Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

Thursday 8 May 2014

Chester Cathedral. Part Five.


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.




Chester Cathedral.
Cathedral Church of Christ and The Blessed Virgin Mary,
Chester, England.
The Cathedral, seen from the South-East, looking towards the Choir, right, with the Lady Chapel projecting, extreme right, and the South Transept, left. The Lady Chapel is in the Early-English (or Lancet) Gothic Style, marked by the simple windows. The Choir is in the Late-Geometric Decorated Gothic Style. The South Transept has Flowing Decorated Windows in the Aisle, and Perpendicular Gothic Windows in the Clerestory. The friable Red Sandstone building was heavily
restored in the 19th-Century.
Photo: May 2012.
Source: Family Album.
Author: Stephen Hamilton.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Scott's restorations were not without their critics and caused much debate in architectural circles. Scott claimed to have archaeological evidence for his work, but the Liverpool architect, Samuel Huggins, argued, in an 1868 address to the Liverpool Architectural Society, that the alterations were less like restoration and more like rebuilding.

One of the larger changes was to shorten the South Aisle and restyle it as an Apse. The changes also proposed the addition of a Spire above the existing Tower, but this proposal was later rejected. Samuel Huggins's further Paper, of 1871, entitled "On so-called restorations of our Cathedral and Abbey Churches", compelled the Dean to attempt to answer the criticism. The debate contributed to the establishment of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.

Later in the century, from 1882, Arthur Blomfield and his son, Charles, made further additions and modifications, including restoring and re-instating the Shrine of Saint Werburgh. More work was carried out in the 20th-Century by Giles Gilbert Scott, between 1891 and 1913, and by F. H. Crossley, in 1939.




There is a Garden-in-Remembrance, 
of The Cheshire Regiment, 
at Chester Cathedral.
English: A German trench, occupied by British soldiers, near the Albert-Bapaume Road, at
Ovillers-la-Boisselle, France, July 1916. The Battle of the Somme.
The men are from A-Company, 11th Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment.
Français: Tranchée britannique près de la route Albert-Bapaume à Ovillers-la-Boisselle,
en juillet 1916 durant la bataille de la Somme.
an der Straße zwischen Albert und Bapaume.
Magyar: Brit lövészárok az Albert–Bapaume út közelében Ovillers-la-Boisselle-ben,
1916 júliusában, a Somme-i csata alatt.
Italiano: Trincea britannica a Ovillers-la-Boisselle sulla strada tra Albert e Bapaume,
luglio 1916 durante la Battaglia della Somme.
Source: This is photograph Q 3990 from the collection of
The Imperial War Museums (collection no. 1900-13).
Author: John Warwick Brooke.
(Wikimedia Commons)



Towards the end of 1963, the Cathedral Bells, which were housed in the Central Tower, were in need of an overhaul, and ringing was suspended. In 1965, the Dean asked George Pace, architect to York Minster, to prepare specifications for a new Bell Frame and for electrification of the Clock and tolling mechanism.

Due to structural difficulties and the cost of replacing the Bells in the Central Tower, it was advised that consideration should be given to building a Detached Bell-and-Clock Tower in the South-East corner of the Churchyard. It was decided to proceed with that plan, and, in 1969, an announcement was made that the first Detached Cathedral Bell Tower was to be erected since the building of the Campanile at Chichester Cathedral in the 15th-Century.

In February 1969, nine of the ten Bells in the Central Tower were removed, to be re-cast by John Taylor & Co as a Ring of twelve Bells with a Flat Sixth. The new Bells were cast in 1973. Work on the new Bell-Tower began in February 1973. Two old Bells, dating from 1606 and 1626, were left in the Tower. On 26 February 1975, the Bells were rung, for the first time, to celebrate the wedding of a member of the Grosvenor family.




English: 17th-Century 
Chancellor's Seat,
the Consistory Court, 
Chester Cathedral.
Deutsch: Chester, England.
Kathedrale: Konsistorium.
Sitz des Kanzlers.
Photo: 13 July 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Wolfgang Sauber.
(Wikimedia Commons)



The official opening, on 25 June 1975, was performed by the Duke of Gloucester. The Belfry is known as the Dean Addleshaw Tower, after the Dean of the Cathedral responsible for its construction. The Tower is built in concrete, faced with sandstone at its base. It is the first Detached Bell Tower to be built for a Cathedral in this country since the Reformation. Between the Bell Tower and the South Transept is a Garden-in-Remembrance of the Cheshire Regiment (originally the 22nd Regiment of Foot).

The treasures of Chester Cathedral are its rare Fittings, specifically its Choir Stalls and the 17th-Century furnishing of the Bishop’s Consistory Court in the South Tower, which is a unique survival.




"Crockets", applied to the Finials,
at Sint-Petrus-en-Pauluskerk,
Photo: 15 June 2005.
Source: Own work.
Author: JoJan.
(Wikimedia Commons)



A Crocket is a hook-shaped decorative element common in Gothic architecture.
It is in the form of a stylised carving of curled leaves, buds or flowers, which is used at regular intervals to decorate the sloping edges of spires, finials, pinnacles, and wimpergs.
When used to decorate the Capitals of Columns, these are called Crocket Capitals.
This element is also used as an ornament, on furniture and metalwork, in the Gothic Style.
The name derives from the diminutive of the French "croc", meaning "hook", due to the resemblance of Crockets to a Bishop's Crosier.





