04 February, 2026
Pope Alexander II (1010 - 1073). (Part One). Authorised The Norman Conquest Of England In 1066.
Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.
Pope Alexander II (1010 – 21 April 1073), whose Christian name was Anselm, was the Head of The Roman Catholic Church and Ruler of The Papal States from 1061 to his death in 1073.
Born in Milan, he was deeply involved in the Pataria reform movement. Elected according to the terms of his predecessor’s Bull “In Nomine Domini”, Pope Alexander II was the first election by the Cardinals without the participation of the people and Minor Clergy of Rome. He also authorised the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
He was born of a noble family in the Parish of Cesano Boscone, in the town of Corsico, some seven kilometres (four miles) from Milan.
The family took its name from Baggio, a suburb of Milan, where the family held the Office of “Captain”.[2] According to the Liber Pontificalis,[3] his father’s name was Anselmus or Ardericus.
Contemporary sources do not provide any information on where he might have obtained his education.[4] It was traditionally believed that Anselm de Baggio studied under Lanfranc at Bec Abbey, Normandy, France. However, modern historiography rejects that assertion.[5]
He became a Member of the Clergy of the Cathedral of Milan,[6] and was Ordained a Priest by Archbishop Wido (Guido) of Milan.[7]
He was one of the Founders of the Pataria,[8] a movement in the Archdiocese of Milan, aimed at reforming the Clergy and Ecclesiastic Government in the Province, and supportive of Papal sanctions against Simony and Clerical Marriage.[9]
They contested the Ancient Rights of the Cathedral Clergy of Milan and supported the Gregorian Reforms. Anselm was one of four “upright and honest” Priests suggested to succeed Ariberto da Intimiano as Prince Bishop of Milan.
When the Emperor, Henry III, chose instead the more worldly Guido da Velate, protests followed. In order to silence a vocal critic, Bishop Guido sent Anselm to the Imperial Court.[10]
PART TWO FOLLOWS.
Contest Of The Cathedrals. The Romanesque Period.
Contest of the Cathedrals.
The Romanesque period.
Available on YouTube
Aelred Of Rievaulx. (Part Nine).
Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire.
Date: 2011.
Source: http://www.wyrdlight.com
This file is licensed under the
Share Alike 3.0 Unported licence.
Attribution: WyrdLight.com
Author: Antony McCallum
(Wikimedia Commons)
Dr. Marsha Dutton.
“The Historical Works Of Saint Aelred Of Rievaulx”.
“Part One: The Battle Of The Standard”.
Available on YouTube
PART TEN FOLLOWS.
Light In The Darkness.
Illustration: SPILLWORDS
This Article is taken from, and can be read in full at,
This Article is re-printed from 2023.
Light In The Darkness.
When a society loses its way and becomes decadent,
it dies. From the beginning of history, we have seen this
time and again, most famously perhaps with the
fall of the Roman empire.
The usual, and perhaps most straightforward, reason given is that it became overstretched and suffered a string of military defeats in its encounters with barbarian tribes, combined with a loss of centralised political control that was to prove fatal.
All of which is most assuredly true, but its decline was unquestionably exacerbated by the moral decay, degeneracy and general weakness that became a hallmark of Roman society in its latter years.
Light In The Darkness.
The same traits – seen in the unremitting focus on Self and demand for instant gratification – are perhaps evident in our own society today. It’s not so much that moral standards have slipped, as that we are rapidly losing the values on which our society is founded and has up to now flourished.
Even worse perhaps, in this brave new world of reconfigured morality, we demand that ‘old’ values, such as sexual purity, faithfulness and the requirement of commitment, be proscribed, with those who dare give voice to such reactionary notions branded intolerant bigots, and even criminalised.
As instance of this, in the news this week we have had the
story of Izzy Montagu, a Christian mother now suing her
4-year old son’s Primary school for forcing him to take part in a Pride parade (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11702239/Christian-mother-sues-four-year-old-sons-school-saying-LGBT-parade.html).
Light In The Darkness.
Her request for the boy to be excused, because the event went against the family’s Christian beliefs, was apparently summarily dismissed. Even worse, it was treated with contempt, because at a meeting Izzy attended at the school to discuss the matter, the head teacher’s daughter wore a t-shirt saying, ‘Why be racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic, when you can just be quiet ?’
