Lindisfarne

Today is the feast of St Aidan and the saints of Lindisfarne. In 1989 I was fortunate to be able to stay there for a long weekend with a religious community and to be able to explore something of its atmosphere.

Getting there is a bit eccentric - the bus from Berwick upon Tweed is the only one in the country, as far as I know, that has a timetable dependent upon the tide-table. Once on the island there are times of great quiet, simply because the tide is up, and the tourists cannot get onto the island. There is a refuge mid-way along the causeway for cars that get caught out by the North Sea.

There are the handsome remains of the Norman priory church - a cell of Durham - but now yet another example of the wanton destruction of the reformation era, the medieval parish church and Tudor castle, together with a modern statue of St Aidan and a very good English Heritage museum that presents a substantial array of finds from the great age of Lindisfarne in the seventh and eighth centuries.

Besides that there is a numinous quality to the place. Yes, you know it is historic - I took a copy of Bede to read whilst I was there, and yes, the light is such that the landscape and seascape are always changing in an elusive, ineffable way (Bishop Trautmann please note) that one wants to capture - I took up sketching again to try to do so. There is more though, indefinable as it is, but the knowledge of what was achieved there is not just of material achievements in the museum or pictures of the Lindisfarne Gospels, or the relics of St Cuthbert in Durham - rather it is an awareness of men seeking God at the frontier of land and sea, of earth and heaven, and in so doing making their way forward into the unseen.

To sit and look at St Cuthbert's Isle, where he used to go just off-shore to meditate, and to know something of his story, and then to go, as I did, on to Durham and see the majestic building of the cathedral rising up above the city and dominating the view, and to understand the extent to which it as building celebrates the life of the saintly hermit and bishop is to have a disclosure of God's grandeur as mediated through one human life and soul.

St Aidan and the saints of Lindisfarne pray for us.

More web links

Observant readers may have noticed that I have added some more sites to the list at the side. This is partly for the benefit of my readers, but also a way of keeping a record of useful sites for my own reference.

I have added the official site for the Papal visit and to mark his beatification the Newman reader site. This has most of the key works by Cardinal Newman online. Also on the ecclesiastical theme I have also added the site for the English Dominicans, which provides a useful introduction to each of their priories.

On the Monarchist, genealogical and heraldic aspect I have added the Almanach de Gotha site, which has an excellent selection of portraits and photographs, as well as heraldry, and also the website of the Hanoverian monarchy. It is in German, but covers the whole history of the family down to the present day.

As a research tool I have added the Medieval calendar calculator. I had lost my reference to this some time ago and was delighted to find it again in my files. It provides an easy to use, year or month-at-a-glance calendar for any year between 500 and 1582. Quite apart from its usefulness to historian it could be useful if any of those years come round again.

Linking two or three other interests I have also added the good Art in Medieval Hungary site.

Men in mink

I spent part of the day as a steward at the exhibition of vestments and brass rubbings at the Oxford Oratory - which is on until Monday, and well worth going to see if you are within reach of Oxford.

This afternoon I had a learned discussion with Fr Jerome Bertram, C.O., who made virtually all the brass rubbings on display, and Dr Masha Upanskaya, a Russian-born historian and member of the congregation. The subject of our conversation was the origin of the fur used to make almuces in the medieval period. For those of you who do not know, and shame upon you for not knowing, what almuces are, look here and here.

Almuces were grey - that we know from pictorial representation and the use of lead to indicate the fur on some brasses. But what was the fur? Not squirrel, as there was only the red squirrel, and not the grey varmints that have taken over from them - though using them to make almuces would be a very good idea. Arctic hare, a type of stoat, even pole-cat were considered, but rejected by us. Ordinary rabbit was a possibility, but what about the tails, which are long and very un-rabbit like?

It was Masha who came up with what we think is the answer. She based this on the depiction of the shape of the tails which are a feature of the almuce, forming a pendant fringe. She thinks they look like the tails of the European Mink. So we think medieval canons wore mink to keep warm during the Offices.

Peterborough

The church at which my friends were received in Peterborough was The Sacred Heart and St Oswald. I was delighted to find a modern church which by its dedication revived an ancient devotion in the city.

The story can be found in St Bede's Ecclesiastical History of how St Oswald, King of Northumbria 633-641 not only sent out the remains of a feast to the beggars outside, but ordered that the silver plate on which the food was carried be also broken up and given to the poor. His guest, St Aidan, who sensed that Oswald was not long for this world, was so moved that he took the king's right arm and blessed it, with the prayer that it should never decay. When, not long after Oswald was killed in battle at Oswestry by King Penda of Mercia his corpse was hacked to pieces by the victors and displayed. His head eventually returned to the north and is now in the coffin of St Cuthbert at Durham, carried thither by the monks of Lindisfarne when they fled the Vikings. Other relics went to Bardney abbey in Lincolnshire.

St Owald's right arm, incorrupt as a result of St Aidan's prayer, eventually came to Peterborough, and was the principal relic of the abbey. It was kept in a chapel in the south transept of the monastic church, and still venerated by pilgrims, until the dissolution of the abbey in 1539 and the later establishment of the diocese in 1541. What happened to the Holy Arm thereafter appears unrecorded. To get some idea of such a royal relic look at my recent post about the "Holy Right" of St Stephen of Hungary here.

St Oswald,
pray for us!

Photo: De Cura Animarum

In the modern church hall there were pictures from a parish pilgrimage to Lindisfarne and Durham, so there is clearly an awareness of the continuing link with St Oswald and a wish to share that with parishioners.

Travelling in Faith

Yesterday I journeyed across country to Peterborough to attend the reception into the Church of two of my friends. Charles and Kate Miller are long-standing friends from Pusey House, and until last Sunday Charles was serving as the assistant curate at the Anglican parish church in Downham Market in Norfolk. However they have been preparing for a while to be received into the Catholic Church, and yesterday, accompanied by their three children, Joseph, Cecilia and Teresa, they were. It was a very happy, but also prayerful occasion, with two other former Puseyites acting as sponsors, and with two others of us in attendance. The Mass was celebrated by Mgr Philpot who had prepared them.

Afterwards we went on to the house they are leaving in Downham Market for a small celebration before I made my way back. There was a clear sense that for Charles and Kate this was both the end of a spiritual journey and also the beginning, but that at the same time it was all one journey.

Getting to the church in Peterborough demonstrated one thing I should have realised - to a Muslim taxi-driver one Christian church is indistinguishable from another if the passenger is not sure of the address, but rashly assumes that all taxi-drivers have "the knowledge." Now let's be fair - I would probably be the same with mosques. No, I wouldn't, actually, but you get my point. However with my second taxi driver I found the universal point of reference in our society - I told him which supermarket I was given to understand it was near. We were there in no time.

I will post some comments as a historian about Peterborough in the next few days.

Extraordinary Form Masses at SS Gregory and Augustine

In addition to the regular EF Masses at The Oxford Oratory at 8 on Sunday and at St Antony of Padua on Thursday at 9, this coming week SS Gregory and Augustine has three EF Masses - the usual Wednesday celebration at 6, and two additional ones, on Thursday at 6 with the intention for priests and on Friday at 6 - the regular First Friday devotion.

St Louis

Today is the feast of St Louis, who as Louis IX was King of France from 1226 to 1270. He became recognised as the beau ideal of contemporary kingship and came to be held up as a role model to all his successors as Kings of France, who were on occasion described as "Son of St Louis"

Representation of Saint Louis considered to be true to life.

Early 14th century statue from the church of Mainneville (Eure departement).

Image: Wikipedia

The promotion of devotion to St Louis was aided by the memoirs of the King written by Jean, Sieur de Joinville. This, one of the most famous medieval biographies, was written in his old age by Joinville at the request of Queen Jeanne, wife of King Philip IV, as a guide to good kingship for her eldest son, the future King Louis X. It is available in a modern paperback translation published by Penguin as Two Chronicles of the Crusades: Villehardouin and Joinville. Here is an older translation online. It is a delightful account, and well worth reading for its informative nature and human sympathy. In the Life both the King and his biographer emerge as rounded individuals, not just, as not infrequently in medieval texts, conforming to recognisable stereotypical forms.

Bartlemas Chapel

Today being the feast of St Bartholomew seems a good day on which to post this picture of the Chapel dedicated to him at Bartlemas here in Oxford. It is one of the oldest possessions of Oriel, being acquired by our original founder Adam de Brome.

Photograph courtesy of Philip Wilkinson's English Buildings blog

How Adam de Brome obtained it can be read in this article from Wikipedia, together with a history of the hospital and site. There is more about it and other pictures in this article from the parish of St Mary and St John, Cowley Road who have cared for it since 1913.

I have always regretted that Oriel does not make more of the historic link with Bartlemas, which is otherwise just viewed as the college sports ground. Too often it seemed to be treated as an asset to be realised rather than treasured.

Oxford Pro-Life Witness

I have received this information from the organizer and would wish to draw it to the attention of others.

OXFORD PRO-LIFE WITNESS - SATURDAY, 28TH AUGUST

3pm - 4pm

Please join us to pray for all unborn babies and their mothers and fathers, and all those involved in the sin of abortion, especially the doctors and nurses in the John Radcliffe Hospital.

PLEASE NOTE- As there is a Wedding this month at the Church of St Anthony of Padua, Headley Way (where we usually meet) there will be no Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament whilst we are praying, nor will there be refreshments.

Car parking is still available at the Church though.

Venue - Entrance to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way, Oxford.

For more information please ring Amanda Lewin - 01869 600638.

PLEASE remember all unborn babies in your prayers especially at 3pm on Saturday, God Bless!

Episcopal consecration by the Pope

Whilst preparing my post last Saturday on Pope Pius X I found this photograph in the Wikipedia biography of the Pope.

Pope Pius X consecrates Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, the future Pope Benedict XV, as a Bishop in the Vatican in 1907.

Quite apart from its intrinsic interest this photograph took my eye as Richard Fleming was also consecrated as a bishop by the then Pope, Martin V, in 1420 when the curia was in Florence. The consecration probably took place somewhere in the Dominican house of Sta Maria Novella. Such consecrations did not always take place in a church or chapel - I have seen at least one reference to a room in the Vatican palace being fitted up as a temporary chapel for such a consecration in the early sixteenth century. Following the consecration Fleming can be seen to have received various papal grants on behalf of his family and friends.

In the verses he wrote for his tomb he specifically referred to having been consecrated by the Pope himself and the wonderful piety the Holy Father had displayed.

Although the setting and vestments would have been somewhat different - fashions do, after all, change - photographs such as this are a reminder of the continuity of liturgical tradition and practice, and help one to envisage Fleming's consecration.

Thoughts on the Ordinariate

I have had several conversations in recent weeks with various friends about the proposed Ordinariate, and it occurs to me that this might be an appropriate time to draw the various strands together.

The July meeting of the General Synod made it quite clear that there was going to be no provision made for traditionalist Anglo-Catholics, now or, let's face it, in the future. As Ancient Richborough has argued this really is the end of the road. I understand there will be meetings of Ebbsfleet and Richborough clergy in September to discuss the way forward. It is reasonable to get the holiday season out of the way and have time to reflect. However, what is there to reflect upon? There are two options - stay with the Church of England (and all that implies in 2010 and for the future) or look elsewhere - and that in reality means Rome, with Anglicanorum Coetibus already issued. Simple.

One can respect individuals needing to take time to pray and reflect, and also to make practical decisions. I sympathize with the wish to retain one's habitual place or worship - that is a real wrench in prospect for some. Nonetheless the fundamental choice is clear - clinging on, as an ever declining group, unloved and unwanted by so many of their fellow Anglicans, hoping against hope that there will be a new Oxford Movement - yes, I have heard that argued in recent months - or entering into union with the Catholic Church, reuniting with that body from which the Ecclesia Anglicana was severed, along with not a few human heads, and, to borrow a phrase, going Forward in Faith.

Yet, almost a year after Anglicanorum Coetibus was announced and then published, and allowing for Synod meetings and all the necessary practical discussions, things seem not to be moving very far. That is not to say discussons and planning may well not be happening - I assume, and hope, they are - but that is not the public perception. The process appears to be losing momentum. Thus,whilst individual parishes are looking to their future, the larger scheme, in England at least, seems uncertain.

Thus one Anglican friend tells me that his church is considering the option of Rome or Cconstantinople - Benedict or Bartholomew - well, yes, fine, but for one parish to be playing hard to get with the greatest sees of Christendom does seem a little bit presumptious. He added "Well, we've four years." True - unless you are run down crossing the road.

So there we have a version of ecclesiastical politics. Trouble is, this is not negotiating your way through a prospective "hung parliament" or "hung synod" - yes, I know some of you are saying would that it were. This is about Truth, it is about the Faith. If it is about a political compromise we have have not moved on from the mid-Tudor polity, but it may be bit less bloody.

Meanwhile individuals are making the move across the Tiber, or are making their plans to, regardless of the Ordinariate. Some need or are anxious to fufill contractual or moral obligations before they go, but go they will. As a fellow convert I am delighted for them, and believe they will be not only valuable additions to the Church, but will find a safe haven therein.

Looking back at the Anglican shore I am somewhat surprised by evidence of more than one Anglican clergyman who would identify themselves as being in the Anglo-Catholic tradition showing elements of hostility to the forthcoming Papal visit and beatification of John Henry Newman -it smacks of the "Papal Aggression" agitation of 1850.

So we wait for the Ordinariate to come into being, but when - will it be September? October? 2011? It seems such a missed opportunity not to have had it at least with some members when the Pope will be here. Yes, there are practical issues to resolve, but that can take till Kingdom come, and this is about the Kingdom.

