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Plantagenet Gothic fused the cupola of Aquitaine and the diagonals of north—Lasted a hundred years, from 1150 to 1250—For clearness divided into three periods: I. Heavy diagonals, II. Eight slight branches, III. Multiple ribs—English fan tracery a derivation of Angevin Gothic.

   

Cupola churches of Aquitaine: St. Front at Périgieux, begun after a fire, 1120, and finished by 1180—Cahors Cathedral has Romanesque portal of beauty (note)—Cathedral of Angoulême, begun 1109—Its façade a notable page of French decoration—Rich façades distinguish Poitou’s Romanesque school—Fontevrault abbey church, built in the first half of the XII century—Plantagenet tombs at Fontevrault—Aliénor of Aquitaine buried there in 1204 beside her husband, Henry II, and her son, Richard Cœur-de-Lion—Aliénor’s descendants notable builders of churches.

   

Cathedral of Angers—Its nave vaulted with First-Period diagonals, about 1150—Anjou rulers a remarkable race—Fulk Nerra, the great builder, died 1040—Choir of Angers Cathedral extended after 1274—In the nave is XII-century glass of St. Denis derivation—Cathedral’s Apocalypse tapestries—Fortress of Angers, built by St. Louis, 1228 to 1238—Church of Toussaint had a ramified vault of the Third Period—St. Jean’s hospital hall, endowed by Henry II, a gem of Plantagenet art—Choir of St. Serge, 1220 to 1225, a masterpiece of lightness.

   

Saumur—Another center for the study of Plantagenet Gothic—Historical fête called the Non-Pareille took place in its castle in 1241—St. Pierre’s church shows different kinds of Angevin vaults—Church of St. Martin at Candes, a Plantagenet masterpiece—St. Florent-les-Saumur shows one of the first eight-branch vaults—Puy-Notre-Dame and Asnières beautiful examples of Plantagenet art (note)—Plantagenet vaults at Le Mans, Vendôme, Chinon, and Tours.

   

Cathedral of Poitiers, begun by Henry Plantagenet and Aliénor of Aquitaine, 1160—In adopting the gracious Plantagenet vaulting it remained true to Poitou’s Romanesque traditions—XII-century Crucifixion window the most glorious in the world—Spirit of Poitiers’ bishops, St. Hilary and Fortunatus, inspired it—Church of Ste. Radégonde is Plantagenet vaulted—St. Hilaire’s abbatial has curious octagonal cupolas—St. Jean’s baptistry, the oldest building in France, dating from the IV century—Clement V at Poitiers in 1307 carried on the Templars’ process—Hall of the count’s palace rebuilt by Duke Jean de Berry—Jeanne d’Arc examined there in 1429, found to be sent of God.

  VIII. GOTHIC IN THE MIDI 329  

Cathedral of Clermont-Ferrand, begun in 1248—Gothic of the north, translated with a Midi accent—True character of Auvergne shown in its Romanesque churches—Notre Dame-du-Port, the classic type of Auvergne’s Romanesque school—Abbey church of La Chaise Dieu, begun by Clement VI, 1344—Contains incomparable tapestries (note)—First Crusade proclaimed at Clermont by Urban II, 1095—Riom’s Sainte-Chapelle, of the XIV century—Madonna of the Bird a masterpiece of late-Gothic imagery—Romanesque Cathedral of Le Puy (XII century) one of the most venerable shrines in France.

   

Cathedral of Bordeaux, like the city itself, is of the north and the south—Nave is composite and difficult to read—Clement V (d. 1314) built the Rayonnant Gothic choir—In the Romanesque church of Ste. Croix appeared the first diagonals of the region—Charlemagne laid Roland’s olifant on the altar of St. Seurin—St. Bertrand-de-Comminges Cathedral built by Clement V—Cathedral of Bayonne (note).

   

Cathedral of Toulouse consists of two inharmonious parts—Unaisled nave with Angevin vaults building while Simon de Montfort besieged city—Gothic choir begun in 1275—Chief monument of Toulouse is the abbey church of St. Sernin (begun 1075)—Languedoc then excelled in sculpture: Moissac’s portal and cloister (note)—Toulouse a center for brick architecture—Its Jacobins’ church begun in 1229—St. Dominic’s mission in Languedoc—Albigensian Crusade.

   

Albi Cathedral, the incarnation of the Midi wars: meridional Gothic—Aggressive Bernard de Castanets began it in 1282—Flamboyant and Renaissance riches were added to St. Cecilia’s cathedral—Frescoes of its vault have never been surpassed (1509 to 1512)—Its choir screen equally noted—Auch Cathedral has famous XVI-century windows (note)—Cathedral of Rodez possesses a notable Flamboyant tower (1510 to 1526) (note)—Carcassonne Cité has been too much restored—Its ci-devant cathedral of St. Nazaire the best of XIV-century Gothic—Like a reliquary of colored glass—Carcassonne town has typical Midi Gothic churches.

   

Narbonne Cathedral, consisting of a vast Gothic choir, begun in 1272—Its mechanical skill cold, but still Gothic of the grand style—Lovely XIV-century glass—Sack of Béziers, 1209—Perpignan Cathedral and Elne’s cloister (note)—Abbey church of Fontfroide allied with Poblet in Catalonia (note).

   

Montpellier Cathedral, formerly an abbey church, built by Urban V, XIV century—Jaime el Conquistador, mighty builder of churches, born in Montpellier, 1208—Mende Cathedral and St. Victor’s abbatial at Marseilles built by Urban V (note)—Maguelonne, former cathedral of diocese, now the most aloof spot in Europe—Aigues-Mortes, begun by St. Louis, completed by his son—Fortress unspoiled by restorations—Both crusades of Louis IX sailed thence—St. Gilles’ abbey church, partly a ruin, interesting to archæologists; building from 1116—Noted portal of St. Gilles inspired Trinity Church, Boston—Loyalty of Provence to its Saintes-Maries traditions—Les Saintes-Maries church a pilgrim shrine (note)—St. Martha’s church at Tarascon (note).

   

St. Trophime Cathedral at Arles—Portal influenced by Gallo-Roman sculpture—Its cloister the fairest Christian monument in the city—Ruins of Montmajour near Arles—Frédéric Mistral should be one’s companion in Provence—Expresses the regional soul—St. Maximin church the best Gothic monument in Provence—Begun by Charles II d’Anjou in 1295—Cathedral of St. Sauveur at Aix-en-Provence is composite—Its south aisle originally a separate Romanesque church, XII century—Good King René gave the triptych by a French primitif—Avignon’s great day was the XIV century under seven meridional popes, 1309 to 1377—Palace of the Popes built from 1335 to 1358—Grandest fortress-palace in the world.

  IX. THE GOTHIC ART OF BURGUNDY public@vhost@g@gutenberg@html@files@41687@[email protected]#page_410" class="pginternal"