Needless to say, at that same meeting,
Izzy’s request was turned down.
This is unacceptable. Have we really reached the point
where anyone who upholds traditional faith can
simply be bludgeoned into silence ?
Because this is what was going on here.
Light In The Darkness.
Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as enforced under UK law in the Human Rights Act 1998 states, ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion … either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance’ (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/
However, Heavers Farm Primary, intent on
enforcing its ideological message of ‘equality’,
apparently felt it could ignore this.
This is bigotry and discrimination of the worst kind,
and must be called out and exposed for what it is.
It is surely time for activists to be held to account.
Gloucester Cathedral.
Gloucester Cathedral.
Photo: 9 July 2014.
Source: Own work.
Author: Diliff
Attribution:
Photo by DAVID ILIFF.
Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Gloucester Cathedral Cloisters.
Licence © All rights reserved by Martyn.Smith
Illustration: FLICKR
The Time After Candlemas And The Feast Of The Purification Of Mary (Presentation Of Our Lord). The End Of Christmas-Tide. Mary Is “Mediatrix Of All Graces” And “Mother Of God”.
By: Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
Volume 3.
Christmas.
Book II.
Saint Andrew Corsini (1302-1373). Confessor And Bishop. Feast Day 4 February. White Vestments.
unless otherwise stated.
Saint Andrew Corsini.
Bishop and Confessor.
Double.
White Vestments.
English: Saint Andrew Corsini at Prayer.
Deutsch: Hl. Andreas Corsini im Gebet.
Artist: Guido Reni (1575–1642).
Date: 1630-1635.
Current location: Uffizi Gallery, Florence.
Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project:
10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei.
DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202.
Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.
Permission: [1]
(Wikimedia Commons)
Saint Andrew, of the noble family of Corsini, was born at Florence, and, from his birth, was Consecrated to The Blessed Virgin. His mother dreamed that she had given birth to a wolf, which, on entering into the Carmelite Church, was suddenly changed into a lamb.
Her son, indeed, led a dissolute life in his youth. But Jesus exerted His redeeming power over him and Andrew entered the Carmelite Order and soon became its Head in Tuscany (Communion).
Having thus turned to good use the talents with which God had favoured him, he rose to a still-higher dignity (Gospel) and, as Bishop of Fiesole, he had a share in the Priesthood of Christ, and accomplished His work of reconciling Souls with God.
Thus, having been sent to Bologna, as Papal Legate, by Pope Urban V, he succeeded by his great prudence in extinguishing the burning hatred which had armed the citizens against each other (Epistle). The Blessed Virgin foretold him his death, which occurred in 1373.
Made wolves by sin, let us, like Saint Andrew Corsini, become lambs by Penance, in order that, “following in the footsteps of this Holy Confessor, we may obtain the same rewards” (Collect).
Mass: Státuit. Of a Confessor Bishop.
The Church of Santa Maria del Carmine,
Florence, which contains the Corsini Chapel.
This File: 9 July 2006.
User: Sailko.
(Wikimedia Commons)
English: The Corsini Chapel,
Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence.
Français: Église Santa Maria del Carmine,
Florence, Toscane, Italie. La chapelle Corsini.
Photo: 23 September 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Tango7174
(Wikimedia Commons)
unless otherwise stated.
Andrew Corsini, O.Carm. (1302 – 1373), was an Italian Carmelite Friar and Bishop of Fiesole, who is honoured as a Saint within The Catholic Church.
Corsini was born in Florence on 30 November 1302, a member of the illustrious Corsini family. Wild and dissolute in youth, he was startled by the words of his mother about what had happened to her before his birth, and, becoming a Carmelite Friar in his native City, began a life of great mortification. He studied at Paris and Avignon.
On his return, Corsini became the “Apostle of Florence”. He was regarded as a prophet and a wonder-worker. After being elected to the Office of Bishop of Fiesole, which he did not want, he fled. He was discovered by a child at the Charterhouse at Enna, and was subsequently compelled to accept the honour.
English: Church of Santa Maria del Carmine,
Florence. The Vault over the entire Nave,
with the Apse (Left) and main entrance (Right).
Français: Église Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence.
