Sunday, February 13, 2022

Seven Hundred Years Ago Today

Seven hundred years ago today, at half-past four on the morning of the 13th February 1322, the monks of Ely were creeping back to bed having just said Lauds, when a terrifying explosion of sound burst from the cathedral next door.  An earthquake, was their first thought, and, given what they found when they ran into the nave, there might as well have been one.  The Norman crossing tower had collapsed; rubble choked the floor;  the church lay open to the sky.

The disaster had not been altogether without warning.  Cracks in the tower’s masonry had developed not long after work had begun on the new Lady Chapel just to the north, so the monks were already taking the precaution of avoiding the cathedral sanctuary.  This was one reason why nobody was killed in the collapse.  Even so, the sacristan, Alan of Walsingham, was in understandable despair at the scene, ‘not knowing which way to turn nor what to do.’ [1]  He had only been in office for three months, and he must have suspected that the Lady Chapel works, which he himself had put in hand, had hastened the catastrophe.  Never mind that he had already presided over Ely’s other recent misfortunes; in 1314 it had been Alan who had opened the shrine of St. Alban, the first English martyr-saint, in order for Edward II himself to declare the relics veracity, only for the King to declare that the true relics were not these, as Ely had claimed since 1045, but those in the possession of the abbey at St. Albans.  Now not only was Ely’s reputation in tatters, but the very fabric of its building lay in ruins.
Yet Alan of Walsingham turned out to be exactly the right man for his job, for it was he who, once he had recovered himself, devised and oversaw the replacement of the crossing tower — which was not merely a replacement, but its far surpassing.  Already considered ‘remarkable for his skill in goldsmith’s work’, he was about to prove an acute knowledge of and instinct for the science and art of architecture.  Within six months he had had cleared not only the rubble of the old tower but the four columns that had supported its corners, widening the crossing into a huge octagonal space.  Over this he placed a structure so audacious that the cathedral might have been built to incorporate it, rather than the other way around: the famous and quite unique octagon lantern tower.   With the help of the master carpenter William Hurley, Master of the King’s works south of the river Trent, Alan’s brainchild was translated into reality.  By their extraordinary imagination and the magnificent workmanship they oversaw, four hundred and fifty tons of lead and timber were made to soar weightlessly into heaven, where they have remained ever since, letting nearly seven centuries of photons flood down into the nave.
Detail of picture above: John of Burwell’s carving of Christ in Majesty, in the place it has occupied since 1340. 
It is remarkable that we know all these names; in tales of cathedral-building, most of the heroes are anonymous.  Yet at Ely we even know who carved the the central roof-boss at the octagon’s culmination, the figure of Christ in Majesty on which all its lines converge.  The craftsman was John of Burwell, a local man from a village south-east of Ely, and his carving was lowered into position in 1340.  Only eighteen years after disaster befell his city, he made good its crowning triumph joining the ranks of the men had brought this architectural masterpiece to completion, a perfect marriage of art, engineering and devotion that remains the jewel of Ely to this day.

The Cathedral and octagon tower from across the river Great Ouse
[1] Jon Cannon, ‘Cathedral: the Great English Cathedrals and the World that Made them’, (London: Constable, 2011), p. 323.

Sunday, February 06, 2022

God Save the Queen

A message from Her Majesty the Queen on the seventieth anniversary of her accession to the throne.  Amid its characteristic understatement are certain poignant details; I am particularly moved by the beginning of the final paragraph.

Thank God for our Queen.

Tomorrow, 6th February, marks the 70th anniversary of my Accession in 1952.  It is a day that, even after 70 years, I still remember as much for the death of my father, King George VI, as for the start of my reign.

As we mark this anniversary, it gives me pleasure to renew to you the pledge I gave in 1947 that my life will always be devoted to your service.

As I look ahead with a sense of hope and optimism to the year of my Platinum Jubilee, I am reminded of how much we can be thankful for.  These last seven decades have seen extraordinary progress socially, technologically and culturally that have benefitted us all; and I am confident that the future will offer similar opportunities to us and especially to the younger generations in the United Kingdom and throughout the Commonwealth.

I am fortunate to have had the steadfast and loving support of my family.

I was blessed that in Prince Philip I had a partner willing to carry out the role of consort and unselfishly make the sacrifices that go with it.  It is a role I saw my own mother perform during my father’s reign.

This anniversary also affords me a time to reflect on the goodwill shown to me by people of all nationalities, faiths and ages in this country and around the world over these years.  I would like to express my thanks to you all for your support.  I remain eternally grateful for, and humbled by, the loyalty and affection that you continue to give me.  And when, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.

And so as I look forward to continuing to serve you with all my heart, I hope this Jubilee will bring together families and friends, neighbours and communities – after some difficult times for so many of us – in order to enjoy the celebrations and to reflect on the positive developments in our day-to-day lives that have so happily coincided with my reign.

Retrieved from https://www.royal.uk/queens-accession-day-message

I do not myself think that there has been overall social or cultural improvement in Britain over the course of our present Queen's reign, but that is no fault of hers: it is we who have failed in following her example.  But her words here show that in spite of that, without bitterness, she is thinking foremost of our unity in the years ahead.