A200 Exploring History: From medieval to

modern 14001900
Audio transcript for DVD1
Jacques Coeur house
The Story of Coeur
Narrator
Jacques Coeur was accused in 1451 of poisoning the Kings mistress, Agnes
Sorrel. It was a charge that might have cost him his life. The accusation of murder
had been levelled against one of the richest and most powerful men in France.
Thomas Basin, the Bishop of Lisieux, said of him:
Thomas Basin V/O
At that time, an industrious and shrewd man, Jacques Coeur from Bourges, of
lowly origin but of great and lively intelligence, served in the administration of
the royal household. He was the kings household treasurer and the commercial
business which occupied him incessantly had made him extremely rich and
famous. He was the first Frenchman of his time to equip and arm galleys which,
loaded with woollen cloth and other French products, roamed the shores of Africa
and the East as far as Alexandria in Egypt, and brought back up the Rhone silk
cloths and all types of spices and other goods.
Narrator
As Royal Treasurer Coeur had many friends at Court, but his success made him
enemies and may have led to the accusations brought against him.
Basin V/O
He was formally accused of poisoning then imprisoned and long detained in the
castle of Lusignan in Poitou. There the king gathered a large assembly, which
some used to call the bed of justice, to judge and condemn him, where the
witnesses accused the treasurer of smuggling weapons and prohibited goods to the
infidels.
Narrator
For many months Coeur was held prisoner in the castle of Lusignan until finally
he managed to bribe his guards and escape. According to Basins account Coeur
managed to reach Rome where Pope Nicholas gave him command of several
galleys to fight the infidels. He died there in 1456.
Documentary evidence of Coeurs life offers a broad picture of the man but the
best visual evidence is in his home town of Bourges, in the spectacular mansion
he built there.
In the eight years before his disgrace in 1451, Coeur invested a large amount of
his wealth in this magnificent mansion
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Exploring the building, examining its layout and analysing its decoration can
provide important historical information.
The mansion reveals Coeurs desire to project an enduring image of his wealth,
power and connections. But interpreting the building and understanding how it
has been altered and restored since Coeur built it, raises challenging historical
questions.
Layout of the building
Narrator
Coeur wasnt of noble birth but was ennobled by the king. Part of his new
lifestyle was having a suitably grand mansion that everybody could see. Coeur
picked a prestigious site to erect his mansion by building along 300 foot of the
fourth century Gallo-Roman wall that encircled the town of Bourges.
The highly decorated faade looks out onto the town, impressing passers-by.
While contemporaries approaching Bourges from fields to the west would have
seen the back of the house with its imposing towers and crenellations. Both are
symbols of noble power in the late middle ages.
Coeurs wealth is obvious from the sheer size of the building and also in the
choice of building materials. At a time when most houses were built of wood and
plaster, Coeurs mansion was built from stone. Although building records have
not survived, the cost of transporting the stone from local quarries in addition to
wages for the builders was enormous.
Medieval visitors to the mansion entered through the main gateway into the
principal courtyard.
The many windows were another sign of wealth as glass was expensive to
produce. Most windows at the time were made from animal skins or had wooden
shutters.
A visitor would have gained an idea of the layout of the building by looking at the
sculptures over the doorways around the courtyard.
Directly across the courtyard the entrance to the great hall is marked out by its
wealth of decoration, both on the tower and on the door surround.
The doorway to the kitchens is indicated by a sculpture of domestic chores.
Over the chapel staircase are scenes showing preparations for religious services.
A figure rings a bell summoning the worshippers to prayer.
The mansion is built over three storeys and has extensive cellars underground.
The ground floor is broadly divided into covered galleries, domestic areas
including kitchen and steam room, a great hall, and what were probably living
quarters. The small octagonal towers house staircases to the upper floors.
The first floor comprises the chapel over the gateway, flanked on either side by
galleries. Directly above the great hall on the ground floor is an upper great hall.
On both sides are a series of rooms, which may have been Coeurs private
apartments and offices.
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On the second floor is another great hall, directly above the halls on the lower
floors.
Its not possible to identify what all the rooms would have been used for. But the
size and decoration of some of them gives clues as to their function during
Coeurs lifetime.
On the ground floor in the lower great hall there are the remains of elaborate
decoration on the walls, on the fireplace and above the doorway. The small
gallery would have been used by musicians entertaining guests in the hall below.
There is a serving hatch between the great hall and the adjoining room. This
suggests that food would have been brought up from the kitchens and kept here
when Coeur was entertaining. Wine was brought up the stairs from the cellars.
The food for entertaining was prepared in the main kitchen. This room is no
longer accessible.
Next door in the small kitchen the fire was used to heat the steam bath in the
adjoining room.
