il headed pannels,[TN-3] sunk in the face.

Q. What may be said in general terms of the style of the thirteenth
century, in comparing it with the styles which immediately preceded and
followed it?

[Illustration: Parapet, Salisbury Cathedral.]

A. In comparison with the Norman style, with its heavy concomitants and
enrichments, the style of the thirteenth century is light and simple, and
the details possess much elegance of contour. These, in small buildings,
are generally plain; but in large buildings they exhibit numerous
mouldings, combined with a certain degree of decorative embellishment.
This style is, however, far from presenting that extreme beauty of outline
and tasteful conception, combined with the pure and chaste ornamental
accessories, which prevail in the designs of the fourteenth century.

Q. What particular structures may be noticed as belonging to this style?

A. Salisbury Cathedral, built by Bishop Poore between A. D. 1220 and 1260,
is perhaps the most perfect specimen, on a large scale, of this style in
its early state, with narrow lancet windows; the nave and transepts of
Westminster Abbey, commenced in 1245, exhibit this style in a more
advanced stage; whilst Lincoln Cathedral is, for the most part, a rich
specimen of this style in its late or transition state. The west front of
Wells Cathedral, erected by the munificence of Bishop Joceline, between
A. D. 1213 and A. D. 1239, is covered with blank arcades and a number of
trefoil-headed niches, surmounted by plain pedimental canopies, which
contain specimens of statuary remarkable for their extreme beauty and
freedom of design.

[Illustration: Corbel, Wells Cathedral.]

FOOTNOTES:

[86-*] From the economic principles on which our modern churches are, with
few exceptions, planned, they are mostly designed after and are intended
to resemble in style those of the thirteenth century, in which more
detail can be dispensed with than in any other style. Hence it follows
that the just proportions and adaptation of the different parts and the
minutest details and mouldings in ancient churches of this style required
to be carefully studied, more so perhaps for practical purposes than in
churches of any other style.

[Illustration: Dunchurch Church, Warwickshire.]

CHAPTER VII.

OF THE DECORATED ENGLISH STYLE.

Q. When did the Decorated English style commence, and how long did it
prevail?

A. It may be said to have commenced in the latte