Flamboyant

Flamboyant, the style of Gothic architecture which succeeded the Decorated in France, corresponding in date to the Perpendicular in England. The name is derived from flambeau, a torch, and is due to the waving character of the tracery in windows, panels, etc., which produces an effect like that of tongues of flame. Flamboyant architecture is in the main merely a corrupt form of Decorated, and its leading characteristic is the intricacy and superabundance of the ornamentation. The mouldings are very inferior to those of earlier styles : undue prominence is given to the large empty hollows, while the fillet is sparingly used; and the mouldings often run into one another without any dividing line, or are separated only by an arris. The pillars, which are commonly circular, usually lack capitals, and are often entirely bare; at other times the chief mouldings of the arches, instead of ceasing abruptly, are continued down the surface of the pillars. When suites of mouldings meet, they are often made to interlace, in a peculiarly intricate fashion. Two-centred arches are the most common, but the semicircle, the ogee, and the ellipse also occur. The canopies are highly finished, and are often very beautiful.