Misericord and Choir Stall,
Chester Cathedral
England.
Date: 17 March 2008 (original upload date). (Original Text :16 March 2008).
Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia. (Original Text : Self-made).
Author; Original uploader was Joopercoopers at en.wikipedia. (Original text : Joopercoopers.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Choir Stalls date from about 1380. They have high, spiky, closely set, Canopies, with Crocketed Arches and Spirelets. The Stall Ends have Poppyheads, and are rich with figurative carving. The Stalls include forty-eight Misericords, all but five of which are original, depicting a variety of subjects, some humorous and some grotesque. Pevsner states that they are "one of the finest sets in the country", while Alec Clifton-Taylor calls them “exquisite” and says, of the Misericords, that, “for delicacy and grace, they surpass even those at Lincoln and Beverley”.



Poppyhead,
carved as a stylised fleur-de-lys,
in Saint Peter's Church, Neatishead,
Norfolk, England.
Photo: 31 May 2007.
Source: From geograph.org.uk.
Author: John Salmon.
(Wikimedia Commons)

"Poppyhead" is a form of carving of the end of a Bench or a Choir StallIts name is unrelated to the poppy flower. It is derived, by way of Old French, from the Latin word "puppis", which means the poop, or the figurehead, of a ship. In its simplest, and its most usual form, it has the appearance of a stylised fleur-de-lys. In some cases, it consists of a much more intricate carving; for example,
in Holy Trinity Church, Blythburgh, Suffolk, England, some of the Poppyheads
represent the Seven Deadly Sins.


In 1844, an Organ, by Gray and Davison, of London, was installed in the Cathedral, replacing an instrument with parts dating back to 1626. The Organ was rebuilt and enlarged by Whiteley Bros of Chester, in 1876, to include harmonic flutes and reeds by Cavaillé-Coll. It was later moved to its present position at the front of the North Transept.


PART SIX FOLLOWS


Wednesday 7 May 2014

Saint Stanislaus. Bishop And Martyr. Patron Saint Of Poland. Feast Day 7 May.


Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text is taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Saint Stanislaus.
Bishop and Martyr.
Feast Day 7 May.

Double.
Red Vestments.

File:Stanisław Samostrzelnik, Św Stanisław.jpg


Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów.

Artist: Stanisław Samostrzelnik (1485–1541).
Date: 1530 - 1535.
Current location: National Library of Poland.
Source/Photographer: Polona.pl.
(Wikimedia Commons)



File:Flag of Poland (with coat of arms).svg

English: State flag of Poland with Coat of Arms, symbolic version. Based on Image:Flag of Poland.svg and Image:Herb Polski.svg. Note: the Coat of Arms used here is not the official, accurate version. The official one is still not available in vector format.
Polski: Flaga Polski z godłem, wersja symboliczna. Oparta na Image:Flag of Poland.svg i Image:Herb Polski.svg. Uwaga: godło użyte w tej grafice nie jest oficjalne. Oficjalna wersja godła nie jest jeszcze dostępna w formacie wektorowym, stąd zamieszczono poniżej dodatkową wersję tej grafiki w formacie PNG, w której użyto poprawnego wizerunku godła.
Date: 26 June 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Aotearoa, Wanted.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Saint Stanislaus, born in Poland, was made Bishop of Cracow in 1072. He became an object of hatred to King Boleslas II, whom he reproached for his tyranny and dissolute life.

One day, whilst the Saint was saying Mass, the King rushed at him and slew him (Collect). This was in 1079. Saint Stanislaus is the Patron Saint of Poland.

Mass: Protexisti.


File:Stanisław Samostrzelnik, Św Stanisław.jpg


Stanislaus of Szczepanów, or Stanisław Szczepanowski, (July 26, 1030 – April 11, 1079) was a Bishop of Kraków, known chiefly for having been Martyred by the Polish king, Bolesław II the Bold. Stanislaus is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as Saint Stanislaus the Martyr (as distinct from Stanislaus Kostka).


According to tradition, Stanisław was born at Szczepanów, a village in Lesser Poland, the only son of the noble and pious Wielisław and Bogna. He was educated at a Cathedral school in Gniezno (then the capital of Poland) and later, according to different sources, in Paris or Liège. On his return to Poland, Stanisław was ordained a Priest by Lambert II Suła, Bishop of Kraków.

After the Bishop's death (1072), Stanisław was elected his successor, but accepted the Office only at the explicit command of Pope Alexander II. Stanisław was one of the earliest native Polish Bishops. He also became a Ducal Advisor and had some influence on Polish politics.

Stanisław's major accomplishments included bringing Papal Legates to Poland, and re-establishment of a Metropolitan See in Gniezno. The latter was a pre-condition for Duke Bolesław's coronation as King, which took place in 1076. Stanisław then encouraged King Bolesław to establish Benedictine Monasteries to aid in the Christianisation of Poland.


