A B C of Gothic Architecture

48 THE N-ORMAN" PERIOD.
The small Arcades which are frequentlyused as
decorations of the walls, and for sedilia,have scarcely
any separate character ; they are diminutives of the
larger arches,except that the shafts are smaller and
shorter in proportion: in rich work they are used both
inside and outside of the walls,and frequentlyon the
outside of the clerestory, as well as on the inside in
front of the blind-story,now called the triforium.
Intersecting arches occur in these arcades from a very
early period; and Rickman observes,that whoever
constructed them, constructed pointedarches; and he
adds, "It appears
as if the round and pointedarches
were for nearly a century used indiscriminately, as
was most consonant to the necessities of the work, or
the builder's ideas." At Canterbury,an ornamental
arcade
of intersecting arches occurs both on the insideand
outside of the wall in St.Anselm's tower.
In the apse in the White Tower the arches are
stilted to accommodate them to their position. The
arches of the triforium are generally wide and low;
sometimes they are divided by two sub-arches.
The form of the arch was at all periodsdictated
partlyby convenience,and is not to be relied on as
a guide to the date or style; but there was a prevailing
fashion,and that form was usuallyfollowed at
each period,unless there was some reason for changing
it,which is generally obvious if we look for it. To