Architecture

Architecture is the art of building or constructing. In this country, architecture is usually divided into Civil, Military, and Naval. In the present article we shall confine ourselves to the first, the two others being treated of, the former under the head of FORTIFICATION, the latter under that of SHIPBUILDING.

The construction of bridges, and especially stone bridges, piers, quays, &c., is just as much a department of architecture as of civil engineering, though in modern times the principle of division of labour has been introduced, and this department has been assigned to the engineer.

Civil Architecture has a scientific or constructive side, and an aesthetic or artistic side. The first relates to the strength, the safety, the convenience, and the comfort of a building, as well as to the nature of the materials used in its construction. The second relates not only to the forms and proportions of its principal features, but to its decorative character, produced by such details as columns, mouldings, tracery, carving, applied sculpture, and inlaying, which in all good architecture are founded on the constructive elements.

The constructive part of architecture, including masonry, carpentry, ironwork, and minor matters, is dealt with under BUILDING. Rude stone monuments are such as consist of separate stones or remains of very rude construction. Dolmens, cromlechs, stone circles, and the Scottish brochs are examples of these, and are treated under their several heads. Every nation which has risen above the condition of the savage has adopted some special mode of building suitable to its wants, its climate, and its customs. This is invariably accompanied with a certain style of decoration, arising from the peculiar genius and surroundings of each people. Such styles are usually very persistent in each race, and are handed down traditionally from age to age, and carried from one country to another. Thus the ancient monuments of a country generally serve as a sure index of the people who inhabited it at the time of their erection, just as the names of places preserve the language of their early occupants. Through commercial and other intercourse, the artistic traditions of one country came to be adopted in others, and received different developments in each, as nations rose and fell in the progress of civilisation.

The later and more refined architecture of a country is generally based on some primitive, simple idea. Thus, in the early and rude times of nearly all nations, it has been the practice to erect a large single stone, or to heap up a pile of stones, as a monument to commemorate some great event. In Egypt and elsewhere we see this primitive idea preserved and developed in the great pyramids and obelisks of a later and more cultivated age. Under the Romans, a similar tradition is exemplified in the sumptuous mausoleums and commemorative pillars of the empire.

In the construction and decoration of buildings, the same principles hold. However elaborate and diversified the edifices of different times and countries may be, all their styles may be traced back to the two chief building materials of wood and stone. Every principle of architecture may be shown to be founded on the forms naturally adopted for construction in one or other of these materials. Wooden construction manifests itself in upright pillars with beams laid across them, hence called the trabeate system, while genuine stone building is distinguished by the employment of the arch with its necessary abutments. Most of the nations of antiquity, notably Egypt and Greece, although acquainted with the use of the arch, preferred not to employ it in their monuments, but to adhere to the earlier and simpler trabeate type of the pillar and beam; and the details of their architecture, although executed in stone, contain evidences of their wooden origin in the traditional wooden features of triglyphs, metopes, &c.

The arch was well known to the Egyptians and Assyrians, and was used by them in tunnels and drains, but it was never adopted as a leading feature in architecture till about the time of the Roman empire. Having once permitted this emblem of true stone architecture to take a prominent place in their edifices, it soon showed its power by completely revolutionising the whole system. The external architecture, which the Romans had borrowed from the Greeks, was gradually converted into an internal architecture resulting from the development of arch-construction. From this principle, first adopted by the Romans, the whole of the subsequent architecture of Byzantium and the middle ages was evolved.

We thus see that the essential principles common to all architecture were handed down from one country and from one state of civilisation to another. In the same way, the decorative features developed in one age and country had great influence on succeeding nations. Egyptian art influenced Assyrian both in general forms and details, and both lent their aid to the Greeks, although in the simple and refined art of the latter there is some difficulty in recognising the more elaborate forms and decorations of their prototypes. The influence of Greek art on Roman is very apparent in every feature, while that of the latter on Byzantine and Gothic architecture, although more subtle, is none the less powerful.

This article treats very briefly of the history of the various styles of architecture, of which more details are given under their separate headings.

Egyptian.—The history of architecture may be said to begin with the construction of the Egyptian Pyramids, 3000 years or more before the birth of Christ, but it is long after this—namely, 2570 B.C.—ere we find in Egypt a form of structure which contains the germ of a style practised at a later age in Greece. One or more of the tombs at Beni-Hassan are of the latter date, and have pillars which have so much in common with the style of those of the earliest Grecian temples, that they have been said to belong to a pre-Doric order. No doubt the great temples at Thebes, Karnac, and other places, built at a still later time than these tombs, more or less determined the general forms of buildings of a similar nature subsequently erected in Assyria.

