Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 1.djvu/260

242 —Parts of the church of this immense monastic establishment,—particularly the side aisles and the eastern end,—are of the Romane style, and are probably of a date as early as the twelfth century; the major part of the edifice is, however, of the thirteenth, and the grand refectory, still standing, forms a chef-d'œuvre of the same century. It is known that a church, dedicated to St. Martin, stood here in the seventh century, but Henri I. rebuilt the whole, and Philip I. constituted it into a priory of Cluniac monks A.D. 1079. The church, now much degraded, is hard to be made out, from its being used as a magazine for the Ecole des Arts et Metiers, but the refectory has been appropriated as a school, and with its beautiful reading pulpit, and single row of slender shafts running down the middle of the apartment to support the vaulting, produces a most exquisite effect. The details are worked out with great care and delicacy.

—The earlier parts of this building, including the lower portions of the western front, the piers of the nave, choir, and aisles, date from the end of the twelfth century; and, though they are on the very limits of the circular and pointed styles, or rather associated with the latter, entitle the cathedral to be considered one of the earliest buildings in the capital. The high Altar was consecrated A.D. 1182. No description of this well-known edifice is necessary: it may be observed, however, that the character of this early portion of the architecture is very good, rich, and massive, and that the ornamental parts are executed with great taste and skill. A considerable portion of the edifice, indeed all that part which most strikes the unprofessional eye, is of the thirteenth century, and no small portion, especially towards the eastern end, of the fourteenth, some even as late as the fifteenth. It was a building that advanced very slowly towards completion. The whole is going to be carefully restored by the French Government, and some injudicious alterations made during the last and present centuries will be removed. H. LONGUEVILLE JONES.