Page:A history of architecture on the comparative method for the student, craftsman, and amateur.djvu/376

 3l8 COMPARATIVE ARCHITECTURE. with aisles, clerestory with windows, and a long and narrow chancel without aisles. There was generally a single western tower, finished with crenellated battlements, but in some of the larger Parish Churches, which are cruciform on plan, the tower is over the " crossing." Where a spire occurs it is usually octagonal on plan, and the change from the square to the octagon was effected in the thirteenth century by means of a " broach " (No. 140 a) resting on angle squinch arches (No. 130 b), while in the following centuries, parapets with elaborate corner pinnacles (No. 140 c, e) and flying buttresses were employed to connect the tower and base of the spire (No. 140 g, h). The principal entrance was by a porch, sometimes of two stories, on the south side, near the west end, although occasionally the western tower emphasized the main entrance. A large number were erected during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The typical Enghsh Church differs from the French in not being vaulted, and there is, therefore, an absence of flying buttresses. The English developed the " open-timbered " roof, and elaborate specimens of constructive art were indulged in, various types being shown on No. 113, culminating in the " hammer-beam " variety of the fifteenth century. These were often painted with rich colors, and the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk have examples specially famous in this respect. THE CASTLES OF THE NOBLES. These form an important part of the architecture of the Middle Ages, and were fortified up to the end of the fourteenth century. They were generally residences as well as military posts ; thus, while complying with the ideas of defence, the planning also illustrates ihe relation of the vassal to his lord, who, while exacting the former's service, was theoretically bound to maintain him. In the twelfth century, military structures were all-important, over 1,100 castles being constructed during the reign of Stephen alone. These consisted of (a.) an outer " bailey " or court, (/;.) an inner bailey, and (c.) the donjon or keep, several stories in height ; all being surrounded by a lofty wall with ramparts and parapet and a deep moat, as in the Tower of London (a.d. 1081-1090) (No. 131 a), and Kenilworth Castle (No. 131 c). " The battled towers, the donjon keep, The loophole grates where captives weep.' — Scott. In the thirteenth century these castles were further enlarged by additional buildings, clustering round the keep, the hall still remaining the principal feature. Large hooded fireplaces and chimneys became general. The castles were less strongly fortified, as the growth of the royal power suppressed petty wars between rival nobles, while the invention of gunpowder (a.d. 1500)