May Marian Pilgrimage

Since 2020, the year England was rededicated as Mary’s Dowry, I have invited my readers to join me on a May Marian Pilgrimage around known Medieval English shrines of Our Lady.

Last year progress was interrupted when I ended up in hospital and the Pilgrimage was not resumed until August, and possible supplementary one to Scotland and Wales never got organised. However I am back in my blogging harness and setting off once more on the virtual journey. 

Each year I mean to rewrite and consolidate the accounts of the shrines, and, with or without illness, that never seems to happen. This year I will republish the articles from last year in their revised form, with any additional notes that I have or want to share about the various shrines. The route is an often quixotic arrangement - this is no easy Camino but a very eccentric ramble through the English counties and countryside from Glastonbury to Walsingham. 

The background to the Pilgrimage and its sources are set out in last year’s introduction in May Marian Pilgrimage

In addition to the suitable intentions I set out for the last two years this year it seems only right and proper to offer the Pilgrimage for Our Lady’s intercession for the Papal Conclave and for the new Pope.

May Our Lady accompany us on this virtual Pilgrimage and may may she ever accompany the Church.

Another Avignon Papacy?

There were reports a few days ago that President Macron had been on the telephone to the five French Cardinals with a vote urging them to block the election of Cardinal Sarah in the forthcoming Conclave. This story seemed to be well-attested and was being taken seriously by various websites.

One might just add that in 1904 the recently elected Pope Pius X abolished the claimed right of Veto which had been used against the leading  candidate, Secretary of State Cardinal Rampolla, by the Cardinal Archbishop of Krakow on behalf of the Emperor of Austria. There is more about that at 1903 papal conclave

Now it is interesting that the so emphatically  secular “French Republic” was taking such interest in such an ecclesial event, although one should remember that the post-1905 French state still has the right to bestow its approval for appointments to dioceses by the Holy See,  and, of course, M. Macron is, ex officio, a canon of the Lateran ….

One might note that none of these five Cardinals occupy sees such as Paris, Rouen, Bordeaux, Reims or are the current Archbishop of Lyons, such has been the curious way in which the late Pope bestowed red birettas.

Now if we  add to this instance of state intervention through a somewhat curious grouping of Cardinals, the warning given by Cardinal Gerhard Müller in his interview to The Times about the risk of schism if a Pope were elected who was perceived as being unorthodox, then we do seem to be moving into some very murky waters.

Being an historian my mind drifts back to pontificate of Pope Boniface VIII and his falling out with King Philip IV culminating in the events of 302-3, not to mention the period from 1305 until 378, if not indeed 1403 or thereabouts. Here was a succession of French Pope and antipopes until 1394. There have indeed been no subsequent Popes from the Eldest Daughter of the Church, Ancien Regime  Gallicanism did not produce any.

If you want an insight tnto the machinations of Franco-Papal dealings in the latter phase of the Avignon Papacy I suggest glancing at the Wikipedia biography of Antipope Benedict XIII

Maurice Druon’s The Royal Succession gives a very entertaining account of the Papal election of 1316, when,after two years of stalemate, Pope John XXII, emerged as the Vicar of Christ. How accurate it is I am not sure but it, and the 1970s television adaptation, are very entertaining.

There were good reasons why the Popes remained in Avignon for so long - it was safer than Rome or Italy, more convenient for governing the Western Church, better placed to exercise influence in European affairs, and in the thirteenth century the Popes had only been in Rome for half of the time. Nonetheless the Bishop of Rome as an absentee prelate whilst the Eternal City went to wrack and ruin was not the best image, and the idea that these French born Popes were puppets of the Kings of France gave out all the wrong impressions to Italians and to people like the English who were at war with France.

The Palais des Papes is standing there unoccupied in Avignon. Could it get a new occupant?

Tattershall Castle and its place in English architecture

I came upon a BBC News report from 2022 about the new research into the building of the great fifteenth century tower of Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire. 

