Curiosities of Christian History Part 42

The site of St. Paul's Cathedral in London is traced to the time of Nero; by others it is alleged that a temple of Diana had stood there, while another temple to Apollo stood on the site of Westminster Abbey.

Ethelbert, King of Kent, was said to have dedicated a magnificent cathedral there, which was enlarged and adorned for centuries, till it was consumed by fire in 1087. Another fire in 1135 consumed the next building.

It was again rebuilt. In 1315 the structure had a tower steeple 285 feet high, and a spire and then a cross at the summit. The total height was 527 feet. And this spire in 1341 and 1444 was struck by lightning. Again in 1561 the lightning caught and destroyed it and the building also. This was thought a national calamity, and the Crown, the n.o.bles, and the Church recognised the duty to rebuild it; subscriptions poured in, in 1566 it was nearly restored except the steeple, and Queen Elizabeth was greatly displeased that the city authorities had not exerted themselves to complete this part also. James I., admitting the poverty of the Crown, stirred the bishop and appointed a commission to repair the fabric. In 1620 the King on horseback visited the city to attend a service there and keep up the public interest. He entered the church at the west door, and knelt and prayed near the brazen pillar; the choir chanted an anthem, and the bishop preached from the text: "Thy servants think upon her stones, and it pitieth them to see her in the dust" (Psalm cii. 14). Another royal commission was issued, and Inigo Jones, the King's surveyor, was one of that body; but little was done. Under Charles I., Laud, Bishop of London, laboured to collect funds, and the High Commission Court, which fined people for all sorts of delinquencies, gave the proceeds to that work, so that it was made a common jest that St. Paul's was restored out of the sins of the people. Inigo Jones, who was an Italian by birth, designed a portico at the west front; and a Turkey merchant, named Sir Paul Pindar, gave 100,000 to restore the interior and decorate it. The steeple still remained unfinished. During the Rebellion the cathedral suffered, and at the Restoration the authorities consulted Sir Christopher Wren, the great architect, as to the best mode of repair, and great changes were contemplated. Just at that time the Great Fire of London, in 1666, destroyed it. The rebuilding of St. Paul's then again became a great national work, and commissioners were appointed to erect a new church. All sources were examined for contributions, and the coal duty granted by Parliament supplied a chief part. Sir C. Wren was designated the architect, and he planned the present cathedral, slightly varying the site. St. Peter's at Rome had been the work of twenty Popes, but St.

Paul's had the advantage of having one architect and a more harmonious design. It has ever been considered the grandest and most beautiful church in Europe. The first stone was laid in 1675 by Sir C. Wren, without any parade or ceremonial. The foundations gave great trouble. At the east end he had to bore down forty feet and build a solid pier of masonry ten feet square. In 1697 the cathedral was first opened with great pomp on a thanksgiving day for the Peace of Ryswick. In 1715 Sir C. Wren saw his son lay the highest stone of the lantern of the cupola. All London poured forth to watch this spectacle. Yet Wren had been worried for years, and thwarted in his matchless plans by the little busybodies and bishops of the time. The height on the south side is 365 feet. Wren had plans for the painting of the cupola, but, against his wishes, that work was given to Sir James Thornhill, then a high authority, but whose ponderous figures and groups were wholly unsuited to the building, which ought to have been decorated by the free, delicate, and brilliant colouring of a Correggio.

The total sum expended on the cathedral was said to be 736,752.

CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL.

The site of Canterbury Cathedral is said to be the same as the primitive Roman or British church attributed to King Lucius, and is the earliest monument of the English union of Church and State. Canterbury was the first English Christian city. It differs from all other cathedrals, English and foreign, in the great height of the choir above the crypt below, and the numerous steps which are consequently necessary in order to reach it from the nave. Part of the skull of St. Dunstan is among the relics enclosed in a silver reliquary. There are also pieces of Aaron's rod, some of the clay from which Adam was made, and the right arm of "our dear lord the knight St. George." The screen is the work of Prior Henry de Estria, in 1304, being 14 feet high, and of great beauty. The choir is the longest in England, being 180 feet. When Becket was murdered in 1170, he was dragged from his chamber along the cloister by the monks, and he was entering the choir by a door now called the martyr's transept when he was stopped by the knights and fought and fell. The great window of the north transept, the gift of Edward IV., had originally seven glorious appearances of the Virgin with Becket in the centre; but in 1642 it was demolished by Richard Culmer, an iconoclast. When the pilgrims used to flock to Becket's shrine, they knelt in the sacristy, where Becket's staff and his b.l.o.o.d.y handkerchief were shown. The tomb of Edward the Black Prince and his coat of mail were always shown here. Cromwell was said to have carried off the sword. The archbishop's palace, close to the precincts, has left no trace except an old arched doorway. Yet in that palace Henry VIII. and Queen Catherine and Charles V. were entertained, and had a solemn dancing party. Queen Elizabeth was also feasted there.

