The Cathedral Church of Oxford: A description of its fabric and a brief history of the Episcopal seeDearmer, Percy
History
The Cathedral Church of Oxford: A description of its fabric and a brief history of the Episcopal see
Dearmer, Percy
Christ Church Cathedral (Oxford, England)
The late Tudor monument to the first Bishop of Oxford, _Robert King_, has
been removed from its former place under his window to the bay between the
aisle and St. Lucy's Chapel, where it now forms a sort of small screen
to the little chapel. Bishop King died in 1557; his tomb is recessed,
canopied, and covered with shallow panel-work in minute divisions, but
without any effigy, sculptured or incised. Though it is among the last
works of the mediæval school of monumental architecture, it is still
graceful and restrained; and indeed a great contrast to the new style
of monument which came in a few years later. _Inscription:--Hic jacet
Robertus King sacre theologie Professor et primus Ep'us Oxon. qui obiit
quarto die Decembris Anno (Domini M.D. LVII)_.
Crossing to the north side of the choir, one reaches the beautiful
cluster of chapels which add so much to the grace of the cathedral,
relieving it of any grimness of aspect which its unbroken array of
massive columns might otherwise have produced, and by their unaffected
dissimilarity enhancing at once its historical interest and its visible
charm. Here the eye wanders among pillars and arches which branch away
in so many directions that the grandest churches can scarcely give more
thoroughly the idea of infinity. And here one stands on the site of St.
Frideswide's first little church, with the very arches that she had
built for her, still standing in all their primitive simplicity. These
three aisles, and the south aisle on the opposite side of the choir, are
indeed eloquent of the unpretentious, lasting work that brave women have
done for humanity: the latter has become, through its window, sacred to
the memory of St. Catherine, whose own Latin Chapel is now for the same
reason inseparably connected with St. Frideswide. St. Cecilia looks down
upon the aisle next the choir, and the chapel of Our Lady is separated
from it only by the monument of the Saxon maiden, while St. Lucy has
given her name to the fifth and smallest of these eastern chapels. Thus
has this great society of learned men taken pleasure in doing honour to
the good women of Christendom.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account