University of Virginia Library

I. 10

HOW THE PLAN
WAS DRAWN AND ASSEMBLED

I.10.1

NUMBER OF SHEETS & SEQUENCE IN
WHICH THEY WERE SEWN TOGETHER

The Plan is drawn upon a piece of parchment composed of
five separate sheets of calfskin (not lamb or goat, as was
formerly believed)[196] and sewn together by threads of gut
(fig. 24, nos. 1-5). The drawing is on the softer inner side
of the skins, which show traces of scraping and are slightly
roughened by pumice stone. The edges are irregular, most
markedly so on the right-hand side of the Plan, where the
skins did not yield sufficient surfaces to allow the corners
to be squared.

The largest over-all dimensions of the Plan are 30¾ × 44 3/16
inches (78 × 112 cm.).[197] The original dimensions are more
likely to have been in the neighborhood of 32 × 46 inches.
Konrad Hecht, who engaged in some interesting speculations
on this subject, estimates the over-all shrinkage to
which the parchment was subjected in ten centuries of
aging to amount to 5 to 6 percent of the original surface
area.[198] Even today the dimensions vary slightly in response
to changing humidity conditions.[199]

The distribution of the monastic buildings over the five
component sheets of the Plan is as follows: sheets 1 and 2
accommodate the Church, the Claustrum, the guest and
service structures to the north of the Church as well as in
the corner between the Church and the Claustrum; sheet
3 accommodates the service structures south of the Claustrum;
sheet 4, the Novitiate and the Infirmary, the
Cemetery, and all the other structures to the east of the
Church; sheet 5, the stables for the livestock and all the
other agricultural service structures to the west of the
Church.

The sequence in which the sheets were sewn together
can be reconstructed from the manner in which they overlap
each other. First, sheet 2 was attached to sheet 1 from
below. Next, sheet 3 was sewn onto sheets 1 and 2, again
from below. Then sheets 4 and 5 were sewn to sheet
group 1, 2, 3 from above (fig. 24, nos. 1-5).

The material used for threading the seams is a natural
uncolored gut identifiable as such even on the facsimile
(in contrast to the green pieces of thread that were used
at a relatively recent date to patch together certain sections
along the former folding lines of the Plan where the parchment
was torn). A closer look at these seams suggests that
not all of them were stitched by the same hand. The seams
that hold sheets 1, 2, and 3 together are made in short
stitches and take a surprisingly swerving course, while the
seams through which sheets 4 and 5 are attached to the
sheet-group 1, 2, 3 follow a very straight course and are
sewn in longer and more elegant stitches.[200]

There is clear evidence that sheets 1, 2, and 3 were sewn
together before the drawing was started, since the lines
of the drawing all run in a continuous motion over the
edges of these sheets, from the higher lying sheet on to
the lower one. Where sheet 1 overlaps sheet 2 (fig. 25,
the lines must have been drawn in the direction from sheet
1 to sheet 2 since the quill did not smear, as it would
inevitably have done had the stroke been conducted upward
from sheet 2 over the edge of sheet 1. Where sheets
1 and 2 overlap sheet 3, again, the lines were drawn from
the higher sheet (1 and 2) to the lower lying one (3). For
more detail I refer the reader to the explanatory caption
of figures 26-28.

In general the draftsman moved his line in a continuous
stroke across seam and edge, but in some cases he stopped
at the edge of the higher sheet and started a new stroke on
the lower sheet, so that the impact of the quill with the
edge of the higher sheet bent the start of his line into a hook
(fig. 28 and 29).

The ductus of the line shows all of the possible effects of
the encounter of the quill with the seam and the edge of
the sheets: a slight tendency for the ink to spatter at these
critical points, a minute disruption of the straightness of the
line as the quill takes a slight leap from the edge of the
upper skin to the surface of the lower, and a minute
tendency to swerve at this point. Nowhere in sheet-group
1, 2, 3 is any part of the drawing covered up by an
overlapping margin of the adjacent sheet—clear evidence
that this group of sheets must have been sewn together
before the drawing was started.

Sheets 4 and 5 must have been drawn separately and
sewn onto sheet-group 1, 2, 3 only after the latter had been
completed (fig. 24). This can be inferred from the fact
that a number of lines on sheets 1 and 2 are covered up by
the overlapping margin of sheet-group 4, 5. Thus, for
instance, the easternmost portion of the eastern apse of the
Church (fig. 30) is completely drawn out on sheet 1, but
covered up by the overlapping edge of sheet 4, as one can
see when lifting the overlapping edge from the front side
of the Plan. Similarly, the ascending stroke of the letter
A of the great axial inscription AB ORIENTE IN OCCIDENTEM
. . . appears on both the covered portion of sheet 1 and the

[ILLUSTRATION]

24.B PLAN OF ST. GALL

EXAMINATION OF CONDITIONS WHERE LINES OF THE
DRAWING CROSS OVERLAPPING SEAMS

A key plan for figures 25 through 32

The "window" areas of the Plan shown on opposite page define the
location of those areas of the drawing which are examined in detail
in figs. 25 through 32. In all these places the scribe's lines
cross seams and overlapping edges, thereby revealing much about the
sequence in which the five component sheets of parchment were
assembled.

Figs. 33-40 attempt to illustrate the eight successive stages of the
growth of the tracing. The interpretation is based primarily on two
types of observation:

1. The progress of work as inferred from the manner in which the
lines are drawn in critical areas where they run across the
overlapping margins of two joined pieces of parchment (figs. 25
through 30).

2. The detection of certain angular distortions in the layout of
buildings, which we attribute to a mainly inadvertent shift in the
relationship of overlay and original, incurred in the process of
tracing.

The draftsmanship of the Plan adheres to a prevailing concept of
rectangularity in its overall design as well as in the inter-relation of
many internal systems of rectangularity. Even unaided, the eye is
able to discern deflections between adjacent systems, in several places.
We are convinced that these could not have occurred in the
construction of the original drawing from which the Plan was copied.
The draftsmanship of the Plan of St. Gall exhibits a high degree of
manual expertise, but the Plan was traced and therefore not
dependent on any mechanical aid. The original scheme, by contrast,
must necessarily have been constructed. Large and complex as it was,
its author could not possibly have accomplished the orderliness and
scale correctness by which it was characterized without mechanical
aids, such as graduated straightedges, T-squares and or other similar
devices, the use of which would have precluded angular deviation.
The rectangular distortions in the Plan, and its deflections from the
square, we are convinced, were caused by difficulties encountered in
the act of tracing, an operation far from simple in a time when aids
such as light boxes, tracing paper, and adhesive tape for securing
both the original parchment and the overlay parchment with absolute
precision, were unknown.

overlapping margin of sheet 4.[201] The same condition can be
observed at the western end of the Church (fig. 31). Here
the porch was drawn out in its entirety on sheet 2 before
sheet 5 was sewn onto it from above. Sheet 5 also covers
the lower portion of the word habebit in the porch inscription,
not to the extent, however, of having to be redrawn
on sheet 5.

From these conditions it follows conclusively that the
drawings of sheet-group 1, 2, 3 must have been completed
before the sheets 4 and 5 were added to this group.[202] (For
additional evidence, see extended caption of fig 30.)

There is no conclusive evidence to show that sheet 5 was
drawn at a later stage than sheet 4. But it is obvious that
the buildings on sheet 4 are of greater importance for the
life of the monastic community than the service structures
shown on sheet 5, and therefore would command a higher
priority in attention. Moreover, the draftsmanship of
certain buildings on sheet 5, exhibiting signs of fatigue as
will be shown in a later place, suggests that this portion
of the Plan was the last to be drawn.

I.10.2

SUCCESSIVE STAGES IN TRACING
THE PLAN

Certain peculiarities in the drawing tell us a good deal
about the working procedures of the draftsman and about
the sequence in which the buildings were traced. It is quite
obvious that the draftsman was right-handed, and that he
made his copy by tracing the successive portions of the
drawing from left to right and from top to bottom. Our
analysis of the manner in which the quill responded to the
hurdle of the seams and edges of the overlapping margins
of the respective sheets left no doubt on this score (see the
extended captions of figs. 26-29). There is no dearth of
further confirmatory evidence. The distinctive marks of
the first impact of the ink with the parchment as the quill
touches the skin, and the tendency of the ink to diminish in
bulk as the line stretches out and to trail into a thin tail as
the quill is lifted can be observed in scores of places. Also
to be noticed in this connection is the fact that the ductus
of the draftsman's line was relatively straight and sure when
he started his work on the left-hand side of the skin and
remained so as long as his hand retained a firm base. But it
developed a tendency to swerve as his hand reached a
point where it began to lose its rest, as it was bound to do,
at the lower right-hand corner of the sheet. Clear evidence
of this is: the Bake and Brew House for Distinguished
Guests (the last to be drawn of the buildings that lie to the
north of the Church); the Medicinal Herb Garden (the
last installation to be drawn on sheet 4); and the houses for
the cows and foaling mares and their keepers (the last to
be drawn on sheet 5).