In August 2022 I drew attention to this research project and linked to another quite detailed online report in Re-assessing and re-interpreting Tattershall Castle

This second article also reports on the conclusion that the tower and its associated buildings are earlier in date by some fifteen years than had been thought hitherto, which makes the structure even more significant in the history of English architecture and building. The article can be seen at Tattershall Castle: Pioneering building may have inspired Hampton Court

There is another article, from Current Archaeology in October 2022, about the new assessment which can be seen at Research reveals Tattershall Castle was an architectural trendsetter

The tall brick structure has been linked to buildings situated in the Netherlands and eastwards to Prussia and the great fortress of the Teutonic Knights at Marienburg ( Malbork ). Tattershall’s use of brick was to be followed by Sir John Fastolff’s Castor Castle in Norfolk, Sir Andrew Ogard at Rye House in Hertfordshire, Sir Roger Fiennes at Hurstmonceux Castle in Sussex, Humphrey Duke of Gloucester’s Bella Court or Palace of Placentia that evolved into Greenwich Palace and, slightly later, William Lord Hastings never-to-be-completed Kirby Muxloe Castle in Leicestershire. Episcopal builders such as William Wayneflete and Thomas Rotherham began using brick in the last quarter of the century for their buildings. Unlike these others which were new builds or replaced manor houses Tattershall was already a substantial castle dating back to the thirteenth century. The spectacular new tower which he added and the adjacent very splendid collegiate church are a good indication of Lord Cromwell’s status and aspirations. There is a Wikipedia biography of him with coverage of his other interests and estates at Ralph Cromwell, 3rd Baron Cromwell

As builder of the great tower, Ralph Lord Cromwell, who had the thankless task of being Lord Treasurer for the government of King Henry VI as money got tighter and tighter for the French war, did not lack funds himself. In addition to Tattershall he created another country home, South Wingfield Manor in Derbyshire. Coincidentally this has been in the news recently because of its condition. This is despite it being in the care of English Heritage. The article can be read in a BBC News report at Call for repairs on manor which held Mary Queen of Scots

A second BBC report has more details of the history of the manor and additional photographs, and it can be seen at Wingfield Manor in Derbyshire 'helped shape modern England'

I have only seen South Wingfield from outside but the ruins are substantial and indicated what a very fine house it was when Lord Cromwell built it. Wikipedia has an account of its history and remains at Wingfield Manor

I will just add that wingfield Manor should not be confused with Wingfield Castle, the Suffolk home in the fifteenth century of the de la Pole family as Earls, Marquesses and Dukes of Suffolk. 

Peter Kwasniewski on Pope Francis

I quite often link to online posts about Church matters by the very distinguished U.S. based theologian and commentator Peter Kwasniewski. Today I came upon a special issue of his podcast Tradition and Sanity  which draws together a whole series of articles, mainly from American sites, written this past week about Pope Francis and his pontificate.

The compilation is elegant, informed, and in so many ways brilliant. There is virtually nothing one can disagree with, and stylishly says what so many of us feel but do not have the skill to write or means to publish. It is scathing and excoriating. 

The podcast can be heard at SPECIAL POST: The End of a Pontificate from Hades

Listen to it - it is a wonderful antidote to both the last twelve years and the outpouring of slush by the liberal media.

Novena for the Conclave

With the impending Conclave to elect a new Pope, and as we begin the novemdiales, it seems only right and proper to pray a novena for the Cardinals and the choice they will make. A very suitable prayer to use is that issued a while ago by Bishop Athanasius Schneider. Why not join me in offering this prayer for the next nine days?

Prayer for Imploring Holy Popes

Kyrie Eleison! Christe Eleison! Kyrie Eleison! 

Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Good Shepherd! With your almighty hand you guide Your pilgrim Church through the storms of each age. 

Adorn the Holy See with holy Popes who neither fear the powerful of this world nor compromise with the spirit of the age, but preserve, strengthen, and defend the Catholic Faith unto the shedding of their blood, and observe, protect, and hand on the venerable liturgy of the Roman Church.

O Lord, return to us through holy Popes who, inflamed with the zeal of the Apostles, proclaim to the whole world: “Salvation is found in no other than in Jesus Christ. For there is no other name under heaven given to men by which they should be saved” (Acts 4:10-12). 

Through an era of holy Popes, may the Holy See - which is home to all who promote the Catholic and Apostolic Faith - always shine as the cathedra of truth for the whole world. Hear us, O Lord, and through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of the Church, grant us holy Popes, grant us many holy Popes! Have mercy on us and hear us! Amen.

The future direction for the Papacy

Having posted some reflections yesterday about the death of Pope Francis and his legacy to the church I thought that I would share two online pieces that I came upon.  Both of them  accord with what I was trying to say, and may, indeed should, quite independently, be of interest to readers.

The media is awash with commentary, not least on which Cardinals are papabile and which are not, or should not be considered for whatever reason likely successors.  Amongst this vast outpouring I came upon the following.

The first is an article by the well-known U.S. historian of and commentator upon the Catholic Church, George Weigel. It is from the Catholic World Report website and draws attention to problems within the Franciscan pontificate, not least that the Cardinals ( other than the ‘St Gallen mafia’ ) did not know who they were voting for in 2013. 