Assyrian.—Assyria comes next to Egypt for the age and importance of its buildings. The remains of some of these, which are chiefly palaces, are of great splendour. Among the oldest hitherto excavated is the North-west Palace at Nimroud, built about 884 B.C. Their peculiar style of architecture is familiar to those who have read Mr Layard's work on his discoveries at Nineveh.

Persian.—Persia possesses in the remarkable ruins of palaces at Persepolis and Susa, built in the 5th and 6th centuries B.C., remains which bear a close resemblance to those of Assyria. The constructional parts of these Persian buildings being chiefly of marble, where those of the Assyrians were of wood, have been much better preserved. French explorers have discovered at Susa, a portion of an ancient palace built of bricks faced with enamelled colours. Fergusson pointed out that the Greeks got their first idea of the Ionic capital from buildings in Assyria and Persia. Indeed, he considered that the earliest form of the Corinthian capital could likewise be traced to these sources.

Indian.—Examples of almost every kind of construction, both in wood and stone, are to be found in the various styles of this wonderful country. Until recent years, it was believed that the cave-temples of India were of a very early date, but it has now been ascertained that none of these go further back than the 6th or 7th century of our era. All other ancient monuments in India, with the exception of the topes or pillars erected by the powerful ruler Asoka, are of still more recent date.

Greek.—Ancient Greek architecture is almost wholly represented by temples and theatres, the remains of which are found not only in Greece itself, but in Southern Italy, Asia Minor, and certain districts in North Africa. Some of these, as their ruins show—notably the temple of Diana at Ephesus—were originally of great size; and their architecture, even in its minutest details, is of a very refined character. The Grecian style embraces three orders, called the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian. The most marked, though not the only distinguishing feature in these, is the capital of the column. The architecture of ancient Greece flourished from 650 to 324 B.C.

Roman.—The Romans borrowed their early architecture from that of Greece and Etruria, but about Roman buildings erected much before the Christian era very little is known. In Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and Etruria, architecture was chiefly confined to tombs, temples, palaces, or theatres. The Romans, however, applied it to many other purposes, such as basilicas, baths, bridges, aqueducts, triumphal arches, and domestic buildings. The circular and pointed arch, though known to earlier nations, seems to have been first used as a conspicuous feature by the Etruscans, whose buildings were chiefly tombs and city-walls and gates. From them the Romans borrowed the round arch, and put it to both a constructive and an ornamental use in almost all their buildings. They soon advanced a step further, and applied it as a vault in rectangular and circular edifices. By the Romans, the Grecian orders were modified in their proportions and details, and two others were added—namely, the Tuscan (a variety of the Roman Doric) and the Composite. In many of their buildings, such as the Colosseum, built 80 A.D. (see AMPHITHEATRE), the orders are piled over each other, dividing the great height of the external wall into several tiers or stories. Besides the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Theatre of Marcellus, and the remains of temples, baths with their great vaulted halls, triumphal arches, and other monuments, still survive as examples of ancient architecture in Rome itself, built between the time of Augustus in the last century B.C., and that of Constantine in the 4th century A.D. At Pompeii, there are interesting examples of the domestic architecture of the 1st century of our era. Many important ancient Roman remains are likewise found not only in Italy, but in other countries subject to the empire in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Byzantine.—With the establishment of Byzantium as the capital of the empire, the Roman style of architecture was naturally much practised there, and in particular the development of the dome became from the first a chief object with the eastern architects. Christians were first allowed to erect places of worship in the reign of Constantine the Great. The old basilicas, or courts of justice, were then turned into churches, for which they were well suited. Professor Baldwin Brown, of Edinburgh, has attempted to prove that the humbler schola, or hall of meeting, such as was used by the early Christians, as well as by heathen clubs and associations, rather than the basilica, was the original form of the Christian church. The name Byzantine is, strictly speaking, only applicable to the Christian architecture of Eastern Europe and Asia Minor, erected from the reign of Justinian to the 11th century; but the style continued in use, in a less pure form, till the Mohammedans subdued the Christian countries of the East. One of the finest buildings in this style is the church of St Sophia at Constantinople, founded by Constantine, but rebuilt by Justinian in 547 A.D. The cathedral of San Vitale at Ravenna, also erected in the 6th century, and St Mark's at Venice, built by architects from Constantinople in the 10th century, are two of the most perfect and interesting Byzantine churches in Italy.

Romanesque is the general term applied to all the various round-arched styles which arose in Western Europe, after the irruptions of the barbarians had ceased. It was founded partly on the Roman remains existing in different countries, and also, to a large extent, on the influence of the still flourishing Byzantine art on the awakening communities of the West.—Teutonic Romanesque may be regarded as synonymous with Rhenish architecture. The cathedrals of Spire, Mayence, and Worms are examples.—Lombard Architecture, the form of Romanesque practised in Lombardy. Examples of it are to be seen in St Ambrogio at Milan, St Abondio at Como, and the cathedrals of Parma and Piacenza. The Romanesque styles of Lombardy and countries north of the Alps, including the Norman of France and England, prevailed during the 11th and 12th centuries.

