PI 49 for Winkles Cathedrale Engraved by B Winkles VIEW ACROSS THE NAVE. SHOWING THF FONT & WYKEHAM S MONUMENT scriptural history: the large hooks for supporting the tapestry still remain fixed to the sides of the great pillars. An ancient font stands within the middle arch of the nave on the northern side; it consists of a square block of marble, supported by a stool and pillars of the same; the central pillar or stool has horizontal flutes, and the pillars at the angles are also fluted, excepting one, which is plain; their capitals are formed of leaves, and the basement of the whole design is enriched with a tortuous moulding. Both the top and the four sides are covered with rude sculpture, and there can be no doubt of its great antiquity.13 The ornaments on the top of the font are doves, emblematical of the Holy Ghost, which appear breathing in phials, surmounted by crosses, supposed to contain the two kinds of sacred chrism made use of in baptism. On the sides of the font doves are repeated in various attitudes, together with a salamander, emblematical of fire, and in allusion to the passage in the gospel of St. Matthew, "He shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." sculptures on the southern and western sides represent passages in the life of Saint Nicholas, bishop of Myra, in Syria, who lived in the fourth century after Christ, and was the patron of children. On one side is represented the church of Myra and its arcades, the upper part of which is terminated by crosses; the dresses of the several figures are curious, as denoting the costume of a remote period of history. The About the middle of the southern side of the nave between the fifth and sixth pillars is the chantry chapel, containing the monument of the founder, William of Wykeham, who died in 1404. The design and execution of the work is perhaps one of the most perfect specimens of monumental architecture of the period in which the chapel was erected. The chapel is divided in length into three arches, the canopies of which are curved to correspond with the form of the arch of 13 A font very similar to this is in the church of East Meon, in Hampshire, an edifice said to have been erected by Bishop Walkelyn. Anglo-Norman fonts are not uncommon, and are very rich in their embellishment, which may have been the reason of their preservation. It is not unusual to find a font in a church of greater antiquity than the building; the earlier fonts, even if plain, appear to have been held in veneration, and therefore allowed to remain, when the churches were rebuilt in a totally different style. 14 Chap. iii, ver. 2. |
