Gothic Architecture. which in the middle of the twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth centuries exercised a considerable influence upon art. The freemasons were a body of men skilled in masonry of every kind, and competent to carry out any work they undertook in the best scientific manner. At the time of their organisation writing was unknown to the majority of the laity, and a system of secret signs Was Fig 46.— The Ca d'Oro, Venice. invented, by which masons could recognise each other. The houses of meeting were called lodges, and the principal were at Strasbursf, Vienna, and Zurich. The vast cathe- drals of Germany are believed to owe much of their beauty to the harmonious co-operation of the freemasons of the different states. EHA
