An early development of decorative symbolic art, known as Celtic, of which we have examples on old Irish crosses, and particularly on illuminated MSS. was wrought by the Christian monks of the 7th and 8th centuries, but what is generally understood as Christian symbolic art had its finest development about the 13th century. Gothic art is essentially symbolic and in many instances, its individual forms have specific significance. Thus the common equilateral triangle was used to symbolize the Holy Trinity, as are the two entwined triangles. Other symbols employed at this period setting forth the mystery of the Unity of the Trinity, without beginning and without end, are three interlaced circles, and a very curious one is that in which three faces are so combined as to form an ornamental figure. Baptism under the immediate sanction of the Divine Trinity was represented by three fishes placed together in the form of a triangle.
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| Plan of a Typical Gothic Cruciform Parish Church. (St. Mary, Luton, fully described in No. 47 of this Series). Drawn by Ed. Craven Lee. Click to ENLARGE |
So numerous, indeed were such Christian symbols after the 9th century that a mere enumeration of them would occupy considerable space. Every trefoil symbolized the Holy Trinity; every quatrefoil the four Evangelists; every cross the Crucifixion, or the martyrdom of some saint; and in Gothic ornament and decoration, we find the Chalice, the Crown of Thorns, the Dice, the Sop, the Hammer and Nails, the Flagellum and other symbols of our Lord's Passion.
Although presenting the same characteristics in their external design, our town and village churches are very various. The simplest form, and the one most commonly found, is that of a nave and chancel, with a tower at the west end; to which plan may be added aisles and transepts, the latter often being wrongly called "cross-aisles." When the walls of the nave above the arcade rise above those of the aisles and are pierced with windows, the upper portion is called the clerestory, the meaning of which word is not free from obscurity; it seems probable that it indicates the clear story—the story which rises clear of the nave and aisles. In large buildings, they are important both for utility and beauty, but in small and early churches, they are of less importance.
It is a well-known fact that the chancel and nave of a church generally stand east and west. This arrangement, called the orientation, is symbolic of the teaching that to the east we are to look for assistance and protection against the power of our enemy, and that as we pray we may look for the day-spring, symbolized to us in the rising sun that sheds light and warmth all over the earth.
The public entrance to a church is generally at the west end (the priest usually had a door in the chancel for his own use). Through this door we enter the house of prayer, for as in the east we see the emblem of the Lord of Life and Light, so the west represents the seat of darkness and of the powers of evil.
The earliest porches were those of the early Christian basilica churches; they were long and arcaded and were called "narthex." In later times, they assumed two forms, one the projecting erection, covering the entrance and divided into three or more doorways, and the other a kind of covered chamber open at the end and having small windows at the sides. These latter are generally found on the north and south sides of the nave. Formerly, when church government was more rigorous in discipline than is now the case, the porch was the appointed place for those who were under censure. Those also who were unbaptised, or who had not yet received the sacrament of regeneration, were not allowed beyond the porch, not quite excluded from the church and yet not permitted to enter fully. The porch also served as a path of admission for all Christians into the body of the church, so that they passed through the assembly of penitents and catechumens, who were wont to ask the prayers of the more highly privileged for their full restoration or admission to the communion of the faithful.
With reference to our Lord's word, "I am the Door," we frequently find the tympana of church doors, particularly those of Norman date, adorned with representations of events from his life, but they often also depict the monsters, dragons and devils, that formed so strong an article in the faith of the early Christians.
A more detailed account of these tympana will be found in a following chapter.
Passing through the porch we enter the nave, which word is derived from the Latin navis, a ship. Its symbolic teaching is that of the Church riding triumphantly and buoyantly on the troubled and dark waters of the world. The first thing noticed on entering the nave is the font, which was formerly placed outside the church, in a separate building called the baptistery; a few of our churches have retained these little buildings which now form part of the churches proper.
The reason in early days for placing the font outside the church was that the Christian was not admitted into the nave until he had been baptised and confirmed, the latter rite being administered immediately after baptism.
From the western door there is a clear passage through the centre of the nave, called the aisle, signifying the straight and narrow way from the seat of darkness to immortal life. On each side of this aisle are seats for the laity, with room for standing and kneeling. The nave was usually divided from the chancel by an open screen of wood or stone, signifying that although the Christian might have some insight into the mysteries of the priest's office, at the same time these were to be partly concealed from his view. The rood screen was so called from the fact that the great Rood, or Crucifix, stood above it, not always on the screen itself, but on a separate beam, to which was often attached a rood loft or chamber. In early days, the lessons were read from the top of the rood screen, and in many of our churches the stairways leading thither have been retained.
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| Early English. | Decorated. | Perpendicular. |
| Examples of Gothic Windows See also page 59. | ||
In churches where the screen has vanished, the division of the nave from the rest of the church is plainly marked by the chancel arch. The chancel is emblematic of the Christian perfection, of the Church triumphant in heaven.
In an old church, a piscina is nearly always found in the chancel, and here, too, were the sedilia or seats for the officiating clergy, the prior, sub-prior, and the deacon, the last-named occupying the lowest seat.
Founders' tombs also nearly always occupy positions in the chancel, and these tombs differ from all others in that they form an integral part of the structure, and could not have been added after the church was completed.
Another thing sometimes to be seen is the ambery, or aumbry, a small cupboard let into the chancel wall, in which were kept the communion vessels, the chalice, paten, etc.
The great object of interest, however, in the chancel, is the altar, which Archbishop Laud directed should be enclosed by rails, so that although the people may draw near, they cannot touch the holy table, but must accept from the hands of the priest those gifts of which he is the minister from God.
Altars are fully described in a following chapter, but we may here note that the reredos, so universally found in our cathedrals, abbeys, and in many of our churches, forms no part of the altar, and the Court of Arches has decided