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Posts from the ‘Medieval Monasteries’ Category

Apr 27

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Abadia Retuerta

Abadia Retuerta 
LeDomaine is a romanesque abbey in Northern Spain near Valladolid. It was recently given the prestigious Europa Nostra award for conservation

In 1145 the daughter of the Lord of Valladolid, Doña Mayor donated “terras et vineas” to the church. Immediately afterwards the construction of the grandiose Abbey, Abadía Santa Maria de Retuerta, began. It was built for the Premonstratensian Order. Baroque-Romanesque in style, it has a classic Benedictine layout of church, cloister, refectory, chapterhouse and hospedería. Many building details are Romanesque. It is one of only two such abbeys to have survived the destruction wrought by Napoleon and is a treasured Spanish cultural heritage site. Nevertheless, the Abbey was until recently an empty shell slowly turning into a derelict ruin. Now it functions as a luxurious hotel a couple of hours north of Madrid.

abadia retuerta matias costa 01 300x219 Abadia Retuerta

Abadía Santa Maria de Retuerta

The recent abbey renovation has strived to respect the integrity of 1000 years of history as well as the visions of the ancient founders’ vision and values. The original monastic uses of rooms have been maintained – the refectory functions as the restaurant – while the Romanesque-Baroque architecture has been conserved, not altered. However, added to this have been opulent new furnishings, lightings and climate controls in order to make modern guests feel at home. Nevertheless all has been done without compromising the ancient site. For instance several original artworks were restored, while the river landscape and acres of vineyards were replanted. Abbey, winery, landscape, art, architecture and history have thus been embodied into a new exclusive hotel giving the abbey a vital new role in this century and ensuring its continued safety in the future.

“To alter this ancient edifice was to engage in a 1.000 year-old architectural dialogue. The judicious restraint of my intervention, is my homage to those who spoke before me.” Says Marco Serra, Master Architect

Hence, the twelfth-century building retains enough historic detail—ask to see the jewel box of a chapel—to keep things architecturally interesting. However, at the same time the clean-lined decor is thoroughly contemporary, the large rooms wrapped in soothing beiges and striking contrast colours. According to a review in Condé Nast Traveller: “The staff anticipate every whim, from the hot towels and warm tea cocktail delivered upon arrival to the bottles of mineral water presented for traveling upon departure.

The restoration recently received the prestigious award for restoration by Europa Nostra for its outstanding respect for the traditional visions and values of the original founders and builders. The question is: can this be achieved in a restoration like this? And what should we in general think about such restoration projects?

A presentation of the Abadia and the restoration

The story of the Abbey (in Spanish)

 

 

Oct 9

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Visionary Work

Hildegard of Bingen was a visionary person. An exhibition in Mainz showcases the visions of the mystic   

Hildegard von Bingen had her first vision in 1141. A voice told her to “Say and write, what you see and hear”. Out of this grew her first theological writing “Scivias”, in which she presented or described 26 visions of the divine creations. 1158 – 1163 she wrote her second treatise – Liber Vitae Meritorum – which expounded the fight between the virtues and the vices. Finally from 1163 – 70 she wrote her third treatise of the works of God.

the Plan of God for Redemption 242x300 Visionary WorkThese visions – or rather the graphic and artistic illustrations of them in her works – are at the center of an exhibition at the Cathedral of Mainz, celebrating her new status as Doctor of the Church.

The exhibition is not so much meant as a historical introduction to her visionary work, but aims rather to open of for a spiritual experience.

Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum
Domstraße 3, 55116 Mainz
18.09.2012-18.11.2012

Hildegard Herbst
Each autumn a festival – Hildegard Herbst – is celebrated in Bingen with lecture, excursions, concerts and much more. Download the programme

Read more about the recent sanctification of Hildegard of Bingen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oct 9

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Hildegard von Bingen-Boom

The recent sanctification of Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – 1179) and her nomination as Doctor of the Church has invigorated the churches, museums and tourism-agencies in the region around Bingen on the Rhine. With a location at the gateway to the World Heritage site: The Romantic Rhine Valley”, the local Museum – Museum am Strom – already receives more than 100.000 guests each year of which many visit in order to see the exhibition about Hildegard as well as take a walk in the nearby “Hildegarten” with more than 23 plots covered in herbs, vegetables and flowers- all carefully described in the “Physica”, a medical handbook, which Hildegard wrote.

Kloster Disibodenberg 02 300x225 Hildegard von Bingen Boom

Already in May, when the first buzz about the saint was finding its way on the grape-wine, managers began to see a growth in the number of visitors to Bingen. However, a real tourist-boom is not expected, explain Rolf Wölfert  who is manager of the local tourist-office: “Only 6 % of all our visitors are dedicated Cultural Tourists. But we wish to offer high-quality packages to trekkers and cyclists with a certain add-on”.