The steam bath is a sign of luxury and comfort. This room is located off the
staircase leading to the first floor
On the first floor is the medieval garde robe or toilet.
Nothing remains of the original decoration in the upper great hall but its
dimensions and size of the windows give an idea of its original magnificence.
Corridors off the great hall lead to what may have been Coeurs private rooms.
Included in this is the galley room.
Directly opposite the great hall is the chapel where the whole household
worshipped. On either side are little oratories where Coeur and his wife sat.
Galleries on either side of the chapel were probably used for exercise and leisure.
Unlike some of the other rooms the south gallery was well heated by these large
fireplaces.
A spiral staircase off the great hall on the first floor leads to the Tower rooms. On
the second level is the Angel chamber, so called because of an angel sculpted
above the fireplace. On the third level, and guarded by a reinforced door, is
Coeurs treasure chamber.
On the second floor of the building, under the roof, is another great hall, which
may have been used as a reception room.
This first look around the mansion has revealed some of Coeurs aspirations and
ambitions in the layout and choice of material. This is also reflected in the
decoration, as the next section will show.

Decoration
Narrator
The standard of workmanship in the decoration suggests that Coeur employed
some of the leading craftsmen from inside and outside the region.
On the exterior and in the interior of the building there is a wealth of decoration.
Carved wooden faces adorn the ceiling of the first floor gallery. Theres a stone
sculpture of Tristan and Isolde, with King Mark hiding in the tree, and another of
an angel over the fireplace in the angel chamber. The chapel ceiling is covered in
much restored paintings.
Some of the decoration has more than a purely ornamental purpose. Coeurs idea
of status was intimately tied up with his decorative scheme.
Coeur celebrated his connections to family and business associates in the coats of
arms on the chapel ceiling. Those of Coeurs father-in-law, those of Pierre Jobert
who supervised the building of the mansion and those of Guillaume de Varye,
Coeurs deputy in the royal household treasury, and who also looked after his
business affairs in Geneva. Remaining fragments show that coats of arms were set
in the stained glass windows of principal rooms in the mansion including those of
Jacques Coeur.
Coeurs symbols of ownership are stamped throughout the building. Statues
purporting to be Coeur and his wife, greet the visitor at the gateway. Emblems
taken from his coat of arms, hearts and shells, adorn the exterior and interior. The
emblems are a pun on the name of the owner; Jacques being shown as a scallop
shell, Coquille St. Jacques in French, and Coeur, a heart.
In the lower great hall there are allusions to Coeurs career in royal service. The
French royal emblem fleur de lys, or lilies, are sculpted over the doorway. The
winged stag is a personal emblem of Charles VII. An equestrian statue of Charles
VII once adorned the faade of the mansion, as seen in this book of Hours made
for a member of Coeurs family.
The palm tree and date tree above the main entrance reflect Coeurs trading links
in the Mediterranean, as do the ships carved about the doorway in the galley
chamber and set in the stained glass of the windows.
Noblemen were expected to follow an appropriate lifestyle, usually a military
career, and taking part in commerce could lead to them losing their noble status.
As Coeur started as a merchant he saw no conflict between his commercial
interest and his newly ennobled status. It is almost as if Coeur believed that
trading on behalf of the king made commerce a noble activity.
Activity 1
Narrator
As a historian you need to think about the information contained in this building.
Its necessary to learn to read a building so its time to look at this one again.
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Watch the films a second time and jot down bullet point ideas and connections
that might answer this question:
What can be learnt about Jacques Coeur from the layout and decoration of the
mansion?
Once youve created your list, group your answers together into broader themes.
Then select the feedback button.
Feedback
Narrator
Coeurs wealth is reflected by the following features:
The size and scale of the building as seen in the number of rooms and the three
great halls.
The use of expensive materials such as stone and glass.
A concern for comfort as seen in the many fireplaces and the steam room.
The richness of the decoration. Symbols of ownership are also displayed in the
decoration, in the emblems of the hearts and shells, and in Coeurs coat of arms.
Coeur advertised his royal service by prominently displaying the stag and fleur de
lys in the lower great hall.
His commercial connections were reflected in the ship motif and in the sculptures
of exotic trees.
Building through the ages
Narrator
Historians rarely have the luxury of studying unrestored buildings. Over the
centuries they may be added to or adapted as the needs of their owners and the
uses of the building change. Jacques Coeurs mansion is no exception. The
building wasnt even finished when he was arrested and his family and associates
stripped the contents to stop them being confiscated by the king.
After a long struggle, the house was restored to his family in 1457. It was sold
some years later and continued to change hands until 1679, when the Kings
minister, Colbert, sold it to the town of Bourges and it became a town hall. In the
nineteenth century it became a law court, after the French state acquired the
building.