New Swiss Guards Swear Oath Of Allegiance To Protect Pope Francis.


The Text in this Article, unless otherwise stated, is taken from CNA CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY


Swearing in of the Swiss Guard at the Vatican on May 6, 2014. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.

The "Swearing-In" of the Swiss Guard
at the Vatican on 6 May 2014.
Photo: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.


Vatican City, May 6, 2014 / 11:21 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Thirty young men joined the ranks of the Swiss Guards today, taking an Oath of Allegiance to Pope Francis and promising to serve the Church by protecting him and all of his successors.

Addressing the new Guards, the day before their traditional Swearing-In on 6 May, the Pope explained that the event commemorates their predecessors, who “offered their lives to defend the Church.”

“Your dedication,” he noted, “confirms that their courage and loyalty have borne fruit.”

In the San Damaso courtyard of the Apostolic Palace, Tuesday, 6 May 2014, the new Members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard made their commitment, like hundreds before them, on the Anniversary of the Sack of Rome.


Swiss Guard,
posted at Saint Peter's Basilica,
Vatican, Italy.
Photo: 29 August 2013.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lobozpics.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Occurring 6 May 1527, the attack marks the most significant and deadliest event in the history of the Guard. During the battle, one hundred and forty-seven Members lost their lives, while fighting the army of the Holy Roman Empire, in defence of Pope Clement VII, who was able to escape through a secret passageway leading from the Vatican to Castel Sant’Angelo, which sits on the Tiber River, Rome.

In his comments to the Guards, Pope Francis observed how society today is different than it was then, “But man's heart, his capacity to be loyal and courageous . . . has remained the same.”

“Serving in the Swiss Guard means living an experience that involves a meeting of time and space in a very particular way,” he said. “With your special service, you are called upon to offer serene and joyful Christian witness to whomever arrives in the Vatican to visit St. Peter's Basilica and to meet the Pope.”

“Live your days intensely ! Be firm in your Faith and generous in your Charity towards the people you meet.”


File:Rgt Gardes-suisses.png

English: Regimental flag of the Swiss Guards
(French Regiment, Marseilles, France, 1899).
Deutsch: Ordonnanzfahne eines französischen Regiments der Gardeschweizer. - 
Entnommen und überarbeitet aus: „LES UNIFORMES ET
LES DRAPEAUX DE L'ARMÉE DU ROI“
Marseille 1899. 
(Drapeau d'Ordonnance du régiment des Gardes-suisses.
Source: Own work.
Author: Steinbeisser.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Remarking on how the colours of the Swiss Guard uniform – which also celebrates its 100-year Anniversary this year – are known throughout the world, the Pope reflected that they “stand for dedication, seriousness and security. They are identified with singular service and a glorious past.”

“However, behind every uniform, there is a real person: With a family and a homeland, with a personality and sensibility, with wishes and plans in life,” the Pontiff went on to say, emphasising that, although the uniform attracts attention, “it is not the uniform, but rather he who wears it, who must be noted for his kindness, his spirit of welcome, for his charitable attitude towards all.”

“Consider this also in your relations between yourselves, according importance, also in your community life, to sharing both joyful moments and those that are more difficult,” the Pope said, stressing the importance of doing so “without ignoring those among you who are in difficulty.”


File:Tuileries Henri Motte.jpg

Massacre of the Swiss Guards during the storming of the Tuileries.
Artist: Henri-Paul Motte (1846–1922).
Date: 1892.
Source/Photographer: Bibliothèque nationale de France
(Wikimedia Commons)


For those who are in difficulty “and who are at times in need of a smile and a gesture of encouragement and friendship,” the Pope encouraged them to “avoid that negative distance that divides companions and, in the lives of all people in the world, can give rise to disdain, marginalisation and racism.”

Present at the Guards' Swearing-In was a number of Vatican dignitaries, the new Swiss Ambassador to the Holy See, Pierre-Yves Fux, and Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who is the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State.

During the ceremony, each new Guard placed a hand on the Official Flag of the Swiss Guard, and, with the other hand, raised three fingers as a symbol of the Holy Trinity.


BANDERA GUARDIA VATICA PANCHO.svg

Banner of the Pontifical Swiss Guard.
Español: Versión de la Bandera de la Guardia Suiza Vaticana,
durante el pontificado de Francisco
y la comandancia de Daniel Rudolf Anrig, en base a:
English: Flag Version of the Vatican Swiss Guard,
during the Pontificate of Pope Francis
and under the command of Daniel Rudolf Anrig,
Date: 7 August 2013.
Source: Own work.
Author: Sarumo74.
(Wikimedia Commons)


In addition to protecting the Pope, members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard are often called on to answer tourists’ questions, perform ceremonial duties and to assist at Vatican events.

Speaking to CNA, during a 5 May Press Conference detailing the preparations for the event, the Commander of the Swiss Guard, Colonel Daniel Anrig, explained that maintaining the tradition of new Guards making their Oaths on the Anniversary of the Sack of Rome reminds them of their mission.

“The Swiss Guards had to protect Pope Clement VII and most of the Swiss Guards lost their lives,” he noted. “That’s the reason we are remembering the day,” and, “to also promise again to do the same in this way. To do the same as the soldiers have done in 1527.”

