Architecture as cosmology: Lincoln Cathedral and English gothic architecture

An examination and explanation of the unprecedented and influential architecture of Lincoln Cathedral. Considers precedents at Durham and Canterbury, interpretations of the architecture by historians, and the influence of the architecture throughout the development of English Gothic architecture. Focuses in particular on the writings of Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln 1235-53. The geometries of the architecture can be seen in relation to the geometries of Grosseteste's cosmologies. Keywords: architecture, cosmology, Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Academy, English Gothic Architecture, Robert Grosseteste (Commentary on the Physics, Commentary on the Posterior Analytics, Computus Correctorius, Computus Minor, De Artibus Liberalibus, De Calore Solis, De Colore, De Generatione Sonorum, De Generatione Stellarum, De Impressionibus Elementorum, De Iride, De Libero Arbitrio, De Lineis, De Luce, De Motu Corporali at Luce, De Motu Supercaelestium, De Natura Locorum, De Sphaera, Ecclesia Sancta, Epistolae, Hexaemeron), medieval, University of Lincoln, Early English, Decorated, Curvilinear, Perpendicular, Catholic, Durham Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral, Anselm of Canterbury, Gervase of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, Becket’s Crown, Trinity Chapel, Scholasticism, William of Sens, William the Englishman, Geoffrey de Noyers, Saint Hugh of Avalon, Saint Hugh’s Choir, Bishop’s Eye, Dean’s Eye, Nikolaus Pevsner (Buildings of England, Cathedrals of England, Leaves of Southwell, An Outline of European Architecture), Paul Frankl (Gothic Architecture), Oxford University, Franciscan School, Plato (Republic, Timaeus), Aristotle (De anima, De Caelo, Metaphysics, Physics, Posterior Analytics), Plotinus (Enneads), Wells Cathedral, Ely Cathedral, Hereford Cathedral, Lichfield Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral, Beverley Minster, Chester Cathedral, York Minster, Worcester Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, Southwell Minster, Gloucester Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Elias of Dereham, Nicholas of Ely, Reginald Ely, St. Mary Redcliffe, Norwich Cathedral, Bristol Cathedral, Exeter Cathedral, Tewkesbury Abbey, Ottery St. Mary, lierne, tierceron, William Joy, Thomas Witney, John Ramsey, William Ramsey, Alan of Walsingham, William Hurley, Thomas of Cambridge, Thomas of Canterbury, fan vault, pendant vault, Henry Yevele, Robert Hulle, William Orchard, Oxford Divinity School, Oxford Christ Church, Windsor Castle (St. George’s Chapel), Cambridge King’s College Chapel, Peterborough Cathedral, Bath Abbey, William Vertue, Robert Vertue, Adam Vertue, William the Conqueror, Remigius, St. Mary Undercroft, St. Stephen’s Chapel, Abbot Suger, Abbey Church of St. Denis, Leon Battista Alberti (De re aedificatoria), Albertus Magnus, Alexander of Aphrodisias (De anima), Alexander the Mason, Abu Nasr Alfarabi (De intellectu), Alhazen (Opticae), Alkindi (De aspectibus), Amiens Cathedral, Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologica), Saint Augustine (De Civitate Dei, De Musica, De Trinitate), Averroes (Long Commentary on the De anima), Avicebron (Fons Vitae), Avicenna (De anima, De Caelo, Liber Naturalis, Metaphysica), Roger Bacon, Bartholomew the Englishman, Benedictine, Boethius (Arithmetic, De Consolatione Philosophiae), Byzantine, Cambridge University, Alistair Cameron Crombie, Nicolas Cusanus (De circuli quadratura, De coniecturis, De docta ignorantia), Duns Scotus, Euclid (Catoptrics, Elements of Geometry), Marsilio Ficino (De amore), Franciscan, John Harvey (English Medieval Architects, The Medieval Architect, The Perpendicular Style), Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (Introductory Lectures on Aesthetics), Henry of Avranches (Metrical Life of Saint Hugh), Hugh of Wells, Humanism, Robert Hulle, James of Venice, Robert Janyns, Henry Janyns, Liber de Causis, London, Michael of Canterbury, Neoplatonism, Folke Nordström, Norman, Norman Conquest, Notre Dame, Noyon Cathedral, Old St. Paul’s, Erwin Panofsky (Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism), Paris, Matthew Paris, John Peckham (Perspectiva Communis), Plantagenet, Proclus (Commentary on the First Book of Euclid’s Elements, Elements of Theology), Pseudo-Dionysius (Celestial Hierarchy, Divine Names, Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, Mystical Theology), Pythagoras, Reims Cathedral, Renaissance, Thomas Rickman (Attempt to Discriminate the Style of Architecture in England), Robert of Beverley, Romanesque, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling (The Philosophy of Art), Sir George Gilbert Scott, Gottfried Semper (The Four Elements of Architecture, Style in the Technical and Tectonic Arts), Edmund Sharpe (Seven Periods of English Architecture), Sir Robert Smirke, William Smyth, Richard William Southern, John Sponlee, George Edmund Street, Themistius (Paraphrase of the De anima), Theology of Aristotle, Edmund Venables, Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (Entretiens sur l’architecture), Vitruvius (De architectura), John Wastell, John Welbourne, Westminster Palace, William of Wykeham, Erasmus Witelo (Perspectiva), Christopher Wren, William Wynfor

