The History Anorak

The History Anorak

Monday 20 July 2015

Norwich Cathedral

When we visit an Anglican cathedral in the UK we have fairly clear expectations of what we'll find inside: soaring arches, bright stained glass, intricate carvings and stone - lots of gleaming stone. We often forget that church interiors - and in particular cathedral interiors - weren't always like that.

Only a few churches still have traces of the rich decoration that once covered their walls and ceilings, but there are remarkable survivors at Norwich, where brightly coloured and complex designs are still visible.

These decorative remains date from the 12th century. It was a time when churches also had stories from the scriptures illustrated on the walls. Most of the populace would be unable to read, so the tales were painted for them to see for themselves.

Doom paintings were also common around this time. They depicted the Christian version of what is supposed will happen on Judgement Day, when the blessed will be taken to heaven to sit at the right hand of god and sinners will be condemned to hell.  Many doom paintings have vivid images of the daemons and tortures that await the unholy- a sure reason to behave according to church law!

7 comments:

  1. Pre-Reformation British churches and cathedrals must have been spectacular places. Today, we can only catch glimpses...

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  2. Last year we visited the Priory Church at Binham in Norfolk. They produced a tea towel showing how they thought the church might have looked pre-Reformation - it is fascinating to see so much colour. Only a little is left here and there now.

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  3. I love it when you can enter a church and spot little remnants of decoration or scraps of wall paintings - all very fascinating - how different the churches must have been in more than just their decoration:)

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  4. Fascinating post and lovely photos. Thank you so much for sharing.

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  5. Really interesting indeed. Greetings!

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  6. I can't tell you how much I enjoy visiting your blog. Most interesting.

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  7. I suspect that Norfolk and Suffolk have quite a lot of medieval wall paintings if you know where to look for them. Brent Eleigh and Bacton are among those I've seen.. I'm more familiar with Suffolk as one of my sons lives there.

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