Part 15

M. Viollet-le-Duc shews the very close resemblance between the plans of St Just and those of the Cathedrals of Limoges and Clermont, in Auvergne. These he regards as the three most splendid and remarkably similar examples of the Gothic of the fourteenth century, and he thinks that they have probably all been designed by the same man. The Cathedral of Narbonne is distinguished by the beauty and skill of its construction. In the fourteenth century the Gothic architects had arrived at great perfection in the art of building. The various forces in connection with the vaulting had become perfectly understood, and here the architect has endeavoured to shew how accurately he could calculate them. All the mouldings are carefully profiled, and the penetrations and junctions admirably managed; but sculpture is almost entirely dispensed with, even the caps of the columns having no foliage.

As a piece of architectural engineering the building is perfect, and has stood without a flaw; but it rather wants interest owing to the absence of ornamentation. It was begun on a great scale, but, owing to want of funds, only the choir has been erected. The vault is nearly as high as those of Beauvais and Cologne. The absence of decoration in the building itself is, to some extent, compensated by the richness and beauty of the tombs and monuments inserted between the piers of the choir. That of Archbishop Pierre de la Jugée is specially rich in sculpture, and still retains some fine painting.

Like most of the churches in the South, St Just is fortified, and, along with the Archbishop’s Palace, formed the citadel of the city, and occupied the site of the Roman Forum. The fortifications consist in a double tier of crenellations, which take the place of the usual balustrades over the chapels, and are continued round the apse, with arched passages which rest on piers brought up from the chapels of the “rond point,” and are crowned with turrets which, as well as the connecting bridges, are all provided with crenellated parapets. These airy provisions for defence give an unusual and very singular appearance to the exterior of the apse (_see_ view, Fig. 103).

In the twelfth century Narbonne was a place of great importance, but, owing to the silting up of the harbour in the fourteenth century, its commerce and revenues were greatly diminished.

The Archbishop’s Palace was an immense castle, somewhat after the type of the Pope’s Palace at Avignon. The ancient city of Narbonne preserved, till the twelfth century, much of its Roman municipal administration--the Commune having councillors with the title of _probi homines_, afterwards changed to that of consuls, who not only carried on the internal affairs of the city, but negotiated treaties with Genoa, Pisa, and other powers. As invariably happened, however, these rights were encroached upon by the feudal superiors. At Narbonne the Archbishop claimed the superiority, and in 1212 he declared himself Duke, and received the homage of the Count, who was the lay superior. These different powers in the town were naturally in a state of constant warfare, and, in accordance with the usage of the times, the Archbishop resolved to fortify himself within a castle of strength and dignity commensurate with his importance as Primate of Gaul--a title assumed by the prelate who was in office in 1096. A few portions of the palace of the twelfth century remain, but it has nearly all given way to works erected at later periods. The building is now converted into the Hôtel de Ville and Museum; and, in order to carry out the alterations required, together with the new works (which were executed under the superintendence of Viollet-le-Duc) some of the old buildings and foundations had to be cleared out. This new work occupies the central space between the two old towers (_see_ Fig. 103). The architect had thus an excellent opportunity of ascertaining the exact form and arrangement of the ancient palace, and of preparing the plan of it given in his “Dictionnaire.”

At the south-east angle stands the great tower or keep (to the left in the view), commanding the canal and the “place,” and overtopping the tower of the Count, which stood opposite to it. This tower was built by Archbishop Gilles Ascelin in 1318, and forms an independent redoubt. It is four storys in height. The basement is circular internally, and, as usual, has no openings to the exterior, being only reached from the floor above by an aperture in the vault. The first floor is octagonal internally and vaulted. It is intended for defence, and is provided with passages in the thickness of the walls, from which diverging loopholes command the exterior in all directions. The third floor is square internally, and has been the living room, being furnished with windows on three sides and a fireplace, and had a wooden ceiling. The top story is also square, and is covered with a pointed vault. It has three windows, and chambers in the wall provided with loops for defence. The construction of the roof and angle turrets is somewhat remarkable. The central platform of the roof is some feet lower than the parapet walk, and is connected with it by a series of steps rising along each side. The angle turrets are three storys in height, and access is obtained to the different stages, 1st, from the platform roof; 2nd, from the parapet walk; and 3rd, by steps up from the latter to the parapet on the top of the turrets. The tower was fortified on its three angles next the outside, with the above formidable turrets, which were probably further armed with some kind of wooden machicolations in time of danger. The fourth angle, next the inner courtyard, contained the staircase with a watch turret carried up above it.

