some illustrations of the latest and
best phase of German Romanesque, which may with propriety be termed
"round-arched Gothic," the reader is referred to the companion volume
of this series.[34]

France exhibits more than one variety of Romanesque; for not only, as
remarked in the chapter on Byzantine Art, is the influence of Greek or
Venetian artists traceable in the buildings of certain districts,
especially Perigueux, but it is clear that in others the existence of
fine examples of Roman architecture (Fig. 168) affected the design of
buildings down to and during the eleventh century. This influence may,
for example, be detected in the use, in the churches at Autun,
Valence, and Avignon, of capitals, pilasters, and other features
closely resembling classic originals, and in the employment through a
great part of Central and Northern France of vaulted roofs.

[Illustration: FIG. 168.--VAULTS OF THE EXCAVATED ROMAN BATHS, IN
THE MUSEE DE CLUNY, PARIS.]

A specially French feature is the chevet, a group of apsidal chapels
which were built round the apse itself, and which combined with it to
make of the east end of a great cathedral a singularly rich and ornate
composition. This feature, originating in Romanesque churches, was
retained in France through the whole of the Gothic period, and a good
example of it may be seen in the large Romanesque church of St. Sernin
at Toulouse, which we illustrate (Fig. 169). The transepts were
usually well marked. The nave arcades generally sprang from piers
(Fig. 170), more rarely from columns. Arches are constantly met with
recessed, _i.e._ in receding planes,[35] the first stage of progress
towards a Gothic treatment, and are occasionally slightly moulded
(Fig. 171). Western doorways are often highly enriched with sculpture;
and the carving and sculpture generally, though often rude, are full
of vitality. Towers occur, usually square, more rarely octagonal.
Window-lights are frequently grouped two or more under one arch.
Capitals of a basket-shape, and with a square abacus, often richly
sculptured, are employed.

[Illustration: FIG. 169.--CHURCH OF ST. SERNIN, TOULOUSE.]

[Illustration: FIG. 170.--NAVE ARCADE AT ST. SERNIN, TOULOUSE.]

[Illustration: FIG. 171.--ARCHES IN RECEDING PLANES AT ST. SERNIN,
TOULOUSE.]

In Normandy, and generally in the North of France, round-arched
architecture was excellently carried out, and churches remarkable both
for their