FIG. 167a. CAPITALS AND BASE, CASTLE OF ST HONORAT.
Another interesting point connected with these pillars is the form and decoration of their capitals and bases (Figs. 167 and 167^a). At first sight they look very rude and primitive, but on careful examination they are seen to possess certain characteristics which belong to a comparatively late period, thus raising a suspicion as to their antiquity, which the evidently late vaulting of the cloister tends to confirm. One is therefore somewhat puzzled how to regard them, and what date to assign to them. But a comparison of the caps and bases of St Honorat with those of the cloister of Thoronet at once removes all difficulty. Original and quaint as both are, they are evidently (with the exception of some which are later, and will be afterwards referred to) the product of the same style and period. The Abbé Allier informs us that in 1295 the Abbot Gancelme de Mayreris did much work in the interior of the tower, and in 1315 a general chapter granted certain fines in order to raise funds for its completion. To this period probably belongs the first construction of the cloister. But in 1400 the monastery was attacked by Genoese pirates, commanded by one Salageri, who took the castle by assault, imprisoned the monks, and pillaged the monastery. These Corsairs kept possession of the castle for about a year, and were only got rid of by a general muster of the nobility of Provence, with their retainers. The invaders probably greatly destroyed the building; for we learn that after 1400 the cloisters, “L’Escalier tournant,” and other works were commenced, and carried on by one Gastolius de Grasse, who died in 1422. These facts indicate two periods of considerable operations at the castle, one in the beginning of the fourteenth and the other of the fifteenth century. Some of the caps (such as A, D, and E), which so strikingly resemble those of the cloisters of Thoronet, probably belong to the first of these periods; while others (like B) have been executed in imitation of them, but contain details which are undoubtedly of the period of the later work. The capital (B) and most of the bases are clearly of the fifteenth century; the style of the ogee and other mouldings, and the foliage of the griffes or claws at the angles and on the cap B, being of a late character. The form of the vaulting ([Fig. 168]), with its thin groins all dying away to one sharp point at the springing, and without caps or corbels to rest on, also corresponds with that date. The cloister arches are pointed, but have no mouldings. It was in 1394, shortly before the second of the above periods, that the body of St Honorat was
FIG. 168. LOWER CLOISTER IN CASTLE, ST HONORAT.
brought to the island from Forcalquier. Altogether, at this time the monastery seems to have been in great activity, and extensive works appear to have been then carried out at the castle. The portion adjoining the north side of the cloister was at that time extended, so as to form a projection to the northward, containing the “Escalier tournant” above mentioned. The elliptical arch of the doorway to this wheel-stair (see [Fig. 166]) is evidently a late work, and a wide joint or crack in the masonry, shewing the point from which the extension northward took place, can be distinctly seen in the exterior of the east wall ([Fig. 169]), where it extends from top to bottom of the castle. The style of the masonry of this portion is also smoother than the original work, which is left rough or “bossy” on the surface. The object of this addition has probably been to provide a space for a guard-room near the entrance to the castle with a wide staircase, and a broad platform on the roof for defensive purposes. Beneath the cloister is a large cistern or tank, stated by the Abbé Allier to have been constructed by Gastolius de Grasse early in the fifteenth century; it contains a supply of good water. A steep stair opposite the entrance door leads down to some small cellars, arranged in two storys ([Fig. 170]), under a portion only of the western part of the tower.
Ascending the “Escalier tournant,” the steps of which are four feet long, we arrive at the upper cloister ([Fig. 171]). This contains a gallery all round, with a parapet next the open court, on which stand twelve octagonal columns supporting as many pointed arches ([Fig. 172]). The whole is built in fine white marble, and the design is in the Italian-Gothic style, somewhat similar to that of the cloister arches at Fréjus. Some of the shafts and caps are evidently restorations in imitation of older ones ([Fig. 173]).