Two campaigns of restoration took place between 1840 and 1858, then again in
1920. These restorations reflect what nineteenth century architects and historians
thought the house originally looked like. In the late twentieth century there was a
new project to restore the building using as much historical evidence as possible,
which is the state of the building as it is today.
The best visual evidence for what the building may have looked like in Coeurs
day comes from two late fifteenth century miniatures one showing the west side
facing fields and the other the east side facing the town.
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There are photographs which show what the ground floor great hall looked like
before the restoration. The music gallery was missing, later to be found in
someones back garden, and restored to its rightful place. The chimney breast was
painstakingly reconstructed from the tiniest fragments of the surviving stonework.
The original stonework can be seen in parts on the mantel. The reconstruction of
the decoration has been taken from examples of surviving stonework as seen on
this medieval doorway. Also in the great hall the doorway with the winged stags
was restored, again using fragments of the original stonework to reconstruct the
figures. The chimneys in the upstairs galleries are further examples of the
extensive restoration.
Written sources also help in the restoration process. There is a partial account of
the house in 1636 that describes some of the glasswork including the windows in
the galley chamber:
Male V/O
It is necessary to put back the six large painted glass panes, which represented
several galleys, which were taken down when the dukes son Louis moved in, and
if any part of the said panes is missing, put back similar painted glass in the colour
of that which was lost or broken, so that there shall be no distortion afterwards in
what is depicted in the panels, and to clean them and fix them properly.
Narrator
As so much was taken from Coeurs house after his disgrace, these documents are
vital sources, but leave many questions unanswered. Our main source of
information on the house, and how it might have been used is still the building we
see today.
The latest twenty-first century restoration has added greatly to the building, but it
was restoring the nineteenth century restoration and not restoring the building to
the one that Coeur built.
Activity 2
Narrator
Answer this second question. You may want to review some of the material.
How far do the surviving fabric and historical documents provide evidence of the
mansion as Coeur built it?
Afterwards press the feedback button.
Feedback
Narrator
There are very few sources for the original appearance of Coeurs mansion. The
best for the exterior are two miniatures showing the east and west faades of the
building. These can be compared to the building as it appears today.
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The front is heavily restored, but there is an attempt to match local stone, and we
can still see features present in the fifteenth century miniature.
The hearts and shells along the balustrade of building at roof level;
The position of the large and small entrance gates;
The tower of the chapel;
And the octagonal tower housing the staircase to the left of the main tower.
Comparing the miniature to the front faade shows some changes: the missing
equestrian statue and possibly the direction in which the statues of Coeur and his
wife now face.
This is an artists view of the building, so it may not be accurate in all details. The
miniature of the west side is much less specific and very two-dimensional. Major
features of the building can be identified. For example, its position within the city
wall, the crenellations and the tower of La Chausse flanked by the octagonal
staircase.
From plans and early illustrations its clear that one of the courtyards was
demolished and the garden was built over.
Inside the building there is photographic evidence of the alterations.
These show in the ground floor great hall the replacement of the musicians
gallery and the carvings of Charles VIIs emblems.
In the galley chamber the sculpture above the doorway has been restored and the
stained glass window.
In the upper galleries the fireplaces have been restored.
And in the chapel the paintings in the ceiling have been restored.
Most of the stained glass is missing but the remaining fragments give an idea of
what it might have looked like.
These examples show that historians do not have an exact idea of what the
mansion looked like in Jacques Couers day, but they do have some visual and
documentary sources that give evidence of what may have changed over time.
Coeur and Bourges
Narrator
Coeur made his fortune from his success in business. He started off running the
local mint in Bourges before forming a network of small trading companies
buying products from across Europe.
Coeurs wealth and contacts led him to the official position of treasurer of the
royal household. He supplied luxury items for the court furs, cloths, jewels,
pepper, spices and furnishings, such as tapestries. To extend his influence further,
Coeur placed his friends and business associates in key positions in the royal
household.

He also acted as a banker. As a great merchant he had more access to ready cash
than most contemporaries.
Though he had other properties and houses Coeur built the mansion in Bourges as
the testament to his immense wealth. There were personal reasons for this: he had
been born in Bourges, so had his wife, and many of his closest collaborators and
friends were from the town or region.
Jacques Coeurs family were typical as a group of ennobled or aspiring royal
servants. He acquired benefices for his son, including that of archbishop of
Bourges where Coeur also founded the family chapel.
There were also economic reasons why Coeur chose to live in Bourges. The city
was well situated on the Loire and the Rhone vital for trade but more
significantly Bourges became an important cultural centre, thanks to the patronage
of its Royal prince, Jean, Duke of Berry.
In the fourteenth century the Duke of Berry chose Bourges for his great palace,
modelling its chapel on the Sainte Chapelle in Paris.
Berry brought architects and sculptors down from Paris, one of the great cultural
centres of fourteenth and early fifteenth century Europe. Their craftsmanship is
evident in the weepers, which were originally around the base of Berrys tomb.
Berry employed some of the most famous artists, such as the Limbourg Brothers,
who created Berrys beautiful prayer book, the Most Precious Hours.
After Berry died the duchy of Berry passed to the future Charles VII. As a result
the town became a major seat of the royal court and administration. Bourges
royal connections were an obvious attraction to Coeur.
As a result of Berrys cultural achievements Bourges was the home to many
outstanding craftsman and artisans who Coeur was able to employ for his own
grand scheme.
Much of the town of Bourges which would have been familiar to Jacques Coeur
burnt in a great fire on 22 July 1487, so most of the old houses date from the end
of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth century. Luckily Coeurs house
survived the blaze, which means it is the best surviving example of medieval town
architecture of this size still standing today.

The Beauchamp Chapel

Medieval religious beliefs
Narrator
Late medieval Christians were taught that after death very few souls went directly
to heaven. Most had to pass through purgatory where during an indefinite time,
the soul was cleansed from sins which had not been pardoned while they were
alive.
In the words of historian Eamonn Duffy this was a sort of 'outpatient department
of Hell, rather than the ante-chamber of Heaven. Here the soul underwent
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torments in the belief that it would be sufficiently cleansed by the Day of

Judgement to pass into Heaven.
Purgatory was like a prison where Christians were chained by their own sins.
However, you could help redeem the dead from purgatory by having masses
celebrated for their souls.
Medieval Christians who could afford it established chantries, by giving a sum of
money to provide for priests to celebrate masses for their souls till the day of
judgement. This could be within an existing building, or the wealthy could pay for
a new chantry chapel. Such chapels reminded priests, relatives and other
Christians to continue to pray for the founders soul.
Historians often compare the structure, decoration and use of space in medieval
churches to 'a theatre for the liturgy.
The chantry chapel founded in the fifteenth century by Richard Beauchamp, earl
of Warwick, acts as a stage set in Beauchamps own personal drama. It reflects
not only contemporary ideas on death, purgatory and salvation, but also the status
and connections of one of the most powerful English noblemen of the fifteenth
century.
The chapel as stage set
Narrator
At first sight the Beauchamp chapel looks static, but Richard Beauchamp made
provision in his will for three masses to be sung every day for his soul, and at
these times the chapel was full of movement. Priests would have chanted the mass
and the air would have been thick with incense.
Above all the imagery used on the tomb, in the surviving stained glass, and the
sculptures link Beauchamp into a cosmic struggle for redemption. Those visiting
the chapel understood this language of symbols.
Beauchamp himself takes centre stage, at the moment he leaves earthly life. The
tomb shows him in a funeral car, or hearse, as if hes being taken to burial. This
effigy, or image, of the earl would only be seen when mass was being said. At
other times it was covered by a cloth. Beauchamp is depicted in his youthful
prime and not as a man of 57, the age at which he died.
Richards eyes are open. He seems to gaze at God on the ceiling above a
reminder that his salvation depends on Gods mercy. Directly above Beauchamps
tomb is the Virgin Mary. Mary played a crucial role in western medieval
Christianity in interceding for humanity with her son Jesus, and with God the
divine father. Marys importance to Richard is also seen in his will he ordered
an image of Mary in pure gold to be given to his chantry chapel, though this
hasnt survived.
Mary is not looking at Beauchamp, but at the west wall of the chapel where
originally another dramatic scene was depicted: the Last Judgement of souls at the
end of the world. The medieval scene was over-painted in the seventeenth century
with the scene we see today.
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The original may have resembled another fifteenth century painting of the Last
Judgement or Doom, which still survives in the church of the Holy Trinity in
Coventry, not far from Warwick.
The decoration in the chapel represents the celestial hierarchy. Angels holding
instruments and sheet music encircle the chapel in the stained glass. Angels and
saints are depicted in the design of the east window stone sculptures of St.
Catherine, St. Barbara and angels frame the stained glass window with God at the
apex.
In the stained glass, images of Richards favourite saints are still intact: St.
Thomas a Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, martyred in the twelfth century, St.
Winifred, and St. Alban, the first English Christian martyr, wearing a ceremonial
cap denoting his rank. Other saints include St. John of Bridlington in priests
vestments. His cult was popular at the Lancastrian court.
Richard provided in his will for gold statues of himself to be sent to the shrines of
these saints, like votive offerings to attract their intercession on his behalf.
