THE SIXTINE CHAPEL AT ROME.
The Sixtine Chapel at Rome was built in 1473, under Pope Sixtus IV. The upper walls and roof are adorned with frescoes illustrating scenes in the Old and New Testaments. The architectural and pictured details are all in unison. Michael Angelo’s genius is here transcendent. And Raphael was an admirer of the designs. The grand fresco of the Last Judgment by Michael Angelo is at one end of the building. To encourage the artist in this great work, the Pope, attended by ten cardinals, often went to visit him, and this was deemed at the time an unparalleled honour to Art. The Pope, it is said, was anxious to have this fresco painted in oils, but the artist declined peremptorily, sayingthat oil-painting was fit only for women and idlers who had plenty of time to throw away. The nudity of the figures in this work was much discussed at the time, and the Pope at last employed one Daniele da Volterra to cover some of them with drapery, and he was nicknamed the “Breeches-maker”; at a later date further draperies were added, which spoiled the picture considerably. The colours are now dim with age and the smoke of candles and incense.
THE CATHEDRAL OF GENOA.
About 1310 the cathedral of San Lorenzo was erected at Genoa, and the bas-relief over the principal entrance and a large fresco on the ceiling represent St. Laurence’s martyrdom. The roof and pillars are of alternate white and black marble. The richest portion of the church is the chapel of St. John the Baptist, which no female is permitted to enter, except on one day of the year—an exclusion imposed by Pope Innocent VIII., in recollection of the daughter of Herodias. The relics of the saint are said to be contained in an iron-bound chest which is seen through the apertures of the marble covering. On the day of his nativity they are carried in procession. In the treasury of the cathedral is preserved thesacro catino, long supposed to be composed of a single piece of emerald, and also variously asserted by some to be a gift from the Queen of Sheba to Solomon; by others to be the dish which held the paschal lamb at the Last Supper; by others the vessel in which Joseph of Arimathæa received the blood flowing from the side of the Saviour. It was part of the spoils taken at Cæsarea in 1101. The Crusaders and their allies divided the booty, and the Genoese selected this precious vessel as their portion. It is exposed to the veneration of the faithful three times a year. No stranger is allowed to touch it under a heavy penalty. Yet some daringly curious have attempted to discover the metal or mineral. Some travellers affect to have discovered that it is glass, and this is the latest belief. The dish is hexagonal, the colour is beautiful, and the transparency perfect.
THE CATHEDRAL OF TURIN.
A church at Turin dedicated to St. John the Baptist was first erected in 602, but the present cathedral was begun in 1498, and the decorations are comparatively modern. The sacristy contains magnificent crosses, vases, and reliquaries, the chief object, however, being a large statue of the Virgin, crowned andstanding under a silver-gilt canopy. Behind the cathedral is the Chapel del Sudario, which contains many unique architectural effects; the centre of a star-decorated pavement is the altar, on which is placed the shrine, brilliant with gold, silver, and precious stones. Thesanto sudario, according to the legend, is one of the folds of the shroud in which our Lord was wrapped by Joseph of Arimathæa, and on which an impression was left of His body, other folds being preserved at Rome, Besançon, and Cadouin. The one at Turin was brought from Cyprus in 1452 by a descendant of a Crusader. This shrine has been invoked by kings, and is worshipped with great reverence. In another church at Turin, called Corpus Domini, which is highly decorated, there is an inscription to commemorate the miraculous recovery of a piece of sacramental plate, containing the consecrated wafer. During a pillage a soldier stole it, and hid it in one of the panniers which an ass was carrying, but the ass refused to pass the church door. The sacred pyx fell to the ground, and the wafer, rising into the air, remained suspended there, encircled with rays of light, until the bishop and his clergy came out to receive it. This miracle happened in 1453, and three paintings on the vault of the nave represent it.
THE CATHEDRAL OF MILAN.
At Milan the cathedral has been rebuilt thrice, the present being begun in 1387. The central tower and spire are of great beauty. A statue of the Madonna crowns the spire, and it is 355 feet high. The interior is magnificent, and said to be the grandest in the world, and bears a long examination. The height of the pillars of the nave is 80 feet. The roof is painted to represent an elaborate fretwork. The painted glass is abundant and of extraordinary brilliancy. Suspended from the vaulting of the octagon over the altar is a reliquary, said to contain one of the nails of the cross, which once a year is exhibited on the altar. The circuit wall of the choir towards the aisles is covered with bas-reliefs representing the history of the Virgin. There is an altar with the celebrated crucifix which was carried about the city before St. Carlo during the plague at Milan. On the high altar is a magnificent tabernacle of gilt bronze with figures of the Saviour and the Twelve Apostles. The subterranean chapel of San Carlo is dedicated to that saint, who was a great sanitary reformer and excited the enmity of the monks, one of whom fired at him as he was kneeling at the altar during the anthem. The bullet struck him on the back, but fell harmless tothe ground, and this was deemed an interposition of Providence. The saint continued in prayer undisturbed. He died in 1584, and his body is deposited in a gorgeous shrine of silver, and is seen through panes of rock crystal arrayed in full pontificals. The flesh has crumbled away, notwithstanding the efforts of the embalmers. St. Ambrose, who was born in 340, was chosen archbishop of Milan in 375.
THE CATHEDRAL OF FLORENCE.
The Florentines, in 1294, were determined to surpass their contemporaries in the grandeur of their cathedral, which is said to have given the idea of St. Peter’s at Rome. The cupola is the largest dome in the world, though the summit of St. Peter’s is higher. The interior is rather dark, owing to the smallness of the windows and the richness of the stained glass. The whole design is characterised by grandeur and simplicity, and the pavement in variegated marbles enhances the general effect. The choir and the high altar are placed beneath the dome. Behind the altar is a Pieta or group of the Virgin at the entombment, designed by Michael Angelo. The campanile or bell-tower is 275 feet high, and decorated with rich tablets from the designs of Giotto. The cost of the tower was said to be enormous. Six fine bells are hung at the top. The baptistery has as its chief glory the bronze doors executed by Ghiberti and Andrea Pisano, and which Michael Angelo said were worthy to be the gates of Paradise. They illustrate the chief events in the life of our Lord, as well as scenes in the Old Testament history. The perspective of these sculptures is in modern times viewed as defective, and too much detail is introduced; but the borderings are exquisite. The cupola is covered with mosaics, and the floor is a mosaic of black and white marble. In Florence there is also a chapel of the Annunziata, with altar and silver-work decorations and frescoes. The miraculous fresco of the Annunciation is believed to have been painted by angels, and is exhibited only on great occasions. A celebrated Madonna was here painted by Andrea del Sarto, which he gave for a sack of wheat, and hence called “Madonna del Sacco.”
THE CATHEDRAL OF PISA.