His article can be seen at Retrospect on a pontificate

The vlog Return to Tradition makes no hesitation in consistently putting the case for traditional belief and practice in the Church. It is also very well researched and well-informed. It has a video today which picks up on the lack of connection between many of the current Cardinals, partly as a result of Pope Francis not summoning regular consistories. It also looks at the conflicted practicalities of organising the Conclave, and the change of mood in Rome. The video starts a bit abruptly with an excerpt from a cringe worthy U.S. discussion programme before the presenter  Antony Stine gets into his stride. He makes many good points about the situation now facing the Cardinals and the Church. 

His video can be seen at The Vatican Is In Total Chaos After The Death Of Pope Francis

The Holy Tunic of Argenteuil

The Catholic News Agency (CNA) has a report about the display of the Holy Tunic, believed to have been worn by Our Lord during the Passion, at the church in Argenteuil north-west of Paris, where it is preserved. It is rarely displayed, and there were only two twentieth century exhibitions of it, in 1934 and 1984.

The article gives a history of the relic as well as details of the current display and attendant events.

It also seeks to set the exposition in the context of attempts to revitalise Christianity in this part of France, including the ongoing restoration work at the  nearby abbey of St Denis, about which I have written before. 

The article can be seen at Record numbers of pilgrims flock to see the Holy Tunic of Christ near Paris

Two further online articles give considerable detail about scientific examinations of the Holy Tunic. Alongside other Passion relics such as the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium of Oviedo it is considered In some detail in Tunic of Argenteuil « See The Holy Land

A second, possibly rather more detailed, account can be seen at The Tunic of Argenteuil - Digital Sindonological Lexicon

Both of these accounts, whilst faithfully reporting suggested dates based on radiocarbon analysis of not a few centuries later than the Passion, also present a considerable amount of evidence that would argue for the authenticity of the Shroud, Sudarium and Tunic. They do again raise the question as to the ability in the medieval period to produce false relics that seems quite impossible given the state at the time of scientific knowledge in disciplines not known before the twentieth century. In other words, put not all your trust in radiocarbon dating for textiles…..

The inspiration for Cluny III

 

The other week I shared the link to a video about the great third abbey church at Cluny - known today for convenience as Cluny III - in my post Cluny

Medievalists.net has a short note which summarises research which discusses the origins of the architectural scheme as a heavenly revelation to the elderly Gunzo, who had retired to the abbey from being abbot of his own community, and who was formerly believed, due to a misreading of the source text, to be the architect of Cluny III. That honour now appears to belong to the Abbot, St Hugh the Great, who presided over the community from 1049 until his death in 1109.

The article, with a link to the more detailed article upon which it is based, can be seen at A Vision from Heaven: The Dream That Inspired Cluny’s Great Church

The death of Pope Francis

The death of Pope Francis on Monday morning  was something of a surprise given that we had seen him on television the previous day at the end of the Mass in Saint Peter’s Square. On the other hand anybody who had looked at  any of the pictures of him in recent weeks had, I am sure, concluded that his life expectancy was fairly short. Ever since he was first ill people’s minds have been turning towards the possibility of a Papal vacancy and the ensuing Conclave.

I can, I think, understand what he sought to do as parish priest of the World in terms of reaching out to proclaim God’s mercy - but all Popes for almost two centuries have tried to do that. Many people responded to that message from the Argentine Pope, not least the liberal media. Many of the issues he addressed were indeed good and appropriate, but too often it maybe looked like just another government or international body commenting, and not the Church of God.

I suspect some of the problems in his rule stemmed from the fact that he was an outsider to Rome and the mechanisms of the Vatican. His tendency to push ahead, to not play the game, seems to have created division and hostility that inhibited reform and alienated people, who could not figure out what they were being expected to do. The Pope who extolled mercy could, on his own admission, be brusque and authoritarian. 

I am one of many who felt alienated by the moves towards doctrinal equivocation and especially against traditional liturgical practice, above all with Traditiones Custodes. The day that was issued I very consciously went to the traditional Latin Mass in my parish church, and since then have been fortunate enough to attend almost exclusively that form either in person or online. Traditiones Custodes made me a ‘Trad’. 

Last year a friend, a cradle Catholic, observed to me that he felt far less excitement in his practice as a Catholic than he had felt in the time of Pope Benedict. I agreed with him. Yes, we were definitely Catholic but the spark was dimmed, the exhilaration lacking.

