Durham Cathedral

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Durham Cathedral, general view
Durham Cathedral in silhouette at sunset

The Durham Cathedral or The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham , the full name, is a cathedral in the city of Durham in the North East of England .

Location and structure

The cathedral, along with the old town and Durham Castle, sits on a towering cliff in a loop of the River Wear . With a length of 143 m, it takes up the entire width of the rock. The main entrance is on the north side of the main nave (previously the entrance for lay people ). The former monastery district of the Benedictine abbey with the cloister connects to the south side .

Architecturally, apart from additions, it is a fully vaulted three-aisled cross basilica with a two-aisled transept (consisting of a main nave and only one aisle west of the crossing). Above the level of the vaults of the central nave and the main aisles of the transept, the church interior also protrudes into the crossing tower and receives light from its windows. This vertical expansion is completed by a star vault.

The church has three large square and eight smaller towers: the pair of towers at the west end of the nave are not quite as high as the crossing tower. In addition, there are small towers at the outer corners of the transept arms, the octagonal western one slightly thicker than the square eastern one. These seven towers have flat roofs. The towers at the four corners of the Gothic Chapel of the Nine Altars , which is attached to the east of the choir, are octagonal and have pointed spiers .

history

Floor plan of Durham Cathedral
Left the castle, right the cathedral, in front: River Wear
Northwest Cathedral
inside view
Today's nave

Romanesque

There was a previous building from the Anglo-Saxon period, but nothing can be seen above ground today. The foundation stone of today's cathedral was laid under the first Prince-Bishop William of St Calais on August 10, 1093 and construction continued under his successor Ranulf Flambard . The entire complex, together with the monastery connected to it and its position on a difficult to attack hill in a bend in the river, served as Northumbria's bulwark against the Scots . Nevertheless, the Scottish King Malcolm III. , Winner over Macbeth , present as guest of honor at the laying of the foundation stone.

The three-aisled choir was started in 1093. It is 40 m long. Only the ribbed vaults of the side aisles remain from the original vault. They are probably the oldest rib vaults anywhere. Longitudinal rectangular yokes are limited by raised belt arches , elliptical ribs stand on right-angled services . The buttresses to support the central nave vault are hidden in the galleries under the roof.

The central nave, 22 m high and 61 m long, was given a pronounced change of supports . Richly profiled pillars, 6.60 m high and also 6.60 m in circumference, alternate with strong round columns, both with simple cube capitals. The shafts have a three-dimensional pattern instead of the usual painting. The entire arcade wall is over two meters thick.

Between 1128 and 1133, a three-part light arcade with an ornate arch and a walkway and at the same time the ribbed vaults over double bays were built in the nave of Durham . The ribs rest on consoles (heads) and, like the straps, are accompanied by the Norman zigzag rod.

The ornamental design of the nave shows completely new forms. The richness of the forms of jewelry goes far beyond what was common on the mainland at the time. Zigzag patterns accompany all arches, straps and ribs. Narrow fluting, rhombuses, etc. liven up the surfaces of the supports. This wealth of jewelry is typically Norman and also determined the further development of English architecture.

The exact date of completion of the first construction phase is not known. The years 1130 or 1133 are given. The bishops responsible for the construction are buried in the chapter house of the cathedral, built in 1140, on the side opposite the monastery . The chapter house also has ribbed vaults. The apse was later renewed.

1175-1189 the Galilee Chapel (Galilee Chapel) , similar to a narthex , was set in front of the west side of the church. The grave of Beda Venerabilis is located here . The name probably derives from processions from the stations of the Passion of Christ represented and here began, then Christ as his ordeal in Galilee began. At the time when the cathedral was also a monastery church, it was one of the few places where women were allowed to stay in the church. The chapel is reminiscent of mosque halls with its four rows of three arches each over 12 slender bundles of columns. The rather provisional-looking roof dates from the 19th century after the demolition of this part of the building could only just be prevented after protests. However, in contrast to the completely vaulted basilica, the ceiling of the chapel was made of wood even in the Middle Ages, there are no beginnings of stone vaults.