The first period of Christian architecture was the Roman basilica, the second the Byzantine, and the third the Lombard and Norman style, which was followed by the Gothic. The most splendid specimen of the Lombard style is the cathedral of Pisa.It was the oblation of the richest and most powerful city in Italy at the height of her prosperity, her industry, her commerce, her fame; it was made in the pride of her wealth, in a passion of gratitude for a victory, and for rich plunder taken from the Mohammedans in the harbour of Palermo. The cathedral makes one of the four buildings—the dome, the baptistery, the leaning tower, the Campo Santo—which in their sad grandeur in the deserted city surpass all other groups of buildings in Europe. The cathedral, standing alone, would command the highest admiration. The west front displays a profusion of tiers of arches above arches, arranged with finer proportion, richness, and upward decreasing order than elsewhere. But its sublimity is within. Its plan, the Latin cross, in the most perfect proportion, gives an impressive unity to its central nave, with its double aisles, its aisled transepts, and its receding apse. Its loftiness is more commanding than any building of its class in Italy. The Corinthian pillars along the nave are of admirable height and proportion. The first stone of the cathedral was laid in 1067, and the whole was completed in 1118. The extraordinary campanile or bell-tower, now called the leaning tower, was begun in 1174, and the foundation giving way accounts for its falling from the perpendicular. The tower is cylindrical, is 53 feet in diameter, and is 179 feet high. On the summit of the tower are seven bells, which are sonorous and harmonious. The baptistery adjoining has a dome 99 feet in diameter. On the exterior of the eastern doorway are sculptures representing the martyrdom of John the Baptist. In the centre of the building is the font, about 14 feet in diameter. The great ornament of this building is thepergamoor pulpit, by Nicolo Pisano, of hexagonal form, with bas-reliefs of the events in Christ’s life. The Campo Santo is a cemetery containing a great collection of sepulchral monuments and a museum of the dead. Upwards of three hundred statues and sculptures are here, and six hundred tombs of families. The frescoes on the walls include pictures of a great variety of sacred subjects from the Old and New Testaments, and some of these are by superior artists.
CHAPEL OF SAN GENNARO AT NAPLES.
Near the basilica ofSanta Restituta, which is the cathedral at Naples, is a chapel of San Gennaro, richly decorated. It is chiefly remarkable for the blood of St. Januarius, which is exhibited in two phials resting in a tabernacle behind the high altar. The blood of the saint liquefies three times a year. The saint was exposed to lions in the amphitheatre about 305,when the beasts prostrated themselves before him and grew tame. He was afterwards decapitated and his body deposited at Pozzuoli, and then removed to this church. The blood was said to have been first collected by a woman present at the martyrdom. In 1696 Lord Perth, the chancellor of Scotland, being on his travels, described the whole exhibition of the relics in his time. He said the blood looked like a piece of pitch clotted and hard in the glass, and when brought near to the head it liquefied; and “it was an admirable thing to see blood shed upwards of thirteen hundred years ago liquefy at this approach to the head. The Roman lady who had gathered it from off the ground with a sponge had, in squeezing of it into the glass, let a bit of straw fall in too, which one sees in the blood to this very day.”
THE CATHEDRAL OF SANTIAGO COMPOSTELLA.
The cathedral of Santiago (which is the Spanish name for St. James the Elder) is also called Compostella, because a star is said to have pointed out where that saint’s body was concealed, being in a wood near the present city. This shrine has been the favourite resort of pilgrims from all parts of Spain, France, and England. The cathedral was founded in 1078, and is on the same plan and design as that of Toulouse. The statue of St. James has figures of kings kneeling before it. Here there is a hospital for pilgrims built in four quadrangles, and so contrived that the patients can all see the sacrifice of the Mass. The interior of the cathedral is purposely kept somewhat dark to increase the effect of the illuminations of the high altar, thus rendering the image of the apostle the one prominent feature. The dark side aisles, which look almost like corridors, are filled with confessional boxes dedicated to different saints, while on those destined for foreign pilgrims are inscribed the languages which the priest understands. The image of St. James in the Capilla Mayor, is Gothic, of stone painted and gilt, and so covered with ornamentation that the head alone is visible. The image is seated, holding a book in the left hand and blessing with the right. It is placed in a fine silver shrine. Mass can only be said before this image by bishops or canons of a certain dignity, of whom seven attend on grand occasions. The aureola of the saint’s head is composed of rubies and emeralds. The western portico of this church is considered the most glorious achievement of Christian art, and the Last Judgment is represented with the Saviour as the chief figure, being twice the size of life. The figures and architecture are alike exquisite. The ceremonial bypilgrims to this shrine begins with the ascent of some steps behind the image, and then the stranger places his hands on the shoulders and kisses the hood. This kiss is the chief object and end of the pilgrimage, without which all is ineffectual. He next proceeds to one of the confessors, by whom he is absolved. He then communicates and receives his certificate or compostella. This last is a printed document signed by the canon, and certifies that he has complied with all the devotional ceremonies necessary to constitute a real pilgrim. This compostella is kept along with the family title deeds as a voucher of the journey, and it is often made the condition of succession to landed estates. The ceremonies of the offertory on the great festival day, July 25th, are various and full of interest.
THE SPANISH CATHEDRAL OF LEON.
The cathedral of Santa Maria at Leon is one of the oldest in Spain, the present one being built about 1073. Its lightness of construction is proverbial. The grand western entrance is said to be the best of its kind in Spain. There are about fifty large statues and many small sculptures of admirable finish. On each side of the altar are buried two saints, Froylar and Alvito. The lofty windows are painted with apostles, saints, virgins, kings, and bishops; the reds and greens are among the finest specimens of the art, being executed by Flemish artists. In one of the chapels, called the Chapel of the Dice, is the miraculous image of the Virgin and Child, the chapel being so called because a gambler once, after being unlucky, threw his dice at it, and hit the infant’s nose, which immediately bled. The chapel of St. Andrew, in the same cathedral, has doorways and doors richly and delicately carved in the finest style. The frescoes illustrate scenes in the life of the Saviour, and the drawing and colouring are the best specimens of early Spanish painting. In Leon there is also a church of St. Isidore, which contains the body of that saint, who worked miracles after his death. Though he was known only as a learned man in his lifetime, he is said to have become the tutelar saint of Leon after his death, and in this capacity to have fought at the battle of Baeza armed with a sword and cross. He was on that occasion mounted on horseback and arrayed in his pontificals. The high altar shares with Lugo the rare privilege of having the Host, the incarnate Deity, always visible; and the effect at night, when all is lighted up, with figures of angels kneeling at the side, is described as striking.
THE CATHEDRAL OF SEVILLE.
The cathedral of Seville is one of the largest and finest in Spain; its characteristic is solemnity, as elegance is the feature of Leon, strength of Santiago, and wealth of Toledo. The cathedral of Seville was begun in 1401, and its ample revenues and grand decorations long fostered and employed the artistic genius of Andalusia, and the interior, with its five mighty aisles and ample choir, remain still unrivalled. The see being vacant in 1401, the chapter determined to rebuild the fabric. “Let us build,” said these magnificent ecclesiastics, “a church that shall cause us to be taken for madmen by them who shall come after us, so that at all events it shall have no equal.” The name of the architect, though leaving his mark in this impressive way, perished with his original plans in a fire in 1734. The work went on for more than a century and a half, displaying in its many incongruous parts the successive changes of architectural style. To provide funds for so vast an undertaking, the prebendaries and canons gave up the greater part of their incomes—an instance of devotion not uncommon in those earnest times. The edifice inside and outside is a museum of fine arts. There are ninety-three windows, and the painted ones are among the finest in Spain. During Easter week the exquisite bronze candlestick, twenty-five feet high, when theMiserereis sung, is lighted with thirteen candles: twelve are put out one after another, indicating that the Apostles deserted Christ; one alone of white wax remains burning, being a symbol of the Virgin true to the last. A great picture of the descent from the cross in the principal vestry was considered, before the colours somewhat faded, so lifelike, that Pacheco was afraid to remain after dusk alone, and here Murillo used to stand watching, as he said, till those holy men should have finished taking down the Saviour, and before this picture he desired to be buried. Underneath this picture the relics of the church are kept. In the Capilla Real, over the high altar, is an image of the Virgin of life size, like a movable lay figure, having hair of spun gold and shoes ornamented with the lilies of France, and seated on a silver throne. The cathedral is always thronged, not only by the devout, but by idlers and beggars.