Church politics four centuries ago got the Church in England into this mess, and more politics will not solve it. The Pope, as even the dreadful Ruth Gledhill can see, has made an offer that cuts through centuries of accumulated practice and prejudice, and not only is it an offer of historic significance, it is also the best one on offer now, or in the future. Seeing if the Synod will offer something better is not only daft, it is ungracious. Looking elsewhere is the path to separatism or eccentricity. Remember the fate of the Non-Jurors? How many Non-Juror churches do you know?

Cradle Catholic friends are bemused and somewhat irritated by this lack of response. They can accept the need to make plans for a move, but cannot see why, when such an offer is made, and it is what so many have said they have wanted, that there is not a more enthusiastic public response. They also feel some of their worst fears about Anglo-Catholics and Anglicanism are being justified when the impression is being created that Anglo-Catholics are playing one bidder off against another, and not realising that they may be less well placed so to do and more in need of a helping hand - and that is what Anglicanorun Coetibus is. I stress to such Catholic friends that those who want to avail themselves of the provisions the Pope has offered are very much "full Faith" and that they can add very considerably to the life of the Universal Church. However I do increasingly understand what they think, and begin to think it myself. If not now, when?

St Pius X

Today is the feast day of St Pius X, Pope from 1903-14.

For those who are interested here is a biography, complete with some interesting illustrations.

The photograph shows His Holiness wearing Pope Gregory XVI's tiara of 1834. The morse on his cope is one whose use has been revived by the present Pope.

The Holy Crown of Hungary

I wrote the other day that today I would post further on the Holy Crown of Hungary.

The Hungarian Regalia

The Holy Crown

There is a Wikipedia article on the Holy Crown, and also a good article on the Crown and Regalia on the Art in Medieval Hungary site. There is also the article I cited in my previous post.

The Coronation rite itself is outined in another Wikipeda article, as is is the Doctrine of the Holy Crown. There is a very interesting article by Prof Laszlo Peter on the history and modern application of the Doctine

Here are two pictures, courtesy of the Emperor Charles League of Prayer, of the coronation of King Charles IV in 1916.

Taking the Oath:



The King on horseback symbolically indicates the defence of the frontiers of his realm:

There is an account of the 1916 Coronation in Miklos Banffy's The Pheonix Land, to which there is a link from Wikipedia article on the Coronation. Banffy was partly responsible for organizing the Coronation. There is also an account, with a few fictional elements introduced, which do not detract from the description, in Lajos Zilahy's novel The Dukays.

Assumptiontide in Spain

The New Liturgical Movement has a splendid set of photographs of spectacular Assumptiontide processions in Spain, and also of the Mystery Play at Elche in the province of Alicante. You can see them here.

Many years ago I watched, on two separate occasions. a television programme about the wondrous Elche play. The play was approved by Pope Urban VIII in 1632, but is said to date from, if I recall aright, the thirteenth century. This spectacular production takes place within the church is a precious survival of medieval and early modern devotional theatre. It is an example of things which were casualties of the reforming zeal of the dangerous modernisers of the Council of Trent.

The NLM photographs convey something of it, but film is what really conveys the excitement and sense of occasion, and NLM does have a link to a video.



I have lifted the following account from a site dealing with holiday rentals in the area:

The Elche Mystery Play is a lyrical drama dating from the Middle Ages, is the city's most deeply-rooted cultural symbol. In 2001, UNESCO declared it a Masterpiece of World Oral and Intangible Heritage.

The play is performed in the Basilica of Santa María every 14th and 15th August with full dress-rehearsal performances taking place earlier on the 11th,12th and 13th. It narrates the Dormition, Assumption and Coronation in Heaven of the Virgin Mary. The play has survived due to the determination of the citizens of Elche past and present. After the performing of plays in churches was banned by the Council of Trent, Elche obtained a Bull from Pope Urban VIII to keep the play alive. Such has been the determination of the citizens of Elche that the Play is now the last surviving example of this type of drama. The Mystery Play's music, including monody and polyphony, uses Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque melodies. It is performed by a non-professional adult choir and a children's choir whose innocent voices represent the Virgin and the angels.

However, the really distinguishing factor of the Elche Mystery Play is its complex medievally-inspired production, dividing the scenic space into horizontal, worldly space and vertical, aerial space and using aerial equipment that converts the whole into a spectacular experience.

A cadafal, or temporary square stage, accessed by an andador, or ramp, is raised in the centre of the Basilica's transept. This is where most of the action takes place while a false ceiling is installed in the base of the cupola above the stage.

When the Gates of Heaven are opened, a complex piece of stage machinery, the magrana, firstly lowers an angel bearing a message, followed by a choir of angels to guide the Virgin in her Assumption to the heavens where she will be crowned by God Eternal from a third machine, the Trinitat. At the moment of her coronation a shower of tinsel falls from heaven in what is undoubtedly the most moving moment of the whole Play.

Emperor Francis Joseph I

Today is the 180th anniversary of the birth of the Emperor Francis Joseph I, which seems as good an excuse as I can find to post this portrait of him as a young man - I think the portrait would be from about 1855. I had not seen this portrait before, and it is a reminder of the younger man before the venerable balding be-whiskered image became more or less definitive.

He is wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece, the star of the Order of Maria Theresa and the Fourth Class of the Russian Order of St George, which he was awarded in 1849 by Emperor Nicholas I for bravery under fire in the fighting in Hungary in the months following Francis Joseph's accession.

The Crown of Australia

The Australian Prime Minister's raising of the republican issue in the late stages of the General Election campaign there is commented on by the Radical Royalist, and his comments are a corrective to the frequent inevitabilist arguments in the press.

Not a few people fail to realise how comprehensive was the defeat of the issue in the 1999 referendum. To effect such a change in the Australian constitution required a four-fold majority of votes and states, and failed on all counts - and that was on a proposal essentially drafted by the republican activists in the convention. As an active Australian monarchist pointed out to me years ago in a conversation in Oriel such a change is far more difficult to achieve than its proponents think, or wish it to be.

The Oriel connection reminds me that in 1999 the college JCR passed a vote of censure on the previous Provost and former Governor-General of Australia, Sir Zelman Cowan, for having been the only ex-Governor-General to come out in favour of a republic. Now that's the sort of student activism I approve of...

Vestment and brass rubbings exhibition in Oxford

Over the forthcoming Bank Holiday weekend the Oxford Ortory will be holding another exhibition, this time featuring vestments from the collection, ranging in date from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries, and also brass rubbings of vestments from an earlier age.

The exhibition will be open on Saturday August 28th 10.30- 5.30, on Sunday August 29th 12.30- 5.30, and on Monday August 30th 10.30-5.30. Admission is free, and there will be a catalogue on sale at a modest price.

Both parts of the exhibition promise to be well worth visiting if you are in or near Oxford that weekend.

