Chapter M: Caesari Augusti F. Cos. L. Caesari (4)

The upper church forms one great hall with a transept and apse, and is roofed with pointed tunnel vaults strengthened with transverse ribs, but is entirely without ornament.

It has, however, an effect of simple grandeur and spaciousness owing to its size; but from the shortness of the nave, there is a want of due proportion in the various parts. The choir, as is usual in Cistertian churches of this date, is very short, the apse beginning almost at the transept.

The whole building is solidly constructed with good ashlar work. The west doorway is round arched, and is surmounted with a large pointed window from which the principal light in the church is obtained. The exterior is as unornamental as the interior. The east end (Fig. 81) is finished with a polygonal apse, the windows of which in the upper church are simple round arches springing from shafts recessed in the jambs. The exterior of the apse of the crypt is peculiar, owing to the form of the segmental depressed arches, enclosing deep recesses, at the inner end of which are the small windows of the crypt. The depressed form of arch was probably adopted owing to the want of height and the desire to admit as much light as possible. The same segmental form is also employed in the cloister arcades. The apse has been heightened at a late period and the interior made circular. An enriched Gothic chapel has been added to the north transept in the fourteenth century, and extensive Gothic buildings, now in a state of total ruin (_see_ Figs. 81, 82) have been extended to the south of the church.

The Abbey of Mont-Majour contains a cloister (Fig. 82) with the same style of ornament and sculpture, but much simpler in design than that of St Trophime. The cloister walk is covered with a plain barrel vault constructed with carefully wrought stones, strengthened with transverse ribs resting on “storied” consoles built into the wall. The arcade is formed with segmental arches springing from solid piers, and fluted pillars, with the simplest cornice. Each large arch is filled in with three small round ones, springing from light shafts with elaborately carved caps. The buttresses are fluted like those of St Trophime. The original lean-to roof, covered with stone flags and provided with large rude gargoyles and corbels, is here preserved, and shews what that at Arles was like when first constructed. The cloister here, as at St Trophime, is in the original Provençal style, and is probably a relic of an older series of structures which existed before the present church was erected in the second Provençal style of the twelfth century.

A remarkable specimen of a plan more common in the East than the West occurs in the chapel of STE CROIX (Fig. 83), which seems to have been the mortuary chapel of the monks. The main building consists of four apses arranged in the form of a Greek cross, and crowned over the

FIG. 83.]

crossing with a square dome. This is preceded by a square porch with simple barrel vault, separated by a door from the chapel. The whole aspect (Fig. 84) and arrangements of the edifice have a strange and foreign appearance, and recall the architecture of the East. At the same time the high triangular pediments of the exterior, and the cornices, egg mouldings, modillions, and the simple circular arch of the doorway, are all features characteristic of the late Empire; while the ornamental cresting and other details are illustrative of the Eastern character impressed on Roman work at Byzantium, and thence transported into Western Europe. In the porch is an inscription attributing the foundation to Charlemagne, but Mérimée clearly proves that this is a forgery, and that the date of the building is 1019. The chapel is only lighted with three small windows, which open upon a little enclosure where numerous shallow graves have been excavated in the rock. A door in the south apse also opens into this graveyard, so that the bodies might be carried into it from the chapel after the service had been performed. Several similar graves are cut in the rock in front of the porch. These excavations are all very

small, some no more than 3 feet long, and do not appear ever to have been occupied. Mérimée is of opinion that in order to give their shrine as much appearance of antiquity and sanctity as possible, and especially to enable it to compete with the very successful cemetery of the Alyscamps at Arles, the monks had not only put up the fabricated inscription above referred to, but had also caused these trenches to be cut in the rock to represent the graves of martyrs.

We have already seen that this monastery was fortified and surrounded with walls. But it was chiefly strengthened with a great donjon, such as the abbots, who were also great feudal lords, frequently constructed for their own security, and that of the monks and their treasures, in case of extremity. This keep (Fig. 85) was erected in 1369 by Pons de l’Orme. It is very substantially built with square-dressed stones, the surface being left rough or bossy, as was the custom at that time. The building (Fig. 86) is a simple parallelogram, 48 feet by 32 feet, with a slight projection at one angle to contain the staircase. The doorway gives direct access to the ground floor, which is vaulted with a pointed tunnel vault, ornamented with ribs springing from corbels (_see_ section). A cellar occupies part of a lower story, which also contains a well. The vault over the ground floor may possibly have formed a separate dark loft or store, for storage of provisions, &c. The lower portion of this floor has one window only. The hall, or chief living room, was on the first floor. It is provided with fire-places and cupboards, and is lighted by two windows on one side, furnished with stone seats. The height of the tower from the basement to the parapet is about 80 feet, and the top forms a platform supported on a pointed arch. The space between the lower and upper vaults was divided into three floors, with wooden beams and joisting. The corbels for these still remain, but all the woodwork is destroyed. The platform on the top is surrounded with a parapet supported on bold corbels. At the angles the parapet is rounded off, so as to give the effect of projecting angle bartizans.

From the corbels seen on the exterior of the south side of the tower, at the first floor level, it seems probable that some kind of wooden platform was constructed between the keep and the outer wall, from which the passage between them, which formed a principal access to the abbey, might be vigorously defended. One cannot help being struck with the peculiarly military aspect of the tower, and its strange proximity to the more sacred structures of the abbey.

