medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
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> The early Gothic cathedral of St.-Pierre de Lisieux displays this
misalignment. I don't know how many degrees it is, but it's obvious enough
that when you stand at the west end and look eastward, you can see it. It's
actually disorienting ( and i didn't mean that as a pun!) The crucifixion
explanation was given to me by Dr. William W. Clark, who wrote a study of the
cathedral in 1970.
this question would perhaps be better floated on the medart list, to see what
the Latest Poop on it is among the Art Hysterians.
i've always considered the "crucifixion" explanation to be an "Old Guide's
Tale" and without foundation in any middlevil Reality --but, i'd be glad to
change my mind, should anyone come across an actual contemporary text (from
the High M.A. or before) which contains it.
i'm a bit surprised to find Bill Clark signing off on it, though he was a bit
younger in 1970 (as were some of the rest of us, as well).
John B.'s explanation --essentially a matter of the difficulties in building a
new building around (or through) a pre-existing one-- makes quite a bit more
sense; as does all sorts of topographical problems encountered in building
within closely confinded cityscapes (pre-existing buildings, roads, city
walls, etc.).
to a large extent every middlevil building is _sui generis_.
12th & 13th c. Cistercian buildings were typically built _de novo_ and on
virgin ground outside towns. are any of those (originally) "disoriented" in
this fashion?
though not really relevant to middlevil buildings, it is worth noting that the
axises of Egyptian temples of any longevity display noticable "bending" --in
1894 the british astronomer, Sir Norman Lockyer (1836-1920, winner of the
Nobel Prize for the discover of Helium *on the sun*) offered a very convincing
explanation in his
_The dawn of astronomy; a study of the temple worship and mythology of the
ancient Egyptians_.
it seems that the things were alligned to allow the very dim light from
certain stars to be seen at precise moments in the yearly cycle, having passed
through great temple "avenues" (hundreds of feet long) between pylons and
columns, into the windowless "holy of holies" where the (golden) cult statue
of the god was kept.
in the course of millennia the "regression" of the earth's axis got these
great instruments all out of whack and they had to be re-alligned, from time
to time. (no thing lasts forever.)
MIT Press reprinted Lockyer's book in a paperback edition in 1964.
a pretty good read.
he did one on Stonehenge, too:
_Stonehenge and other British stone monuments astronomically considered_.
London: Macmillan, 1906.
a serious fellow.
c
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