reason. The history of Gothic architecture in Germany began practically with Charlemagne and ended with Charles V. There may be some