THE CATHEDRAL OF TOLEDO.
The cathedral of Toledo is said to have been erected by the Virgin herself while she was alive, and she is said to have often come down from heaven to it, accompanied by St. Peter, St. Paul,and St. James. The present cathedral was built in 1226. It excels in fine, rich furniture, picturesque effect, and artistic objects of every kind. The one tower which is finished is 325 feet high. The painted windows are superb, and at dusk light up and shine like rubies and emeralds. The choir is a museum of sculpture. The 116 reliquaries are of gold, silver, ivory, and rock crystal. The church plate rivals that of Loretto in quantity. The Queen of the Cathedral is the image of the Virgin carved of black wood. It was saved in 711 from the infidels by an Englishman, who hid it in a vault. It is seated on a silver throne under a silver-gilt canopy, supported by pillars. The superb crown and bracelets of precious stones, made in the sixteenth century, were stolen in 1865. In a wardrobe near the Custodia, the famous manto of the Virgin is kept, which was embroidered with pearls in 1615. There are 257 pearls used, 300 ozs. of gold thread, 160 ozs. of small pieces of enamelled gold, and 8 ozs. of emeralds and precious stones. Her rings, necklaces, and trinkets are countless.
THE CATHEDRAL OF CORDOVA.
The cathedral of Cordova occupies the site of a basilica which had been erected on a Roman temple. About 780 Abderrahman I. determined to build a temple which would compete with the finest in the East, and in 786 the building was begun. At first there were eleven naves, and eight more were added about 988, so that there are no less than nineteen in all. This structure is the finest type in Europe of a true temple of Islam. The forest of columns supporting the low roof are not uniform, nor are they of the same diameter. Some are of jasper, porphyry, verde-antique, and other choice marbles. In sanctity this ranked as the third of mosques, second only to Mecca and equal to Al Aska of Jerusalem. Some of the upper arches of the pillars are beautifully interlaced like ribands. Some of the decorations were introduced after it had been converted into a Christian temple in 1238. The choir was added in 1523. The cinquecento ornaments and roof are picked out in white and gold. The pulpits are splendid, and the fine brass balustrades very effective.
THE CATHEDRAL OF AMALFI.
The cathedral of Amalfi is dedicated to St. Andrew. The bronze doors were made about 1000, and the nave has its roof richly carved and gilded. Below is the crypt, containing the body of St. Andrew, which was brought from Constantinople withother relics about 1200. This circumstance has made Amalfi a place of pilgrimage. The head of the apostle was enclosed in a silver bust and removed to Rome, where it is still preserved among the relics in St. Peter’s. There is a handsome bell-tower of four storeys at this cathedral.
THE MISERERE AT VALENCIA.
In the chapel of the Colegia de Corpus, which is a museum of Ribaltas, a religious service of great interest is made one of the wonders. The chapel is purposely kept dark by the small windows, which allow only a dim, religious light. On a Friday morning theMiserereis a service which interests every stranger. Ladies must go in black, with a manto or some thick mantilla. At ten a.m. the blinds of all the windows are drawn and the doors shut, and a gloom is thrown over the building, the whole space above the high altar being covered with a purple pall, as if in mourning. The silent choristers alone stand near it. A priest is seen to approach and prostrate himself; then all kneel, and the solemn chant begins. At the first verse the picture above the altar descends noiselessly and almost imperceptibly, and the vacancy is filled with a lilac veil with yellow stripes. As the chant proceeds this is withdrawn, and discloses one of a faint grey, which is next removed, then another of deep black, and then after a pause another veil. The imagination of the audience is worked upon, and all are hushed with breathless curiosity while the penitential psalm is sung. At last the veil of the Temple appears to be rent asunder, and the Saviour on the cross appears resplendent, while silvery voices are heard in the distance, and the pall again closes over this great central figure. After the service and later in the day the public are allowed for a small fee to ascend a ladder and see behind the machinery of ropes and contrivances for moving the various scenes which make up the impressive representation.
THE CATHEDRAL OF OVIEDO.
The cathedral of Oviedo was built on the ruins of a previous church in 1388. The western façade has a noble balustraded portico, rich in ornamentation. The most interesting piece of antiquity here is the Camera Santa or chapel of San Miguel, the second oldest Christian building after the Moorish invasion, being built in 802, as a receptacle for sacred relics. This holy of holies is lit by magnificent silver lamps, and the devout kneelbefore a railing while the relics are exhibited every morning. These relics are enclosed in superb silver workmanship of various designs. In a small case is kept thesanto sudarioor shroud of our Saviour, which thrice a year and each Good Friday, if a bishop preaches, is displayed from a balcony. There is also a venerable cross, a thousand years old, inclosed in magnificent filigree work. At Oviedo there is an ancient church of San Miguel. On July 25th each year a great procession is seen of the peasants with their offerings of cows and heifers going to this church, the horns being gaily decorated with ribbons. They go to Mass on that day, and it is looked forward to as their chief religious event.
NOTRE DAME AND LA SAINTE CHAPELLE, PARIS.
The cathedral of Notre Dame, begun in 528, to commemorate the gratitude of Childebert on his recovery from sickness, replaced another at its side, and was in turn replaced in 1163 by the present structure. It is remarkable for now containing the crown of thorns given by St. Louis and the nail of the true cross. The crown of thorns was brought there from La Sainte Chapelle, which was built by St. Louis as a shrine worthy to contain it. This exquisite chapel, without visible aisles or transept, was begun in 1242 and finished in 1247. One of the little tourelles at the side of the shrine still contains the actual wooden stair which was ascended by St. Louis when he went to take from its tabernacle the crown of thorns, which he and he alone was permitted to exhibit to the people below through a large pane of glass purposely inserted and always movable in the end window of the apse. It is recorded that when St. Louis was in Paris he would rise to pray three times in the night, always approaching the altar on his knees. This chapel was called by the old chronicler St. Louis’s arsenal and tower of defence against all the ills of life. The head of the saintly King was afterwards brought hither from St. Denis at the instance of Philip the Fair.
CHURCHES AT MARSEILLES AND STRASBURG.
On the rocky hill of Notre Dame de la Garde, above the harbour of Marseilles, is a Romanesque church, in which is a shrine with a famous image of the Virgin, carved in olive wood, and of great antiquity. All the sailors and fishermen in the Mediterranean venerate this object, and hang their offerings on the walls and roof. All kinds of objects connected with shipwrecks, plagues, storms, cholera, panics, are here represented.At Strasburg the cathedral, begun in 1015, is a noble Gothic edifice, the tower of which is 468 feet above the pavement. There is a circular window 48 feet in diameter, and rising to the height of 230 feet. The interior has much richly painted glass. There is also a famous clock in the south transept, dating from 1354, which shows the hour, day of the week, month, and year, and many other epochs, besides clockwork figures, with mechanism for moving puppets and images.
CHARTRES CATHEDRAL.
