DOCSLIB.ORG

Durham Liber Vitae

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Durham Liber Vitae -414- DURHAM LIBER VITAE Durham Liber Vitae: First page (as shown on the project website) with the name of King Athelstan, supposed donor of the liber to Durham, at the top. Reproduced by permission of British Library. Further copying prohibited. © British Library: Cotton Domitian A. VII f.15r DURHAM LIBER VITAE -415- THE DURHAM LIBER VITAE: SOME REFLECTIONS ON ITS SIGNIFICANCE AS A GENEALOGICAL RESOURCE by Rosie Bevan1 ABSTRACT The Durham Liber Vitae holds great potential for the extraction of unmined genealogical information held within its pages, but the quality of information obtained will depend on our understanding of the document itself. This article explores briefly what a liber vitae was and gives examples of the type of information that can be extracted from the Durham liber with special reference to Countess Ida, mother of William Longespee. Foundations (2005) 1 (6): 414-424 © Copyright FMG The Durham Liber Vitae (Book of Life), which contains over 11,000 medieval names on 83 folios, recorded over a period from the ninth to the sixteenth century, is receiving some well-deserved study2. The names in the Liber Vitae are of benefactors to St Cuthbert’s, Durham, and included kings and earls, as well as other landowning laity. Also appearing in large numbers are the names of those belonging to the religious community itself over that period. From the late 1000s Breton and Norman- French names feature, intermingling with those belonging to Anglo-Saxon, Scottish and Scandinavian families, witness to intermarriage between, and eventual cultural dominance over, racial groups and land in northern England. The liber vitae appears to have been widespread throughout Europe, with surviving examples existing from Austria, Switzerland, Germany, France and Italy. Although major English religious houses such as Glastonbury, Abingdon, Peterborough and Ely are known have kept some form of liber vitae, these have been lost. The only three English examples known to exist are those of New Minster/Hyde Abbey (Hampshire), Thorney Abbey (Cambridgeshire) and Durham priory - the latter being by far the oldest. While traditionally ascribed to the monks of Lindisfarne, one recent theory is that it was created at the monastery at Wearmouth and passed to St Cuthbert’s when King Athelstan gave them the vill of Wearmouth in about 934 (Gerchow, 2004). The purpose of the liber vitae was to act as a kind of passport to salvation by ensuring that the name of the individual entered into it, owing to their support of a particular religious house, would appear in the celestial Book of Life which had existed since the Creation and which would be opened on Judgement Day. There are various references to the Book of Life in the Bible: 1 Rosie Bevan is a former NZ government service librarian, regular contributor to the newsgroup soc.med.genealogy, and editor of the corrigenda web pages of the Keats-Rohan compilations, ‘Domesday people’ and Domesday Descendants’ on the FMG web site (http://fmg.ac/Projects/Domesday). Contact details: [email protected] 2 The Durham Liber Vitae Project is a collaborative project between the AHRB Centre for North- East England History and Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College, London, aimed at promoting study of the liber and performing the difficult task of digitising the pages to make them available online http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/dlv -416- DURHAM LIBER VITAE And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. Revelation 20:12 He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. Revelation 3:5 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come. Revelation 17: 23 A prayer reflecting the intent of the book was recited as names were entered into the Durham liber, “We pray you, O Lord and Holy Father, through your son Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit, that their names may be written in the Book of Life” (Moore, 1997, p.168). Likewise, Bishop Aethelwold’s wish was expressed in the New Minster foundation charter that, “by the writing of their names, as is proper, in the Book of Life, may these persons have a share with Christ in the heavenly dwellings who shall have honoured his monks – whom he possesses – either in words or in deeds, by the work of holiness” (Keynes, 1996). After the reforms of its religious community in 1083 the Durham Liber Vitae seems to have also functioned as a liber obituum (book of the dead or necrology) a register in which religious communities entered the names of the dead, notably their own deceased members, associates, and principal benefactors with a view to the offering of prayers for their souls on the anniversary of their death. It had its origin in the old ‘diptychs’, or tablets, upon which were formerly entered the names which were read out by the priest at the Commemoration of the Living and the Commemoration of the Dead in the Canon of the Mass particularly on the anniversary of their death (Thurston, 1911). Not surprisingly the exclusive entry of one’s name in the register of a religious house, and commendation of the subject in the prayers through the good works of all its members, was highly prized (Moore, 1997). Mutual inclusion of the names of deceased brethren into each other's necrologies were continually negotiated between different abbeys and it became the custom for monasteries to