La voûte au-dessus de la nef dans son intégralité,
l’abside étant sur la gauche
et l’entrée principale sur la droite.
Photo: 23 September 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Tango7174
(Wikimedia Commons)
Corsini redoubled his austerities as a Bishop, was lavish in his care of the poor, and was sought for everywhere as a peacemaker, notably at Bologna, whither he was sent, as Papal Legate, to heal the breach between the nobility and the people.
After twelve years in the Episcopacy, Corsini died in his native Florence in 1373, at the age of seventy-one. In 1675, after his Canonisation, the members of the Corsini family had the Corsini Chapel built in the Carmelite Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in Florence, Italy, to provide his Remains a more suitable resting place.
The Corsini Chapel, Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome.
San Giovanni-in-Laterano is the Cathedral Church of Rome.
Photo: October 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Maros M r a z (Maros)
(Wikimedia Commons)
In 1373, while Corsini had been Celebrating the Midnight Mass of Christmas Eve, The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him and told him he would leave this World on the Feast of The Epiphany.
It came to pass, as the vision had told him, and he died on that day.
Miracles were so multiplied at his death that Pope Eugene IV permitted a public devotion to him, immediately. It was only in 1629 that Pope Urban VIII formally confirmed this. His Feast is kept on 4 February, in the Carmelite Order, and in the Cities of Florence and Fiesole.
In the Early-18th-Century, Pope Clement XII, born Lorenzo Corsini, erected, in the Roman Basilica of Saint John Lateran, a magnificent Chapel dedicated to his 14th-Century kinsman.
Miracles were so multiplied at his death that Pope Eugene IV permitted a public devotion to him, immediately. It was only in 1629 that Pope Urban VIII formally confirmed this. His Feast is kept on 4 February, in the Carmelite Order, and in the Cities of Florence and Fiesole.
In the Early-18th-Century, Pope Clement XII, born Lorenzo Corsini, erected, in the Roman Basilica of Saint John Lateran, a magnificent Chapel dedicated to his 14th-Century kinsman.
English: The Church of Santa Maria del Carmine,
Florence, which contains the Corsini Chapel.
Français: L’église Santa Maria del Carmine de Florence.
Photo: October 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Emmanuel BRUNNER Manu25
(Wikimedia Commons)
Dunstable Priory. (Part Nine).
Print of Dunstable Priory.
Published 24 December 1819.
Longman & Lackington & Co
and Joseph Harding, London.
Illustration: THE VIRTUAL LIBRARY
Text from Wikipedia — the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.
Bishop Grey's injunctions are the only notice that we have of the internal history of the Priory during the 15th-Century. They do not indicate any special laxity, and only repeat the usual orders as to silence, singing of the Divine Office, the unlawfulness of eating and drinking after Compline, going to Dunstable, or having visitors without permission.
And so again at the very end, just before the Dissolution, the silence of Bishop Longland, and the King’s choice of the Priory for the Solemn announcement of his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, constitute indirect evidence in favour of the Priory.
On the whole, the Priory of Dunstable shows a very good record in the matter of discipline and order, with only a few lapses.[6]
The Priory Church of Saint Peter, with its Monastery, was Founded by Augustinian Canons (Monks), under the patronage of King Henry I, in 1132. King Henry I gave the Priory control of Dunstable.
The Norman-Style Church was built in the form of a Cross, with a Great Tower at the Crossing and with two smaller Towers at the West End.
Progress was slow and it was some seventy-eighty years before the Church was complete. Ten years later, a violent storm destroyed much of the frontage of the Church. The damaged part was rebuilt, but in a different Style (Early English-Style).
Available on YouTube
The Monastic buildings consisted of a dormitory for the monks, an infirmary, stables, workshops, bakehouse, brewhouse and buttery.
There was also a hostel for Pilgrims and travellers, the remains of which is known today as Priory House. Opposite the Priory, was one of the Royal Palaces belonging to King Henry I, known as Kingsbury. Today, it is the site of the Old Palace Lodge Hotel and the Norman King pub.
In 1290, the funeral cortege of Queen Eleanor, wife of King Edward I, was housed overnight at the Priory and, in 1533, the annulment of the marriage of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon took place in the Priory Lady Chapel.