The window originally featured Richard and his family. At some stage, the glass
was damaged and mistakes were made when it was restored in the eighteenth
century, Richards figure can be identified by his coat of arms but his head has
been replaced by that of one of his wives or daughters.
The mourners or weepers around Richards tomb portray his relatives, holding
rosaries, scrolls or prayer books. These and images of his family in the stained
glass window are reminders of the earthly existence Richard had left behind him.
The tomb and chapel serve as permanent reminders of the duty of the chantry
priests and the Beauchamp family to pray for his soul.
Those visiting the chapel would have understood the special conventions and
language of heraldry. Heraldry was a short hand, which identified a persons rank,
family, ancestry and entitlement to lands. Heraldic symbols include the bear,
griffin, swan and the coats of arms, which adorn the chapel. All of these would
have held a meaning for the medieval visitor.
The chapel was meant to show the two dimensions of Richard Beauchamp as
mighty nobleman and as Christian soul. Heraldry in the chapel emphasised his
earthly status. The weepers and the doom, the figures of Mary and the interceding
saints reinforce his need for assistance.

The life of Richard Beauchamp

Narrator
An inscription around the tomb describes Richard as one of the moost worshipful
Knights in his Dayes of Monhode and Conning, Richard Beauchamp, late Earl of
Warwick, Lord Despensar of Borgevenny, of mony other grete Lordships whose
Body resteth here under this tumbe in a full feire vout of stone.
Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, was one of the wealthiest men in England.
He was born in 1382 into an important noble family who owned many estates
including Warwick castle.
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Much of Beauchamps life is documented in his Pageant book, commissioned by

his daughter Anne, after his death. From this document it is clear that like his
forefathers, Richard had close ties with royalty.
He became a senior member of the household of the new king Henry V and he
played a central role in the kings wars with France. Though he missed the battle
of Agincourt he took a leading part at the siege of Rouen, the capital of
Normandy, which secured Henrys conquest of the duchy.
He was appointed guardian of the young Henry VI, and attended the seven year
olds coronation as King of England in 1429, and two years later, his coronation
in France.
In 1437, as English fortunes in France were declining, he was made lieutenant of
France and Normandy. He died at Rouen in 1439 and his body was brought back
to Warwick.
Richard left instructions in his will for the founding of two chantry chapels one
just outside Warwick and the second to be attached to this church of St. Marys, in
Warwick itself. This is the best preserved of the two and one of the most
magnificent chantry chapels in England.
The Beauchamp family already had associations with this church, paying towards
its rebuilding in the fourteenth century. Richards grandparents are
commemorated by an alabaster tomb and his father and mother are
commemorated by a brass.
Work on Richards chapel began in 1443, but was finally completed 25 years
later, a major investment of money and time. His executors employed leading
craftsmen from across England and even abroad to work on the chapel. They
commissioned the royal glazer John Prudde to provide the stained glass. It was
one of the most expensive glazing projects of the fifteenth century. An artist made
paper patterns, which were traced onto the glass and then painted onto it to give
the fine detail still visible today.
William Austen from London and Bartholomew Lambespringe created the effigy
on the tomb. Richards effigy was cast in gilt bronze known as Latten, and this
is the only known example that survives in England for anyone who was not a
member of the royal family.
Richards wealth is also reflected in his armour. The original on which it is based
was made in Milan which was at the cutting edge of armour design in the fifteenth
century.
Just as weve seen a religious language of symbols in the saints and the Last
Judgement, contemporaries would have been able to read status and family
connections in the heraldry.
The bear and ragged staff in the windows and on the tomb are the emblems of the
Warwick family. The griffin is the emblem of Richards second wife, Isabel
Despenser. The swan crest on Richards tournament helmet is an allusion to Guy
of Warwick, a semi-legendary ancestor known as the Swan Knight. The earls
coronet on the helmet also commemorates Richards status as a peer of the realm.
The figures of the weepers are noble men and women related to Richard through
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blood or marriage. They are richly dressed and all are identified by their coats of
arms.
This figure depicts Richards daughter Anne.
Fine craftsmanship and the cost of the chapel shows Richards wealth. The chapel
had first call on Richards estate and at a cost of 2500 it nearly bankrupted his
heirs. But it was a status symbol with a practical and spiritual purpose: the
salvation of Richards soul and the celebration of his earthly status.
Activity
Narrator
1. What elements in Beauchamps Chapel reflect contemporary religious beliefs
about death?
2. What evidence is there in the chapel of Richards status and family
connections?
When youve finished you can select the feedback button.
Feedback
Narrator
Beauchamps tomb, surrounded by mourners, commemorates the moment hes
passing from earthly life to the hereafter. Allusions to what medieval Christians
believed would happen to his soul can be seen in the chapel.
