Canterbury Cathedral possesses a unique marble mosaic pavement,
dating from the early 12th century, which has long intrigued
scholars and been the subject of speculation and debate. It forms
part of the floor of the Trinity chapel, adjacent to the site where
the shrine of St Thomas Becket stood, prior to the Reformation.
Since the mosaic is older than the chapel itself and partly
destroyed a pavement of figurative roundels, laid c.1215, it must
have been moved here from elsewhere in the cathedral. This volume
explores the history and archaeology of the Trinity chapel, the
pavement and the physical remains of the cult of Becket, based
largely on hitherto unrecorded and unpublished evidence. In the
early 12th century, Archbishop Anselm rebuilt the eastern arm of
the cathedral, introducing architectural elements from his native
Italy, and these included a magnificent mosaic pavement, composed
of the most expensive marbles, which lay in front of the high
altar. In 1170, Archbishop Becket was murdered in the cathedral,
and his body rested overnight on the pavement before being buried
in the crypt. Thomas was immediately revered as a martyr, and in
1173 was canonised by the pope; a simple shrine was erected over
his tomb. In the following year, a fire (arson) destroyed the
eastern arm of the cathedral, precipitating the construction of the
present Trinity and Corona chapels, wherein St Thomas’s remains
were enshrined. After decades of delay and political strife, the
enshrinement took place in 1220, in the presence of Henry III. The
shrine comprised a great marble table, supported on six clusters of
columns. On top of the table was a marble sarcophagus containing
the saint’s body in an iron-bound timber coffin, over which stood
the sumptuous feretory, a gabled timber ‘roof’, plated with
sheets of gold and adorned with jewels. East of the shrine lies the
small Corona chapel in which a fragment of Becket’s skull was
separately encased in a ‘head-shrine’, and to the west a large
area was paved with forty-eight figurative stone roundels, created
by French artisans. All around, stained-glass windows display the
early miracles of Becket. The layout of the Trinity chapel
underwent transmutations, first around 1230, when the mosaic
pavement was taken up from the old presbytery, reduced in size and
relaid in front of Becket’s shrine, where is it today. Second,
the chapel was reordered in c. 1290, when the podium carrying the
shrine was enlarged and the paving around it reconfigured. Medieval
tombs were now being installed in the chapels, including those of
the Black Prince and Henry IV. The end came in 1538, when Henry
VIII ordered the thorough destruction of Becket’s shrines, but a
great deal of archaeological evidence remained in the floors, walls
and a few surviving fragments of the shrines, all now recorded and
discussed in this beautifully illustrated volume for the first
time.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
