Thirty-Second Annual Meeting,Evesham, 1875

Abstract

This paper considers the sculpted capitals in Wells cathedral. Although integral to the early Gothic fabric, they have hitherto eluded close examination as either a component of the building or as an important cycle of ecclesiastical imagery in their own right. Consideration of the archaeological evidence suggests that the capitals were introduced mid-way through the building campaigns and were likely the products of the cathedral's masons rather than part of an original scheme for the cathedral as a whole. Possible sources for the images are considered. The distribution of the capitals in lay and clerical spaces of the cathedral leads to discussion of how the imagery might have been meaningful to different audiences on either side of the choir screen.     

The Choir of Auxerre Cathedral and the Question of a Burgundian Gothic Architecture

Despite criticisms, the classification of the choir of Auxerre Cathedral as Burgundian persists in recent literature. Yet the cathedral’s choir, begun c. 1215, demonstrates the problematic nature of the existing regional categories for French medieval architecture. Based on the 19th-century idea of progress, the conceptual model that conceives Gothic France as consisting of ‘centre and periphery’ and notions such as regional styles or period styles are deeply at odds with medieval concepts of innovation as inclusive of tradition, as evidenced in the biography of Bishop William of Auxerre (1207–20). Indeed, 20th-century studies in support of the classification are contradicted by recent archaeological findings, and neither the historical evidence nor the architectural evidence support a Burgundian label for the choir. The architecture’s distinctly trans-regional character with a mixture of both traditional and up-to-date architectural elements as well as the fact that patronal identities were strongly based on local affiliations and not attached to the duchy of Burgundy, invite a profound reconsideration not only of the position of the choir in the architectural landscape of the early 13th century but also of Gothic architecture of north-eastern France in more general terms.     

On Crystals of Augury

Abstract

Salisbury cathedral is usually seen as a ‘one period’ building, a ‘complete’ 13th-century cathedral. As a result, the later medieval work at Salisbury has rarely been considered in its own right. This neglect has been compounded by the subsequent loss of many of its most important elements: the two eastern chantry chapels, St Osmund’s shrine and half the library. The aim of this paper is to redress this imbalance. Salisbury’s original appearance was transformed dramatically in the early 14th century by the construction of the high tower and spire, and in the later 15th century, following the canonisation of St Osmund, when the east end was substantially remodelled. As at other great churches, the interior was continuously adapted to enable the cathedral to meet the spiritual needs of late medieval society. These were principally the performance of the liturgy, the commemoration of the dead, the augmentation of devotional cults and the promotion of learning. These themes are explored in the discussion of the new library, major monuments, the shrine of St Osmund and the construction of four new chantry chapels. Thus the cathedral evolved significantly in the two and a half centuries after Bishop Ghent’s consecration in 1297.     

‘The face of the one who is making for Jerusalem’: The Angel Choir of Lincoln Cathedral and Joy1

This paper examines the Angel Choir of Lincoln Cathedral (c. 1256–80) from the perspective of two interrelated concepts: the heavenly Jerusalem and joy. Building on previous scholarly discussions of the choir’s unusual creativity and profusion of organic and iconographic decoration, it traces connections between the choir and the rich corpus of writing on the joys of the heavenly Jerusalem. In juxtaposition with the hagiography of St Hugh, this opens a valuable seam of meaning and offers a possible explanation for the choir’s decorative intensity. It also reveals a number of ways, previously unnoted, in which Hugh of Avalon and his spirituality are recalled by the choir built to house his relics.     

On Roman Remains Recently Discovered at Headington near Oxford

Plans to redisplay the Bayeux Tapestry raise anew the questions as to where and how it was originally intended to be displayed. Analysis of the linen fabric provides new insights into the tapestry’s design and manufacture, and enables its original length to be calculated. Re-examination of the (largely destroyed) 11th-century cathedral at Bayeux and of its liturgical layout demonstrates that the tapestry would have fitted neatly into the nave west of the choir screen. Its narrative falls into three discrete sections that reflect the way in which it would have been hung within the building, and the arrangement of the scenes takes account of the uneven bay-spacings of the nave arcades and the positions of the doorways. It can therefore be concluded that the tapestry was designed for a particular location within the nave of Bayeux cathedral. The cathedral’s liturgical traditions shed light on the way in which the tapestry would have been viewed in the Middle Ages, and the wider implications for the way in which it could and should be viewed today are briefly considered.     

