My next essay is due in less than three weeks, and I’m struggling with it more than I think I have with any other essay. It’s not because I don’t like the subject matter, I think the problem is that I’m spoiled for choice and have so many interests connected to the subject that it is hard for me to sort out what I want to focus on; and more specifically, how to properly answer the question:
“Choose three parish churches with substantial medieval fabric and furnishings. Analyse the medieval elements of the buildings and their fittings and discuss their use for the local historian as historical evidence.”
Here’s my chance to write about a subject that really interests me: Medieval church architecture and decoration. My first reaction to the question was to try to find a theme to connect three churches, rather than just randomly choosing three churches with no apparent connection. The theme that most excited me was of early church wall-paintings: should I focus on how certain subjects such as St Christopher, the Last Judgement or “Doom” as it was called, or local saints might were depicted in wall-paintings? During the English Reformations, the once heavily painted churches were whitewashed, covering up the paintings which were considered idolatrous “popery”, not suitable for Protestant churchgoers focused on the Word of God. Some of these wall-paintings have been uncovered by “restorations” beginning mostly in the Victorian period when the “Anglo-Catholic” or “High Church” movement became popular in England. Layers of whitewash were removed and the underlying paintings, in varying degrees of success, were revealed after several hundred years. There is a wonderful website devoted to these wall-paintings called “The Painted Church”:
http://www.paintedchurch.org/
For the past two weeks I’ve been researching churches, especially in Oxfordshire, and have narrowed down the list to half a dozen candidates. I’ve also reflected on the question and have decided that if I only focus on wall-paintings, I’ll probably do a poor job of answering the question. The focus of this course is generally to view history from the local perspective, especially to consider the effect on the local community of historical events. With this question, I’ll need to discuss how the churches reflected their communities, and my story will likely be too limited if I focus only on wall-paintings.
Unfortunately, some of the churches I would most like to write about don’t have enough medieval content to qualify for the assignment, such as my beloved little church in Binsey; I would love to talk about the healing well that attracted so many pilgrims during the middle ages, but unfortunately, the well was completely rebuilt during the late 1800s, as shown here in a photograph from the blessing of the well during the Binsey fete from 2009:
Last weekend, my friend Liz was kind enough to drive me out to see two churches just outside of Oxford. South Leigh and North Leigh are both famous for some of their architectural details, South Leigh especially for its collection of wall-paintings.
St James the Greater, South Leigh
There has been a church here since Norman times, the wall-paintings are from the 14th and 15th centuries. They have been restored many times, and to my eye, so very much so that I’m inclined not to use the church for the essay because of the heavy-handedness of the restorers over the years. Nevertheless, the paintings were breathtaking, and I’d like to share them with you.
The most spectacular image in the church is the Doom which, typical for this type of painting, covers the chancel arch. Two angels usher the newly arisen to their fates… heaven or hell awaits.
For those on their way to Heaven, St Peter awaits to welcome you:
For those on their way to Hell, the gaping mouth of Hell awaits you:
On another wall, St Michael weighs souls to determine each person’s destination. This painting is the most heavily restored, and in fact, completely repainted painting in the church. There are actually two versions on top of each other. The first from the 14th century can still be seen peeking through the (probably Victorian) much larger over-painting, although some sources suggest that the second image is older, perhaps from the 15th century:
In this close-up, you can see the older St Michael near the newer weighing of the scales which shows the Virgin Mary intervening by placing her rosary beads on the scales to help weigh the scales towards salvation for the souls.
On the other end of the scales, devils unsuccessfully try to weigh the scales towards damnation:
A wall in the chancel shows the Virgin Mary:
In the north aisle, a rare image of St Clement with an anchor, his symbol:
An “unrestored” Seven Deadly Sins shows just how little might be found to work with, this image was let be probably because there was not enough information to reveal the subject matter to the Victorian restorers. Other similar images have been found to suggest the probable subject, and the Hell Mouth at the bottom of the image helps to explain what was once above:
St Mary’s, North Leigh
Just a few miles north of St James is St Mary’s in North Leigh. The wall paintings here are on a much smaller scale, and only a Doom exists above the chancel arch. While also restored, I find these images more natural and appealing:
I think my favourite part of these images is the devil with gills, which reminds me of the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
It’s important to remember the setting in which these paintings were viewed. Most parishioners were illiterate, and even for those who could read, a copy of the Bible would have been incredibly rare. Only the very wealthy might have had a book or hours or missal. The Mass would have been performed by priests in the chancel, mostly, if not entirely, hidden from the view of the people gathered in the nave. Mass would also have been said in Latin, so much of the meaning of the words would have been unknown to those gathered in the church. There would probably not have been benches, so the people would gather usually kneeling or sitting on the floor. These paintings would have conveyed the main theological messages, reminders of what it meant to live a good life, and the consequences of what awaited those who did not.
“Analyse the medieval elements of the buildings and their fittings and discuss their use for the local historian as historical evidence.”
Hmmmmm.
This week, another friend is taking me to see a few other churches. I’m particularly interested in the paintings in Shorthampton because they show two unusual saints, both related to the working laity. I might choose to do St Michael’s at the North Gate in Oxford because it has some really interesting features including a Sheela-na-Gig and an unusual stained glass window showing Christ crucified on a lily. The only church I feel certain of at this point is nearby Iffley, which is considered one of the best examples of Norman Romanesque architecture in the country. Hopefully, I’ll have this all sorted by the end of the week, and will have some lovely photographs to share.
See the entire gallery of photographs from South Leigh here: http://www.robertmealing.com/photography/recent-photographs/south-leigh/
