A CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF Gothic Architecture, ESPECIALLY IN ENGLAND. Roman. A.D. 284. Palace of Dioclesian, at Spalatro, in Dalmatia. Style debased Roman, with a row of stilted round arches on each side of the principal court. D'Agincourt, Histoire de l'Art par les Monumens, Archit. Plate 3. 313. Conclusion of the persecution under Dioclesian. "The blessed Alban suffered death on the 22nd day of June, near the city of Verolamium, which is now by the English nation called Werlamacestir, or Warlingacestir, where afterwards, when peace was restored to the Christians, a church of wonderful workmanship was erected.” Bede, Eccl. Hist., lib. i. c. 7. 334. S. Constance, at Rome. Built by the emperor Constantine, and the burial-place of his daughter Constantia. The style is consistent with that age: it has coupled columns and round arches without an architrave. 386-400. St. Paul's, at Rome. Gally Knight, Italy, vol. i. Plate 3; Commenced by the emperor Theodosius, and finished by his sons Arcadius and Honorius. The noble colonnade on each side the nave was composed of pillars taken from earlier buildings, supporting a series of round arches. Gally Knight, Italy, vol. i. Plate 4; D'Agincourt, Histoire de l'Art, Plates 4—7. 410. S. Nazario e Celso, Ravenna. “This sepulchral chapel was built by Galla Placidia, daughter of Theodosius, and still contains the ashes of herself and her family. The sarcophagi have never been disturbed, and are the only tombs which remain in their places of the whole line of Cæsars, whether oriental or occidental." Gally Knight, Italy, vol. i. Plate 6. B 414. Bede, describing the wall which the Britons are said to have built at this date as a defence against the Picts, by direction of the Roman auxiliaries, says, “The islanders, raising the wall, as they had been directed, not of stone, as having no artist capable of such a work, but of sods, made it of no use." (Hist. Eccl., lib. i. c. 12.) Immediately afterwards, speaking of the last succours sent by the Romans to the Britons, Bede observes, “Thinking that it might be some help to the allies, whom they were forced to abandon, they built a strong stone wall from sea to sea . . . which was built at the public and private expense, the Britons also lending their assistance." [This wall is strongly built of large stones, but without mortar.] Portions of walls at St. Nicholas' church, Leicester; Wroxeter, Shropshire; York; Lincoln; Burgh castle, Suffolk; Silchester, Hampshire; Dorchester, Dorsetshire; Littleton, Somersetshire; Castor, Northamptonshire; Richborough, Kent; tower in Dover castle, (vol. iii. Plate 38.) &c. 430. THE ROMANS DEPART FROM BRITAIN. Romanesque. Architectural remains of this era in England very doubtful. 450. THE SAXONS ARRIVE IN BRITAIN. The Saxons, in their invasions, destroyed the Roman towns and buildings— "ruebant ædificia publica simul et privata." (Bede, Hist. Eccl., lib. i. c. 15.) See a still stronger picture of the destruction of the towns and buildings, in Gildas, § 15. During the subsequent Anglo-Saxon period we only hear of Roman towns as being in ruins. Bede, speaking of the period immediately preceding the mission of St. Augustine, says, "There still remained the ruins of cities destroyed by the enemy, and abandoned." Lib. i. c. 22. 481-511. CLOVIS, the founder of the French monarchy. He embraced Christianity, and was baptized at Rheims in 496. 490-493. Palace and mausoleum of Theodoric, at Ravenna. The style is an imitation of Roman, but with round-headed doorways, and small pillars supported by brackets, and carrying small round arches, used as external decorations. The mausoleum has a dome 36 feet in diameter, cut out of a single stone. Gally Knight, Italy, vol. i. Plates 7 and 8; D'Agincourt, Plates 17, 18, and 59. 533-550. S. Sophia, at Constantinople. Originally built by the emperor Constantine in 323-334, but rebuilt by the emperor Justinian: considered to be the type of the Byzantine style. -D'Agincourt, Plate 26, Nos. 1 and 2; Plate 27, No. 13; Plate 67, No. 4; Plate 69, Nos. 9 and 10. 547. S. Vitale, Ravenna. "This church was erected by Julianus, the treasurer, at the command, and with the assistance, of the emperor Justinian. The plan of this church at once reveals its eastern origin, and its affinity to that of S. Sophia, which had been erected at Constantinople a few years before. Instead of a Latin Basilica, it is an octagon, supporting a dome; not however unprovided with the addition of the indispensable apsis. This plan must have come direct from Byzantium, and was the first appearance of the Byzantine style in Italy. The dome is composed of a spiral line of earthen vessels, inserted into each other; and where the lateral thrust ceases, and the vertical pressure begins, larger jars are introduced in an upright position. San Vitale is a building which has obtained the admiration of successive ages. It produced such an impression on Charlemagne that he resolved to have it as exactly copied as his architects were able, and his celebrated chapel at Aix was the result. The mosaics which still adorn the walls of San Vitale are exceedingly curious and interesting, not only as works of art, but as affording a tolerably correct notion of the costume of the Byzantine court. Some writers assert that Justinian was present at the consecration of San Vitale, but whether he was or not these mosaics represent the emperor and his empress, as if they were going in procession on such an occasion, bearing oblations in their hands." Gally Knight, Italy, vol. i. Plates 9 and 10; D'Agincourt, Plate 23. 565. The church of St. Martin at Whitehorn, in the shire of Wigtown, N.B., built by Ninias, a British bishop, who had been regularly instructed at Rome: "qui locus, ad provinciam Berniciorum pertinens, vulgo vocatur Candidam Casam, eo quod ibi ecclesiam de lapide, insolito Britonibus more, (the said Ninias,) fecerit." Bede, Hist. Eccl., lib. iii. c. 4; and W. Malmesb., de Gest. Pontif. Angl., p. 155. 