medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
From: Frans van Liere <[log in to unmask]>
> If it helps, I remember one reference to "cesores lapidum" in Andrew's
commentary on 1 Kings 5: 15, as explanation of the word "Lathomus".
yes, i should have mentioned that the instance from Bede which the new Latham
cites is taken from his _de Templo_, and referres to this verse of 1 Kings.
>My RSV translates the same word as "quarrymen".
yes, that fits this particular context:
5:15. "Fuerunt itaque Salomoni septuaginta milia eorum qui onera portabant et
octoginta milia *latomorum* in monte."
which the Douay-Rheims nicely finesses:
"And Solomon had seventy thousand to carry burdens, and eighty thousand to hew
stones in the mountain."
as opposed to the "masons" in we see in 5:18:
"And the masons of Solomon, and the masons of Hiram..."
"Quos dolaverunt cementarii Salomonis et cementarii Hiram..."
may i conclude that this meant that "c[a]esores lapidum" meant
--specifically-- "quarrymen" in Bede's time?
> Andrew (in CC:CM 53A:)
> 1 Rg. 5,15 Lathomorvm. Lathomi sunt cesores lapidum.
or, morebetter, in the time of Andrew of St. Victor --i.e., 12th c., just a
bit later than my Josaphat sources?
my thoughts about why/how it is that so many "masons" appear in these Josaphat
charters revolve around the fact that this de novo 1117 foundation was in
process of being built when the charters were drawn up and, perhaps, there
were few monks or other folks of standing hanging around the place and that
the masons were recruited as "warm bodies" to witness the acts recorded in the
charters.
i really can't think of another reason why there should be such an
extraordinary number of them among these charters --in other cartularies you
might find one or two, ocassionally, but to find nearly 30 of them --over
several decades-- is without precedent, in my cartularly experience.
i don't know where the stones for the abbey came from --but there are, i
believe, "caves" in the sides of the shallow valley in which it is located,
and these *might* have started out life as "quarries".
the stones which survive among the ruins of the church are generally rather
small in size, which is what one might expect from a quarry of secondary
quality.
so, i suppose it is possible that my "cesores lapidum" really are,
specifically, "quarrymen", brought into the monks' chapter from just across
the road for purposes of serving as Testes.
thanks, Frans.
c
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