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LEFT ARCHITECTURE 234 ARCHITECTURE into a number of lights by comparatively thin muUions, and their upper portions are filled with beautiful tracery, which at first was of geometrical forms, such as combinations of circles, trefoils, and quatrefoils. A continuation of the arch moldings, instead of shafts with caps, at length characterizes the jambs of the doorways. This is generally considered the most perfect and beautiful style of Gothic architecture. As examples of it may be mentioned the choir of Lincoln IONIC ARCHITECTURE and the nave of York Cathedral; and, in Scotland, portions of Melrose Abbey. The style continued from about 1274 to 1377. It then gradually stiffened into what is called the Perpendicular, Third Pointed, or Late Pointed Style. — This is easily distin- guished from the previous style by the tracery of the windows, which is char- acterized by an upright and square tend- ency. Perpendicular lines prevail in the windows as well as in the ornamental paneling. The doorways have square heads over the pointed arches. Gables and roofs are at a low angle. Clerestory windows are more frequently square- headed than arched. Westminster Hall, London, is an example of this style. The later portion of this period is sometimes called the Tudor style. The elaborately ornamented flamboyant style was the latest style of Gothic in France (15th and 16th centuries). The municipal ar- chitecture of the Middle Ages was large- ly Gothic in type. Roman or classic architecture may be said to have never entirely died out in Rome, and when, in the 15th century, the revival of classic literature and taste took place, the ancient classic style of ar- chitecture naturally revived along with them. This is called the Italian Renais- sance. Renaissance as applied to archi- tecture means a revival of classical fea- tures and details as distinguished from those which characterize the Gothic. The Church of St. Peter's at Rome; the Pitti palace at Florence, various palaces on the Grand Canal at Venice, the Louvre and Tuileries, at Paris; the Banqueting House, in Whitehall, and St. Paul's Cathedral, London, are all examples of Renaissance. Elizabethan Architecture, and the cor- responding style on the Continent, is a variety of Renaissance, in which Gothic and Italian features are somewhat mixed. Holland House, near London, as well as Hatfield House, Burleigh House, and Hardwick Hall, are in this style. Arabian, Saracenic, m- Moorish. — This singular and beautiful style of architec- ture dates from the 9th century. It is noted for its graceful domes; for its minarets; for the frequent use of the pointed arch, and of the horseshoe arch; and in some cases for the peculiarly slender columns which support the walls above them. The flat or surface decora- tions are peculiarly striking and effec- tive. These consist of diaper-work, often richly perforated, and of scroll-work of great variety, often of fairylike light- ness. The Moorish Palace of the Alham- bra and the Mosque of Cordova, in Spain, furnish striking illustrations of this kind of architecture. Modern Architecture. — In the begin- ning of the 19th century, the habit of imitating ancient styles was established, and began to be applied to Grothic archi- tecture also, which speedily came to be generally adopted, especially for eccle- siastical edifices. This was particularly the case in Great Britain, and among the Anglo-Saxon race wherever found — in the United States, India, and Australia, as well as at home. All modern archi- tecture is imitative, and it is doubtful whether a really new style is possible. At present Gothic is generally adopted for churches, and Renaissance for domestic buildings.