Page:History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 1.djvu/567

 Bk. II. Ch. IX. FRENCH GOTHIC CATHEDRALS. 535 examples of St. Urbain at Troyes, St. Benigne at Dijon, and a few otiiers. These are just sufficient to show how exquisite the style then was, and what we have lost by almost all the cathedrals of France hav- ing been commenced simultaneously, and none being left in which the expe- rience of their predecessors could be made available. Though the plans of these cathe- drals differ to some extent, their dimen- sions are very nearly the same ; that at — Paris, covering about. . 64,108 feet. Cliartres 68,260 " liheims 67,475 " Amiens 71,208 These dimensions, though inferior to those of Cologne, Milan, Seville, and some other excei^tional buildings, are <;ti11 «i« Inro-p A* tlm<«p of nriv erected 387. Section of Side Aisles, Cathedral Still as laige as tnose Ol an^> eieoueu ^f p^ns. (From Gallhabau.l, "Archi- ill the Middle Ages. tectm-e.") scale 50 ft. to 1 in. The cathedral of Paris was designed at a time when the architects had not obtained that confidence in their own skill Avhich made them afterwards complete masters of the constructive difficulties of the design. As shown in the })lau (Woodcut No. 386), the -points of suj)poi't are far more numerous and are placed nearer to one another than is usu- ally the case ; and as may be seen from the section, instead of two tall stories, the height is divided into three, and made up, if I may so express it, of a series of cells built over and beside each, so as to obtain immense strength with a slight expenditure of materials. It must at the same time be confessed that this result was obtained with a con- siderable sacrifice of grandeur and simplicity of effect. Even before the building was com- pleted, the architects seem to have become aware of these defects ; and as is shown in the woodcut (No. 388), the simple undivided (jrigiiua 1 improved windows of the clerestory were cut down so 3,8.^'ExTernai Eievattoif ' as to give them the greatest possible height, *^''*^*"^ GauLbaud ) '^'^""^ and the roof of the upper gallery made flat to admit of this. Subsequently larger windows were introduced