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)
=Monuments in the Lady Chapel=.--In the bay of the west of the "watching
chamber" is the tomb of _Elizabeth, Lady Montacute_, who gave to the
Priory the large field now known as the Christ Church Meadow, in order to
maintain two priests for her chantry in the Lady Chapel. There seems to
be no ground for the statement that she built the Latin Chapel; in her
foundation-deed she expressly directs the masses and other offices to be
said "within the chapel of the Blessed Mary," and, so far from her bequest
proving sufficient to build a new chapel, it was soon found inadequate
for the maintenance of the two chantry priests. Lady Montacute was the
daughter of Sir Peter de Montfort, and was married first to William de
Montacute, by whom she had four sons and six daughters, and afterwards
to Thomas de Furnival. Her monument consists of a high tomb, the sides of
which are divided into three panelled compartments. In these compartments
are little statuettes of her children, and her own effigy rests on the
top; at the head and foot of the tomb are quatrefoiled compartments
containing sacred symbols and figures. It is very beautiful, and of
great interest as showing many specimens of the costume of the period;
but one can hardly imagine what its splendour must have been when the
rich hues, with which it is painted in every part, were fresh. The colours
mentioned in the following learned description by Mr M.H. Bloxham
have long tended to monochrome, and the hand of the mutilator has been
unusually painstaking and systematic.
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