Square Lanterns with Eight-Part Vaults

Fig. 56.—Blois, Saint Nicholas.

Fig. 57.—Florence, Pazzi Chapel.

Fig. 58.—Worms, Cathedral.

any wall rib. These “Gothic domes” were frequently polygonal as well as circular. Thus in the cathedral of Worms(Fig. 58)there is an octagonal lantern, on squinches, surmounted by a vault with eight cells of decidedly domical type, the whole being only slightly different from a lobed dome. A more developed double chevet, dating from the second half of the fifteenth century, appears over the crossing of the cathedral of Evreux (Eure),[324]where there is also a complete system of ribs.[325]The form of the pendentives is that of flat triangles, and they are decorated with elaborate designs in flamboyant tracery. Similar flat triangles but with a series of mouldings at the top, are used to support the octagonal lantern of Coutances cathedral(Fig. 59), perhaps the most beautiful in France, and apparently dating from the second half of the thirteenth century. Its vault is in sixteen cells, two to each lantern wall, and eachcontaining a lofty window, the whole clerestory rising above a lower stage of coupled arches with a narrow passage behind them.

Fig. 59.—Coutances, Cathedral.

A crossing vault of similar character, but with a change in the arrangement of the ribs, which form an eight-pointed star around a central octagonal opening, is to be seen in the cathedral of Saragossa in Spain (after 1500),[326]while the final stage in such vaulting, in which the ribs become merely a framework beneath a flat ceiling, but nevertheless a framework of elaborate and beautiful design, may be seen over the crossing of the cathedral of Burgos (finished 1568).[327]

There now remain for discussion lantern towers of square plan. This was the form almost universally employed in Normandy, England, and churches which came under Norman influence, especially in the earlier Gothic period. During the Romanesque epoch such lanterns were wooden roofed. But with the introduction of the ribbed vault, an eight-part vault was devised for this crossing, whose severies were precisely like thoseabove the windows in six-part vaulting, from which, in fact, this new type probably developed.

Most of the towers originally wooden roofed have since been vaulted, and it is therefore difficult to judge of their original character. Their imposing interior appearance, however, may be judged from the ruins of the abbey church of Jumièges (1040-1067). It would seem, from the places for beam ends left in the wall, that such lanterns as this were generally roofed with a flat ceiling above the first stage of openings, the second series probably forming a belfry. It is natural, therefore, when vaulting comes in, to find it placed at the level of the former flat ceiling with only the lower openings used as windows, leaving the walls above to offset the thrusts of the vault by their downward pressure. A somewhat rudimentary vault of this eight-part character may be seen in Saint Georges-de-Boscherville,[328]in which the wall arches are omitted and all the ribs made to spring from corbels. This, of course, is because the Norman Romanesque crossings were not originally planned for vaulting. A little later, wall ribs were regularly used, and in Saint Yved at Braisne (consecrated 1215)[329]the four major ribs have their supports running all the way to the floor, while in the cathedral of Laon (after 1165)(Fig. 60)even the eight wall ribs which rise from the corners of the tower are similarly carried down. Of course the intermediate ribs necessarily rise from corbels, but in the developed crossings of this type such corbels are placed as near as possible to the crowns of the four great arches of the nave, choir, and transepts. Similar lanterns are to be seen in the church of Notre Dame at Cluny, and in Saint Maclou at Rouen (lantern cir. 1511),[330]where, however, ridge ribs are added in each of the eight cells.

Notwithstanding the examples cited, the use of a lantern is not common in developed Gothic architecture. This is perhaps due to the fact that the rapidly increasing size of the clerestory made such an addition to the lighting equipment unnecessary, though it is more probable that the great height of many of the churches rendered the construction of a tower over the crossing a dangerous undertaking. Even in the less lofty churches ofEngland, where a central tower is almost invariably found, the latter is frequently closed from below by a vault.

Fig. 60.—Laon, Cathedral.

