Plate III., Fig. 2, the _cushion capital_, is the simplest kind of Norman capital. It is cubical, with its square faces rounded down to the shaft.
[_Note._--The _shafts_ of all English Gothic columns are cylindrical--_i.e._, without any diminution towards the top, in contrast with Greek and Roman shafts, which are always diminished.]
Plate III., Fig. 3, is the capital of a _respond_--a half-column attached to a wall and carrying an arch or part of a roof.
Plate III., Fig. 4, the _corbel-table_, or cornice underneath the eaves of a roof (_corbel_--a bracket).
Plate III., Fig. 5, the _base_ of a pier with _spur_ ornaments.
Plate III., Fig. 6, fragment of a Norman arch of _four orders_, each order being a separate arch, three of which are enriched with the Norman _chevron_. The _dripstone_ or _hood-moulding_ (d.s.) encloses the arch as in Plate III., Fig. 8, though its original function--to protect the moulding under it from weather--is not needed here, but it is generally introduced to give effective finish to the arch. The capitals in this group are _scallop capitals_. A small portion of a similar capital is shown at the right hand of Plate III., Fig. 3.
Plate III., Fig. 7, is a Norman font of the simple bowl form enriched with carved Norman heads connected by Byzantine ornament and surrounded with a _Norman arcade_ of intersecting arches--a feature often introduced in the walls of churches and cathedrals.
Plate III., Fig. 8, is a double-recessed window with an arch of three orders. The columns in the positions shown are called _jamb-shafts_ or _nook-shafts_; those on the right are _detached_ and may be removed, leaving the bases and capitals remaining. On the left the shafts are _engaged_--_i.e._, form part of the masonry of the wall. These two varieties are never found together as here, but are thus shown for convenience. The capitals are a variety of the cushion capital.
Plate III., Fig. 9, is a _cushion capital_ with the _triquetra_ symbol of the Trinity (Plate I., Fig. 8).
Byzantine influence is evident in the ornament of the capitals (Plate III., Figs. 1, 3, and 9), in the chevron (Plate III., Fig. 6), and the decoration of the font (Plate III., Fig. 7).
Norman walls depended for their strength upon their thickness, with the slight addition at intervals, where lateral pressure occurred, of thin pilaster-like buttresses projecting only a few inches equally from bottom to top.