For many the Cathedral is seen to indicate the grandeur and control of the Normans, who were able to build such monuments to their power despite having only recently conquered England. The precarious situation of being an recently instated alien power was even more pronounced in the north, where even the Anglo Saxon Kings had only had a superficial hold, arguably making the construction of Durham “one of the greatest Anglo-Norman achievements”. This so-called achievement is not restricted to architecture but also refers to the political developments which enabled the Normans to apparently gain enough control to do this within 30 years. However the study of Durham Cathedral alone cannot suffice to give a satisfactory outline of Norman politics and the achievements in Durham and must be put into the context of the region. Hence Durham Cathedral and all its powerful connotations can be argued to only be an anomaly to the reality of Norman England and its politics.
Ostensibly Durham Cathedral can be seen as the product of stability and prosperity brought by the Normans to the area that had previously been dominated by barbarity. At first glance this does appear to be the case as were the region impoverished and unimportant such a grand scale project would not have been possible. Certainly the first Norman Bishop of Durham, St Calais, was frequently involved in official Royal business and is described as “perhaps the most eminent Norman ecclesiastic in England” giving the impression that the north was important to the Normans as such an eminent figure would not have been placed there were Durham marginal to their interests. Thus the focus in this time period appears to move from warfare and regional separatism to a more civili...
... middle of paper ...
...iography
Barber, Malcolm, ‘The Two Cities, Medieval Europe 1050-1320’ (Routlidge 1992) pp305-340
Bartlett, Robert, ‘The Making of Europe: Conquest, Colonization and Cultural change 950-1350’ (Penguin Books 1994)
Chibnall, Marjorie ‘Anglo-Norman England 1066-1166’ (Blackwell 1986)
Dalton, Paul ‘Scottish influence on Durham 1066-1214’ in Rollason David, Harvey Margaret and Prestwich Michael, ‘Anglo-Norman Durham’ (Boydell 1994) pp339-353
Kapelle, W.E. ‘The Norman conquest of the North:The region and its transformation 1000-1135’ (Croom Helm 1979)
Matthew, Donald , ‘Durham and the Anglo-Norman world’ Rollason David, Harvey Margaret and Prestwich Michael ‘Anglo-Norman Durham 1093-1193’, (Boydell 1994) pp1-25
Offler, H.S. ‘North of the Tees’ (Variorum 1996)
Pevsner, Niclaus ‘The Buildings of England: County Durham’ (Penguin Books 1953) pp77-137
Burns, William E."Britain in the Late Middle Ages, 1272–1529." A Brief History of Great Britain, Brief History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2010. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
Richard Jones-Nerzic, (2005), “Why did the Normans Win the Battle of Hastings?”, International School History (International School of Toulouse), [Accessed on the 29th June, 2010]
Bucholz, Robert, and Newton Key. Early Modern England 1485-1714 A Narrative History. Chichester: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2009.
Gull, John. The Oxford Illustrated History of Brittan. Great Brittan: Butler & Tanner Ltd, Frome, Somerset., 1984. Print.
Wriothesley, Charles. A Chronicle of England During the Reign of the Tudors from A.D. 1485 to 1559. Westminster: J. B. Nichols and Sons, 1875. Print.
(1973) The Age of Arthur, a history of the British Isles from 350 to 650, London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson
From its purposes of meeting pilgrims’ expectations while visiting St. Chad, Lichfield evolved to at once provide opposites in harmony: carrying heaviness on light in the nave and choir; carvings and still softness of form; and the use of “self-centred patterns” to balance against “the multiplicity of similar elements…bound to produce a crowding of lines”, as in the West front’s niches. The geometric tracery coupled with wall adornment and the rising value of the ceiling are illuminated at Lichfield; history of the Civil War is seen through the architectural distinctions of the north and south transepts; and influences of and over other cathedrals make Lichfield’s Decorated Gothic experience, as embodied by its three spires, a remarkable and unique vision of design’s transitions and triumphs.
Holinshed R. Historie of Scotland (2nd Ed. Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland 1587) "Historie of Scotland"
The English and the Normans : Ethnic Hostility, Assimilation, and Identity 1066- c.1220. Hugh M Thomas
C. Warren Hollister, Anglo-Saxon Military Institutions: On the Eve of the Norman Conquest (Oxford: 1962), p. 26.
Clark, George Thomas. "The castles of England and Wales at the Latter part of the Twelfth Century",
“Their para-monastic form, capable of being endowed, adopted, or controlled by individuals or dynasties, was attractive to the kings and nobles of northern Europe, where the monastic sites tended to become nodes of interconnections based on familial and territorial structures”(Blair 49). In this para-monastic form, the bishops were important pastorally and to varying degrees administratively. This also provided infrastructure for the local churches. In all the complex religious sites, housing communities of a broadly monastic character became progressively more important. “…it proved enormously attractive to English kings too, though this only becomes apparent sometime after the initial conversions” (Blair 49). As a result, there rose long-term stability within Irish society where the emergent Anglo-Saxon communities helped forge a new Germanic and pagan identity. As they moved toward a more political and less tribal organization, they reoriented themselves towards the Christian world. “…the late Anglo-Saxon kings developed a highly advanced administration that functioned through a system of local divisions (shires) and royal officers (sheriffs)” (McKitterick 121). This system made the Anglo-Saxon kings’ will known throughout their kingdom by means of writs and allowed the direct levying of taxes. With this improved degree of communication, the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms survived
Before the period of the middle ages, the British Isles mostly lay dormant in local disputes and settlements of small tribes. Up until the late 900’s, the Anglos and the Saxons laid their claim to the land of Britain. However, this all soon changed. An ambitions individual with hero-like characteristics set foot and conquered the Anglo-Saxons and started Britain on its journey to modernism. Thus, the tide was set in motion for a new government and a civilized race. A monarchy was established, and the Middle ages began in roughly 975 AD (Vinogradoff, p 18).
—. Biography of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne (1593-1676). n.d. Web. 10 April 2014.
Gascoigne, Bamber. "HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN (from 1707)." History World. (2001): n. page. Print. .