282. Section of Church at Roueiha. (From De Vogüé.) Scale 50 ft. to 1 in.
In the same province we find also the earliest examples of the use of pier arches in a church to separate the nave from the aisles. These seem to have been currently used in Northern Syria in the 6th century, though not found in the West—at least not used in the same manner—for several centuries later. Generally three such arches only were employed in the length of the nave, and they consequently left the floor so open and free, that it is very questionable if in churches of limited dimensions the introduction of a much larger number by the Gothic architects was an improvement. Taking it altogether, it is probable that such a church as that at Roueiha (Woodcut No. [282]) would, if literally reproduced, make a better and cheaper church for an English parish than the Mediæval models we are so fond of copying. A considerable amount of perspective effect is obtained by throwing two transverse arches across the nave, dividing it into three compartments, each including four windows in the clerestory; and the whole design is simple and solid in a degree seldom surpassed in buildings of its class. Its dimensions are 63 ft. by 150 over all externally.
In many of these churches the transverse arches of the nave are omitted; and when, as at Qalb Louzeh (Woodcut No. [284]), the clerestory is accentuated by roofing shafts, the same effect of perspective is obtained by other means, and perhaps as successfully. It is very interesting, however, to find that as early as the 6th century the architects were thoughtfully feeling their way towards those very principles of design which many centuries afterwards enabled the Gothic architects to produce their most successful effects. The introduction of four windows over each great arch, and of a rooting-shaft between each to support the beams of the roof, was a happy thought, and it is wonderful it was so completely lost sight of afterwards.
283. Plan of Church at Qalb Louzeh. Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
284. Apse of Church at Qalb Louzeh. (From De Vogüé.)
It is probable that the apse (Woodcut No. [284]) was originally adorned with paintings or mosaics, or at least that it was intended it should be so ornamented; but even as it is, it is so well proportioned to the size of the church, and to its position, and so appropriately ornamented, that it is better than most of those found in Roman basilicas; and, for a small church, is a more dignified receptacle for the altar than either the French chevet or the English chancel.
Did our limits admit of it, it would be not only pleasant but instructive to dwell longer on this subject; for few parts of our inquiry can be more interesting than to find that, as early as the 6th century, the Roman basilica had been converted into a Christian church, complete in all its details, and—internally at least—in a style of architecture as consistent and almost as far removed from its classical prototype as the Mediæval Gothic itself.