ich
received the impress of France. In England the First Pointed was
succeeded about 1272 by the Middle Pointed or Decorated, which swayed
for about a century, being succeeded by the Third Pointed or
Perpendicular, whose reign, beginning about 1377, ended with the
Reformation.[21] The Decorated style did not reach Scotland till it had
passed away in England, and the Scottish representatives of the style
are scanty in number and late in date.[22] When the country revived
after the long struggle with England, and building began towards the
close of the fourteenth or the beginning of the fifteenth century, few
new works were undertaken, energy and resources were concentrated on the
rebuilding or completion of the edifices that had been destroyed or left
unfinished. This period, along with the Third Pointed in Scotland, is
regarded as the work of native architects.[23]

5. SCOTTISH THIRD OR LATE POINTED PERIOD

The Middle Pointed passed by a gentle gradation into the Late Pointed
style, and it is difficult to say when the one ceased and the other
began. Yet there are some characteristics of the Third Pointed which are
peculiar to it and render it a distinct epoch. The large churches are
nearly all restorations, and no new churches of great size were
undertaken. The Scottish churches are usually smaller in size than the
English ones, and consist of single compartments without aisles. The
east end frequently terminates with a three-sided apse--a feature which
owes its origin to the Scottish alliance and intercourse with France.
The leading and distinguishing feature is, however, the vaulting--the
pointed barrel vault being almost universally employed. The windows of
these churches are necessarily low, so as to allow the point of the
arch-head to come beneath the spring of the main vault. The buttresses
are generally somewhat stunted. The windows are almost always pointed,
and contain simple tracery derived from the earlier styles. The doorways
are generally of the old round-headed form, with late foliage and
enrichments. Porches are occasionally introduced, and coats of arms are
commonly carved on shields of the period, and are useful in determining
the dates of portions of the buildings. Towers were generally erected or
intended, and are somewhat stunted, finished with short spires, having
small dormer windows inserted in them. Monuments are of frequent
occurrence, and are frequently placed in arched and canopied recesses