send messengers with mortuary rolls requesting the promise of prayers which were to be entered on the roll and engaging the senders to pray for the deceased brethren of the monasteries who rendered them this service. The monks of Durham set up a network of this kind with their counterparts at Westminster, Gloucester, Winchester, Coventry, Fécamp, Caen, Canterbury, Glastonbury and other places. It is possibly for this reason that Roger Bigod and Alice de Tosny appear in the Durham liber, for Roger is also included in that of Thorney as he was present at the abbey in 1098 when the saints’ relics were translated to the new church at its re-dedication (Moore, 1997, p.174). Geoffrey Barrow once described the liber vitae as a ‘visitor’s book’ but there is no indication that the people whose names were recorded in the liber - unless members of the religious community - actually visited Durham in person. Nor can it be assumed that the entries were made in strict chronological order as the analogy of a visitor’s book suggests (Moore, 2004). After the individuals entered in the liber vitae died, they would benefit from the prayers of the community when, as at Durham, it was placed on the high altar during mass - though the sheer volume of numbers might make the recitation of all the DURHAM LIBER VITAE -417- names impractical. A similar practice occurred at Hyde abbey as shown by the preface of its liber vitae. Behold, in the name of God Almighty and of our Lord Jesus Christ and of His most Holy Mother, the ever-stainless Virgin Mary, and also of the twelve holy Apostles by whose teaching the world is rendered glorious in the faith, to whose honour this Minster in distinction to the old monastery hard by, there are set down here in due order the names of brethren and monks, of members of the household or of benefactors living and dead, that by the perishable memorial of this writing they may be written in the page of the heavenly book, by the virtue of whose alms deeds this same family, through Christ's bounty, is fed. And let also the names of all those who have commended themselves to its prayers and its fellowship be recorded here in general, in order that remembrance may be made of them daily in the sacred celebration of the Mass or in the harmonious chanting of psalms. And let the names themselves be presented daily by the subdeacon before the altar at the early or principal Mass, and as far as time shall allow let them be recited by him in the sight of the Most High. And after the oblation has been offered to God by the right hand of the cardinal priest who celebrates the Mass, let the names be laid upon the holy altar during the very mysteries of the sacred Mass and be commended most humbly to God Almighty so that as remembrance is made of them upon earth, so in the life to come, by His indulgence who alone knows how they stand or are hereafter to stand in His sight, the glory of those who are of greater merit may be augmented in Heaven and the account of those who are less worthy may be lightened in His secret judgments. Be ye glad and rejoice that your names are written in Heaven, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with God the Eternal Father and the Holy Ghost, there remains all honour power, and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Thurston, 1911). According to Moore (1997, p.171) the sex ratio in the Durham liber is 151 males to 100 females, which reflects an initial desire to include all members of the family.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • How Useful Are Episcopal Ordination Lists As a Source for Medieval English Monastic History?
    Jnl of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. , No. , July . © Cambridge University Press doi:./S How Useful are Episcopal Ordination Lists as a Source for Medieval English Monastic History? by DAVID E. THORNTON Bilkent University, Ankara E-mail: [email protected] This article evaluates ordination lists preserved in bishops’ registers from late medieval England as evidence for the monastic orders, with special reference to religious houses in the diocese of Worcester, from to . By comparing almost , ordination records collected from registers from Worcester and neighbouring dioceses with ‘conven- tual’ lists, it is concluded that over per cent of monks and canons are not named in the extant ordination lists. Over half of these omissions are arguably due to structural gaps in the surviving ordination lists, but other, non-structural factors may also have contributed. ith the dispersal and destruction of the archives of religious houses following their dissolution in the late s, many docu- W ments that would otherwise facilitate the prosopographical study of the monastic orders in late medieval England and Wales have been irre- trievably lost. Surviving sources such as the profession and obituary lists from Christ Church Canterbury and the records of admissions in the BL = British Library, London; Bodl. Lib. = Bodleian Library, Oxford; BRUO = A. B. Emden, A biographical register of the University of Oxford to A.D. , Oxford –; CAP = Collectanea Anglo-Premonstratensia, London ; DKR = Annual report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records, London –; FOR = Faculty Office Register, –, ed. D. S. Chambers, Oxford ; GCL = Gloucester Cathedral Library; LP = J. S. Brewer and others, Letters and papers, foreign and domestic, of the reign of Henry VIII, London –; LPL = Lambeth Palace Library, London; MA = W.