The other portions of the palace comprised an immense hall, and the numerous living apartments of the archbishop and his retainers. The entrance was by a long open passage well defended from high walls on either side. Within the fortified enclosure were also the cloisters and chapter house. These are of a somewhat late and cold design, dating from 1375. The roof, which is flat, formed an agreeable promenade within the walls.

The Church of St Paul, beyond the canal, is an example of the mixture of the Gothic and Southern styles. The piers are light and lofty, and exhibit a Gothic character mixed with souvenirs of the heavier preceding style, in the small and few windows, the “historied” caps, &c.

On the way between Narbonne and Perpignan ample opportunity is afforded, as the railway runs along between the lengthy lagunes and through the dreary salt marshes, of observing the process of silting up which has here been in progress for centuries, and which has had such a marked influence in changing the character of the country, and in affecting the fortunes of the various cities which formerly flourished on the prosperous banks of these inland seas, now so desolate and pestiferous.

After passing the lagunes we reach the wide and fertile plain of Roussillon, where the process of silting up has long been completed, and where fruitful gardens now take the place of marshy wastes. Here too the snow-capped Pyrenees, surmounted by the lofty peak of Mont Canigou, come into view, bounding the prospect to the south, and pointing to the vicinity of the Spanish frontier. The language and architecture of the province also emphasise its Spanish character.

PERPIGNAN, which stands near the rapid river Tet, has many points which distinguish it from the towns we have just passed further north. A prominent feature of the architecture, doubtless Moorish in origin, is the enormous size of the voussoirs of the arches. In one old building, called the Bourse, the voussoirs of the circular arch of the doorway are quite 6 feet in length. Numerous fragments of this peculiar style, and of walls built with the herring-bone work characteristic of the country, are to be met with in the town, but there are no really good and complete specimens. Some of the interior courtyards, with their wooden balconies, are very foreign looking and picturesque examples of the Spanish influence.

The castellet (Fig. 104) which defends the gate of the city close to the river, has quite a different aspect from that of French castellated work. It is entirely built in brickwork, even the great corbels of the parapet being of that material. This small castle was erected by Charles V., and formed the original gateway of the town. It consists of two nearly round towers, with projecting circular turrets on their faces, and a double curtain wall between, through which the double gates no doubt formerly passed. The structure is surmounted with an octagonal tower, having a boldly overhanging parapet, which recalls the military architecture of the North of Italy, as exhibited in buildings such as the Badia at Florence and the Castle of Ferrara. The inner archway with its enormous voussoirs still exists. The gateway now in use adjoins the castellet on the east side (on the left in the sketch), and is provided with a drawbridge. This was probably erected when the system of fortification was altered, and the outer works shewn in the sketch and containing embrasures for cannons were erected.

In the Cathedral of St Jean (Fig. 105) we have a very characteristic example of the Southern style. It consists, as usual, of one great hall or nave, without side aisles, and with a series of lofty chapels, between the buttresses, which are thus enclosed within the building.

The church has a vault of fully 60 feet in width, and

is lightly and boldly spanned with pointed and groined vaulting.

The apse is similar in character to that at Béziers. The vaulting of this part was completed under Charles V., and indicates its late date by its interpenetrating ribs. There is almost no ornament, the architects of the time giving their attention chiefly to the scientific construction of their edifices. St Jean was founded by Sancho II., King of Majorca, in 1324. This was long before Roussillon came under the direct influence of France, which only took place under Louis XI. The style of the building is thus not affected by the importation of the style of the North, as at Narbonne, except as regards the vaulting, which is of a much later period. Some relics of a more ancient Church of St Jean (le Vieux) adjoin the cathedral, and contain some interesting Romanesque work. St Jacques (thirteenth century) has a remarkable tower, and the ruins of the Dominican convent and church contain good cloisters, two sides being Romanesque, and the others fourteenth century work, with caps bearing shields, etc.

The citadel, which occupies the site of the castle of the kings of Minorca is now a powerful fortress, _a la Vauban_. It contains the ruins of an ancient church with a doorway, the voussoirs of which are large, and composed of alternate red and white stone in the style of Catalonia.

A very interesting and agreeable excursion may be made from Perpignan to Elne, a few miles further south.

ELNE, IN ROUSSILLON, stands on a height in the midst of the great plain which extends to the base of the Pyrenees near the frontier of Spain, and is a town of great antiquity. It was in ancient times a seaport, but is now separated from the sea by a wide and level expanse of country.