The primary clue to identifying the sequence in which
the buildings were drawn is the number of shifts in the
relative position of original and overlay that occurred in

[ILLUSTRATION]

PLAN OF ST. GALL

25.A OVERLAPPING EDGES OF SHEETS 1 AND 2 ACROSS HOUSE FOR DISTINGUISHED GUESTS AND THE MONASTERY CHURCH

Sheet 2 was sewn to sheet 1 from below, a procedure that can be demonstrated by the scribe's lines, which run in continuous motion over the
edges from the higher-lying to the lower sheet, and from left to right east to west). The design reveals extraordinary skill of draftsmanship.
The line crosses the seam in a continuous motion, wherever the quill finds free passage in the interstice between the gut, and drops from the upper
to the lower-lying sheet with almost no displacement or tremor. Nowhere in sheet group 1, 2, 3 is a part of the lower sheet covered by the
overlapping margin of the upper sheet—clear proof that sheets 1, 2, 3 were sewn together before the tracing was begun.

[ILLUSTRATION]

PLAN OF ST. GALL

26. DETAIL OF FENCE, MONKS' REFECTORY TO GREAT COLLECTIVE WORKSHOP

Drawn from left to right, the line stops on reaching the seam. It starts out again immediately
behind the seam and runs in smooth and continuous motion from sheet 1 over its edge down to
sheet 3.

27.A COVERED PASSAGEWAY, MONKS' KITCHEN TO MONKS' BAKE & BREW HOUSE

The upper line crosses seam and edge of sheet 1 in continuous motion. The lower line stops on
reaching the protruding portion of the gut, makes a fresh start behind it, and runs smoothly
across the edge onto the lower surface of sheet 3, it makes a minute jump westward.

27.B A CORNER OVERLAP

This interesting detail shows the corner at which sheets 1, 2, 3 overlap each other, clearly
revealing that sheets 1 and 2 must have already been joined before sheet 3 was attached from
below.

[ILLUSTRATION]

PLAN OF ST. GALL

25.B
CHURCH

25.C
MONKS' CELLAR AND LARDER. CONDITION AT FENCE TO WEST

In drawing the choir screen, which connects the second pair of nave columns transversely, the draftsman had to guide his quill lengthwise over
the protruding ridges of the seam, an ennervating experience which he later tried to avoid by moving the line away from the seam when he
encountered similar conditions in drawing the west wall of the Cellar.

[ILLUSTRATION]

PLAN OF ST. GALL

28. HOUSE OF COOPERS AND WHEELWRIGHTS. DETAIL

At A and C the line runs smoothly and continuously over seam and overlapping margin of sheet
1 down to sheet 3. At C the line stops at the edge of sheet 1 and starts fresh on the lower-lying
sheet 3, being bent into a hook by the impact of the quill with the edge of sheet 1.

29. HOUSE FOR HORSES AND OXEN. DETAIL

The lines are drawn from left to right smoothly across the seam, and in one case (third line from
bottom), smoothly over the edge of sheet 2; but in all other cases the line stops at the edge of
sheet 2 and makes a fresh start on sheet 3. The edge of the overlapping sheet bends the start of
the line into a hook.

[ILLUSTRATION]

PLAN OF ST. GALL MONASTERY CHURCH, WESTERN APSE AND PARADISE

30.
The two easternmost portions of the apse are completely drawn out on sheet 1, but covered up by the overlapping edge of sheet 4—clear proof
that sheet 4 was not attached to sheet group 1, 2, 3 when the Church and the Claustrum were drawn. By inspecting the original, one would
observe that the rounding arcs of the apse on sheet 1 extend beyond the seam by which sheet 4 is fastened to sheet group 1, 2, 3.