The ruins of some Gothic erections and of the sumptuous edifice, begun by the Benedictine monks of the eighteenth century, but interrupted by the breaking out of the Revolution, are visible in Fig. 81.

A short run by rail westward from Arles takes to the ancient town and abbey church of ST GILLES. This church, which is unfortunately but a fragment, possesses the finest portal in Provence, in the same style as that of St Trophime at Arles. The town stands on the branch of the Rhone called Le Petit-Rhône, which bounds the delta on the west. It bore originally the name of Vallis Flaviana, and is supposed to stand near the site of an ancient Roman city. An abbey was founded here by St Ægidius (or St Gilles) in the sixth century, around which the town gradually clustered.

St Gilles was the chief priory of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, and became a place of such importance that the Count of Toulouse took one of his titles from it, being also called the Count of St Gilles. It was here that Raymond VI., Count of Toulouse, in 1209, did penance for the murder of the Papal legate, Pierre de Castelnau, and for the part he took on the side of the Albigenses.

The church of St Gilles was designed on a grand scale, befitting the condition of the place at the time, but seems never to have been completed, the works having been interrupted and destroyed during the crusades of the Northern Franks against the Albigenses of the South. These wars formed a sort of sequel to, or continuation of the invasions of the barbarians. The South of Gaul, having preserved much of its Roman civilisation and municipal institutions, had become sooner settled, and had more quickly revived from anarchy than the North. This led to an independent intellectual and religious development, which did not conform to the ideas of religious unity then prevalent. Crusades against the Infidels in Syria and Africa had now become somewhat stale and unprofitable; but a crusade against the rich provinces of the South had great attractions, and was heartily supported by the restless and unsettled people of the North. Hence arose (as already pointed out) the long and cruel war in Aquitaine and Languedoc--the Crusaders being led by Simon de Montfort, and the people of the South by the Count of Toulouse.

In these disastrous and bloody campaigns the whole country suffered terribly. The towns were besieged and sacked, and the buildings destroyed. Amongst others, St Gilles dates its decline from the devastation then inflicted on it, and from which it never recovered.

The following inscription, said to be copied from an older one now lost, occurs on the wall near where the ancient cloister stood:--“ANNO DOMINI, 1116, HOC TEMPLUM SANCTI EGIDII ÆDIFICARE CEPIT MENSE APRILI FERIA 2^A IN OCTAVA PASCHAE.”

The church of St Gilles was thus begun in 1116 by Alphonse Jourdain, son of Raymond IV. of Toulouse. There still remains a portion of a subterranean church, which formed the substructure of the intended great building above, and which dates from the first half of the twelfth century. It is well lighted, and divided into two with a row of columns supporting two low cross vaults, ornamented with dog-tooth enrichments.

In the midst of the outline of the greater works, which can still be traced, rises the existing small church, which has all the appearance of a temporary erection. It is in a late style and of small importance architecturally, but it marks the decline of the wealth and prosperity of the town from its state at the time when the great church was founded.

The really great and valuable work, however, at St Gilles is the splendid triple portal (Fig. 87), which is by far the largest and richest example of Provençal decoration. Every part of the surface is covered with work, either sculptured with figures or enriched with ornament, and although the remainder of the building

is incomplete, every detail of the portal is finished in the minutest manner. At the top of a wide flight of steps rises an elevation consisting of six pillars (five plain and one fluted) with capitals closely imitated from the Corinthian model. The bases are of unequal height, shewing that the shafts have been possibly borrowed from an ancient source. The columns sustain an architrave, frieze, and cornice, which, however, are interrupted by the round arches of the three doorways. The arches of the two side entrances rest on the two end pillars, while that of the central doorway, which is wide and is divided into two openings by a central pilaster, springs from two smaller columns set upon pedestals, and also provided with Corinthian caps. On the bases of the columns of the lateral doors (Fig. 88) bas-reliefs represent David as shepherd and conqueror of Goliath. The shafts supporting the lintels of the doors rest, as was generally the case in Romanesque designs, on lions. The abbot, sitting in the gate to render justice, was placed between these lions; hence Charters given by him are sometimes dated “inter leones.”

A stylobate of the height of the pedestals is continued along behind the principal columns, on which rests a series of pilasters dividing the background into recesses or niches containing large statues of the apostles. The figures are executed with some freedom after the Roman manner, and have not such a mediæval aspect as those of Arles. There is, however, evidence of Byzantine influence in the thin folds of the drapery, and the jewels and embroidered ornaments carved upon the dresses. The pedestals, architrave, cornice, and arch mouldings are enriched with Roman leaf and egg and bead ornaments, mixed with fanciful Romanesque carvings of heads of animals &c., in the modillions. The frieze is covered with sculptures in bas-relief of Scripture subjects. The central tympanum contains the figure of Christ in glory surrounded by the emblems of the four Evangelists--that of the north doorway the Virgin and Child in the centre, with the adoration of the Magi on one side, and the annunciation of the birth of Christ to the shepherds on the other. In the south doorway is represented the crucifixion. This portal was probably completed before the breaking out of the Albigensian conflict, about 1150.