The Puritans pillaged and ruined the building, which was never afterwards restored.

YORK MINSTER.

York Minster (monasterium) was rebuilt soon after 1352, and has perhaps the greatest reputation of all the English cathedrals, replacing the more ancient Eborac.u.m, a Roman city. Dignity and ma.s.sive splendour distinguish the exterior. It exceeds the other English cathedrals in the height of its roof, being 102 feet high in the choir. Its western front is architecturally magnificent. The large west window is nearly the same size as that of Carlisle, which last is considered by Mr. Fergusson "without a single exception the most beautiful design for window tracery in the world." The great eastern window, the chief glory, is a great wall of gla.s.s 78 feet high, and the largest in England that retains its original glazing. The exquisite and unique effect of the tall windows, rising from the floor to the roof, and occupying the whole width of the transept, is a most felicitous effort of architectural skill. The stained gla.s.s in the nave is the most extensive collection in the kingdom of the art of the fourteenth century; and it was little injured at the Reformation. The relics of Archbishop William of York, who had been interred in 1154, were removed in presence of Edward I. to another part of the building. His head was kept by itself in a reliquary of silver gilt and covered with jewels.

The vestry contains the horn of Ulphus, made of an elephant's tusk, the work of the eleventh century, and presented on the altar by a great lord of Yorks.h.i.+re, in token of his bestowing certain lands on the church of St.

Peter. The minster bell in the north-west tower is the largest in England, weighing 10 tons 15 cwt. Between Canterbury and York there had been incessant disputes for precedence; but a great synod held in 1072 made the northern province of England formally inferior to the southern. This decision was reversed by the Pope in 1125. The contest continuing, the Pope in 1354 settled it by treating the two provinces as independent of each other, but that the t.i.tle of York should be Primate of England, while Canterbury was to be Primate of all England. One of the archbishops, St.

John of Beverley, in 705, was the most famous of the northern saints next to St. Cuthbert. Henry IV. and his Queen visited the shrine of this St.

John after the victory of Agincourt, and attributed that victory greatly to the intercession of the saint. Another of the archbishops was St.

William, who was first elected in 1143, deposed by the Pope in 1147, but re-elected in 1154, at which date he had become very popular, being welcomed by a vast crowd, some of whom fell through the wooden bridge into the Ouse, but were saved by a miracle performed by the saint.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL.

A cathedral was built in 875 at Chester-le-Street, but this see was transferred in 995 to Durham, which was then a thick wood, one object being to find a safe deposit for the body of St. Cuthbert. Durham alone among English cities has its highest point crowned with the minster and the vast castle of its prince bishop, the building being erected about 1090. Like Lausanne or Chur or Sitten, the bishop was also a powerful chief. Its situation is most picturesque, and in that respect resembles Lincoln and Ely cathedrals. Dr. Johnson said this building gave the impression of "rocky solidity and indeterminate duration." On the north door is a grotesque knocker with a ring, which is a relic of the ancient practice of criminals flying for sanctuary to a church. When the murderer reached this knocker and seized the ring, two monks who sat constantly on the watch within opened the door, and then rang a bell in the Galilee tower to announce that an arrival had taken place. The criminal then put on a black gown, and was maintained safe from pursuit for thirty-seven days, after which he was bound to banish himself by setting off to the nearest vessel bound seaward; and he went off with a white cross in his hand. The altar of the Venerable Bede, one of our great early historians, who died in 735, is a feature of this cathedral and the work of the twelfth century. At that time it was deemed the highest virtue to steal relics, and Elfrid the priest in 1022 was warned in a vision to seek the relics of various holy persons buried in different parts of Northumbria, and display them to the veneration of the faithful. So he went and brought the remains of Boisel, the prior of Melrose, who had received St. Cuthbert when a youth. Elfrid also stole the relics of the Venerable Bede from the monks of Jarrow, and placed them in the shrine of St. Cuthbert in Durham Cathedral. The nine altars dedicated to the Archangel Michael, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Cuthbert, and other saints stand against the eastern wall, and the architecture is greatly admired. Here also is the shrine of St.