the process of tracing, entailing deflections in the drawing
which cannot have been part of the original concept.[203]
A left-to-right and top-to-bottom movement frequently
referred to in the following stages of growth for tracing the
Plan is not exclusively controlled by convention in direction
of writing. In tracing, top-to-bottom issues mainly from
the need to avoid smearing ink. (Writing executed in clay or
wax, as in many ancient languages, could be from right to
left). The tracer is influenced by long established writing
convention, but he is not governed by it. He traces where it
is most convenient, moving freely from area to area according
to the matter he is working on. Drying time of the
writing fluid used has much to do with the tracer's sequence.
On completing a series of lines in one area he
relocates, usually to a safe distance removed from lines still
wet, then shifts back to the previous part of a different part.
Thus while tracing sequence may generally be left to right,
discontinuity is a characteristic in the Plan. When drawing
a set of lines perpendicular to another set, a draftsman
prefers to turn the sheet roughly 90° or to shift his position
similarly, rather than draw from the same position—
pushing the pen or pulling it toward him is avoided.
However each method is used. The one adopted, extremely
a matter of personal choice, is related to the tracer's temperament,
his experience, kind of materials, and equipment
used, lighting conditions and other matters. If the
Plan abounds with inexplicable details of execution it is
because tracing, like drafting, is a highly subjective skill,
defiant of rational prediction or logical deduction, except
in a very general way. In offering this study and analysis of
the tracing stages of the great Plan, the authors are humble
in mindfulness of the problem and respectful of the scribes
and draftsmen who made it.

[ILLUSTRATION]

PLAN OF ST. GALL PORCH GIVING ACCESS TO WESTERN ATRIUM OF CHURCH

31. The last word of the explanatory title of the Porch, HABEBIT, is
partially covered by the overlapping margin of sheet 5, which was
sewn onto sheet group 1, 2, 3 from above. The Porch had been drawn
in its entirety on sheet 2 before sheet 5 was sewn onto it.

[ILLUSTRATION]

PLAN OF ST. GALL. DETAIL, BAKE AND BREWHOUSE OF THE HOSPICE FOR PILGRIMS AND PAUPERS (NORTH OF FENCE)
AND HOUSE FOR HORSES AND OXEN (SOUTH OF FENCE)

32. The corners of these two buildings are partially covered by the overlapping margin of sheet 5, which suggests that these buildings were drawn at
a time when sheet 5 was as yet not attached to sheet group 1, 2, 3.

[ILLUSTRATION]

33. STAGE 1 OF TRACING

The draftsman faces the Church from the
west and traces the eastern parts of the
Church and Dormitory with their subsidiary
buildings from left to right.

Sheet group 1, 2, 3, sewn and assembled for
the draftsman to work on, is shown with
color tint. Pale red lines indicate Plan not
traced at this stage. Sheets 4 and 5,
illustrated in subdued line, are incorporated
as part of the Plan later as shown in
figure 40.

COMMENTS

In our study of the Plan of St. Gall, over a long
period of years, it has constantly been necessary
to have a line, or base of reference, from which
to take measurements or from which to relate
one element of the Plan with another. The north
row of columns of the Church nave appears to
offer the most satisfactory remaining evidence
on which to establish a kind of base or reference
line. It will be seen on the facsimile reproduction
(see p. 3, n17) that a line drawn between the
center of the most easterly column W (fig. 34) of
the north row of columns establishes probably
the "strongest" line on the Plan. This line,
Z-Z, is shown extended to the border, top and
bottom. Nine columns intermediate between
these two extremity columns E-W, deviate but
slightly from this imaginary line. This line,
incidentally, contains the longest clearly defined
measure of the Plan.

The reference to 300 feet, length of the Church,
elsewhere on the Plan, is not so explicit. The
corresponding row of columns on the south side
of the nave deviates only very slightly more from
a similar line exactly parallel to the line of the
north row. The longitudinal axis of the Church
has been taken as a line midway between and
parallel to these two rows of columns and is
shown on the drawings as a ruled dot-and-dash
line, Y-Y. It is a useful reference line from
which, visually, to detect the presence or absence
of symmetry.

In the following analytic remarks the east-west
geometry of the nave serves as a base from which
deflections or angular relationships are referred.
The axis of the Church has been taken as an
axis of ordinates. Because the north row and the
south row of columns (the piers of the crossing
square are included in the column count) are so
slightly affected by aberrations in tracing, it is
likely that they were among the first items to be
drawn by the draftsman and were completed
(fig. 33) prior to shifting movements made later,
consciously or inadvertently (see note, pp. 48,
49).