The portals of St Gilles and Arles are the most splendid productions of Provençal art. They stand almost alone as portals amongst the Romanesque work of the period, which has given rise to the impression that they are importations from a distance rather than a natural sequence from simpler preceding forms out of which they might have grown.

It has been above pointed out that in Syria many churches were built in the early centuries of the Christian era in which the Greco-Roman style was perpetuated and received new developments. Many of these churches exist between Antioch and Aleppo, in which the general design and details of mouldings are very similar to those of the Provençal portals, the only difference being that in the Syrian examples there are no statues, as all such images were forbidden in the East. That country was taken by the Crusaders in 1098, and remained, as the kingdom of Antioch, under Western government till 1268. The seaports of Provence being the natural centres of communication between the Frank kingdoms of the East and West, it seemed natural that some new and foreign ideas should be imported there. Hence it is maintained by some that Syrian models had considerable influence on the architecture of Provence, and that it is to that connection that much of the art expressed in the portals of St Gilles and Arles is due. There is, however, really no necessity to go so far afield for the models on which Provençal art in general, and these portals in particular, were based. We have had several striking opportunities of observing how closely the Roman examples were followed in Provençal architecture; while innumerable instances of the Romanesque spirit which pervaded it before and during the twelfth century, might be adduced from the many beautiful cloisters (similar in style to those of St Trophime and Mont-majour) which abound all over the South of France. These have been preserved, while the churches have in many cases been enlarged and reconstructed in the later and plainer Provençal style. One of the most prominent elements in the older style is the figure sculpture, and there can be no question but that the idea of the statues was derived from the remains of ancient art so plentifully scattered throughout the country. Statues being entirely prohibited by the Eastern iconoclasts, that element can have had no connection with the East, although the treatment of the ornament may be to some extent influenced by Byzantine feeling.

The trade between the Levant and the West of the Mediterranean was considerable, and included all kinds of artistic articles, such as furniture, ornamental boxes, dypticks, wooden cases for manuscripts, and carved ivory and goldsmith’s work. These were all covered with exquisite carvings, which, no doubt, served as models to the Western nations, and from which they acquired a taste for the special kind of sculpture known as Byzantine.

It is from the above sources that the complete and elaborate Provençal art displayed in the portals of St Trophime and St Gilles sprang. Viollet-le-Duc remarks of it that it is rich and striking, but gives the idea of an art either fixed by traditional maxims or in its decadence. He states further, that it only succeeded in producing a curious mixture of diverse imitations of other styles. The originality and vigour of the Northern art was entirely awanting. The former style was satisfied with the imitation of works already done, while the latter borrowed from anterior art only the general idea, and created for itself a new development. As already pointed out, the presence of the Roman remains acted on Provençal architecture both favourably and prejudicially; in the first place, by stimulating it into a kind of _early classic revival_, and in the second place, by thus preventing the free and healthy development of a natural and untramelled style, such as took place in the North. But, so far as the Romanesque style is concerned, that of Provence is probably quite as interesting and instructive as any other. The connection with the art of Rome is continued almost without a break, while the conversion of “Roman” into “Romanesque” is carried out with a refinement and completeness which is not to be found elsewhere, and to which the later Northern styles are considerably indebted, especially in the matter of sculpture.

St Gilles is the most convenient point from which to visit the solitary and now desolate town of LES SAINTES MARIES. Situated near the mouth of the Petit-Rhône it was formerly a place of some distinction. Here landed, according to tradition, corroborated by the investigations of Lenthéric, Mary Jacobi, sister of the Blessed Virgin, Mary Salome, Mother of the Apostles James (the Greater) and John, their servant Sarah, Lazarus, Martha, Mary Magdalene, and St Maximin (who had received his sight by the word of Christ), having all been driven from Jerusalem by persecution. Mary Jacobi and Mary Salome remained here, and were here buried, whence the name and fame of the town and the crowds of pilgrims who at one time frequented it.

The church (Fig. 89) is a very remarkable one. It was built in the twelfth century on the site of one destroyed by the Saracens, and consists of the usual single nave, having seven bays in its length, roofed with a pointed barrel vault, and finished with an eastern apse. Externally the whole building is surmounted with a crenellated and machicolated parapet, and presents the appearance of a strong fortification, with a keep tower rising above the eastern end. The latter includes the apse, which comprises three chapels, one over the other. The lowest, or crypt, contains the tomb of Sarah; the middle apse forms the choir of the church; while above this there rises a third chapel in the tower above the roof, containing the relics of the “Saintes Maries.” Rudely sculptured lions adorn the south entrance door, and in the nave there is a well, to supply water to the congregation, who would likewise form the garrison in case of siege. This remarkable structure may be regarded as a typical example of the defensive style so much practised in the South-West of France.

CHURCH OF LES SAINTES MARIES. (From _Révoil_.)]

MARSEILLES.--Few relics are preserved in this ancient city of its Roman or mediæval structures; of the latter the most remarkable is the church of ST VICTOR. We have here an instance of the partial adoption of the Gothic style in the South, and an attempt to combine Gothic details with Southern structural features. This curious church, which stands near the ancient port, is all that remains of the once extensive buildings of the famous monastery founded in the fifth century by St Cassien. Some portions of the primitive masonry are still to be seen in

the crypt. The buildings were several times destroyed by the Saracens, but they were finally rebuilt in their existing form about the year 1350 by Pope Urban V. (formerly abbot of this monastery), who also caused to be erected the great square towers and crenellated parapets which give the building externally the appearance of a fortress (Fig. 90). Some relics of the early Romanesque work are still visible in the entrance porch. The general design of the interior (Fig. 91) is that of a basilica, with central nave and side aisles, the former roofed with a pointed tunnel vault strengthened with transverse ribs, and originally without a clerestory, although openings have more recently been cut in the vault. These general dispositions are common in Provençal architecture. But the details of the nave piers, with their numerous small shafts and foliated caps and bases are all borrowed from the Gothic of the North; while the tomb erected in the west-most bay of the south aisle (Fig. 92) is a completely Northern design.

The fortification of the exterior is a feature of almost universal occurrence in the churches of the South, as has been already noticed, and we shall meet with other instances. This peculiar characteristic probably dates from the time of the crusades against the Albigenses in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, when the inhabitants were glad to adopt every means in their power to obtain protection, and had to turn even their churches, which were not sacred in the eyes of their assailants, into fortresses for their defence.

The frequent attacks of the Saracens may also have had some influence in producing this style of exterior in the churches near the sea-coast.

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, which is easily reached from Marseilles by a delightful railway route through the mountains, retains few marks of its distinction as the first settlement of the Romans in Gaul. A few Roman walls and pillars from the temple of Apollo, together with some fragments in the Museum, are all that Aix can shew of the original Aquæ Sextiæ. But the ancient church of St Sauveur and its octagonal baptistery exhibit the Roman influence, extending down to a comparatively late date. The baptistery is of the sixth century, but the upper portion has been restored in the style of the eighteenth century, and has thus completely lost its proper character. It is octagonal on plan, with eight monolithic granite columns taken from the ancient temple of Apollo set in the angles.

The church of St Sauveur was erected in 1103, and is supposed to have been built on part of the cella of the temple of Apollo. It now forms the south aisle of the enlarged cathedral erected in the fifteenth century. But

this old church (according to Mérimée) is itself a restoration of a still more ancient building, of which some remains are yet preserved in the western portal (Fig. 93), the architecture of which strongly recalls that of Notre Dame des Doms at Avignon. Here we have the same fluted Corinthian columns and cornice with Roman enrichments, and arched opening between. The small engaged columns with twisted and fluted shafts and straight arched lintel are, however, restorations of the twelfth century. To that date also belongs the interior (Fig. 94), with its pointed tunnel vault strengthened at intervals with transverse arches. The arches which carry the dome over the original central compartment are round. The dome itself is octagonal, the angles being filled with arched pendentives. The piers are simple pilasters, with small classic-like pillars introduced in the angles near the top, to carry the springing of the transverse arches. This was a common arrangement in Provençal churches, as, for instance, at St Trophime, Arles. The cloister of St Sauveur (Fig. 95) is a fine specimen of the twelfth century erections of that description, so numerous in this part of France. It is built in white marble, and enriched with a great variety of the Romanesque or Lombardic sculpture which distinguished the work of the Northern races. The shafts are particularly remarkable from the great variety of their forms and ornament. Some are octagonal, while others are twisted and fluted, and some are actually knotted together, and nearly all are covered with carved ornamentation. In these and similar works we have very palpable examples of the innovations on the older traditional forms for which the twelfth century is so much noted. Of the later church, the carved Gothic west doors (executed 1503), containing figures of theological virtues, prophets, &c., mingled with Gothic canopies and traceries, are worthy of careful inspection.

* * * * *

In his exhaustive work, entitled “Les Villes Mortes du Golfe de Lyon,” Mons. C. Lenthéric gives a full and interesting account of the ancient towns of Southern Gaul between the Rhone and the Pyrenees. Their origin and fall are shewn to be both attributable to causes arising from the natural configuration of the coast. The land in this locality is flat, and the beach shallow and sandy, while at the same time it is exposed to the full force of the violent storms raised by the east winds which sweep over it from the Mediterranean. The rivers emptying into this shallow sea bring down large quantities of sand and mud, which, being driven back by the tides and storms, have in the course of ages formed bars or long lines of sandy dunes at some distance from the land. Within these sand banks are thus enclosed long lagunes, similar to the shallow sea, bounded by the well known Lido, in the midst of which Venice stands.

These lagunes formed convenient and safe harbours for the early Phœnicians and other navigators, and were suitable in depth for the size of the craft then in use. But gradually the floods of the rivers brought down more deposits, and even in Roman times threatened to block up the passages through the lagunes to the open sea. It was only by building a strong wall for the purpose of forcing the river Aude to keep in a certain channel, so that when in flood it might scour out the passage, and by the erection of beacons in the lagune to mark the navigable course, that the Roman port of Narbonne could be kept open. In 1320 a great flood destroyed the retaining wall and changed the course of the river, after which the ruin of Narbonne as a seaport was complete. The town is now 8 miles from the sea, and is connected with “la Robine” branch of the Canal du Midi, which unites the Mediterranean with the Bay of Biscay. A similar process to that at Narbonne has contributed to the ruin of several other ancient towns in this province,--a district which has also suffered more severely than any other at the hands of the Saracens. Forming as it does the easiest access from Spain into Provence, it necessarily lay open to constant attack. Besides, the Moors, although driven across the Pyrenees, were still masters of the sea, and as corsairs or pirates they scoured the Mediterranean for many centuries after the time of C. Martel, attacking and plundering the smaller towns all round the coast, and in some instances fortifying themselves on land in strong places whence they could issue to plunder the more inland country. Such was their establishment at the Grand Fraxinet, in the mountainous district lying to the east of Toulon, which is still known as the “chaine des Maures.”

We shall have occasion to observe some architectural effects resulting from their invasions, particularly how the inhabitants were forced to seek refuge on the rocky heights, and to build their towns on the top of almost inaccessible mountains. The Moors have also left traces of their presence both in the general design and details of several of the edifices of the Western Riviera.

Proceeding westwards from Marseilles by rail and passing St Gilles, we reach Montpellier, the architecture of which is chiefly modern. The ancient church of Maguelonne, situated on the outer boundary of the lagunes, may however, be visited from here. It was fortified and not unlike that of the Stes. Maries. Omitting for the present the wonderful town of Aigues-Mortes, to which we shall again return, we continue our journey amongst the lagunes, past the crowded modern seaport of Cette, and the ancient town of Agde, with its dark church crowned with frowning fortifications, and at last reach Béziers, a place whose architecture claims our attention.

BÉZIERS is an ancient Roman town, which has still a few relics in the shape of Roman walls, but no classic buildings of any importance. It stands upon a steep hill with almost perpendicular faces towards the river Orbe, which flows round its base. The town was strongly fortified, and held a prominent place as a fortress in the Middle Ages. Large masses of these fortifications are still observable to the right of the terrace at the west

end of the cathedral (Fig. 96), now crowned with a large block of building occupied as a House of Detention.

The spacious main street of the town ascends the hill from the south-east, and presents on either hand indications of the chief industry of the place in the immense and cavernous-looking cellars filled with innumerable barrels of alcohol, which, being in many cases too numerous for the cellars to contain, encumber the street in great piles. The effect of a street composed of these great vaulted caves is unique and remarkable.

The Cathedral of St Nazaire stands on the summit of the hill. It was surrounded with a fortified enceinte, and, forming the chief citadel of the town, it was strongly built and designed for defence. The transept is the oldest portion, dating from the twelfth century. The southern angle buttresses are crowned with a parapet, pierced with flanking loop-holes, angled so as to send missiles in every direction. The cornice of these parapets is remarkable, and presents a good illustration of the Oriental or Saracenic influence above referred to (Fig. 97). The south transept commands the cloister, the walls of which were crenellated.

TOWER SOUTH SIDE OF ST NAZAIRE, BÉZIERS.]

Béziers suffered more, perhaps, than any other place during the Albigensian Crusades. On one occasion, when the town was taken, every human being was put to the sword, to the number, it is said, of 60,000 souls. The buildings and defences were in great measure destroyed, and the cathedral was partly rebuilt and re-fortified in the fourteenth century.

The west end commands the walls which crown the escarpments above the Orbe, and is strongly defended with two crenellated towers, and by a wide arched machicolation surmounting the west doorway and Rose window above it (Fig. 96). An embrasured parapet is placed above this, and three ornamental corbels jut out from the face of the wall, to enable the defenders to approach the parapet and man it. These corbels are, however, not joined to the parapet, although they divide the long arched machicolation into four smaller ones. The embrasures and machicolations are all provided (as usual in fourteenth and fifteenth century work) with bold beads or mouldings, to prevent arrows and bolts from ricocheting within the parapet.

The eastern apse was also rebuilt in the beginning of the fourteenth century. Here also (Fig. 98) wide machicolations are formed by arches thrown across between the buttresses, while the parapet above is finished with an open arcaded balustrade, which, in an ecclesiastical building, is more appropriate than an ordinary crenellation, and serves the same purpose equally well. These defences protect the large windows below from being taken by escalade, while, for still further security, the windows themselves are completely covered with strong ornamental iron grilles.

The interior (Fig. 99) exhibits a fine instance of Gothic design engrafted on the Southern ground plan.

The choir is a simple wide hall, terminated with an apse of the full width, and containing nine bays; while the groined and ribbed vaulting, and all the details of the windows, arches, and shafts, with their ornamentation, is entirely Gothic. The lower part has been finished at a much later period with Renaissance woodwork. In the manner in which the apse vaulting is carried out there is a strong reminiscence of the domical form; while the upright wall above the vaulting, with its circular eye at the junction of apse and choir, is a feature which recalls many Provençal examples.

The cloisters are situated to the south of the church, and are in good preservation. Their design is completely Northern, of the somewhat cold style of the fifteenth century. The arcade is open, and without tracery, with large buttresses between, carried up with pinnacles above the balustrade. The fountain in the centre of the cloister-garth is simple but effective (Fig. 100).

The view of the town and cathedral from the river (Fig. 98) is very fine. The great mass of the cathedral is seen towering above the huge remains of the ancient fortifications; while in the foreground the Orbe is dammed up, and forms the motive power of a number of picturesque mills in the form of towers. An ancient bridge spans the river lower down.

Near the cathedral is a house of the fifteenth or sixteenth century, with a quaint bow window (Fig. 101). The great corbels over the window to the left have no doubt been for the purpose of supporting some kind of balcony in connection with the defence of the entrance doorway below.

In the district we are now traversing many interesting examples still exist of the ancient Provençal style similar to those already illustrated.

At Puisalicon, near Béziers, there occurs a remarkable specimen of a campanile, with three tiers of arched openings, like those of Italy (_see_ Fergusson’s Handbook).

At St Pierre de Reddes, near Bedarieux, the ancient church consists of a long nave with barrel vault, strengthened with transverse ribs, which spring from a series of double columns, of which the arrangement is evidently borrowed from the Antique (Fig. 102).

St Martin de Londres (Herault) may also be mentioned as having a tri-apsal east end, while the exterior is ornamented with the arcaded pattern so common on the Rhine and in Lombardy.

NARBONNE.--When the Romans, B.C. 118, became masters of Southern Gaul, they established, under the leadership of an enthusiastic young patrician called Licinius Crassus, a colony in the ancient Phœnician port, dedicating it to Mars, and giving it the name of Narbo Martius. A principal object of this colony was to secure the road into Spain. After a time the first foundation became weak, and, B.C. 45, a new colony was led out from Rome by Tiberius Claudius Nero. Narbo Martius was then capital of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis, which extended from the Alps to the Pyrenees.

Under the Empire, there arose in this favoured colony, on the banks of the Atax or Aude, a complete image on a small scale of Imperial Rome, with its curia, duumvirs, consuls, pretors, questors, etc., and it was adorned with a Forum, Temples, Markets, Baths, and Amphitheatre.

Of these fine Roman edifices not one remains. Such of them as escaped the devastations of the Goths and Saracens are said to have been demolished by Richelieu, that the materials might be used in the construction of the new fortifications of the town erected by him. The engineer of these works seems to have had more reverence for ancient art than his princely master, for he collected all the sculptured fragments, and built them into the walls where they could easily be seen. The fortifications thus formed a kind of open air museum of ancient sculptures and inscriptions; but they have now, in their turn, been removed to make room for the expansion of the town. The Roman monuments, however, have been preserved, and are placed in the mediæval Episcopal Palace, which has been partly converted into a museum.

The important architectural works which still exist are all concentrated round the Cathedral of St Just (Fig. 103). As at Béziers, the Cathedral formed part of the fortifications of the Archbishop’s Palace. It is one of those designs in Northern Gothic which look as if transplanted into Southern soil. The whole character of the buildings is Northern. Whether we regard the steep roofs and gables, the sub-divided forms of the vaulting, the sections of the mouldings, the character of the cloisters, the shape of the windows, the dispositions of the plan, or the defensive arrangements, the whole design appertains to the style of the Royal Domain.

M. Viollet-le-Duc shews the very close resemblance between the plans of St Just and those of the Cathedrals of Limoges and Clermont, in Auvergne. These he regards as the three most splendid and remarkably similar examples of the Gothic of the fourteenth century, and he thinks that they have probably all been designed by the same man. The Cathedral of Narbonne is distinguished by the beauty and skill of its construction. In the fourteenth century the Gothic architects had arrived at great perfection in the art of building. The various forces in connection with the vaulting had become perfectly understood, and here the architect has endeavoured to shew how accurately he could calculate them. All the mouldings are carefully profiled, and the penetrations and junctions admirably managed; but sculpture is almost entirely dispensed with, even the caps of the columns having no foliage.

As a piece of architectural engineering the building is perfect, and has stood without a flaw; but it rather wants interest owing to the absence of ornamentation. It was begun on a great scale, but, owing to want of funds, only the choir has been erected. The vault is nearly as high as those of Beauvais and Cologne. The absence of decoration in the building itself is, to some extent, compensated by the richness and beauty of the tombs and monuments inserted between the piers of the choir. That of Archbishop Pierre de la Jugée is specially rich in sculpture, and still retains some fine painting.

Like most of the churches in the South, St Just is fortified, and, along with the Archbishop’s Palace, formed the citadel of the city, and occupied the site of the Roman Forum. The fortifications consist in a double tier of crenellations, which take the place of the usual balustrades over the chapels, and are continued round the apse, with arched passages which rest on piers brought up from the chapels of the “rond point,” and are crowned with turrets which, as well as the connecting bridges, are all provided with crenellated parapets. These airy provisions for defence give an unusual and very singular appearance to the exterior of the apse (_see_ view, Fig. 103).

In the twelfth century Narbonne was a place of great importance, but, owing to the silting up of the harbour in the fourteenth century, its commerce and revenues were greatly diminished.

The Archbishop’s Palace was an immense castle, somewhat after the type of the Pope’s Palace at Avignon. The ancient city of Narbonne preserved, till the twelfth century, much of its Roman municipal administration--the Commune having councillors with the title of _probi homines_, afterwards changed to that of consuls, who not only carried on the internal affairs of the city, but negotiated treaties with Genoa, Pisa, and other powers. As invariably happened, however, these rights were encroached upon by the feudal superiors. At Narbonne the Archbishop claimed the superiority, and in 1212 he declared himself Duke, and received the homage of the Count, who was the lay superior. These different powers in the town were naturally in a state of constant warfare, and, in accordance with the usage of the times, the Archbishop resolved to fortify himself within a castle of strength and dignity commensurate with his importance as Primate of Gaul--a title assumed by the prelate who was in office in 1096. A few portions of the palace of the twelfth century remain, but it has nearly all given way to works erected at later periods. The building is now converted into the Hôtel de Ville and Museum; and, in order to carry out the alterations required, together with the new works (which were executed under the superintendence of Viollet-le-Duc) some of the old buildings and foundations had to be cleared out. This new work occupies the central space between the two old towers (_see_ Fig. 103). The architect had thus an excellent opportunity of ascertaining the exact form and arrangement of the ancient palace, and of preparing the plan of it given in his “Dictionnaire.”

