The Cistercians as ‘Missionaries of Gothic’: The State of Research and Open Questions on the Beginnings of Gothic Architecture in England, Scotland, and Wales

Abstract

This article investigates the beginnings of Gothic architecture in England, Scotland, and Wales. It argues against the popular notion of the Cistercians as ‘Missionaries of Gothic’ and presents other associations with the early Gothic of northern France. For the north of England, it is suggested that the key figure is Roger of Pont L’Évêque, Archbishop of York between 1154 and 1181 with the eastern arm of his cathedral and his palace at York and Ripon Minster. His work was emulated in the early 1160s at Nidaros Cathedral Trondheim (Norway) and St Andrew’s Cathedral (Fife). In the south of England, the nave of the Temple Church, London, before 1161, and closely related Hospital Church of St John’s Clerkenwell, have the earliest connections with early Gothic France, whilst the crossing of Benedictine Boxgrove Priory has octofoil piers also characteristic of analogous associations. In the west of England Cistercian Dore and Flaxley introduce elements associated with the regional school of Gothic architecture but current research indicates that Augustinian Keynsham abbey was the Gothic pioneer in the region.