Jamieson, Erin (2021) Windows, Atmospheres and Experience in Medieval Cypriot Castles. Mphil(R) Thesis
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Jamieson, Erin (2021) Windows, atmospheres and experience in medieval Cypriot castles. MPhil(R) thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/81896/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Windows, atmospheres and experience in medieval Cypriot castles Windows in the Great Hall of St Hilarion Erin Jamieson MA Archaeology Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Philosophy October 2020 School of Humanities College of Arts University of Glasgow © Erin Jamieson 2020 i Abstract Although often overlooked in archaeology, windows play an important role in past experiences of buildings. In this thesis I am aiming to understand the importance of windows to the experience of medieval Cypriot buildings. To do this I will develop the study of atmospheres as a methodology – initially used as an alternative to phenomenology in prehistoric archaeology, I will show how it can be well suited to historical archaeology, and the study of historical buildings in particular. By using all sources available to us, from historical documents to the standing buildings, contemporary art to personal impressions, we can begin to understand not just what people were experiencing in terms of sensory information, but also what this information meant. Not just holes in walls, windows allow sensory information from other spaces – something which is central in the experience of the spaces in the past, playing a part in social hierarchies, safety and practicality. In order to study this, I have chosen to focus on the medieval buildings of Cyprus, specifically the three castles of St Hilarion, Kyrenia and Kolossi. Experiencing these castles for myself, seen alongside medieval Cypriot, Italian and French sources, I can start to piece together aspects of the experiences of the people who lived and worked in these buildings. i Table of Contents 1 Introduction! Welcome! ___________________________________________________________________ 1 Aims and questions ______________________________________________________________________ 1 Cyprus and its castles ____________________________________________________________________ 2 All set? ________________________________________________________________________________ 4 2 What’s this and what’s that? Theory and context _____________________________________________ 10 What are atmospheres? _________________________________________________________________ 10 What are windows?_____________________________________________________________________ 13 What is medieval Cypriot historical archaeology? _____________________________________________ 16 What is experience-based medieval buildings archaeology? _____________________________________ 18 Conclusions ___________________________________________________________________________ 20 3 Methodology (or not) ____________________________________________________________________ 21 Atmospheres and doing archaeology _______________________________________________________ 21 Why write like this? _____________________________________________________________________ 23 Conclusions ___________________________________________________________________________ 25 4 Fixtures and fittings – what’s the deal with windows? _________________________________________ 26 Art historical evidence ___________________________________________________________________ 26 Archaeological evidence _________________________________________________________________ 39 Historical evidence______________________________________________________________________ 41 The case studies ________________________________________________________________________ 42 Conclusions ___________________________________________________________________________ 45 5 Atmospheres of Paradise _________________________________________________________________ 46 In-a-Gadda-da-vida baby ________________________________________________________________ 46 “Oooh baby do you know what that’s worth, oooh heaven is a place on earth” ______________________ 53 Paradise lost __________________________________________________________________________ 60 Conclusions ___________________________________________________________________________ 62 6 Atmospheres of Life _____________________________________________________________________ 63 Practical magic ________________________________________________________________________ 63 “I’ve got a feeling, somebody’s watching me, and I have no privacy (wooah-oh)” ____________________ 71 Certain spaces certain senses _____________________________________________________________ 76 Conclusions ___________________________________________________________________________ 78 7 Atmospheres of fear and anxiety __________________________________________________________ 79 Putting up a fight _______________________________________________________________________ 79 Here I am, stuck in a dungeon with you _____________________________________________________ 87 Things that go bump in the night __________________________________________________________ 89 Conclusions ___________________________________________________________________________ 93 ii 8 Connecting and separating Medieval Cypriot spaces ___________________________________________ 94 No building is safe ______________________________________________________________________ 97 Final conclusions _______________________________________________________________________ 98 9 Appendix A – Making medieval glass _______________________________________________________ 99 10 Appendix B – Translation of Philip of Novara’s song _________________________________________ 100 11 Bibliography _________________________________________________________________________ 101 iii List of figures All figures from online sources have the link to their website embedded in the caption; for example, if you see wga.hu or Petre 2010 in a caption it will take you to the specific source pictured. However, the full url is also included below, all accessed as of 28/9/20. References for online text sources for figures such as Petre 2010 and Khalil, Camiz and Khafizova 2017 can be found in the bibliography. All other pictures are my own unless stated. 1 Introduction 1.1 – A map of the castles and fortifications of Cyprus, from Petre 2010, vii _________________3 1.2 – Numbered and phased plan of Kyrenia castle from Petre 2010, 247 __________________5 1.3 – Plan of all three enceintes of St Hilarion from Khalil, Camiz and Khafizova 2017 _________6 1.4 – Plans of the upper and middle enceintes of St Hilarion from Khalil, Camiz and Khafizova 2017 _________________________________________________________________________7 1.5 – Plan of the ground floor level of Kolossi castle from Petre 2010, 214 __________________8 1.6 – Upper Floors of Kolossi castle from Petre 2010, 219 _______________________________9 3 Methodology (or not) 3.1 – Example of a plan annotated on site at St Hilarion ________________________________23 4 Fixtures and fittings – what’s the deal with windows 4.1 – Detail of a fresco of the stoning of St Stephen, 12th Century, Swiss, https://www.wga.hu/html/zgothic/mural/12c1/42swiss.html ______________________________27 4.2 – Illustration from The works of Hugh of St Victor, 1190s, French, MS.Laud Misc. 409 f.3v, https://www.wga.hu/html/zgothic/miniatur/1151-200/3french/29french.html _________________27 4.3 – A typical Byzantine style illustration, c. 1078, MS.Coislin 79f.2v, https://www.wga.hu/html/zgothic/miniatur/1051-100/02_1053.html ________________________28 4.4 – The funerary icon for a young Cypriot girl, Cypriot, c.1356, https://digital.library.temple.edu/digital/collection/p245801coll10/id/80681/ __________________28 4.5 – Detail of a crossing vault in the upper church at Assisi by Cimabue, 1277-80, Italian, https://www.wga.hu/html/c/cimabue/assisi/vault.html ___________________________________28 4.6 – The life of Beata Umiltà by Pietro Lorenzetti, c. 1314, Italian, https://www.wga.hu/html/l/lorenzet/pietro/2/14umilta.html _______________________________29 4.7 – Fresco of the funeral of St Lucy by Altichiero da Zevio, 1378-84, Italian, https://www.wga.hu/html/a/altichie/1/4saints3.html ____________________________________29 4.8 – Detail of Healing of the Blind man (scene 7) by Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1308-11, Italian, https://www.wga.hu/html/d/duccio/maesta/predel_v/pre_v_7.html ________________________30 4.9 – Detail of The Conformation of Rule by Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1483, Italian, https://www.wga.hu/cgi- bin/highlight.cgi?file=html/g/ghirland/domenico/5sassett/frescoes/5confir1.html&find=rule _____30 4.10 – Detail of The Healing of the Mute, part of the Miracles of San Bernardino, by Pietro Perugino, 1473, Italian, https://wikioo.org/en/paintings.php?refarticle=ARJAY4&titlepainting=The%2520Miracles%2520of% 2520San%2520Bernardino%2520The%2520Healing%2520of%2520a%2520Mute&artistname=Pie tro%2520Perugino%2520(Pietro%2520Vannucci) _____________________________________31