The great northern outer nave to the Church of Notre Dame dates also
from this epoch (probably 1360). Here we have a striking example of the
persistence of a feature rarely if ever met with in Gothic architecture
either in England or in France, and which is, perhaps, so far as
Northern Europe is concerned, at all events during the period in
question, peculiar to Flanders--the semi-circular arch. The architects
of Bruges seem never to have entirely abandoned it, and hence in that
city its presence does not necessarily indicate that the building in
which it is found is of Romanesque origin. Thus we find it in the tower
of Notre Dame, which, as we have seen, dates from the close of the
thirteenth century; in the northern transept of the cathedral of the
same date; in the windows of the _Porte de Gand_, and of the _Porte Ste.
Croix_ of a century later; in the great porch of the hospital of St.
John, and in the western façade of the Church of Notre Dame, and in
domestic architecture of every period, over and over again. Sometimes it
is used alone, sometimes in conjunction with the pointed arch. In the
case of the northern nave of Notre Dame, it is employed for the
vaulting, for the huge doorway at the western end, now bricked up, and
for the five small bays of the outer arcade which connect it with the
main building, whilst for the windows, for the bays of the inner arcade,
and for the great opening at the east end which gives access to the
tower, pointed arches are used.
For the rest, the building in question is characterised by its great
height, the magnificent span of its vault, the grandeur of its
proportions and the general simplicity
IV.--Genealogical Table of the Counts of Flanders from Guy de Dampierre
to Marguerite of Maele.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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