f St.
Sophia. From the date of the building of this church in the sixth
century A. D. to the beginning of the fifteenth century in Italy, and
about a hundred years later, more or less, according to distance from
that center, we have roughly the period during which the "medieval"
spirit ruled the arts of Europe.

The work of this long period is distinguished beyond all others by the
varied beauty and interest of its carvings, a preeminence it owes in
part to the strong bias in this direction which was given by its early
founders, but still more to the unbroken alliance maintained between
builders and carvers throughout the entire period. An inherited talent
for sculpture, handed down, no doubt, from their classical forefathers,
distinctly marks the commencement of the era; but from that time until
the appearance of the "Renaissance" influence, builder and carver are no
longer conceivable as being independent of each other. Sculpture of one
kind or another not only played an important part in the decoration of
its buildings, but became a necessary and integral element in every
architectural conception, be its importance little or great. The masons
designed their structural features with a view to the embellishments to
follow from the hand of the carver; they were in full sympathy with the
artistic intention of the decoration, therefore their own ideas were in
complete conformity with those of the sculptor, while even in some cases
they did this part of the work themselves. The sculptors, restrained by
the severe laws of structural design, never transgressed the due limits
of their craft, or became insistent upon the individuality of their own
work. Hence, throughout all the successive changes of style brought
about by time and difference of country, climate, or material, the art
of carving steadily progressed hand in hand with the art of building.
The changes were so very gradual, and grew so naturally from the
conditions and requirements of social life, that ample time was allowed
for the education of public feeling, which became in this way identified
with the inventive progress of the craftsmen. As a happy result, one aim
and desire governed alike builders, carvers, and people, and one style
at a time, enjoyed and understood by all, was the wholesome regimen by
which the architectural appetite of the period was sustained. Cathedral
and cottage differed only in their relative grades of importance; each
shared in due pro