Lancelot in Silesia

A while ago I came upon an article on Medievalists.net about a series of early fourteenth century wall paintings depicting the story of Sir Lancelot in a medieval tower house at Siedleçin in Lower Silesia. Having been whitewashed they were initially rediscovered in the nineteenth century and have gradually been recovered and studied.

 

The Siedlečin Tower was built in 1312-15 by Duke Henry ( Henryk ) I of Jawor and the paintings are thought to be from a few years later. They may represent the influence or interests of his wife, a daughter of the King of Bohemia, whom he married in 1319.

The Medievalists.net account can be seen at Finding Sir Lancelot in Medieval Poland 

Wikipedia has an entry for the building at Siedlęcin Tower

The Tower represents one aspect of the convoluted aristocratic politics of medieval central Europe. In particular it is a section of the story of the fragmentation of Piast authority in the western lands of the Polish kingdom in the extended absence of central royal authority, and the dynastic moves that led towards Bohemian overlordship in 1392. There is an introduction to the region from Wikipedia at Lusatia .

There is a biography on Wikipedia of the builder at Henry I of Jawor and one of his spouse at Agnes of Bohemia, Duchess of Jawor  These biographies, and the links within them, are interesting in exploring the complex of familial ties amongst the aristocratic elites of the region and also by indicating the potential cultural contacts that could have flowed from them. Some aspects of those possibilities were examined in a 2015 guest post on the Edward II blogspot which can be seen at Edward II, Duke Henryk and 14th-Century Murals at Siedlęcin 

Tomb effigies now displayed in the town hall of Lwówek Ślaşki which represent, in all probability, Duke Henryk and his wife Agnes ( Anežka)

Image: Ludwig Schneider/ Edward II Blog

In England virtually the sole surviving example of such domestic paintings are those at Longthorpe Tower, which lies very much in the western suburbs of Peterborough. They also are dated to around 1330 and combine religious and secular themes. As a collection both by date and their nature they are very much a counterpart to those at Siedleçin. There is more information about these paintings and the history of Longthorpe at Longthorpe Tower from English Heritage, at Longthorpe Tower, and from Wikipedia at Longthorpe Tower

The important remains of mid-thirteenth century paintings in what was the refectory of the priory at Horsham St Faith, just north of Norwich, are perhaps comparable in their blending of the sacred and the secular. Painted to tell the story of the establishment of the priory, they depict its foundation after misadventures whilst travelling back from pilgrimage to Rome befell the husband and wife, Robert and Sybil Fitzwilliam. They founded the house in thanksgiving for their safe return. There are images at The Batchelor Collection - Wall Paintings

For Sale - The Church of Scotland

The Spectator has a good article by William Finlator deploring the wholesale selling off by the Church of Scotland of many of its churches. The article can be read at The tragedy of Scotland’s church sell-off

These are not just relatively modern buildings or ones of no architectural merit or historic significance. Many are fine buildings and certainly worthy of preservation.

I first became aware of this inane policy when, last year, I read an article about the closure of the medieval cathedral in Brechin. Fortunately there a group of trustees chaired by the Duchess of Fife have, as the Friends of Brechin Cathedral, taken on its care and preservation. The article can be read at Brechin Cathedral: What do you want for the future of the 803-year-old jewel in the city's crown?

 

Brechin Cathedral from the south west

Image: Wikimedia Commons

As Finlator suggests in his article finance has played a major part with the cathedral suffering a serious loss over roof repairs, as reported in 2018 in Closure-threatened Brechin cathedral creaking under £140,000 debt and in 2021 in Fears for 800-year-old Brechin Cathedral which Robert The Bruce helped pay for

The Times reported on the closure of the cathedral after so long a history in Debt forces the closure of cathedral after 800 years and in Brechin Cathedral shuts doors after eight centuries

The website of the Friends organisation who have courageously taken on the care of the building can be seen at Brechin Cathedral Trust - Home

Say what one might as a former Anglican about the Church of England and the Church in Wales they have not yet sunk to selling off wholesale historic cathedrals and parish churches.

Maybe the Church of Scotland should return the cathedral to the Piskies ( Episcopalians) or even the Papists ( Catholics ) ….

.

Brechin is one of the ancient episcopal sees of Scotland and still the title of the Episcopalian bishop based in Dundee. The cathedral, with its very distinctive profile is described by Wikipedia at Brechin Cathedral and in greater detail with a good selection of photographs at Brechin Cathedral Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland

After a serious architectural mangling at the beginning of the nineteenth century a dramatic restoration at the very beginning of the twentieth century sought successfully to reconstruct much of its medieval architecture and appearance. This was followed by an impressive series of commissions of stained glass windows, making it arguably the finest collection of twentieth century glass in Scotland. This striking work is handsomely illustrated in Brechin Cathedral and a feast of stained glass

During the twentieth century this historic building underwent a major, and, no doubt, not inexpensive restoration and was clearly a patron of the visual arts. Yet now it is deemed surplus to requirements.

Historically I have little time for the Church of Scotland and its constitutionally guaranteed position - I have read too much about the history of the northern kingdom in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries - although I had very great respect and regard for the one Church of Scotland minister I have known. Amongst other qualities he conveyed that sense, akin to the best of Anglicanism, that an Established Church has a responsibility for all the people within its territory. As William Finlator basically says in his article it is that tradition which is being betrayed by the Church of Scotland by pursuing such a blinkered policy.

