CATHEDRALS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 11, Issue 277, 13 October 1944, Page 7

CATHEDRALS

Sir,-With interest I read A.M.R.’s article on the Gothic cathedrals of Northern France. It might be of interest to add that the rock used for building in the majority of cases is sandstone — it is soft, and therefore easily shaped and moulded. But it is very perishable, too, and in a city like Cologne, for instance, the high carbonic acid content of the atmosphere caused the rock to decay, and made continuous repairs necessary, so that the cathedral was hardly ever seen without a scaffolding. As A.M.R, points out, the Gothic style spread from Northern France to other countries. But in some areas, for example in the cities around the Baltic coast, sandstone was not available, and consequently, bricks had to be used. Obviously this material did not offer the same possibilities, with the result that ‘brick-gothic’ buildings appear more solid and almost clumsy in comparison with the ones built of sandstone, although the underlying idea and the technical principles are the same. We all admire the creations of the Gothic period, yet they are really quite alien to us, since we live in an age predominantly interested in material things and economic problems, whereas the Gothic age was completely centred in God. Everything had the purpose of glorifying Him. And that is the only way we can understand the Gothic churches: as a pure expression of Christian faith, and they were to induce the people to believe. The discovery of the pointed arch, the flying buttresses and the rib-vaults made the large windows, open spaces, slender pillars possible, which give the whole building, especially the interior, a light, lofty appearance, an uplifting tendency. All the ornaments, the figures are used to glorify God; everything is symbol, the expression of living faith. Is there not something we could learn from that "Dark Middle Age?"

B.

(Hamilton)