He and I, and maybe many others, will have to see what we feel in coming months and years.

More than ever in such circumstances, the death of the Pope has produced an enormous outpouring of comment and interpretation alongside ordinary obituaries and news reports. Looking at only some of this I am struck by the fact that they coverage is far from made the respectful noting of the death of a Pope, but they fault lines for future discussion of his place in history are already very clearly being marked out. I will not attempt to provide my own answer now, but history and historians will ultimately have a verdict, or verdicts, on the life of Jorge Bergoglio and on his tenure of the Holy See. The fact that such a discussion is taking place within days, even hours of his death, is an indicator of how controversial he has been. 

This process will not end until after a new Pope is elected, because the discussion of Francis’ pontificate is integral to the discussions amongst the Cardinal electors, the other Cardinals, the Curia, the wider ecclesial body and the whole body of the faithful. That can be little doubt that the impending Conclave will be one of the most significant in a very long time, and will be meticulously, obsessively, analysed and dissected in advance, with all the likely or unlikely candidates identified and considered,  whilst it is being held and then in the new Pontificate.

We must all pray for the future direction of the Church, for the Cardinals, and for whoever will be the new Pope.

Christ is Risen Alleluia!

Christ is Risen Alleluia!

He is Risen indeed Alleluia!

The Resurrection 

Piero Della Francesca 1463-65

Sansepolcro 

Image: Wikimedia.org

I make no apologies for using once again Piero della Francesca’s The Resurrection in this greeting to my readers. The “greatest picture in the world” is so compelling an image that it is hard not to use it again.

The figure of Christ tells, wordlessly, the viewer that the World has changed - it will never be the same again.

Two friends shared with me their appreciation of this text from the Divine Office for Holy Saturday, and which has a similar, but, in this case, verbal, approach as Piero della Francesca in this painting. There are significant differences yet the essential truth is there in both. The homilist is, one might suggest, seeking to expressi the Redeemer’s thoughts just as He prepares to emerge from the tomb and step both into and out of time.

An ancient homily on Christ’s Descent into Hell

Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

Text from divineoffice.org

The Wikipedia account of the painting appears to have been updated and can be seen at The Resurrection (Piero della Francesca)

The Khan Academy also has a new article about the painting which can be seen at Khan Academy

Family Rosary has a recent, more devotional, article at Discovering The Resurrection by Piero della Francesca

A blessed, joyful and happy Easter to all my readers 

Washing Molly Grimes on Good Friday

The BBC News website has a genuinely antiquarian feel about it today with the story of the tradition which ended in 1832 of seven maids ritually washing an effigy, popularly known as ‘Molly Grimes’, in the parish church at Glentham in north Lincolnshire on Good Friday.

The article can be read at The curious case of Molly Grimes and Good Friday statue washing and it is well worth looking at the link in it to more of the source material for the story which is at The Northern Antiquarian website

, external

I hope they can find a way to revive the custom in the church.

I have, I think, read of the Glentham story in books about Lincolnshire. I imagine it originated with the custom of laying out an effigy of the dead Christ at the end of the Good Friday Liturgy which then remained in the church until the Easter Vigil or Easter Day. In an area that was conservative in matters of religion such a custom may have survived, and either consciously been adapted or have evolved through time into the washing of an effigy of a former lady of the manor. That such folk-memories did evolve and survive is attested elsewhere, such as the fresh flowers placed in the hands of a medieval female effigy in the church at Tong in Shropshire. The effigy has apparently substituted for the statue of  Our Lady since the reformers got to work in the sixteenth century.. Another example which is, I think, based on a true story ( but if it isn’t it is still worth sharing ) from the neighbouring county of Nottinghamshire is in Robertson Davies’ wonderful novel The Rebel Angels - and now you will have to go and read it to find the story! 

My Easter gift to you all….

Relic of the Holy Cross Pilgrimage

Earlier this evening I watched the livestream of the opening liturgy of the Latin Mass Society’s Jubilee Year Pilgrimage of the Relic of the Holy Cross. This was at the exquisitely restored shrine church of Corpus Christi Maiden Lane.

Following Stations of the Cross there was a Solemn Procession and Benediction of the Holy Cross, followed by individual veneration. The relic will then travel northwards and visit cities, towns, villages and traditional pilgrimage  sites through the year. This national pilgrimage is taking place as the Latin Mass Society celebrates its sixtieth anniversary. The principal intentions are for the good estate of the Catholic Church and for the conversion of England and Wales.