As for a convenient reference line (X-X) exactly
at right angles to the nave geometry, the north-south
walls of the Dormitory are satisfactory,
although a wobbly condition toward the south
near the Refectory is noticeable and suggests
that the draftsman was beginning to have tracing
troubles which were to plague him intermittently
from there on to completion. The pair of
north-south walls of the Cellar likewise is
normal to the control geometry of the nave.

STAGE 1 (fig. 33)

Facing the Plan from the west the draftsman started the
drawing on sheet-group 1, 2, 3 with the eastern end of the
Church, moving from left to right and from the top downward
as far as the second pair of nave columns, then in a
southerly direction to the Annex for the Preparation of
the Holy Oil and Bread, the Monks' Dormitory and its
auxiliary buildings, until the south walls of the Monks'
Privy and the Monks' Laundry and Bathhouse were
reached. The irregular course of the lines discloses that
the draftsman worked without instruments, completing
each individual area before moving on to the next one. As he
traced the beds in the southern part of the Dormitory [3],[204]
the overlay apparently slipped slightly to the left about one
module,[205] thus extending this building a little more to the
south than it was meant to be.

The discussion that continues is concerned with tracing
and drafting procedure, with countless movements of hand,
body and pen, which can never be reconstructed with
certainty or uncovered by intellectual process.

The remarks, stages 2-8, with comments in captions for
figures 33-40, are pursued as a valid component of inquiry
into genesis—copy or original?

[ILLUSTRATION]

34. STAGE 2 OF TRACING

Just before the scribe draws the south wall
of the Dormitory, a shift occurs between
original and overlay, causing an angular
deflection between Dormitory and Refectory,
which is transmitted to Cloister Yard, Cellar,
as well as parts of the Church from column
5 westward.

*

LEGEND

Z prime reference nave columns, north row
(line continuous)

y line parallel to Y, Z

Y parallel to Z axis of Church and reference
ordinate (line dot-and-dash)

X reference co-ordinate, normal to Y and Z
(line continuous)

a, c line deflected by angle from reference
ordinate Y(Z) (line dotted)

δ angle of deflection from ordinate Y(Z)

δ′ angle of deflection in excess of δ
[applies to figure 35, page 44]

NOTE

Continuous line system is square with the nave
geometry, i.e., continuous lines are either
parallel or perpendicular to the axis of the
Church.

Dotted line system is square with the angle of
deflection.

STAGE 2 (fig. 34)

As the last lines of the Dormitory were drawn, a second,
more consequential shift took place. This time it was not
in a sideward direction, but was a rotary motion. This may
be inferred in that the Cloister Yard, obviously meant to
form a square, is not quadrate but trapezoidal (fig. 36).
East-west walls of the Refectory [6] are not parallel to the
Church axis, as they should be, but are inclined to it.
Prior to this shift the Church tracing possibly had been
confined mostly to its eastern parts and the columns of the
nave (comments, p. 47) but not including its exterior walls
on the north and south. Tracing of the south side of the
Church began near the nave column pair 3. The effect of
this deflection is shown on the Church north wall, west of
(near) column pair 4. We believe that the draftsman, after
working on the Church, generally peripheral to the area of
the chancel, altar, and crossing, then moved to the uncompleted
part of the Cloister Yard and the buildings
around it, in the sequence of the Refectory, cellar [7], and
Kitchen [8]. The ductus of the lines defining the stave
curvature of the large barrels in the Cellar (decreasing in
strength from east to west) suggests that he still faced the
drawing from the west as he drew this building. This
position would not be an impossible one for tracing the
Refectory.

[ILLUSTRATION]

35. STAGE 3 OF TRACING

After Church and Claustrum were completed the draftsman rotated the skins
counterclockwise by 90 degrees and traced the buildings to the north of the Church,
in the sequence: Abbot's House, Outer School, House for Distinguished Guests,
without correcting the deflection caused by the shift that occurred at the end of Stage 1.
A number of further shifts occurs as this latest portion of the tracing is finished.

