![]() ![]() Some idea of the appearance of a complete timber church can be gleaned from the Temptation page of the Book of Kells, where the Temple of Jerusalem is shown in the manner of an Irish church with a shingled roof and gabled finials. Flanking the altar were the tombs of Saint Brigit and Bishop Conlaed, over which were suspended crowns. It describes a large church catering to a double monastery of males and females, divided longitudinally, with what appears to have been a kind of chancel screen hung with images. The earliest extended description of an Irish church occurs in the life of Saint Brigit of Kildare, written in the late seventh century. Contemporary domestic architecture favored round wooden houses, but churches were probably rectangular. No architecture survives from the missionary period of the fifth and early sixth centuries, but we can infer that dedicated places of Christian worship were constructed and that these were probably of wood. What emerged subsequently was a distinctive style in ecclesiastical and military architecture, modest in scale but unusual in character, which lingered until the seventeenth century in places. The initial prosperity of the Anglo-Norman colony led to a steady increase in the building of churches, monasteries, and castles, which was only halted by the economic decline of the later thirteenth century and the calamities of the fourteenth. ![]() ![]() After the Anglo-Norman invasion in 1169, the pace of change accelerated largely because of English influence. and ended in the twelfth century, when the impact of new styles from Europe and western England became commonplace. The earlier period began with the conversion of Ireland to Christianity in about 400 c.e. The study of Irish architecture in the medieval period divides naturally into two broad phases. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |