=S. Stephen= is an example of the so-called “Hall Church,” in which the nave and aisles are of equal height. This typically German feature, seen also in =S. Lambert, Hildesheim=, =S. Quentin, Mainz=, and =S. Elizabeth, Marburg=, abolishes the clerestory and triforium and thus dispenses with flying buttresses. It reduces the importance of the nave and, while giving the interior an impression of superior spaciousness, minimises the variety and picturesqueness of the vistas. The nave and aisles are covered on the exterior by a single roof of high pitch. The German builders made up for their lack of originality by extreme skill of handicraft, which tended to over-elaboration and a merely mechanical excellence. This was displayed in the increasing intricacy of the window traceries, which were more regarded than the proportions of the window openings. Thus, an excessive height was given to the clerestory windows and in many cases the opening is too narrow for its height. A characteristic which often appears is the _double tracery_; that is to say, the employment of tracery on both the outer and the inner wall surfaces. Piers usually take the place of columns and are treated as lofty posts for the support of the vaulting, their surfaces being frequently indented with niches bearing statues. The vaultings are quite often distinguished by complicated ribs, which, however, are not employed so constructively as in England, but rather as decorative details. The mouldings show a steady growth away from simplicity toward increased complexity, until in the fifteenth century occurs the characteristic feature of “inter-penetration.” In this two separate sets of moulding are interwoven, alternately appearing and disappearing in and out of the same stone. Where foliage is thus used with intertwining branches the forms are treated naturalistically; and this aptitude for exact imitation led also to the occasional abandonment of the more formal tracery of windows in favour of “branch tracery” or the representation of branches of trees--another instance of preoccupation with technical execution rather than with design. While the stained glass is good, the iron-work is a special characteristic of German ornamentation. Another typical feature is the Tabernacle for enshrining the Host. It is a structure of stone or wood, standing independent of the altar, rising to a considerable height in the form of a tower and spire, richly decorated. In the north, as at Lübeck and neighbouring cities in the valley of the Elbe, the lack of stone led to the use of brick, and the substitution of moulded and coloured brickwork for sculptured ornament.