At the south-east angle stands the great tower or keep (to the left in the view), commanding the canal and the “place,” and overtopping the tower of the Count, which stood opposite to it. This tower was built by Archbishop Gilles Ascelin in 1318, and forms an independent redoubt. It is four storys in height. The basement is circular internally, and, as usual, has no openings to the exterior, being only reached from the floor above by an aperture in the vault. The first floor is octagonal internally and vaulted. It is intended for defence, and is provided with passages in the thickness of the walls, from which diverging loopholes command the exterior in all directions. The third floor is square internally, and has been the living room, being furnished with windows on three sides and a fireplace, and had a wooden ceiling. The top story is also square, and is covered with a pointed vault. It has three windows, and chambers in the wall provided with loops for defence. The construction of the roof and angle turrets is somewhat remarkable. The central platform of the roof is some feet lower than the parapet walk, and is connected with it by a series of steps rising along each side. The angle turrets are three storys in height, and access is obtained to the different stages, 1st, from the platform roof; 2nd, from the parapet walk; and 3rd, by steps up from the latter to the parapet on the top of the turrets. The tower was fortified on its three angles next the outside, with the above formidable turrets, which were probably further armed with some kind of wooden machicolations in time of danger. The fourth angle, next the inner courtyard, contained the staircase with a watch turret carried up above it.

The other portions of the palace comprised an immense hall, and the numerous living apartments of the archbishop and his retainers. The entrance was by a long open passage well defended from high walls on either side. Within the fortified enclosure were also the cloisters and chapter house. These are of a somewhat late and cold design, dating from 1375. The roof, which is flat, formed an agreeable promenade within the walls.

The Church of St Paul, beyond the canal, is an example of the mixture of the Gothic and Southern styles. The piers are light and lofty, and exhibit a Gothic character mixed with souvenirs of the heavier preceding style, in the small and few windows, the “historied” caps, &c.

On the way between Narbonne and Perpignan ample opportunity is afforded, as the railway runs along between the lengthy lagunes and through the dreary salt marshes, of observing the process of silting up which has here been in progress for centuries, and which has had such a marked influence in changing the character of the country, and in affecting the fortunes of the various cities which formerly flourished on the prosperous banks of these inland seas, now so desolate and pestiferous.

After passing the lagunes we reach the wide and fertile plain of Roussillon, where the process of silting up has long been completed, and where fruitful gardens now take the place of marshy wastes. Here too the snow-capped Pyrenees, surmounted by the lofty peak of Mont Canigou, come into view, bounding the prospect to the south, and pointing to the vicinity of the Spanish frontier. The language and architecture of the province also emphasise its Spanish character.

PERPIGNAN, which stands near the rapid river Tet, has many points which distinguish it from the towns we have just passed further north. A prominent feature of the architecture, doubtless Moorish in origin, is the enormous size of the voussoirs of the arches. In one old building, called the Bourse, the voussoirs of the circular arch of the doorway are quite 6 feet in length. Numerous fragments of this peculiar style, and of walls built with the herring-bone work characteristic of the country, are to be met with in the town, but there are no really good and complete specimens. Some of the interior courtyards, with their wooden balconies, are very foreign looking and picturesque examples of the Spanish influence.

The castellet (Fig. 104) which defends the gate of the city close to the river, has quite a different aspect from that of French castellated work. It is entirely built in brickwork, even the great corbels of the parapet being of that material. This small castle was erected by Charles V., and formed the original gateway of the town. It consists of two nearly round towers, with projecting circular turrets on their faces, and a double curtain wall between, through which the double gates no doubt formerly passed. The structure is surmounted with an octagonal tower, having a boldly overhanging parapet, which recalls the military architecture of the North of Italy, as exhibited in buildings such as the Badia at Florence and the Castle of Ferrara. The inner archway with its enormous voussoirs still exists. The gateway now in use adjoins the castellet on the east side (on the left in the sketch), and is provided with a drawbridge. This was probably erected when the system of fortification was altered, and the outer works shewn in the sketch and containing embrasures for cannons were erected.

In the Cathedral of St Jean (Fig. 105) we have a very characteristic example of the Southern style. It consists, as usual, of one great hall or nave, without side aisles, and with a series of lofty chapels, between the buttresses, which are thus enclosed within the building.

The church has a vault of fully 60 feet in width, and

is lightly and boldly spanned with pointed and groined vaulting.