Cuthbert, a treasure more precious than gold or topaz. Pilgrims innumerable have here worn holes in the pavement. The shrine is a superb work of gold and enamel, hung round with jewels and ornaments offered by great lords and princes. So precious was this spot that some monk sat night and day in a watching chamber. The body of Cuthbert had at first been buried in Lindisfarne Church, and when his coffin was opened eleven years after, he was found to be uncorrupt and perfect, more like a sleeping than a dead man. And even so late as 1540, when another view was taken, the body was still found quite whole and uncorrupt, the face bare and the beard as of a fortnight's growth, all the vestments as usual, and crosier of gold lying beside him. In 1827 the tomb was again opened, and a skeleton found with some vestments once rich, a girdle, two bracelets, and a golden cross set with garnets; these are now preserved in the library.

The piers of this cathedral have the peculiarity of having ornamentations of zigzags and lattice-work very prominent. This is thought to be striking and powerful, and admirably in keeping with the ma.s.sive grandeur of the architecture. St. Cuthbert was said to have great suspicion and dislike to women, the origin of which is variously accounted for, and the cross of blue stones in the pavement which extends across the bay immediately below the great north door is said to have been the ancient limit beyond which women were not allowed to advance into the church of this austere saint.

It is related that in 1153 one Helisend, a damsel in attendance on the Queen of David of Scotland, entered the church in the disguise of a monk, but was detected by St. Cuthbert and ignominiously expelled. And in 1333, when Queen Philippa, who had accompanied Edward III. to Durham, had been received at the prior's house, and this came to the knowledge of the community, they were so enraged that in the middle of the night she had to rise and go half dressed into the castle.

WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL.

The Winchester cathedral was begun in 1079, to supersede other less convenient sites. The length is 520 feet, exceeding that of any other cathedral on this side of the Alps with the exception of Ely, which is 560 feet, and of Canterbury, about 570 feet. These three and St. Peter's at Rome, which is 607 feet long, are said to be the longest in existence. The forest of piers in the interior of Winchester soon rivets the eye. William of Wykeham, one of the bishops, in 1367, and soon after Lord Chancellor, was a great architect and engineer, and he superintended for seven years the great works of Edward III. at Windsor. He was an opponent of John of Gaunt, the patron of Wicliff. William founded Winchester College, and was a munificent patron of learning in his day.

OXFORD CATHEDRAL.

The origin of the cathedral of Christ Church, Oxford, is identified with the legend of St. Frideswide, a Saxon lady, who was brought up to venerate the Church, and in order to escape her suitor, the son of a king, fled with twelve companions, reached a nunnery at Oxford, and died there after several vicissitudes in 740. She worked many miracles. The church of her convent was rebuilt in 1111, and it continued to flourish till 1523, when Wolsey suppressed it. The college of Christ Church was soon afterwards commenced, and the present see of Oxford was founded in 1542 out of the ancient diocese of Lincoln. Roger of Wendover says that St.

Frideswide's suitor, when entering Oxford with his followers to take her by force, was suddenly blinded by a heavenly stroke. Perceiving that he was punished for his pertinacity, he sent to Frideswide and entreated her intercession with the Lord. The virgin prayed to G.o.d, and at her prayer the young man recovered his sight as quickly as he had before been struck with blindness. From this cause the kings of England have always been afraid to enter that city, for it is said to be fatal to them, and they are unwilling to test the truth of it at their own peril. The virgin constructed a monastery there, and herself presided over the company of pious virgins there a.s.sembled.

PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL.

This cathedral arose out of the ruins of an abbey founded in the seventh century by Penda, the first Christian king of Mercia. The abbey was of great distinction, and took up high ground, and it was a rule that all visitors of whatever rank should put off their shoes before entering the precincts of Peterborough the proud. A visit to it was deemed almost as great an event as a visit to Rome. The cathedral was begun about 1118. The west front, as a portico, is claimed to be the grandest in Europe, though wanting in the accompaniments which would enable it to rival some of the great facades of Continental cathedrals. It consists of three enormous arches of great height, the central one being rather narrower than the other two. The lofty flat roof, 81 feet high, is painted in lozenges, with a figure of some saint in each centre, the only other flat painted roof being that of the cathedral of St. Albans. The retro-choir, built in 1438, is admired for the beautiful fan tracery of the roof. This cathedral is very deficient in stained gla.s.s. It was well furnished in this respect till Cromwell's troops broke open the doors, shattered the windows, destroyed the organ, and broke in pieces the superb reredos of carved stone, painted gilt, and inlaid with plates of silver. The soldiers fired at the evangelists in the roof, rioted in wanton spoil, and they performed their military exercises daily in the nave of the cathedral. The body of Mary, Queen of Scots, six months after her execution, was buried in this cathedral, and there remained for twenty-five years, when her son James I. removed it to Westminster Abbey.