In 1290, the funeral cortege of Queen Eleanor, wife of King Edward I, was housed overnight at the Priory and, in 1533, the annulment of the marriage of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon took place in the Priory Lady Chapel.
about Dunstable Priory.
Available on YouTube
Until the close of the 14th-Century, local Parishioners used the North Aisle as their Parish Church. However, as the Town grew, they began to spill out into the Nave.
The Canons did not welcome this, but an agreement was reached that the local people should be responsible for the upkeep of the Nave.
This they did as cheaply as possible, resulting in the Nave Roof changing to a Flat Roof and the Western Tower to a Bell Tower.
The closure of Religious Houses began in 1536 and the Church and Monastery were finally closed down in January 1540.
The closure of Religious Houses began in 1536 and the Church and Monastery were finally closed down in January 1540.
A turbulent period followed with many of the Priory buildings being pulled down. However, the part used by the local Parishioners was saved, and is still in use today as the Priory Church of Saint Peter.
This concludes the Article on Dunstable Priory.
This concludes the Article on Dunstable Priory.
03 February, 2026
The Twenty-Six Mediæval Cathedrals Of England (Part Thirteen).
The Lancet Gothic East End and Tower of Southwark Cathedral. The Cathedral was Founded as a Nun’s Church in the 8th-Century A.D. Secular Canons in 852 A.D. Augustinian Canons 1106-1540. Present structure: East End 1208-1235; Transepts 1273; Tower 1385 and 1520; Present Nave by Sir Arthur Blomfield 1889-1897. Became a Cathedral in 1905.
Photo: 9 May 2005.
Source: Own work.
Author: Amandajm
(Wikimedia Commons)
Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.
Because the architecture of English Cathedrals is so diverse and inventive, the internal appearances differ a great deal. However, in general, English Cathedral Interiors tend to give an impression of length.
This is in part because many of the buildings are actually very long, but also because, more than in the Mediæval architecture of any other Country, the horizontal direction is given as much visual emphasis as the vertical.
This is particularly the case at Wells Cathedral, where, unlike most Gothic buildings, there are no vertical Shafts that continue from the Arcade to the Vault, and there is a very strong emphasis on the Triforium Gallery with its seemingly endless and undifferentiated row of narrow Arches.
Contest of the Cathedrals.
The Romanesque period.
Available on YouTube
In the cases of Winchester, Norwich, and Exeter, the horizontal effect is created by the emphasis on the Ridge Rib of the elaborate Vaults.[4]
The complexity of the Vault is another significant feature of English Cathedrals.[5]
Sherborne Abbey.
Available on YouTube
The Vaults range from:
The simple Quadripartite Vault, in the French manner, at Chichester Cathedral, through increasingly elaborate forms including the Multi-Ribbed (“Tierceron”) Vault at Exeter Cathedral;
The similar Vault with Inter-Connecting (“Lierne”) Ribs at Norwich Cathedral, the still more elaborate variation at Winchester;
The array of unique Lierne Vaults at Bristol, the net-like Stellar Vaulting of the Choirs at Gloucester and York;
Winchester Cathedral.
Available on YouTube
The Fan Vaulting of the Retro-Choir at Peterborough, and the Pendant Vaulting of the Choir at Oxford, where elaborate Long Stone Bosses are suspended from the Ceiling like Lanterns.[4]
Many of the more elaborate forms are unique to England, with Stellar Vaulting also occurring in Spain and Germany.[5]
While, in most cases, a Norman Church entirely replaced a Saxon Church, at Ripon, the Cathedral uniquely retains its Early-Saxon Crypt, while a similar Crypt also survives below the former Cathedral of Hexham.
At Winchester, the excavated foundations of the 10th-Century Cathedral – when built, the largest Church in Northern Europe – are marked on the grass of the Cathedral Close.
At Worcester, a new Cathedral was built in the Norman Style from 1084, but the Crypt contains re-used Stonework and Columns from its two Saxon predecessor Churches.
Elsewhere, the Abbey Church of Sherborne preserves much masonry from the former Saxon Cathedral, in the West Front, Transepts and Crossing, so that the Nave and Crossing of the present Late-Mediæval Abbey retains the proportions of the previous Saxon structure.
PART FOURTEEN FOLLOWS.
PART FOURTEEN FOLLOWS.
The Order Of Cistercians: Abbaye De Lerins, Saint Honorat, France.
