Medieval Church Research Articles

A Possible Patronal Orientation for St Guthlac’s Church, Passenham

Medieval churches in England have a wide variety of orientations. Some have an equinoctial orientation, facing true east towards the sunrise on the equinox. However, most, although facing eastwards, diverge from true east, and over the centuries the reason for such variation has been the subject of much debate. A popular, but by no means proven, theory is that they are oriented towards the rising Sun on the feast day of their particular patron saint. This paper considers St Guthlac’s, Passenham, a Northamptonshire church close to the ancient Danelaw border with alleged connections to King Edward the Elder and the West Saxon army in the tenth century AD. The church orientation shows good agreement with the rising Sun on the feast day of St Guthlac, a popular Mercian warrior saint of the period, who was celebrated as a symbol of the Anglo-Saxons’ potential for victory over the pagan Vikings.

Window Glass of a Medieval Church at the Village of Veseloye Near Adler

Frequent finds from the excavations of a Christian church of the late 9th–11th century AD at the village of Veseloye (Greater Sochi) include fragments of unpainted and coloured window glass made by blowing in the disks shape, mostly, of 18 cm diameter. By the design of their edges, discs are divided into two types – one with a loop-shaped edge and one with a slightly thickened straight or slightly raised edge, and by the type of surface – smooth ones and those decorated with relief “optical” decor. A review of finds of medieval window glass over a wide area shows that finds from the Veseloye church fit into this array typologically and chronologically, which can be explained by the common technology of manufacturing this highly demanded glass product. In further research, it will be necessary to find out where window glass was produced for the churches of medieval Abkhazia and the Greater Sochi region.

Portals of Ani churches of the late 10th – early 11th centuries: Springing of a new typology

Portals representing iconic elements of the three-dimensional composition of the medieval churches have particularly expressive forms in the architecture of Ani. The article reveals the features of the portals of two types, successively developed by the architect Trdat for the majestic cathedrals of the Armenian capital of the late 10th – early 11th centuries. Drawing ideas from the samples of different traditions, including the ancient Greco-Roman one, new types were created, such as a perspective portal and a local medieval version of the Hellenistic portal.

Analyzing the medieval church through an economic lens

Analyzing the medieval church through an economic lens

Re St Peter and St Paul, Pettistree

Pursuant to a 2013 faculty, the interior of this mediaeval church was painted in 2014. Instead of the specified limewash paint, the architect selected an alternative paint, which proved to be inappropriate: it was impermeable, damaging the wall fabric and causing the paint to flake off. Following a consistory court hearing in 2017 (reported at [2017] ECC SEI 6), the PCC was ordered to remove the paint, and repaint using the originally specified limewash, the cost to be borne by the architect.

The medieval church as an economic firm?

The medieval church as an economic firm?

Slaying the Servants of the Lord: The Killing of Bishops in Medieval Germany, c.900–1300

Abstract The medieval Church did its best to discourage both the involvement of clerics in violence and violence against clerics. The murder of a bishop, in particular, was a relatively rare event in this period. Thus the death of Thomas Becket was the exception, and certainly not the rule. Yet there was one kingdom where despite canonical prohibition prelates did frequently die through violence during the central Middle Ages. Between c.900 and c.1300 some thirty German bishops were either murdered or died in battle, and a number of other prelates suffered violence and were often lucky to escape with their lives. This paper seeks to explain why this should have been the case, examining the various different reasons why so many bishops perished in Germany, and looks at a number of particular cases in detail. Why did such killings became a regular feature of political life in the Reich at this period? How did contemporaries react to such events? The article also asks what this phenomenon—and also the prevalence of political assassinations among laymen—may tell us about medieval German society.