    [Show full text]
  • Of St Cuthbert'
    A Literary Pilgrimage of Durham by Ruth Robson of St Cuthbert' 1. Market Place Welcome to A Literary Pilgrimage of Durham, part of Durham Book Festival, produced by New Writing North, the regional writing development agency for the North of England. Durham Book Festival was established in the 1980s and is one of the country’s first literary festivals. The County and City of Durham have been much written about, being the birthplace, residence, and inspiration for many writers of both fact, fiction, and poetry. Before we delve into stories of scribes, poets, academia, prize-winning authors, political discourse, and folklore passed down through generations, we need to know why the city is here. Durham is a place steeped in history, with evidence of a pre-Roman settlement on the edge of the city at Maiden Castle. Its origins as we know it today start with the arrival of the community of St Cuthbert in the year 995 and the building of the white church at the top of the hill in the centre of the city. This Anglo-Saxon structure was a precursor to today’s cathedral, built by the Normans after the 1066 invasion. It houses both the shrine of St Cuthbert and the tomb of the Venerable Bede, and forms the Durham UNESCO World Heritage Site along with Durham Castle and other buildings, and their setting. The early civic history of Durham is tied to the role of its Bishops, known as the Prince Bishops. The Bishopric of Durham held unique powers in England, as this quote from the steward of Anthony Bek, Bishop of Durham from 1284-1311, illustrates: ‘There are two kings in England, namely the Lord King of England, wearing a crown in sign of his regality and the Lord Bishop of Durham wearing a mitre in place of a crown, in sign of his regality in the diocese of Durham.’ The area from the River Tees south of Durham to the River Tweed, which for the most part forms the border between England and Scotland, was semi-independent of England for centuries, ruled in part by the Bishop of Durham and in part by the Earl of Northumberland.
    [Show full text]
  • Durham Priory – Prior of Holy Island's Accounts
    Durham Priory – Prior of Holy Island’s Accounts (performances are at Durham except where marked HI; HI+D indicates accounts that include performances at both Holy Island and Durham) Introduction 1339-1537, but there is no relevant material before 1342. Usually one or two membranes, overall length 312-774 mm., width 169-323 mm., but the roll that combines drafts of the accounts for 1342-3 and 1344-5 has five membranes, overall length 2918 mm. Single column, with undivided expenses; most accounts allow a separate line for each item, but there is an isolated case of multiple items in 1390-1. Terminal dates for relevant accounts are: 1342-3 – 25th April 1362-3 – Pope Mark (7th October) to the First Sunday in Lent (19th February) 1390-1 – Ascension Day to the Sunday after the Purification of the Virgin 1393-7 – Ascension Day From 1430 onwards the usual terminal date is Pentecost, with the following exceptions: 1442-3 – Two accounts, with a change of prior at Martinmas (11th November) 1532-3 – Monday after Ascension. Holy Island (or Lindisfarne) was historically the most significant of all the Durham cells, and one of the oldest Christian sites in Northumbria. Given by St. Oswald to St. Aidan as the seat of his new bishopric in 634,1 it had also been the seat of St. Cuthbert, and hence of the Community of St. Cuthbert, from which the Priory, City and Bishopric of Durham were all derived. But although its lands formed part of the original endowment of the Priory, it is not known when monastic life was re-established there after the Community fled from Viking attack in 876.
    [Show full text]
  • THE DISSOLUTION of the MONASTERIES: an ECONOMIC STUDY by John Clifford Solomon
    THE DISSOLUTION OF THE MONASTERIES: AN ECONOMIC STUDY by John Clifford Solomon Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in History APPROVED: M. A. Alexander, Chairman T. C. Howard W. E. Mackie May, 1982 Blacksburg, Virginia ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Thomas Howard and Dr. William Mackie for their helpful suggestions and criticisms of this paper. I also greatly appreciate the friendship and encouragement that I received from my fellow graduate students particularly Ms. Wendy Walker. The writer would also like to thank Mrs. Connie Aikens for her diligence and patience in typing my manuscript. I am especially grateful to Dr. Michael Alexander, who gave so willingly of himself during the preparation of this paper. Most of all I would like to thank my parents, Saul and Alberta, for their love, understanding, and willingness to listen. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgments ii Introduction 1 Chapters I. The Road to Dissolution 12 II. The Dissolution and the Successors to the Monks ............... 35 III. The Dissolution and its Contribution to Industrial Development in England . 71 IV. The Dissolution and its Contribution to Agriculture . 104 Bibliography 137 Vita 148 Abstract iii Introduction When Henry VIII ascended the throne in 1509 there were close to 850 monastic foundations of various size, descrip- tion, and wealth in England. ·These included over 500 monasteries, 136 nunneries, and 200 friaries, in addition of course to several thousand chantries and various minor religious establishments. During the 1520's some twenty- nine of the smaller monasteries were dissolved by Cardinal Wolsey for his special purposes; and between 1535 and 1540 Henry VIII and his chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, dissolved all the remaining ones.