Where there is no lantern, the vault of the crossing is generally a continuation of that of the nave or transepts. It is, therefore, often of simple four-part cross-ribbed type, with or without a domed up crown.[331]Certain of the Gothic builders, however, even in the early thirteenth century, realized the advantage to be gained by subdividing the cells of the crossing vault with ridge ribs. Hence in the abbey church of Fossanova (consecrated in 1208),[332]as well as in those at Casamari and Arbona[333]inItaly, and in many churches of France,[334]especially those of Anjou type,[335]transverse and longitudinal ridge ribs were used and in most instances the vault was considerably domed up. In Amiens cathedral (cir. 1265) the crossing vault, nearly forty feet square and about one hundred and forty feet from the ground, was further subdivided by a single pair of tiercerons in each of the major severies, and the eight central panels thus formed were raised at the crown to reduce the thrusts of the vault as well as the amount of centering necessary for its construction. After its introduction at Amiens this form of crossing was quite extensively employed, sometimes with its ridge ribs running completely across the bay, as for example, in Auxerre cathedral, sometimes running only to the keystone of the tiercerons, as in Bayonne and Troyes cathedrals or Saint Euverte at Orleans.

With the use of many added ribs in other portions of the church, came a corresponding elaboration in the vaults of the crossing. Thus many examples might be cited of lierne and tierceron vaulting in all degrees of complexity, especially in England,[336]while fan vaulting is to be seen in the abbey church of Bath (cir. 1500-1590),[337]and pendant vaults of elaborate character in Saint Étienne-du-Mont at Paris (probably cir. 1550-1600). Occasionally also the transept is subdivided by a central row of piers in which case the vault of the crossing is in two bays.[338]It is unnecessary, however, to discuss at length these exceptional crossing types since they do not differ structurally from the vaulting systems already described in connection with the nave.

The traditional method of terminating the church edifice at the end reserved for the clergy was by means of a semicircular or polygonal apse, and this method, which was of Roman origin, continued to be followed in the majority of Romanesque and Gothic churches. Such apses gave to the interior of the edifice a more dignified appearance than was possible with a flat east wall, by avoiding the abrupt termination which the latter produced and by emphasizing the central point in the sanctuary, which was occupied by the high altar in most of the mediaeval churches.

Once adopted from Roman architecture as a standard part of the church plan, the construction of the apse was naturally based upon Roman models, and since these were always vaulted with a half dome of masonry, similar half domes were employed by the Christian builders of the early mediaeval period. During the Romanesque era, these half domes were almost always of stone laid in horizontal courses, supported by substantial walls of semicircular or polygonal plan. They opened directly into a transept or a tunnel-vaulted choir. The earliest of these half domes were of semicircular elevation, but the pointed form made its appearance in the late eleventh or early twelfth century in many churches. In both forms, the principles of construction are the same.

It is a characteristic of the half dome that it exerts a large amount of downward pressure and but little outward thrust, particularly if it be of pointed section. For this reason, such a vault requires a firm support but only a slight amount of buttressing. As long, therefore, as the half domerested directly upon comparatively low exterior walls, it had plenty of support, and it was even possible to pierce the walls with windows without endangering its stability. But with the increase in height of the more developed Romanesque churches and the introduction of ambulatories, it became difficult to light the sanctuary and still retain the half dome.

Two methods were evolved for overcoming this difficulty. The first, which may be seen in the abbey church at Cunault (Maine-et-Loire) (second half of twelfth century),[339]consisted in the construction of a lofty ambulatory opening into the apse through arches rising to the impost of the half dome, or even slightly above it, and resting upon piers of as slender proportions as possible, so that, although the sanctuary was deprived of all direct light, a certain amount was obtained from windows in the outer wall of the ambulatory or from the radiating chapels, while, at the same time, the vault of this ambulatory aided in the support of the apse and vice versa. Such a system, though structurally correct, was not entirely satisfactory. The sanctuary and choir were the portions of the church most in need of lighting, since they contained the altar and the seats for the monks or clergy by whom the services were chanted, and indirect light was bound to be insufficient.

The second method, which may be seen in the church of Saint Savin (Vienne) (eleventh century),[340]consisted in reducing the height of the ambulatory, even when this involved making it lower than the side aisles, and then placing a clerestory above the ambulatory arches beneath the springing of the half dome. This may be considered as the best type of apsidal termination developed during the purely Romanesque period. It was only when the half dome was discarded that a satisfactory solution was finally reached in the development of the chevet vault. There were, however, two important series of ribbed half domes, the second of which, at least, may have had some bearing upon the evolution of the chevet type.

