Church Orientation in the Landscape

A Perspective from Medieval Wales

Datos Bibliográficos

ID11617140
AutoresAnne Allen (Canterbury Christ Church University, autor de correspondencia), Anne Sassin Allen (Canterbury Christ Church University)
Año2015
Volumen173
Número1
Páginas154-187
Fecha de publicación2015-11-18
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaArchaeological Journal (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0066-5983 • E-ISSN: 2373-2288
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00665983.2016.1110781
OpenAlexW2172886624
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas10
Referencias citadas34

Studies have proposed diverse explanations in attempting to find meaning behind the varied range in the orientation of church buildings. From patronal feast days, to the seasonality of their foundation, from magnetic east, to the Easter Calendar, and most recently to harvest festival celebrations, no one assessment has resulted in a definite answer. This paper aims to consider the orientations obtained from 630 medieval churches in Wales, the first macro-scale survey of the Welsh structures, a large number of which were aligned far from the traditional 90°, indicating other factors were at play. The study argues that, more than elsewhere in Britain, orientation was set in relation to prominent human-made and natural features in the surrounding landscape, many of which had acquired acquired a strong significance in local collective memory

Archaeology · Art · Cartography · Epistemology · Foundation (evidence · Geography · Geometry · Meaning (existential · Natural (archaeology · Orientation (vector space · Perspective (graphical · Scale (ratio · Set (abstract data type · Visual arts · Welsh · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Computer Science · Historical Studies of British Isles · History · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology · Mathematics · Philosophy