The cathedral of Notre Dame at Chartres, magnificent and strongly built, attracts the visitor by its two tall but unequal bell-towers and spires. It is vast and elegant, and excels in painted glass and its three rose windows. The tower and spire are the finest of their period in France, the steeple being 339½ feet high without the cross. Above the Porte Royale or central door is the image of Christ in an oval, with the symbols of the four evangelists, and below these are the fourteen prophets, and in the arches above are the twenty-four elders playing on musical instruments. The church is a storehouse of painted glass, above one hundred and thirty windows being rich with splendid ornamentation, the rose windows being thirty or forty feet in diameter. The choir has double aisles and many bas-reliefs of Scriptural subjects. Outside of the screen which separates the choir from the aisles is a series of Gothic sculptures of events in the life of Christ and the Virgin in forty-five compartments, surrounded with elaborate tracery and tabernacle work begun about 1514. The execution has been compared to point lace in stone, some of the sculptured threads being not thicker than the blade of a penknife. This was the earliest and chief church in France dedicated to the Virgin, and was resorted to by countless pilgrims. The sacred image dating from the time of the Druids stood in the crypt. The famous relic of the Sancta Camisia given by Charles le Chauve is here. And the celebrated black image of the twelfth century, after having been crowned with a bonnet rouge during the Revolution, is still a subject of adoration.
THE CATHEDRAL OF AMIENS.
The cathedral of Amiens, one of the noblest Gothic edifices in Europe, was begun in 1220, about the same time as Salisbury, but the spire is 422 feet, being 20 feet higher than Salisbury. Yet owing to the loftiness of the roof of the nave, this greatheight does not strike the beholder. The interior is one of the most magnificent of spectacles, owing to this great height of the roof, which is about double the usual height of English cathedrals. The area of the cathedral is also larger than that of any other cathedral in France, and is only surpassed by that of St. Peter’s at Rome, and by Cologne. At the crossing of the transept, three magnificent rose windows of elaborate tracery and rich stained glass, and about 100 feet in circumference, make this cathedral unique. The head of St. John the Baptist, brought from Constantinople at the time of the Crusades, has always been prized as an invaluable relic, and is deposited in the side chapel dedicated to St. John. Several other heads of St. John existed before the Revolution in other churches of France, but this was deemed the genuine one. Since the Revolution, however, the skull has been reduced to the frontal bone and upper jaw. The choir and its elegantly groined roof, resting on compressed lancet-pointed arches, are of great beauty, and there are one hundred and ten stalls of elaborately carved woodwork, showing the finest invention and execution. This carved work was done or finished in 1528.
THE CATHEDRAL OF RHEIMS.
The cathedral of Rheims is a Gothic edifice of great power and grace, commenced in 1212. The western front is thought to be unrivalled for the multiplicity of detail in sculpture and tracery. The interior is perfect in design, and the gorgeous stained glass in the rose windows, the largest being forty feet in diameter, adds to the grandeur of the general effect. The choir was consecrated in 1241. The clock over the sacristy, one of the oldest clocks known, strikes the hour, when a door opens and the effigy of a man looks out, while other figures sally forth and make the round. Here the coronation of the French kings took place. The holy oil, according to the legend, was at first brought by a dove from heaven.
THE CATHEDRAL OF AIX-LA-CHAPELLE AND RELICS.
The cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle is the most ancient polygonal church north of the Alps, the nave of which being octagonal, was erected by Charlemagne about 796, partly as a tomb for himself, in imitation of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. The Emperor’s tomb was opened by Otho III., and Charlemagne was found, not lying, but sitting on a throne as one alive, bearing a sceptre in his hand, and having a copy of the Gospels on hisknees. These relics were removed to Vienna. The choir was rebuilt in 1413. It is 120 feet long, and 114 feet high, having the appearance of a gigantic lantern. The treasury of the cathedral has a rich collection of relics in shrines of great beauty. There is a locket of the Virgin’s hair; a piece of the true cross; the leathern girdle of Christ (bearing Constantine’s seal); a nail of the cross; the cord which bound the rod that smote Him; the sponge which was filled with vinegar; that arm of Simeon on which he bore the infant Jesus; some blood and bones of St. Stephen; some manna from the wilderness; and some bits of Aaron’s rod. These relics were presented to Charlemagne by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Caliph Haroun Al Raschid. Another silver-gilt shrine contains the great relics which are shown only once in seven years. These are the cotton robe worn by the Virgin at the Nativity; the swaddling clothes of Jesus; the cloth on which John the Baptist’s head was laid; the scarf worn by the Saviour at the Crucifixion, having stains of His blood.
THE CATHEDRAL OF TREVES.
The cathedral of St. Peter and St. Helen at Treves has five stately towers, and was completed in the twelfth century, being supposed to be begun about 550. The vast size of the building is imposing. One of the remarkable relics here preserved is the holy coat, without seam, and said to be made of camels’ hair, five feet long. When not exhibited, it is carefully walled up inside the high altar. In 1844, when it was exhibited, about a million of pilgrims went to view it.
THE CATHEDRAL AND CHURCHES OF ANTWERP.
The cathedral of Notre Dame at Antwerp is one of the largest of the Gothic cathedrals. The great attractions in the interior are the masterpieces of Rubens. The steeple is one of the loftiest in the world, being 403 feet high, and of such delicate workmanship that Charles V. said it deserved to be kept in a case. Napoleon said it was as minute and elaborate as a piece of Mechlin lace. It was begun in 1422 and completed in 1518. The framework is chiefly of iron, with stones interlaced and bolted together with copper. In the tower there are sixty bells, which are made to chime in perfection. Another church of Antwerp, more highly decorated even than the cathedral, is that of St. Jacques, where marbles, glass, carved wood, and monuments give a rich appearance to the interior. The Holy Family,by Rubens, adorns the altarpiece, which for colour stands as high as any of Rubens’ works. In another church in Antwerp, that of the Augustines, there is also an altarpiece by Rubens—the marriage of St. Catherine—where there are about twenty figures of saints, all of which are rendered with great skill, and the brilliancy of colour is impressive and fascinating. In the nave of the same church a picture by Vandyke, the Ecstasy of St. Augustine, is also famous.
THE CATHEDRAL OF COLOGNE.
The cathedral church of St. Peter at Cologne was commenced in 1248, to replace an earlier one which had been destroyed by fire. The work proceeded very slowly, came to a stop in 1509, and stopped for three hundred years. In 1830 the original plan was resumed. The two principal towers were to be raised to the height of 500 feet. A handsome terrace has been raised round the church. The entire length of the body of the church is 511 feet, equal to the height of the towers. It had always been intended to be the most regular and most stupendous Gothic monument existing. The choir consists of five aisles, and from the great height and arrangement of the pillars and stained windows the interior has a glorious effect. The exterior also is striking from its double range of vast flying buttresses and intervening piers bristling with a forest of purfled pinnacles. Round the choir stand fourteen colossal statues of the twelve Apostles, the Virgin, and the Saviour, coloured and gilt. The chapel immediately behind the high altar is that of the three kings of Cologne, or the Magi, who came from the East with gifts to the Infant at Bethlehem. The bones of these kings had been carried off from Milan by the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1162. The shrine containing the bones is of silver gilt, and curiously wrought. Even the skulls of the kings are exhibited crowned with diadems.
ST. ISAAC’S CATHEDRAL, ST. PETERSBURG.