Cistercians: Abbaye De Lerins,
Saint Honorat, France.
Abbeys and Monasteries.
Available on YouTube
“Waloyo Yamoni”. Christopher Tin. Live At Cadogan Hall. Brush Up On Your Swahili.
“Waloyo Yamoni”.
Christopher Tin. Live at Cadogan Hall.
Available on YouTube
Welsh Rugby Choir, In Dublin, Ireland, Sing “The Fields Of Athenry”.
Welsh Rugby Choir, in Dublin,
sing “The Fields Of Athenry”.
Available on YouTube
Get Rid Of Parkinson's.
You can help deliver
new treatments.
Faster.
Parkinson’s can lead to a lot of can’ts.
As its grip tightens, you find you
can’t walk,
can’t talk,
can’t eat,
can’t sleep.
But you can help.
You can fund promising research
to help deliver new treatments.
Faster.
Parkinson’s U.K. offer support and information to those with Parkinson’s and their families, and fund and undertake ground-breaking research to advance the understanding of Parkinson’s.
Also, to improve treatments,
and campaign to raise awareness,
working in partnerships
to drive better services.
The number of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s in the U.K. has jumped to 145,000 and is expected to rise nearly a fifth by 2025.
Over one million people,
including Family Members and Carers,
are affected by the condition.
You can make a difference.
If you wish to make a donation,
you will find the Web-Site at
It is now more urgent than ever that we unite
to give people with Parkinson’s the support they need, drive better care – and find new treatments and a cure.
We are looking forward to fundraising for
Parkinson’s U.K.
If you would like to find out more
about this amazing Charity,
and the work they do,
please visit
02 February, 2026
“Nesciens Mater Virgo Virum”: An Unutterably Beautiful Marian Motet, Composed By Jean Mouton (1459 - 1522) For Christmastide, Which Ends Today, 2 February.
Jean Mouton “Nesciens mater”.
Composed By: Jean Mouton (1459 - 1522).
Sung By: The Monteverdi Choir / Gardiner.
Picture: Lorenzo Costa (1460 - 1535).
“Nativity (1490)”.
Available on YouTube
Article is taken from, and can be read in full at,
New Liturgical Movement
By: Gregory DiPippo.
For the last Saturday of the Christmas Season,
I wanted to share this splendid recording of a Motet
which I recently discovered by the Franco-Flemish Composer, Jean Mouton (1459 - 1522).
It is a setting of a very ancient Text
which appears in the Roman Breviary as the
Eighth Responsory for the Feast of the Circumcision.
There is also an equally ancient version of the same words as an Antiphon, which is not in the Roman Office, but is found in many other Uses; e.g. at the Sarum Use, it was sung with the Magnificat, in The Little Office of Our Lady, from Christmas until The Purification (2 February).
Wells Cathedral (Part Eight).
The Great West Front,
Wells Cathedral.
Photo: 30 April 2014.
Source: Own work.
Attribution:
Photo by DAVID ILIFF.
Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
Author: Diliff
(Wikimedia Commons)
Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.
The Late-20th-Century saw an extensive restoration programme, particularly of The Great West Front.[64][65]
The Stained-Glass is under restoration, with a programme underway to conserve the large 14th-Century Jesse Tree Window at the Eastern End of the Choir.[66][67]
Since the 13th-Century, Wells Cathedral has been the Seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells. Its governing body, the Chapter, is made up of five Clerical Canons:
Dean;
Precentor;
Canon Chancellor;
Canon Treasurer;
Archdeacon of Wells.
And four Lay Members:
Administrator (Chief Executive);
Keeper of the Fabric;
Overseer of the Estate;
Chairman of the Cathedral Shop and Catering Boards.[71]
Wells Cathedral.
Photo: 26 February 2014.
Source: Own work.
Author: Rodw
(Wikimedia Commons)
More than a thousand Services are held every year. There are daily Services of Matins, Holy Communion and Choral Evensong,[75] as well as major Celebrations of Christian Festivals such as Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and Saints’ Days.[76]
The 180-feet high Central Tower of Wells Cathedral.
Photo: 9 October 2021.
Source: Own work.
Author: Jack Pease Photography
(Wikimedia Commons)
PART NINE FOLLOWS.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