The first series lies largely in southern France in the Romanesque school of Provence. Here there are a certain number of churches, among them the chapel of Saint Honorat in Les Alyscamps at Arles(Bouches-du-Rhône) (eleventh century?), in which the surface of the half dome is broken out at regular intervals into a number of flat, pilaster-like, radiating strips, forming a part of the actual masonry of the vault. These divide the half dome in much the same manner as true Gothic ribs, but they do not support it in any way and seem to have been used for the decoration which such a change in the surface of the vault produced.[341]As a general rule, these ribs radiate from a point slightly back from the crown of the apse arch and often from a raised masonry ring as in the chapel just cited. They vary, however, both in number, thickness and width, some being comparatively thick and widening out from the central keystone as in the cathedral of Notre Dame-des-Doms at Avignon (Vaucluse), others being but slightly salient and of the same width throughout like those in Saint Honorat at Arles.

Much larger in number and extent is the second series of churches with rib-vaulted apses, though they are in general of later date than those in Provence. Their radiants have a certain structural character, for they are independent of the vault surface and were doubtless erected in most cases as a permanent centering to aid in the construction of the half dome. They do not, however, aid to any extent in its support, for the courses of masonry in the vaults are still horizontal and concentric with the curve of the apse, and the completed half domes would therefore stand just as well were the ribs removed. It may be that they were introduced in order to make the apse correspond more closely in appearance with the ribbed vault which had in many cases been introduced in the naves of the churches in which the ribbed half domes are found. In any event, they mark a stage in apse vaulting between the simple half dome and the developed chevet, which is worthy of careful consideration. Most of these vaults date from the second quarter of the twelfth century and are to be found within the zone of influence of the Ile-de-France, though occasionally an example is found at a long distance from this center as in the case of Sant’ Abondioat Como,[342]Santa Maria di Castello at Corneto-Tarquinia in Italy,[343]and such churches as that of the Monasterio de la Oliva (Navarra) in Spain,[344](1198). The number of ribs varies considerably, though two is most common particularly in the smaller churches and chapels.[345]Of these, the church at Morienval (Oise)(Fig. 77)furnishes a good, though recently reconstructed, example, while Saint Georges-de-Boscherville(Fig. 61)may be cited as possessing a large apse of similar character.

The important thing in a comparison of these two vaults is the difference in the lighting of the completed apse. At Boscherville, it was a simple matter to pierce the exterior wall with windows, in this case in two stages, and still keep their crowns practically below the level of the impost of the half dome, since the latter rested directly upon the outer walls. But at Morienval there was an ambulatory, and in order to get a clerestory above its arches, the windows had to be cut into the curved surface of the half dome itself, with the result that they were so deep as to prove of only limited usefulness. Other examples could be cited where this same attempt is made to obtain sufficiently large windows by shoving their heads into the half dome,[346]while at Beaulieu (Corrèze)[347]the windows lie entirely above the impost.

Besides the ribbed half dome just described, there is still another type to be seen in the Lady chapel of the church of Saint Martin-des-Champs at Paris(Fig. 65). Its plan is a trefoil and the vault is made up of a seriesof segments of domes with salient ribs marking their intersections. As far as construction is concerned, there is really no change from that of the more common half dome, for the courses of masonry are still horizontal and the ribs merely serve as centering and as a means of subdividing the surface to be vaulted and clearly marking the lines of intersection. The vault would stand equally well were the ribs removed and is, in structural character, very similar to the celled domes of the Villa Adriana at Tivoli and of S.S. Sergius and Bacchus at Constantinople.

Fig. 61.—Saint Martin-de-Boscherville, Saint Georges.

“Groined Half Domes”

Another form of apse vault of which there would seem to be a number of examples prior to the introduction of ribbed vaulting may perhaps be termed the “groined half dome.” It is a vault resembling a segmentaldome except that the segments do not run down to a common impost, but form a series of window cells not unlike those of a groined vault but not running all the way to the vault crown. The earliest of these vaults appears to be that in the crypt of Saint Laurent at Grenoble (Isère) (sixth century).[348]Rivoira has shown[349]that Roman prototypes of this form can be found in the so-called “Temple di Siepe” (second century) at Rome, the vestibule of the Villa Adriana at Tivoli (125-135) and elsewhere. There are also a number of Romanesque examples. Of these, one is in the chapel off the south transept of Saint Nicholas at Caen (1080-1093),[350]while another is to be found in Saint Andrew’s chapel at Canterbury cathedral (cir. 1110).[351]These vaults closely resemble the true Gothic chevet which was soon to follow them, and they might seem to be its prototypes were it not for the fact that their construction is of an entirely different character. All are built of small stone or rubble and were undoubtedly laid up on a wooden centering with no particular regard for the direction in which the masonry courses ran, or possibly with these courses like those in a half dome. The construction was thus a combination of half dome and groined vaulting and not at all of the ribbed type. That they may, however, have been of influence in the development of the true chevet will be later suggested.