The cathedral of St. Isaac’s at St. Petersburg is of comparatively modern origin, being completed in 1801, the former one built in 1710 being destroyed by fire. The proportions are grand and the porticoes noble. The cupola, which is 296 feet high, supported by thirty polished granite pillars, is covered with copper overlaid with gold, and glitters brightly. The screen is supported by malachite columns 30 feet high, and on either side of the doorof the screen there are pillars of lapis-lazuli. Into the inmost shrine or sanctuary women are not admitted. The most effective portion of the service in the Greek Church is the singing, boys always taking the soprano parts. Certain half-recitative solos are delivered by deacons with very strong and deep bass voices. One of the most impressive parts of the service occurs when the doors of the ikonostas or screen are shut; the chanting then ceases, the incense-bearers withdraw, and every one seems breathless with attention. The royal doors are then opened in the centre, and the chief officiating priest, attended by deacons, comes forward, carrying the Holy Eucharist, and commences a long recitative, which is a prayer for the Emperor and Imperial Family. While this prayer is intoned the audience bend low in attitudes of adoration. The outward forms of the service are joined in by the men as well as the women with great fervour. The first proceeding on entering a Russian church is to purchase a wax candle. With this the worshipper slowly approaches one of the shrines. He sinks on one knee, bowing his head to the pavement, and crossing his breast repeatedly with the thumb and two forefingers of his right hand. Having reached the shrine, he then lights his votive candle at the holy lamp, and sets it up in one of the various holes in a large silver stand provided for the purpose, falling at the same time on his bended knees on the pavement before the altar. He then says his prayers and retires slowly with his face to the altar, kneeling and crossing himself at intervals. The kindling of lamps and tapers is a custom in all Russian churches.
THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. STEPHEN’S OF VIENNA.
The cathedral at Vienna was begun in 1359, and has much rich tracery and curious carvings. The giant portal is a triumph of Gothic ornament. The lofty nave has rich sculpture and rich tinted glass, two of the windows being rose. The tower is a masterpiece, and is 444 feet high, and it is now made useful by the fire brigade as a watch-tower, there being a station half-way up, and watchmen posted there night and day.
THE MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA, CONSTANTINOPLE.
The cathedral of old Constantinople, dedicated by Constantine to the Eternal Wisdom, now turned into a mosque, was first built in 325. It was burnt down and rebuilt in 415, and again in 532 and 548. Justinian at the last date restored it and placedit on a magnificent footing. He was proud of the structure, and boasted that he had vanquished Solomon. The marble columns were the admiration of the world, every variety of marble, granite, and porphyry being used: white marble with rose-coloured stripes, green and blue, and white marble with black veins. There were eight porphyry columns used which Aurelius had taken away from the Temple of the Sun at Baalbec. This church, when restored by Justinian, was the theatre of great and solemn State affairs. It was said to have had a hundred architects, and the plan had been laid down by an angel who appeared to the Emperor in a dream. A second angel appeared to a boy when guarding the workmen’s tools, and insisted on the works being rapidly completed. The building was afterwards completed, except as to the cupola, and an angel for the third time appeared, and as the works were stopped for want of money, led the mules of the Treasury to a subterranean vault, where 80 cwt. of gold was concealed, whereupon the building advanced with great speed. The Emperor and the architect having differed as to the position of certain windows admitting light, the angel again appeared and instructed the Emperor that the light should fall upon the altar through three windows, in honour of the Trinity. The altar was to be more costly than gold, and was one mass of precious stones. Above the altar rose a tabernacle crowned with a golden cross weighing 75 lbs., and adorned with precious stones. The doors were of ivory, amber, and cedar. The church was opened in 548. The building is nearly a square. Fergusson (on Architecture) doubts whether any Christian church of any age exists whose interior is so exquisitely beautiful. It contains among the relics the cradle of the Saviour and a basin in which the Infant was washed by Mary.
THE MOSQUE OF OMAR.
The Saracenic cupola of the Mosque of Omar may be said to defy comparison even with the proud domes of St. Sophia, St. Peter, and St. Paul. The marble octagon from which that cupola springs into the air with the Arabesque frieze and circle of pointed windows has nothing in Europe excelling it in either grace or strength.
THE CHURCHES OF JERUSALEM.
Though the site of the Holy Sepulchre has not been clearly established, there was a church erected over the supposed spotby Constantine in 326, and rebuilt in 614, and again in 1048. The church remained in the same state as the Crusaders left it till 1808, when it was partly destroyed by fire and rebuilt. The church is nearly of an oval shape. In the centre of the rotunda is the Holy Sepulchre, covered by a building 26 feet long by 18 feet wide, cased in white stone, with semicolumns and pilasters. The sepulchre proper is a vault 6 feet by 7 feet. Over it lamps of gold and silver burn with a brilliant light. The vault was said to be hewn out of the rock, but no rock is seen, all being marble. A round marble stone let into the pavement marks the spot where Christ appeared to Mary Magdalene, and even the exact spot is shown where Mary stood. The Chapel of the Apparition marks the spot where Christ appeared to His mother after the Resurrection. Near that spot St. Helena laid the crosses after she had discovered them. The column of flagellation is represented by a fragment of porphyry covered over, and the pilgrim can insert his staff in a hole and touch it, which he usually does, and then kisses the staff. Adjoining are various chapels: the Chapel of St. Helena, the Chapel of the Invention of the Cross and of the Elevation of the Cross, and the Chapel of the Crucifixion. The latter stands on the spot where Christ was nailed to the cross. In the south wall is a barred window, marking the place where the Virgin Mary stood during the Crucifixion.
THE CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY OF BETHLEHEM.
The extraordinary interest attached by all Christians to the little village of Bethlehem led to early pilgrimages. St. Helena, the mother of Constantine, went to the spot and built what was then considered a splendid church or basilica in 327, and which is the oldest existing monument of Christian architecture in the world. St. Jerome afterwards took up his abode there in a cell. The Crusaders also took especial interest, and at the request of the inhabitants assumed possession. In 1110 Baldwin I. made an episcopal see of this place, though it had an ephemeral existence. The Church of the Nativity, built partly into the cave or stable of Bethlehem, is 120 feet long by 110 feet wide, and has four aisles with marble columns. The Chapel of the Nativity is a vault hewn out of the rock, 38 feet long by 11 feet wide. On a marble slab in the pavement a silver star marks the supposed site of the birth of Christ. The site of the manger is also pointed out, for the real manger was carried to Rome and is deposited in Santa Maria Maggiore. The various grottoes here are possessed by rival sects, which keep up constant warfare about their rights.The convents, together with the church, make up a large pile of buildings. There are about three thousand inhabitants in Bethlehem, nearly all Christians, who are peasants, and some of them make a livelihood by carving heads and crosses for pilgrims.
ANCIENT BRITISH CHURCHES AND THEIR CHIEF FEATURES.
The old British churches in the time of Edward I. had some features which are now unknown. Under every altar there was a small stone, which closed up the aperture in which relics were kept, it being a maxim that no altar could be consecrated without relics. There was a canopy over the altar with curtains, and here was hung the pyx or box containing the Host, or consecrated bread. This was considered so sacred a thing, that once, when it was stolen, Henry V. delayed his whole army for a day in order to discover the thief. There was a confessional with oblong holes in the wall, or there was a crypt for the like purpose. The Galilee was the place marked by circular stones, to show where the processions ended. There were holy-water stones filled with fresh water every morning. The old fonts were baths, and in progress of time they grew less and less, and at last a basin of water only was used. In baptising children, not only water was used, but oil, or chrism, especially to make the sign of the cross on the child’s breast and between the shoulders. The oil was omitted after the Reformation. The churches were often mere lounging-places, and the porch was the place for people meeting and settling their disputes. This state of things continued slightly changed for some time even after the Reformation.
ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL, LONDON.
The site of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London is traced to the time of Nero; by others it is alleged that a temple of Diana had stood there, while another temple to Apollo stood on the site of Westminster Abbey. Ethelbert, King of Kent, was said to have dedicated a magnificent cathedral there, which was enlarged and adorned for centuries, till it was consumed by fire in 1087. Another fire in 1135 consumed the next building. It was again rebuilt. In 1315 the structure had a tower steeple 285 feet high, and a spire and then a cross at the summit. The total height was 527 feet. And this spire in 1341 and 1444 was struck by lightning. Again in 1561 the lightning caught and destroyed it and the building also. This was thought a national calamity, and the Crown, the nobles, and the Church recognised the duty to rebuild it; subscriptions poured in, in 1566 it was nearlyrestored except the steeple, and Queen Elizabeth was greatly displeased that the city authorities had not exerted themselves to complete this part also. James I., admitting the poverty of the Crown, stirred the bishop and appointed a commission to repair the fabric. In 1620 the King on horseback visited the city to attend a service there and keep up the public interest. He entered the church at the west door, and knelt and prayed near the brazen pillar; the choir chanted an anthem, and the bishop preached from the text: “Thy servants think upon her stones, and it pitieth them to see her in the dust” (Psalm cii. 14). Another royal commission was issued, and Inigo Jones, the King’s surveyor, was one of that body; but little was done. Under Charles I., Laud, Bishop of London, laboured to collect funds, and the High Commission Court, which fined people for all sorts of delinquencies, gave the proceeds to that work, so that it was made a common jest that St. Paul’s was restored out of the sins of the people. Inigo Jones, who was an Italian by birth, designed a portico at the west front; and a Turkey merchant, named Sir Paul Pindar, gave £100,000 to restore the interior and decorate it. The steeple still remained unfinished. During the Rebellion the cathedral suffered, and at the Restoration the authorities consulted Sir Christopher Wren, the great architect, as to the best mode of repair, and great changes were contemplated. Just at that time the Great Fire of London, in 1666, destroyed it. The rebuilding of St. Paul’s then again became a great national work, and commissioners were appointed to erect a new church. All sources were examined for contributions, and the coal duty granted by Parliament supplied a chief part. Sir C. Wren was designated the architect, and he planned the present cathedral, slightly varying the site. St. Peter’s at Rome had been the work of twenty Popes, but St. Paul’s had the advantage of having one architect and a more harmonious design. It has ever been considered the grandest and most beautiful church in Europe. The first stone was laid in 1675 by Sir C. Wren, without any parade or ceremonial. The foundations gave great trouble. At the east end he had to bore down forty feet and build a solid pier of masonry ten feet square. In 1697 the cathedral was first opened with great pomp on a thanksgiving day for the Peace of Ryswick. In 1715 Sir C. Wren saw his son lay the highest stone of the lantern of the cupola. All London poured forth to watch this spectacle. Yet Wren had been worried for years, and thwarted in his matchless plans by the little busybodies and bishops of the time. The height on the south side is 365 feet. Wren hadplans for the painting of the cupola, but, against his wishes, that work was given to Sir James Thornhill, then a high authority, but whose ponderous figures and groups were wholly unsuited to the building, which ought to have been decorated by the free, delicate, and brilliant colouring of a Correggio. The total sum expended on the cathedral was said to be £736,752.
CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL.
The site of Canterbury Cathedral is said to be the same as the primitive Roman or British church attributed to King Lucius, and is the earliest monument of the English union of Church and State. Canterbury was the first English Christian city. It differs from all other cathedrals, English and foreign, in the great height of the choir above the crypt below, and the numerous steps which are consequently necessary in order to reach it from the nave. Part of the skull of St. Dunstan is among the relics enclosed in a silver reliquary. There are also pieces of Aaron’s rod, some of the clay from which Adam was made, and the right arm of “our dear lord the knight St. George.” The screen is the work of Prior Henry de Estria, in 1304, being 14 feet high, and of great beauty. The choir is the longest in England, being 180 feet. When Becket was murdered in 1170, he was dragged from his chamber along the cloister by the monks, and he was entering the choir by a door now called the martyr’s transept when he was stopped by the knights and fought and fell. The great window of the north transept, the gift of Edward IV., had originally seven glorious appearances of the Virgin with Becket in the centre; but in 1642 it was demolished by Richard Culmer, an iconoclast. When the pilgrims used to flock to Becket’s shrine, they knelt in the sacristy, where Becket’s staff and his bloody handkerchief were shown. The tomb of Edward the Black Prince and his coat of mail were always shown here. Cromwell was said to have carried off the sword. The archbishop’s palace, close to the precincts, has left no trace except an old arched doorway. Yet in that palace Henry VIII. and Queen Catherine and Charles V. were entertained, and had a solemn dancing party. Queen Elizabeth was also feasted there. The Puritans pillaged and ruined the building, which was never afterwards restored.
YORK MINSTER.
York Minster (monasterium) was rebuilt soon after 1352, and has perhaps the greatest reputation of all the English cathedrals,replacing the more ancient Eboracum, a Roman city. Dignity and massive splendour distinguish the exterior. It exceeds the other English cathedrals in the height of its roof, being 102 feet high in the choir. Its western front is architecturally magnificent. The large west window is nearly the same size as that of Carlisle, which last is considered by Mr. Fergusson “without a single exception the most beautiful design for window tracery in the world.” The great eastern window, the chief glory, is a great wall of glass 78 feet high, and the largest in England that retains its original glazing. The exquisite and unique effect of the tall windows, rising from the floor to the roof, and occupying the whole width of the transept, is a most felicitous effort of architectural skill. The stained glass in the nave is the most extensive collection in the kingdom of the art of the fourteenth century; and it was little injured at the Reformation. The relics of Archbishop William of York, who had been interred in 1154, were removed in presence of Edward I. to another part of the building. His head was kept by itself in a reliquary of silver gilt and covered with jewels. The vestry contains the horn of Ulphus, made of an elephant’s tusk, the work of the eleventh century, and presented on the altar by a great lord of Yorkshire, in token of his bestowing certain lands on the church of St. Peter. The minster bell in the north-west tower is the largest in England, weighing 10 tons 15 cwt. Between Canterbury and York there had been incessant disputes for precedence; but a great synod held in 1072 made the northern province of England formally inferior to the southern. This decision was reversed by the Pope in 1125. The contest continuing, the Pope in 1354 settled it by treating the two provinces as independent of each other, but that the title of York should be Primate of England, while Canterbury was to be Primate of all England. One of the archbishops, St. John of Beverley, in 705, was the most famous of the northern saints next to St. Cuthbert. Henry IV. and his Queen visited the shrine of this St. John after the victory of Agincourt, and attributed that victory greatly to the intercession of the saint. Another of the archbishops was St. William, who was first elected in 1143, deposed by the Pope in 1147, but re-elected in 1154, at which date he had become very popular, being welcomed by a vast crowd, some of whom fell through the wooden bridge into the Ouse, but were saved by a miracle performed by the saint.
