ARCHITECTURE - Karatunov.net

102 FRANCE BURGUNDY [CH. xxnStill the step firstthe vault . .111taken at V&zelay was a great advancen ion previous construction, and led on naturally to thefurther development of vaulting on more scientificprinciples.The choir and transepts of V^zelaywere re-built inthe 13th century, between 1198 and i2o6 J in a, vigorousearly pointed style, of which they afford one of thefinest examples. But the Romanesque nave which wasdedicated about 1 102 remains, and the narthex which wasdedicated in 1132. In the latter, benefiting by theirexperience of the nave, the builders adopted a moresecure way of supporting the main vault. The narthex,like that at Cluny is a church by itself (Plate CXI 1 1),with a nave and aisles, three bays long and two storeysin height The aisles are cross vaulted in the lowerstorey, while the upper, which is a triforium or gallery,has a ramping vault that giveseffectual abutment to thevault of the central nave. In the narthex the pointedarch makes itsappearance in the constructive features forthe first time. All the nave arches are round.The nave and aisles are in a sombre round-archedstyle and the ; stringcourses and labels are heavy, anddecorated with rosettes, a favourite Burgundian ornamentThe piers are compound, with attached shafts and;thearches, as well as the transverse ribs of the vault arebuilt with alternate voussoirs of white and dark brownstone,one of the few instances of polychrome masonryin France. There is no triforium, and the clerestorywindows are plain semi-circular headed openings, splayedall round both inside and out. A characteristic feature1V.-le-Duc, vol. I, p. 232. He says the Abbot Hugh was deposed in thelast year for having run the monastery into debt to the amount of 2220 silverlivres or ,45,600 of our money*