_baldaquin_ in marble, bearing figures of
the twelve apostles. The high altar is directly beneath the cupola, or
lantern, of the principal tower. It is quite isolated, and has neither
flanking columns nor a _baldaquin_. On feast-days it is brilliantly
set forth with candelabra in a fashion which would be theatrical, if it
were not churchly.

[Illustration: MAYENCE CATHEDRAL]

Behind this altar is the space reserved for the clergy, a somewhat
unusual arrangement, but not a unique one. At the extreme end is the
bishop's throne.

The general appearance of the interior constructive elements would seem
to place the work as a whole well within the thirteenth century, though
the extreme easterly portion is more ancient still.

There is very little of pure Gothic to be noted. Mostly the fabric is a
reproduction of the Lombard style, though much undeniably Gothic
ornament is used. The bays of the nave are singularly narrow and of
great height, almost the reverse of the pure Italian manner of building
which elsewhere made itself strongly felt along the Rhine. The height of
these bays is more than two and a half times the width. The bays of
German churches, in general, have a much greater length than those of
Italy, and herein is a marked difference between the Italian and German
styles in spite of other resemblances.

There are in the cathedral numerous paintings of questionable artistic
worth and an abundance of coloured glass, which is condemned as
comparatively modern and of no especial interest.

The altar of St. Martin, with statues of Sts. Martin and Boniface, is
near the baptistery. There are eight lateral chapels, out of fifteen in
all, which are bare and without altars, showing a poverty--whatever may
have been the cause--which is deplorable.

In the Bassenheim chapel is a remarkable marble group taken from the
church of Notre Dame, a Gothic edifice destroyed during the siege of
1793.

There are numerous and beautiful funeral monuments scattered about the
church, the most celebrated being that which surmounts the tomb of
Frastrada, the third wife of Charlemagne, who died in 794, and was
originally interred in the church of St. Alban. The remains were removed
to the cathedral when the former church was burned in 1552.

On the tomb of Frastrada one may read the following eighth-century
inscription:

"_Frastradana, pia Caroli conjux vocitata,
Christo dilecta, jacet hoc sub marmore tecta,
Anno septi