The figure of God sits in judgement at the top of the east window, surrounded by
the heavenly court in the shape of sculptures and stained glass images of angels
and saints around the chapel.
The Virgin Mary on the ceiling is there to represent intercession for Beauchamp.
She would have been looking towards the painting of the Last Judgement on the
west wall, though this was painted over in the seventeenth century.
Richards status and pride in his family can be seen in the magnificence and scale
of the chapel.
His suit of armour is another expression of his wealth and status.
Coats of arms and heraldic symbols reflect his nobility as well as his family
connections: the swan crest seen under Beauchamps head on the tomb, and on
the ceiling; the bear and the griffin at his feet; and the coats of arms on the poles
of the funeral hearse, and around the east window.
Contemporaries would have been able to understand this symbolism instantly. As
with Coeurs mansion, various items have been restored over the centuries. But
today historians can still decode the story of Richard Beauchamp to gain an
understanding of the religious belief and family connections of a major fifteenth
century English nobleman.

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Parish churches
Introduction
Narrator
Attending a service in a parish church in fifteenth century England would have
been full of mystery and drama, heightened by the near darkness of the nave. The
priest was a partially hidden figure that could be heard but not always seen for
most of the service. The mass was sung or spoken in Latin, a language not
understood by most of the congregation. The ceremony of the mass included
prayers, washing of hands and kissing the altar. It culminated with the priest
displaying the host and then partaking of it himself. The congregation normally
received communion once a year but witnessed the mass more often.
The furnishings and layout of the church interior were symbolic and consisted of
complex arrangements that evolved over the centuries. But for an illiterate
congregation it would have been a language they were familiar with symbols
such as the doom figure, the five crosses carved on the stone altars, carvings of
vines, grapes and dragons, all held a meaning.
The mass is intentionally dramatic to emphasise the miracle that was taking place
when the bread and wine were transformed into the body and blood of Christ.
Churches as we see them today have been radically altered since the middle ages.
In this section we will be looking at the meaning and symbolism of the church
furnishings used in the mass, how they characterised parish worship in the middle
ages and how they were changed in the immediate aftermath of the reformation.
This material also shows you how parish churches are themselves historical
documents and to how to read them. You may want to look at churches in your
own area.
Visit to Partrishow
Narrator
On first arriving at the tiny church of Partrishow in the Welsh Brecon Beacons its
hard to understand why a church would have been built here in the first place.
It occupies an isolated hillside position some distance from the nearest village.
However there are some clues as to the reason why. In the chapel attached to the
church there is the shrine of St. Issui. Although he is now little known, he was a
local early Christian saint, and therefore of great symbolic importance throughout
the locality in early Christian times.
This shrine was a place of pilgrimage. A pilgrim stone at the roadside marks the
route to the holy well. Holy wells were places of pre-Christian pilgrimage. They
were also associated with Christian sites of martyrdom and St. Issui was almost
certainly a martyr.
For these reasons the church would have been built near the well. The church
today dates from the eleventh century, though there may have been an earlier
church on this site.
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The church's layout is very clearly delineated into two sections the nave and the
chancel.
The congregation entered on the south side of the building and gathered in the
nave to witness the mass. The mass is performed in the sacred space of the
chancel which is cut off very distinctly from the rest of the church by the rood
screen.
The fixtures and the fittings of the church are all intended to symbolise the
doctrines and the practices of a church for a population that was largely illiterate.
The doom figure on the west wall seen here with his hourglass, scythe and
spade represents the transience of life. Medieval churches had many wall
paintings usually of saints, which were whitewashed over during the reformation.
Chests are often found in parish churches. They were used to store communion
vessels and service books and to keep safe any money collected during the
service. The eleventh century font was used for baptism, one of the seven
sacraments.
Medieval churches rarely had fixed seating. The pews here are modern as are the
windows. The pulpit dates from the seventeenth century.
Behind the pulpit and at the base of the rood screen are two stone sub-altars.
These were common features of medieval churches and were often dedicated to
the Virgin Mary or to local saints. The altar stones are identifiable by the five
consecration crosses representing the five wounds of Christ.
The altars pre-date the rood screen, which can be seen in the way in which the
screen is cut around the altars.
The very ornately carved rood screen separates the congregation from the
sacramental space where the mass was performed. Vines are carved into the
screen, a common symbol for Christ and the Christian faith, and grapes, a symbol
of the Eucharist. In Christian culture the dragon was a symbol of Satan.
Mounted above the screen was the rood loft and mounted above the loft and
visible to the whole congregation was a figure of the crucified Christ. On the left
of the figure on the loft was a statue of the Virgin Mary and to the right a statue of
John the Baptist.