Saxon or Pre-Norman.—The Norman style would link on more naturally than this with the Teutonic Romanesque. But the Saxon is prior in point of date, and is the earliest of our native styles. It is simple, and has, as a rule, coarsely dressed masonry. The 'long and short work' of the corners and other parts are very probably imitations of woodwork. In whole or in part, the churches of Bradford (Wilts), Earl's Barton, Worth, Monkwearmouth, and other places in England; and perhaps that of St Regulus at St Andrews, in Scotland, are pre-Norman. But there are some curious problems still to solve about these buildings erected prior to the Norman Conquest.

Norman.—This style is also sometimes called Romanesque. No kind of architecture is better known in England and Scotland than the Norman, owing to the abundance of examples which remain. It is characterised by round-headed openings, by flat buttresses like pilasters, by 'cubical' masonry, and by the richness and quaintness of the carving, especially on many of the doorways and chancel arches of even the smaller churches. In the cathedrals and large churches the pillars dividing the aisles from the nave are very massive. Among the many examples in England may be mentioned the cathedrals of Durham, Canterbury, Peterborough, and parts of Lincoln and Winchester. In Scotland, Kirkwall Cathedral is the most complete example on a large scale; but the abbeys of Dunfermline, Kelso, and Jedburgh are also fine, though fragmentary. The small churches of Dalmeny and Leuchars have rich carving.

Under the general term Gothic Architecture (q.v.) some writers include the Norman style. More usually, however, the name Gothic is understood to mean the pointed styles of architecture, which succeeded the Romanesque and Norman.

Early English or First Pointed Style.—As soon as the transition from the Norman to first pointed architecture was complete, the latter was characterised by its narrow pointed or 'lancet' windows, without any, or with only very simple, tracery. Further distinguishing features are high gables and roofs, and simple pinnacles and spires. Buttresses are deep instead of shallow, as in the Norman, and shafts slender, whether they are simple or clustered. The capital is bell-shaped, either with plain mouldings or with bold and graceful foliage, and the Abacus (q.v.) in this country is round instead of square. The mouldings consist of projecting rounds and deep retiring hollows, which give strong light and shade. In England, Salisbury Cathedral is wholly in this style, so also are the nave and transepts of Westminster Abbey. Scotland has good examples of it in the choir of Glasgow, and in most of what remains of Elgin Cathedral. This style lasted from towards the end of the 12th to near the end of the 13th century.

Transition.—At the former date a change is observable in the window-tracery, the foliage, &c., indicating that the style is gradually altering or undergoing a transition to the

Decorated, Second Pointed, or Middle Pointed Style.—Windows are now divided into a number of lights by comparatively thin mullions, and their upper portions filled with beautiful tracery, which at first was of geometrical forms, such as combinations of circles, trefoils, and quatrefoils. But in the later period of the style, the tracery becomes wavy and flowing, and of almost endless variety. Ordinary buttresses are more enriched than in the earlier style, and flying-buttresses, though not for the first time used, are now common. A continuation of the arch-mouldings, instead of shafts with caps, at length characterises the jambs of the doorways. All the smaller ornaments and foliage are rich, free, and graceful. This is generally considered the most perfect and beautiful style of Gothic architecture. As examples of it, may be mentioned the choir of Lincoln and the nave of York Cathedral; and in Scotland portions of Melrose Abbey. The style continued from about 1274 to 1377. It then gradually stiffened into what is called the

Perpendicular, Third Pointed, or Late Pointed Style.—This is easily distinguished from the previous style by the tracery of the windows, which is characterised by an upright and square tendency. Perpendicular lines prevail in the windows as well as in the ornamental paneling. The doorways have square heads over pointed arches. Gables and roofs are at a low angle. Clerestory windows are more frequently square-headed than arched. It is only in this style that we find the depressed four-centred or Tudor arch, although arches with two centres are also used. Rich Fan-tracery (q.v.) appears in the vaulting, and ornamented open timber roofs are frequent (see ROOF). The perpendicular style is not represented in continental Gothic buildings. Westminster Hall, London, is an early example of this style. Henry VII.'s Chapel, Westminster Abbey, has beautiful fan-tracery. Somersetshire is peculiarly rich in churches of this period. In Scotland, the great east window of Melrose Abbey is a good example. The style prevailed from the end of the 14th to the middle of the 16th century. The later portion of this period is sometimes called the Tudor style. The elaborately ornamented Flamboyant (q.v.) style was the latest style of Gothic in France (15th and 16th centuries). The Municipal Architecture (q.v.) of the middle ages was largely Gothic in type.

