The 14th-Century Canons' Stalls in the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Astley, Warwickshire

Abstract

The mutilated remains of the choir furniture in this remote parish church disclose the evidence of a 14th-century double-credal decorative scheme. It is a unique British survival of this iconography in the medium. This paper analyses the monument in terms of patronage, style and dating, and recounts its remarkable afterlife. In attempting to place it within an English medieval credal context, it is apparent that, in any medium, such schemes are a rarity. As a result, possibly with one important exception, relating to the chapel glass at Hampton Court, Herefordshire, the subject has neither lent itself to the publication of a wide-ranging archaeological monograph, nor to an adequate discussion of the central importance of the creed and its visual expression in catholic Christian theology. As well as bringing to light the history and archaeology of the Astley programme, it was necessary to make amends by conducting a survey of medieval credal schemes in all media surviving in Europe, including the late-medieval Savoyard group of choir-stalls, with their carved-wood figures of prophets and apostles on the seat backs.