Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/467

Rh POINTED.] A R C H I T E C T U R E 423 came known, that form would be repeated upon it, and the result would be the lancet arch, the prototype, the germ of the style. The pointed arch, on its introduction into Europe, was not accompanied by any of its ordinary acces sories in after-time, its light clustered pillars, its mullions, foliations or featherings, and graceful tracery. These de velopments resulted from its adoption ; so that whether the arch itself was invented in Europe or imported from the East, to the European nations must be assigned the credit of developing the beautiful style of architecture whose distinguishing feature it is. Before proceeding further with this subject, it is neces sary to determine by what name this style is to be desig nated. There have been only too many arguments and discussions on the name which is most appropriate to the style. By common consent the word Gothic is used all over Europe to designate it, and it now hardly matters whether or not there was originally good reason for the use of such a term. One of the first in England to use the term was Sir Henry Wotton. It was continued by Evelyn, who applied it more directly ; and the authority of Sir Christopher Wren finally .settled its application. But they used the term as one of reproach for what they thought a savage and uncivilised sort of art, though it was in vain that, by the use of a bad name, they attempted to deny the merit of that which was after all the only nationally de veloped style of their own country as well as of the whole of Northern Europe. In the last century, through the influence and enthusiasm of Horace Walpole, and afterwards of John Carter, an eminent artist and architect, a better taste was formed, and this led to the appreciation of that which is, indeed, the English national style. Many at tempts were made to explode the totally irrelevant appel lation of &quot; Gothic &quot; which had been applied to the style, but without effect. Some writers have called it Italian, others German, others Norman or French, others British, and many have contended for the exclusive term English. To this last the Society of Antiquaries lent its influence, but with equal inefficiency, for the term Gothic still pre vails. Mr Britton, than whom perhaps no man possessed a greater right to affix an appellation to the pointed arch style, from the splendid services he has done it in the pub lication of his Cathedral and Architectural Antiquities, wished to introduce a term which is not at all unlikely to succeed, as it is equally appropriate and independent of national feeling and hypothetic origin. He called it Chris tian architecture, and in this he was followed by the younger Pugin and many others. This, as a generic term, would admit each nation possessing specimens of it to dis tinguish its own species or style ; and as the varieties of Hellenic architecture are known by the names of the tribes or nations who are presumed to have originated them, Dorian, Ionian, and Corinthian, somight Christian architecture be English or British, German, French, &c., for each has its peculiarities. These species would again in dividually admit of classification, according to the changes i ach underwent in the course -of its career. One objec tion, however, has been taken to Mr Britton s distinctive appellation. It is, that &quot;Christian&quot; applies as well to what may also properly be called the Gothic style that which arose on the extinction of Roman architecture, and was subverted by the introduction of the pointed arch, and -which, indeed, owed its diffusion and progress, if not its origin, to the Christian religion. We are therefore still left to seek a suitable appellation ; and in the absence of a better, are inclined to use the term Pointed, which is not only distinctive, but descriptive ; it has, too, the merit of being general, so that it may mark the genus, while the national species and their varieties may be distinguished by their peculiarities as before. The pointed arch was a graft on the Romanesque, Lom bard, and Byzantine architecture of Europe, just as tho circular arch of the Romans had been on the columnar ordinances of the Greeks ; but with a widely different result. The amalgamation in the latter case destroyed tho beauty of both the stock and the scion ; while in the former t! a stock lent itself to the modifying influence of its para sitical nursling, gradually gave up its heavy, dull, and cheerless forms, and vas eventually lost in its beautiful offspring, as the unlovely caterpillar is in the gay and graceful butterfly. We all know that architecture has had its origin in religious feelings and observances that its noblest monu ments among the pagan nations of antiquity were temples to the gods -whilst the rude nations of the north in tho Middle Ages devoted their energies, after their conversion to Christianity, to the construction of suitable edifices for the worship of the Almighty ; and we find, again, that the most extensive and most splendid structures raised by the same people, when the light of learning had begun to shine upon them, and a new and more beautiful style of architecture had been developed, were dedicated to tho same purpose. In addition, however, many, hardly less magnificent, and not less beautiful, were raised for tlie purposes of education, and became the nurseries of science and literature. Kings and nobles also employed archi tecture in the composition, arrangement, and decoration of their palaces and castles ; and though for domestic purposes its aid was not so largely required, it was equally used. The remains which have come down to us from the earlier portion of the Middle Ages are comparatively small, but there is ample evidence to show that the style was uni versal in its application, and so full of life and vigour that every implement, every piece of furniture, and every detail of dress or ornament, was governed then, just as in the best period of classic art, by the rules of art which were observed in the largest and stateliest of the public build ings of the time, When the practice of building houses in stories com menced cannot be correctly ascertained, though it was usual among the Romans, as we know by the example of Pompeii, and it appears to have been usual during the Middle Ages. We frequently, indeed, find an apparent equivalent for the term story used by the ancient writers, both sacred and profane ; but it must be remarked that none of the ancient remains, whether of public or private structures, afford evidence that it was a common practice even among the Romans to build more than one story above the ground floor ; and it was less likely to be com mon among the Eastern nations, with whom the practice is not very general, even at the present day. Indeed, with- put considerable proficiency in the art of construction, it is hardly practicable to erect buildings in stories with such slight materials as were used by the Romans in some of their domestic edifices. We find, however, in the oldest existing works of the Middle Ages, and particularly in some of the secular structures of Venice, a degree of in telligence evinced in this respect far surpassing anything found in ancient remains. Possibly the skill was princi pally acquired in that city from the necessity of making artificial foundations, which consequently required a super structure not unnecessarily cumbrous ; and again, to make slight walls sufficiently strong, they must be skilfully bonded in themselves, and bound together, which could only be done by means of a material possessing consider able length and great fibrous tenacity whence arose framed floors of timber. These, by their strength, their obvious utility and convenience, added to the want of space which existed in a thriving and populous community on a very restricted spot of dry laud, superinduced, in the second