568. Invasion of Italy by the Lombards. Many Germanic tribes, particularly the Bavarians and Saxons, joined the Lombards and Avars in their invasion of Italy under Alboin, which ended in the establishment of the kingdom of the Lombards, the capital of which was Pavia. In 602 king Agilulf embraced the Catholic faith. Several churches in the north of Italy are supposed to have been built soon after this period. 597. Arrival of St. Augustine in Kent. "There was on the east side of the city (of Canterbury), a church dedicated to the honour of St. Martin, built whilst the Romans were still in the island, wherein the queen, who was a Christian, used to pray. In this they first began to meet, to sing, to pray, to say mass, to preach, and to baptize, till the king, being converted to the faith, allowed them to preach openly, and build or repair churches in all places." Bede, Eccl. Hist., lib. i. c. 26. [The walls of the present church of St. Martin, at Canterbury, bear marks of great antiquity, but they are concealed from accurate observation by the more modern casing and plastering. They have however evidently been rebuilt of old materials, amongst which are a number of Roman tiles.] 601. Pope Gregory's letter to Mellitus. "When therefore Almighty God shall bring you to the most reverend bishop Augustine, our brother, tell him what I have, upon mature deliberation on the affair of the English, determined, viz. that the temples of the idols in that nation ought not to be destroyed; but let the idols that are in them be destroyed; let holy water be made and sprinkled in the said temples, let altars be erected, and relics placed. For if those temples are well built, it is requisite that they be converted from the worship of devils to the service of the true God." Bede, Hist. Eccl., lib. i. c. 30. 602. Canterbury cathedral founded by St. Augustine. "Augustine having his episcopal see granted him in the royal city, and being supported by the king, recovered therein a church, which he was informed had been built by the ancient Roman Christians, and consecrated it in the name of our holy Saviour, God and Lord, Jesus Christ, and there established a residence for himself and his successors. He also built a monastery not far from the city to the eastward, in which, by his advice, Ethelbert erected from the foundation the church of the blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, and enriched it with several donations." Bede, Hist. Eccl., lib. i. c. 33. 604. The church of St. Paul, in the city of London, and the church of Rochester, founded. Bede, Hist. Eccl., lib. ii. c. 3. 621. St. Agnes, Rome. "Rebuilt by pope Honorius. This church is built on the usual plan of the Basilica, but with galleries over each of the aisles, and side windows above the galleries, an arrangement nearly identical with the triforium and clerestory of the middle ages. The pillars are taken from earlier buildings, and are of the rarest marbles." Their capitals are either their own, or an imitation of the antique. Gally Knight, Italy, vol. i. Plate 18. 625-638. Pope Honorius I. He had a taste for splendid cathedrals: much money spent in building churches. 627. Conversion of Edwin, king of Northumberland: the church of York built. "He was baptized at York, on the holy day of Easter, being the 12th of April, in the church of St. Peter the Apostle, which he himself had built of wood, whilst he was being catechised and instructed in order to receive baptism. . . . As soon as he was baptized, he took care, by the direction of the same Paulinus, to build in the same place a larger and nobler church of stone, in the midst whereof the same oratory which he had first erected should be enclosed. Having therefore laid the foundation, he began to build the church square, encompassing the former oratory; but before the wall was raised to the proper height, the wicked assassination of the king left that work to be finished by Oswald his successor." Bede, Hist. Eccl., lib. ii. c. 14. Edwin and Oswald built many churches. Alcuin., de Pontif. Ebor., ap. Gale, pp. 706, 707. Paulinus built a church in Campodono (supposed to be Doncaster). "Nondum enim oratoria vel baptisteria in ipso exordio nascentis ibi ecclesiæ poterant ædificari; attamen in Campodono, ubi tunc villa regia erat, fecit basilicam." Bede, Hist. Eccl., lib. ii. c. 14. 628. Lincolnshire converted by Paulinus. "He likewise built in that city (Lincoln) a stone church of beautiful workmanship; the roof of which having either fallen through age, or been thrown down by enemies, the walls are still (in 731) to be seen standing." Bede, Hist. Eccl., lib. ii. c. 16. 630. Paulinus is said to have built the church of Glastonbury of timber, and to have covered it with lead. Monasticon, t. i. p. 1. 634. The West Saxons converted by Birinus. Worcester. Florence of 635. "Churches were built in several places," in the kingdom of Northumbria. Bede, Hist. Eccl., lib. iii. c. 3. 636. The East-Angles converted by Felix. Sax. Chron. 641. Mosque of Amrou-ben-al-As, at Cairo. One of the earliest buildings of the Mahomedan conquerors of Egypt: it was subsequently enlarged and altered several times, but portions of the original work are supposed to remain. Coste, Architecture Arabe du Caire, Plates 1, 2. 643-648. The old church at Winchester, dedicated to St. Peter, built by Cenwalh, king of Wessex. Sax. Chron. 650. THE KINGDOM OF MERCIA EMBRACES CHRISTIANITY. 651. Aidan's church in a village near Bamborough. “When he was sick, they set up a tent for him close to the wall at the west end of the church, by which means it happened that he gave up the ghost leaning against a post that was on the outside to strengthen the wall. . . . . . It happened some years after that Penda, king of the Mercians, coming into these parts with a hostile army, destroyed all he could with fire and sword, and burned down the village and church above-mentioned, where the bishop died; but it fell out in a wonderful manner that the post (destina), which he had leaned upon when he died, could not be consumed by the fire which consumed all about it. . . The church was soon rebuilt in the same place, and that very post was set up on the outside, as it had been before, to strengthen the |