Thursday, July 22, 2021

York Minster, 2021

We visited the York Minster (cathedral) first in 1989, with our daughters, then again in 2009, during our first European campaign after retiring. I think we were properly appreciative both times, but this was before we had learned much about religious art and architecture. Thus my 2009 blogpost contains a few errors of one sort or another; finding which I leave as a homework assignment. Our main memory from that time, and main reason for wanting to return in 2021, was that the great east window, largest there is of Medieval glass, was out in 2009, and to remain out for several years, getting cleaned, repaired, etc. It's back in now. And we know a lot more about cathedrals.

Southside; not my picture


West window; before the east window, largest in Medieval 
Christendom; the "Heart of Yorkshire" near the top

Nave view; big church

Illuminating map

North window, five enormous lancets; Five Sisters

The great organ had been down for a cleaning and re-working
recently and is now all put back together; here, one of the Minster's
pix of the approximately 87 gazillion pipes



































York's clock; given the relative youth of the place
(compared with, say, Durham or Winchester), 14th
century, not all that impressive

More organ porn

Quire porn

Crossing

Among the many tombs, memorials; deserves a better caption
than I can think of presently

Now in the very extensive crypt, looking at a capital from, perhaps,
one of the Minster's several predecessors 

The Doomstone

Finally, the East window

Later Medieval glass, of course

Scene from Revelations, always a crowd-pleaser

Vicki stands for scale by some of the bigger pipes

"No way out! No way out!"

Sculptor/stone mason workshop

East side

Alas, the chapter house was closed

Outside sculpture

FWIW, Wells, Winchester, and Durham remain safe in their
positions as our favorite English cathedrals


1 comment:

Tawana said...

You just wonder where the sculptors and stained glass artisans got their ideas for the characters they depicted in their art. Growing up Baptist, I got lots of hellfire and brimstone sermons that put the fear in me. Wonder if priests back then preached hellfire and brimstone?