Saint Flannan's Cathedral

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Southwest view of the cathedral

The Saint Flannan's Cathedral ( English : St. Flannan's Cathedral ) is a cathedral in Killaloe in County Clare, Ireland. It was the Episcopal Church for the Diocese of Killaloe of the Church of Ireland until 1976 . Since 1976 the dioceses of Killaloe and Limerick have been united. Nevertheless, the church has retained the status of a cathedral. Since the Reformation , the church no longer belongs to the Catholic Church . Construction work on the church began around 1195 at the earliest and was completed around 1225.

Inside the cathedral is the Ogham runestone by Killaloe .

history

Almost nothing is known about the namesake of the cathedral, Flannan. It cannot even be classified in terms of time. A hagiography made in the 12th century is of no historical value. There is a suspicion that he may be identical to Flannan from Cill Ard in West Clare , who died in 778. His feast day is December 18th.

Killaloe only became a bishopric in the 11th century with Domnall Ua hÉnna as the first bishop. This happened at the instigation of the kings Toirrdelbach and Muirchertach Ua Briain , both descendants of Brian Borus , who was born in Killaloe. At the Synod of Rathbreasail in 1111 the bishopric was confirmed and assigned to the newly created Archbishopric of Cashel , whose first Archbishop was Maol Muire Ua Dunáin , who was previously named as the second Bishop of Killaloe.

In 1185 all churches and houses in Killaloe were burned down by Cathal Carragh. In the period between 1192 and 1195, the diocese expanded significantly through the integration of the old bishopric of Iniscathy and Roscrea , which probably also improved the sources of income of the diocese, so that a new construction of the cathedral church was possible.

Following an invitation, Prince Johann stayed in Killaloe in 1197 and in 1217, Robert Travers, the first Englishman, came to the bishopric. This influence could explain why these churches in the west of Ireland came closest to the English style of the time.

architecture

East window of the choir seen from the northeast

From the earlier, Romanesque style church, a door arch has been integrated into the southwest corner of the subsequent nave. The current church, built between 1182 and 1225, falls at the end of the transition phase between Romanesque and Gothic . The choir is from the earliest construction period around 1200. There are striking similarities here with the large east window to the cathedral in Kilfenora , so that Leask suspects that the same master could have worked in both cathedrals. Then the two transepts were built and finally the nave, which was completed around 1225.

Overall, the church has the shape of a cross with no side aisles or extensions. A tower was built over the crossing . This basic structure has remained unchanged in the following centuries despite various repair measures. Among other things, the north transept was renewed in the later Middle Ages and provided with a wall so that access is only possible through a door.

The tower was raised twice afterwards. The first renovation was carried out by Bishop William Knox, who had the tower raised by 4.5 meters in 1795. In 1892 another 1.5 meters were added to hang church bells . The total height is now 24.3 meters.

literature

  • Harold G. Leask: Irish Churches and Monastic Buildings: Volume Two . Dundalgan Press, Dundalk 1960.
  • Aubrey Gwynn and R. Neville Hadcock: Medieval Religious Houses Ireland . Longman, London 1970, ISBN 0-582-11229-X .
  • Peter Galloway: The Cathedrals of Ireland . The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast 1992, ISBN 0-85389-452-3 .

Web links

Commons : St. Flannan's Cathedral, Killaloe  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ See Royal Historical Society: Handbook of British Chronology , Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-56350-X , p. 398.
  2. ↑ See the corresponding website of the Church of Ireland: http://www.ireland.anglican.org/index.php?do=information&id=126 (viewed on August 3, 2008)
  3. ↑ a b c See Leask, p. 54.
  4. ↑ a b See Gwynn and Hadcock, p. 86.
  5. ↑ See Whitley Stokes: The Martyrology of Oengus the Culdee . London 1905, p. 261.
  6. ↑ See Annals of the Four Masters , M1185.9, and Leask, p. 54.
  7. ↑ Cf. Leask, pp. 54 and 55. On the name of the bishop and the assumption of office cf. Royal Historical Society: Handbook of British Chronology , Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-56350-X , p. 360.
  8. ↑ See Leask, p. 55.
  9. ↑ See Galloway, p. 138.

Coordinates: 52 ° 48 ′ 22.5 "  N , 8 ° 26 ′ 20.6"  W.