St Stephen of Hungary

Today is the feast of St Stephen of Hungary - except in Hungary itself where it is celebrated on August 20th, which is said to be the day of the translation of his remains to Buda. For a variety of reasons I have always found the history of the Apostolic Kingdom of interest, and so I thought I would share some details about St Stephen in life, in death and in tradition. I have based this post, with some additions and editing, on John Dillon's Medieval Religion discussion group post from last year. St Stephen (d. 1038). Vaik was the son of the first Christian ruler of Hungary, grand prince Géza, with whom he was baptized at perhaps the age of ten. At his baptism he received the Christian name by which he is known (in Hungarian, István). Géza, who was an innovator in several important respects, saw to it that Stephen married into the ruling family of Bavaria; he also substituted male primogeniture for the seniorate as a principle of succession, thus making Stephen his heir apparent. After Géza's death in 997 Stephen won a succession struggle and proceeded to consolidate his rule over the Magyar clans, taking the title of king in about the year 1001. Traditionally it has been held that in 1000 he received his crown from Pope Sylvester II Stephen also consolidated Christianity in Hungary, ordering the building of churches across the kingdom and the collection of tithes to support their priests, establishing a diocesan structure under an archbishop, and forbidding intermarriage between Christians and others. He was canonized in 1083. What is said to be St Stephen's right hand is preserved as a relic (the "Holy Right") in a chapel in his mostly nineteenth-century basilica in Budapest. There is a detailed article about the relic and about the Hungarian regalia, which has been associated with St Stephen in national perception for centuries, here. There is a photograph of the reliquary here, and this is the "Holy Right": There is another photograph of the hand here. St Stephen. (at right, together with his queen, Bl. Gisela of Hungary) as depicted in fresco in the thirteenth-century Gisela chapel (Gizellakapolna) at Veszprém here (the image is expandable) and here. Here is St Stephen as depicted in a miniature in the Hungarian Képes Krónika (Chronicon Pictum: before 1360): I think that is a particularly appealing example of fourteenth century manuscript art, and in its use of the arms of the Kingdom. St Stephen. as depicted by by János Rozsnyai in the Crucifixion (1445) on the north wall of the sanctuary of the cathedral of Nagyszeben, can be seen here: To this I would add this picture: Procession of the relics of St Stephen to the Parliament building in August 2000. I will, hopefully, post more about the Holy Crown of St Stephen on August 20th.

Assumption at Sandford on Thames

A conversation this afternoon between two friends about the carving of the Assumption of Our Lady in Sandford on Thames church, which lies just to the south of Oxford, and which I regret to say I have not so far managed to get to see, led me to search for it in the internet. I found this photo by Martin Beek on Flickr:

• 

Church of St Andrew.

The great treasure in this church is the unique carving mounted in the south wall of the chancel.It was carved from Barrington stone at the beginning of 15th century and depicts the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The carving of the Virgin is surrounded by an aureole with two angels below the figure holding a reliquary. The carving was hidden to protect it and was discovered in 1723 face down near the south porch where it had been used as a step.

It seemed an appropriate thing to share on this eve of the Assumption, and indeed to make it better known.

In addition to that summary I would point readers to three interesting posts from 2008 by Fr Hunwicke about the sculpture, which add to the story and provide food for thought. They can be found here, and here and here.

Whatever the precise source of the carving it is yet another reminder of what was lost from English churches both in terms of art and devotion during the sixteenth century.

Blenheim Palace

This morning I led a small group from a summer school here in Oxford on a tour of Blenheim Palace. As it turned out today is the anniversary of the battle in 1704, so it was a very suitable day on which to make a visit.

It is a while since I had visited Blenheim, and the whole business of welcoming visitors has expanded, but what was on offer was very well done, and the Palace is impressive, if very much a self conscious national monument - indeed that fact lay at the root of many of the disputes over its construction. It is grand, but impersonal. When the ninth Duke commented about the way the monument of the first Duke dominates the chapel "Here we worship Churchills" he was not far wrong. Of course such a complex building has to be understood in terms of the social norms which dictated its plan, and how these have changes - the rooms were designed for rather different functions than those they present today. I enjoyed this visit more than my previous one - but I would still say there are many more appealing grand houses of families of similar prominence. Nonetheless worth saying you have seen it.

One thing I regret is that there is nothing left of Woodstock manor. Apparently Vanburgh wanted to preserve the remains, but the formidable Duchess Sarah insisted upon their removal. From what I have gleaned from the Victoria County History volume for Woodstock it was a substantial complex, and presumably with features from the twelfth to the sixteenth century. A great loss. I am surprised the site has never, so far as I know, been excavated.

Looking round houses such as Blenheim it is often the not so obvious things which stay in the mind. Yesterday these included family photographs of Winston Churchill and other members of the family sitting and talking on the steps of the great entrance circa 1901 - a reminder that this was (and is, I suppose) a family home. There were also the three sheets of the Letters Patent of Queen Victoria appointing the seventh Duke as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1876, all three bordered with the floral badges of the Monarch, and at the top the Royal Arms flanked by the English and Irish Royal Crests - the latter comprising the castle tower with the white hart emerging. Not as good heraldic art as you would get in the twentieth century, but a reminder of the ancient linkage of an undivided Ireland to the Crown.

Amongst the portraits two struck me - one of the first Duke's sister Arabella, mistress of the future King James II and VII and mother of, amongst others, the Jacobite Marshal Duke of Berwick, and the other, perhaps booty from the war which brought Marlborough to such prominence, a state portrait of King Louis XIV, seated in his robes of state and holding the royal sceptre and the Main de Justice. This is not the only portrait of the King at Blenheim - there seems to have been a pleasure in displaying images of the great adversary.

Walking round mid-Tudor Oxford

I spent part of the afternoon showing a visiting American academic around sites associated with his interests in the history of the Church in the mid-Tudor period. These included the church of St Michael and the Northgate, which has a door from the Bocado prison where the Protestant bishops were held, and adjoins the site of their incarceration. We spent some time reflecting on what changes the church would have gone through in the period - all very much Eamon Duffy type stuff - and that looking at the church today Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley might wonder what had gone wrong with their project. St Michael's is a BCP parish to a great extent, but its furnishings are not of the stark simplicity that is implicit in the Edwardian changes. Indeed it still preserves an interesting example of a 'Lily Cross' like that in St Helen's Abingdon and in the mural at Godshill in the Isle of Wight.

We then went on to look for the remains - none really - of Broadgates Hall, which since 1624 has formed Pembroke College, and then to look at St Mary's, scene of the trial and degradation of the Protestant bishops. Again we speculated on the impact of the reformation on the fabric and furnishings. We concluded by looking at the remains of the gateway of St Mary's College, the house of studies for the Augustinian Canons, whose site included Brasenose's Frewin Hall annexe and part of the site of the Oxford Union. It was there that Erasmus stayed on his visits to Oxford. It's a wonder someone at the Union has not tried to claim him as a member. Come to think of it, they probably have.

