The ecclesiastical architecture of Scotland from the earliest Christian times to the seventeenth century; vol. 3/3MacGibbon, David
History
The ecclesiastical architecture of Scotland from the earliest Christian times to the seventeenth century; vol. 3/3
MacGibbon, David
Church architecture -- Scotland
“I stated that the rood screen at Glasgow was erected by Archbishop
Blacader, and that it was probably begun about the year 1492. The
charter evidence is that the archbishop founded the two altars in
their present position in the base of the screen, and that he
founded the altar _for which the screen was erected_, the altar of
Holy Cross. As the screen encroaches considerably on the original
length of the choir, being of great depth from west to east, it is
natural to suppose that its erection would entail the remodelling
of the choir fittings. It was in the archbishop’s time, then, that
the new choir stalls were constructed. From the measurements given
in the contract for this work, between ‘the dene and cheptour of
Glasgw on the tapairt, and Mychell Waghorn, wrycht, on the toder
pairt,’ it is evident that the carved canopy work was carried as a
cornice across the east or choir side of the screen. Rejecting my
work, you state that the screen at Glasgow was probably built by
Bishop Cameron, who died in 1446. You have no charter evidence to
support you. You have only the mouldings and the sculpture of the
two periods to found your opinion upon. In the illustration I send
you (Fig. 1) I show the earlier mouldings at A and the later
mouldings of the screen at B. Students can now estimate the value
of your opinion. The only moulding in the aisle of Car Fergus, of
Blacader’s time, is the vaulting rib which I show at C. This, you
say, is a ‘coarse’ moulding. But the coarseness is not apparent
when you compare it with the rib in the
[Illustration: FIG. 1.
Mouldings of Rood Screen at St. Mungo’s.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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