Architecture, Medieval; Church architecture; Vaults (Architecture)
Thus far the discussion of chevets has been distinctly from a structural
point of view, but there remain certain other differences between these
vaults which are worthy of remark. In the first place, there is the
matter of the number of cells comprised in the chevet. The standard
during the best Gothic period was seven, though five was a frequent
number and quite often nine are found (Plate II-s), as for example, in
the apse of San Francesco at Bologna, Saint Martin at Ypres, Belgium,
and that of Béziers (Hérault), cathedral (1215-1300).[390] In the
smaller churches and in the radiating chapels there are frequently
three. Moreover, when the apse has a central pier,[391] there are an
even number of bays and thus four and six-celled chevets are employed.
That in Saint Pierre at Caen, for example, has four bays all on the
curve, and that in Notre Dame at Caudebec-en-Caux (Seine-Inférieure)
(fifteenth and sixteenth centuries) (Plate II-t) has only two bays thus
placed, a fact which gives an angular character to the apse which is far
from pleasing.[392] As for the chevets with six cells, they are of very
infrequent occurrence, though one is to be seen in Saint Pierre at
Auxerre (Plate II-u). A chevet with the unusual number of eleven cells
is to be seen in the church of La Chapelle-sur-Crécy (thirteenth
century).[393] In construction, this chevet is similar to one bay of
such an eight-part vault as that at Provins, Saint Quiriace[394] with
its easternmost cell divided into five parts.
THE USE OF A CENTRAL PIER IN THE APSE
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