The Euston Arch

I am old enough to remember the furore caused by the proposal to demolish the Euston Arch and the ultimately unsuccessful endeavours to save it. Along with the failure also to preserve the Coal Exchange these two campaigns were the beginning of active resistance to the demolition culture of mid-twentieth century Britain, which certainly predated the Second World War. The change in attitudes over succeeding decades is remarkable and heartening, although far too much was lost that could, and should, have been saved. At least the Arch’s neighbouring Victorian station, St Pancras, after the threat of demolition and consequent neglect, has been restored and appreciated, and given a new purpose. There is a Country Life 2008 account of the renovation of St Pancras at The immaculate restoration of the once-despised architecture of St Pancras station

This week Country Life has an article about the Euston Arch and the equally impressive, if less often remembered, Great Hall which was also destroyed as part of the rebuilding scheme in 1962. 

 

Today it is depressing to stand outside the bland unmemorable facade of Euston and see a plaque indicating where the Arch once stood. Someone really should start a serious campaign to recreate the Euston Arch on its original site.

The illustrated article can be seen at Curious Questions: Why was the original Euston Station destroyed in one of the greatest acts of cultural vandalism Britain has ever seen?

However it does not quite answer the question in its title, and explore the forces, the arguments, in favour of destruction. Brash modernity was backed right up to Cabinet level as part of the ‘received opinion’ of the times. The loss of the Euston Arch spurred on the heroic efforts of conservation campaigners, but was also ultimately a victory for the institutional vandals.

Medieval Women at the British Library

The Smithsonian Magazine has a very good preview and introduction to the British Library’s new exhibition Medieval Women: In Their Own Words. The exhibition clearly draws together familiar figures with less well known women who have left a presence in the written record and in the works of illustrators and artists. Some of these are unique and chance survivals such as the autobiography of Margery Kempe, or have to be trawled from administrative recorde.

The exhibition opens today and runs until March 2bd next year.

The well illustrated introductory article can be seen at These Rare Artifacts Tell Medieval Women's Stories in Their Own Words

The road to Agincourt

Today is the anniversary of the battle of Agincourt in 1415. Probably no other comparable battle, no other comparable victory, has fixed itself, and did so even before Shakespeare, in the collective n English national self-consciousness. One result of that is a continuing range of publications about the battle and about King Henry V.

This autumn has seen the much publicised appearance of Dan Jones! new biography of the King. I have not so far looked at it, but in an online conversation Jones made a point about the injury suffered by the future King when Prince of Wales at Shrewsbury in 1403. He argues John Bradmore may have been an even more skilled surgeon than modern commentators give him credit for. This is a point I have made for several years. We also agree that surviving such an injury gave, or reinforced, a personal sense of destiny, of Divine favour, with the future King.

King Henry V

Image:MeisterDrucke

YouTube offers a range of features in Agincourt and on the life of its victor. Two of the best are an excellent pair of podcasts by the now well-established duo of Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook about the events leading up to the battle fought 609 years ago at Agincourt.

They can be seen at Hundred Years' War | Henry V's Invasion of France | Part 1 and at Hundred Years' War | The Road To Agincourt | Part 2

A Shrine for Bl. Charles of Austria in Minnesota

Last Monday, October 21st, was the day appointed in the ecclesiastical calendar for the commemoration of Bl. Charles of Austria. 

Last year the New Liturgical Movement had an article by J.P.Sonnen about a new shrine to the Emperor that had been created in the parish church of St Agnes in St Paul, Minnesota. The parish was founded in 1887, which was coincidentally the year of the future Emperor’s birth, by immigrants from Austria-Hungary. The church as built in 1912 is very much in the Baroque architectural tradition of the Habsburg dominions, and the parish has maintained links with both Austria and the Imperial Family. Indeed the Gebetsliga and its work for the canonisation of the Emperor appears to be very active generally in the US.

The generously illustrated article can be seen at New Shrine Dedicated to Blessed Karl by Canning Liturgical Arts

Bl. Emperor Charles pray for us

Boethius 1500

Today is believed to be the 1500th anniversary of the violent death of Boethius, on the orders of the Ostrogothic King Theodoric.

Boethius literary legacy, above all that of The Consolation of Philosophy, was immense - it and indeed his other works were essential reading for the next millennium. He served as link, a conduit, conveying the heritage of Greek learning as understood in the late Roman Empire to the medieval centuries and beyond. He is one of the great figures of European intellectual life.

Wikipedia has a useful introduction to his life and writings with an extensive and reasonably up-to-date bibliography. It can be seen at Boethius

A while back the Daily Telegraph had an article by Lindsay Johns about Boethius and his place not only in European culture, but also in his own life. That article can be read at The philosophical genius we all need to read

During the Covid lockdown I thought The Consolation of Philosophy seemed an appropriate thing to read. I had not done so before and, to be honest, for all of its elegant expression and charm of manner, I did not feel I drew much from it other than being able to say that I had now read it. Maybe I need to try again, as even older and, possibly, wiser. I think, however, that the problem may lie deep with me - my mind does not respond to the abstract world of Philosophy as an end in itself, but rather as a context within which one views the world of the past, the present and the future. That said, that was what Boethius was attempting to accomplish in The Consolation …. so perhaps I was just not in the right frame of mind at the time.

Honorius Augustodunensis’ “Gemma animae”

The latest Minute Missive from the FSSP has a review by Fr William Rock of a new academic edition of Honorius Agustodunensis’ Gemma animae or Jewel of the Soul. Dating from the early twelfth century it is a commentary on the liturgy and choir offices as they were celebrated at the time. It was widely read in succeeding years, although eventually  superseded by Durandus’ Rationale at the end of the thirteenth century.

The review brings out the importance of the text and places it in the context of the evolution of theological opinion at the time. It can be read at Jewel of the Soul - A Short Review

What little is known about Honorious himself, and a list of his other writings, is set out by Wikipedia at Honorius Augustodunensis