Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/441

Rh BK. LX. CH. II. SYRIA AND ASIA MINOU. 425 architects was an improven.ent. Taking i. altogether it ^^^^^^^^^ that such a church as that at Rouheiha (Woodcut No 853) would a literally reproduced, make a better and cheaper chmj,h for an Enc^lish parish than the Mediaeval models we are so fond of copying. A considerable amount of perspective effect is obtained by throwmg to transverse arches across the nave, dividing it into thi-ee con. partments, each including four windows in the cerestory; and the ^lole design is siuiple and solid in a degree seM^ sui^-ed in buildings of its class. Its dimensions are b3 tt. by 150 over "'^TmL of these churches the transverse arches of the nave are om!tted ; and when, as at Kalb Louzeh (Woodcut No. 855) the cleres- tory is accentuated by roofing shafts, the same effect of perspective is obtained by other means, and perhaps as successfully. It is very interesting, however, to find that as early as ^^^ ^ the 6th century the architects were thought- ^^^^ p^^^^j chm-chatKaib fully feeling their way towards those very Louzeh. Scale loo it. to m-incinles of design which many centuries afterwards enabled the Gothic architects to produce their most suc- cessful effects. The introduction of four windows over each great arch, and of a roofing-shaft between each to support the beams of the roof, was a happy thought, and it is wonderful it was so completely lost sio-ht of afterwards. • • n It Is probable that the apse (Woodcut No. 855) was_ ongrnally adorned with paintings or mosaics, or at least that it was -tended i should be so ornamented ; but, even as it is, it is- so well proportimied to the size of the church, and to its position, and so aj^propnately ornan.ented, that it is better than most of those^ found in Koman basilicas ; and, for a small church, is a more dignified receptacle for the altar than either the French chevet or the English chancel. Did our limits admit of it, it would be not only pleasant but in- structive to dwell longer on this subject; for few parts of our mquiry can be more interesting than to find that, as early as the 6th century, the Roman basilica had been converted into a Christian church, com- plete in all its details, and - internally at least - in a style of archi- tecture as consistent and almost as far removed from its classical prototype as the Mediaeval Gothic itself. Externally, too, the style was becoming independent of classical models, thouiih hardlv in the same degree. The porches of the churches were crenerally formed in two stories, the lower having a large central arch oi admission, the upper consisting of a colonnade which partially hid, while it supported an open screen of windows that admitted a flood of light into the nave just in the position where it was most effective. "^Without glass or mullions such a range of windows must