Gothic

Cloister and west towers
Nave, around 1890, looking west
Choir, ca.1890

In 1220 the early Gothic west towers were completed. The west facade received a large front window.

A document has been handed down from 1235, which describes the dangerous condition of the Romanesque vaults in the apse and the choir . In the following years, a ribbed vault with the same decoration as in the other parts of the church was drawn in over the central nave of the choir. The Romanesque choir closure was broken off and replaced 1242-1280 under the direction of Richard of Farnham by the chapel of nine altars . Its main axis is perpendicular to that of the cathedral in a north-south direction and the floor is lower than in the rest of the church. This also increases the height of the chapel. It has a large rose window which originally dates from the 16th century and was renewed in the 18th century. The floor plan of the old Romanesque choir closure is traced with a lead strip in the floor.

The present cloister was built from 1388.

The main tower over the crossing , destroyed by lightning in 1429, was not rebuilt until 1455. The star vault, which separates the tower structure and the church interior, was only added in 1490. The formerly existing pointed helmet was no longer built. Today the tower is 66 m high.

Modern times

View of the altar

In the Reformation carried out by Henry VIII in England after 1538, numerous pieces of equipment were destroyed in a first iconoclasm . In 1539 the king also dissolved the Benedictine monastery in Durham. Around 1560, the medieval wall paintings that covered all the church walls inside were whitewashed and the figurative lead glass windows destroyed.

During the English Civil War in 1650, the cathedral was used as a warehouse for Scottish prisoners of war from the Battle of Dunbar , which took place on September 3, 1650. During their imprisonment, they burned the entire wooden interior.

The cathedral was renovated between 1870 and 1876, and numerous changes and additions that are still visible today - especially with regard to the furnishings - made.

Furnishing

The cathedral houses the 7th century shrine and treasures of Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne . Bishop Aldhun had brought the relics 995 with his monks to Durham and the then unknown place for pilgrimage made and the seat of the Diocese of Bernicia, which had been founded in the 635th The grave of St. Cuthbert's situated in the east of the cathedral. Once a magnificent monument made of gold and green marble , it was destroyed in the first iconoclasm of the Reformation in 1538 .

Other famous relics in the cathedral are the remains of Beda Venerabilis and the head of St. Oswald of Northumbria .

The cathedra , the bishop's throne, with the chapel below it was built under Bishop Thomas Hatfield (1345-1381). Today it is only used on the occasion of the inauguration of a new bishop.

The Chapel of Nine Altars is separated from the choir by a wall similar to a choir screen, called the Neville Screen because it was donated by Lord Neville. It was built between 1372 and 1380. It originally contained 107 gilded and painted alabaster figures that were lost in the iconoclasm. In the chapel there is also a statue of William Van Mildert , the last Prince-Bishop (1826-1836) and the driving force behind the founding of the University of Durham .

The entire colorful glazing of the windows dates from the 19th and 20th centuries. The lectern, pulpit and floor in the choir were added by the architect George Gilbert Scott . The choir stalls date from around 1660.

organ

View of the choir screen; in the background, left and right, the two organ cases
Organ pipes

The organ goes back to an instrument by Henry "Father" Willis , which was completed in 1877. The instrument had 55 registers and had a hydraulic wind machine , which was replaced by a gas engine in 1903. In 1935 the disposition was expanded to 77 registers. In 1970 the instrument was revised again, equipped with electro-pneumatic actions and the disposition expanded. The organ was last revised by the organ builder Harrison & Harrison. The romantically intoned and arranged instrument is divided into two locations, north and south of the choir. It has 98 registers (5746 pipes ), distributed over seven movements, which are controlled from a four manual console .

