y, the foundation as we find it upon which
Gothic Architecture was evolved, the means by which its wonderful
plans were laid down, and the most reverenced figure in Religious
Symbolism, as shown by its use in seals, engravings, sculptures,
pictures, &c., throughout the Middle Ages.

Let me make this clearer. The more one examines the typical points in
the Saxon, Norman, and Gothic styles of Architecture, the more clearly
one sees that the Architects of the two former used circles and
squares on their tracing-boards, as units for their proportions, in
drawing up both ground plans and elevations, with here and there
suggestions only of the Equilateral Triangle having been made use of
in some of the smaller details; whereas the Gothic Architects seem to
have used the Vesica Piscis almost entirely. This explains the reason
why true Gothic buildings have always been said to be built mainly on
the basis of the Equilateral Triangle; this naturally follows, because
the use of the Vesica creates, and therefore necessitates, the
appearance of the Equilateral Triangle in every conceivable situation.
The following quotation is typical of the leading essay writers on
this subject: "The Equilateral Triangle enters largely into, if it
does not entirely control, all mediaeval proportions, particularly in
the ground plans. In Chartres Cathedral the apices of two Equilateral
Triangles (_vide_ frontispiece to these Views), whose common base is
the internal length of the transept, measured through the two western
piers of the intersection, will give the interior length, one apex
extending to the east end of the chevet within the aisles, the other
to the original termination of the Nave westward, and the present
extent of the side aisles in that direction. With slight deviation,
most, if not all, the ground plans of the French Cathedrals are
measurable in this manner, and their choirs may be so measured almost
without exception. Troyes Cathedral is in exact proportion with that
of Chartres, and the choirs of Rheims, Beauvais, St. Ouen at Rouen,
and others are equally so. Bourges Cathedral, which has no transept,
is exactly three Equilateral Triangles in length inside, from the East
end of the outer aisle to the Eastern columns supporting the West
Towers. Most English Cathedrals appear to have been constructed in
their original plans upon similar rules." White's Classical Essay on
Architecture compares the Norman with the Gothic, where he sa