An introduction to the study of Gothic architecture . illars, here are twenty-eight. There the arches and everything else was plain, or sculptured with an axe and not with a chisel (24); but here, almost throughout, is appro- priate sculpture. No marble columns were there, but here are in-. numerable ones. There in the circuit around the choir the vaults were plain, but here they are arch-ribbed, and have key-stones. There a wall set upon pillars divided the crosses [transepts] from the choir, but here the crosses are separated from the choir by no such partition, and converge together in one
An introduction to the study of Gothic architecture . illars, here are twenty-eight. There the arches and everything else was plain, or sculptured with an axe and not with a chisel (24); but here, almost throughout, is appro- priate sculpture. No marble columns were there, but here are in-. numerable ones. There in the circuit around the choir the vaults were plain, but here they are arch-ribbed, and have key-stones. There a wall set upon pillars divided the crosses [transepts] from the choir, but here the crosses are separated from the choir by no such partition, and converge together in one key-stone, which is placed in the middle of the great vault, which rests upon the four principal pillars. There, there was a ceiling of wood decorated with excellent painting, but here is a vault beautifully constructed of stone and light tufa. There was a single triforium, but here are TEE GLORIOUS CHOIR OF CONRAD. 41 two in the choir, and a third in the aisle of the church. All which will be better understood by inspection than by any 24. Part of Arcade, Canterbury, shewing the junction of old and new work. It will at onee be seen that although, this is a de-scription of a particular building, a great deal of it isof general application. It is not probable that, if theworkmen employed on the early Norman buildingswere accustomed to the free use of the chisel, theywould have used the axe only in so important a workas the glorious choir of Prior Conrad, who completedSt. Anselms work. Accordingly, we find in early Nor-man work that the chisel was very little used; mostof the ornaments are such as can be readily workedwith the axe, and whatever sculpture there is appears 4 2 THE EARLY NORMAN STYLE. to have been executed afterwards, for it was a gene-ral practice to execute sculpture after the stones wereplaced, as is evident in the early work at Westminster:some of the capitals in the crypt of Canterbury are onlyhalf finished to this day (25),the work of carving hav
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