    [Show full text]
  • Palace Green Market Place W Alkergate North Road Crossgate
    THE MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF DURHAM UNIVERSITY Carrville Pity Me University Hospital Keiper County Hall Newcastle ➡ Freeman’s Quay alkergate W Durham Hild Bede St Giles Market Place Claypath North Road s Lane on Elvet Bridge Renny’ Elvet ➡ Bailey Colleges Darlingt Crossgate Palace Green DSU Maiden Castle Queen’s Campus Neville’s Cross Lower Mountjoy South Road 2017 ISSUE 03 Hill Colleges ISSUE 03 2017 DUNELM MAGAZINE 3 It is an exciting time to be part of, or connected to, Durham University. Durham is one of the world’s great universities and one of the most distinctive. Our future is bright. Nevertheless, we can do better and our new University Strategy 2017-2027 includes ambitious proposals to ensure our long-term sustainability and continued world-leading position in research, education and wider student experience. We remain committed to our core values, including The new Ogden Centre for our collegiate system, and will build on our Fundamental Physics strengths. But we are also prepared to make radical changes where needed. For our alumni members, we are committed to building an offer that will match the top performers in the UK, while learning also from the US and around the world. As part of the Dunelm community you will have improved access to the University’s intellectual, cultural and employment-related resources, as well as bespoke products and opportunities for networking. We will ensure that events are held in Durham, London, and around the world. And to allow you to 5 connect with our current students, we will deliver over time a properly resourced system of peer to peer mentoring.
    [Show full text]
  • Old English Libraries; the Making, Collection and Use of Books During
    Presented to the UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY by the ONTARIO LEGISLATIVE LIBRARY 1980 THE ANTIQUARY'S BOOKS GENERAL EDITOR: J. CHARLES COX, LL.D., F.S.A. OLD ENGLISH LIBRARIES tame antcotflttnrt mcrrto Arm to ABBOT WHETHAMSTEDE OLD ENGLIS1 LIBRARIES a!U. THE MAKING, COLLECTION, AND USE OF BOOKS DURING THE MIDDLE AGES BY ERNEST A. SAVAGE WITH FIFTY-TWO ILLUSTRATIONS METHUEN & CO. LTD. 36 ESSEX STREET W.C. LONDON First Published in ipn PREFACE the arrangement and equipment of WITHlibraries this essay has little to do : the ground being already covered adequately by Dr. Clark in his admirable monograph on The Care of Books. Herein is described the making, use, and circulation of books considered as a means of literary culture. It seemed possible to throw a useful sidelight on literary history, and to introduce some human interest into the study of bibliography, if the place held by books in the life of the Middle Ages could be indicated. Such, at all events, was my aim, but I am far from sure of my success in it out and I offer this book as carrying ; merely a discursive and popular treatment of a subject which seems to me of great interest. The book has suffered from one unhappy circum- stance. It was planned in collaboration with my friend Mr. James Hutt, M.A., but unfortunately, owing to a breakdown of health, Mr. Hutt was only able to help me in the composition of the chapter on the Libraries of Oxford, which is chiefly his work. Had it been possible for Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Economic-History-England1270-1870
    Original citation: Broadberry, Stephen, Campbell, Bruce, Klein, Alexander, Overton, Mark and Leeuwen, Bas van, 1978- (2010) British economic growth : 1270 - 1870. Working Paper. Coventry, UK: Department of Economics, University of Warwick. (CAGE Online Working Paper Series). Permanent WRAP url: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/57581 Copyright and reuse: The Warwick Research Archive Portal (WRAP) makes this work of researchers of the University of Warwick available open access under the following conditions. Copyright © and all moral rights to the version of the paper presented here belong to the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. To the extent reasonable and practicable the material made available in WRAP has been checked for eligibility before being made available. Copies of full items can be used for personal research or study, educational, or not-for- profit purposes without prior permission or charge. Provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. A note on versions: The version presented here is a working paper or pre-print that may be later published elsewhere. If a published version is known of, the above WRAP url will contain details on finding it. For more information, please contact the WRAP Team at: [email protected] http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/ December 2010 No.35 British Economic Growth: 1270 - 1870 Stephen Broadberry (University of Warwick), Bruce Campbell (Queen‟s University
