Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/278

 234 Sloan's Architectural Review and Builders' Journal. [October, have had in mind the later, or luxuriant Gothic, distinguished by tracery ; but the Visigoths were driven out of that country, A. D 713: and prior to that no luxuriant Gothic existed anywhere. An idea once formed in the brain of an architect, might be expanded by the contemplation of a grove or forest. Both the Egyptian and the Grecian columns are referable to the trunks of trees ; the trunks considered not as growing but in the form of timber. It is indeed a much more tenable, nay, an almost impreg- nable position, that amongst all peoples the more permanent structures of stone are direct imitations of the more perish- able ones of wood. In this view, the Gothic, fairly deducible from geometry, might possibly, also, spring up, inde- pendently, in the minds of Northern ar- chitects, considering and imitating the framework of acute timber roofs. We know, that a good kind of rustic Gothic, with tracery, is made out of undressed stems, branches, sprays, and cones of the various evergreen trees, in direct imitation of luxuriant Gothic. Things like these always have acted and reacted upon one another, and always will. It is claimed by many writers that luxuriant tracery originated from the gradual increase in the number and va- riety of minor windows, thrown in as ornaments through the shape of the light they threw ; so that, in process of time, the wall above the main window was pierced to such an extent, that the architects next resolved upon employing the separations themselves as adorn- ments, and hence tracery. We will not entirely controvert this, as there is, in all likelihood, a portion of truth in it, especially as regards geometrical tracery which was both the earliest and the latest form ; although the flowing, or flamboyant, could not originate in this way, and we do not think the other did. Both kinds of tracery probably grew up from the intimate knowledge of linear harmony, commensurate with the con- stantby increasing general science of the architects, until the Gothic sentiment was thoroughly eliminated ; the geo- metrical tracery, from proficiency with the dividers, and the flamboyant from mastery of freehand drawing. And never till the "lamp of sacrifice" is again most lavishly burnt, in sacred architec- ture, can the world expect to see any im- provement on the choice specimens of original work fortunately yet extant. " The extreme intricacy and luxuri- ance of the tracery work, which often occurs in Gothic erections, was the con- sequence of that love for exuberance of ornament and decoration which had been increasing from the time of Constantine downwards, and was so conspicuously shown in the Church of Santa Sophia, at Constantinople, some part of which may justly be concluded to be of the age of Constantine, and the rest, but by no means the greater portion, of the time of Justinian." — [Hawkins, p. 147] It is observable that, whatever in this general st3'le was newly devised in one region, was presentlj' copied or imitated in another at a distance, and some have expressed surprise at this fact ; but the monks were constantly traveling, on the concerns of their convents, from one religious foundation to another, were welcome to both cleric and layman every- where, and their persons were respected and their comfort was assured in a very stormy and insecure period. Besides being the theologians and historians, they were the scientists and the archi- tects of the time ; and what was known to any one was gladly diffused among his willing brethren. The general coun- cils of the popes also brought together many distinguished scholars. Then itin- erant companies of masons were frequent. Aubrey,* on the verbal authority of Sir William Dugdale, mentions that about the time of Henry III., of England, the pope granted a bull or patent to a company of Italian architects to travel from place to place, and build churches.
 * Antiquarian Repertory, vol. ili., p. 13.