THE MEDIEVAL CHURCHYARD AS AN URBAN EMPTY SPACE: TRACING ACTORS AROUND THE CHURCHYARDS OF ST. ALBAN AND ST. CANUTE,ODENSE

The study applies the concept of ‘urban empty space’ as defined by Monica Smith to the adjacent churchyards of St. Alban and St. Canute, the latter being both a cathedral and a shrine for the royal saint, Canute the Holy. The aim is to demonstrate that the churchyard of St. Canute incorporated other temporary functions for the urban society, which subdivided the space into more labile areas or demarcations of use. The demarcations might, according to the concept, become contested areas between various users; thus, the article seeks to identify possible contestants through examining the built environment as well as the artefacts – in the present case, though, limited to the pottery. The article shows that the studied objects can shed new light on the urban empty space of the medieval churchyard. It is also a reminder that urban churchyards are not completely isolated loci of sanctity for the dead but are very much a part of urban life.     

The Early Romanesque ‘Great West’ Towers of St Peter,Stambourne, Essex and St Nicholas,Leeds, Kent: ‘Clerical’ Towers for a Lay Lord?

Abstract

A small group of early Romanesque west towers in southern and eastern England are of unusually large size and are here termed ‘great west’ towers. The majority were commissioned by senior clergy, but there is evidence that those at Stambourne (Essex) and Leeds (Kent) were the work of Haimo II Dapifer, Sheriff of Kent. Haimo’s adoption of what is usually seen as a clerical form of monument is reflected by his position and associations in royal charters. The towers of St Peter, Stambourne and St Nicholas, Leeds have similarities with St Leonard’s Tower, West Malling (Kent) and the west gate of Lincoln castle respectively. Both illustrate the fluidity of forms that high-status buildings of the late 11th and early 12th centuries could take.     

‘’Tis Not in the Power of Words to Tell What My Heart Feels in Favour of You’; or,What the Ossulston Diary Does Not Reveal

Charles Bennet, 2nd Baron Ossulston is largely known through his diary of his daily social encounters, which was first analysed for its political import by Clyve Jones. A further set of documents in the Bennet family papers deepens our understanding of Ossulston's life and his social milieu among the aristocracy under Queen Anne. The love letters sent to him from a Mrs Sarah Sidney throughout 1710 reveal much about life in the aristocratic hothouse of St James's Square. They also show how the ‘ministerial revolution’ of that year was seen by two politically conversant figures at the margins of the royal court. This relationship was long-lasting and has been a hitherto unknown aspect of Ossulston's life, which may help explain some of his attitudes.     

Twenty-Sixth Annual Meeting,St. Alban’s, 1869

A round-headed window in the cathedral close at Winchester, drawn by John Aubrey on or before March 1669 for his Chronologia architectonica, may belong to a hitherto unidentified structure shown by John Speed on his Map of Winchester of 1611. The location suggests that this structure and hence the window may have been part of the royal palace built in the centre of Winchester by William the Conqueror by about 1069–70, said by Gerald the Welshman, writing about 1198, to have been second to the palace in London ‘in neither quality nor scale’     

The Elephant In and Out of the Room: Remigio dei Girolami’s Responses to Charles de Valois

In November 1301, Charles de Valois, brother of French King Philip IV, entered Florence at the request of Pope Boniface VIII and his Florentine allies. While Charles’ mission was ostensibly peacemaking between Florence’s Black and White factions, in reality his visit led to violence and exile of leading Whites, including Dante. Much of what we know about these events was written in retrospect, from the chronicles of Compagni and Villani to Dante’s Commedia. The Florentine Dominican Remigio dei Girolami, however, preached two sermons that week that provide a more immediate impression. One was given at the official communal welcome ceremony for Charles. The other, one of his sermons De pace, was probably given at a semi-secret peace procession mentioned by Compagni. Rhetorical analysis of these two sermons shows that Remigio tailored his message to his audience. When Charles was present, Remigio diplomatically avoided the subject of factional division, instead advising Charles on his upcoming mission to Sicily (perhaps subtly encouraging him to get on with it and leave Florentine politics alone). In Charles’ absence, however, Remigio obliquely criticized Charles and stressed to his fellow-citizens that, as the sermon’s thema stated, peace was in their power.     