A final type of rather primitive vaulting which was subsequent to the introduction of ribbed vaulting but would seem to be prior to the use or at least to the extensive knowledge of the chevet, consisted in the employment of a simple four-part vault over the semicircle of the apse (Plate II-a.).[352]The result was an awkward kind of chevet vault which is worthy of consideration as perhaps having a part in the development of the true Gothic form. It might properly be called a four-part cross-ribbed apse vault.

PLATE II

By the middle of the twelfth century, all the methods of apse vaulting thus far described, were abandoned[353]in favor of the ribbed Gothic chevet[354]which was then developed. In this new vault the masonry courses are no longer horizontal and concentric but run in a generally perpendicular direction from a series of radiating ribs, which have a common keystone, to a wall rib or a curved line of intersection above the heads of a series of apse windows in whole or in part above the level of the impost of the radiants. In other words, the chevet vault consists of a series of triangular severies, each essentially like one quarter of a four-part cross-ribbed vault.

The evolution of this developed chevet from the earlier types of apse vaulting already discussed is difficult to trace and in fact it seems most reasonable to imagine that it was a spontaneous transformation which did not require any intermediate steps. It has, for instance, been pointed out that the greatest problem of the apse builder was to place a clerestory of good sized windows above the ambulatory arcade or at least as high as possible in the apse wall and at the same time to keep the pressures and thrusts of his vault at the lowest possible point. Imagine then a builder with this in mind starting to construct a ribbed half dome with windows rising above its impost. Suppose that the radiating ribs were first constructed and the space to be vaulted thus divided into triangular compartments. Now assume that the builder was familiar with the four-part cross-ribbed vault—a reasonable assumption since everything seems to point to an earlier date for such vaults than for the ribbed chevet. Would he not be prompt to see that a series of clerestory windows could be built around the apse precisely like those along the walls of nave or choir and each triangular space thus formed, be covered by one quarter of four-part vault? Is not this especially reasonable in view of the fact that there existed groined vaults of just this type,[355]exactly as there existed groined prototypes out of which sprang the simple four-part cross-ribbed vault?Furthermore, if the peculiar four-part apse vaults described as sometimes employed in transitional churches are any or all of them earlier than the earliest of the true chevets, would it not seem as if the builders were bent upon using quadripartite vaulting of some form, even over the apse, in order to obtain a clerestory? Whatever the true process of evolution may have been, it is at least possible that the above explanations are correct and that the chevet vault developed directly from the difficulty of placing windows beneath the ribbed half dome. If such was the case another type of vault would seem to have owed its origin in large part to the lighting problem.

Once introduced, four types of chevet vault were gradually established, not counting the variation which each of them underwent. For convenience these will be called the radiating-ribbed type, the broken-ribbed type, the buttressing-ribbed type, and finally the diagonal or cross-ribbed type. Each will be considered in turn and an effort made to trace their consecutive development.

The chronology of these vaults is very difficult to determine. In fact, it is probably safe to assume that the earliest example, if there were not a number of these vaults simultaneously constructed, has disappeared. In any event, it would seem that the vault must have been first used somewhere between 1130 and 1150 as there are several existing examples which date from this period. If these cannot be arranged in any certain order, they may at least, be used to show the form of the early chevets.

Perhaps the most primitive, in appearance at least, is that above the transept of Tournai cathedral(Fig. 53)in which, as has been noted,[356]the extrados of each rib is built up until it forms a flat sloping upper surface, each cell of the vault proper rising from the ramps thus formed. Next to this vault at Tournai, and as a matter of fact, probably of earlier date though of more developed type are the two chevet vaults of Largny (Aisne) (cir. 1140).[357]and Azy-Bonneil (Aisne),[358]—which are three-celled,—and the one in the lower story of the chapel of the Bishop’s palace at Laon (cir. 1137-1147)(Fig. 62)with five cells. The latter shows their general characteristics. There are no wall ribs and the round-headed windows are only partly raised above the impost of the radiants while there abut against the keystone of the apsidal arch (Plate II-b.). It will be noticed also that this arch is greatly thickened to resist the pressure of these ribs, and at Tournai is preceded by a tunnel-vaulted bay to make this resistance even more secure.[359]

Fig. 62.—Laon, Chapel of the Bishop’s Palace.