It is genuine intellectual pleasure to do a walk like that - pleasurable and mentally stimulating. An occasion to try out some of my own ideas and see how they sounded when expounded to a willing victim, and to glean ideas from him. It's what being an Oxford historian is supposed to be about.

St Bede's reception

Last night I was at St Bede's Hall here in Oxford for a reception to welcome back to Oxford, at least temporarily, and to his new position at St Bede's as chairman of the Board of Directors, Fr Tom Weinandy O.F.M.

The event was an occasion for old and new friends and associates of St Bede's to meet, or to renew acquaintance. Fr Tom spoke about the vision for the Hall and welcomed overseas contacts from the North American College in Rome and from Belmont College in the USA.

I also spoke to Fr Mark Elvins, the Guardian, about the Centre for Franciscan Studies the Oxford Greyfriars are seeking to develop, including some excellent lectures this last academic year.

I was delighted to meet again Prof. James Carley from Toronto, whose work on the Arthurian legend, and particularly in relation to Glastonbury, I have used in connection with my research on Richard Fleming. Prof. Carley is in Oxford as a visiting scholar for the coming year.

There was a positive spirit to the occasion which should auger well for the students planning on coming to study at St Bede's in the future.

Cardinal Newman 120 years on

Today is the 120th anniversary of the death of Cardinal Newman. As his beatification approaches this seems a suitable day to reproduce the proposed Propers to commemorate him. A couple of months ago the

New Liturgical Movement published these, with the following proviso:
[A correction to the text has been sent in to the NLM. As well, the date has not yet been confirmed.]

The Propers for the Divine Office for the Feast of the soon to be Blessed John Henry Newman have been published. You can find the texts at this link.

The collect will be:

Deus, qui beátum Ioánnem Henrícum, presbýterum, lumen benígnum tuum sequéntem pacem in Ecclésiatua inveníre contulísti,concéde propítius, ut, eius intercessióne et exémplo, ex umbris et imagínibus in plenitúdinem veritátis tuae perducámur. Per Dominum.

O God, who bestowed on the Priest Blessed John Henry Newman the grace to follow your kindly light and find peace in your Church; graciously grant that, through his intercession and example, we may be led out of shadows and images into the fulness of your truth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Fr Hunwicke, as both cleric and former schoolmaster, gives his review here of the latinity involved.

Here are two images of the Cardinal lying-in-state in August 1890.

Cardinal Newman lying-in-state in the Oratory Church, Edgbaston, prior to his Funeral Mass on Tuesday 19 August 1890.

Reproduced from Times Online October 1, 2008

Reproduced from Valle Adurni

Catching out Pevsner

Following my visit on Sunday to St Mary Magdalen's Brighton I thought I would see what Pevsner, and his revisers and editors, say about the building. A trip to the bookshelves to look at Sussex revealed that they had little to say - in fact they have nothing at all to say. I did not have time to look at the new, additional, volume in the series specifically on Brighton and Hove to see if that included the church.

Now I know that not all nineteenth century churches of all denominations make it to the pages of Pevsner - a fact which betrays a prejudice of the era which initially produced The Buildings of England, but one which ought now to be being rectified. However St Mary Magdalen's is a fine building by a decent architect, and omitting it seems rather silly in looking at a city one of whose principal architectural interests is its collection of nineteenth century churches. Pevsner certainly got to the end of Upper North Street as he includes the ancient parish church of St Nicholas, less than five minutes walk away. Without falling into Catholic paranoia I suspect that had it been an Anglican church it would have made the list. So, to make up, here is the Wikipedia entry on the church. Bit rum that Wikipedia is better than Pevsner in these matters when you think about it.

Lincolnshire churches and more

Alan Barton is an Anglican curate in the Saxilby and Stow group of parishes in Lincolnshire. He describes himself as ecclesiologically and Anglo-Catholic and as an antiquarian, with a Ph.D in the history of art. He has two splendidly illustrated blogs Lincolnshire Churches and Vitrearum's Church Art , which looks at decoration and vestments across the country which I have added to the blog roll.

It is heartening to still find clergy with these scholarly interests, and in Lincolnshire he has a rich field in which to study. As someone with Lincolnshire ancestry and a great love of the county and its architectural heritage I think his blogs are well worth looking at. Lincolnshire is the second largest of the historic counties -I have no truck whatsoever with the 1974 mucking about with thousand year old units. I don't approve of the nineteenth century legislation tidying up detached parishes, let alone the enormities perpetrated by the "infamous Heatho-Walkerian 'reform' " (to quote the late, great Peter Simple) changes. As a county it has a wonderful array of medieval and indeed later, churches, more varied and far less well known than the great flowering of building in late medieval Norfolk and Suffolk, but just as spectacular. All three counties witness in these marvellous buildings to the prosperity of medieval eastern England. Lincolnshire not only boasts the cathedral in Lincoln itself, but a selection of churches that take the breath away. However it remains one of the least known or appreciated of English counties. If one cannot get there at least one can enjoy the photographs.

Beside the seaside

Yesterday I treated myself to a pre-birthday excursion to Brighton (and before you even think it, no, I was NOT going to the Brighton Pride event).

What I did do was set off from Oxford early to travel via London so as to arrive at St Mary Magdalen's for Mass at 10.30. I knew the church through Fr Blake's excellent St Mary Magdalen, Brighton blog - a daily piece of required reading on my part - and visited it for the first time last year. I went again this year and was delighted again by what I found there. Fr Blake offers a dignified liturgy for a lively, varied and sizeable congregation in a handsome and charming building. It was good to see that the restoration project there has made significant progress in the last year. The parish website is here, and I have added it to the blogroll. It is definitely a church to both visit and at which to worship.

St Mary Magdalen Church, Upper North Street, Brighton

After Mass I had an opportunity to meet Fr Blake again and to talk to him, and also to meet Laurence England whose That The Bones You Have Crushed May Thrill blog offers an informed and critical view of social conditions in Brighton and Hove from a Catholic standpoint - well worth reading. I was also introduced to the blog The Noise of the Crusade, also well worth looking at, combining erudition and forcefulness.

After that it was time to adjourn to the public house across the road and have lunch with Andrew Wagstaff, a good and valued friend from Oxford, and who acted as my sponsor at my reception into the Church. He now is now a barrister based in Brighton and serves at St Mary Magdalen.

As in days of yore in the Eagle and Child in Oxford we spent the afternoon putting the Church and the world to rights as well as sharing ''human interest stories" (gossip) over a few drinks. He then had to go and prepare a case whilst I made my way back to the station and so home.

The day was warm and sunny, the company good, as was the worship, and the food and drink, and the parish welcoming. Add to all that the great pleasure of spending time with a long-standing friend - well, what more could one ask for on a day by the sea?

English fourteenth century altar frontal

Also featured in the Medieval religion post on images of St Anne was this fourteenth-century English altar frontal now in Paris at the Musée National du Moyen Âge (Musée de Cluny):

Scenes from the Life of the Virgin
circa 1335
Painted wood Approx. 3 feet high by 10 feet wide
Altar frontal thought to be from the church in Thetford, Norfolk
MNMA (Cluny Museum in Paris), Acq. 1864, Cl. 7726

Also available: details of the Nativity of the Virgin, the Dormition, and the Education of the Virgin

You will have to click on these links to get a better idea of the quality of the painting than the picture of the whole will allow in this format.

I do not know the history of this piece, though it is similar to some other pieces which do survive from East Anglia -the Thornham Parva retable being the best known I suppose. I am also not clear as to which church in Thetford it is thought to have belonged - the parish church, the Cluniac priory or the Dominican friary - which I would think the likeliest, but that is only a hunch. The friary was featured on Timeteam the other year - part of it survives as ruins in the grounds of the town's grammar school.

This is similar to the Norwegian examples I referred to the other week, and a further reminder of what was once to be seen in medieval English churches.

St Anne

Looking back over recent postings on the Medieval Religion discussion group - you may have guessed if you are a regular reader that this is a frequent point of academic and intellectual contact for me - I saw that amongst John Dillon's post for the feast of SS Joachim and Anne were these pictures of a reliquary statue from 1472 in silver, partly gilt, partly painted,. It is from Ingolstadt and was made by the goldsmith Hans Greiff for Anna Hofmann. It is now in the Musée National du Moyen Âge (Musée de Cluny) in Paris:

Not only is it beautiful in itself but it is a rare survival of an art form that must once have been relatively common. I say relatively, because they must always have been expensive objects. This type of figure is not in quite the same category as the reliquary busts made to hold the cranium of a saint they have survived quite well on the continent, even if they were casualties of the Henrician and Edwardian depredations in England. I remember once attending a seminar here in Oxford about figures of this type from late medieval France, some of which only were lost in the regrettable events of the late eighteenth century. One that does survive is in the Louvre and formed part of the treasure of the Order of the Holy Ghost. However we can at least imagine such pieces decorating royal and princely chapels and the high altars of cathedrals on great occasions, such as we know they did at King Richard III's visit to York Minster in 1483 when he created his son Edward Prince of Wales in the cathedral - the altar had silver gilt figures of all the apostles on it - possibly on loan from the Chapel Royal, or did they belong to the Minster?

Views of Sta Maria Maggiore

Yesterday's post on the Medieval Religion discussion group had this post from John Dillon about Sta Maria Maggiore, which I think readers might like to look at. There are some very fine views of this great basilica. Someone I know told me recently that as an art student visiting Rome she was more impressed when she got "up close and personal"(my euphemism, not hers) by the mosaics on the triumphal arch of Sta Maria Maggiore than she was by even Michelangelo's paintings in the Sistine Chapel. Here, slightly edited, is John Dillon's post; as with other occasions when I have reproduced his work I have not converted the links to specific words, but left them as they stand:

" Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore) in Rome (ca. 435). In 431 the Council of Ephesus in the course of its condemnation of Nestorianism asserted the BVM's role as Theotokos ('Mother of God'). Her newly enunciated position of prominence was underscored shortly thereafter by Pope St Sixtus III (432-40), who built and dedicated to Mary the Roman basilica now known as Santa Maria Maggiore. Since at least the time of Francesco Maria Fiorentini's Vetustius occidentalis ecclesiae martyrologium (1668), this has been considered the first church in the West to be dedicated to Mary.

The feast is entered for today in the (pseudo-)Hieronymian Martyrology with an entry that reads as follows: Romae dedicatio basilicae sanctae Mariae. Santa Maria Maggiore was either a replacement for or a rebuilding of an earlier basilica erected on the same spot by Pope Liberius (352-66). In later legend it was claimed that Mary had appeared to Liberius and to others in a dream on the night of 4-5 August saying that she would mark out in snow the outline of a space where a church should be built in her honor. On the following day the outline was discovered on the Esquiline and there Liberius built his basilica, which in this account was then already dedicated to the BVM close to a century before Sixtus' creation of Santa Maria Maggiore.

In accordance with the legend, Santa Maria Maggiore came also to be called Santa Maria ad Nives ('Our Lady of the Snows') and in the general Roman Calendar from 1568 until its revision of 1969 the feast was called this as well. As, in Italian, at least, it still is at the Basilica itself.

Modified several times over the centuries, Rome's Santa Maria Maggiore retains much of its original basilican form and indeed some of its late antique decoration. Here's the English-language version of the basilica's illustrated website: http://www.vatican.va/various/basiliche/sm_maggiore/index_en.html
A page of expandable views is here: http://tinyurl.com/eu9kk
In this view of the interior, note the columns, capitals, and the mosaic panels above them (these are all early): http://tinyurl.com/jtdr5
Another view, showing the triumphal arch as well (and a bit of the apse mosaic): http://tinyurl.com/cw2w8
More views (Paradoxplace; Sacred Destinations):
http://tinyurl.com/5tlduo
http://tinyurl.com/2czr69w
http://tinyurl.com/2dt4udf
Some expandable views of sculpture surviving from Arnolfo di Cambio's late thirteenth-century crèche for the Basilica: http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/a/arnolfo/4/index.html "

Cardinal Beaufort

In connection with the feast of St Oswald yesterday one of the contributors to the Medieval religion discussion group, the Rev. Gordon Plumb, who takes fine photographs of stained glass, submitted some images from the St Cuthbert window in York Minster. The window, dating from the 1440s, lights the non-projecting south-east choir transept, and with its pair on the north, illustrating the story of St William of York, was designed to illuminate the original site of the high altar of the Minster - it is now situated a bay to the east in what was once the shrine chapel of St William. There is an article about the window here.

Amongst the details Gordon Plumb illustrates is a figure of Cardinal Henry Beaufort, born 1374/5, one of the illegitimate children of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and Katherine Swynford, who was legitimised following their marriage in 1396, made Bishop of Lincoln in 1398 and translated to Winchester in 1405. He was offered a Cardinal's hat by Pope Martin V in 1417-18, but forced to decline it by King Henry V. It was not until a decade later that he was able to accept the honour, and he can be seen with it in the picture. He died in 1447.

He appears to have been a patron of Richard Fleming, who both became Bishop of Lincoln, like Beaufort, and was a contender to succeed him at Winchester in 1419, when Henry V offered his uncle the choice of retaining Winchester or the red hat - and, in effect, exile. That, due to the course of the war in France, did not come to pass.

The panels at the base of the window are difficult to see when in the Minster because of the height of the wall and the angle and I had not seen a photograph of this panel before, and due to my interest in the subject thought I would share it.

York Minster, sVII, 1b-2b, Cardinal Beaufort of Winchester

Anglican Patrimony

Today's post from the New Liturgical Movement reproduces an article from The Anglo Catholic which deals with points I have commented on recently in Anglo-Papalist style and Michael Yelton books, that is the potential of the Ordinariates to realise the dream of Anglo-Papalists and effect reunion, and the amongst the central issues, that of liturgical life. The article, by Br Stephen Treat O.Cist., addresses the question as to what is the Anglican patrimony and how it relates to that of its elder sister, and is very well worth reading. It can be found here. I have inserted the link to The Anglo Catholic as that has more comments than the NLM version does at present.

Habsburg Empire - an historian's judgement

This is the last paragraph of T.C.W.Blanning Joseph II (1994), and can be found on pp. 205-6. This is an excellent book, about which I shall write something more in the near future. However I think this passage is worth sharing as it stands:

"The Habsburg Monarchy was not a state, it never became a state and it never could have become a state. The only way forward to political stability, social harmony, economic prosperity and cultural vitality was to recognize that fundamental fact and make a virtue out of necessity. Writing from the vantage point of the closing years of the twentieth century, it is certainly easier to see that a multi-national empire held together by a single dynasty whose justification was the guarantee of mutual recognition of diversity is a more attractive option than the other solutions which have been tried - and are being tried. With chilling foresight, Prince Charles Schwarzenberg in 1891 asked a radical Czech nationalist the following question: "If you and yours hate this state...what will you do with your country, which is too small to stand alone? Will you give it to Germany or to Russia, for you have no other choice if you abandon the Austrian union." One wonders what he would have said to those Slovaks who have successfully destroyed Czechoslovakia or to those national groups which have destroyed Yugoslavia."

Newman chapels

The New Liturgical Movement recently published an excellent, illustrated article by Fr Symondson about the proposed chapels in honour of Cardinal Newman at the three Oratory churches of Birmingham, London and Oxford. You can read it here. There are a series of comments also worth reading. I look forward to being able to see, and pray at, all three.

Plain speaking from Ancient Richborough

There is a typically lucid and forceful reply from Ancient Richborough on his blog to the statement from fifteen Anglican bishops who see themselves as being in the Catholic tradition of the Church of England in the wake of the General Synod meeting. It can be read here.

He makes the issues clear, and states a confidant case for realising that, in a well known phrase, "It's all up." I hope and pray that his wisdom will be appreciated and followed by those directly affected.

Imperial thought for the day

Empress Maria Theresa with members of her family in 1776.

Archduchess Marie Christine and her husband Albert of Saxe-Teschen show to the Empress the images brought back from Italy, and beyond, Archduke Maximilian, and the Archduchesses Maria Anna and Mary Elizabeth; leaning against the chair is Emperor Joseph II.

"Nothing is more pleasant, nothing more flattering to our self-esteem, than wholly unrestricted liberty. Liberty is the word which has supplanted the word religion in our enlightened century when everyone thinks and acts in the light of his own convictions or calculations...They condemn the past for its ignorance and prejudice, while knowing nothing at all about the past and not much more about the present. Should I ever see that these so-called wise men and philosophers were happier in their undertakings and more content in their private lives, then I should be guilty of bias, pride, prejudice and obstinacy if I did not follow their example. Unfortunately, however, the experience of every day convinces me to the contrary. Nobody is weaker, nobody more cowardly than these strong spirits; nobody more servile, nobody more cast down by the least unpleasantness than they. They are bad fathers, sons, husbands, ministers, generals and citizens. And why? Because they lack foundations. all their philosophy, all their principles arise only from their own self regard: the least mishap throws them down, with no resources to fall back upon."

Empress Maria Theresa on the exponents of the 'new philosophy', 1774. These doubtless included her son the Emperor Joseph II.

Dedication of St Maria Maggiore

Today is the feast of the Dedication of St Maria Maggiore in Rome, built following the Marian definitions at the Council of Ephesus in 431, and the first church built in honour of Our Lady in the west.*
There is a history together with more pictures of the basilica here.

I was particularly struck by the second lection from today's Office of Readings. It is from a homily delivered at the Council of Ephesus by Saint Cyril of Alexandria, and with its praise of the Virgin proof of the antiquity of such devotion - and proof that such devotion is not a medieval or baroque excrescence - and worthy of being used to describe Our Lady as Mediatrix of all Graces and Co-Redemptrix. I have therefore copied it, courtesy of Universalis, and publish it below:

In praise of Mary, Mother of God

I see here a joyful company of Christian men met together in ready response to the call of Mary, the holy and ever-virgin Mother of God. The great grief that weighed upon me is changed into joy by your presence, venerable Fathers. Now the beautiful saying of David the psalmist: How good and pleasant it is for brothers to live together in unity has come true for us.

Therefore, holy and incomprehensible Trinity, we salute you at whose summons we have come together to this church of Mary, the Mother of God.

Mary, Mother of God, we salute you. Precious vessel, worthy of the whole world’s reverence, you are an ever-shining light, the crown of virginity, the symbol of orthodoxy, an indestructible temple, the place that held him whom no place can contain, mother and virgin. Because of you the holy gospels could say: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

We salute you, for in your holy womb was confined him who is beyond all limitation. Because of you the holy Trinity is glorified and adored; the cross is called precious and is venerated throughout the world; the heavens exult; the angels and archangels make merry; demons are put to flight; the devil, that tempter, is thrust down from heaven; the fallen race of man is taken up on high; all creatures possessed by the madness of idolatry have attained knowledge of the truth; believers receive holy baptism; the oil of gladness is poured out; the Church is established throughout the world; pagans are brought to repentance.

What more is there to say? Because of you the light of the only-begotten Son of God has shone upon those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death; prophets pronounced the word of God; the apostles preached salvation to the Gentiles; the dead are raised to life, and kings rule by the power of the holy Trinity.

Who can put Mary’s high honour into words? She is both mother and virgin. I am overwhelmed by the wonder of this miracle. Of course no one could be prevented from living in the house he had built for himself, yet who would invite mockery by asking his own servant to become his mother?

Behold then the joy of the whole universe. Let the union of God and man in the Son of the Virgin Mary fill us with awe and adoration. Let us fear and worship the undivided Trinity as we sing the praise of the ever-virgin Mary, the holy temple of God, and of God himself, her Son and spotless Bridegroom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.


I propose to mark the day by going to the Extraordinary Form Mass at SS Gregory and Augustine here in Oxford, and which I advertised last week.

* Which is not to deny the claims of the Old Church of Glastonbury, but it does not have the historical certainty of St Maria Maggiore.

"Newman's Oxford" Exhibition

From the website of the Oxford Oratory:

Over the weekend of 14th-15th August we shall be exhibiting many things connected with John Henry Newman our Cardinal, in the Guild Room and the Parish Centre. The exhibition will be open on the Saturday from 10:30 to 5:50, on the Sunday 12:30 to 5:15; there will be a catalogue available at £1.00, but no admission charge (though if you really insist...)

On show will be the portrait by A.R. Venables, and the bust by Richard Westmacott, very rarely seen, some autographs including “Lead, kindly light”, many prints and engravings, including all those used for the new edition of Newman’s Oxford, and some real oddities. There will probably be tea available as well.

The Flying Monk

Having put the article about Charles Waterton and his attempts to fly on the blog yesterday I looked at one of the links attached to it, that about Eilmer of Malmesbury, and thought I would also re-cycle that and add a few observations of my own. This is what The Lion And The Cardinal has:

EARLY CATHOLIC AVIATORS, part I: EILMER of MALMESBURY

Dr. Richard P. Hallion:

The first known serious flight attempt in world history occurred about a thousand years before the Wright brothers, in western England. Then, a young Benedictine monk leapt with a crude pair of cloth wings from a watchtower of a church abbey at the beginning of the 11th century. This monk, known to history as Eilmer of Malmesbury, covered a furlong - a distance of approximately 600 feet - before landing heavily and breaking both legs. Afterwards, he remarked that the cause of his crash was that he had forgotten to provide himself with a tail.

We know of Eilmer's attempt through the writings of a historian, William of Malmesbury, who mentions the flight in passing. Of more interest to William was that Eilmer, late in his life, was the first person to spot a comet which people then credited as being an omen of the Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror.

Eilmer typified the inquisitive spirit of medieval enthusiasts who developed small drawstring toy helicopters, windmills, and sophisticated sails for boats. As well, church artists increasingly showed angels with ever-more-accurate depictions of bird-like wings, detailing the wing's camber that would prove crucial to generating the lifting forces enabling a bird - or an airplane - to fly. This climate of thought led to general acceptance that air was something that could be worked. Flying was thus not magical, but could be attained by physical effort and human reasoning.

Eilmer was an individual of remarkable daring and boldness. He leapt from the top of a tower, passed over a city wall, descended into a small valley by the River Avon, and then fell into a marshy field fully 150 feet lower than the point of his leap. Of his wings, we can surmise that they were constructed of ash or willow-wand, covered with a light cloth, and perhaps attached to pivots on either side of a back-brace, with hand-holds so he could hopefully flap them.

Given the geography of the Abbey, his landing site, and the account of his flight, he must have remained airborne about 15 seconds. At low altitude he apparently attempted to flap the wings, which threw him out of control. His post-flight assessment qualifies him as the first test pilot, for he sought to understand, in technological terms, what happened on the flight and why he crashed. Malmesbury exists today, much changed and quite quaint, near Swindon and Bristol. The Abbey features a stained-glass window of Brother Eilmer. Alas, a nice pub named The Flying Monk is no more, replaced by a shopping centre.


To this I would add the following thoughts. First, it is good to see a piece about the Flying Monk which treats him seriously, and not as just another lovable medieval monastic eccentric.

Secondly I think we must see Eilmer, who from his comet observation in 1066 clearly continued to be interested in scientific matters. He appears to belong to that English tradition in the eleventh and twelfth centuries that showed a remarkable interest in scientific observation, and which was concentrated in the western Midlands and the south west. Thus Adelard of Bath (c.1080- c.1152), a seeming polymath who traveled widely on the continent, about whom there are links here and here, or the monks of Worcester cathedral who were making drawings of sun spots in the early years of the twelfth century, or the observational interests of the canons of Hereford at the same time - and not least there the activities of Dinah, the lady astronomer who calculated by trigonometry the height of the cathedral tower - and that in the reign of King Henry I. This topic is introduced and developed, with classic elegance, in Sir Richard Southern's "Robert Grosseteste" (OUP).

So Eilmer the Flying Monk may have made history as the first recorded individual to have actually flown - but he should also be seen as part of a lively intellectual and practical tradition that witnesses to the vitality of his age and country.

Charles Waterton - aviator

Those of you who read my recent re-cycled post on Charles Waterton may be interested in this, which is from The Lion And The Cardinal on July 27:

EARLY CATHOLIC AVIATORS, part XI: CHARLES WATERTON



Richard Hobson:

Mr. Waterton had considerable inventive genius, especially in the actual formation of supposed extinct animals, and, generally, of the most horrid form and appearance, by a skillful union of separate portions of reptiles. By the way, his inventive powers, though more than forty years ago, had nearly carried his experimental ingenuity to a fatal issue. He had, for a considerable period, conceived some crude and ill digested idea, that the act of flying was within his grasp, and that, in a short time, he would become a second Pegasus in execution.

Under this surprisingly delusive impression, Mr. Waterton invented, and manufactured duplicates of a peculiar character of mechanism, as substitutes for natural wings, to be fixed on each arm, and to be united by their then surrounding the thoracic and dorsal portions of the trunk. How the Squire proposed to dispose of his lower extremities he did not explain to me, but I remember he stated that, a man's legs, however symmetrically formed, were inconveniently long and heavy for an atmospheric trip, except they could have something less yielding than air on which to rest, or to sustain the lever they represent, and, consequently, were too unwieldy and unmanageable to be of any service to the aeronaut in navigating the atmosphere; adding, that the only time, during his life, he had found his legs in the way, was, when he attempted to fly.

At all events, Mr. Waterton not only manufactured these fictitious wings which I have named, but he actually attached them, to his arms and trunk, and also formed and fixed the remaining mechanism which he conceived was necessary to be attached to the other parts of the body, so as to complete, and, as he imagined, perfect this really chimerical project; and in order to carry out his scheme into practical execution, he arranged to make his first essay from the eaves of a roof of a building in the farm yard, being an elevation of several yards, from whence his flight, it is true, would be of limited extent longitudinally, and where an abundance of litter would break the severity of a possibly uncontrollable and rapid descent.

Fortunately, however, when the Squire was clipped and heeled for his first attempt to become an aerologist, an intimate friend, Alicui toto pectore deditus, accidentally walked into the farm yard, and, happily, had sufficient influence over the would-be aeronaut to persuade him to take his first aerial flight from a much less elevated position.

Of course, it is needless to minutely detail the practical freaks which actually occurred in attempting to carry out this delusive conception, as the Squire afterwards unhesitatingly admitted to me that, unlike Pegasus, ho could neither fly to the top of Mount Helicon, nor further imitate him by then flying up to heaven. Also, that his affinity for the earth, to his great surprise, woefully outbalanced his attraction to the clouds, and that, on coming in contact with mother earth, he received, as he was wont to say, when jocosely using the Walton* dialect, such a "foul shak", as to be satisfactorily convinced that soaring in the atmosphere was not his forte, having, in his unwilling, unintentional, and disagreeably hasty descent, like Phaeton (who lost command of his horses) thoroughly lost all command of his wings, and thus narrowly escaped a broken neck, by pitching upon his head in spite of the faith he had entertained in his all-protecting wings.

See also:

Eilmer of Malmesbury
A Wise Man Known to Roger Bacon
Kaspar Mohr
John Damian
Faust Vrancic
Bartolomeu de Gusmão
Francesco Lana de Terzi
Louis-Sebastien Lenormand
Jan Wnek
Montgolfier Brothers

*Walton was Waterton's estate near Wakefield