James of St. George

James of St. George , also Jacques de Saint-Georges d'Espéranche , (* around 1230; † 1309 ) was a medieval architect of castles . In particular, he served King Edward I of England as a master builder ( master mason ) for his castles in Wales . James came from Savoy , which probably influenced his architectural style. Little is known about medieval architects in general, but James is relatively well documented because of his long work for Edward I.

He had already worked in Savoy, where he had built the Count's Palace of St-Georges-d'Espéranche and Yverdon Castle . From 1278 he served the English king. In addition to being a remarkable builder, he was a talented steward who organized and oversaw the king's massive fortification program in North Wales. As a token of his appreciation, the king appointed him constable of the Harlech Castle he had built in 1290 , a rare honor for a medieval builder. James of St. George held the office until 1293. During the Welsh uprising from 1294 to 1295 , he constructed a pontoon bridge in 1295 on which the English troops could cross the Menai Strait .

Buildings

In his first castles in Wales, Flint Castle and Rhuddlan Castle , both started in 1277, he used unusual variations of the rectangular courtyard.

The castles of Harlech, Beaumaris and Conwy bear his signature most clearly. Characteristic here are the round defense towers at the corners of the circular walls and strongly fortified gatehouses . Caernarfon Castle , although designed by him, has octagonal towers.

For the entire complex, James used two different floor plans between 1283 and 1295. The hill fort Harlech Castle and the low castle Beaumaris Castle have a very symmetrical shape with concentric double ring walls, which are particularly strongly fortified in Beaumaris. Conwy and Caernarfon, on the other hand, are elongated and less symmetrical. There an outer defensive ring is completely absent or - as in the case of Conwy - only rudimentary.

The gate system of Denbigh Castle , in which a third tower defends the gate in addition to the two flanking towers, is also said to have been designed by James of St. George.

literature

AJ Taylor: Master James of St. George In: The English Historical Review . Vol. 65, No. 257, October 1950, ISSN 0013-8266 , pp. 433-457, doi: 10.1093 / ehr / LXV.CCLVII.433 .
David James Cathcart King: The Castle in England and Wales. An interpretative history . Routledge, 1988, ISBN 978-0-918400-08-6 .
Norman John Greville Pounds: The Medieval Castle in England and Wales. A Political and Social History . 2nd Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 1993, ISBN 978-0-521-45828-3 .

Web links

Brief biography on castlewales.com

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b N. JG Pounds: The Medieval Castle in England and Wales , p. 178.
^ Rees R. Davies: The Age of Conquest. Wales 1063-1415 . Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford 1991. ISBN 0-19-820198-2 , p. 358
^ Christopher Gravett: The Castles of Edward I in Wales 1277-1307 . Osprey, London 2014, ISBN 978-1-78200-520-9 , p. 13
↑ John Griffiths: The Revolt of Madog ap Llywelyn, 1294-5 . In: Transactions of the Caernarfonshire Historical Society Vol. 16 (1955), p. 19 [1] (pdf; 5.42 MB)
^ DJ Cathcart King: The Castle in England and Wales , p. 113.

personal data
SURNAME	James of St. George
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Jacques de Saint-Georges d'Espéranche
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	French architect of medieval castles in England
DATE OF BIRTH	around 1230
DATE OF DEATH	1309

[pounds178-1] A ^b N. JG Pounds: The Medieval Castle in England and Wales , p. 178.

[2] Rees R. Davies: The Age of Conquest. Wales 1063-1415 . Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford 1991. ISBN 0-19-820198-2 , p. 358

[3] Christopher Gravett: The Castles of Edward I in Wales 1277-1307 . Osprey, London 2014, ISBN 978-1-78200-520-9 , p. 13

[4] John Griffiths: The Revolt of Madog ap Llywelyn, 1294-5 . In: Transactions of the Caernarfonshire Historical Society Vol. 16 (1955), p. 19 [1] (pdf; 5.42 MB)

[king113-5] DJ Cathcart King: The Castle in England and Wales , p. 113.