Details of the route and liturgies can be seen on the official website holycross2025.org

The Royal Maundy at Durham Cathedral

Yesterday the King and Queen went to Durham Cathedral for the Royal Maundy Service. His Majesty is continuing his mother’s custom of taking the ceremony to cathedrals across the country rather than just holding it in London or Windsor.

Unfortunately the service is rarely televised often televised beyond a short clip on the news about a Royal visit rather than as part of a living tradition of the monarchy. I recall watching on occasions when it was televised when the late Queen distributed the Maundy purses in Durham fifty years ago, and her visits to do so at Winchester in 1979 and St David’s in 1982. 

Now, with the development of a much wider range of media transmission, the Service yesterday can be seen in a shortened form on the Royal Family Channel at King Presents Maundy Money at Royal Maundy Service at Durham Cathedral

More about the medieval sealskin bindings at Clairvaux

The Artnet website has a report about the identification of sealskin as the binding of a number of manuscripts from Clairvaux, about which I wrote in Sealskin at Clairvaux

This new article adds further details from the research, partly about the origin of the sealskin, but also about its choice by the Cistercians. The argument is that although the bindings are now brown this is a result of aging, and that originally they would have been white or light grey. This would correspond to the white or off-white monastic habits of the Cistercians.

The article can be seen at These Medieval Texts Were Bound With an Unlikely Animal Hide

Liturgical colours, Folded Chasubles and the Broad Sstole

Now, dear reader, reading that title, don’t get too excited, but I do have some good things to share with you.

Mass this morning according to the 1962 Missal with its change of liturgical colours from red to violet after the Palm Procession made me realise I needed to be sure I was up to speed on what and when, the various changes were wrought in the 1950s and 1960s. Once Mass, Sunday lunch, and the Boat Race were out of the way I betook myself to the Internet in search of the answer.

The excellent Liturgical Arts Journal had three linked articles. The most recent from 2023 outlined the changes in the colours of the vestments for today between 1955 and 1969-70 and can be seen at Palm Sunday: Variations in the Vestments and Their Colours in the Span of Fifteen Years

That led me to two further, and related, articles which I am sure I have shared before with readers, but make no apologies for doing so again. They look at topics beloved of traditionally minded observers of liturgy and vestments, and particularly at this time of year. Both are very well illustrated and clearly well researched.

The more recent, from 2017, is about the History and Designs of the Folded Chasuble

An earlier article from 2009, is on the parent website, that of the New Liturgical Movement. It is rather more detailed and can be seen at Use, History and Development of the "Planeta Plicata" or Folded Chasuble

These days,thanks to the wonder of the Internet, one can sometimes find Masses online where the folded chasuble and broad stole make their traditional appearance. I had the good fortune to tune in to an FSSP Mass in Mexico in 2020 to find these historic vestments in use. If one is really lucky you might, of course, be able to attend such a liturgy celebrated according to the pre-1955 norms.

I am sure you will not need to ask what my views would be on the suitability of these changes to the liturgy.

Book review: Medieval French Nobles

This is another book by the author of the one on peasant life which I republished last week. The two complement each other and draw upon material from the same French regions and era..

"Strong of Body, Brave and Noble": Chivalry and Society in Medieval France

Constance Brittain Bouchard.    

Cornell UP  2017

A valuable and insightful study

This is a book I would thoroughly recommend, and indeed have done to friends.

I have to disagree with another Amazon reviewer Cebes “Useful but flawed study” who criticises it for not offering a simple model of aristocratic life in the period. The point surely that Bouchard is making is that it was a society that was complex and changing, and that generalisations are difficult if not dangerous.

As a work it offers a synthesis of many studies referenced in the footnotes, and is of great value as a bibliographic guide.

 

There is a great deal that is covered and discussed in a relatively short and very readable book. The life of the medieval nobility is opened out and unpacked in a way which is accessible to the modern reader, enhancing and enriching one’s understanding of the past.

I think it has a wider application than just the area the author predominantly concentrates on of Champagne and Burgundy. It is applicable to much of western Europe in the period and indeed for later centuries.

A book that is valuable for the general reader, for students, and for academics looking for pointers with research.

Posted on Amazon  24.3.2023

More good news about Catholic Church restoration

In addition to the announcement about the restoration work in Nottingham Cathedral there is more good news about the great Preston church of St Walburga. 

Now administered as a Eucharistic shrine by ICKSP the church has initiated a programme to undo changes carried out in 1972 and to restore the church to its original 1854 layout as designed by the architect Joseph Aloysius Hansom. 