Making an Oath for the Pope “means to give him everything, meaning also your life when need be,” the Commander continued, “so it’s a commitment, it’s a strong commitment to do everything for the Holy Father.”

BANDERA GUARDIA VATICA PANCHO.svg


The following Text is taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Swiss Guards are the Swiss soldiers who have served as guards at foreign European Courts since the Late-15th-Century. In addition to small Household and Palace Units, Swiss Mercenary Regiments have served as Regular Troops in various armies; notably, those of France, Spain and Naples (see Swiss Mercenaries). Currently, the name "Swiss Guard" generally refers to the Pontifical Swiss Guard of the Holy See, stationed at the Vatican, in Rome, Italy.

The Swiss were famous Mercenaries for hundreds of years. Since Switzerland was a poor country, young men often sought their fortunes abroad, having a reputation for discipline and loyalty, and employing revolutionary battle tactics. They were considered the most powerful Troops of the 15th-Century, until their methods were refined by the Landsknechte in the Early-16th-Century.

The earliest such Unit was the Swiss Hundred Guard (Cent Suisses) at the French Court (1497 – 1830). This small force was complemented in 1567 by a Swiss Guards Regiment. The Papal Swiss Guard (now located in Vatican City), was founded in 1506 and is the only extant Swiss Guard. In the 18th- and Early-19th-Centuries, several other Swiss Guard Units existed for periods in various European Courts.


Tuesday 6 May 2014

Belmont Abbey. Latin Mass Society Conference For Training Our Clergy To Celebrate Mass In The Forma Extraordinaria (Usus Antiquior).


The Blog, THE LATIN MASS SOCIETY RC DIOCESE OF MIDDLESBROUGH
has an excellent Report on the most successful Conference, last week, at Belmont Abbey, Hereford, England, for the training of Clergy and Servers in the Latin Mass (Forma Extraordinaria) (Usus Antiquior).


IMG_7429



In addition, the Chairman of The Latin Mass Society of England and Wales, Joseph Shaw, has a wonderful set of photographs of the Training Conference at PRIEST TRAINING AT BELMONT ABBEY

Those Priests, Seminarians and Servers, who wish to Register for the next Training Conference for The Latin Mass, should contact THE LATIN MASS SOCIETY OF ENGLAND AND WALES


UK Rules Exclude Pro-Life Medical Professionals From Diploma.


The Text in this Article is taken from CNA CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY





UK rules exclude pro-life medical professionals from diploma

LONDON, ENGLAND, May 4 (CNA/EWTN News) .- U.K. requirements that medical professionals seeking a specialist diploma must be willing to prescribe contraception and abortion-causing drugs have sparked objections from those excluded due to their moral beliefs.

“These rules exclude professionals who are unwilling to prescribe contraceptives and abortifacients on moral and conscientious grounds from specializing in an important area of clinical practice,” Victoria Weissman, a Catholic final year medical student in Britain, told CNA May 1.

“These are rules of exclusion based on discrimination, and restrict the rights both of health care professionals and of society in general,” she said, adding that the rules discriminate against her “on the grounds of my moral and conscientious objection.”

She said that the rules also discriminate against the “many women” she has encountered who might benefit and appreciate discussing these issues with “a practitioner who shared their understanding of the meaning and responsibility of their sexuality and fertility and who valued the dignity of every human life.”




In February, the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists re-published the guidelines for its specialist diplomas in sexual and reproductive health and for the standards of full membership in the faculty, the British newspaper The Telegraph reports.

The faculty said the completion of the program’s full syllabus is necessary for the qualification and this includes “a willingness to prescribe all forms of hormonal contraception, including emergency contraception, regardless of personal beliefs.”

Weissman said that the diploma is important for general practitioners or nurses involved in “any aspect of reproductive health” and it is “essential” for specialization.

She said that more than 70 percent of British medical graduates become general practitioners and reproductive health constitutes “a large part” of their caseload.




The diploma guidelines update said that clinicians with moral or religious reservations about “any contraceptive methods” will be unable to fulfill its syllabus requirement and will be ineligible for the diploma. It said that nurses and midwives have the right to conscientious objection only in cases of participation in abortion and in artificial conception procedures.

The faculty said that the policy is an updated version that now refers to nurses but is “otherwise unchanged” from existing policy.

Weissman repeated her objections to the policy.

“Sexual and reproductive health care is about much more than preventing and taking away new life,” she said.



Weissman explained that abortifacient drugs prevent the implantation of a fertilized egg, a new human embryo, “essentially resulting in miscarriage, termination of pregnancy, abortion.”

“They act once conception has happened, once life exists… they prevent this life from developing, from thriving, from surviving.”

These drugs “cause us to break both the Fifth Commandment and the Hippocratic Oath,” she objected.

She added that Catholics object to contraception on the grounds that it disrupts of conjugal love and places obstacles between the couples and God’s will for them.




Weisman said that disregarding her beliefs would mean she is “endangering the immoral souls of those I treat as well as myself” and also “helping to further an attitude in society that does not respect the dignity of each human life, regardless of its stage in life.”

