Rinpretend en ISOO
SPIRE
941
SPIRES
i\ ihoipe, CU.1320.
formed round them at different heights; tlie opening's also were more enrich- ed, and tlie pinna- cles on the angles of the tower were enlarged, and were not unfrequently connected with the spire by small Hy- ing buttresses. Fine examples of this style are the spires of Salisbury Cathedral and of St. Mary's, Oxford. In the Perpendic- td(ir style the same general arrange- ment was contin- ued, although the character of the details and enrich- ments was altered in common with those of the other features of Gothic architecture. At this period broach spires appear to have been aban- doned— at least, no
example of one of this date can be referred to. The foregoing observations refer to spires of stone, but they were often also made of timber and covered either with lead or shingles, the greater part of these were broach- es, but they were sometimes surrounded by a parapet at the base. Many specimens of timber spires covered with shingles are to be met with in the comities of Sur- rey, Sussex, Kent, and Essex, and in some other places. Small spires of open work, of timber, are sometimes placed at the east end of the naves of large foreign churches. In some of these the Lady-bell (or Sanctus- bell) is placed. The conjunction of a tower and spire forms a steeple. The following is the measurement of celebrated steeples above the ground : Old St. Paul's, 527 ft., Salisburv, 404 ft.; St. Michael's, Coventry, 320 ft.; Norwich, 309 ft.; Louth, 294 ft.; Chichester, 271 ft.; Strasburg, .500 ft.; Vienna, 441 ft.; Antwerp, 406 ft.; Freiberg, 385 ft. ; Chartres, 353 ft. ; St. Patrick's, Dub- lin, 223 ft. , Glasgow, 225 ft. The spire of Amiens, called the golden steeple, from its gilded crockets, is 422 ft.; of Cologne, 510 ft.; the highest pinnacle of Milan, 355 ft.; the dome of St. Peter's, 434 ft.; Flor- ence, 387 ft. ; and Segovia, 330 ft.— Parker, Gloss, of Architecture, s. v. See Lee, Gloss, of Litury. Terms; Walcott, Sacred A rchieol. s. v.
Spire, or Exupere, St., first bishop of Bayeux, was born, according to some, in Kome, and came to Gaul about A.D. 68, with Denis, Saturnin, and other bisliops, whom they pretend to have been sent by pope Clement. This opinion, followed in the diocese of Ba- yeux, is in contradiction witli the chronology of its bish- ops; and it is also necessary, in accordance with the majority of writers, to fix the epoch of his arrival to- wards the end of the fourth century. He died about 405, and was buried at the end of Mt. Phaunus, where he had begun to preach the Christian faith. Ilis re- mains, transferred in the 16th century to Corbeil, where a church was erected in his memory, were burned, Feb. 8, 179, in presence of the municipality. His festival is on Aug. 1. — Hoefer, Nouv. Biu(j. Gene- rate, s. V.
Spire Cross. In medireval times every church spire was crowned and surmounted by an ornamental
cross. Its form was very varied, ami fre- quently the repre- sentation of a cock was placed at the top, while at the foot of the cross was a globe, signifying the influence and power of the cross over the world. The richest examples of spire crosses are found in France and Ger- many. That from the pencil of Mr. Pu- gin, in the accompa- nying cut, is not un- like the cross sur- rnounting the spire of Amiens Cathe- dral.
Spires, Diets OF. Spires, or S|)ire (Germ. Speijer; anc. Noviomarjus, after- wards Nemetes), is a city of Bavaria, at the confluence of the Speyerbach with the Rhine, once the resi- dence of the (ierman
Siiire Cross.
emperors, but now greatly reduced, liaving been nearly destroyed by the French in 1689. It is noted in eccle- siastical history for the meetings held there by the Re- formers. I
I. The first diet had been ordered to convene Feb. 1, 1526, at Esslingen, but was afterwards di.ected to meet at Spires on May 1. It did not begin its delib- erations, however, until .June 26. The situation at the time was favorable to the evangelical cause, inasmuch as the peace of jMadrid, concluded between the emperor Charles V and Francis I, the king of France (.January, 1526), had been broken by Francis, with the consent of the pope. All Western J^urope was leagued together to destroy the preponderating power of the imperial house. The Turks threatened to invade Germany, and the Tor- gau alliance had compacted the Protestant states into a formidable power. The Protestant princes accordingly assumed a bold attitude, and from the time of their ar- rival caused their preachers to hold daily services, at which thousands of people were present. The religious question was prominent from the beginning of the diet. I'he imperial commissioners announced that the em- peror had determined to maintain the existing order in religious matters until a council should arrange a differ- ent order, and demanded that new innovations agreea- ble to the teaching of Luther and contrary to the Edict of Worms should not be undertaken, besides calling at- tention to ordinary matters pertaining to the general conduct of the empire and to its needs. Debates imme- diately ensued, in which the lay estates directed atten- tion towards the many and notorious abuses existing in the Church, and the imperial cities demanded the ab- rogation ot erroneous and dangerous customs. They asserted that it was impossible to tell when, if ever, a general Christian council might be convened. These ar- guments prevailed. The complaints so presented were given to a committee, which reported that baptism and the Lord's supper should alone be regarded as sacra- ments; that the laity should partake of the cup; and that the vernacular should be emjiloyed in the admin- istration of the sacraments. A second committee re- ported, advising the exercise of liberty in the points named by the former committee, and, in addition, rec- ommending the abrogaiion of celibacy and an intelli- gent preaching of the Word of (iod. At this point the