The Medieval Art, Architecture and History of Bristol Cathedral

by Cannon, Jon; Williamson, Beth

• ISBN13: 9781843836803
• ISBN10: 1843836807
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-12-15
• Publisher: Boydell Pr

Summary

Bristol cathedral, formerly the abbey of St Augustine, is a remarkable building. To medievalists it is an enigmatic and compelling place, filled with important work of various periods, work that raises a range of important questions about style, patronage and the intentions behind medieval architecture. Conversely, to the wider public, the cathedral is not well-known compared to others, such as Wells, Salisbury or Winchester; this spectacular building tends to hide its light under a bushel. Yet its remarkable, and controversial, east end alone is one of the most significant structures of its period in Europe. This volume aims to remedy the neglect by offering a history of St Augustine's. Highlights include the most detailed discussions to date of the later medieval history and architecture of the church and its community, and detailed papers on the dating, attribution, patronage and historiography of the east end. In their introduction and postscript the editors draw on the material presented in the collection to draw out the wider themes and lessons suggested by the building, themes that will be of interest to all with a serious interest in the study of medieval art. Contributors: Roger Leech, John McNeil, Sarah Boss, Christopher Wilson, Jon Cannon, Paul Crossley, Julian M. Luxford, James G. Clark, Joseph Bettey, Cathy Oakes, Beth Williamson

Author Biography

Jon cannon teaches medieval architectural history at the University of Bristol and elsewhere. He is the author of Cathedral: The Great English Cathedrals and the World that Made Them, and was the presenter of BBCtv's 'How to Build a Cathedral' (2008). Beth Williamson is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Bristol, where she specialises in medieval art and architecture. She is the author of The Madonna of Humility, the first volume in this series.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. vii
List of Contributors	p. X1V
Editors'Note	p. xvi
Acknowledgements	p. xvii
Introduction	p. i
On the Waterfront: The Early Medieval Landscape Setting of St Augustine's, Bristol	p. 20
The Romanesque Fabric	p. 32
Wisdom's House: Abbot David's Commissioning of the Elder Lady Chapel	p. 61
Gothic Metamorphosed: The Choir of St Augustine's Abbey in Bristol and the Renewal of European Architecture around 1300	p. 69
Berkeley Patronage and the Fourteenth-Century Choir	p. 148
Bristol Cathedral and Nikolaus Pevsner: Sondergotik in the West Country	p. 186
The Late Medieval Abbey: Patronage, Buildings and Images	p. 216
The Monastic Community of St Augustine's in the Later Middle Ages	p. 247
The Conversion of St Augustine's, Bristol, to a Cathedral	p. 263
Secreta tnea mihi: The Wall-Paintings from the Old Deanery of	p. 277
Epilogue	p. 300
Bibliography	p. 310
Index	p. 333
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