STAGE 3 (fig. 35)

The draftsman is positioned to look south. He draws in
sequence: Abbot's House [14,13], Outer School [12],
House for Distinguished Guests [11], and Kitchen, Bake
and Brewhouse for Distinguished Guests [10]. The first
buildings in the sequence have their east-west walls parallel
to the nave geometry. However, the third building [11], its
south half in a deflected position, its north side with a
curious bent wall alignment, may imply a struggle by the
draftsman to correct the angular shift and return to
parallel position. In the fifth building [10], its east-west
(south) wall is deflected to exceed all other angular deviations,
save one, the east-west walls of building [40]. That
he traced these houses facing the Church from the north is
disclosed by the ductus of a good many lines which
decrease in strength as they are drawn from left to right and
from the top to the bottom. The shift between original and
overlay had moved the Abbot's House slightly to the east of
its proper position. The draftsman compensated for this
displacement by drawing the gallery, connecting the
Abbot's House with the northern transept of the Church,
on a slightly slanted, rather than rectangular, course to the
nave geometry.

[ILLUSTRATION]

36. STAGE 4 OF TRACING

The draftsman shifts his skin back into its
original position working from left to right in this
sequence: Hospice for Pilgrims and Paupers [31].
House for Coopers and Wheelwrights and
Brewers' Granary [39], Drying Kiln [29],
Kitchen, Bake, and Brewhouse for Pilgrims,
Paupers [32], and house for Horses and Oxen
and their Keepers [33]—again without correcting
the shift.

STAGE 4 (fig. 36)

When the tract to the north of the Church was finished we
believe that the draftsman rotated the parchment back to
the position of Stages 1 and 2, and then traced buildings
west of the Claustrum probably in this sequence: Hospice for
Pilgrims and Paupers [31], House of Coopers and Wheelwrights
and Brewer's Granary [39], Drying Kiln [29],
Kitchen, Bake, Brewhouse for Pilgrims and Paupers [32],
and house for Horses, Oxen, and their Keepers [33]. The
north-south lines of these five buildings are practically
perpendicular to the nave geometry (west wall of [32] is
deflected), whereas the east-west lines of each of these
buildings follow the same deflection found in the Refectory.
The condition (one set of lines square, the other oblique),
an interesting one, may be evidence of effort by the draftsman
to recover, in part, from the troublesome deflection
described in Stages 1, 2. The ductus of the lines leaves no
doubt. The draftsman faced the Plan from the west as he
traced these houses (thicker ends at the top as the lines
were drawn from east to west, and at the left as they were
drawn from north to south).

[ILLUSTRATION]

37. STAGE 5 OF TRACING

The draftsman swings the skins clockwise by 90 degrees and traces the buildings
that lie to the south of the Claustrum by facing the monastery from the south.
The alignment of these buildings discloses that the shift had been detected and
corrected. The deflection of the south walls of the buildings [28, 27] is similar
to the deflection of the north wall, east end of the Church, line C, figure 34.

STAGE 5 (fig. 37)

When the tracing had reached the stage defined in fig. 36,
the draftsman had become aware of the fact that overlay
and original had moved, and he decided to realign the two
skins. He readjusted the sheets, thus bringing the buildings
south of the Claustrum back into their original position (not
entirely, but nearly so), necessitating a deflection of the
line that connected the south wall of the Drying Kiln
(traced before readjustment) to the corresponding south
wall of the Mortar House [28], the deflected line continued
eastward as the south wall of the Mill [27], to its north-south
wall on the east, at which point it was restored to
normal position and in alignment with the south wall of
the Workshop Annex [26]. The other buildings of this
group appear to have been drawn, generally, from left to
right and from top to bottom in this sequence: Monks'
Bake and Brewhouse [9], Mortar House [29], Mill House
[27], Great Collective Workshop [25], with Annex [26],
and Granary [24]. These buildings have their east-west
and north-south walls perpendicular to each other and are
square with the nave geometry.

STAGE 6 (fig. 38)

The sequence of tracing the buildings on sheet 4 (which we
presume to have been separately drawn and completed
before it was sewn on to sheet-group 1, 2, 3) is difficult
to establish. The most functional approach for the draftsman
would have been to face this section of the Plan from
the east, since this would keep the bulk of the original away
from his body. But tracing the circles of Hen and Goose
Houses [23, 21] required a complete rotation of the skins;

[ILLUSTRATION]

