Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/230

214 214 ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND. Part II. 1270, and again partially in 1390. Tlie clioir and other parts which still remain were Iniilt subsequently to the first conflagration, and escaped the second. These pai-ts apj^ear at first sight to belong to the lancet style of the previous century, but used with the details and tracery of the Edwardian period, and with a degree of beauty hardly surpassed anywhere. As compared with English cathedrals, that at Elgin must be considered as a small church, being only 253 ft. in length internally, and 82 wide across the five aisles of the nave. It is very beauti- fully arranged, and on the whole is j^er- haps more elegant in plan than any of the Southern examples. As a mechani- cal design, its worst fault is that the piers supporting the central tower want strength and accentuation. As will be seen from the plan, an attempt was made to throw the Aveight of the tower on the transej)t walls', which are built solid for this jiurpose ; but this was artisti- cally a mistake, while mechanically it caused the destruction of the tower at the beginning of the last century. The choir (see Woodcut No. 643), is termi- nated by what is virtually a great east window, but with piers between the com- »^^ T,, ^ ,-, .. .,, J, ,T. partments instead of mullions. As an 646. Plan ot Elgin Cathedral. (Fromi an Original Plan.) Scale 1"" architectural obicct this is a far more tt. to 1 in. •> stable and appropriate design than a great mullioned window like that of York and others in England. But the latter must be judged of as frames for glass pictures, which Elgin is by no means so well suited to display. Its details, however, are exquisite, and the whole design very rich and beautiful. The north and south aisles of the nave and the chapter-house were rebuilt after the last destruction, and belong to the 15th cen- tury. Those parts, though very charming, display generally the faults of the Scotch flamboyant style, and show a certain amount of heaviness and clumsiness, mixed with the flowing and unconstructive lines of this class of tracery, which nothing could redeem but the grace and elegance with which the French always used it. ISText in beauty to Elgin Cathedral is the well-known abbey at Melrose. This, though founded contemporaneously with Jedburgh and Kelso, was entirely rebuilt during the Lancastrian period, and, owing to its situation near the border, shows much more affinity to the English style than the building last described. The nave, as may be seen from the view of its aisle (Woodcut No. 647), is of a bold,