Body snatching and episcopal power: Archbishop Anno II of Cologne (1056–1075), burials in St Mary's ad gradus, and the minority of King Henry IV

This paper examines one method employed by Anno of Cologne (1056–1075) to assert power during Henry IV's minority: the confiscation of the bodies of well-known individuals, and their subsequent interment in Anno's own foundation of St Mary's ad gradus in Cologne. Sited immediately east of the cathedral ‘on the steps’ leading up from the Rhine, St Mary's functioned as a ceremonial reception church. Its prototype was Santa Maria in turri, part of the east atrium complex of Old St Peter's in Rome. The burial of notable remains in St Mary's ad gradus was part of Anno's intent to make the see of Cologne supreme over all rivals. After coercing interments in the early 1060s, Anno in 1064 ordered that the body of Duke Konrad of Bavaria (†1055) be exhumed in Hungary—where Konrad had died in exile after being accused of treason against Henry III—and translated to Cologne for burial in St Mary's ad gradus. The reinterment of Konrad was a statement of spite directed towards Henry IV, no longer under the control of Anno, who provoked the young king by burying a traitor to Henry's father in Cologne's reception church ‘on the steps’.     

When Greek meets Greek: Alexius Comnenus and Bohemond in 1097–98

Abstract

To his father, Robert Guiscard, Bohemond appeared larger than life even in boyhood. Partly from real feats of war and conquest and partly from adroit self-advertisement, he became a legend in his own lifetime, and even in death he continues to draw the attention of art historians to his mausoleum, which is juxtaposed to the south transept of the cathedral at Canosa, Apulia. The mausoleum's ‘Oriental’ or ‘Byzantine’ features mark it out from other buildings in the region, while the date and design of the cathedral itself evoke controversy. My aim here is neither to attempt a general assessment of Bohemond's career nor to offer a survey of Alexius I Comnenus’ handling of the First Crusade. I shall merely focus on Alexius’ dealings with Bohemond during the earlier stages of the Crusade, and argue that Anna Comnena offers a rather misleading picture of their relationship. Far from Alexius being wise to Bohemond's every trick, with Bohemond ‘playing the Cretan with the Cretan‘, Alexius was in my opinion led to suppose that he had bought Bohemond, at least for the duration of the Franks’ expedition to the East, a supposition that was ill-founded.     

Solitude or Performance? The Papal and Royal-Imperial Residences of Benedict XII and Charles IV in Avignon,Prague and Karlstein

A comparison of the architectural models applied, on the one hand, at the papal residence in Avignon (Benedict XII) and the royal and imperial residences in Bohemia (Charles IV) and, on the other, at the first forms of baronial apartment consisting of public (sala regia) and private rooms (studiolo; thalamus, locus) offers a new way of approaching this aspect of architectural history. The baronial apartment was a specific type of room in the residence and an early sign of the gradual transformation of the fortress architecture that had been associated with itinerant rule. Accordingly, it should be interpreted as one of the first example of the ‘state-building’ architecture used to construct fixed or temporary residential locations.     

Report of the Committee on Ancient Earthworks & Fortified Enclosures

The recent identification of two original drawings of the excavated remains of the east end of St Hugh’s choir at Lincoln Cathedral adds new information to that first published in 1887. A review of this information and fresh survey of the site, which includes information from grave slabs, will enlarge our understanding of what was discovered, including the fact that the foundations had been badly damaged by grave digging. The drawings themselves are revealed to be part reconstructions rather than accurate representations of what had actually survived. Nevertheless, they do allow a more accurate plan of the remains to be drafted and a new reconstruction of the building to be attempted. This is the aim of this article.