38. STAGE 6 OF TRACING

The buildings east of the Church were
traced on sheet 4 before this sheet was
attached to sheet group 1, 2, 3. The draftsman
apparently drew the buildings from left
to right, facing the monastery from the east.
Evidence of shifts and deflections during the
act of tracing, visible on sheets 1, 2, 3, 5, is
almost absent. The prolonged axis of the
Church coincides with the axis of the
Novitiate-Infirmary complex [17], the walls
of which are square with the axis. Walls of
other buildings on this sheet are square, or
deviate from square no more than would
ordinarily be expected in tracing large sheets.
Sheet 4 adheres closest to perpendicularity
with respect to the nave geometry.

other areas of this tract, especially the Cemetery [y],
suggest that the draftsman may have worked from several
sides. (The southern line of the square that encloses the
cross seems to be drawn from west to east; the northern
line, from east to west.) A slight displacement occurred
when this sheet was sewn on to the center group of sheets.
The axis of the Chapel [17a, b] of the Novitiate [17c] and
Infirmary [17d] lies on the axis of the Church, Y-Y. Where
sheet 4 laps on top of sheet group 1, 2, 3, (figure 24.A), a
total of six building wall lines cross from one sheet to
another sheet. On the Plan, where sheet 5 overlaps sheet
group 1, 2, 3, only two lines cross from sheet to sheet.
Laps made at some north-south lines might have had as
many as 50 or more lines in conjunction. Was the troublesome
problem of conjunction of lines, where sheets overlap,
a consideration in making the copy? Certainly the assembly,
as made, has the least possible number of crossover line
breaks.

[ILLUSTRATION]

39. STAGE 7 OF DRAWING

Like their counterparts in the east the
buildings lying west of the Church were
traced upon a separate piece of parchment
(sheet 5) before this sheet was sewn on to the
center group of sheets (1, 2, 3). The draftsman
faced the monastery from the west as
he drew this portion of the Plan. In the
course of tracing, considerable clockwise
twist took place. The greatest deviation from
square with the nave geometry is exhibited
in the lower right hand corner (southwest).

STAGE 7 (fig. 39)

The last sheet of the Plan to be traced was the tract south of
the Church containing anonymous building [34] in the
northwest corner south of the access road of the Church,
and south of the road, building [38], use uncertain, with
five buildings for livestock and their keepers. Sheet 5
presents perplexing interest. Building [34], literally rectangular,
is also square with the nave geometry, as it ought
to be. Moving southward to the right, access road and
buildings [35, 38], display clockwise deflection which
agrees with that of the Refectory. Continuing southward,
deflections progressively increase in magnitude to their
maximum in [40], in the southwest corner of the Plan.
What gains the attention as one surveys the full expanse
of the parchment is this: the well ordered pattern of the
building layout that pervades the rest of the Plan in all its
parts, apparently goes awry in the lower right corner in an
odd dipping and tilting configuration. An explanation for
this departure from ordered regulation is not obvious.

[ILLUSTRATION]

40. STAGE 8 (FINAL) OF DRAWING

Sheets 4 and 5 have been attached to sheet
group 1, 2, 3.

for LEGEND see figure 34

Z prime reference, nave columns, north row
(line continuous)

Y parallel to Z (line dot-and-dash)

y parallel to Y, Z (line continuous)

X reference co-ordinate, normal to Y, Z
(line continuous)

a line deflected by

δ angle of deflection from Y, Z.

Σδ accumulated deflection

NOTE

Short dash line and X-dash line are lines
deflected greater than δ

It is reasonable to assume that the parchment,
as we know it today, has always been irregular in
shape on the right (south on the Plan), that is,
the shape was not altered by some unexplainable
local contraction or shrinkage. Top and bottom
of the parchment are, respectively, about 92 and
93 per cent of the median width. It is also
reasonable to assume that the original Plan was
drawn with normal consistency in all parts
without distortion (including the lower right
corner) on a parchment generally rectangular
like the left side of the existing parchment.

The Goose House posed no problem to the
tracer since the circular form of its plan fitted
neatly into the irregular shape at this location
(sheet 4 of the asembly).

At the lower right of the parchment there was a
different condition. Buildings 37 and 40, both
rectangular in plan, rather than circular,
suffered in the double set-back from the
general alignment of the south buildings (right)
of the Plan. That the draftsman did not make this
revision quite fit is illustrated by the south and
west boundary fence lines intersecting just
outside of the confining edge of the parchment
(sheet 5).