    [Show full text]
  • University of York December 1991
    THE BOWES OF STREATLAM. COUNTY DURHAM: A STUDY OF THE POLITICS AND RELIGION OF A SIXTEENTH CENTURY NORTHERNGENTRY FAMILY. CHRISTINE MARY NEWMAN SUBMITTED FOR THE QUALIFICATION OF DOCTOROF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITYOF YORK DEPARTMENTOF HISTORY DECEMBER1991 CONTENTS Abbreviations. p. 5 Introduction. p. 7 1. The Bowes of Streatlam in the Later Middle Ages: p. 22 the Foundation of Family, Inheritance and Tradition. 2. Service, Rebellion and Achievement; p. 71 Robert Bowes and the Pilgrimage of Grace. 3. The Rewards of Loyalty: p. 126 Robert Bowes and the Late Henrician Regime. 4. The Bowes of Streatlam and the Era of Reform: p. 171 1547-1553. 5. Sir George Bowes and the Defence of p. 226 the North: 1558-1569. 6. The House of Bowes and the end of an Era. p. 260 Conclusion: The Bowes of Streatlam and the p. 307 Tudor Regime: An Overview. Bibliography. p. 344 -2- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe an immense debt of gratitude to my supervisor, Professor M. C. Cross of the Department of History, University of York, whose inspirational guidance and encouragement has made the completion of this thesis possible. I would like, also, to thank Dr. A. J. Pollard, Reader in History at Teesside Polytechnic, who first introduced me to the Bowes family and who has provided me with considerable support and advice throughout the course of my study. I am grateful, too, for the unfailing support and encouragement given to me by members of Professor Cross's postgraduate seminar group, particularly Dr. D. Lamburn, Dr. D. Scott and Mr. J. Holden. Special thanks are due to the Earl of Strathmore who kindly granted me access to the Bowes letterbooks, held amongst the muniments at Glamis Castle.
    [Show full text]
  • The Economic Problems of English Monasteries in the Early Fourteenth Century
    This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 68—2989 GORSUCH, Edwin Noah, 1939- THE ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF ENGLISH MONASTERIES IN THE EARLY FOURTEENTH CENTURY. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1967 History, medieval University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan THE ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF ENGLISH MONASTERIES IN THE EARLY FOURTEENTH CENTURY DISSERTATION Presented In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Edwin Noah Gorsuch, B.S., M.A. The Ohio State University 1967 Approved by Ady^patr Department of Hl^ory VITA August 28, 1939 Born - Wauseon, Ohio 1962 .................. B.S., Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 1962-1963.............. Teaching Assistant, Department of History, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 1964 .................. M.A., Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio I96A-I967. ....... Teaching Assistant, Department of History, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio FIELDS OP STUDY Major Field: History Medieval History. Professor Franklin J. Pegues Ancient History. Professor William P. McDonald Renaissance and Reformation History. Professor Harold J. Grimm Recent American History. Professor Robert H. Bremner ii TABLE OP CONTENTS Page VITA ..................................................... 11 LIST OP ABBREVIATIONS........................ Iv INTRODUCTION........................................... 1 Chapter I. THE ECONOMIC BACKGROUND.......................... 5 II. MONASTIC ECONOMIC BURDENS...........................26 III. METHODS FOR IMPROVING AND PROTECTING MONASTIC ECONOMIC RESOURCES ............................. 61 IV. MISMANAGEMENT AND VISITATION..................... 103 V. CONCLUSION.................... 136 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................ 14? Ill LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS OCR Calendar of Close Rolls. 1302-135^» vols. London: Eyre & Spottlswoode, 1698-I906. CER Calendar of Patent Rolls. 1301~1350. 14 vols. London: Eyre and Spottlswoode, 1898-1905* Carus-Wilson, Essays Carus-Wilson, E.M.