There is an illustrated article about the project at St. Walburge’s Church set to have original design aspects reinstated

I have never visited Preston but were I to do so visiting St Walburga’s would be my principal aim. From all the pictures I have seen the interior, reminiscent in different ways of medieval gothic churches in both Germany and Italy, is a sight to see, whilst the spectacular tower and spire, added some years after the main building was completed, is the third highest spire, and the tallest on a parish church, in the country. The whole church is testimony to the confidence of mid-nineteenth century Lancashire Catholicism.

Further restoration at Nottingham Cathedral

There is good news this week about the continuing restoration of Augustus Wellby Northmore Pugin’s cathedral of St Barnabas in Nottingham.

I have written before about work there to reinstate the decoration that had been overpainted in the eastern chapels in a post in October 2022 which can be seen at Good news from Nottingham Cathedral

The cathedral has now received a second, and larger, grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to continue the work as is reported by the Catholic Herald at Nottingham Cathedral gets £1.69m National Lottery grant to restore Pugin’s vision

The story is also covered by the Catholic News Agency which has some photographs of the work in progress. This can be seen at Gothic Revival cathedral in Nottingham to shine again with historic grant

Life in the Middle Ages - as it was and as it was n’t

The Catholic Herald has a good article, by Tom Colsy, triggered by his viewing of the new BBC series King and Conqueror on the Norman Conquest, about attitudes to and perceptions about life in the medieval centuries. Last month I linked to a video from the Welsh Viking which did a very good demolition job  on King and Conqueror in How not to represent the Norman Conquest

• 
  

Colsy’s article can be read at King and Conqueror is proof that the BBC doesn’t get the Middle Ages

I have written before about how so called ‘historical dramas’ convey a very prejudiced view of life in the medieval period where virtually everything is dank and dirty, with people trudging ankle-deep through mud whilst wearing clothes of the same colour, and where squalor and near starvation is the order of the day.

There is the rather splendid irony that Kingdom Come Deliverance, which is a very popular video game I discovered the other month, is so much more accurate in its depiction of medieval life.  In its particular case it is Bohemia in 1403. The first part of KCD came out several years ago. This has now been followed by KCD II, with much enhanced imaging, and even more possibilities for gamers. Now I am not a gamer myself, but the many links on the Internet give a very good idea of the narrative and feel of the game. I understand the pursuit of historical accuracy included having academics on the set for filming, and even went so far as to recreate the night sky as it was over Bohemia in the time. It does not shy away from the fact that this was a society in which religion was a central factor, and even if it slips occasionally is far better than many costume dramas in this respect. If the Czech creators of a video game can bring to life Bohemia on the eve of the Hussite revolution and wars with accuracy, humour and genuine appeal to the non-specialist audience, why cannot so-called “serious” television and film companies do the same?

And before you ask, I have studied and taught the Hussite period, never mind the Norman Conquest…

Peasants, Customary Law, and Common Law

Yesterday I came across an interesting article summarising recent work by a group of Cambridge University historians and geographers which had looked at the legal rights of medieval English peasants. This argued that they had more rights by customary law within their manors than popular stereotypes might suggest, and indeed that rights and obligations varied across the country. Any study of manorial patterns and management over English regions reveals that, depending very much upon the geography of the area and historic patterns of settlement. The Common Law might be less important to the peasantry but it was not without import in their lives. The image of the oppressed, downtrodden villein has received a further knock from the historical evidence. That is not to deny that agricultural life was hard - it always is - but it was balanced by customary rights, and not without breaks in the routine mandated by the Church.

The article can be read at The Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure,

By coincidence last weekend I published here on the blog my review of Constance Brittain Bouchard’s study of French medieval peasant life Negotiation and Resistance which draws similar conclusions about the situation in east central France in the tenth to twelfth century.

Another book I read a few years back which serves as a good introduction to and summary of English medieval rural life is Life in a Medieval Village by Frances and Joseph Gies. This concentrates on the manorial court rolls of Elton in Huntingdonshire, which was a possession of Ramsey Abbey. 

Both Bouchard and Gies are available on Amazon, including Kindle.

Sealskin at Clairvaux

A reader has very kindly forwarded to me the link to an article on The History Blog about recent research into the bindings of a group of manuscripts from the library of the abbey at Clairvaux. Based on the findings the research was then extended to other monastic collections, which showed some similar results.