DURHAM CATHEDRAL.
A cathedral was built in 875 at Chester-le-Street, but this see was transferred in 995 to Durham, which was then a thick wood, one object being to find a safe deposit for the body of St. Cuthbert. Durham alone among English cities has its highest point crowned with the minster and the vast castle of its prince bishop, the building being erected about 1090. Like Lausanne or Chur or Sitten, the bishop was also a powerful chief. Its situation is most picturesque, and in that respect resembles Lincoln and Ely cathedrals. Dr. Johnson said this building gave the impression of “rocky solidity and indeterminate duration.” On the north door is a grotesque knocker with a ring, which is a relic of the ancient practice of criminals flying for sanctuary to a church. When the murderer reached this knocker and seized the ring, two monks who sat constantly on the watch within opened the door, and then rang a bell in the Galilee tower to announce that an arrival had taken place. The criminal then put on a black gown, and was maintained safe from pursuit for thirty-seven days, after which he was bound to banish himself by setting off to the nearest vessel bound seaward; and he went off with a white cross in his hand. The altar of the Venerable Bede, one of our great early historians, who died in 735, is a feature of this cathedral and the work of the twelfth century. At that time it was deemed the highest virtue to steal relics, and Elfrid the priest in 1022 was warned in a vision to seek the relics of various holy persons buried in different parts of Northumbria, and display them to the veneration of the faithful. So he went and brought the remains of Boisel, the prior of Melrose, who had received St. Cuthbert when a youth. Elfrid also stole the relics of the Venerable Bede from the monks of Jarrow, and placed them in the shrine of St. Cuthbert in Durham Cathedral. The nine altars dedicated to the Archangel Michael, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Cuthbert, and other saints stand against the eastern wall, and the architecture is greatly admired. Here also is the shrine of St. Cuthbert, a treasure more precious than gold or topaz. Pilgrims innumerable have here worn holes in the pavement. The shrine is a superb work of gold and enamel, hung round with jewels and ornaments offered by great lords and princes. So precious was this spot that some monk sat night and day in a watching chamber. The body of Cuthbert had at first been buried in Lindisfarne Church, and when his coffin was opened eleven years after, he was found to be uncorrupt and perfect, more like asleeping than a dead man. And even so late as 1540, when another view was taken, the body was still found quite whole and uncorrupt, the face bare and the beard as of a fortnight’s growth, all the vestments as usual, and crosier of gold lying beside him. In 1827 the tomb was again opened, and a skeleton found with some vestments once rich, a girdle, two bracelets, and a golden cross set with garnets; these are now preserved in the library. The piers of this cathedral have the peculiarity of having ornamentations of zigzags and lattice-work very prominent. This is thought to be striking and powerful, and admirably in keeping with the massive grandeur of the architecture. St. Cuthbert was said to have great suspicion and dislike to women, the origin of which is variously accounted for, and the cross of blue stones in the pavement which extends across the bay immediately below the great north door is said to have been the ancient limit beyond which women were not allowed to advance into the church of this austere saint. It is related that in 1153 one Helisend, a damsel in attendance on the Queen of David of Scotland, entered the church in the disguise of a monk, but was detected by St. Cuthbert and ignominiously expelled. And in 1333, when Queen Philippa, who had accompanied Edward III. to Durham, had been received at the prior’s house, and this came to the knowledge of the community, they were so enraged that in the middle of the night she had to rise and go half dressed into the castle.
WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL.
The Winchester cathedral was begun in 1079, to supersede other less convenient sites. The length is 520 feet, exceeding that of any other cathedral on this side of the Alps with the exception of Ely, which is 560 feet, and of Canterbury, about 570 feet. These three and St. Peter’s at Rome, which is 607 feet long, are said to be the longest in existence. The forest of piers in the interior of Winchester soon rivets the eye. William of Wykeham, one of the bishops, in 1367, and soon after Lord Chancellor, was a great architect and engineer, and he superintended for seven years the great works of Edward III. at Windsor. He was an opponent of John of Gaunt, the patron of Wicliff. William founded Winchester College, and was a munificent patron of learning in his day.
OXFORD CATHEDRAL.
The origin of the cathedral of Christ Church, Oxford, is identified with the legend of St. Frideswide, a Saxon lady, who wasbrought up to venerate the Church, and in order to escape her suitor, the son of a king, fled with twelve companions, reached a nunnery at Oxford, and died there after several vicissitudes in 740. She worked many miracles. The church of her convent was rebuilt in 1111, and it continued to flourish till 1523, when Wolsey suppressed it. The college of Christ Church was soon afterwards commenced, and the present see of Oxford was founded in 1542 out of the ancient diocese of Lincoln. Roger of Wendover says that St. Frideswide’s suitor, when entering Oxford with his followers to take her by force, was suddenly blinded by a heavenly stroke. Perceiving that he was punished for his pertinacity, he sent to Frideswide and entreated her intercession with the Lord. The virgin prayed to God, and at her prayer the young man recovered his sight as quickly as he had before been struck with blindness. From this cause the kings of England have always been afraid to enter that city, for it is said to be fatal to them, and they are unwilling to test the truth of it at their own peril. The virgin constructed a monastery there, and herself presided over the company of pious virgins there assembled.
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.
This cathedral arose out of the ruins of an abbey founded in the seventh century by Penda, the first Christian king of Mercia. The abbey was of great distinction, and took up high ground, and it was a rule that all visitors of whatever rank should put off their shoes before entering the precincts of Peterborough the proud. A visit to it was deemed almost as great an event as a visit to Rome. The cathedral was begun about 1118. The west front, as a portico, is claimed to be the grandest in Europe, though wanting in the accompaniments which would enable it to rival some of the great façades of Continental cathedrals. It consists of three enormous arches of great height, the central one being rather narrower than the other two. The lofty flat roof, 81 feet high, is painted in lozenges, with a figure of some saint in each centre, the only other flat painted roof being that of the cathedral of St. Albans. The retro-choir, built in 1438, is admired for the beautiful fan tracery of the roof. This cathedral is very deficient in stained glass. It was well furnished in this respect till Cromwell’s troops broke open the doors, shattered the windows, destroyed the organ, and broke in pieces the superb reredos of carved stone, painted gilt, and inlaid with plates of silver. The soldiers fired at the evangelists in the roof, rioted in wanton spoil, and theyperformed their military exercises daily in the nave of the cathedral. The body of Mary, Queen of Scots, six months after her execution, was buried in this cathedral, and there remained for twenty-five years, when her son James I. removed it to Westminster Abbey.
SALISBURY CATHEDRAL.
The cathedral of Salisbury was begun in 1220, the former one having been built by St. Oswald in the fortified town or castle of Old Sarum, on a higher ground near the present place. The present site was said to be chosen by an arrow shot from the ramparts of Old Sarum, or, as some prefer it, by a vision of the Virgin who appeared to Bishop Poore. One of the bishops was William Ayscough, the most learned man of his day, who in Jack Cade’s insurrection in 1450 was seized while celebrating Mass and brutally murdered by the mob, and his vestments divided by lot as memorials. This cathedral, built about 1225, while Westminster Abbey was begun in 1245, ranks next to the latter as the choicest great building in England. On the Continent the great rival of Salisbury is Amiens Cathedral; but though it covers nearly twice as much ground as Salisbury, its high roof dwarfs the steeple. Much of the painted glass here was removed during the Reformation times, but the cathedral was not much injured during the Civil War. In 1782 an ignorant architect was said to have done much mischief by so-called improvements. The central spire of Salisbury, the loftiest in England, is said to be about 400 feet high; but Amiens is 20 feet higher than Salisbury, the highest in the world being Cologne and Strasburg, which last is 468 feet.