The loft would have been lit up for festivals and was, in some medieval churches,
occasionally used for preaching before they had pulpits. Stairs up to the loft were
built within the thickness of the wall. It is extremely rare to find a loft still in
place as most were removed during the reformation.
The primary purpose of the altar was the location of the celebration of the mass by
the priest. The altar was placed immediately beneath the east window and like the
sub-altars was carved from stone. Cloths covering the altar were often elaborately
embroidered with scenes from Christs life and were usually of a colour to
represent a liturgical season. The east window commonly had stained glass
depicting biblical scenes. Here the glass is more modern.
The stoop in the porch contained holy water with which people crossed
themselves when they entered the church. This stoop is older than the fifteenth
century porch.
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Some specialised objects were placed outside the church. The first is the
fourteenth century cross, now much eroded except for the top, which was restored
in 1918.
The other is the lych gate, which is where the bier on which the corpse was
carried rested before the burial. This more modern lych gate has been built in an
older style.
The chapel is the site of St. Issuis shrine, in which there is a stone altar. The altar
has six consecration crosses instead of five, which is unusual. The niche contains
a modern statue of St. Issui but there would have always been a statue in its place.
The chapel was used for special prayers asking St. Issui to intercede on peoples
behalf and for celebrating his feast day.
Partrishows floor plan is one that was commonly found in medieval churches.
Visit to St. Helens Ranworth and activity 1
Narrator
As you work through this section, make notes on the similarities and differences
from Partrishow church.
St. Helens church is in the Norfolk Broads, near the village of Ranworth. Built in
the thirteenth century the church dates from a similar period to Partrishow but was
extensively restored in the twentieth century. It probably replaces an older
building.
The thirteenth century font is prominently placed near the door. Medieval bench
ends in the nave date from a similar period, and is evidence that unusually this
church had fixed seating.
The pulpit was added later as was the fifteenth century rood screen.
This large and elaborately painted and carved screen was whitewashed during the
reformation, which helped preserve the detailed decoration we see today.
At the base of the screen are paintings of the twelve apostles, each bearing his
symbol. These would have been recognisable to a medieval congregation. St.
Simon carries a fish and a lily, St. Andrew the cross of his martyrdom, St. Peter
the keys to the kingdom of heaven, St. John the Evangelist a chalice with a snake
emerging from it, and St. James the Less his staff.
On each side of the entrance to the chancel are parclose screens. On the north side
the screen displays paintings of St. Stephen and St. George, and on the south side
Archangel Michael is slaying a seven-headed dragon.
The parclose screens flank two side altars at which worshippers called on the
intercession of the saints.
On the reredos screens behind the south altar there are depictions of Mary with
Jesus. Her two half sisters are on each side of her with their children, seen here
holding toys. On the far right is Margaret of Antioch, patron saint of childbirth,
shown destroying a dragon.
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On the north altar the reredos shows a local saint, Elthreda of Ely. Next to her is
St. Agnes with her Latin namesake the lamb, a much defaced St. John the Baptist
and St. Barbara, the patron saint of architects, who holds a building.
The screen originally had a loft reached by the stairway in the chancel wall.
The loft would have carried the statues of the crucified Christ, John the Baptist
and the Virgin Mary. It probably also carried this double-sided lectern now in the
nave.
The alter is under the east window in the chancel. On the north wall is a small
cupboard called an aumbry in which the communion vessels were kept. Next to it
are the remains of an Easter Sepulchre in which an image of Christ would have
been laid to re-enact the entombment of Christ after his crucifixion at Eastertide.
On the south wall there is a piscina for washing the priests hands and mass
vessels. There are seats for a male choir in the chancel. The carved misericords
allowed them to lean back when standing up for long periods of time during mass.
These carvings also include pagan symbols.
The churchs antiphoner, or service book, was supplied in 1460 and contains
psalms, hymns, and readings for services. The illuminations show images of God
and the saints, and scenes from the Bible and the life of Christ. It also shows the
life of the church, such as the services taken by the monks from nearby Langley
Abbey. The clergy of the church was supplied by the Abbey.
Feedback
Narrator
In common with Partrishow this church probably replaced an older building. But
St. Helens was a much wealthier church. Its larger and grander. This is reflected
in the richness of decoration and furnishings.
The Christian imagery and the way in which the space is divided are the same.
But everything at Ranworth is on a much more lavish scale justified by the
wealthier and larger congregations than at the smaller less grand Partrishow.
The earliest surviving feature in both churches is the font signifiying the
importance of the sacrament of baptism. Theres fixed seating here but not at
Partrishow.
Both churches have later pulpits.
The elaborate painting of the Ranworth screen makes it a much more colourful
and decorative feature than the Partrishow screen. The lesson of the Partrishow
screen was confined to the vines, grapes and dragons. The painted pictures of
saints and martyrs here made an important pedagogic point about Christian
loyalty and the value of suffering.
