buildings on the Continent, such as the Cathedral of Chartres. At Lincoln, however, we are fortunate enough to possess a portion of the west front of a Norman cathedral, with its sculpture still remaining, although in a more or less mutilated condition. The subjects of the sculpture have been so admirably interpreted by Bishop Trollope, in the Archæological Journal, that it will be unnecessary for me to describe the whole in detail. While accepting the Bishop's conclusions in the main, I am compelled to differ with him on one or two points.

Most of us are already aware that the lower part of the west front of Lincoln Cathedral, with the exception of the two towers on each side, is the work of Bishop Remigius, A.D. 1075. The general design consists of three lofty round arched recesses, the central one being higher and wider than those on either side, which have two smaller coved recesses adjoining. Just above the crown of the arches of the coved recesses, and about the level of half the height of the jambs of the two side-recesses, is a frieze, or flat band of sculpture, running horizontally right across the front, into the three large recesses, and round the north and south ends, where the sculpture can only be seen from the interior of the chapels, under the towers built on subsequently. The jambs of the large recesses are broken into two wide steps, on each of which is a plaque of sculpture. The frieze is protected from the weather by a projecting moulding, bevelled on the under

side.

The theory of Cockerel and other writers was that these slabs of sculpture were not originally intended for their present position, but had been removed from an earlier Saxon building on the same site. Bishop Trollope, with more show of reason, attributes the work to Remigius, but thinks that all the slabs, with the exception of the one above the small coved recess on the north side, "have been freshly arranged, and this probably during the rebuilding of the Cathedral under Hugh and his successors".

On this point I am at issue with the Bishop. His reason for believing the slabs to have been rearranged seems to be that, according to his interpretation of the 1 Vol. xxv, p. 1.

subjects, scenes from the Old and New Testaments are mixed up together, but I venture to suggest that on further consideration he will find that this is not so. I maintain that all the subjects to the south of the great central recess are taken from the Old Testament, and all to the north of it from the New, being as follows:

On comparing this list with the one given in Bishop Trollope's paper, it will be seen that we agree about the interpretation of all, except the following:

North face of South recess.-" Hannah and the Infant Samuel", I make out to be the "Birth of Cain".

South face of South recess." Christ instructing a Disciple", I make out to be "God addressing Noah".

North face of North recess.—" Christ the Custodian of the Faithful Souls", I make out to be "St. Michael carrying up Souls to Heaven".

My reason for objecting to Bishop Trollope's suggestion that the woman suckling a child is intended for "Hannah and the Infant Samuel", is because the subject is almost unknown in Christian art of the twelfth century, as may be seen by consulting the Byzantine Painter's Guide at Mount Athos, published in Miss M. Stokes' edition of Didron's Christian Iconography (vol. ii), where a complete list is given of the scenes usually chosen from the Bible for the decoration of Greek churches.

What I believe to be a mistake in saying that the sculpture on the south side of the south recess represents "Christ instructing a Disciple", instead of "God addressing Noah", arises from the similarity of the way in which the first and second persons of the Trinity were portrayed in Christian art, the cruciferous nimbus being used indiscriminately for either. This sculpture should be compared with the carved ivory plaque on the altar at Salerno Cathedral, a cast of which is to be seen in the South Kensington Museum.1

The only slab of sculpture that appears to come out of its regular order is "Daniel in the Lions' Den", which differs from the rest also, in being entirely surrounded by a frame. Otherwise, standing opposite the middle of the central recess, and looking either way, we have on the south a regular series of scenes from the Old Testament, beginning at the centre and continuing southwards; and on the north a regular series of scenes from the New Testament, beginning at the centre and continuing northwards. My theory is that if some of the slabs in the jambs of the recesses had not been removed or built up, the two series would be quite complete, just as Remigius left them.

Apart from the religious aspect of these wonderful sculptures, many of the details are worthy of notice.