Conditions here support a belief that the draftsman
was striving to overcome the constrictive
inadequacy of the parchment and that the
angular deviation from square, seen here, in part
at least, is evidence of an attempt to compensate
for inadequate space on which to trace directly
from the original parchment. Thus, the lack of
necessary space invited a degree of irregularity
in tracing that was not inadvertent—a compelling
argument, it seems, that the existing
Plan is a copy.

In other words, to achieve his objective—
fitting an image into a space too small—by
composing all the elements of the original within
the space at his disposal without drastically
changing the size of the buildings not appreciably
altering the scale of the Plan, the draftsman
began making incremental adjustments as
be traced, starting at a point somewhat removed
from the trouble spot at the southwest corner of
the parchment.

His estimate of small incremental adjustments of
contraction and deflection, as he proceeded with
the task, was remarkably successful. Apparent
distortion, and lack of symmetric perfection at
this location are really no less than a brilliant
solution to an impossible task.

E.B.

Slovenliness and deterioration of line quality, the first signs
of boredom, exhaustion, declining interest in the act of
drafting, are not in evidence. On the contrary, the crisp,
neat execution prevailing elsewhere in the Plan persists here.
Ennui and enervation of draftsman do not seem to explain
this problem.[206]

In tracing the buildings the draftsman had to struggle
with the relative opaqueness of the sheet upon which he
traced his copy, or perhaps even with the difficult problem
of holding his sheets in a position that would allow the
reflected sunlight to penetrate the superimposed parchments
with sufficient strength to make the design of the
original readable through the body of the overlay. By
contrast the explanatory titles could be inscribed under
optimal conditions for the writing hand, as the parchment,
with its tracing completed, rested on the hard surface of a
table where the arm found solid support. The calligraphic
precision and firmness of the script leaves no doubt on this
score.

Since some of the inscriptions of sheet-group 1, 2, 3
continue under the overlapping margins of sheets 4 and 5,

the explanatory titles of the center group of sheets, as has
been shown, must have been completed before sheets 4
and 5 were added. It is logical to presume that the inscriptions
of the two outer sheets (4 and 5) likewise were
entered before these sheets were attached to the center
group, since they would be easier to handle separately than
after attachment. In general (but by no means exclusively
so) the scribe's working procedure paralleled that of the
draftsman. The majority of the titles of the Church were
inscribed transversely, the scribe facing the Church from
the west, the position in which the parchments were held
as this building was traced. He rotated the skin counterclockwise
by 90 degrees before inscribing the long axial
title defining the length of the Church, plus the two other
longitudinal titles that list the span of the columnar interstices
of the nave arcades. Still facing the Church from the
north, he inscribed the titles of the Scriptorium and the
Library as well as those of all the lodgings that range along
the northern aisle of the Church (Visiting Monks, Master
of Outer School, and Porter). The titles of the corresponding
rooms on the southern side of the Church were entered
from the opposite direction, which required a counterrotation
of the parchment by 180 degrees. Further rotations
were necessitated by the inscriptions of the semicircular
titles of the two atria as well as the two circular
towers. Again the principle of rotation was used in placing
the inscriptions of the Cloister Yard and the buildings
around it. Here the scribe stationed himself conceptually
in the center of the cloister garth and entered his inscriptions
clockwise, rotating the parchment counterclockwise
beneath his hand as he moved from building to building
around the four corners of the square, until he had made
a complete turn of 360 degrees. Other cases involving
complete rotation are the circular enclosures for the
chicken and geese and the title hic mansiunculae scolasticarum
in the Outer School.

For the rest, i.e., all of the buildings ranging peripherally
around the Church and the claustral block, the scribe
followed the simple procedure of inscribing his titles
facing each respective tract from the outer edge of the
Plan, which relieved him of the need to bend far over the
parchment. Exceptions to this rule are made only in those
cases where the particular shape of a room forced the scribe
to enter his titles at right angles rather than parallel to the
edge of the Plan (typical cases: Abbot's House, and House
of the Fowlkeepers).

There are, however, two notable exceptions: the title
that defines the functions of the large cross in the Monks'
Cemetery, and the letter of transmittal entered on the
margin to the east of the cemetery. They face west, like the
majority of the titles of the Church, thus suggesting that
the Plan was to be primarily viewed from the west. An
inscription that does not fall into the normal pattern is the
title designating the entrance to the Library, perhaps an
afterthought. It straddles the north wall of the fore choir
and faces east, in contrast to all other titles written transversely
into the church.