Medieval Art Abounds in Britain Beyond the Bayeux Tapestry
As the Bayeux Tapestry prepares for its highly anticipated loan to the British Museum, with tickets priced at £33 for a 40-minute viewing, art critic Jonathan Jones celebrates the wealth of medieval British art that can be enjoyed for free or at minimal cost. From the grotesque carvings in Canterbury Cathedral's crypt to the soaring fan vaulting of King's College Chapel, Cambridge, these treasures offer a rich alternative to the Norman embroidery.
Glastonbury Tor and Conwy Castle: Landscape as Art
Glastonbury Tor, with its enigmatic 14th-century church tower atop a steep hill, continues to inspire speculation about King Arthur's death. Conwy Castle, designed by architect James of St George in the 13th century, combines strategic positioning with aesthetic beauty, its towers and turrets dancing against the mountains and sea. These sites, like Durham Cathedral perched above the River Wear, exemplify the medieval eye for the picturesque, celebrated by artists like JMW Turner.
Canterbury's Crypt: Grotesque Carvings and Hidden Humor
In the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral, a carved stone figure grimaces as a man sits on his head, holding a fish and bowl. Other columns feature a serpent-tailed creature wrestling a dog-like monster, a gryphon eating a siren, and a horned devil. These grotesque carvings, typical of medieval art's underside, provide a counterpoint to the cathedral's solemnity, reflecting a universal theme of disorder within disciplined religious contexts.
Durham Cathedral: A Masterpiece of Romanesque Architecture
Durham Cathedral, described as the most stupendous British cathedral, features massive circular columns incised with zigzags, spirals, and lozenges. The interior creates a sense of God's power, with columns appearing to plant themselves like elephant legs. Entry is free, with a suggested £5 donation, and the museum houses St Cuthbert's relics.
Ely Cathedral's Lady Chapel: Nature and Sensuality in Stone
The 14th-century Lady Chapel of Ely Cathedral displays blooms and grape-like seeds in steep-arched niches, evoking a spring hedgerow. This sculptural hymn to the Virgin Mary offended Protestant iconoclasts, who smashed its statues. The chapel represents the transition from austere Christianity to a more romantic, chivalric sensibility.
King's College Chapel: Fan Vaulting and Fairy-Tale Aesthetics
King's College Chapel, Cambridge, showcases fan vaulting, a uniquely English style. The interior appears like fairy mushrooms growing from the ground, with a near hallucinogenic canopy of exaggerated natural forms. This late Gothic style contrasts with the robust Norman architecture of Durham.
The Wilton Diptych and Scottish National Gallery's Altarpiece
The Wilton Diptych, painted for King Richard II in 1395-99, depicts the king kneeling before the Virgin Mary and angels, with blue and gold tones. In Edinburgh, the Scottish National Gallery displays the Trinity Altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes, commissioned in the 1470s, featuring organ-playing angels and a saint in shining armour. Entry is free.
Free Medieval Sites: Norham Castle, Flint Castle, and the Lewis Chessmen
Norham Castle in Northumberland, an English Heritage site with no entry charge, inspired Turner's paintings. Flint Castle in north Wales, a free-entry seaside ruin, is where Richard II awaited deposition. The Lewis Chessmen, Scandinavian-carved ivory pieces portraying feudal society, are displayed in the British Museum's free permanent galleries.
Medieval Art's End and Legacy
The destruction of monasteries under Henry VIII in 1536 marked the end of medieval Christendom's cultural world. Yet much survives, from cathedrals to carvings, offering sublime messages from another world. As Jones notes, 'The art and architecture of medieval Britain creates visions of order: you are meant to be overwhelmed by cathedrals, intimidated by castles.'
