ARCHITECTURE - Karatunov.net

13 o FRANCE AUVERGNE [CH. xxinThe The strength of this construction consequently dependsAuvergnat- - - ... r.n i tconentirelyon the stability of the outer walls, which aresanctionslightly buttressed, but are very massive, and asthey have proved effective the construction may bepronounced to be in perfect equilibrium.On these vaults the roof is laid directly, without anytimber construction such as was required when the art ofcross-vaulting with rib and panel was perfected. Thebarrel vault, especially when pointed as it was in laterexamples, could easily be covered with a gabled roof.In Constantinople and the East the curved back of thevault would have been allowed to show itself, as it doesin the smaller temple of Diocletian's palace at Spalato,and the lead or tilingwould have been laid on the backof the arch, but this fashion never obtained in westernEurope, where the gabledroof is universalits defects The drawback to this mode of construction is thatPoly-the half-barrel vaults over the triforium, in order to abutthe great central one over the nave, had topitch againstit at such a height as to make a clerestory impossible ;and the only light the church could receive was by thelower windows in the aisles, those at the east and westends, and what little stole in through small windows atthe back of the triforium*Another striking feature of these Auvergnat churchesmasonry is the polychrome masonry with which they are decorated(Plate CXVI). Situated as they are among the extinctvolcanoes of the Puy de Dome, the black basaltic rockof the district is used as a freestone in their construction ;and advantageis taken of this to mix it with yellowishwhite stone in mosaic patterns on the exterior walls.Not only are the arches made with black and whitevoussoirs alternately,but the gables, and the spandrils of