I Choir Organ C – a 3
Bourdon 16 ′
Flauto Traverso 8th'
Covered 8th'
Viole d'Amour 8th'
Gemshorn 4 ′
Flauto Traverso 4 ′
Stopped Flute 4 ′
Nazard 2 23
Piccolo 2 ′
Tierce 1 35
Dulciana Mixture III
Clarinet 8th'
Tremulant
I positive organ C – a 3
Flute a fireplace 8th'
Quintad 8th'
Prestant 4 ′
Flute overture 4 ′
Duplicate 2 ′
Sesquialtera II
Larigot 1 13
Octavine 1'
Octave Tierce 45
Cymbals III
Dulcian 16 ′
Trumpets 8th'
II Great Organ C – a 3
Double Open Diapason 16 ′
Contra Clarabella 16 ′
Open Diapason I 8th'
Open Diapason II 8th'
Open Diapason III 8th'
Open Diapason IV 8th'
Gamba 8th'
Claribel Flute 8th'
Stopped diapason 8th'
Octave 4 ′
Principal 4 ′
Harmonic flute 4 ′
Octave Quint 2 23
Great Octave 2 ′
Mixture IV
Sharp III
Contra trumpet 16 ′
trombone 8th'
Clarion 4 ′
III Swell Organ C – a 3
Double diapason 16 ′
Open Diapason I 8th'
Open Diapason II 8th'
Lovely covered 8th'
Salicional 8th'
Vox Angelica 8th'
Principal 4 ′
Harmonic flute 4 ′
Fifteenth 2 ′
Mixture IV-V
oboe 8th'
Vox Humana 8th'
Tremulant .
Double trumpet 16 ′
Trumpet 8 ′
Clarion 4 ′
IV Solo Organ C – a 3
swellable
Harmonic flute 8th'
Concert flute 4 ′
Harmonic piccolo 2 ′
Contra viola 16 ′
Viole d'Orchestre 8th'
Viole Celeste 8th'
Viole Octaviante 4 ′
Cornet de Violes III
Cor Anglais 16 ′
Corno di Bassetto 8th'
Orchestral oboe 8th'
Tremulant
continuation
French horn 8th'
Orchestral tuba 8th'
not swellable
tuba 8th'
Tuba Clarion 4 ′
Pedal C – f 1
Double Open Wood 32 ′
Open Wood I. 16 ′
Open Wood II 16 ′
Open diapason 16 ′
Violone 16 ′
Dulciana 16 ′
Bourdon 16 ′
Contra viola 16 ′
Octave Wood 8th'
Principal 8th'
violoncello 8th'
Dulciana 8th'
Flood 8th'
continuation
Twelfth 5 13
Great Octave Wood 4 ′
Fifteenth 4 ′
Twenty Second 2 ′
Mixture IV
Double ophicleide 32 ′
Double trombone 32 ′
Ophicleide 16 ′
Trombones 16 ′
Cor Anglais 16 ′
Tromba 8th'
Cornett 4 ′

meaning

The cathedral is considered to be the most important building of the Norman style , the original form of which is almost completely preserved.

Church meaning

The bishops of Durham were influential and powerful prince- bishops well into the 19th century . Today the cathedral is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham and the main church of the Diocese of Durham. The bishop is the fourth highest bishop in the hierarchy of the Church of England . County Durham entrance and signage signs today are signed Land of the Prince Bishops .

Art historical importance

This cathedral became famous because some research assumes that the first ribbed vault in the history of architecture was built here from 1096, in the south aisle (around the same time as Sant'Ambrogio in Milan ). The completion of the vault of the eastern parts is assumed for the year 1104 of the nave 1130. The ribbed vault is alternately service occupied cross-pillar, high round pillars and flying buttress or boutant arc referred to flying buttresses supported. The support by the buttresses made taller buildings possible and at the same time opened up space for larger windows. The wall structure and its division system are closely related to the wall structure common on the mainland, but consistently develop it further. The vertical services continue as ribs in the vault, thus connecting the two opposite walls to form an overarching yoke system - a Gothic technique. In order to design more complex floor plans , the Romanesque floor plans based on squares and their multiples were deviated from, which in the area of ​​the vaults and buttresses meant that they could no longer be designed as a single segment of a circle . Rather, they now consist of two circular segments that are joined together with less than a quarter of a circular segment: the result is a pointed arch.