WELLS CATHEDRAL.
Wells Cathedral is earlier than any other in Great Britain, for a legend ascribes its origin to Joseph of Arimathæa, who, with eleven companions, arrived soon after the Crucifixion and built a chapel at Glastonbury, and this was even said to be the first church erected in all Christendom. A bishopric was said to be founded at Wells about 904, an abbot of Glastonbury being the first bishop. The cathedral, though one of the smallest, is the most beautiful in England, its group of well-proportioned towers and pinnacles having an enhanced beauty from the picturesqueness of the situation. It suffered considerably in the troublous times of Monmouth’s rebellion, when the rebels tore the lead off the roofto make bullets, and wantonly defaced many ornaments. The great west front contains some choice sculptures, such as can only be equalled by Rheims and Chartres. The breadth of the front is greater than that of Notre Dame or of Amiens, being 147 feet, and thus gives great scope for the variety of the sculpture. There are in the whole of the west front about three hundred figures, half of which are life-size, being those of kings, queens, princes, knights, and mitred ecclesiastics, saints, martyrs, and angels, the whole being a glorious company and goodly fellowship of prophets and worthies. Altogether this is one of the most impressive church fronts either in England or on the Continent.
SOME OTHER ENGLISH CATHEDRALS.
The cathedral ofNorwicharose out of a more ancient cathedral built at Dummoc, now Dunwich, on the coast of Suffolk, in 630; afterwards another was substituted at Elmham in Norfolk, and in 1075 again transferred to Thetford, and in 1091 the place was finally fixed at Norwich. In 1094 the cathedral of Norwich was commenced. The nave is the longest in England except St. Albans, which is 300 feet long, while Norwich is only 250 feet.
The cathedral ofCarlislewas begun in 1121, though it was soon destroyed by fire, and was rebuilt in 1353. The famous window at the east end has in its lower part more lights or divisions (being nine) than any other decorated window in existence. Its upper portion exhibits the most beautiful design for window tracery in the world, all its parts being in exquisite harmony.
TheExetercathedral was begun in 1107, as an example of the marvellous and sumptuous architecture of the Normans, and was considered as a powerful contrast to the simple Saxon building it displaced. The west front has in its lower part three rows of figures of apostles, saints, kings, and a few Old Testament characters; and the whole is architecturally of great beauty. The roof of the nave, with its slender vaulting shafts and delicate carving, is graceful and light, and the clustered pillars of Purbeck marble contrast well with the lighter stone of the walls and roof. The minstrels’ gallery is unique, with its row of winged angels in front, each playing on a musical instrument, one of these instruments being a bagpipe. The organ, built in 1665, is said to be the most ancient in actual use.
A monastery for both men and women had been founded atElyin 673 by St. Etheldreda, which the Danes destroyed. It was rebuilt afterwards, and in 1109 this monastery was made the seat of a new bishopric taken out of the great diocese of Lincoln,and the cathedral built to the north of the old monastery. This church, which is 565 feet long, is often said to be the longest Gothic church in Europe, although others, like the cathedral of Milan, cover more ground. The roof of the nave is decorated with painted figures, and so is the vaulted roof of the octagon.
The diocese ofLincolnwas once the greatest in England, till it was subdivided in the reign of Henry VIII. About 1072 the present cathedral was begun, being a substitute for three older sites of smaller sees. It was destroyed by an earthquake, and rebuilt by St. Hugh of Lincoln, then bishop. In grandeur of situation this cathedral has no equal in England. The stone of which it is built becomes black, but is very durable, and retains its sharpness of outlines. In the great central tower is the bell called Great Tom of Lincoln, founded in 1610, the third in size, being exceeded by Oxford and Exeter.
An old nunnery was founded atGloucesterin 681, and this fell into the hands of the Benedictine monks, who in 1088 began to build a new church. A fire having destroyed it twice, the cathedral was begun about 1239. The great central tower is only ten feet lower than that of Canterbury, built about the same time. The monks themselves were said to have laboured at the roof of it. The great east window is the largest in England, and owing to an ingenious construction is wider than the side walls which contain it; it is also filled with the finest stained glass of the period in this country. At the back of this window is a passage, 75 feet long, which is called the Whispering Gallery, owing to the great facility with which the slightest sound or movement at one end can be heard at the other end.
Like Salisbury, theChichestercathedral has a spire, which is 271 feet high; and being in that respect 130 feet lower than the former, it is a saying in the locality that the master mason built Salisbury spire and his man Chichester spire. The spire has an ingenious plan inside the top, devised by Sir Christopher Wren, for keeping it from being blown down and counteracting the force of the wind. The spire is exactly central. On entering the nave the eye is at once caught by the five aisles, a peculiarity which distinguishes this cathedral and that of Manchester from all the others, and grand effects of light and shade are produced by those five aisles. Chichester Cathedral was first completed in 1108. One of its bishops was Reginald Pecock, who flourished in 1450, and was considered a great champion of the clergy against the rising Lollards, whom he sneered at as “The Bible-men.”
A church of an Augustinian monastery was adopted as thecathedral ofBristolwhen the latter see was created in 1542. It is a cathedral without a nave, the latter portion having once existed; but being removed for a purpose, it was never restored. The east window, filling the whole of the end above the reredos, is of singular beauty in tracery and design.
The see ofHerefordexisted before the arrival of St. Augustine, and the cathedral was rebuilt in 1012 from the foundations. St. Thomas Cantilupe was one of the bishops, and his relics were brought from Italy, where he died in 1282 on his way to Rome, and wrought many miracles long afterwards. He was canonised in 1320. In the library are many ancient volumes, all chained in the manner not uncommon in the first century after printing was discovered.
The church of the monastery of St. Mary was adopted for the see ofWorcesterabout 680. St. Dunstan was a bishop from 957 to 961. A new minster was then built by Oswald; but being too small, a larger building was begun by Wulfstan about 1084. The great Norman tower fell in 1175, which was said to be a common incident in that style of building. The present tower was built in 1374.
The cathedral ofLichfieldwas supposed to be built about 1154. Its west front is scarcely exceeded by any other cathedral in grace of outline and in the harmony of its general design. The nave is also admirable for beauty and gracefulness.
SOME WELSH CATHEDRALS.
The see ofLlandaffwas founded in the sixth century, and the cathedral was begun in 1120 to replace a small church on the same site. But the building became wholly dilapidated, and was only restored in very modern times. Yet it is said this is the most ancient of all the sees in Great Britain.
St. Asaphwas a see founded in the sixth century, like the other Welsh sees. The cathedral is small and plain, but stands in a picturesque situation, and was in recent times restored.
Bangorsee is of equal antiquity with the others, and the cathedral, which is small and plain, has also been restored.
The see ofSt. David’swas supposed to be founded in the sixth century, and St. David, a Welsh saint, removed it from Caerleon in Monmouthshire, which was too near the heathen English and in too populous a district. St. David went to Jerusalem, and was consecrated by the patriarch. He was a great worker of miracles in his time, according to the popular legends.