Medieval English Roads

Whilst we are making our way on the pilgrimage around medieval Marian shrines, not to mention following a very idiosyncratic route, we might feel it useful to have a road map. If we do then we might feel like eschewing Sat-Nav, online maps, Google Earth or even a standard motoring artlas. The answer is, of course, the Gough Map.

The Gough Map in the Bodleian is the most detailed map of the British Isles, and in particular of England and Wales, to survive from the later medieval period. It was, fortuitously, rescued by the antiquarian Richard Gough - hence its name - in the eighteenth century. The argument I have heard is that it was mounted on a board which was hinged to the wall of the Star Chamber so it could be consulted during Council meetings.

Medievalists.net has an article summering a recent research paper, which it links to, about the red lines indicating roads on the Gough Map. It has sought to identify which were Roman roads that were then, and probably still are, in use, and those which were created in the medieval centuries, though which might be much older. A third category are those which cannot be identified before the mid-sixteenth century but which were quite probably in existence long beforehand.

This is interesting, and rather confirms what a knowledge of local history for any particular place or locality would indicate. The road building of the later eighteenth and earlier nineteenth centuries had a huge impact, often completely reordering our perceptions about towns and villages, and the links between the. That, of course, is before the landscape was ripped apart by motorways….

Rivers were an important feature to the Gough cartographer, and it is important to remember that, particularly in eastern, lowland England rivers were important both for carrying heavy goods, including stone for building, but also people. Royalty, nobility and doubtless others used the rivers for speedy travel and, probably,

comfort. 

One thing that slightly surprised me was the attribution of the Gough Map to the fifteenth century or more precisely 1390-1410. I had been brought up to date it to the period 1360-75. Wikipedia outlines the discussion, with relevant links, at Gough Map

The article, and links to the academic paper and more about the Gough Map, can all be accessed at Medieval England’s Road Network Mapped Using the Gough Map

Marian Pilgrimage - Our Lady of Thetford

The Pilgrimage now goes to west Norfolk to the Cluniac priory at Thetford and its shrine of Our Lady. As can be seen in the links from my previous posts the origins and development of the priory as a place of devotion is much better documented than most others which adds considerably to its historical interest. 

My article from last year, with the relevant links can be found at Marian Pilgrimage - Our Lady of Thetford

May Our Lady of Thetford pray for Pope Leo XIV

Problems for a Papal building project in thirteenth century Troyes

Although I do not think it very likely but for all I know Pope Leo XIV may have plans to build a Papal basilica in his home area in south Chicago to commemorate and celebrate his elevation to the Chair of Peter.

If he were to think of so doing he might wish to take note of the problems faced by one of his predecessors, and his family, who did just that in the thirteenth century. That was Pope Urban IV and his creation was the basilica of Saint- Urbain in his native city of Troyes.

The story of the conflict which ensued is set out in a new post from Medievalists.net at When Medieval Nuns Stopped a Papal Construction Site: The Turbulent Story of the Basilica of Saint-Urbain in Troyes

When people talk of ‘empowering’ women in the modern Church maybe they should reflect on the range of previous experiences of empowered female roles in ecclesiastical life.

 

On my one visit to Troyes, which has a very picturesque city centre around the cathedral, we did not get to visit this Papal foundation, which having read this story I regret all the more.

Marian Pilgrimage - Our Lady of Grace at Ipswich

 

The Pilgrimage moves back to East Anglia and to the Shrine of Our Lady at Ipswich. This was one of the most important and popular shrines of Our Lady in mediaeval England, and is another one specifically dedicated to her as Our Lady of Grace.

My post from last year has several links in it to the history of the devotion, which was doubtless familiar to the most famous son of late mediaeval Ipswich, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, as he gre up before moving to Oxford as a promising scholar at Magdalen College.

The post can be seen at Marian Pilgrimage - Our Lady of Grace at Ipswich

May Our Lady of Grace at Ipswich pray for Pope Leo XIV

The new Great Seal

Last Tuesday at a meeting of the Privy Council His Majesty The King handed over to the Lord Chancellor the new Great Seal of the realm. 

The always well researched and well presented website The Antiquary has a good video about this, which looks at the history of the Great Seal, its evolution over the centuries, and how it  is physically applied to Letters Patent. 

The video can be seen at The Great Seal of King Charles III

Unfortunately I have to admit to a lot of disappointment about this new seal.

The obverse, the Majesty side, does show the King enthroned in what appear to be meant as his coronation robes, and wearing a generic crown and holding the sceptre and orb. The artist has made a credible attempt at a portrait of the King. However the robes flow out, rather as with the second Great Seal of the late Queen, and lack the detailing that could have surely been achieved. The throne is not a recognisable state chair like St Edward’s Chair, the throne in the House of Lords or at Buckingham Palace. The King actually looks uncomfortable, his uniform trousers are too prominent and he appears to be wearing boots with platform heels.

The reverse replicates to all intents and purposes that of the 2001 second Seal of Queen Elizabeth II by just having the Royal Arms. 

Prior to that from the time of King William I the monarch was usually shown on horseback. Up to King Charles I they were shown in full armour as the commander of the military forces of the Crown, and Queens Regnant were shown riding side-saddle. Following the Resoration until the early nineteenth century Kings appeared, as they did on statues, in classical armour. Queen Victoria was shown being led on horseback on her Seal. In the twentieth century the tradition continued, but after King Edward VII with the monarch dressed as for Trooping the Colour, including the late Queen until 2001. One exception was an early Seal of King George V which showed him in the uniform of an Admiral of the Fleet and standing on a battleship, which was appropriate at the time.

