Lectures on the rise and development of medieval architecture; vol. 1Scott, George Gilbert, Sir
History
Lectures on the rise and development of medieval architecture; vol. 1
Scott, George Gilbert, Sir
Architecture, Gothic; Architecture, Medieval
A comparison of William the Englishman’s work with that in the Castle
Chapel and Castle Church at Dover would be interesting, as probably
showing the works of the same hand; and a comparison of these, on
another occasion, with the more thoroughly English work of the same
period at St. Cross, and other buildings in which the English and French
transition seem to work hand in hand, as Glastonbury and the rather
later work at Chichester, followed up, again, by a study of the Northern
transitional examples, would give a pretty perfect knowledge of this
most instructive, perhaps, of all periods of English architecture.
I will not, however, weary you with barren bills of fare and outline
tours, but will content myself with saying that the same course of close
all-gathering study must be followed up wherever you go, whether making
a tour of village churches or of the great northern abbeys, or seating
yourselves down before a majestic cathedral.
Architecture properly so called, wood-work, metal-work, decorations,
stained glass, and every form of art and workmanship, must be studied as
if you had to perform like work for yourselves; and you must make
yourselves perfect masters of it in every way; and, moreover, you must
study the _object_ and _meaning_ of everything so as in every way
perfectly to understand its motive, whether ritual, constructive,
iconographic, artistic, or simply utilitarian.
I will make one other suggestion as to your English studies. You cannot
be always making tours, but you need to be always studying. Do not,
then, neglect those objects which surround you while at home. You have
at your doors, if you live in London, abundant objects to occupy such
incidental hours as you may have at your command.
To begin with, you have Westminster Abbey, the study of which may supply
your leisure moments for life. What an inexhaustible fund of material of
all kinds we have here! Of the earlier periods we have objects which--if
not _artistically_ important--possess at least a deep _antiquarian_
interest; for we retain extensive remnants of that work of Edward the
Confessor which a contemporary writer tells us was the very first
erected in England in the “new manner of building;” meaning the Norman
Romanesque as distinguished from the Saxon, which latter, curiously
enough, had been viewed by those who practised it as being _Roman_.
Then, we have the Late Norman of St. Catherine’s or the Infirmary
Chapel. These are but incidental objects of interest, but how different
is the case with the abbey church itself!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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