If They Can Raze it, Why Can\u27t I? A Constitutional Analysis of Statutory and Judicial Religious Exemptions to Historic Preservation Ordinances

In 1996, America almost lost a great piece of its history. The Cathedral of Saint Vibiana, located in Los Angeles, was in danger of being destroyed. The Baroque-inspired Italianate structure was completed in 1876 by architect Ezra F. Kysor. The cathedral is one of only a few structures from Los Angeles\u27 early history remaining. As an important part of history and a beautiful piece of architecture, the cathedral was listed on California\u27s register of historic places. In 1994, an earthquake damaged part of the building. After an inspection by the building and safety department in 1996, the only portion of the cathedral found to be potentially structurally unsound was the bell tower. The archdiocese began demolition of the cathedral anyway, without the demolition permits required by the building and safety department as a stipulation to an abatement order decreeing that the bell tower was an imminent danger. The archdiocese desired to build a larger facility on the land. The archdiocese believed that the historic cathedral was outgrown and not worth repairing. As a result of the dire situation, the cathedral was listed as one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 most endangered places in 1997. This listing sparked further concern from the preservationist community and they came to the rescue. Because the cathedral was on California’s register of historic places, an environmental impact report had to be completed before the building could be razed. When the demolition was started before the church obtained permits, at the urging of preservationists, a judge issued a temporary restraining order to halt the demolition. The cathedral was saved when the wrecking crane was literally 20 feet away. Because of the prevention of immediate demolition, the city and the archdiocese were able to enter into negotiations that resulted in the sale of the cathedral instead of its demolition. The cathedral is now used as a performing arts complex and library. Sadly, California has moved in the direction of not protecting historic religious properties. Although state laws still apply, California now completely exempts religious institutions from local historic preservation ordinances. Historic structures located in other parts of the country are also in danger due to similar religious exemptions

Introduction: Lincoln Cathedral and its Bishop

The papers presented in this book originate from an international symposium, “Architecture as Cosmology: Lincoln Cathedral and Bishop Robert Grosseteste (1235–53),” hosted by Lincoln Cathedral on the 21st and 22nd January 2012, and funded by the Paul Mellon Education Programme and the Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design at the University of Lincoln. Supported by the Bishop and Chancellor of Lincoln Cathedral, the symposium (and subsequent published work) constitute the culmination of a more extended research project begun by Nicholas Temple in 2003 and published in his Disclosing Horizons: Architecture, Perspective and Redemptive Space (Routledge, 2007), and further developed by John Hendrix in his two books, Robert Grosseteste: Philosophy of Intellect and Vision (Academia Verlag, 2010) and Architecture as Cosmology: Lincoln Cathedral and English Gothic Architecture (Peter Lang Publishing, 2011)