But much more important than these smaller chevet vaults, are those of a number of large churches, also belonging to the second quarter of the twelfth century. Of these, Saint Germer-de-Fly[360](Fig. 63)has been most prominently brought to notice through Mr. Moore’s work on Gothic architecture. It is doubly of interest because it possesses chevet vaults of two distinct stages in the development of this new form. Thus in the original radiating chapels opening off the ambulatory,[361]three-part chevetvaults of the type described in the previous paragraph were employed, with this advance, namely the introduction of stilted, round-headed wall ribs. The vaults are still highly domed at the crown and it would seem very reasonable to suppose that they were completed before the vault of the great apse was begun.

Fig. 63.—Saint Germer-de-Fly, Abbey Church.

This latter shows an advance in construction beyond that hitherto seen. In the first place, the entire window is placed above the level of the impost of the radiants with a consequent raising of the vault surface above the windows and a great reduction in its domed-up character. The line of intersection of the vault cell with the apse wall, which is marked by a slightly pointed, stilted wall rib, resting upon slender shafts rising from the clerestory string-course, is almost perpendicular from the impost of the radiants to a point about at their haunch. Thus the lower portion of the masonry panel is really a flat wall resting upon the ribs. The object of thebuilders in thus constructing their vault panels would seem to have been twofold, first to get a large space of pleasing shape for clerestory windows and secondly to aid in overcoming the thrusts of the radiating ribs. The first is perhaps the less important of the two, for the windows in the early chevets very rarely occupy all the space beneath the wall intersection. The second, however, furnishes a much better explanation of this form of panel. And this explanation would seem to lie, not so much in the fact that the stilted wall rib concentrated the thrust along a narrow strip of exterior wall where it could be met by exterior buttresses[362]but rather in the fact that the weight of such a flat wall, rising perpendicularly above the radiating rib, practically offset all of their outward thrusts by its downward pressure while the little which remained was taken care of by the thick walls characteristic of church construction in the Transitional period. Thus it is possible to account for the almost total lack of exterior abutment in such apses as this at Saint Germer-de-Fly, where only the slenderest of shafts are found along the exterior wall serving far more for decoration than for abutment.[363]That the stilting was not done primarily to concentrate the thrusts is further shown by the fact that in many of the later Gothic churches which were built long after the flying-buttress was perfected there is no attempt to stilt the wall rib, but the masonry of the vault is actually curved outward from the very springing of the radiants, which are raised to the impost of the window heads to give the vault this form.[364]

The highly stilted wall intersection with the consequent elevation of the clerestory window and flattening of the lower part of the vault cell constitutes the great structural advance in the chevet of Saint Germer. The employment of the wall rib, however, introduces an important matter for discussion. To be sure this is not by any means the first example of its use, for formerets may be found even in groined vaults, but it is one of the early examples on a large scale and may serve to introduce the question as to the part which these ribs played in Gothic architecture.

It has generally been maintained that the wall ribs were integral and important members of a true ribbed vault and that they actually aided in the support of the masonry panels. There are, however, a number of reasons for believing that this is not entirely so but that these ribs were comparatively unimportant as far as their relation to the vaults was concerned and were of much more importance, in the first place as cover joints, in the second as window heads, and in the third as relieving arches in the clerestory wall. Two important facts lend strength to the theory that the wall rib was not as a rule a supporting member. The first of these lies in the fact that it was quite frequently omitted even from vaults of the true Gothic form, and the second, in the fact that, when present, there are perhaps as many cases in which the curve of the vault fails to follow that of the rib as there are of the reverse condition. In fact, it is a question whether in the majority of cases the vault panel actually rests upon or even cuts into the face of the formeret. Take, for example, a number of chevet vaults[365]and examine them in this respect. At Saint Germer(Fig. 63)the wall rib is largely a relieving arch in the clerestory wall which is made much thinner beneath it; and while the curve of the chevet cells follows in general that of the arch, it does not exactly correspond with it. In the large chevet vault of Saint Remi at Reims(Fig. 64), and in many other vaults not over the apse, especially in the English churches and those in which a group of clerestory windows is found in each bay, no wall rib is used, showing that such a rib was not at all necessary as far as the construction and support of the vault was concerned. Moreover, in many of the churches in which a wall rib is used along the exact line of the vault surface, it is too small to act as a supporting member and would seem to be merely a cover-joint to hide the intersection of the vault surface with the clerestory wall.[366]Finally and most important of all are the cases in which this rib is used primarily as a window head. In some of these, asfor example in the apse of La Madeleine at Vézelay, and those of the cathedrals of Soissons(Fig. 67)and Chartres(Fig. 68), the curve of the vault corresponds with this window-head arch, but in many other apses such as those of Bourges cathedral(Fig. 76), of Saint Étienne at Caen(Fig. 70), and of the Sainte Chapelle at Saint Germer, the builders without hesitation curved their vault surface away from the line of the window-head which would otherwise be the natural wall rib.[367]Although from the preceding facts, it would seem evident that the wall rib was not an essential structural member of the Gothic vaulting system it may have been of advantage in many instances for holding a temporary wooden centering during the construction of the vault panels.