1 Illustrated in Rohault de Fleury's La Messe, vol. i, pl. 89.

The one-sided spade used by Adam was the common form in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and it even now survives in Shetland and remote parts of Ireland. Other examples occur in the Saxon MSS. in the British Museum, and on the font at Hook Norton,' in Oxfordshire. "Daniel in the Lions' Den", although one of the most frequent subjects in the art of the paintings of the Catacombs, ceased to be so afterwards. The number of lions at Lincoln is five, although, generally, either the seven given in the Vulgate, or two or four are shown, for the sake of symmetry.

The peculiar ring manacle worn by Satan in the scene of the Harrowing of Hell, at Lincoln, should be particularly observed, as it corresponds exactly with the description of the "ring-clasps" given in Cadmon's Paraphrase of the Scriptures, in the Bodleian Library. Similar representations of Satan manacled occur on the tympanum of the Norman doorway at Quenington, in Gloucestershire, and in the Saxon MS. (Tib. B. vi) in the British Museum; on a twelfth century wall painting at Chaldon, in Surrey, and on a pre-Norman sculptured stone at Kirkby Stephen, in Westmoreland. The treatment of the subject of the Doom on the tympanum at Autun, in France, may be studied with advantage for comparison with the Lincoln sculptures.

Next in interest to the sculptured frieze of Scripture subjects on the west front of Lincoln Cathedral comes the Norman font within the same building. It belongs to a type which is not uncommon on the Continent, and of which there are other fine examples in England, at St. Peter's, Ipswich; St. Michael's, Southampton; St. Mary Bourne and East Meon, Hampshire; and Winchester Cathedral. The font at Lincoln is of black marble, admirably suited for exhibiting the minutest details of the carving. The bowl is square on the outside, measuring 3 ft. 6 in. across; and round on the inside. The upper part of the bowl only is square, to a depth of 1 ft.; the lower part, which is 7 in. deep, being cut away to form the capitals of the five supporting columns. The bowl rests on a central column, 1 ft. 1 in. high, and 1 ft. 7 in. in diameter, with a smaller shaft, 6 in. in diameter, at each

1 See J. R. Allen's "Early Christian Symbolism”, p. 365.

corner. The base is 3 ft. 9 in. square, and 10 in. high. The square part of the bowl is sculptured on all four sides with a procession of animals, three on each face, thus:

On the North side.-A winged bull and a winged lion facing each other, and resting their feet on two books; a griffin, with wings and beak like a bird, facing in the opposite direction, having its back towards that of the bull.

On the South side.-A griffin, with wings, beak, and floriated tail, facing two lions, with manes and floriated tails, following one behind the other.

On the East side.-A winged beast, with mane and floriated tail, facing another similar beast, followed by a winged griffin, whose tail terminates in a serpent's head.

On the West side.-A pair of creatures, with birds' bodies and beasts' heads, placed symmetrically in the centre, with a beast behind each, having the fore-paw upraised, and manes and floriated tails.

It seems probable that the winged lion and bull, with their feet resting on books, on the north side, are intended for the symbols of St. Mark and St. Luke. On the font at St. Michael's, Southampton, the symbols of the Evangelists are mixed up in the same incongruous way with uncouth animal forms. I do not pretend to be able to explain why these curious beasts were considered to be an appropriate kind of decoration for one of the most sacred portions of an ecclesiastical building, and we can only guess at some of the ideas which the medieval artist associated with them. The stories in the Bestiaries of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries show to what an absurd extreme the monkish craze for moralising was pushed, so that no outward form was considered too grotesque to convey a spiritual lesson to the unlearned. I think that much of the extravagance in the appearance of the monsters depicted in medieval art can be traced to the fact that it was looked upon as a great manifestation of the power of God that He was able to create a man, or a beast, or a centaur, at pleasure.

The only other piece of Norman sculpture to be noticed in Lincoln Cathedral is the sepulchral slab in the nave. The whole of the upper surface is carved with figures,