She said the Catholic faith helps contribute to U.K. medicine. It helps medical practitioners to “see in each individual the image and likeness of God” and to “care for people regardless of their situation, their age, color or creed.” These practitioners’ conscientious objections also help uphold medical moral standards.

Weissman suggested that accommodations be arranged for objecting medical professionals to allow them to complete the diploma.

The rules have also drawn concern from Dr. Peter Saunders, chief executive of the Christian Medical Fellowship.



“It bars pro-life doctors from specializing in sexual and reproductive health and also makes it much more difficult for non-specialists to get jobs in family planning or reproductive health,” he said, according to the Telegraph.

In an April 29 blog post, Saunders suggested that the new policy may constitute illegal discrimination against those who hold certain religious and moral beliefs.

“I expect that some serious questions will be asked in parliament and elsewhere about this matter in the coming days,” he said, “and I would not be surprised if some government ministers got very angry as a result, or if a doctor, or a group of doctors and nurses, contemplated bringing a legal case against the College.”


ZEPHYRINUS COMMENT:

One really must ask oneself what kind of country we are now living in.

The only thing we can do, as Catholics, is to Pray.

And Pray often.


Monday 5 May 2014

Pope Saint Pius V (1504 - 1572). Pope And Confessor. Feast Day 5 May.


Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text is taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Saint Pius V.
Pope and Confessor.
Feast Day 5 May.

Double.
White Vestments.


El Greco 050.jpg


Deutsch: Porträt des Papst Pius V.
English: Pope Saint Pius V.
Artist: El Greco (1541–1614).
Date: Circa 1600 - 1610.
Current location: Private collection, Paris.
Source: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei.
DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by
DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.
Permission: [1].
(Wikimedia Commons)



Pius, born at Bosco, in Lombardy, Italy, entered at the age of fourteen into the Order of Preachers (The Dominicans).

As Bishop, Cardinal and Pope (Introit, Epistle, Communion), he put to profit the talents entrusted to him by God (Gospel).

His Pontificate, although short, was one of the most glorious of the 16th-Century. Protestantism had proclaimed the Reformation and Islam threatened the West. To remedy the ills, under which Christendom groaned, Pope Saint Pius V enforced obedience to the Decrees of the Council of Trent, published a new edition of the Missal and Breviary and obtained, by the Prayers he asked for, the glorious victory won by the Christian forces at Lepanto in 1571.

He instituted, on that occasion, the Feast of Our Lady of Victories, which became, later on, the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary.

He died on 5 May 1572, reciting the Hymn of Paschaltide.

Mass: Státuit.

El Greco 050.jpg


Pope Saint Pius V (17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was Pope from 8 January 1566 to his death in 1572. He is venerated as a Saint of the Roman Catholic Church. He is chiefly notable for his role in the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation, and the standardisation of the Roman Rite within the Latin Church

Pius V declared Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church and patronised prominent sacred music composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.

As a Cardinal, Ghislieri gained a reputation for putting orthodoxy before personalities, prosecuting eight French Bishops for Heresy. He also stood firm against nepotism, rebuking his predecessor, Pope Pius IV, to his face, when he wanted to make a 13-year old member of his family a Cardinal and subsidise a nephew from the Papal Treasury.

In affairs of State, Pius V excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I of England for schism and persecution of English Catholics during her reign. He also arranged the formation of the Holy League, an alliance of Catholic States. Although outnumbered, the Holy League famously defeated the Ottoman Empire, which had threatened to overrun Europe, at the Battle of Lepanto. Pius V attributed the victory to the intercession of The Blessed Virgin Mary and instituted the feast of Our Lady of Victory.


The Romanesque Old Cathedral, Salamanca, Spain. "O Rex Gloriae". Sebastián De Vivanco (1551 – 1622).


The Article, on Sebastian de Vivanco, can be found on the Atrium Musicologicum Blog
at http://musicologicus.blogspot.co.uk

Illustrations and Captions from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.


File:Cathedral of Salamanca Romanesque.jpg

"Torre del Gallo" of the Romanesque
Old Cathedral of Salamanca, Spain.
Photo: 15 October 2006.
Source: Flickr.
Author: chicadelatele.
Reviewer: FlickreviewR.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Sebastian de Vivanco's
"O Rex Gloriae".
can be heard on YouTube at
http://youtu.be/w1uF1hWEiOY


Sebastián de Vivanco (Ávila, 1551 – Salamanca, October 26, 1622) was a Spanish Priest and composer of the Renaissance.

Vivanco was born in Ávila, like Tomás Luis de Victoria; however, the exact date of his birth is unknown. It is hypothesized that he was born a few years after Victoria and that they both knew each other as children and sang together at the chapel of the Cathedral of Ávila. During the time that Vivanco sang in the chorus, the maestri di cappella were Gerónimo de Espinar, Bernardino de Ribera (1559) and Juan Navarro Hispalensis (1563). This last composer had the most profound influence on Vivanco. After 1566, with the change in his voice, Vivanco commenced studies as a Priest, as Victoria had done.

