Page:History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 1.djvu/524

 492 FRENCH ARCHITECTURE. Pa^t TT. The transepts are just sufficiently developed to give expression to the exterior, and to separate the nave from the choir, which are beautifully projDortioned to one another. U A:tif)r/Yrrr/ixcrfirmrrgnY. - iVTmiKmsi !issjnrT 359. Elevation of Cburcli at Issoire. (From Mallay.) Scale 50 ft. to 1 in. They all possess central towers, raised on a mass of masonry ex- tending to the whole width of the church, which gives them a breadth of base found in no other style. The want of this is painfully felt in most of our own central spires, all of which need something more to stand upon than the central roof, out of which they seem to grow ; but I do not know that any attempt was ever made to remedy the difficulty anywhere but in Auvergne. All these churches were in- tended to have western tow- ers, the massive foundations for which are found in every example, though there does not appear to be a single instance in which these exist in a complete state. The side-aisles are always covered by intersecting vaults, but that of the nave is invariably a simple tunnel-vault, as in the Southern styles, ornamented by occasional transverse ribs, and which in the chui'ch at Issoire is slightly jiointed. To support this great vault, a semi-vault is carried over the side. .sou. Section of Church at Issoire, looking East. (From Mallay.) Scale 50 ft. to 1 in.