Modern investigative techniques revealed that these were not deer or boar skin but in fact North Atlantic sealskin. It is suggested that some may have come as tithe  offerings - although I would comment that the Cistercians sought to avoid receiving tithes - or that the seal leather was bought through links to Hanseatic traders. The Champagne trade fairs were not that distant and still an important source of cloth and leather as well as other goods at the time the books were being copied. The history and significance of these fairs is set out by Wikipedia at Champagne fairs

This discovery gives further evidence of the trading links which extended across medieval Europe, When one visits Clairvaux today it seems very far from the sea, and exudes a curious melancholy around the remains of the abbey which is still used by the French state as a prison. In the age of St Bernard and in subsequent centuries it must have been busier and very much a hive of economic activity as well as a commanding centre of prayer and spirituality.

The article about the research into the bindings can be seen at Medieval manuscripts were bound in sealskin

The article makes the point that the monks may not have realised that the leather was sealskin and that seals do not figure very much in medieval sources. I do recall reading - but cannot find the reference at the moment  - of a story, presumably from the Evesham Abbey chronicle, of a discussion in Chapter there of how exactly the abbey was going to feed pilgrims who were expected in coming days. A young monk who had not been paying much attention to the discussion interjected that he had seen a creature swimming in the river Avon that might help. This was a seal, which ended up being used to feed the visitors….. ( sorry about that animal lovers and vegetarians ). There are occasional stories these days of seals coming inland along rivers, though whether one could reach Evesham by the Severn and the Avon I could not say - but then how did the story come about?

The Thornham Parva Retable - and its Frontal

The always excellent series of videos from The Antiquary, Dr Allan Barton, has recently included two about the Thornham Parva Retable. 

This famous, and precious, survival from the early fourteenth century is now housed in the small Suffolk church of Thornham Parva, to which it was given about a century ago. There is good reason to believe that it originated in the Dominican friary church at Thetford and was preserved by a recusant family following the dissolution of the friary in 1538. The Retable has become appreciated and well known as an indicator of what once decorated the friaries, and other churches, of later medieval England.

The video can be seen at How did this painting survive the English Reformation?

This has been followed by a second video which was a complete revelation to me, pointing out that most of the painted altar frontal that originally accompanied it survives in the Musée de Cluny in Paris. The two match for size and style, and their joint survival seems almost miraculous. Like the Retable the history of the frontal until the museum acquired it in the later nineteenth century appears lost.

The video about it can be seen at How are these two medieval paintings connected?

It would be wonderful to see the two items reunited in an exhibition - and, better still, set up with an altar, so that, at least once, the traditional Dominion rite could again be celebrated at it.

Medieval wedding dresses

As we move into Spring, and in a little more than a week move out of Lent. the season for weddings will be here….

Medievalists.net has an article about what is known of medieval wedding dresses. It can be seen at What Did Brides Wear in the Middle Ages? A Guide to Medieval Wedding Dresses

I would add to the article the following few observations. 

The choice of blue for both the Queens Isabella, in the second case in 1396 with fleur de lys, shows how heraldry was very much a factor in designing such very public and ceremonial attire.

We do not know what Elizabeth Woodville wore for her clandestine marriage to King Edward IV. In May 1464. I think the dress so described must be the one she wore for her public recognition as Queen at Reading Abbey several months later on Michaelmas Day.

Although slightly later the article could have included the dress worn by Queen Mary I at her wedding in July 1554 at Winchester. This is described in contemporary accounts and was reconstructed a few years ago. The fabric is a very regal purple brocade, and with a white underskirt. The Queen was keen to follow traditional English custom and wore her hair loose, but this confirms that wedding dresses were fine quality but not white. Interestingly her husband King Philip, wore a largely white outfit but with an embroidered cloth of gold cape given to him by his bride. According to the Wikipedia article cited below he chose not to wear the other one she gave him considering it to be too flashy, as, in his typical fashion, he noted down in an inventory.

There is more about the wedding at The Wedding of the Century Part I: Mary I and Philip of Spain whilst Wikipedia has a very detailed account, which also brings out how descriptions vary, at Wedding of Mary I of England and Philip of Spain

Royal wedding dresses sometimes became church vestments. Thus the dress worn by Joan ‘the Fair Maid of Kent’ when she married Edward Prince of Wales was later given to St George’s Windsor and was used to make a vestment.  A later instance of that is the chasuble at the London Oratory which was made out of the wedding dress of the future Queen Marie Antoinette.

Book review: Medieval French Peasants,

Negotiation and Resistance: Peasant Agency in High Medieval France

Constance Brittain Bouchard   Cornell UP  2022

Insightful and Informative 

This as a book I would recommend very highly to anyone looking both at the history of France in the period and at the life of medieval peasants in general.