Around 1576, while still a Sub-Deacon, he was named maestro di cappella at the Cathedral of Lérida, but shortly thereafter, on July 4, 1576, he was dismissed from this position. Upon his return to Castille, in February 1577, he was named maestro di cappella at the Cathedral of Segovia, a position of higher prestige and pay than the previous ones. He moved there with his mother and remained there for the following ten years. During this period he became a Deacon and then, in 1581, was ordained as a Priest.

In 1588, he returned to his native city, Ávila, in order to take charge of the Cathedral Chapel. He remained here until 1602, when he took possession of the position of maestro di cappella at the Cathedral of Salamanca. This was his last position and the most important to his musical contributions. His three publications were printed during his time in this city. On February 19, 1603, he became professor of music at the University of Salamanca, and on March 4 of the same year, he received the degree of Master of Arts honoris causa. Vivanco was occupied with his position in the Cathedral of the university until his death, on October 26, 1622.


File:Retablo Catedral Vieja Salamanca.JPG

English: The Apse,
Old Cathedral of Salamanca, Spain.
Espanol: Retablo Catedral Vieja Salamanca.
Photo: 19 August 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Conde negro.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Cat vieja y nueva salamanca.jpg

English: The Old Cathedral of Salamanca, Spain.
Espanol: Torres de las dos catedrales de Salamanca.
En primer plano, la Catedral Vieja..
Photo: 21 March 2007.
Author: rahego.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Catedral Vieja. Nave central.jpg

English: The Nave.
Old Cathedral of Salamanca, Spain.
Español: Espectacular muestra del arte protogótico español 
con influencia afrancesada.
Photo: February 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: José Luis Filpo Cabana.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Paschaltide.

Chester Cathedral. Part Four.


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.



Chester Cathedral.
Cathedral Church of Christ and The Blessed Virgin Mary,
Chester, England.
The Cathedral, seen from the South-East, looking towards the Choir, right, with the Lady Chapel projecting, extreme right, and the South Transept, left. The Lady Chapel is in the Early-English (or Lancet) Gothic Style, marked by the simple windows. The Choir is in the Late-Geometric Decorated Gothic Style. The South Transept has Flowing Decorated Windows in the Aisle, and Perpendicular Gothic Windows in the Clerestory. The friable Red Sandstone building
was heavily restored in the 19th-Century.
Photo: May 2012.
Source: Family Album.
Author: Stephen Hamilton.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The North-West Tower is also of Norman construction. It serves as the Baptistry and houses a black marble Font, consisting of a bowl on a large Baluster dating from 1697. The lower part of the North Wall of the Nave is also from the Norman building, but can only be viewed from the Cloister, because the Interior has been decorated with mosaic.

The Early English Gothic Chapter House, built between 1230 and 1265, is rectangular and opens off a "charming" vestibule, leading from the North Transept. The Chapter House has grouped windows of simple un-Traceried form. Alec Clifton-Taylor describes the exterior of this building as a "modest, but rather elegant, example of composition in Lancets", while Nikolaus Pevsner says of the Interior: "It is a wonderfully noble room", which is the "aesthetic climax of the Cathedral". To the North of the Chapter House is the Slype [narrow corridor or passage], also Early English in style, and the Warming Room, which contains two large former fireplaces. The Monastic Refectory, to the North of the Cloister, is of about the same date as the Chapter House.

The Lady Chapel, to the Eastern End of the Choir, dates from between 1265 and 1290. It is of Three Bays, and contains the Shrine of Saint Werburgh, dating from the 14th-Century. The Vault of the Lady Chapel is the only one in the Cathedral that is of stone. It is decorated with carved Roof Bosses representing the Trinity, the Madonna and Child, and the murder of Thomas Becket. The Chapel also has a Sedilia and a Piscina.



Chester Cathedral's
Clerestory Windows.
Photo: May 2012.
Source: Family photo.
Author: Stephen Hamilton.
(Wikimedia Commons)



Deutsch: Stralsund, Deutschland.
Das Foto zeigt Details des Rathauses (außen).
English: The Church of Saint Nicolai, Stralsund, Germany.
The Clerestory Windows are the level between the two green roofs.
Photo: 24 January 2007.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Choir, of Five Bays, was built between 1283 and 1315, to the design of Richard Lenginour, and is an early example of Decorated Gothic architecture. The Piers have strongly modelled attached Shafts, supporting deeply moulded Arches. There is a Triforium Gallery with four Cusped Arches to each Bay. The Sexpartite Vault, which is a 19th-Century restoration, is supported by clusters of Three Shafts, which spring from energetic figurative Corbels. The overall effect is robust, and contrasts with the delicacy of the Pinnacled Choir Stalls, the Tracery of the windows and the rich decoration of the Vault, which was carried out by the ecclesiastical designers,Clayton and Bell. The Choir Stalls, dating from about 1380, are one of the glories of the Cathedral.

The Aisles of the Choir previously extended on either side of the Lady Chapel. The South Aisle was shortened about 1870 by George Gilbert Scott, and given an Apsidal East End, becoming the Chapel of Saint Erasmus. The Eastern End of the North Aisle contains the Chapel of Saint Werburgh.