Fig. 64.—Reims, Saint Remi.

Returning again to the radiating-ribbed chevet, especially that of Saint Germer-de-Fly(Fig. 63), it is important to note the one great weakness which this vault possesses. It lies in the position of the radiating ribs which abut the apsidal arch at its crown, in other words at a point not at allsuited to meet the pressures which are thus brought to bear against it. A rather heavy arch between the apse and the remaining bay of the choir, though no heavier than those in the vaulted bays of the nave, aids in resisting the pressure but nevertheless such a vault is not strictly logical from a structural standpoint. It is not as well buttressed, for example, as the ribbed half dome of Saint Georges at Boscherville(Fig. 61), or the transept chevet at Tournai(Fig. 53), in which a tunnel vaulted bay precedes the arch against whose crown the radiants are brought to bear.

It is not surprising that this vault was but little used in subsequent Gothic architecture. It is possible, however, to cite a few examples, among them the cathedrals of Séez (Orne) (end of the thirteenth century), Cambrai (Nord) (cir. 1250), and Dinan (Côtes-du-Nord) (end of the thirteenth century), the cathedral of Saint Sauveur at Bruges (Belgium) (probably thirteenth century), and the abbey church of Moissac (Tarn) (probably fourteenth century). There is also a peculiar form in which the ribs are narrowed toward the crown, in Santa Maria sopra Minerva at Rome (after 1285). Two other slight variants of the type, one in the church of Saint Pierre-le-Guillard at Bourges and the other in the cathedral of Moulins are later discussed.

After that of Saint Germer-de-Fly, perhaps the next important chevet is that of Saint Martin-des-Champs at Paris(Fig. 65), which dates from about 1140-1150 and may possibly be the earliest of what will be termed broken-ribbed chevets. On the exterior, this apse closely resembles Saint Germer with no flying-buttresses and only very light exterior buttress-shafts. In the interior, however, there is a marked difference between the two, for the apse of Saint Martin-des-Champs is so constructed as to include not merely the bays actually on the curve, but one rectangular bay of the choir as well. The builders thus set themselves the problem of constructing a chevet vault with seven cells, over a space greater than a semicircle. If they had made all the radiants of such a vault meet at the crown of the transverse arch, there would have been a great disparity in the length of the ribs and a very awkward shape to the separate vault cells. To avoid this, and to do away with the pressure of the radiants at the crown of the apsidal arch, the builders moved the keystone of the radiating ribsback from this crown to a point where all of them become nearly equal in length. And since the bay with parallel sides was of practically the same size as four[368]of those making up the apse proper, the keystone fell very nearly on the transverse line between the two piers marking the eastern end of this bay (Plate II-c.). In none of the chevets of this type did it fall directly at the center of such a line, however, and it is this fact that differentiates the chevet vaults of broken-ribbed character from the slightly later and more developed buttressing-ribbed type. A vault like that at Saint Martin-des-Champs, marks an advance over that at Saint Germer in that the two western ribs furnish admirable abutment for the keystone of the vault, and the added choir bay gives a more spacious appearance to this portion of the church.

Fig. 65.—Paris, Saint Martin-des-Champs.

There is another example of this broken-ribbed chevet in Paris, in the church of Saint Germain-des-Pres (cir. 1163), while still others may be

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