The
architecture of the Nave and Choir, with its light and airy arches and
pillars, is of the later 13th century.
The reason for this is that Suger's building was thoroughly restored from
1230 onward, in the pure pointed style of that best period. The upper part
of the Choir, and the whole of the Nave and Transepts was then rebuilt--
which accounts for the gracefulness and airiness of its architecture when
contrasted with the dark and heavy vestibule of the age of Suger.
Note from this point the arrangement of the Choir, which, to those who do
not know Italy, will be quite unfamiliar. As at San Zeno in Verona, San
Miniato in Florence, and many other Romanesque churches, the Choir is
raised by some steps above the Nave and Transepts; while the Crypt is
slightly deprest beneath them. In the Crypt, in such cases, are the actual
bodies of the saints buried there; while the Altar stands directly over
their tombs in the Choir above it.
Marly-Le-Roi
By Augustus J. C. Hare
[Footnote: From "Days Near Paris."]
The tram stops close to the Abreuvoir, a large artificial tank, surrounded
by masonry for receiving the surplus water from the fountains in the
palace gardens, of which it is now the only remnant.
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