The structure readily composes itself into two distinct parts: that of the Romanesque (round arch and barrel vault) era and that of the Gothic of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. No consideration of St. Nazaire de Carcassonne is possible without first coming to a realization of the construction and the functions of the splendidly picturesque and effective ramparts which enclosed the ancient _Cité_, its cathedral, châteaux, and various civil and domestic establishments. In brief, its history and chronology commences with the Visigoth foundation, extending from the fifth to the eighth centuries to the time (1356) when it successfully resisted the Black Prince in his bloody ravage, by sword and fire, of all of Languedoc. Legend has it that in Charlemagne's time, after that monarch had besieged the town for many years and was about to raise the siege in despair, a certain tower,--which flanked the château,--defended only by a _Gauloise_ known as _Carcaso_, suddenly gave way and opened a breach by which the army was at last able to enter. A rude figure perpetuating the fame of this _Madame Carcaso_--a veritable Amazon, it would seem--is still seen, rudely carved, over the Porte Narbonnaise. [Illustration: _Two Capitals of Pillars in St. Nazaire de Carcassonne; and the Rude Stone Carving of Carcas_] It is the inner line of ramparts which dates from the earliest period. The château, the postern-gate, and most of the interior construction are of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, while the outer fortification is of the time of St. Louis, the latter part of the thirteenth century. [Illustration: ST. NAZAIRE ... _de CARCASSONNE_] The Saracens successfully attacked and occupied the city from 713 to 759, but were routed by Pepin-le-Bref. In 1090 was first founded the strong _vicomtale_ dynasty of the Trencavels. In 1210 the Crusaders, under Simon de Montfort and the implacable Abbot of Citeaux, laid siege to the _Cité_, an act which resulted in the final massacre, fifty of the besieged--who surrendered--being hanged, and four hundred burned alive. In addition to the walls and ramparts were fifty circular protecting towers. The extreme length of the inner enclosure is perhaps three-quarters of a mile, and of the outer nearly a full mile. It is impossible to describe the magnitude and splendour of these city walls, which, up to the time of their restoration by Viollet-le-Duc, had scarcely crumbled at all. The upper ranges of the towers, roof-tops, ramparts, etc., had become broken, of course, and the sky-line had become serrated, but the walls, their foundations, and their outline plan had endured as few works of such magnitude have before or since. Carcassonne, its history, its romance, and its picturesque qualities, has ever appealed to the poet, painter, and historian alike. Something of the halo of sentiment which surrounds this marvellous fortified city will be gathered from the following praiseful admiration by Gustave Nadaud: