The Congresbury Carvings – An Eleventh-century Saint's Shrine
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8885910 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Catherine Oakes (University of Oxford, corresponding author), Catherine M Oakes, Michael Costen (Historic England) |
| Year | 2003 |
| Volume | 83 |
| Pages | 281-309 |
| Publication date | 2003-09-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Antiquaries Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-5815 • E-ISSN: 1758-5309 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0003581500077714 |
| OpenAlex | W2047471085 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 17 |
The discovery of a small group of sculpted fragments at Congresbury in Somerset seven years ago set in motion a period of research, reflection and analysis that has given rise to this paper. It opens with an account of the circumstances of their discovery and a description of their appearance. Then follows a proposed date and provenance. It is suggested that the quality of the sculptures and the evident scale of the monument to which they once belonged indicate a structure and a site of high status, possibly the shrine of the Welsh missionary saint Cyngar, whose cult enjoyed some popularity in the high and late Middle Ages. A review of the history of the site and evidence from its placename and from archaeological investigations corroborate this thesis. The style of the sculptures when compared with dated manuscript illuminations and with sculptural fragments surviving from Anglo-Saxon Wessex is in line with a late tenth- to mid-eleventh-century dating. The historical circumstances of Congresbury at this time further suggest that this date may be narrowed down to the period between 1033 and 1060. The original structure of the shrine to which the fragments may have belonged is considered in the light of contemporary documentary evidence and research carried out on the remains of comparable shrine structures
Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Art history · Cult · Eleventh · Middle Ages · Period (music · Popularity · SAINT · Sculpture · Style (visual arts · Welsh · Byzantine Studies and History · Historical Studies of British Isles · History · Medieval Literature and History
Cnut
Anglo-Saxon Art
Pastoral Care before the Parish.
X. Reculver
IX. The Carved Stones at Breedon on the Hill, Leicestershire, and their position in the history of English Art
Cathedral Shrines of Medieval England
Lists of saints' resting-places in Anglo-Saxon England
Cannington Cemetery. Excavations 1962-3 of Prehistoric, Roman, Post-Roman and Later Features at Cannington Park Quarry, near Bridgwater, Somerset
The Early Charters of Wessex
Saint Congar
| Citations per year | 0.07 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2012 - 2012 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |