FLAMBOYANT (Fr. flamboyant, pres. part. of flamber, to flame, OFr. flamber, flamer, from Lat. flainm a re, to flame, from fla m a , flame; con nected with flagrare, to blaze, Gk. phle gein, to burn, Skt. bhra j, to be bright, AS. bloc, shining, pale, Icel. bleikr, pale, Eng. bleak). The name given to the latest style of Gothic architec ture in France. It prevailed there during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, and corresponds to the Perpendicular (q.v.) in Eng land. The name is derived from the flame-like forms of the tracery of the windows, panels, etc., which replaced the more regular earlier traces, inscribed in circles and triangles. The character istics of this style are minute and elaborate orna ment, combined with general bareness of surface; a multiplication of the arch-forms used, the re verse point and flat-arched forms being common; a reversion to horizontal effects, as in galleries, breaking up the vertical lines of pure Gothic. The crockets, for instance, are generally cut into a great number of small leaves, while they are placed far apart; the moldings are divided into large hollows, often empty, but sometimes filled with minutely naturalistic vine foliage and small, thin fillets and heads; the finials have crockets minutely carved, set upon bare pyra midal terminals; the a reh-moldings arc divided nito a great number of small parts. and lack the boldness and decision of the earlier styles. These moldings are frequently abutted on the pil lars, or continued down them without any caps; and when there are no caps, they are small and without effect. \Vhen moldings join they are fre
quently run through one another, so as to appear to interlace. The effect is intricate rather than beautiful, suggestive, like the rest of the style. of ingenuity in stone-entting rather than art. The doorways and windows are sometimes large and fine; hut while these are highly enriched, the general surface of the building is left. too plain, and the effects are thin. There are many large buildings in France executed in this style, but it is usually portions only which are fine, not the general effect. The most remarkable are Saint .Alaclou at Rouen, Saint Jacques at Dieppe, Saint Riquier near and Saint Wolfram at Ablat ville, the cathedral facades of Tours and Troyes, and the Church of Broth Some of the spires of this period are also very beautiful. The northern spire of Chartres Cathedral, for example, is con sidered one of the finest in France. In England. also, Flamboyant tracery was introduced at the close of the Decorated period. but was so quickly superseded by the Perpendicular style that it did not form a separate style; it is there called `flowing,' or `curvilinear,' and can be seen at Lincoln (south transept), Ely (south aisle and triforium), and Wells. The corresponding stage of Gothic development in Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands is rather merely florid than based upon any clear principle of design, such as the Flamboyant.