All of these features are considered to be the forerunners of the Gothic style that emerged in northern France a few decades later . Nevertheless, the building is assigned to the Romanesque in its entirety. Whether this vaulting with a pointed arch marks the beginning of the Gothic period has long been a matter of dispute in the scientific debate. There is the view that this construction was part of the original building plan, another is based on an original wooden ceiling and that the vault was "obviously later hung on the brackets over galleries with covered buttresses" from 1128/33 to around 1160 . The Gothic central nave vault was only invented in Caen near St-Etienne in 1120/30 . Others are more neutral in the discussion and speak cautiously of the “oldest English large vault” and emphasize that “a development of all vault members from the wall relief has not yet been designed”.

Interestingly, this idea, which was also aesthetically very effective - should it actually belong to the original inventory - remained without imitation in England itself, while similar ideas are further developed on the mainland in the church of St-Étienne de Caen . That speaks more for the thesis of a later installation. In England the central aisles of Romanesque cathedrals and large abbey churches have wooden and flat ceilings at this time. Only at the beginning of the Gothic period in the Early English arise (1175-1260) here vault.

World heritage

In 1986 the cathedral was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, along with the neighboring castle . The reason was: " Durham Cathedral is the largest and most perfect monument of 'Norman' style architecture in England ", in English: "Durham Cathedral is the largest and most perfect monument of Norman architecture in England".

Worth knowing

The cathedral was used as the filming location for Hogwarts (see also Gloucester Cathedral ) for the Harry Potter films , as well as the filming location for the films Elizabeth and Avengers: Endgame .

In September 2009 the British musician Sting presented his new album "If on a Winter's Night ..." to the audience at an exclusive concert.

The crossing tower is accessible and offers a beautiful view of Durham and the surrounding area.

literature

  • Ernst Adam: Pre-Romanesque and Romanesque , Frankfurt 1968., p. 113; ISBN 3-524-00047-9 (1984 edition)
  • JE Bygate: Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church Of Durham. A Description Of Its Fabric And A Brief History Of The Episcopal See. London, George Bell & Sons, 1905 ( e-book on Project Gutenberg )
  • Chapter of Durham Cathedral (Ed.): A short guide to Durham Cathedral . 2007.
  • Marcel Durliat : Romanesque Art , Freiburg-Basel-Vienna 1983. p. 497.
  • Martin Hürlimann: English Cathedrals , Zurich 1948
  • Norbert Nussbaum, Sabine Lepsky: The Gothic vault. The history of its form and construction , Darmstadt / Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft 1999
  • Werner Schäfke : English cathedrals. A journey through the highlights of English architecture from 1066 to the present day. 3rd edition, Cologne 1983. (DuMont Art Travel Guide), p. 74, figs. 9–15, color plate 1; ISBN 3-7701-1313-6 (3rd edition 1989)
  • Malcolm Thurlby: The Purpose of the Rib in the Romanesque Vaults of Durham Cathedral. In: Michael Jackson (Ed.): Engineering a Cathedral , London 1993, pp. 64-76.
  • Rolf Toman (ed.): The art of the Romanesque. Architecture - sculpture - painting. Cologne 1996, ISBN 3-8331-1039-2 (2004 edition, Tandem Verlag)

swell

  1. More information about the organ
  2. Hürlimann, S. 42nd
  3. ^ Wischermann, Heinfried: Romanesque architecture in Great Britain. In: Toman, Rolf (Ed.): The Art of Romanesque. Architecture - sculpture - painting. Cologne 1996, p. 236
  4. Nussbaum, pp. 30-33; Malcolm.

Web links

Commons : Durham Cathedral  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 54 ° 46 ′ 27 "  N , 1 ° 34 ′ 34.6"  W.