Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 9.djvu/236

 176 ON THE GEOilETRICAL PEEIOD OF a foliated circle, carried by two trefoiled lancets, and in the middle, or triforium stage, a foliated circle enclosed within a spherical triangle, the whole of the window-head being, in all cases, pierced through to the plane of the glass, so as to leave no solid space or surface in the spandrels, thus fidfilhng all the conditions of a traceried window. In this, the first building in which tracery appeared, and in which, in most of its other details, little advance or departure from the usual form of lancet work is to be seen, it will not be a matter of surprise that we should find many of the windows still exhibiting the early form. This is the case in the transept ends, in which two rows of plain lancet- headed windows appeared ; the doors below them, and the windows on each side of them, in the east and west walls, exhibiting nevertheless the new fashion of geometrical tracery. In the Chapterhouse of the same building, which was commenced a.d. 1250, the new style entirely predominates, and the windows are large and fine examples of geometrical tracery of simple but striking pattern ; they are engraved in the last part of Mr. Van Voorst's Decorated AVindows. It is on the authority which this building affords, therefore, that I have adopted the year 12-15 as that of the commence- ment of the Geometrical Period ; and although it is possible that some little time may have elapsed before the example thus set in this noble metropolitan church was universally or even generally adopted ; and although it is probable that a building or two containing lancet windows may be proved to have been built subsequently to this date, yet I think that it cannot be denied that Westminster Abbey furnishes us with sufiicient authorit}^ for assuming that the appearance of geometrical tracery was one of the earliest indications of the impending change of st^de, and therefore one of the fittest marks by which to characterise the new period ; or that the commencement of this period may be stated to be at least as early as the year 1245. With respect to the termination of this period and the introduction of flowing tracery, evidence of the same precise nature does not exist. We have, however, sufficient testi- mony of the negative character before referred to, to enable us to conclude that it was not in use before the 3'ear 1310, and yet in full perfection in the year 1320. We have nume-