The Nave of Six Bays, and the large Aisled South Transept, were begun in about 1323, probably to the design of Nicholas de Derneford. There are a number of windows containing fine Flowing Decorated Tracery of this period. The work ceased in 1375, in which year there was a severe outbreak of Plague in England. The building of the Nave was recommenced in 1485, more than 150 years after it was begun. The architect was probably William Rediche. Remarkably, for an English Mediaeval architect, he maintained the original form, changing only the details. The Nave was roofed with a Stellar Vault, rather like that of the Lady Chapel at Ely and the Choir at York Minster, both of which date from the 1370s. Like that at York, the Vault is of wood, imitating stone.

From about 1493 until 1525, the architect appears to have been Seth Derwall, succeeded by George Derwall until 1537. Seth Derwall completed the South Transept to a Perpendicular Gothic design, as seen in the Transomed Windows of the Clerestory. He also built the Central Tower, South-West Porch and Cloisters. Work commenced on the South-West Tower in 1508, but it had not risen above the roof-line at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and has never been completed. The Central Tower, rising to 127 feet (39 m), is a “Lantern Tower”, with large windows letting light into The Crossing. Its external appearance has been altered by the addition of four Battlemented Turrets, by George Gilbert Scott in the 19th-Century.



Chester Cathedral Cloisters.
Cathedral Church of Christ and The Blessed Virgin Mary.
Photo: 7 September 2013.
Source: Own work.
Author: Mum's taxi.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Perpendicular Gothic Cloister is entered from the Cathedral through a Norman doorway in the North Aisle. The Cloister is part of the building programme that commenced in the 1490s and is probably the work of Seth Derwall. The South Wall of the Cloister, dating from the later part of the Norman period, forms the North Wall of the Nave of the Cathedral, and includes Blind Arcading. Among the earliest remaining structures on the site is an Undercroft, off the West Range of the Cloisters, which dates from the Early-12th -Century, and which was originally used by the Monks for storing food. It consists of two Naves, with Groin Vaults, and short round Piers with round scalloped Capitals.

Leading from the South of the Undercroft, is the Abbot's passage, which dates from around 1150, and consists of Two Bays with Rib-Vaulting. Above the Abbot's Passage, approached by a stairway from the West Cloister, is Saint Anselm's Chapel, which also dates from the 12th-Century. It is in Three Bays and has a 19th-Century Gothic-Style plaster Vault. The Chancel is in One Bay and was re-modelled in the Early-17th-Century. The Screen, Altar Rails, Holy Table and plaster Ceiling of the Chancel date from the 17th-Century. The North Range of the Cloister gives access to a Refectory, built by Simon de Whitchurch in the 13th-Century. It contains an Early-English Pulpit, approached by a staircase with an ascending Arcade. The only other similar Pulpit in England is in Beaulieu Abbey.

By the 19th-Century, the fabric of the building had become badly weathered, with Charles Hiatt writing that: The surface rot of the very perishable red sandstone, of which the Cathedral was built, was positively unsightly" and that the "whole place, previous to restoration, struck one as woebegone and neglected; it perpetually seemed to hover on the verge of collapse, and yet was without a trace of the romance of the average ruin".

Between 1818 and 1820, the architect Thomas Harrison restored the South Transept, adding Corner Turrets. This part of the building served, until 1881, as the Parish Church of Saint Oswald, and it was ecclesiastically separate. From 1844, R. C. Hussey carried out a limited restoration, including work on the South Side of the Nave.



Chester Cathedral.
Choir seen from the West End.
Collection: A. D. White Architectural Photographs,
Cornell University Library.
Accession Number: 15/5/3090.01045.
Photo: Circa 1870.
(originally James Valentine (1815-1880)).
(Wikimedia Commons)


The most extensive restoration was carried out by the Gothic Revival architect, George Gilbert Scott, who, between 1868 and 1876, "almost entirely re-cased" the Cathedral. The current building is acknowledged to be mainly the product of this Victorian restoration, commissioned by the Dean, John Saul Howson. In addition to extensive additions and alterations to the body of the Church, Scott re-modelled the Tower, adding Turrets and Crenellations. Scott chose sandstone, from the quarries at Runcorn, for his restoration work. In addition to the restoration of the fabric of the building, Scott designed internal fittings, such as the Choir Screen, to replace those destroyed during the Civil War. He built the Fan Vault of the South Porch, renewed the Wooden Vault of the Choir, and added a great many decorative features to the Interior.


PART FIVE FOLLOWS.


Thursday 1 May 2014

Chester Cathedral. Part Three.


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.



Chester Cathedral.
Cathedral Church of Christ and The Blessed Virgin Mary,
Chester, England.

