History of mediæval art . higher ecclesias-tical and secular authorities,who favored the gratifica-tion of similar requirementsin the convents founded orrestored by them. In thisregard a fact of the mostfar-reaching importance wasthat the monopoly of artis-tic activity passed, in greatmeasure, from the monks tothe laymen, the attention,especially in the growingtowns, being thus turned to-wards the erection of secu-lar edifices. The convents were the first to outgrow the extreme simplicitywhich had hitherto satisfied their modest wants. Stately cloisters,with arcades similar to triforium galler
History of mediæval art . higher ecclesias-tical and secular authorities,who favored the gratifica-tion of similar requirementsin the convents founded orrestored by them. In thisregard a fact of the mostfar-reaching importance wasthat the monopoly of artis-tic activity passed, in greatmeasure, from the monks tothe laymen, the attention,especially in the growingtowns, being thus turned to-wards the erection of secu-lar edifices. The convents were the first to outgrow the extreme simplicitywhich had hitherto satisfied their modest wants. Stately cloisters,with arcades similar to triforium galleries, were customary as earlyas the transitional period, and the Romanic forms were preserved inthese structures even at a time when the Gothic style had becomeprevalent in church building. This was the case in the fine cloistersof the Austrian Cistercian convents Zwetl and Heiligenkreuz, inthat of the Cathedral of Treves, and in the courts of the Cathedralof Erfurt, and St. Emmeramnus at Ratisbon; the two latter, how- 36. Fig- 359-—South-eastern Corner of the Cloister ofthe Cistercian Convent of Maulbronn. 562 THE EXTENSION OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE. ever, were completed in the Gothic style. It is not definitely knownwhether purely Gothic cloisters existed before that at Klosterneu-burg in Austria, built between 1270 and 1292, but it is certain thatmany of those standing in connection with cathedrals and conventswere constructed soon after that age {Fig. 359). In all of these,windows with elaborate tracery took the place of the arcades, andinstead of the wooden ceilings hitherto customary, ribbed vaultswere introduced. These latter, in their perspective effect, areamong the most pleasing creations of that period. A similar ar-rangement of windows and ceilings was gradually adopted in thechapter halls and refectories ; excellent examples of these still existin Maulbronn.* The fortress-like character of the palaces did not at first favor ahigher artistic development, especially i
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