This past Saturday, Medieval Group had an excursion to Durham to see the Anglo-Saxon stone sculpture housed in the Monk's Dormitory. So at 9:45 I met a couple other medievalists and friends of medievalists at the train station for the journey. The train was crowded and I could tell that tourist season had began, as quite a few Americans were conspicuously present.
The weather was wonderful. We walked from the station up to the cathedral and lunched at the restaurant across from the treasury. We got there early in order to have time to look around the cathedral itself before going to see the sculptures.
Durham is one of the most beautiful cathedrals in England. It was built with this wonderful orange sandstone. Construction on the present cathedral began in 1093 and it was finished after 40 years and most of the original structure is still intact. The main part of the cathedral is an excellent example of Romanesque architecture, and later additions, the Gallilee Chapel and Chapel of the Nine Altars, are built in the gothic style.
The cathedral is significant not only for its architectural beauty, but also because it is where the bones of St Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede now rest. Cuthbert was originally buried at Lindisfarne and Bede at Jarrow, but during period of Viking attacks, their bones were moved and eventually both ended up at Durham. You can see Cuthbert's wooden coffin (made in 697 when he was dug up 11 years after his death and found to be incorrupt) in the treasury. It's amazing to see an intact wooden coffin from the seventh century. Pictures of the apostles and archangels decorate the coffin. Bede rests in the Gallilee chapel. I still get goosebumps every time I go to his tomb. His work is such a pivotal part of my research. Because of Bede we know so much about the early history of England. Yet, part of my thesis is critique of Bede and reconstructing what he is deliberately not telling us. In my mind I picture him as resembling Ian Holm.
The tour of the Monk's Dormitory was great. Instead of housing monks, it is now used as a library, the type I'd like to spend my time lounging in. The stone sculpture was fantastic. Catherine Karkov, one of the foremost experts on Anglo-Saxon stone sculpture, gave a talk about the artefacts we saw in the Monk's Dormitory.
So, I took pictures. Unfortunately photographs were not allowed inside the cathedral, but I did take pictures inside the Monk's Dormitory and around Durham. Go see for yourself:
Monday, May 21, 2007
Friday, May 04, 2007
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