ation: FIG. 32.--DOORWAY AT LOCHES, FRANCE. (1180.)]

The transitional architecture of France is no exception to the rule
that the art of a period of change is full of interest. Much of it has
disappeared, but examples remain in the eastern part of the cathedral
of St. Denis already referred to, in portions of the cathedrals of
Noyon and Sens, the west front of Chartres, the church of St.
Germain des Pres at Paris, and elsewhere. We here often find the
pointed arch employed for the most important parts of the structure,
while the round arch is still retained in the window and door-heads,
and in decorative arcades, as shown in our illustrations of a section
of the church at Fontevrault (Fig. 31), and of a doorway at Loches
(Fig. 32).

The first pointed architecture of the thirteenth century in France
differs considerably from the early English of this country. The
arches are usually less acute, and the windows not so tall in
proportion to their width. The mouldings employed are few and simple
compared with the many and intricate English ones. Large round columns
are much used in place of our complicated groups of small shafts for
the piers of the nave; and the abacus of the capital remains square.
An air of breadth and dignity prevails in the buildings of this date
to which the simple details, noble proportions, and great size largely
contribute. The western front of Notre Dame, Paris (Fig. 33), dates
from the early years of this century, the interior being much of it a
little earlier. The well-known cathedrals of Chartres, Rheims, Laon,
and later in the style, Amiens, and Beauvais, may be taken as grand
examples of French first pointed. To these may be added the very
graceful Sainte Chapelle of Paris, the choir and part of the nave of
the cathedral at Rouen, the church of St. Etienne at Caen, and the
cathedrals of Coutances, Lisieux, Le Mans, and Bourges. This list of
churches could be almost indefinitely extended, and many monastic
buildings, and not a few domestic and military ones, might be added.
Among the most conspicuous of these may be named the monastic fortress
at Mont St. Michel, probably the most picturesque structure in
France, the remarkable fortifications of Carcassonne, and the lordly
castle of Coucy.

[Illustration: FIG. 33.--NOTRE DAME, PARIS, WEST FRONT. (1214.)]

The second pointed, or fourteenth century Gothic of France, bears more
resemblance to contemporary English Gothic than the work of the