Chapter VI: The Decorated Style

When the masons grew tired of extreme naturalism, which happened after about twenty years, they invented, or rather there grew up among them, a new style or convention which is called Decorated or Edwardian, as it lasted through the reigns of the first three Edwards. Its peculiarities were an exaggeration of the knobs or globular waves on the leaves which we found beginning in the Angel Choir of Lincoln (Pl. 45), and a rippling of the edges. This last feature gave a suggestion of adhesion which was lacking in the naturalistic leaves, and accorded with the convex character of the carving. The Early English stiff-leaf foliage curled over outwards concavely like volutes, the Decorated foliage returned to the cushion-shaped or, rather, the cup-shaped capital (Pl. 1), and gave an appearance of solidity and support (Pl. 71). The leaves that lent themselves most fitly to this knob and ripple treatment were long thin serrated leaves like those of certain ferns and seaweeds. Fern leaves often exhibit very similar curves and ripples in nature, while the bladders on seaweed may have suggested the knobs. The most marked examples are the crockets on the exterior of arched canopies or gables. In these the effect is to suggest that they are crawling like caterpillars up the arches (Pl. 111). There are some good specimens of these on the Percy Monument at Beverley. The crockets and finial on this Percy Monument show very plainly the characteristics we have described (Pl. 73). The globular swellings on the leaves are so exaggerated at Beverley as to look almost like apples or pears from a distance. The leaves here are not like those of ferns or seaweed, but are apparently conventionalised vine leaves, and, as such, should be compared with the naturalistic leaves on the Southwell capital (Pl. 57). Among the leaves are some small bunches of grapes. This mixing of fruit with leaves is also a feature of Decorated sculpture. It is seldom seen earlier though it is frequent later. In a few rare cases flowers appear among stiff-leaf foliage (Pl. 48), but fruit seldom or never. This period is the August time of Gothic--the fruit season. The stiff-leaf period is that of buds, the Decorated that of flowers and fruit, and the Perpendicular that of vines and grapes carved in wood.

A very graceful arrangement of seaweed leaves occurs on a panel of a tomb at Winchelsea (Pl. 72), and a more elaborate one of the same sort on the tympanum of a gable in the Lady Chapel at Ely (Pl. 74). In this chapel also a face occurs with sprays of Decorated foliage coming out of its mouth (Pl. 75). This reminds us of Pls. 6 and 61. The foliage on the Easter sepulchre at Lincoln is an exaggerated example of the crinkled edges of the Decorated leaves (Pl. 76), and a monument at Exeter is an exaggerated example of the puffed-out globular swellings (Pl. 77). Long, coarse, sprawling leaves showing bulgings and rippled edges are exemplified on capitals at Patrington (Pl. 78).

The Decorated type of foliage continued in use in the western counties right through the Perpendicular period. In the east foliage sculpture in stone almost ceased. The principal place for its exhibition being capitals, the reduction in size and importance of capitals led to its disuse. The small capitals of the period were mostly moulded, not carved. Such foliation as we have is chiefly on monuments. While stone-carving was becoming rare, or of a very coarse and decadent description, wood-carving was coming more and more elaborate. The best carvers, with a few exceptions, seem to have transferred their work from stone to wood. The building of churches gave way to their enlargement and ornamentation with wooden screens and alabaster monuments.