Again, the Ranworth sub-altars are more elaborate and are protected by these
parclose screens.
The reredoses behind the altars are highly decorated.

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St. Ethelreda, the most local saint to Ranworth, takes her place amongst the
pantheon of New Testament saints and early Christian martyrs, while St. Issui was
given much more prominence, perhaps because the church was actually his shrine.
In both churches the figures carried on top of the screen were removed at the
Reformation.
Ranworth has much more elaborate arrangements for storing the mass vessels,
and evidence of Easter ceremonial.
Here theres built-in provision for the priest to wash his hands before handling the
consecrated bread, and clear evidence for a choir, probably provided by monks
from the nearby abbey.
The antiphoner gives the musical settings for the church services, sung by the
choir.
Visit to Hailes church and activity 2
Narrator
As you watch this section make notes on the impact of the reformation on the
fabric of the church.
The parish church at Hailes in Gloucestershire was built in the twelfth century. It
served a village that was displaced when the now ruined neighbouring abbey was
founded here in the thirteenth century.
Throughout the middle ages parishioners from the nearby village of Didbrook
continued to use the church, and the monastery would have supplied the clergy.
Like all medieval churches, the building was adapted at various times. In the
thirteenth century the north door was blocked and a priests door was added in the
south wall of the chancel. On the inside of the church the door cuts through the
sedilia, which was where the priest and altar boys sat during services.
In common with Partrishow and Ranworth, the construction of the church made a
clear distinction between the nave and the chancel. On the roof was the small bell
that was rung during the mass.
On entering the church the first thing the parishioners saw was a giant St.
Christopher. According to legend hes crossing a dangerous river, staff in right
hand and Jesus on his shoulder.
Opposite St. Christopher on the south wall of the nave there is a painting of a
hunting scene. A hunter blows his horn and follows his dogs as they pursue their
prey. The painting is unusual as there is no obvious religious significance.
In the chancel the walls were painted with heraldic symbols. The black spread
eagle is for Richard, Earl of Cornwall, who founded Hailes Abbey, as well as
arms and symbols of his various wives. There were also figures from a medieval
bestiary: griffins, basilisks, and an elephant. There are also depictions of saints.
Glass from the windows of the dissolved abbey church was reused after the
dissolution of the abbey in the 1530s. The abbeys tiles, some with their Christian
symbol of a fish, were laid into the church floor.
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The chancel has a piscina on the south wall but unusually this one has two drain
holes, one for washing the priests hands and a separate one for washing the
communion vessels. The vessels would have been stored in the Aumbry, on the
north wall of the chancel.
The furnishings of the building were reorganised to meet the demands of the
protestant Elizabethan church. The font remained in its original place but the wall
paintings were whitewashed over because images of saints were no longer
acceptable. Even secular paintings were covered along with the religious
paintings.
Rood lofts were dismantled along with the images of the crucified Christ, Mary
and John but the screen was left intact so the space could be delineated between
the communion space and the congregation.
In the chancel the stone altar was replaced by a wooden table, and the table itself
was moved from its earlier position at the east end of the church to the middle of
the chancel. The tiling on the floor indicates where the communion table would
have stood.
New pews were built to allow the congregation to gather around the table to take
communion.
No longer was communion a miracle in which the bread and wine were
transformed into Christs body and blood. Instead, the service became one
commemorating Christs last supper with the apostles and the congregation shared
the bread and wine with the priest.
Feedback
Narrator
The Reformation didnt mean a wholesale destruction of everything from the
Catholic Church; old buildings were altered to meet new needs.
When we see an old church we have to read it through the veils of subsequent
changes made to meet new liturgical and social needs.
The process of adapting this church had started long before the Reformation with
the insertion of this door in the thirteenth century.
The sedilia was left in place. The mass bell on the roof was removed.
The wall paintings were whitewashed over: instructions were sent out that only
holy texts and the royal arms were acceptable as images to paint on the wall.
Paradoxically, the whitewash that covered these paintings preserved them. But
both secular and religious images were covered over.
Glass and tiles were expensive items so recycling them when the abbey was
closed down in the 1530s made good sense.
The stonework was left as it was, so the piscina survives, though no longer used.
The aumbry remains but lacks its door.

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The font shows the importance of baptism as one of the sacraments of the
Protestant church.
The loft was demolished, along with the images it carried. But the delineation of
space between the chancel where communion was administered and the nave
where the congregation sat for most of the service persisted.
The replacement of the stone altar by a wooden table symbolised the change in
the nature of communion in the Protestant church. Most important of all, the
administration of communion became a communal event in which minister and
people were much less clearly distinguished.

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