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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture In this line, were crypts of churches used as court rooms? Tom Izbicki Thomas Izbicki Research Services Librarian and Gifts-in-Kind Officer Eisenhower Library Johns Hopkins Baltimore, MD 21218 (410)516-7173 fax (410)516-8399 >>> Jim Bugslag <[log in to unmask]> 07/19/06 12:05 PM >>> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture > > Yet the *assumption* of a bishop's consistory court of some kind in the > church is very frequently made in England, and their existence > immediately post-Reformation is a certainty. > > *where*, "in the church"? > > i'm just curious about the architectural setting for suchlike a proceding, > esp. if it were part of an on-going Institutional activity. Dear Jon and Christopher, The answer to that, at least sometimes, is that courts were conducted in porches. I quote from Paul Williamson, Gothic Sculpture 1140-1300 (New Haven, 1995), p. 4: "The deep porches of the more ambitious churches would have provided shelter for large numbers of people and could be used in a variety of ways. The ubiquitous subject of the Last Judgement on Gothic portals, often with the supporting figures of Virtues and Vices and Wise and Foolish Virgins, would serve as an especially appropriate backdrop to the dispensation of justice, as was the case at Leon Cathedral. Here, from an early date, a column set on the front of a Gothic canopied tabernacle was placed between the piers to the left of the Judgement portal. Its function is literally spelt out by the inscription LOCUS APPELLACIONIS carved on its front face, and the arms of Leon and Castile appear below. Presiding over this symbol, in the niche behind, is the seated figure of King Solomon, and a later personification of Justice, holding a sword and scales, has been inserted among the jamb figures of the adjacent doorway. Leon was not an isolated case, and it is known that trials were also conducted in the area of the south transept of Strasbourg Cathedral, in the west porches of the Minster of Freiburg im Breisgau, Saint-Urbain at Troyes, and elsewhere." See also Barbara Deimling, "Le portail d'eglise au Moyen Age et sa signification juridique historique," in Rolf Toman, ed., L'Art roman (Cologne: Konemann, 1996), pp. 324-27 [also available in German and English editions], who gives a number of other examples, mostly from the 12th and 13th centuries, although where it is stipulated, the justice rendered seems to have been secular rather than episcopal. Church doors before which justice was rendered were often painted red, as in the Porte rouge at Notre-Dame in Paris. Cheers, Jim Bugslag ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html