"Quattuor sanctissimi episcopi": not just St. Patrick

In the 17th century, St. Ibar, Ailbe, Ciaran, and Declan were called quattuor sanctissimi episcopi (‘the four most holy bishops’). It is thought that they played a pivotal role in the conversion of Ireland, especially its southern parts, and were preaching Christianity there before or at the same time as St. Patrick. We learn about them from a number of sources, including Vitae Sanctorum Hiberniae, Martyrology of Oengus, Martyrology of Donegal, Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters, Book of Leinster, and Speckled Book. They are the founders of monasteries and the episcopal sees in Saigir (St. Ciaran), Emly (St. Ailbe), and Ardmore (St. Declan). St. Ibar founded the monastery on the Isle of Begerin. Their veneration is slowly building up again. The paper represents an attempt at systemising what we know about "the four bishops" from their Lives, the annals, and other sources mentioning them. The aim of the article is to place the aforementioned Saints within the life of the Irish society and Church; distill their distinctive features, spiritual, and social role within the early Medieval Church of Ireland (by analysing narrative patterns, genealogies, and mentions); and describe the development of their modern-day cult. While not claiming to present a definitive and exhaustive answer to these questions, the present paper is nevertheless part of an ongoing research into the subject.

Iron-rich sandstones in medieval churches in the Cambridge region, UK: distribution, sources and significance

ABSTRACT England’s 13,000 medieval churches are a distinctive landscape feature, not least because they were mostly constructed of local building materials. Especially prominent are churches incorporating iron-rich (ferruginous) stone, in a range of yellow-brown colours. This study investigates churches in an 1,800 km2 area centred on south Cambridgeshire, and interprets the distribution of three iron-rich building stones in space and time. Over 120 churches have been studied in the field, and a further sixty churches provisionally assessed using only photographs. The study confirms existing views that two iron-rich walling stones — the Ely and Gamlingay sandstones — were quarried from the bedrock Woburn Sands Formation (Lower Cretaceous). However, a third walling stone — the Cottenham Sandstone — is re-interpreted as a ferricrete (ironpan) formed by cementation of Quaternary river sediments by iron-rich ground-water. The churches containing ferricrete are shown to lie on the relict floodplains of the ancestral River Cam, rather than following the Woburn Sands outcrop. Cottenham ferricrete was used most commonly during the twelfth to fourteenth centuries with some reuse in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. This result conflicts with a hypothesis based on churches in the London Basin that ferricrete walling indicates a twelfth-century or earlier date. There is no evidence in the Romanesque and later churches of the study area that iron-rich and iron-poor building stones were used to create patterned rubble walling as a visual feature. The lack of patterning supports the view that such walls were not meant to be seen and were usually rendered or lime-washed.

Realising multiphase archaeological reconstruction models: 3D printing the Old Minster, Winchester

This article presents an exploration of the processes used in the development of a 3D printed model of an early medieval church building, Winchester's Old Minster (c.640-1093), establishing a process for the representation of multi-phase buildings in both digital and 3D-printed media. The multi-phase case study lends to itself to enhancing pedagogical methods as well as academic uses such as comparative analysis and scrutinising architectural categorisation. Through the pursuit of this process, it is found that the further publication of reconstructed elevation heights for archaeological is needed. The purpose of the exercise was to test the applicability of 3D printing for the purposes of the representation of heritage assets and develop methodologies.

Churches and Monasteries in Northern Transylvania in Planning Documents and in Tourism Development Projects Financed by European Funds

Churches and Monasteries in Northern Transylvania in Planning Documents and in Tourism Development Projects Financed by European funds. In the present paper we studied the manner in which county and regional authorities from Northern Transylvania view churches and monasteries located in this area as tourist landmarks. In order to do that, we analyzed the county and regional policies and strategies and looked for projects addressing cultural heritage in the area that were financed by European programmes. While highlighting the diverse tourism potential of the religious buildings, the counties’ development strategies also recommended the preservation and rehabilitation of the historical monuments and promoting them in an integrated manner, as parts of cultural and/or religious routes. These objectives have been realized mostly with the help of the European funds – more than 40 churches were renovated and more than 80 have been promoted using REGIO and INTERREG funds, and wooden churches in Maramureș and Sălaj counties and medieval churches in Satu Mare County were included in thematic routes. Moreover, the creation and promotion of more cultural tourism routes is one of the main objectives of the Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, adding more value to the region’s tourism potential. Keywords: cultural heritage, tourist routes, European funds, churches, Northern Transylvania.

