Of French Romanesque, the most famous ex amples are the Abbaye-aux-Hommes (S. Etienne); Caen, commenced in 1066 by Wil liam the Conqueror, to expiate his fault in marrying his closely related Matilda; also, in the same place, the Abbaye-aux-Dames (La Trinite). The Classic movement in Paris produced the Madeleine (1764-1806), which combines Hellenic and Roman elements. It is an excellent reproduction of a Corinthian tem ple.
English, Scotch and Irish Cathedrals.— Of English church buildings the most in teresting is Westminster Abbey, begun in 1050 by Edward the Confessor, who died soon after the choir was finished in 1065 and was buried there. Mr. Allen (see Bibliography) writes that ((Edward the Confessor was interred before the high altar eight days after the .dedi cation.* To be crowned beside that tomb lent additional sanctity to the rite of coronation; and every British sovereign, from William the Conqueror to George V has received the crown before its altar. Henry III, who rebuilt the church, palace and monastery at Westminster, `chose his own burial-place on the north side of the stately shrine to which he had (trans lated' the body of the Confessor. There, in due time, lay his son Edward I and his Queen; there king after king was buried"; there Chau cer was laid to rest, and there, nearly two cen turies later, the poet's poet, Spenser,— and after ward the other poets of the famous "corner.* Nelson's cry: "Westminster or victor?! epi grammatized the feeling and settled conviction of Englishmen that to be laid to sleep "in ground sacred with the dust of kings, warriors, churchmen, statesmen and poets, was an honor of the highest order.* For three centuries Par liament met in Westminster's Chapter House, the cradle-of Parliamentary government of the British empire. Edward III spoke of the Ab bey as not only "the monastery church of West minster,* but also as the • special chapel of our principal palace.* Twice in its long history a bishop's throne has adorned its choir stalls; but to-day it is not a cathedral it is — Westmins ter Abbey. The nave is the loftiest in Eng land and the transepts contain some of the most beautiful work that can be found any where. The south transept is the "Poets' Cor ner,x' a name given by Goldsmith. Chaucer's tomb is here. Henry 'VII's chapel is the most perfect example of Perpendicular in exist ence. The vault is beautiful with "fan-tra
cery.* Above the superbly carved stalls of the Knights of the Bath hang ancient banners. In this impressive and elaborate chapel the tombs of Queen Elizabeth and her victim, Mary, Queen of Scots, are side by side! The famous "Jerusalem Chamber* (see Shakespeare's IV,) Part II, Act V, Sc. IV) is on the right of the chief, or west, en trance. In this room the Assembly of Divines met in 1643, to frame the Westminster Cate chism.
Saint Paul's Cathedral, in London, replaces the first Saint Paul's which was destroyed in the great fire of 1666. The first stone of the present edifice was laid 21 June 1675 by Chris topher Wren, who drew up a comprehensive scheme for the new streets and squares of Lon don, but was permitted to exercise his great talent only upon this main building in his general plans. Sir Christopher's son laid the last stone, the highest slab on the top of the Lantern, 363 feet above the pavement, in 1710. The entire building was finished in 35 years under one architect, one master mason, and while one bishop, Dr. Henry Compton, occu pied the see. Compare what is said above about Saint Peter's. The plan of the building is the Latin cross surmounted by a dome 145 feet in diameter and the latter combines characteristics of both Bramante's and Michelangelo's designs for the dome of Saint Peter's in Rome. The dome is the great feature of Saint Paul's and almost seems to typify London. The length of the building, east to west, is 500 feet; its width is 125 feet, except at the west end where two towers extend the width to 180 feet. The choir stalls, carved by Grinling Gibbons, are superb.
Saint Paul's is second only to Westminster Abbey in its number of monuments to the celebrated dead. Here lie Wellington, Nelson, Rodney, Gordon, Lord Cornwallis, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Landseer, Turner and the American painter, Benjamin West. Westminster Abbey is the church of the king: Saint Paul's is the church of the citizen. It has always been chosen as the scene for stirring commemora tions and thanksgivings ever since Queen Anne celebrated Marlborough's victories there. The streets around Saint Paul's bear such names as Amen Corner, Creed Lane, Canon Alley and Paternoster Row.