It is the opinion of local managers and developers that Hildegard of Bingen offers a possibility for world-wide marketing. A few years ago this resulted in a very informative website, “Land der Hildegard” with high quality content. Here tourists may book both packages and guided tours as well as get an overview of the life and work of the saint.

However, whether it will – as has been discussed – lead to a proliferation of more tacky offers like Wellness-& Spa Tourism a la Hildegard is still an open question …

Land der Hildegard

Bingen am Rhein

Kulturreise-Ideen – Hildegard von Bingen

Read more about Hildegard of Bingen 

Oct 9

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Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen is appointed Doctor of the Church…

The Catholic Church is adamant in its opposition towards women acting as priests. And for a long time (until 1970) neither were female saints given the prestigious title: Doctor of the Church; a title so-far given to only 35 saints cum learned theologians. However, on the 7th of October the title was awarded to St. Hildegard of Bingen, known for her visionary writings as well as music and art. She is the fourth female Doctor of the Church.

Hildegard was probably enclosed at the age of 14 in 1112 together with an older nun, Jutta, at Disibodenberg. Upon Jutta’s death in 1136 Hildegard was appointed prioress. Afterwards Hildegard sought to move her community to a new location at Rupertsberg in order to obtain more independence from the church hierarchy. Her request was however initially declined and it took a long fight, before she and her nuns could move in 1150. In 1165 Hildegard founded a second monastery for her nuns at Eibingen. During her life she wrote extensively on mystical and theological matters as well as worked as a musician and artist. Hildegard’s musical, literary, and scientific writings are housed primarily in two manuscripts: the Dendermonde manuscript and the Riesenkodex. The Dendermonde manuscript was copied under Hildegard’s supervision at Rupertsberg, while the Riesencodex was copied in the century after Hildegard’s death. Added to this should be her extensive letter writing as well as her wide-ranging preaching tours, where she spoke up against clerical corruption and simony.

All the while she tended to refer to herself as a member of “the weaker sex”, while constantly belittling women. This has caused some problems for those feminist theologians and scholars, who have tended to consider Hildegard their patron saint par excellence. However, most believe that it was in fact a rhetorical trick she seized on in order to be seen as not competing with the learned male theologians. Instead she tried through this subterfuge to stamp her visions as deriving directly from the Divine, thus gaining the authority to speak aloud in spite of her sex.

Officially she was never sanctified. Four times the process was put into motion, but until now she never reached beyond beatification. This, however, has been remedied by the official sanctification and elevation of Hildegard to Doctor of Church October  2012

Some might say that this was long overdue and she rightfully deserves this honour. On the other hand, evil tongues may claim that the Catholic Church has only taken this step in order to – once more – reclaim a very will-full and not very subservient daughter of the church, who tended to find ways of subverting the authority of her official male superiors and who is highly inspirational for many present-day female theologians; thus showing her recalcitrant sisters of the weaker sex, who is in power.

Conference
In order to celebrate her new status the Scivias-Institute for art and spirituality has invited academics to an international conference in Bingen. Apart from lectures on her visionary theology, sessions will focus on her work as a poet, composer, artist, healer and politician. The conference will be accompanied by meditations, pilgrimages and concerts.

The Conference takes place at different locations on the Hildegard-tour – Disibodenberg, Rupertsberg and Bingen.

St. Hildegard, Doctor of the Church. International Conference.
Bingen- Disibodenberg-Eibingen
25.10.2012 -28.10.2012

TOURISM:

Land der Hildegard

 

READ MORE:

The literature about Hildegard is wide-ranging and very extensive. A good place to start is the Wikipedia-site, which is very extensive.

 Read also about her sanctification as a kind of Catholic PR, timed to soften the controversies  with the troublesome American Nuns

Oct 3

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Burgundian Charters

Charters from Medieval Burgundy on-line  

Medieval Burgundy is an archival treasure trove. Somehow thousands of legal and diplomatic documents like foundation acts, wills, pontifical privileges, charters and literally hundreds of cartularies have been preserved.

Digitisation of  – or parts of all this – started in 2004 as part of a larger project: “Chartes et pouvoir au Moyen Âge” which was conducted under the auspices of MSH – Maison des sciences de l’homme. (Of this project a digitised footprint seems to have disappeared…BL Royal Vincent of Beauvais library duke burgundy 300x296 Burgundian Charters

The project is important because the cartularies concerns such grand institutions as Cluny and Citeaux. So-far 20 cartularies including 15000 documents have been digitized from the regions of Côte-d’Or,  Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire and Yonne. At the site a collection of articles as well as digitized editions from the 19th and 20th century are available. The documents are available in txt, doc, pdf as well as image.The database also contains unpublished cartularies from Medieval Burgundy, which can be scrolled or flipped through.