    [Show full text]
  • Shared Visions: North-East Regional Research Framework for The
    Shared Visions: The North-East Regional Research Framework for the Historic Environment by David Petts with Christopher Gerrard Shared Visions: The North-East Regional Research Framework for the Historic Environment by David Petts with Christopher Gerrard and contributions by David Cranstone, John Davies, Fiona Green, Jenny Price, Peter Rowe, Chris Tolan-Smith, Clive Waddington and Rob Young Front Cover: Geophysical survey of the Roman settlement at East Park, Sedgefield (Co. Durham). © Archaeological Services Durham University © Durham County Council & the authors, 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Published by Durham County Council, 2006 ISBN 1-897585-86-1 Contents Foreword Summaries Acknowledgements 1. Introduction 1 2. Resource assessment: scientific techniques 7 3. Resource assessment: Palaeolithic and Mesolithic 11 (with John Davies, Peter Rowe, Chris Tolan-Smith, Clive Waddington and Rob Young) 4. Resource assessment: Neolithic and Early Bronze Age 21 5. Resource assessment: Later Bronze Age and Iron Age 33 6. Resource assessment: Roman 43 (with Jenny Price) 7. Resource assessment: early medieval 61 8. Resource assessment: later medieval 73 9. Resource assessment: post-medieval 85 (with David Cranstone and Fiona Green) 10. Resource assessment: 20th century 109 11. Research agendas: introduction 119 12. Palaeolithic and Mesolithic research agenda 121 13. Neolithic and Early Bronze Age research agenda 127 14. Late Bronze Age and Iron Age research agenda 135 15. Roman research agenda 143 16. Early medieval research agenda 155 17.
    [Show full text]
  • In the 1530S, Shortly Before the Dissolution in 1539, Durham
    Durham Cathedral Library from the Dissolution to the Restoration David Pearson The text of a lecture given as part of the Institute of English Studies History of Libraries Research Seminar series, 27 February 2008 In the 1530s, shortly before the dissolution in 1539, Durham Cathedral Priory possessed one of the major institutional libraries of medieval England, with well over 1000 volumes, both manuscript and printed, distributed in various places around the monastery.1 A little under 100 years later, shortly after the turn of the 17th century, the Cathedral Library was described in rather different terms by Robert Hegge: “this book had better fortune in the sea, than the books of Saint Cuthbert have now in his library at Durham, which was once a little Vatican of choice manuscripts, but now rather a [bibliotaphion] than a library: rather a place of sepulchre, than a place to conserve books: for since the art of printing was invented, old manuscripts were bequeathed to the moths: and pigeons, and jackdaws became the only students in church-libraries: and books were wounded with pen-knives for their pictures, with as great cruelty, as Cassia, or Johannes Scotus martyred by their own scholars”.2 The story of the Cathedral Library in the 150 years following the dissolution, like that of a number of other cathedral libraries, is something of a rise and fall from riches to rags and back again, with more than one reversal of fortunes before the relatively calm waters of the later 17th century allowed things to proceed in an altogether calmer and more orderly fashion.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Image and Devotion in Durham Cathedral Priory
    1 IMAGE AND DEVOTION IN DURHAM CATHEDRAL PRIORY AND YORK MINSTER, c.1300-c.1540: NEW CONTEXTS, NEW PERSPECTIVES Volume 1 of 2 PHILIPPA MARGARET TURNER MA (Hons.) MA (Dist.) PhD UNIVERSITY OF YORK HISTORY OF ART SEPTEMBER 2014 2 ABSTRACT Religious images in various media, especially three-dimensional sculpture, were usually an important component of the physical topographies and devotional practices within ecclesiastical institutions during the period c.1300-c.1540. So far, discussion of these images has largely focused on continental contexts and on the English parochial context. This thesis addresses the English cathedral context in detail, providing a close reading of the images at two contrasting institutions in the north of England: Durham cathedral priory and York Minster. Unlike the continent, where there are rich survivals of medieval images, investigation of the English context is rendered more difficult by the lack of extant objects. Part One therefore uses primarily documentary sources to build up the image-topographies of both institutions. Part Two analyses aspects of these images comparatively, incorporating further comparison with those in other English cathedrals, great abbeys, and the parochial context, as well as continental cathedrals. It explores the connections between images and those who worshipped in these cathedral churches, the relationships that could be constructed between images, and between images and other sacred objects, especially saints’ shrines. This thesis therefore presents a new art-historical reading of these interiors and their users, and demonstrates the importance of the religious image in the physical and imaginative spaces within the late medieval English cathedral. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract………………………………………………………….....2 List of Illustrations…………………………………………………6 A Note on Transcriptions………………………………………….23 Acknowledgements……………………………………………….24 Author’s Declaration……………………………………………...25 Introduction…………………………………………………….…26 i.
    [Show full text]