The centuries old tradition was then discarded in 2001 in favour of the Royal Arms, and without the customary inscription. The reason, I am told, was the design was dropped because the Queen no longer rode to Trooping the Colour. That does not seem a good argument to me. The Grat Seal traditionally represents the two key functions of the monarch, both as source of justice law and authority, and as head of the armed services. It is less a portrait, more an image.

I am surprised that the King, noted as a defender of traditional usages agreed to this design, and that there are people in the Palace and government who are either so insensitive to tradition or ignorant of it as to sanction such a change. Very sad.

Marian Pilgrimage - Our Lady of Coventry

Moving to the Midlands the pilgrimage now visit the shrine of Our Lady of Coventry in the cathedral destroyed in the 1540s, and which adjoined the sites of the Anglican cathedrals of St Michael - one a great late medieval parish church elevated to cathedral status in 1918 and tragically wrecked by bombing in 1940, and its modern replacement from 1962. The foundations of part of the cathedral can be seen in an archaeological park close to.the two more recent cathedrals and Holy Trinity Church. Despite the bombing Coventry still has a surprising number of medieval monuments.

The medieval statue was associated with Earl Leofric and his wife Godgifu, who bequeathed to it a chaplet of jewels. This may indicate that the late Anglo-Saxon statue survived as the cathedral was rebuilt around it by the Benedictine monks who served it until 1539.

My post from last year, together with other links, about the shrine can be found at Marian Pilgrimage - Our Lady of Coventry

May Our Lady of Coventry pray for Pope Leo XIV

Marian Pilgrimage - Our Lady of Grace in Cambridge

The Pilgrimage now continues to the other ancient seat of academic learning in England with a visit to Cambridge.

The description of the image as Our Lady of Grace links it to others along the route, and I wrote about this title in the post about the image in St Paul’s. As I indicated there evidence suggests that such images may have been of the Virgin and Child rather than the free-standing image more usually associated with the title today.

My article, together with various links, from last year can be seen at Marian Pilgrimage - Our Lady of Grace in Cambridge

May Our Lady of Grace in Cambridge pray for Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV

Together with many other people, I was not expecting the election of a new Pope yesterday on only the fourth ballot in the Conclave. I was checking my iPad to see what was happening just as the white smoke was emerging from the famous chimney above the Sistine Chapel.

I therefore watched the whole scene unfold live, which I had not managed beforehand on similar occasions. 

I must say that there was for me a great sense of relief that he was not one of the much touted frontrunners  Cardinals Parolin, Zuppi, Aveline or Tagle - in his case one had horrific visions of a Papal Karaoke Creed at an open-air Mass on some future Papal tour. Nor, happily, did I feel my heart sink as it did in 2013 as I just caught the announcement of Pope Francis’ election - that feeling never left me. 

Cardinal Prevost was not one of those who featured in much of the pre-Conclave coverage, although if you did follow that he was certainly mentioned as a possible candidate, and were a US candidate to be chosen, as quite probable. 

His choice of the name Leo links him to some of the great figures instrumental in the history of the Papacy. The first was St Leo the Great, the first great theologian of the Papacy as an institution, and who stood up to Attila the Hun as well as being a major influence of the Council of Chalcedon in 451 - “Peter has spoken through Leo” Then there was St Leo III who croned Charlemagne in 800 and Leo IX whose pontificate marked the beginning of the eleventh century Reform Papacy. In more recent times there was the long pontificate of Leo XIII with development of Catholic social teaching and Rerum novarum. 

Several friends and I agreed as to the vesture of the new Pope with the traditional summer mozzetta and the Papal stole - much more traditional and what he should be wearing on such an occasion. That was definitely a good sign.

Conventional wisdom was of course that a US Cardinal would be a very unlikely candidate for the Papcy, but like so much convential wisdom it has been overturned. In the case of the new Pope he was born in Chicago but he may well be more Peruvian and took up Peruvian citizenship. His family ancestry is French,Italian and Spanish, and he has spent time studying in Italy. So he is far from mono-cultural and something indeed of a citizen of the world.

Despite the media latching on to anything that could be construed as a reference to Pope Francis and his initiatives the new Pope’s address from the loggia of St Peter’s was reminiscent of things Pipe Benedict said when he was elected and when he was inaugurated in 2005. As one of the best Catholic online commentators pointed out in a video today any new Pope would express similar broad themes at this point.

As an Augustinian he quoted St Augustine, who was a great influence on Pope Benedict - the shell in his coat of arms and on his vestments at his inauguration were an acknowledgment of that. It is easy to see such links, but exaggerating them may well be unwise

I got tired whilst following the coverage  of BBC commentators and ‘experts’ all referencing Pope Francis, almost as if there had been no other Pope, not another 265 since St Peter.

We must wait and see what the new Pope's themes and ideas develop into, as know relatively little of his opinions on many matters - he has kept cards close to his pectoral cross. 

Some rigidly Traditionalist US commentators were quick to find fault, including that Pope Leo was perceived as being anti-Trump. Someone needs to break it to them and other Americans  that most people, Catholic or not, outside the US, and many within, are definitely not fans, or have very grave doubts about the President. and consider the wisdom of Incorporating him and his Vice-President into the case for Catholic Tradition very doubtful..

As I wrote above, we must wait and see, and pray for Pope Leo XIV.