Recently the team provided access to four editions from the 20th century, the cartulary of Sens, the charters of St. Etienne de Dijon, more charters from the abbey of Citeaux and the proceedings of the priory of Saint-Sympherien; thus adding to this very impressive collection.

Chartae Burgundiae Medii Aevi – The Site

Chartae Burgundiae Medii Aevi – The Database

 A review by Jonathan Jarrett of the project in comparison with others

A blog about the project

 

Aug 28

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Richard III

British archaeologists hope to find the lost remains of King Richard III by digging up a car park believed to be his burial site.

Richard III – the small and slender villain of Shakespeares play died at Bosworth Field on the 22 of August 1485. The Lancastrians and their leader, Henry Tudor, won the battle. Following the battle, Richards’s dead body was transported back to Leicester and placed on public view. Subsequently he was buried in the choir of the Franciscan Church in Leicester

However, this Franciscan priory known as Greyfriars, was demolished in 1538 when the monastery was dissolved, and its roofs and lead was sold. In 1612 a mansion was built on the site and a stone pillar was erected to mark the site of Richard’s grave. After 1914 land and gardens were sold to the County, which erected offices around it and even this marker disappeared. Finally it was turned into a car park and tarmaced in 1940. The only physical remnant of the church is a small piece of a grey stone-wall, which can be seen next to the attendant’s hut in the car park.

Richard III dig 300x224 Richard IIIAfter the dissolution in 1538 it was rumoured that the remains of Richard were thrown into the River Soar. However researchers at the University of Leicester now think they be able to discover the actual site of the grave, situated somewhere beneath the car park. Even if Richard no longer lies there it is important to determine the actual layout of the church and the original position of the grave, says Richard Buckley, Co-Director of the Archaeology Service at the University of Leicester.

- The big question for us is determining the whereabouts of the church on the site, and also where in the church the body was buried, says Richard Buckley, co-director of Leicester University’s archaeology service, adding: “Although in many ways finding the remains of the king is a long-shot, it is a challenge we shall undertake enthusiastically. There is certainly potential for the discovery of burials within the area, based on previous discoveries and the postulated position of the church.”

If any remains are found it is hoped that it will be possible to have them undergo DNA-analysis at the University in order to compare them to the findings of Dr. John Ashdown-Hill, author of “The Last days of Richard III”. This very detailed (and recommendable) account of the last months in the life of Richard III presents the reader with not only a nuanced description of his daily routines as a king, but also a very interesting description of his actual burial and how and where it took place. Another account by David Baldwin is available here.

One of the initiators of the whole project is Philippa Langley, who is currently researching for a film, which is meant to tell the “real” story of Richard III, which according to her hides behind the spin of the Tudors who took over from the last Plantagenet. She is a screenwriter and member of the Richard III Society as well.

Visitors will not be able to view the dig once it commences, as it will take place at an operational council area, which is not publicly accessible. Further it is necessary to keep the dig as a so-called clean site in order to be able to get valid results from any DNA-analysis. However plans are underway to let the public in on the site, when the excavation culminates on the weekend of the 8th – 9th of September. If the remains of Richard III are identified, the plan is to exhibit them at Leicester Cathedral after they have been examined in order to gather information about his height, his build (his hunchback?) and the manner in which he was killed. It is presumed that this will also induce a massive logistical exercise in order to provide Richard with a burial that is appropriate to his status as an anointed King of England, whether at Leicester, Windsor or Westminster; or maybe York where he probably planned to be entombed together with his wife and son.

Read more and get the link at the Press Office at the University of Leicester and follow the news on the blog

Video interview with archaeologist Richard Buckley

Richard III Society

Ricardian Britain – A Guide to sites associated with Richard III. By Beth and Phil Stonen. Richard III Society 2011

Recent books about about Richard III

Richard III
David Baldwin
Amberley Publishing 2012

The Last Days of Richard III
John Ashdown-Hill
The History Press Ltd 2010

Richard III and the Murder in the Tower
Peter A. Hancock
The History Press Ltd 2011 (2. Edition)

