The American Architect
Vol CXIII
Wednesday, April 24, 1918
Number 2209 Architectural Rambles in Brittany—IV
By A. Kingsley Porter
The Cathedral of Quimper—II
T
HE history of the cathedral of Quimper as compiled by Le Men reveals interesting details in regard to the master-builders.
ThusSve find in the fifteenth century several examples of a priest master-builder. It will be recalled that there exists an old archaeological legend to the effect that the builders were monks during the Romanesque period, but laymen in the Gothic period. I have elsewhere called attention to the fact that there were lay builders during the Romanesque period and priest-builders during the Gothic period. Building methods continued the same before as after the magical year 1140. The new data from the cathedral of Quimper further confirm what has, I think, already been proved abundantly.
The accounts of the cathedral are full of details which throw light upon the building trades. The spirit of joyousness which pervaded architectural art at this period breathes from every page. A
characteristic custom was the fete of the masons, celebrated on the Feast of the Ascension. On that day the procureur de la fabrique was held to give to each of the chantiers of the church a sheep as a prize for a race or a wrestling match in which the
workmen contended between themselves. In addition he gave a sum of money sufficient to pay for the dinner with which the festival ended.
Funds for the construction of the church were raised by a variety of expedients, some of which
were picturesque. There
was a rule that the body of no dead person, unless it was a prince, a prelate, a lord, or a canon, should be carried into the choir except upon the payment of a considerable sum of money. Every person buried in the other churches of the city had to pay a tax for the benefit of the construction of the cathedral. Indulgences were granted by the popes to those who should contribute to the completion of the building. At times a regular system of taxation was levied upon the parishes of the diocese, and failure to pay was punished by excommunication.
The canons belonging to the class of the nobility were probably predisposed to hostility against the burgesses of the city of Quimper. This natural dislike flared up into a sort of riot on Easter eve, 1514. The canons claimed that certain trade corporations were obliged to celebrate masses founded in favor of these associations in the cathedral. To prevent the corporations from with- QUIMPER, CATHEDRAL, INTERIOR FROM WEST
ENTRANCE
Copyright, 1918, The Architectural & Building Press (Inc.)
Vol CXIII
Wednesday, April 24, 1918
Number 2209 Architectural Rambles in Brittany—IV
By A. Kingsley Porter
The Cathedral of Quimper—II
T
HE history of the cathedral of Quimper as compiled by Le Men reveals interesting details in regard to the master-builders.
ThusSve find in the fifteenth century several examples of a priest master-builder. It will be recalled that there exists an old archaeological legend to the effect that the builders were monks during the Romanesque period, but laymen in the Gothic period. I have elsewhere called attention to the fact that there were lay builders during the Romanesque period and priest-builders during the Gothic period. Building methods continued the same before as after the magical year 1140. The new data from the cathedral of Quimper further confirm what has, I think, already been proved abundantly.
The accounts of the cathedral are full of details which throw light upon the building trades. The spirit of joyousness which pervaded architectural art at this period breathes from every page. A
characteristic custom was the fete of the masons, celebrated on the Feast of the Ascension. On that day the procureur de la fabrique was held to give to each of the chantiers of the church a sheep as a prize for a race or a wrestling match in which the
workmen contended between themselves. In addition he gave a sum of money sufficient to pay for the dinner with which the festival ended.
Funds for the construction of the church were raised by a variety of expedients, some of which
were picturesque. There
was a rule that the body of no dead person, unless it was a prince, a prelate, a lord, or a canon, should be carried into the choir except upon the payment of a considerable sum of money. Every person buried in the other churches of the city had to pay a tax for the benefit of the construction of the cathedral. Indulgences were granted by the popes to those who should contribute to the completion of the building. At times a regular system of taxation was levied upon the parishes of the diocese, and failure to pay was punished by excommunication.
The canons belonging to the class of the nobility were probably predisposed to hostility against the burgesses of the city of Quimper. This natural dislike flared up into a sort of riot on Easter eve, 1514. The canons claimed that certain trade corporations were obliged to celebrate masses founded in favor of these associations in the cathedral. To prevent the corporations from with- QUIMPER, CATHEDRAL, INTERIOR FROM WEST
ENTRANCE
Copyright, 1918, The Architectural & Building Press (Inc.)