SALISBURY CATHEDRAL.

The cathedral of Salisbury was begun in 1220, the former one having been built by St. Oswald in the fortified town or castle of Old Sarum, on a higher ground near the present place. The present site was said to be chosen by an arrow shot from the ramparts of Old Sarum, or, as some prefer it, by a vision of the Virgin who appeared to Bishop Poore. One of the bishops was William Ayscough, the most learned man of his day, who in Jack Cade's insurrection in 1450 was seized while celebrating Ma.s.s and brutally murdered by the mob, and his vestments divided by lot as memorials. This cathedral, built about 1225, while Westminster Abbey was begun in 1245, ranks next to the latter as the choicest great building in England. On the Continent the great rival of Salisbury is Amiens Cathedral; but though it covers nearly twice as much ground as Salisbury, its high roof dwarfs the steeple. Much of the painted gla.s.s here was removed during the Reformation times, but the cathedral was not much injured during the Civil War. In 1782 an ignorant architect was said to have done much mischief by so-called improvements. The central spire of Salisbury, the loftiest in England, is said to be about 400 feet high; but Amiens is 20 feet higher than Salisbury, the highest in the world being Cologne and Strasburg, which last is 468 feet.

WELLS CATHEDRAL.

Wells Cathedral is earlier than any other in Great Britain, for a legend ascribes its origin to Joseph of Arimathaea, who, with eleven companions, arrived soon after the Crucifixion and built a chapel at Glas...o...b..ry, and this was even said to be the first church erected in all Christendom. A bishopric was said to be founded at Wells about 904, an abbot of Glas...o...b..ry being the first bishop. The cathedral, though one of the smallest, is the most beautiful in England, its group of well-proportioned towers and pinnacles having an enhanced beauty from the picturesqueness of the situation. It suffered considerably in the troublous times of Monmouth's rebellion, when the rebels tore the lead off the roof to make bullets, and wantonly defaced many ornaments. The great west front contains some choice sculptures, such as can only be equalled by Rheims and Chartres. The breadth of the front is greater than that of Notre Dame or of Amiens, being 147 feet, and thus gives great scope for the variety of the sculpture. There are in the whole of the west front about three hundred figures, half of which are life-size, being those of kings, queens, princes, knights, and mitred ecclesiastics, saints, martyrs, and angels, the whole being a glorious company and goodly fellows.h.i.+p of prophets and worthies. Altogether this is one of the most impressive church fronts either in England or on the Continent.

SOME OTHER ENGLISH CATHEDRALS.

The cathedral of _Norwich_ arose out of a more ancient cathedral built at Dummoc, now Dunwich, on the coast of Suffolk, in 630; afterwards another was subst.i.tuted at Elmham in Norfolk, and in 1075 again transferred to Thetford, and in 1091 the place was finally fixed at Norwich. In 1094 the cathedral of Norwich was commenced. The nave is the longest in England except St. Albans, which is 300 feet long, while Norwich is only 250 feet.

The cathedral of _Carlisle_ was begun in 1121, though it was soon destroyed by fire, and was rebuilt in 1353. The famous window at the east end has in its lower part more lights or divisions (being nine) than any other decorated window in existence. Its upper portion exhibits the most beautiful design for window tracery in the world, all its parts being in exquisite harmony.

The _Exeter_ cathedral was begun in 1107, as an example of the marvellous and sumptuous architecture of the Normans, and was considered as a powerful contrast to the simple Saxon building it displaced. The west front has in its lower part three rows of figures of apostles, saints, kings, and a few Old Testament characters; and the whole is architecturally of great beauty. The roof of the nave, with its slender vaulting shafts and delicate carving, is graceful and light, and the cl.u.s.tered pillars of Purbeck marble contrast well with the lighter stone of the walls and roof. The minstrels' gallery is unique, with its row of winged angels in front, each playing on a musical instrument, one of these instruments being a bagpipe. The organ, built in 1665, is said to be the most ancient in actual use.

A monastery for both men and women had been founded at _Ely_ in 673 by St.

