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Proceedings of Philosophical Society of Glasgow 1895 96, Plate.II, Vol XXVII.

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This is a moulding

point of time is the one which I have called A. which belongs to the end of the twelfth century and the beginning of the thirteenth. The mouldings of the second group, marked B, are obviously later than the A mouldings. They belong to the first half of the thirteenth century, probably about 1240. The third and fourth groups, marked C and D, are later in the same century. C is a characteristic moulding of the middle of the thirteenth century, and D is a little later. So far, I think, we are on sure ground. When we come to the mouldings marked E, there may be room for difference of opinion. They are certainly much later than any of the others: I should judge them to be about the middle of the fifteenth century; but the exact date is not material to us at present. If we cannot fix the dates of these mouldings precisely, we can determine most of them within a few years, and we know with certainty the order in which they were used. The development of the mouldings is part of the development of the style, and I am not going to enter upon so large a subject. There is one incident, however, in this development that may be referred to, as it helps to illustrate a point that has to be mentioned later. The sections of the earliest mouldings shown, those marked A, finish on the under side with a sharp point, which in the rib, of course, becomes a sharp edge. In the work of building that is not altogether the most convenient form. The separate stones of each rib or arch have to be supported on wooden centering till the arch is completed, and this moulding, A, would rest very awkwardly on the flat surface of the ordinary and simple form of centering. It would require a special form of double centering to support the stones, or else the stones would have to be blocked up on each side to keep them in their places. The B mouldings would not be quite so troublesome, but, as they are rounded underneath, they would still require some attention to keep them from rolling over to one side. In all the later mouldings this difficulty is avoided by making the stones of a section that would rest quite steadily on the wooden centering.

We come now to the plan of the lower church (Fig. 2), which we have to consider in the light of the mouldings that we have been looking at. The tomb of St. Kentigern is believed to be in the middle of the crypt, and there is no doubt that each successive building was erected over that spot, which was hallowed by long association with religious service. In Jocelyn's time the churches had short chancels, and the tomb of the saint would then be in

the east end, in a small crypt under the high altar. Early in the thirteenth century the enlarged choir was projected either by Walter or by Bondington. The old chancel or choir had then to be pulled down, and a new and much larger one erected in its stead. But there were two conditions which had to be observedthe daily services of the church had to be maintained, and the relics of the saint had to be reverently guarded. You understand, of course, that we have no historical evidence of what took place in the Cathedral at this time; but we know what took place elsewhere at the same period and under the same conditions. We may at least construct an hypothesis in order to explain something in the building which cannot otherwise be accounted for. We may assume that what took place in other churches in which the bodies of saints were preserved may have taken place here also. We may even, I think, go farther, and say that something like what I am about to describe must have taken place.

When it was decided to take down the then existing choir and build a new and larger one, it was necessary that a place should first be prepared to receive the bones of St. Kentigern until the new shrine should be built. This place must be as near as possible to their former, which was to be also their future, restingplace. The plan of the new choir was drawn out, and it was determined to reserve a small compartment of the under church for the reception of the saint. The part so reserved, according to my hypothesis, was at the west end of the south aisle. Here, at all events, we find portions of two bays considerably older than any other part of the choir. The vaulting ribs are those called A1 and A 2 (Fig. 1), the former being the transverse rib and the latter the diagonal one. It is unmistakably the oldest part of the vaulting. This compartment having been finished, we may suppose that the remains of St. Kentigern were removed to it, and that, for the time being, it was enclosed with walls, and formed a small chapel approached from the nave by a stair. The old choir was then demolished, and the builders were set to work to rear the great new choir of their Cathedral. The original design for the crypt, however, was different in one respect from that which has been carried out. The central part was designed with plain vaulting, supported by parallel rows of columns, as I have shown it on my plan (Fig. 3).

That this was so I shall demonstrate beyond the possibility of doubt. In the meantime, for a few moments, I ask you to take

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