The apse is similar in character to that at Béziers. The vaulting of this part was completed under Charles V., and indicates its late date by its interpenetrating ribs. There is almost no ornament, the architects of the time giving their attention chiefly to the scientific construction of their edifices. St Jean was founded by Sancho II., King of Majorca, in 1324. This was long before Roussillon came under the direct influence of France, which only took place under Louis XI. The style of the building is thus not affected by the importation of the style of the North, as at Narbonne, except as regards the vaulting, which is of a much later period. Some relics of a more ancient Church of St Jean (le Vieux) adjoin the cathedral, and contain some interesting Romanesque work. St Jacques (thirteenth century) has a remarkable tower, and the ruins of the Dominican convent and church contain good cloisters, two sides being Romanesque, and the others fourteenth century work, with caps bearing shields, etc.

The citadel, which occupies the site of the castle of the kings of Minorca is now a powerful fortress, _a la Vauban_. It contains the ruins of an ancient church with a doorway, the voussoirs of which are large, and composed of alternate red and white stone in the style of Catalonia.

A very interesting and agreeable excursion may be made from Perpignan to Elne, a few miles further south.

ELNE, IN ROUSSILLON, stands on a height in the midst of the great plain which extends to the base of the Pyrenees near the frontier of Spain, and is a town of great antiquity. It was in ancient times a seaport, but is now separated from the sea by a wide and level expanse of country.

Elne, or as it was anciently called, Illiberris, was a Celtic city before it was frequented by the Phœnicians as one of their ports. The first Phœnician colony was destroyed before we have any detailed history of the country. It was rebuilt by the Illiberians, and again ruined. Once more restored by Constantine the Great, it continued, so long as its connection with the sea lasted, an opulent and populous place. But when, through the silting up of the water-way, it ceased to be a seaport, its prosperity departed, and the town has gradually declined, till it is now reduced to a mere village perched on the top of a rock. Constantine gave it the title of Castrum Helenæ, whence its present name is derived.

In 1285 and 1474 Elne was again besieged and destroyed. These events helped to hasten its decay, and finally its Bishop’s See, which had existed from the fifth century, was removed to Perpignan in 1602. Some portions of the ancient walls, built with the herring-bone work so common in this district, have not yet entirely crumbled away, and the town is still entered through a pointed gateway (Fig. 106) built with white marble, the passage through which is provided with a portcullis groove.

The ancient church occupies the highest part of the rocky site. It is very plain externally and shews the marks of many alterations. The cathedral had been twice built in the plain, but was destroyed by the Saracens. This led the Bishop Béranger in 1019 to transfer it to its present securer site within the walls of the castle. The existing structure is of the twelfth century. The masonry is roughly built, partly with herring-bone work, and in some cases the arches of the windows are distinguished with dark-coloured stones. The interior is divided into a nave and two aisles, the tunnel vault of the nave being pointed and strengthened with round transverse ribs. The side aisles are vaulted with a half arch thrown against the walls of the nave like a continuous flying buttress. The vaults next the west end have, however, been reconstructed with cross ribs, a restoration probably of the fourteenth century. The whole of the work is of the simplest character and almost without ornament.

At the east end (Fig. 107) the ancient apse with its circular arcade is visible, rising above the foundations of a larger choir which was begun in the sixteenth century, but still stands unfinished, the works having evidently been interrupted before they had reached the height of 10 feet from the ground. The new choir is designed on the plan of a Northern “chevet” or apsidal east end, with radiating chapels. The campanile is noteworthy as a design of that class of edifices closely imitated from those of Italy.

But the most truly attractive and remarkable part of the antiquities of Elne is the beautiful cloister (Fig. 108), which, fortunately, is still complete and in fine preservation. Each side of the enclosure has, besides the angle piers, three intermediate square piers, the spaces between them being each divided into a triple arcade, supported on coupled columns, the shafts of which are ornamented with all kinds of twists and foliated decoration. The whole is executed in white marble, and finished with great delicacy, forming the richest example remaining of this class of cloister, of which so many fine specimens occur in the South. The work is of various periods, from the twelfth to the fourteenth century. The oldest portions exhibit, in their ornament, a strong Byzantine feeling, which the artists of the later periods have endeavoured to imitate in the portions of the cloisters subsequently built. The shafts and caps of the later columns are as richly carved as the older ones, but they are covered with ornament of a much less conventional character, and more in the style of the natural foliage universally employed in the North in the fourteenth century. To a later period also belong the groined and ribbed vaults with which the cloister is roofed, and the corbels in the walls from which the ribs spring and which are formed as panels containing figure subjects finely executed. The doorway from the cloister into the church is pointed, and has voussoirs of white and red marble alternating--a style of decoration very usual in the South, and which may perhaps be the result of the proximity to the Moors in Spain.

Several interesting bas-reliefs and other ancient fragments have been preserved by being built into the walls.

CARCASSONNE.--An architectural description of the edifices of Provence and the Riviera would be incomplete without some account of the two most perfect examples of

Mediæval castellated architecture which still exist in the towns of Carcassonne and Aigues Mortes. These are, from their excellent state of preservation, quite unique, and far surpass in extent and interest the remains of the fortifications of any of the other cities of Western Europe.

The town of Carcassonne is situated on the river Aude, which is spanned by two bridges, one of them dating from 1184. The portion on the left or north bank was a “bastide,” or detached town, laid out in the time of St Louis; the streets being all drawn at right angles, as was usual in the towns then erected on new sites. Such were the numerous _villes-neuves_ constructed by Edward III. in the South-west of France, and which he endowed with certain privileges, in order to induce men to settle in them, and thus increase the population and strength of the country.