Under the head GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE will be found some account of buildings belonging to the different periods of pointed architecture on the Continent.

Roman or classic architecture may be said to have never entirely died out in Rome, and when, in the 15th century, the revival of classic literature and taste took place, the ancient classic style of architecture naturally revived along with them. This is called the Italian Renaissance. Buildings, many of which are famous, erected at Rome, Florence, Venice, and other places in Italy, from the beginning of the 15th to the end of the 17th century, and some would say even later, are included under the general term Italian architecture. The name Renaissance is likewise given to it, but this term is also applied to architectural works erected in other parts of Europe after the decay of Gothic architecture in the 16th century; and in a wide sense it includes all edifices built in a classical (but not when of a purely Greek) style from that time to our own. It comprises so many diversities that it is hardly possible to define it with any kind of precision. Renaissance as applied to architecture means a revival of classical features and details as distinguished from those which characterise the Gothic. St Peter's at Rome; the Pitti Palace at Florence; various palaces on the grand canal at Venice; the Louvre and Tuileries at Paris; the Banqueting House in Whitehall, and St Paul's Cathedral. London, are all examples of Renaissance.

Elizabethan Architecture (q.v.), and the corresponding style on the Continent, is a variety of Renaissance, in which Gothic and Italian features are somewhat mixed. Holland House, near London, as well as Hatfield House, Burleigh House, and Hardwick Hall, in other parts of England, are well-known buildings in this style; so also is Heriot's Hospital at Edinburgh.

Arabian, Saracenic, or Moorish.—This singular and beautiful style of architecture appears to have first taken a definite character in the 9th century, and was probably based on Persian, together with some of the elements of Roman and Byzantine art. The style is noted for its elegant domes, often with remarkable external decoration; for its graceful minarets or towers, lessening in diameter stage by stage as they rise; for the frequent use of the pointed arch, and of the horseshoe arch; and in some cases for the peculiarly slender columns which support the walls above them. The flat or surface decorations are peculiarly striking and effective. These consist of diaper-work, often richly perforated; and of scroll-work of great variety, often of fairy-like lightness. The stalactitic-looking pendentives, filling up such places as the corners of ceilings, have a remarkably fine effect. Several mosques and other buildings at Cairo, a peculiar class of houses in Algiers, and the Moorish palace of the Alhambra, as well as the mosque of Cordova, in Spain, furnish striking illustrations of this kind of architecture.

Modern Architecture.—This title is generally applied to the architecture which has been used by European nations since the time of the Renaissance. The Renaissance, as we have seen, was a revival of Roman architecture, the study of which naturally led to an acquaintance with its prototype, the architecture of Greece. The examination of Grecian buildings, and the revival of their style, was much encouraged in the 18th century. In the beginning of the 19th century, the habit of imitating ancient styles had been established, and began to be applied to Gothic architecture also, which speedily came to be generally adopted, especially for ecclesiastical edifices. This has been particularly the case in Great Britain, and amongst the Anglo-Saxon race wherever found—in America, India, and Australia, as well as at home. All modern architecture is imitative, and it is doubtful whether a really new style is possible. At present Gothic is generally adopted for churches, and Renaissance for domestic buildings. The Houses of Parliament at Westminster are one great example of an attempt to apply Gothic to a secular building, and the Law Courts recently erected in London are another. In France, the birthplace of Gothic, it is little practised, the French having adopted a special modification of the Renaissance, which is known as the 'French style.' Most of the great modern towns, such as Paris, Lyons, and Marseilles, have been largely rebuilt in this style. In Germany and Italy the purer classic examples have been more frequently followed; but of late there is a strong tendency towards Renaissance, as practised during the 16th and 17th centuries, in Germany, Britain, and America.

See Fergusson's History of Architecture (4 vols. 1865-76); Ruskin's Seven Lamps of Architecture; the works of Pugin, Viollet le Duc, Parker, Freeman; and books on special types of architecture noted at the articles thereon.

Each of the principal styles of architecture, briefly characterised above, receives separate treatment at its own alphabetical place in this work (Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arabian, Romanesque, Norman, Gothic, Early English, Perpendicular, Renaissance, &c.); or in the articles on the several countries (Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Persia, India, China, Japan). Many important architectural monuments are described and figured in separate articles (Pantheon, Pyramids, Stonehenge, Teocalli, &c.), or in the articles on the places where they are found (Agra, Baalbek, Benares, Edfu, Florence, London, Palmyra, Paris, Persepolis, Philæ, Rome, Salisbury, Thebes, Venice, &c.). See also the articles on the great architects (Michelangelo, Inigo Jones, Christopher Wren, &c.). Other articles on architectural subjects are:

Architrave. See ENTABLATURE.

Archives. See RECORDS.