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A Study of Hagioscopes in Northern England and Their Meaning for Pre Reformation

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A Study of Hagioscopes in Northern England and Their Meaning for Pre Reformation A study of Hagioscopes in Northern England and their meaning for pre Reformation Catholic worship with particular reference to St Cuthbert’s Halsall in Lancashire. Halsall St Cuthbert's church is a 14 century medieval church constructed of fine sandstone. At the time of its construction the chancel was separated from the nave by a huge rood screen and loft, which was probably dismantled in the reign of Elizabeth I. The church has undergone renovation chiefly to the north and south aisles which were rebuilt in the 19th century. The nave pillars, most of the chancel, chancel arch and tower are 13th, 14th and 15th century respectively. It retains many of its Catholic pre Reformation features including a curious set of Hagioscopes, and unlike anywhere else, a triple Hagioscope. The figure 1 indicates the parts of the church with dates of construction. Figure 1 Plan of Church The church probably replaced another church on the site which was wooden. One small area of foundation and a 12th century font together with records of rectors predating the existing church are evidence of this. The construction of the present church began about 1270. The Lateran council in Rome of 1215 made the rite of the mass sacrificial and the idea of transubstantiation shifted the focus of worship towards a sacred area and a stone altar in the east of the church. The Gothic construction which flourished in northern France meant increased space and light, and this aesthetic aspect created a new visual focus on the divine. (Peterson 2018). This influenced the plethora of church building in parishes in 12th and 13th century Britain. Lancashire was considered the poorest county in England, the South-West was tucked away in a remote part of the realm, far from Its Cathedral city of Lichfield which was seat of the diocese. The population was sparse the marsh land meant It had poor communications and access into the county. There were only 56 parishes 1291-1641 though pop increased increasing two and half times from 1377-1563. A third of local patronage in the hands of local families and the parishes were large. After the Reformation the charitable giving to the church was5 times greater in Lancashire than in Norfolk. The piety increased while in the South of the country it decreased. Haigh (1975) gives instances where the reverence for the host and seeing the host quelled local disturbances and demanded devotion and reverence during the mass. Of the few churches built in the area in medieval times Halsall was unique in having an Easter Sepulchre built into the fabric. The churches at Ormskirk and Aughton are fairly close to Halsall and have similar octagonal spires but neither of these two churches have an existing Easter Sepulchre. Sefton's medieval church, seven miles away retains many antiquities including a rood screen but does not have an Easter Sepulchre built into the fabric or a Chancel arch like Halsall. The nearest church which may have had an Easter Sepulchre is St Wilfred in Standish near Wigan, which has a Chancel arch and a Hagioscope, which is in the right position to keep a vigil but there is no evidence of an Easter Sepulchre, though it may have been a portable wooden structure. In Ribchester there is a niche in the north wall which it is believed was used as an Easter Sepulchre. What is a Hagioscope and why has Halsall been furnished with several of these medieval squints. The word Hagioscopes comes from the Greek meaning holy and scope which is a view. The Hagioscope has to be understood in the context of late 13C belief and construction. On first appearance the Hagioscopes high up on the chancel arch in Halsall Church seem to have an obvious use. They were there for the bell ringer to sound the sacring bell from the vantage point of being able to see the main altar and the worshippers in the nave. He was the link between the secular and the divine. However these Hagioscopes set us more questions because their use extends beyond the obvious. From the evening of Maundy Thursday until Easter Sunday morning, in accordance with Catholic tradition, the central altar would be stripped back to stone and left bare, a symbol of Christ's death. In accordance with the Sarum rite* of worship and as part of their Easter devotion, villagers desired to view the Easter Sepulchre in Holy Week. The Sepulchre is an arched recess in the north wall of the chancel. The sacred elements, which are the body and blood of Christ in the consecrated bread and wine, were taken from the high altar and rested here in commemoration of Christ’s entombment after the passion. A constant vigil had to be kept and the villagers kept a vigil, as part of their devotion and usually they would look through squints in the rood screen because only the clergy were allowed access into the Chancel, which was the holiest part of the church. The council of Laodenia in the 4th century had decided that only priests and clergy should be permitted in this area. The rood screen in Halsall has since been removed, but this separated the clergy from the lay person and the secular from the divine. Such is the perspective from the nave that it was probably difficult to view the Easter Sepulchre through the squints on the Rood screen. The Easter Sepulchre with its elaborate arch and carved tracery, would have been topped by statues of the risen Christ and angels on the plinths (which remain empty today). It may also have had a painted backdrop of the garden tomb in the recess. Decorated with candle light and flowers it was quite a spectacle. Eamon Duffy (1992) suggests, ‘many of these candles would be bequests because this was a form of offering which was one of the commonest mortuary provisions that needed to be equated with Christ's resurrection. Local guilds may also have provided lights, likewise, shepherds, herdsmen or others involved in work, which prevented them from hearing the mass, would donate lights to be lit in the Easter Sepulchre so that their presence would be there in token. It was, in all, a powerful display of piety in medieval England’. Figure 2 Hagioscope at Brough, Durham Figure 3 Easter Sepulchre To view this splendour from a point of vantage is to enter the chancel arch. On entering the Saint Nicholas chapel, the height of the door suggests that the average stature of medieval man was several inches smaller than today. A finely carved newel post is the first feature you encounter on ascent up a winding stone staircase. At the sixth step an arrangement of three apertures in the form of small slit windows present an extremely rare and possibly unique feature in a medieval church. The Hagioscopes within the turret stairwell, permitted an elevated and oblique view of this side altar. Entry to these stairs was outside of the chancel and so gave a perspective to the ordinary layperson. This feature is unique to Halsall because very few churches had permanent Easter Sepulchres and a permanent means of viewing during the vigil for the congregation. There are not a great many Hagioscopes, in the country, which remain in situ for the purpose for which they were intended. Many are blocked up and most gave a view of the main altar and were built to allow people, who were stricken with plague or leprosy, to see the celebration of mass, on the high altar, from outside the church or from a part of the church separate from the congregation. The church of St Mary in Staindrop in Durham has a hermit window allowing a view of the central altar from an elevated cell above the chancel. It has since been blocked up. Near to Staindrop in the church of St Michael at Brough, a Hagioscope gave views of the main altar from outside the church in medieval times but an additional wall has now been added, see figure 3. However there is an example of a leper squint at Aldingham in Cumbria and at St Wilfrid’s Ribchester in Lancashire on the north wall which may have had an alternative use as an Easter Sepulchre. This is not the situation at Halsall because access to the Hagioscopes is by entry through a door in the church and into an enclosed space. The left window gives a view of the nave near the entrance to the Chancel but is now partly obscured by the lectern which was erected in the 19th century. It allowed an elevated view of the congregation when they came up to receive communion. They were not allowed into the Chancel to kneel at an altar rail as they do today, instead they stood at the rood screen entrance and the priest would distribute communion via a little gate unlocked for that purpose. The communicants would be scrutinised by a hidden watcher from this window looking for lax behaviour, he would also be ensuring people conformed to the correct pecking order in terms of status. The right hand window looks out onto the graveyard and to the location of the original eastern gate entrance, which was part of the way along Cross Lane, this was the original road that passed by the church. Its purpose was to ensure nobody but clergy entered the door which existed on the south side of the chancel. A further squint window higher up the turret on the 17th step looked out onto the elaborate stone entrance which was part way along what is now called Summerwood Lane a south eastern entrance this may also have been to watch that people were reverent in the churchyard because this was hallowed ground and also to look out for latecomers.
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