Nanosensors: Unveiling the Invisible-Advancement in Drug Detection

Introduction Nanotechnology represents the designing, synthesis, characterization, and application of materials and devices whose size ranges in nanoscale is 1-100nm1. Which can be defined by the term, technology on the nanoscale. With the change in structure and size nanoscale material possesses distinct enhanced physiochemical properties due to dramatic changes from the bulk material to reduced material of size below 100nm2. Nanotechnology applications were first observed in Lycurgus glass and Medieval church windows which changed color in different lighting conditions due to nanoparticles with size ranges from 50-100nm. However, laureate Richard Feynman, an American physicist is considered the father of nanotechnology3. The nanoscale development has various importance involving possessing a high surface area which makes it suitable for drug delivery and other applications, it possesses numerous microscopic and macroscopic properties, and they form the combination of material science with biology, other than all the mentioned importance of nanotechnology the macroscopic materials made up of the nanoscale material possess high density which makes the nanomaterial batter conductor4. Different methods have been adopted to synthesize nanomaterials such as Top-Down Approach, Bottom-Up Approach, and Hybrid Approach3-5.

Scénická poznámka středověkého chrámového dramatu z hlediska obsahu a formy. Úvod do problematiky

The stage directions of medieval plays, the so-called rubrics, represent a unique and integral part of the dramatic text which is most often examined for the purpose of interpreting and reconstructing the staging aspect of a concrete play or general staging forms and conventions of the period theatre. Somewhat less attention has been paid to formal and stylistic aspects of rubrics, their language, purpose and their diverse functions within the text of the medieval play, their relation to the dialogue, and so on. The study presents the content, style and specific form of the rubrics of medieval Church drama and outlines possible ways of their interpretation with the help of modern theories and classification of stage directions in a drama. It is based on the previous extensive analyses of Latin rubrics of more than two hundred dramatic texts of medieval Church plays, consisting mostly of the Latin (or bilingual) liturgical plays staged within the close connection to liturgy in European monasteries and churches during the whole Middle Ages (i. e. Easter and Christmas drama, liturgical dramatizations connected to Marian feasts) and also several semi-liturgical or extra-liturgical religious plays.

Medieval Friar Minor Church in Brzeg – from the second half of the 13th to the beginning of the 16th century

This paper presents the results of interdisciplinary research that was carried out in the Friars Minor church in Brzeg. At first, monastery and church architecture is discussed and reference sources are analysed. The authors’ considerations are based on architectural and archaeological research, on the analysis of technology, construction material and architectural detail as well as on iconographic studies the authors have carried out. They form the grounds for the presentation of the medieval church that consisted of a three-span chancel and a two-aisle four-span nave, which was built at the end of the 13th century. The church was subjected to transformations in two phases. During the first phase, in the 2nd half of the 14th century, an altar bay was added and the south aisle was enlarged. During the second phase, at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, the church was reconstructed after a fire. In the summary, the authors set the stylistic transformations of church architecture in the context of the trends that developed in Silesia in the Middles Ages.

A Two-Way Choice: The Medieval Pipe Organ and the Development of Medieval Church Music

The pipe organ during the medieval period played a significant role in religious ceremonies and worship. During this time, the pipe organ was the primary instrument used in churches and cathedrals across Europe. Organ music of the medieval period was characterized by its solemnity, grandeur, and religious significance. This paper explores the intricate relationship between the medieval pipe organ and the development of church music during the medieval period. It examines the historical background, construction, religious significance, and evolution of the pipe organ alongside medieval church music and music education. This paper discusses the symbiotic connection between the advancement of the pipe organ and the education in medieval church music, highlighting the role of cultural, historical, and socio-political factors in shaping this relationship. Additionally, it explores the significance of the "Codex Faenza," a renowned collection of medieval instrumental works, in understanding the interplay between the pipe organ and medieval religion. Overall, the abstract underscores how the pipe organ served as more than a musical instrument; it acted as a cultural symbol, facilitating identity expression, cultural exploration, religious dissemination, and the display of power in medieval Europe.

