The manners of the Anglo-Saxons were rude ; they were ignorant of letters, unskilled in mechanic arts, and addicted to intemperance, riot and disorder. The con quest by the Normans put the people in a situation to receive slowly from abroad the rudiments of science and cultivation, (Hume.) The Normans were moderate and abstemious, but much disposed to pomp and magnifi cence in their dress, and likewise in their public and pri vate buildings. They introduced civility, learning and arts, and restored religion from the neglected state into which it had fallen. Bentham's Essay.
Previous to the invasion of England, the Normans had constructed magnificent edifices in Normandy ; and ow ing to the frequent intercourse with that place, and the introduction of Normans into the highest situations in the English church by Edward, who had been bred at that court, and partial to its manners, led to an imitation of the Norman style, especially in the Abbey church of Westminster, and in that of St Peter at Gloucester, both of which were erected during this reign.
The Normans, as soon as they had completely subdued England, and established themselves in every part of the kingdom, prosecuted the erection of ecclesiastical edifices with great zeal and success. Their style was similar to that of the Saxons ; and the chief difference consisted in their being of larger dimensions, in their. having plain, but more lofty vaulting, circular pillars of greater diameter, round arches and capitals, with carv ings much more elaborate and various ; but in both there was a total absence of pediments and pinnacles, taberna cles, or niches with canopies. Dallaway's Observations.
The era of the Norman architecture is reckoned from the conquest, in 1066, to the death of King Stephen in and their exertions will appear evident, when it is considered, that, during this short period, every quar ter of the kingdom was ornamented by their works ; and that fifteen English cathedrals, whose origin can be as certained, exhibit undoubted features of Norman con struction. The cathedrals of Canterbury and Battle Ab bey were two of the finest structures of the conqueror's reign ; and of the following, the bishops, whose names are annexed, were the architects.
During the erection of these works, Norman archi tecture was brought to perfection, and their magnitude had much exceeded that of their predecessors ; also, in many instances, in delicacy and elegance of design, as in the fine specimens in Winchester cathedral, especially in the portal of the ancient Sacristy, between the cast cloister door and south transept, which is the work of Bishop Walkelin, cousin to the conqueror, and finished in 1093; and there is also in the upper part of the south transept of the same cathedral some round intersecting arches, placed by way of ornament upon the outside.
These, which were part of the original work, were finished in 1093, prior to the first crusade, and are per haps the earliest authentic instances of the pointed arches in this kingdom. But in the church of St Cross, near Winchester, in the eastern end, constructed by Henry I. 1132, are richly ornamented Saxon arches intersecting each other ; which intersections are open quite through the wall, constituting highly pointed windows, to the number of 20.
Of the churches in this style, belonging to the greater Abbeys, the following are fine remains : Malmsbury, Wiltshire ; Dunstable, Bedfordshire ; Castle Acre, Nor folk ; Wenlock, Salop; St Botolph's, Colchester. These magnificent works are a proof of the power, influence, and talents of the ecclesiastics of that period. The Ro man pontiffs about this time arrived at the utmost pleni tude of authority, and they were ably supported by pre lates of that time. Amongst all the revolutions of civil government, the interests of the church remained pro tected, and continued regularly to extend its influence. This enabled them to execute works, which appear suffi cient to require the whole revenue of a state.
During the reign of Stephen, that is, from 1135 to 1154, the arches became slightly pointed : the heavy round pillar was divided and clustered, and by degrees converted into the tall slender pillar, supporting the sharply pointed arch, distinguished by the name of lan cet ; but still many ornaments of the preceding era con tinued to be used. In the reign of the third Henry, the cathedrals of Westminster, Salisbury, and Ely, arc evi dence of the perfection to which this elegant style had then been carried.