"The pointed Gothic style which had its origin in the north of France about the middle of the twelfth century appeared in England about 1170, but can scarcely be said to have reached Scotland till after the close of the twelfth century.... The pointed arch, for example, although generally adopted, did not entirely displace, as it had done in the south, the round form of the Normans, a feature which, especially in doorways, continued to be employed not only in the thirteenth century, but throughout the whole course of Gothic art in Scotland. In other respects the thirteenth century style in this country corresponds very closely with that of England. Its features are however, generally speaking, plainer and the structures are smaller."[16]
"This new departure sprung from the necessity which arose for the invention of an elastic system of vaulting which should admit of all the arches, forming vaults over spaces of any form or plan, being carried to the same height at the ridge. This requirement led to the introduction of the pointed arch in the vaulting, and from that departure it soon spread to all the other arched features of the architecture."[17] Architecture, which had hitherto been confined to the monasteries, was now undertaken by laymen, and while the great monasteries were either rebuilt or founded, the cathedrals mostly belong to this period. To these attention was chiefly devoted, and the number of parish churches constructed was comparatively small. This partly arose from the large number of parish churches built during the Norman period. In Scotland the cathedrals of St. Andrews, Dunblane, Glasgow (the choir and crypt), Elgin, Brechin, Dunkeld, Caithness, the choir of St. Magnus in Orkney and Galloway belong in whole or in part to this epoch.[18]
4. Scottish Middle Pointed or Decorated Period
The period from 1214 to 1286 comprised the first pointed work in Scotland. The country was during the time prosperous, and is believed to have been more wealthy than at any time till after the Union with England.[19] The disputed succession after the death of Alexander III. gave Edward I. the opportunity of asserting his claims to the Scottish throne; war followed, and with it poverty and barbarism. "The first note of contest," says Dr. Joseph Robertson, "banished every English priest, monk, and friar from the northern realm. Its termination was followed by the departure of those great Anglo-Norman lords—the flower of the Scottish baronage—who, holding vast possessions in both countries, had so long maintained among the rude Scottish hills the generous example of English wealth and refinement. Then it was that De la Zouche and De Quincy, Ferrars and Talbot, Beaumont and Umfraville, Percy and Wake, Moubray and Fitz-Warine, Balliol and Cumyn, Hastings and De Coursi, ceased to be significant names beyond the Tweed—either perishing in that terrible revolution or withdrawing to their English domains, there to perpetuate in scutcheon and pedigree the memory of their rightful claims to many of the fairest lordships of Albany, and to much of the reddest blood of the north."[20] This had a twofold consequence to architecture. Comparatively few buildings arose in the north, and these were in a smaller scale. And England now becoming an hereditary enemy, no longer supplied models for the churches north of the Tweed, which received the impress of France. In England the First Pointed was succeeded about 1272 by the Middle Pointed or Decorated, which swayed for about a century, being succeeded by the Third Pointed or Perpendicular, whose reign, beginning about 1377, ended with the Reformation.[21] The Decorated style did not reach Scotland till it had passed away in England, and the Scottish representatives of the style are scanty in number and late in date.[22] When the country revived after the long struggle with England, and building began towards the close of the fourteenth or the beginning of the fifteenth century, few new works were undertaken, energy and resources were concentrated on the rebuilding or completion of the edifices that had been destroyed or left unfinished. This period, along with the Third Pointed in Scotland, is regarded as the work of native architects.[23]
5. Scottish Third or Late Pointed Period
The Middle Pointed passed by a gentle gradation into the Late Pointed style, and it is difficult to say when the one ceased and the other began. Yet there are some characteristics of the Third Pointed which are peculiar to it and render it a distinct epoch. The large churches are nearly all restorations, and no new churches of great size were undertaken. The Scottish churches are usually smaller in size than the English ones, and consist of single compartments without aisles. The east end frequently terminates with a three-sided apse—a feature which owes its origin to the Scottish alliance and intercourse with France. The leading and distinguishing feature is, however, the vaulting—the pointed barrel vault being almost universally employed. The windows of these churches are necessarily low, so as to allow the point of the arch-head to come beneath the spring of the main vault. The buttresses are generally somewhat stunted. The windows are almost always pointed, and contain simple tracery derived from the earlier styles. The doorways are generally of the old round-headed form, with late foliage and enrichments. Porches are occasionally introduced, and coats of arms are commonly carved on shields of the period, and are useful in determining the dates of portions of the buildings. Towers were generally erected or intended, and are somewhat stunted, finished with short spires, having small dormer windows inserted in them. Monuments are of frequent occurrence, and are frequently placed in arched and canopied recesses. Richly carved sacrament-houses are occasionally introduced, and perhaps some of the good carving may be due to the French masons who were numerous in Scotland during the reigns of James IV. and James V. The structures of the period were either parish or collegiate churches.[24]