1616

THEORY AND PRACTICE OF ENGINEERING.

Book II.

The Rose Window in the Northern Transept of the Church of St Oven at Rotten, 28 feet6 inches in diameter, is an example of the pentagonal setting out.

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Fig. 3025.

ST. OUEN AT “ROUEN.

When the sides of a pentagon are prolonged, they unite and form five isosceles triangles,each having for its base a side of the original pentagon. The equilateral triangle, thesquare, and the pentagon may have been adopted by different confraternities of freemasons ;the first can be formed into hexagons, duodecagons and their multiples; the squares, bycrossing diagonally, into octagons; they may be also tripled and quadrupled: themitre of the equilateral triangle is in the direction of its centre of gravity, as is thatof the square and the isosceles triangles ; consequently to unite the mouldings aroundeither, the plummet would indicate the direction of the line, when dropped from theangles and suffered to cross, the point of intersection being the centre of gravitycommon to the several lines.

In the chapel of St. Cecile is the monument of Alexander Berneval, the master mason ofthe works at St. Ouen , at the time the rose window was executed by his pupil, whom it isreported he murdered from jealousy: such an application of triangles was then calledthe pentalpha.

The foundations of this church were laid by Mardargent, about 1318, by whom it wasbuilt as far as the transept; but probably the rose window of the northern transept wasnot inserted till many years after, for the memorial of Berneval bears the date of 1440:this monumental stone is 8 feet 6 inches in length, and 4 feet in width, and in it isrepresented the architect and his pupil, each employed tracing with his compasses hisrespective design; these beautiful brasses with their rich tabernacle work were in thehighest state of perfection when the writer was last at Rouen , and around the master figurewas inscribed in German letters : —

(§9 gtgt SOtaigtre ^Cteranbre be SSerneoat, SDlaigtre beg oeuoreg be SCRaconnerte bunotre ©ire, bu SSaiUage be 3?ouen, et be ceSte Oblige, qui tregpapa, Fan be gracem i l. c c c c % l. le o jour be Saunier.

spric'g 2>ieu pour Fame be lut).

The date of the pupil’s death is not commemorated, which has led some to imagine thetale of his murder untrue, and that he erected the monument to his master with theintention of being buried by his side.