Etheldreda, which the Danes destroyed. It was rebuilt afterwards, and in 1109 this monastery was made the seat of a new bishopric taken out of the great diocese of Lincoln, and the cathedral built to the north of the old monastery. This church, which is 565 feet long, is often said to be the longest Gothic church in Europe, although others, like the cathedral of Milan, cover more ground. The roof of the nave is decorated with painted figures, and so is the vaulted roof of the octagon.

The diocese of _Lincoln_ was once the greatest in England, till it was subdivided in the reign of Henry VIII. About 1072 the present cathedral was begun, being a subst.i.tute for three older sites of smaller sees. It was destroyed by an earthquake, and rebuilt by St. Hugh of Lincoln, then bishop. In grandeur of situation this cathedral has no equal in England.

The stone of which it is built becomes black, but is very durable, and retains its sharpness of outlines. In the great central tower is the bell called Great Tom of Lincoln, founded in 1610, the third in size, being exceeded by Oxford and Exeter.

An old nunnery was founded at _Gloucester_ in 681, and this fell into the hands of the Benedictine monks, who in 1088 began to build a new church. A fire having destroyed it twice, the cathedral was begun about 1239. The great central tower is only ten feet lower than that of Canterbury, built about the same time. The monks themselves were said to have laboured at the roof of it. The great east window is the largest in England, and owing to an ingenious construction is wider than the side walls which contain it; it is also filled with the finest stained gla.s.s of the period in this country. At the back of this window is a pa.s.sage, 75 feet long, which is called the Whispering Gallery, owing to the great facility with which the slightest sound or movement at one end can be heard at the other end.

Like Salisbury, the _Chichester_ cathedral has a spire, which is 271 feet high; and being in that respect 130 feet lower than the former, it is a saying in the locality that the master mason built Salisbury spire and his man Chichester spire. The spire has an ingenious plan inside the top, devised by Sir Christopher Wren, for keeping it from being blown down and counteracting the force of the wind. The spire is exactly central. On entering the nave the eye is at once caught by the five aisles, a peculiarity which distinguishes this cathedral and that of Manchester from all the others, and grand effects of light and shade are produced by those five aisles. Chichester Cathedral was first completed in 1108. One of its bishops was Reginald Pec.o.c.k, who flourished in 1450, and was considered a great champion of the clergy against the rising Lollards, whom he sneered at as "The Bible-men."

A church of an Augustinian monastery was adopted as the cathedral of _Bristol_ when the latter see was created in 1542. It is a cathedral without a nave, the latter portion having once existed; but being removed for a purpose, it was never restored. The east window, filling the whole of the end above the reredos, is of singular beauty in tracery and design.

The see of _Hereford_ existed before the arrival of St. Augustine, and the cathedral was rebuilt in 1012 from the foundations. St. Thomas Cantilupe was one of the bishops, and his relics were brought from Italy, where he died in 1282 on his way to Rome, and wrought many miracles long afterwards. He was canonised in 1320. In the library are many ancient volumes, all chained in the manner not uncommon in the first century after printing was discovered.

The church of the monastery of St. Mary was adopted for the see of _Worcester_ about 680. St. Dunstan was a bishop from 957 to 961. A new minster was then built by Oswald; but being too small, a larger building was begun by Wulfstan about 1084. The great Norman tower fell in 1175, which was said to be a common incident in that style of building. The present tower was built in 1374.

The cathedral of _Lichfield_ was supposed to be built about 1154. Its west front is scarcely exceeded by any other cathedral in grace of outline and in the harmony of its general design. The nave is also admirable for beauty and gracefulness.

SOME WELSH CATHEDRALS.

The see of _Llandaff_ was founded in the sixth century, and the cathedral was begun in 1120 to replace a small church on the same site. But the building became wholly dilapidated, and was only restored in very modern times. Yet it is said this is the most ancient of all the sees in Great Britain.

_St. Asaph_ was a see founded in the sixth century, like the other Welsh sees. The cathedral is small and plain, but stands in a picturesque situation, and was in recent times restored.

_Bangor_ see is of equal antiquity with the others, and the cathedral, which is small and plain, has also been restored.

The see of _St. David's_ was supposed to be founded in the sixth century, and St. David, a Welsh saint, removed it from Caerleon in Monmouths.h.i.+re, which was too near the heathen English and in too populous a district. St.

David went to Jerusalem, and was consecrated by the patriarch. He was a great worker of miracles in his time, according to the popular legends.

CHAPTER XV.