Integrated dynamic and thermography investigation of Mallorca cathedral

An integrated investigation of engineering archaeometry was carried out using dynamic identification, dynamic monitoring and Infra-Red (IR) thermography for the study of the dynamic behavior of Mallorca cathedral in Spain. The cathedral is a large historical masonry structure built during 14-16th c. Dynamic identification and monitoring allowed the capturing of eight natural frequencies of the cathedral. IR thermography was used as a complementary inspection technique in the context of a continuous monitoring. Usually, IR thermography is used punctually for the inspection of a part of an inspected structure. Here an alternative was tried as the IR camera was installed for two two-weeks periods in the winter and in the summer of 2011 to monitor the stone surface temperature of a large portion of the cathedral. The correlation between the cathedral natural frequencies and the stone surface temperature of some selected structural elements was investigated and compared with the correlation with the external and the internal temperatures. It was found that the correlation with stone surface temperature was lower than that with external temperature. The study allowed a better understanding of the influence of temperature changes on the structure’s dynamic behavior.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Applying psychological type theory to cathedral visitors : a case study of two cathedrals in England and Wales

This study employs Jungian psychological type theory to profile visitors to Chester Cathedral in England and St Davids Cathedral in Wales. Psychological type theory offers a fourfold psychographic segmentation of visitors, distinguishing between introversion and extraversion, sensing and intuition, thinking and feeling, and judging and perceiving. New data provided by 157 visitors to Chester Cathedral (considered alongside previously published data provided by 381 visitors to St Davids Cathedral) demonstrated that these two cathedrals attract more introverts than extraverts, more sensers than intuitives, and more judgers than perceivers, but equal proportions of thinkers and feelers. Comparison with the population norms demonstrated that extraverts and perceivers are significantly under-represented among visitors to these two cathedrals. The implications of these findings are discussed both for maximising the visitor experiences of those already attracted to these cathedrals and for discovering ways of attracting more extraverts and more perceivers to explore these cathedrals

When David heard that Absalom was slain

Motet for double chorus a cappella, commissioned by the St Louis Chamber chorus in 2008 and receiving its world premiere from that ensemble under the direction of Philip Barnes, Christ Church Cathedral, St Louis, Missouri, USA, 2008. The work is due for eventual publication by Edition Peters under terms of its contract with the composer. Subsequent UK performances of the motet by the Vasari Singers under Jeremy Backhouse (Bath Abbey and other) preceded their CD global release of the work on the Naxos label. Duration: ca 9’30”. The following note appears on the composer's website: This work was commissioned for the St Louis Chamber Chorus by John and Gailya Barker in memory of their parents. Its première took place within a programme conceived on the theme of Winchester Cathedral, with which Christ Church Cathedral in St Louis has special links (an inscribed stone from Winchester Cathedral is set into one of its walls and its reredos is a copy of the 19th century original at Winchester). The choice of text was made in order to juxtapose this new setting by a recent member of Winchester Cathedral Choir to the much earlier one by Thomas Weelkes, Organist at Winchester College for a few years beginning in 1598 (and subsequently Organist at Chichester Cathedral). This modern setting attempts to respond to the timeless grief of a parent mourning his or her child, and to bring this sympathetically into line with resonances of a contemporary world where such private grief is all too frequently brought to universal attention through intrusive coverage by news media. At the same time, the music seeks to respect the aesthetic and technique of the setting by Weelkes -and also that by Thomas Tomkins, prized yet more highly by the present composer. (Tribute should be paid here also to the fine contemporary setting by Jonathan Rathbone.