Elne, or as it was anciently called, Illiberris, was a Celtic city before it was frequented by the Phœnicians as one of their ports. The first Phœnician colony was destroyed before we have any detailed history of the country. It was rebuilt by the Illiberians, and again ruined. Once more restored by Constantine the Great, it continued, so long as its connection with the sea lasted, an opulent and populous place. But when, through the silting up of the water-way, it ceased to be a seaport, its prosperity departed, and the town has gradually declined, till it is now reduced to a mere village perched on the top of a rock. Constantine gave it the title of Castrum Helenæ, whence its present name is derived.

In 1285 and 1474 Elne was again besieged and destroyed. These events helped to hasten its decay, and finally its Bishop’s See, which had existed from the fifth century, was removed to Perpignan in 1602. Some portions of the ancient walls, built with the herring-bone work so common in this district, have not yet entirely crumbled away, and the town is still entered through a pointed gateway (Fig. 106) built with white marble, the passage through which is provided with a portcullis groove.

The ancient church occupies the highest part of the rocky site. It is very plain externally and shews the marks of many alterations. The cathedral had been twice built in the plain, but was destroyed by the Saracens. This led the Bishop Béranger in 1019 to transfer it to its present securer site within the walls of the castle. The existing structure is of the twelfth century. The masonry is roughly built, partly with herring-bone work, and in some cases the arches of the windows are distinguished with dark-coloured stones. The interior is divided into a nave and two aisles, the tunnel vault of the nave being pointed and strengthened with round transverse ribs. The side aisles are vaulted with a half arch thrown against the walls of the nave like a continuous flying buttress. The vaults next the west end have, however, been reconstructed with cross ribs, a restoration probably of the fourteenth century. The whole of the work is of the simplest character and almost without ornament.

At the east end (Fig. 107) the ancient apse with its circular arcade is visible, rising above the foundations of a larger choir which was begun in the sixteenth century, but still stands unfinished, the works having evidently been interrupted before they had reached the height of 10 feet from the ground. The new choir is designed on the plan of a Northern “chevet” or apsidal east end, with radiating chapels. The campanile is noteworthy as a design of that class of edifices closely imitated from those of Italy.

But the most truly attractive and remarkable part of the antiquities of Elne is the beautiful cloister (Fig. 108), which, fortunately, is still complete and in fine preservation. Each side of the enclosure has, besides the angle piers, three intermediate square piers, the spaces between them being each divided into a triple arcade, supported on coupled columns, the shafts of which are ornamented with all kinds of twists and foliated decoration. The whole is executed in white marble, and finished with great delicacy, forming the richest example remaining of this class of cloister, of which so many fine specimens occur in the South. The work is of various periods, from the twelfth to the fourteenth century. The oldest portions exhibit, in their ornament, a strong Byzantine feeling, which the artists of the later periods have endeavoured to imitate in the portions of the cloisters subsequently built. The shafts and caps of the later columns are as richly carved as the older ones, but they are covered with ornament of a much less conventional character, and more in the style of the natural foliage universally employed in the North in the fourteenth century. To a later period also belong the groined and ribbed vaults with which the cloister is roofed, and the corbels in the walls from which the ribs spring and which are formed as panels containing figure subjects finely executed. The doorway from the cloister into the church is pointed, and has voussoirs of white and red marble alternating--a style of decoration very usual in the South, and which may perhaps be the result of the proximity to the Moors in Spain.

Several interesting bas-reliefs and other ancient fragments have been preserved by being built into the walls.

CARCASSONNE.--An architectural description of the edifices of Provence and the Riviera would be incomplete without some account of the two most perfect examples of

Mediæval castellated architecture which still exist in the towns of Carcassonne and Aigues Mortes. These are, from their excellent state of preservation, quite unique, and far surpass in extent and interest the remains of the fortifications of any of the other cities of Western Europe.

The town of Carcassonne is situated on the river Aude, which is spanned by two bridges, one of them dating from 1184. The portion on the left or north bank was a “bastide,” or detached town, laid out in the time of St Louis; the streets being all drawn at right angles, as was usual in the towns then erected on new sites. Such were the numerous _villes-neuves_ constructed by Edward III. in the South-west of France, and which he endowed with certain privileges, in order to induce men to settle in them, and thus increase the population and strength of the country.

