Page:An Elementary History of Art.djvu/122

92 Gothic Architecture. pointed pinnacles, the slender spires tapering heavenwards, produce an indescribable effect of lightness and complexity. They are, so to speak, the staccato notes of that " frozen music " to which a great German writer (Schlegel) has likened architecture. In mediaeval times symbolism entered largely into all the arts ; and Gothic cathedrals owe much of their strange unearthly beauty to the weird, fantastic sculptures with which every part — even the crypt, but especially the west fronts, the portals, and the sacr avium, or sanctuary con- taining the high altar — was decorated. The full development of this love of mystic ornament led to the church becoming, so to speak, a universe in miniature. Everywhere we see hovering angels or mystic emblems of Christian virtues ; trailing vines and lions, symbols of faith ; roses and pelicans, of Divine love and mercy; ivy and dogs, of truth; lambs, of submission, etc., etc. ; whilst the walls and altars glow with sacred pictures, and the holy shrines, containing the relics of the saints, sparkle with jewels. The round-arched, or transitional Gothic style, origin- ated in Italy and the south of France, where it lingered long, and developed itself naturally from the Romanesque, introduced by the Lombards and other Italians. The pointed Gothic, with which we have principally to deal, was worked out first in Northern France ; and the earliest example of its full development was the cathedral of St. Denis, near Paris, founded in 1144. The cathedral of Notre Dame, in Paris, is a somewhat later building ; and almost simultaneously with it began the fine cathedrals of Chartres, Beauvais (Fig. 42), Rheims (Fig. 44), Bourges, etc. It was not until a century later (1220) that the Germans adopted