This is very much a source based study, and Constance Bouchard, having edited several of them for publication, clearly knows the sources very well.

She makes a strong case for the peasants

hiding in plain sight in the cartularies that survive from the monastic houses, and that if we look at such records we will find them. I am sure that the lessons and insights she offers mutatis mutandis can be applied to other parts of France or Western Europe. Thus England had a different history in regard to serfdom in the same period, but what the book argues could still be used profitably as an insight when looking at English conditions as revealed in manorial court rolls and other records

Yes, peasant life was doubtless often hard, but what Bouchard shows are real peasants, not the archetypes created by historians and social theorists centuries later without reference to the archival evidence. These real peasants showed very considerable vitality in defending and negotiating their best interests. They emerge as lively and resilient, not downtrodden victims.

This readable, humane study which makes medieval people step out of the shadows for at least a few minutes as flesh and blood and not just theories or statistics, is of great value for the general reader, for students and for academics looking for pointers with their research. It is a book which in a relatively short format reveals a lot in an accessible, thoughtful, and informative way.

Posted on Amazon  25.3.2023

Reconstructing an Arthurian romance

Yesterday I wrote about the digital reconstruction of a piece of medieval sculpture from Shaftesbury using computer technology Today it is the turn of a manuscript to get the equivalent treatment.

Cambridge University website reported on work done by the University Library and the University’s Cultural Heritage Imaging Laboratory with a portion of the Suite Vulgate du Merlin, and dated to between 1275 and 1315, which had survived because it had been used to bind some Suffolk estate documents after 1500. The manuscript fragment was only re-discovered in 2019. It is one of a number to survive of the French language text, but each one has differences due to manuscrip copyists individual variations. It has been possible to assign the manuscript to a group within the wider cycle.

Because of the folds and tears, and because the text is in part sewn into the book the Library eschewed the risky process of separating the manuscript out, and turned to the latest digital technology to reach into the recesses and scan the remains. As a result this variant coffee could be retrieved whilst preserving an example of what often happened to discarded texts.

The handsomely illustrated article can be seen at Modern magic unlocks Merlin's medieval secrets

Digital reconstruction of a medieval sculpture from Shaftesbury

The BBC News website reported upon a computer project to digitally reconstruct a shattered late mediaeval sculpture depicting the Mass of Saint Gregory which was found buried in a wall in St Peter’s church in Shaftesbury in the 1970s. 

Digital imaging of all the 170 or so fragments has enabled a beginning to be made on piecing together this once very substantial statue. It is thought to have been six feet or so high when complete.

The report can be read at Smashed medieval statue from Dorset church reformed digitally

There is more about the computer work from the experts involved at Bournemouth University at BU computer animation experts and archaeologists use digital technology to reassemble shattered statue

An idea of the considerable size of the statue can be gleaned from a film clip of the unveiling of the larger portion of the remains of the statue in Shaftesbury Museum by H.M. Deputy Lord Lieutenant. This can be seen at Shaftesbury Abbey on Instagram: "Our restored 15th century St Gregory Mass statue has been unveiled! 

Looking at what survives and the many small fragments of the whole work I am once again appalled by the ferocity of destruction wrought by fanatics in the mid-sixteenth century.

On the positive side to go and see the remains of the sculpture is yet another excellent reason for going to visit the beautiful and historic, and in some ways little known, county of Dorset.

“The work of human hands”

LifeSite News can be a rather curious site, not least for those of us living on the European side of the Atlantic, and for whom a lot of North American concerns seem, well, a bit strange. However it does cover a lot of Canadian stories, being based there, as well as ones from the US. Other stories have a wider appeal and relevance.

One such was a short article by John-Henry Weston, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the website, which was published yesterday.

The point he is making was new to me, and as it was to him, so it is I imagine to many others. His article, which is worth looking at and reflecting upon, can be read at Did you know the Novus Ordo uses a phrase that Scripture associates with idolatry?

Today’s the day…

It not often, alas, these days that one rushes to share articles from the Oxford student newspapers. Neither Cherwell nor the Oxford Student are noted for being much more than a diary of the previous week, or in the case of the Oxford Student rehashing timeworn themes from OUSU. The next generation of Oxford novelists seem to be scribbling away elsewhere. It was therefore a pleasure to come across today the following offering from the Oxford Student - the city of dreaming spires can still deliver ….

Oxford University to abolish Classics degree – The Oxford Student

Mind you, given the destructive urges of some in the Universiry hierarchy, we may be laughing too soon….

Happy April Fool’s Day to you all.