Richard III: The Maligned King
Annette Carson
The History Press Ltd 2009

Richard III and the Death of Chivalry
David Hipshon
The History Press 2009

Richard III (Routledge Historical Biographies)
David Hipshon
Routledge 2010

 Extended booklist of publications about Richard III may be found here

Aug 19

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Kildonnan at Eigg

Eigg is one of the small isles in the Scottish Inner Hebrids. Around 600 St. Donnán or Donan, a Gaelic priest, arrived from Ireland to introduce Christianity to the Picts of Northern Scotland. According to the martyriology of Oengus St. Donnan was a friend of St. Columba, whom he followed from Ireland to Scotland toward the end of the sixth century. But while Columba chose a socalled “white martyrdom” (i.e. life of exile from his kindred) St. Donnan went for a “Red Martydom” going up further North. Seeking a solitary retreat, he and his companions settled on the island of Eigg, off the west coast of Scotland, which used only to pasture sheep belonging to the queen of the country. Informed of the invasion, the queen ordered the monks to be slain. Her agents, probably a marauding band of Picts, or pirates according to one account, arrived during the celebration of Mass on Easter eve 617. Being requested to wait until after Mass. Then St. Donnan and his fifty-one companions gave themselves up to the sword. According to legend St. Donnan specifically asked to be the last of his flock.Eigg Cross wildcountry co uk Kildonnan at Eigg

Eventually a new monastery at Kildonnan was founded from Iona, which lasted several cnturies until the Vikings settled on Eigg. Probabaly the monastery was an important and wealthy institution as is suggested by the later mentioning in the Annals of Oan, a Princeps or superior of Eigg, who died in 725 and of Cumméne, another religious who was mentioned in 752. At this time the monastery is believed to have become a royal institution. Several fragments of early Christian Crosses have been recovered from the Kildonnan graveyard and are currently displayed at “The Lodge”

Last year Eigg History Society won £17.500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to carry out an archaeological excavation of the graveyard in order to locate the first monastery from the 7th century. According to the History Society the archaeologists have succeeded in identifying the likely oval enclosure and ditch surrounding the first settlement. Emeritus professor John Hunter based at the University of Birmingham has led the excavation. According to the Scotsman the findings have surpassed all his expectations: Pictish pottery was found in the enclosure which together with the oval form helps to date the settlement to the 7th century.

eigg map copy 300x187 Kildonnan at Eigg

The Isle of Eigg is owned by The Eigg Heritage Trust

Read about the excavation at the dedicated Eigg Excavation Blog

Current plans for archaeological excavations on Eigg and the other Small Islands

READ MORE:

Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland Ad 80-1000. Alfred P. Smyth. Edinburgh University Press, 1984

Last of the Free: A History of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. James Hunter. Mainstream Publishing  2010.

Jul 29

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Falkenstein

Falkenstein – a refuge for pilgrims on the road to St. Wolfgang

Between St. Gilger and St. Wolfgang on the lake of Wolfgang (Wolfgangsee) an old pilgrim path winds its way around the lake and into the mountains. Midway lies and old chapel, the so-called Falkenstein Kapelle.

In 2009 archaeologists discovered a hitherto unknown refuge for pilgrims, where two eremites lived permanently in order to care for the travellers, of which it is estimated that more than 300.000 passed by yearly at the end of the 14th century. The refuge was discovered through Aerial Archaeology using modern laser-techniques applied from the air by LBI ArchPro.

Falkenstein120718007 300x224 Falkenstein

Beneath the foundation an under-structure consisting of two cellars were uncovered, complete with a wooden water-pipe. The pipe led water from the spring, which according to the legend sprang from the rock, where St. Wolfgang in the mid 10th century struck with his crozier. The spring ended up in one of the cellars where the pilgrims were able to fill their vials and flasks with the holy water.

The next-door cellar was obviously used as a store-room for food – salted and smoked meat, speck etc. Here a bonanza of exciting finds were uncovered: fragments of glass, richly decorated pottery together with pieces from at least two potted hearths, pipes for smoking tobacco, a flute carved of bone, a collection of pearls from rosaries and six so-called “Wolfgangihackerl”, miniatures of the axe, which was considered the primary symbol of St. Wolfgang. More than 100 coins dating from the 17th century and later were found in the surroundings, all of which witness to the rather comfortable life at the pilgrimage in Early Modern Europe.

Wolfgangihackerl 300x219 Falkenstein

Modern day “Wolfgangihackerls” may be bought at the small village of St. Wolfgang even today. The axe refers to an event in the life of the saint. After having selected a solitary spot in the wilderness, he prayed and then threw his axe into the thicket; the spot on which the axe fell he regarded as the place where God intended he should build his cell – at Falkenstein. It takes app. three hours to walk from St. Gilgen to St. Wolfgang along the shore of the lake. Whether you set out from one place or the other there is a small ferry, which will take you back

VIAS – Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science

Ludwig Boltzmann Institut für Archäologische Prospektion und Virtuelle Archäologie

Read about Flying Lasers and Archaeology

Photos: Franz Neumayr for LBI ArchPro

 

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