Page:A history of architecture on the comparative method for the student, craftsman, and amateur.djvu/431

 FRENCH GOTHIC. 373 the east end is striking, owing to the picturesque confusion of innumerable flying buttresses, pinnacles, and other features. Chartres Cathedral (i 194-1260) (Nos. iioe and 155 K)hasa plan peculiar in having strongly marked transepts, each crowned with two towers, which with the two western and two contem- plated eastern towers would have made eight. The cathedral is remarkable for the fine statuary to the north and south porches (No. 165 a), the rose window to the northern transept, and the flying buttresses of three arches one above the other, the two lower being connected by radiating balusters resembling the spokes of a wheel. Rheims Cathedral (1212-1241) (Nos. 155 and 161) hasa fine plan, the west front having three deeply recessed portals richly ornamented with sculpture, and enclosed with richly ornamented gables. The upper portion has a row of statues in tabernacles carried between the two towers instead of the open tracery arrange- ment seen in Notre Dame. The flying buttresses (No. 141 h) show the arrangement adopted over a double aisle, in which the thrust of the nave vault is transmitted by arches to piers weighted by pinnacles and statuary. Amiens Cathedral (1220-128S) (Nos. 154, 159 and 160) is gene- rally referred to as having the typical French Cathedral plan, but the side chapels to the nave placed between the buttresses are a later addition. The interior is 140 feet high to the stone vaulting, and the roof of the nave is over 200 feet in height. The western fa9ade somewhat resembles Notre Dame and Rheims. The great central flee lie of timber and lead is shown on No. 165. Bayeux Cathedral (twelfth century) is remarkable for its twenty-two chapels and immense crypt under the sanctuary, dating from the eight to the eleventh century. Coutances Cathedral (No. 162) was erected a.d. 1254-1274, and is specially famous for the excellent design of the two western towers and spires, and the octagonal lantern over the crossing of nave and transepts. Noyon Cathedral (i 157-1228) with a peculiar plan resem- bling a combination of the German triapsal plan and the French chevet ; Troyes Cathedral (1214-fifteenth century), a fine five- aisled example with eastern chevet and rich western fa9ade ; Soissons Cathedral (1160-1212) ; Laon Cathedral (1150- 1200), exceptional in having an English type of plan and group of six towers; and Rouen Cathedral (1202-1220), with rich western towers of a later period and iron central spire, are other well-known early examples. The Sainte Chapelle, Paris (i 244-1247), built by S. Louis, in which the space between the buttresses is occupied by windows 15 feet wide and 50 feet high, is often quoted as a typical Gothic structure. The plan (No. 155 h) was in size similar to that of