A little detail respecting the folk-lore of the Cardinal Points may not be unacceptable. Taking first the East, we find that this quarter, besides serving as the point of determination for certain races whose speech was of the Aryan stock, was the reputed home of deities. We have seen that folk of many climes turned to the East in prayer. That portion of the firmament was symbolical of hope, and purity, and fulness of life. Milton speaks of
... “the Eastern gate,
Where the great sun begins his state”—
as if the grandeur of dawn could not be overlooked by the most unresponsive eye. St Augustine considers the East emblematic of the “Light of Heaven.” How important this point of the compass was esteemed by Christian and pagan architects is proved by the practice of orientation—the word itself marks out the idea. Hawker, of Morwenstow, ever mystical in his beliefs, declared that the East was the realm of oracles and represented the special throne of God, while the West was the domain of the people—the Galilee of all nations[844].
The South, the region of warmth and midday, has always been beloved by the religious, as well as the superstitious, of most countries, especially in the Northern parts of the world. The prose Eddas speak of the Southern edge of heaven as the everlasting abode of righteous men. Again, one of the roots of the magic tree Yggdrasill springs from the warm South side, over the Urdur fountain. The preference for the South is well seen in ecclesiastical matters. The churchyard cross usually stands on the South side of the church ([Fig. 62]). As will be shown in Chapter IX., on this side the churchyard yew is most generally found. The Southern doorway is somewhat more common than the Northern; where both exist, the Southern is more in favour with the worshippers. On a balance of observations, I find that the Southern side of a church is more
Fig. 62. Churchyard cross, on the South side of Bakewell church, Derbyshire. The cross, which belongs to the latter half of the eighth century, is complete, except the top arm. It exhibits foliage and fine interlaced work, with sculptured figures illustrating the Life and Death of Christ. (See Vict. Hist. of Derby, I. pp. 280, 287.) The cross is supposed to indicate a pre-Conquest burial ground.
elaborately decorated than the Northern (cf. [p. 239], supra, and the reservation there made), a fact illustrated in the mouldings and capitals ([Fig. 63]), the window tracery and the painted glass. The bishop’s throne is customarily placed on the South side of the cathedral. The so-called “low side windows” ([Fig. 64]) occur most frequently in the South walls. Those curious oblique passages, known as squints or hagioscopes, cut through church walls (cf. [p. 148], supra), are most commonly Southern features, in which case they often point directly to the Southern entrance of the building. In this country, we are accustomed to look for the cloisters of a Benedictine abbey on the South side of the church, but in Italy the covered way usually lies to the North[845]. Here, all symbolism seems to be stripped away, and primal considerations of comfort gain the ascendancy. Our variable climate renders a sunny outlook desirable, and we notice efforts to secure this end in the familiar arrangement of old farmsteads, where the barns and enclosures frequently stand to the South of the dwelling. In a hot country, like Italy, coolness and shade would be sought, hence we find the dissimilar ground plan of the Italian abbeys.
