Gundulph built the Cathedral of Rochester, while certainly St. Albans and Ely were also commenced in the reign of the Conqueror. In the earliest work the ornament was not characterised by the same profusion so common in later work. It was shallow, and cut with the axe, as the chisel was little used at that time.
PLATE 20.
(Fig. 1): Pillar with spiral fluting in Waltham Abbey (founded by Harold II.) The spiral grooves were originally filled with chased and gilt metal. Of the twelve pillars in the Abbey two are indented spirally and two with chevrons. The others are plain. (Other instances of this work on the pillars may be found at Durham, Lindisfarne, and Kirkby Lonsdale). The arches are decorated with the indented zigzag ornament. (Fig. 2): Flat Norman buttress (Iffley, Oxfordshire). The buttresses at first were merely flat, pilaster-like projections, wholly devoid of ornament. (Figs. 3 to 8): Norman capitals. These were either plain, cubical masses with the lower angles rounded off, forming a rude cushion shape (Fig. 3), or they have a 53-54 rude kind of volute cut upon the edges of the angles (Fig. 8, from St. John’s Chapel in the White Tower). The scalloped capitals (Figs. 6 and 7) belong to a later period. This form of capital is most common in all the first half of the twelfth century. The capital is the member by which the styles are more easily distinguished than by any other. The abacus (A, Fig. 4) is square in section. (Figs. 9 to 14): Norman mouldings, which were almost endless in variety. They were most abundantly used in doorways and other arches and in horizontal strips. The most general is the zigzag (Fig. 14). (Fig. 9): The star. (Fig. 10): The round billet (a square billet is also used). (Fig. 11): The billet and lozenge. (Fig. 12): The beak-head. (Fig. 13): The bead course. (Fig. 14): The zigzag or chevron. (Fig. 15): Early Norman pier, recessed at the angles, and square edges, in St. Alban’s Abbey, 1080 A.D. (Fig. 16): Norman doorway with recessed pillars and decorated head, at St. Mary’s, Shrewsbury. (Fig. 17): Norman chamfer.
[LATER NORMAN ARCHITECTURE.]
The Earlier period of Norman architecture may be approximately closed in 1120 A.D. (fifty-four years after the Battle of Hastings).
In the Later period the chisel took the place of the axe in the cutting of the ornament. Consequently there is a fineness and a more finished style of work, which could not be executed with the latter tool.
The Later or rich Norman style is chiefly characterised by the abundance of the ornament and the deep cutting. Sculpture, which was sparingly used in the earlier work, was frequently added to it at a later period, and as the style advanced, greater lightness and enrichment were introduced.