The ancient _cité_ of Carcassonne stands on the summit of a hill on the right bank of the river. It is still surrounded by its double wall of enceinte, studded with round and square towers, and dominated by the masses of the ancient castle, which rise boldly above the steep and rocky hillside, and present a sight as novel and picturesque as can well be imagined (Fig. 109). The site is naturally a strong one, and was doubtless occupied from a very early period as a primitive fortress. It afterwards became a Roman town, and was surrounded by the Romans with walls.

The Visigoths, who were absorbed into the native population and continued the Roman civilisation, rebuilt the walls, some of which still survive, apparently on the Roman foundations and after the Roman manner. The Roman system of fortification consisted in erecting two walls to form an outer and inner face, the space between which was filled up with earth and stones. The level of the ground on the inside of the fortress was kept much higher than that on the exterior, and a broad parapet walk, easily accessible from the interior level, ran round the top of the wall, and was protected towards the outside with a parapet.

At Carcassonne the more ancient parts of the curtains are composed of two walls built with small cubic masonry, alternating with courses of thin bricks (Fig. 110), the central space being, however, filled, not with earth, but with rubble masonry and mortar. The level of the ground is much higher next the town than towards the exterior.

Some of the towers of the Visigoths still remain, and rise considerably above the curtains. These, like the towers of the Romans, are circular to the exterior and square next the city, on which side they are also open, both for the purpose of admitting of munitions being easily hoisted up to them from below, and also to render them useless in the hands of an enemy as against the town. Externally they are furnished with embrasures at the top, which were provided with a swinging wooden shutter for defence, to support the pivots of which stone hooks are inserted at the eaves. The top is covered with a pointed roof (_see_ Fig. 110).

The towers were detached from the curtains by

a pit or gap in the parapet walk where it adjoined them, so that each tower might form a separate post, and be defended independently. The lower part of the walls, being below the interior level of the ground, was peculiarly liable to be attacked by mining and battering, against which the defenders could make no direct resistance. The besiegers, as they knocked out parts of the wall, supported the superstructure in a temporary manner with wooden props, and when they had completed their mining operations, they set fire to the props, and the wall above fell and formed a breach.

Like the Roman permanent camps, these fortified cities had a castle or citadel, which was almost invariably placed on the highest point of the site, and adjoined the enceinte so as to command and defend the town, and, at the same time, be in a position to receive supplies and reinforcements from without. Within the castle, again, was a still further security in the donjon, or redoubt, which was detached from the other works, and often had a ditch and an enclosing wall, or _chemise_, of its own, and could be held after all the other defences had succumbed. Such walls as those of the Visigoths at Carcassonne were sufficient to resist the means of attack employed from the fifth to the eleventh century. At that period of revival a great improvement took place all round, and there can be no doubt that the early Crusaders learned much in the East with regard to the science of attack and defence of strongholds. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, towers like those of the Normans were erected, which depended for their security on the natural strength of the site, and the great height and thickness of the walls--their height protecting them against assault by scaling, and their mass and position against the mine and battering ram. They were further strengthened with outer walls and ditches.

A very interesting description, illustrative of the manner of carrying on and resisting siege operations, is quoted by Viollet-le-Duc from a report rendered by Guillaume des Ormes, Seneschal of Carcassonne, to Queen Blanche, on the raising of the siege of that town by Trenceval in 1240. The report details how the besiegers and defenders battered one another with mongonneaux; how they mined and countermined; how part of the wall was sapped, and a breach formed, inside of which the defenders raised a wooden _bretêche_, crowned with hoards, and armed with archers.

On St Louis’ return from his first crusade, he was desirous to strengthen his position in the newly-acquired dominions of the Count of Toulouse. He, therefore, resolved to make a strong citadel of Carcassonne. For this purpose the houses in the suburbs were cleared away, and a new town, or bastide, was established, as above mentioned, for the ejected inhabitants on the opposite side of the river, where the new town now stands.

Under King Louis the outer enceinte of Carcassonne was rebuilt (Fig. 111). Between this and the inner wall of enceinte a space is left, called the “lices,” in which troops can circulate, and patrols and sentries move in safety. The ground of the “lices” is nearly on the same level as the present parapet of the outer wall, while the wall is about thirty feet above the soil outside. The towers are built with an open side next the “lices,” so that, even if taken by the enemy, they could not be held by him against the inner walls. St Louis also erected an immense barbican, or round redoubt, at the base of the hill, between Carcassonne and the Aude, so as to command the river, and allow of sorties being made on the level ground adjoining it.

Philippe le Hardi continued the works of the fortifications

till his death in 1285, his operations being chiefly on the east and south sides.