Understanding Cathedral visitors: psychological type and individual differences in experience and appreciation

This article examines the experience and appreciation of 381 visitors to St Davids Cathedral in West Wales through the lens of Jungian psychological type theory. The data demonstrate that St Davids Cathedral attracts more introverts than extraverts, more sensers than intuitives, and more judgers than perceivers, but equal proportions of thinkers and feelers. The data also demonstrate that different aspects of the visitor experience appeals to different psychological types. Sensers are more attracted than intuitives by the facts, information, and data they encounter on their visit. Feelers are more attracted than thinkers by the atmosphere and wider ambience generated by the cathedral during their visit. The implications of these findings are discussed for understanding and developing the way in which cathedrals may develop the visitor experience

8. The Gothic Cathedral

The Gothic cathedral, like the Summa of Aquinas, the University of Paris, and the Christendom of Innocent III, stands as one of the major expressions of the spirit of the High Middle Ages. The word Gothic, coined by the Renaissance as a term of disparagement, has come recently to have more favorable and appreciative connotations. Such a reevaluation may be due not only to the better perspective that a longer period of time offers us, but also to a deeper understanding of the cultural role of artistic and spiritual symbolism. The artistic expression of the Middle Ages found its supreme embodiment in the architecture of the Gothic cathedral. [excerpt

On the origin of Goa Cathedral former altarpiece: Material and technical assessment to the work of Garcia Fernandes, Portuguese painter from 16th century Lisbon workshop

Goa Cathedral former altarpiece is one of the oldest set of paintings in India. The seven remaining paintings from the first altarpiece of Goa Cathedral, nowadays in the sacristy, are attributed by some art historians to Master Garcia Fernandes (act. 1514–1565), Portuguese painter from Lisbon workshop. The 16th century was the “Golden age” of Portuguese painting. In this context the Royal Lisbon workshop played a predominant role, where the activity of the painter Garcia Fernandes and his workshop can be distinguished. In this new approach, Goa paintings are being studied and compared with other works in Portuguese territory attributed to this same painter, as St. Bartholomew altarpiece from the chapel of Bartolomeu Joanes in Lisbon Cathedral. The stratigraphic study allowed to compare ground layers, pigments and binders which, were characterized using complementary analytical and imaging techniques: (X-ray Fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), Infrared Reflectography (IRR), Infrared Photography (IRP), Macro Photography (MP), micro-X-ray Diffraction (μ-XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Raman micro-spectroscopy (μ-Raman), Fourier Transform Infrared micro-spectroscopy (μ-FTIR), Pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (PY-GC/MS). This work brought a new insight on the techniques and materials used in this Masterpiece and highlighted the conclusion that Goa Cathedral former altarpiece must be a Portuguese production

CATHEDRAL: A Fast and Effective Algorithm to Predict Folds and Domain Boundaries from Multidomain Protein Structures

We present CATHEDRAL, an iterative protocol for determining the location of previously observed protein folds in novel multidomain protein structures. CATHEDRAL builds on the features of a fast secondary-structure–based method (using graph theory) to locate known folds within a multidomain context and a residue-based, double-dynamic programming algorithm, which is used to align members of the target fold groups against the query protein structure to identify the closest relative and assign domain boundaries. To increase the fidelity of the assignments, a support vector machine is used to provide an optimal scoring scheme. Once a domain is verified, it is excised, and the search protocol is repeated in an iterative fashion until all recognisable domains have been identified. We have performed an initial benchmark of CATHEDRAL against other publicly available structure comparison methods using a consensus dataset of domains derived from the CATH and SCOP domain classifications. CATHEDRAL shows superior performance in fold recognition and alignment accuracy when compared with many equivalent methods. If a novel multidomain structure contains a known fold, CATHEDRAL will locate it in 90% of cases, with <1% false positives. For nearly 80% of assigned domains in a manually validated test set, the boundaries were correctly delineated within a tolerance of ten residues. For the remaining cases, previously classified domains were very remotely related to the query chain so that embellishments to the core of the fold caused significant differences in domain sizes and manual refinement of the boundaries was necessary. To put this performance in context, a well-established sequence method based on hidden Markov models was only able to detect 65% of domains, with 33% of the subsequent boundaries assigned within ten residues. Since, on average, 50% of newly determined protein structures contain more than one domain unit, and typically 90% or more of these domains are already classified in CATH, CATHEDRAL will considerably facilitate the automation of protein structure classification