Re St Michael and All Angels, Bampton

This Grade 1-listed mediaeval church had a substantial Georgian reredos. It dominated the east end of the church, hiding three-quarters of the plain-glazed east window. In 2012 a faculty permitted its temporary removal to another location in the church while essential works were done to the chancel. Following this, the consequent increase in light coming from the windows was welcomed by petitioners, and fragments of medieval wall painting were discovered behind plasterwork which the reredos had previously protected. The petitioners now wished to make the temporary removal of the reredos permanent, relocating it to hang above the west door.

Wolfdietrichs Wurm

Abstract The MHG epic ‘Wolfdietrich’ and the ON ‘Thidreks saga’ contain an unlucky fight against a dragon: Wolfdietrich or Thidrek af Bern helps a lion against it, but the dragon takes the lion in its mouth and the knight in its tail and drags them to its cave. This very characteristic situation was depicted in medieval church art, at least three times: 1. on floor-tiles found in the monastery of Pilis (Hungary), including the sword broken into three pieces and three dragon cubs (13th century or roughly around 1300); 2. in the cloister of St. Michael at Hildesheim (Lower Saxony), together with a second dragon (1230/50); 3. on the richly decorated ‘Schottenportal’ of St. James at Regensburg (Bavaria), left side (second half of the 13th century). The last depiction is therefore older than the different versions of the MHG epic and the compilation of the ON saga, probably attesting that the unlucky dragon fight was already a part of a pre-literary ‘Wolfdietrich’.

‘Ffylle the Cuppe and Make vs Mery’: Lobed Drinking Vessels and their Use in Later Medieval England

THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES CERAMIC LOBED VESSELS and the wider contexts in which they may have been used for communal drinking. 14th- and 15th-century archaeological evidence is explored alongside documentary sources and contemporary Romance stories which illuminate drinking rituals in domestic settings. From these strands of evidence it is shown that lobed cups and bowls were part of the drinking material culture used as emotants by affluent, middling elites. The main argument is that the decorated lobed vessels were suitable for the consumption of sweetened wine at the end of meals during the ‘voidee’, and for drinking wine or ale during the telling of stories. During the voidee, wine was served with spices or wafers as a paraliturgical ritual that was translated from rites more familiar in the medieval church. The communal drinking vessels could also have been used during the narration of popular Romance tales; their texts in the 15th century provided direct instructions for drinking and inspiration for drinking games. Characters and motifs of the Romance stories can also be matched to internal decoration of the lobed vessels. The objects are intertwined with the consumption of drink and food, religious ideas, moral guidance, and knightly adventures.

The Medieval Church and the Foundations of Impersonal Exchange

The Medieval Church and the Foundations of Impersonal Exchange

Unobvious geoheritage in sacral buildings: millstones in churches of NE Poland from a geological and geomorphological perspective

The article highlights the importance of medieval churches with embedded millstones as geocultural objects with a great geotouristic and educational potential. In the lowland areas of Northeastern Poland, 79 millstones and their semi-finished products were inventoried. Their sizes ranged from 70 to 100 cm in diameter. The majority of them were made of erratic boulders, mainly granitoids of Fennoscandian origin. Additionally, gneisses, sandstones, pegmatites, and basaltoid were also identified. An attempt was made to determine the degree of weathering of the millstones over several hundred years of exposure to external conditions. Measurements of moisture content and salinity of the walls surrounding 10 millstones embedded in the walls of 8 churches were taken three times (in spring, summer, and winter). Lower wall moisture was observed in the vicinity of the millstones, but only in the case of three walls, the salinity of the mortar binding the bricks and stones was at a low level. A weak but statistically significant negative correlation was found between the age of the churches and the hardness of the millstones measured with a Schmidt hammer.