The Cathedral, seen from the South-East, looking towards the Choir, right, with the Lady Chapel projecting, extreme right, and the South Transept, left. The Lady Chapel is in the Early-English
(or Lancet) Gothic Style, marked by the simple windows. The Choir is in the Late-Geometric Decorated Gothic Style. The South Transept has Flowing Decorated Windows in the Aisle,
and Perpendicular Gothic Windows in the Clerestory. The friable Red Sandstone building
was heavily restored in the 19th-Century.
Photo: May 2012.
Source: Family Album.
Author: Stephen Hamilton.
(Wikimedia Commons)


At the Eastern End, the symmetrical arrangement of the Aisles was lost when the end of the South Aisle was demolished and rebuilt in an Apsidal shape. The Nave, Choir and South Transept have wide Aisles on either side, and are lit by Clerestory windows and large multi-light windows in each of the three cliff-like ends. To the North of the Cathedral, are Monastic buildings, including the Cloister, Refectory and a rectangular Chapter House. The façade of the building is abutted on the North by later buildings.



The windows have Curvilinear Drip-Mouldings.
Photo: September 2005.
Source: Own work.
Author: Elfineer at English Wikipedia.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Like the Cathedrals of Carlisle, Lichfield and Worcester, Chester Cathedral is built of New Red Sandstone, in this case, Keuper Sandstone, from the Cheshire Basin. The stone lends itself to detailed carving, but is also friable, easily eroded by rain and wind, and is badly affected by pollution. With the other red sandstone buildings, Chester is one of the most heavily restored of England's Cathedrals. The restoration, which included much refacing and many new details, took place mainly in the 19th-Century.

Because the South Transept is similar in dimension to the Nave and Choir, views of the building from the South-East and South-West give the impression of a building balanced around a central axis, with its Tower as the hub. The Tower is of the Late-15th-Century Perpendicular Style, but its four large Battlemented Turrets are the work of the restoration architect George Gilbert Scott.


File:Chester Cathedral interior 010 Mcginnly.JPG

The Lady Chapel,
Chester Cathedral.
Early-English Gothic
(1265 - 1290).
Photo: 4 July 2010.
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Author: user:mcginnly.
(Wikimedia Commons)


With its rhythmic arrangement of large, Traceried Windows, Pinnacles, Battlements and Buttresses, the exterior of Chester Cathedral, from the South, presents a fairly homogeneous character, which is an unusual feature, as England's Cathedrals are, in general, noted for their stylistic diversity.

Close examination reveals Window Tracery of several building stages from the 13th-to the Early-16th-Century. The richness of the 13th-Century Tracery is accentuated by the presence of ornate, crocketted, drip-mouldings around the windows; those around the Perpendicular windows are of simpler form.



Chester Cathedral's
Lady Chapel has Lancet Gothic Windows,
with Mid-19th-Century glass by William Wailes(1859),
depicting the Passion, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ.
Photo: 4 July 2010.

Source: Own work.
Author: user:mcginnly.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The façade of the Cathedral is dominated by a large, deeply-recessed, Eight-Light-Window in the Perpendicular Style, above a recessed doorway, set in a screen-like Porch, designed, probably, by Seth and George Derwall, in the Early-1500s. This Porch formed part of the same Late-15th-Century building programme as the South Transept, Central and South-West Towers, and Cloister.

Neither of the West Towers was completed. To the North, is the Lower Stage of a Norman Tower, while, to the South, is the Lower Stage of a Tower designed and begun, probably by Seth and George Derwall, in 1508, but left incomplete following the Dissolution of the Monastery in 1538. The Cathedral's façade is abutted, on the North, by a Victorian building housing the education centre. The door of the West Front is not used as the normal entrance to the Cathedral, which is through the South-West Porch, which is in an ornate Tudor Style.


File:Chester choir ceiling.jpg

Chester Cathedral.
The wooden Quadripartite Vault,
of the Choir,
was rebuilt by George Gilbert Scott.
Photo: 18 March 2008.
Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia.
Author: Original uploader was Joopercoopers at en.wikipedia.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Interior of Chester Cathedral gives a warm and mellow appearance, because of the pinkish colour of the sandstone. The proportions appear spacious, because the view from the West End of the Nave, to the East End, is unimpeded by a Pulpitum and the Nave, although not long, is both wide and high, compared with many of England's Cathedrals.

The Piers of the Nave and Choir are widely spaced; those of the Nave carrying only the Clerestory of large windows with no Triforium Gallery. The proportions are made possible partly because the ornate Stellar Vault, like that at York Minster, is of wood, not stone.


File:West window in Cathedral, Chester straight.jpg

 Chester Cathedral's
West Window is Perpendicular Gothic,
with 20th-Century Stained-Glass,
by W. T. Carter Shapland (1961):
The Holy Family, with Saints WerburghOswaldAidan,
ChadWilfrid, and Ethelfleda.
Photo: 7 September 2013.
Source: Own work.
Author: Stedent.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The present building, dating from around 1283 to 1537, mostly replaced the earlier Monastic Church founded in 1093, which was built in the Norman Style. It is believed that the newer Church was built around the older one. That the few remaining parts of the Norman Church are of small proportions, while the height and width of the Gothic Church are generous, would seem to confirm this belief. Aspects of the design of the Norman Interior are still visible in the North Transept, which retains Wall Arcading and a broadly-moulded Arch leading to the Sacristy, which was formerly a Chapel. The Transept has retained an Early-16th-Century Coffered Ceiling with decorated Bosses, two of which are carved with the Arms of King Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey.


PART FOUR FOLLOWS.


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