Page:A history of architecture on the comparative method for the student, craftsman, and amateur.djvu/317

 GERMAN ROMANESQUE. 259 spite of all changes, the most united of continental powers. In the later portion of this period, Germany was troubled by the dissensions of the two rival parties, the Guelphs and Ghibellines, the one supporting the Church and municipal rights, and the other representing the Imperial authority, but the conflict between the two took place mainly in North Italy (page 405). vi. Historical. — Charlemagne (a.d. 768-814), the first Prankish king who became Roman Emperor, was crowned by the Pope at Rome, and ruled over the land of the Pranks, which included all Central Germany and Northern Gaul. In addition he established the Prankish dominion over Southern Gaul and Northern Italy (No. 90). In a great measure, he restored the arts and civiliza- tion to Western Europe, resulting in the erection of many important buildings in his dominions. On Charlemagne's death in a.d. 814 this empire crumbled to pieces through internal wars, and in the unsettled state of the country, the German princes pushed themselves into prominence by demanding the right to elect their own sovereign — Conrad the Pirst, reigning as King of Germany at the beginning of the tenth century. His successor, Otho, extending the boundary of the German Empire southwards into Lombardy, was crowned Emperor of the West at Rome, an event which shows the leading position of the Prankish emperors at the period, and was not without its influence on the architecture of these regions. The political relations of the Hohenstaufen (or Swabian) Emperors (a.d. 1 138-1273) with Lombardy, is evidenced in the similarity of the architecture of the two countries. The house of Hapsburg succeeded the Hohenstaufen dynasty in 1273, when Prench Gothic architecture was introduced, and henceforth copied. 2. ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER. The style bears a strong resemblance to North Italian Romanesque, due to certain influences dealt with previously (page 234 and above). The Rhine districts possess the most fully-developed Roman- esque architecture, and the style has fewer local varieties than that of Prance. The plans of the churches are peculiar in having western and eastern apses, and no great western entrance as in Prance. The general architectural character is rich in the multi- plication of circular and octagonal turrets, in conjunction with polygonal domes, and the use of arcaded galleries under the eaves. The most richly ornamented parts are the doorways and capitals, which are bold and effective in execution. Vaulting appears to have been first adopted in the Rhenish churches some fifty years after its general adoption in Prance. s 2