Glastonbury Abbey

Another tourist moment, this time the ruined Abbey of Glastonbury.  At one time this great Gothic Cathedral was the primary pilgrimage point of England, a powerful and magnificent church with a population of many monks and pilgrims.  Supposedly the bodies of King Arthur and his Queen Guinevere were buried here, within the church.  Henry the 8th (who, I have to say, looked a lot like Donald Trump)  put an end to that when he defied the Catholic Church, and the Abbott of Glastonbury unfortunately then defied him.  The Abbott's defiance resulted in his death by hanging in the Tor, and the Cathedral was gradually torn down, many of the stones, carvings, and beautiful stained glass windows dismantled and sold off.  

Even so, the great Abbey is still a magnificent and imposing sight, beautiful, peaceful, and just a bit full of the presence of those worshippers who travelled so far and so long ago.

Reconstruction of monk's kitchen

Reconstruction of monk's kitchen

Vegetable garden

Salisbury Cathedral

This is pure tourist joy, this post.  No reflections, no commentary, just some photos from my trip to Salisbury and the magnificent Gothic  Salisbury Cathedral.  Unfortunately we were not able to take photos of the interior as a service was going on, but I was able to take photos of a Nave, the courtyard, and an area that must at one time have been the Cloister where the priests or monks lived.  And I had a chance to hear the choir sing inside - the acoustics are amazing.

I am as ever astounded by the rising ceilings of these Cathedrals. which seem to me to resemble, and be modelled upon, trees rising up.  I actually find a great deal that is "vegetative" about the shapes, the interior shapes at least, of the Cathedral, if not the ascending towers of the exterior.  The ancient Cathedral of Salisbury is certainly an awesome work of art and accomplishment, once the towering and beautiful center of the city.

This is a contemporary statue of a saint that stands outside the Cathedral.  I do not know who she is....once there was a plaque, but it seems to be gone, that described the statue.  But she has great presence there.  

One of the Personae of Salisbury, hidden away in a corner.  An angel?  But there are no wings.  She holds vessel with perhaps water........perhaps she represents St. Brigid, who was always associated with wells.

I love the floor too, being an artist who has made tiles.  

The installation of some contemporary sculptures look quite odd in the Cloister courtyard, in contrast to such history.   

 

This is from a room that has a running Biblical story above each arch, carved in marble.  This one is "Adam and Eve".  Under each arch is also a face, which I assume was meant to represent local people who were involved somehow with the construction of the Cathedral.  Some of them are quite funny, in contrast with the seriousness of the stories they underlie.  This one especially made me laugh.........he looks like he's rather cynical about the whole "Adam and Eve" thing.  Or maybe he's leering. 

 As awesome as these great Gothic Cathedrals are, they are not without their touches of humor too.

And there was a kind of bench with special embroidered cushions in one of the Naves, each dedicated to an Angel or to a Saint.  I found them beautiful, and wondered if they were kind of like "reserving a seat of honor" for these holy ones.