ANGLIA POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY
BA (Hons) Art History (and combined)
Level 3 Semester 1
Paul
Shakeshaft
SAH2034 KING’S COLLEGE CHAPEL (ADVANCED SEMINAR)
Introduction and Learning Outcomes
SAH2034 KING’S COLLEGE CHAPEL (ADVANCED SEMINAR)
This module belongs
to the Study of Art field’s group of Advanced Seminar modules, which are
designed to encourage group and individual research.
At this level, you
are expected to work co-operatively but with a high degree of autonomy,
establishing the principal lines of inquiry of your topic and defining their
limits, deciding upon appropriate research methods, finding and evaluating
relevant written and oral sources, investigating appropriate visual evidence at
first hand and developing referenced, reasoned and critical arguments based
upon your sources.
By the completion of
the module, you should be able to:
1. Identify
the leading issues which a study of the Chapel gives rise to.
2. Critically
evaluate a variety of sources in relation to the Chapel, from the 15th
century to the present.
3. Conduct
a close visual analysis of the Chapel and of related buildings, in the context
of European medieval and renaissance art.
4. Locate
the Chapel within the contemporary cultures of the English university, the city
of Cambridge, East Anglia, the Church and the Court.
5. Demonstrate
a preliminary understanding of the Chapel in the broad context of the visual
cultures of European Christendom and the Islamic world
6. Contribute
constructively to the advancement of research within the seminar group
King’s College Chapel
is the most significant surviving English building of its time. The Chapel is remarkable for its scale,
structural daring, decorative completeness and state of preservation; it
occupies a central position at the confluence of the interests of the
University, the Church and the Court; it manifests the development of the
discourses which have come to be characterised as late medieval, renaissance,
humanist and reformatory.
In this module, we
shall be attempting to study the Chapel in as broad a context as we can
establish. Our aim will be to pursue a
series of investigations which lead us away from, and back towards, the chapel
by a series of routes through the educational, theological, architectural and
political histories of late medieval society.
We shall be trying to reconstruct, as far as the evidence allows, the
complex connections between this Chapel’s visual appearances and the beliefs,
aspirations and strategems of its patrons, builders, users and critics. We shall also attempt to set the Chapel in
the wider context of late medieval English piety, particularly as it was
displayed in the popular culture of East Anglia.
The Chapel was built
over a long period, between 1446 and 1545, a century which embraces the reigns
of five kings, Henry V1, Edward 1V, Richard 111, Henry V11 and Henry V111. As a royal foundation, the Chapel is closely
bound up with the policies and fortunes of these monarchs and their advisors,
during the later stages of the Wars of the Roses and on through the troubled
years of the early Tudor dynasty. The
glazing and the furnishing of the Chapel was being carried out immediately
before and during the first stages of the Reformation.
The Chapel survives
as the most splendid example of the range of styles promoted by the English
Court, styles which were formulated in St Stephen’s Chapel, Westminster,
further developed at the east end of Gloucester Cathedral and then elaborated
in the royal chapels at Eton, Windsor and Westminster Abbey. We have the task before us of recognising
which features of the Court styles were adopted at King’s and of understanding
the ways in which these styles served as visual emblems of changing monarchical
doctrines. How were the ideas of the
Court patrons and their intermediaries in the Church and University interpreted
by the master masons and the other master craftsmen, such as the glaziers?
The notion of a Court
style in the 15th and 16th centuries also raises the issue of English visual
identity. King’s can be situated within
the broad late medieval Catholic culture of Europe and it is possible to relate
it to buildings in France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. However, in many respects King’s is quite
unlike any building on the mainland of Europe. We shall have to try to
establish what the signs of its distinctiveness might be and attempt to explain
how they might have come about. Is
there anything in the argument that the insular aspects of King’s were an
element in devising of a specifically English national identity in the later
middle ages?
As a Cambridge
building, the Chapel originally fell within the diocese of Ely and was related,
more broadly, to the religious culture of East Anglia, one of the richest areas
in England for the study of late medieval churches. An obvious point of reference for us is Ely cathedral itself,
particularly the Lady Chapel and the two chantry chapels dedicated to Bishops
Alcock and West. Peterborough cathedral
is also associated with King’s, as the fan vault of its retrochoir shares many
of the features we find in the Cambridge Chapel. We shall also need to relate King’s to the churches of other
parts of East Anglia, including Norwich, Bury St Edmunds, Saffron Walden, Long
Melford and Burwell.
As a university
chapel, King’s can be compared to the other medieval college chapels in
Cambridge, such as St Mary the Less and St Michael’s, as well as to the earlier
chapels in Oxford, particularly Merton and New College. Its role as a college chapel raises
questions about the nature of the medieval university, its purposes, its
organisation and its curriculum. What
function did the chapel serve within the medieval university? How was it related to the development of the
college system? As the leading studies
in the medieval university were theological, ought we to be looking in King’s
College Chapel for evidence of an intellectual demonstration of orthodox belief
at the time? One question we must
pursue is whether the foundation of King’s can be associated with the attempts
by the church authorities and by the monarchy to fortify approved teaching in
the universities in the face of the challenge of heresy.
Paradoxically, during
the later stages of work on the Chapel, Cambridge was becoming a centre of the
new learning, which was associated with the humanism of Erasmus, a scholar at
Queens’ College. By the 1520s,
Cambridge was a hotbed of Lutheranism, propagated by teachers such as Richard
Barnes and Hugh Latimer. One of the
leading humanists, John Colet, had specifically objected to the typological
interpretation of the Bible, which determines the programme of narratives in
the King’s windows. How are we to understand
the Chapel in the context of these debates, which laid the intellectual
foundations of the Reformation?
The new learning was
related in complex ways to the visual renaissance in 15th and 16th century
Europe. One avenue of inquiry we shall
have to pursue is the use in the Chapel of designs, in the windows and in the
pulpitum, which reveal an understanding of the Italian renaissance, as
interpreted by North Italian, French and Netherlandish artists. The Chapel is one of the richest sites in
which to study the use by the courts of Henry V11 and Henry V111 of the new
visual forms. What were the origins of
these new ways of seeing, why were they promoted and what meanings were
assigned to them?
The decoration of the
chapel raises another burning issue of the age, that of imagery and
idolatry. John Wycliffe and his
followers questioned, amongst other beliefs, the legitimacy of religious visual
imagery and their misgivings were to be amplified by the 16th century
reformers, German, Swiss and English. The
Chapel’s images, most spectacularly the windows, were being designed and
installed at just the time when the debates about idolatry were being revived,
especially in Cambridge itself. The man
responsible for deciding the subjects of the windows was John Fisher, who would
eventually accept martyrdom with Thomas More.
One of the most hated targets for the Protestant iconophobes was the
cult of the Virgin Mary, central to the King’s system. This issue of the legitimacy of images will
require us to look into the 17th century as well, where we shall need to
examine the attitudes of the puritans and consider the visit to Cambridge of
the iconoclast William Dowsing.
We shall also need to
consider the Chapel in an even wider context.
Its construction coincides with a period of renewed rivalry between
Christendom and Islam. What can we
learn by comparing the Chapel and its college with the great mosques and seats
of learning of contemporary Istanbul, Cairo, Damascus and Isfahan?
The Founder’s
Statutes of 1453 provided for ten chaplains, sixteen choristers and six
clerks. This should remind us that the
Chapel was intended, above all, as a place for religious services and that
music lay at the heart of the daily ritual.
In order to understand the ways in which the functional requirements of
the Chapel influenced its appearances we shall have to consider the forms taken
by the pre-Reformation services (remembering that at the time of the Chapel’s
completion these too were highly contentious).
At times, in the 15th and 16th centuries, English church music was
considered to be highly innovatory; is it possible to relate the history of
music to the visual history of the Chapel?
The module will set
the broad parameters within which the group will be working but the ultimate
product of the module will be the responsibility of both the individual and of
the group. Regard the module leader as the editor of the project.
You are going to play
a part in producing is a new 30,000-word guide to the construction and
furnishing of the Chapel. Each member of the seminar group is to write one of
the 13 sections, which are to be around 2000 words. In addition, all members of the group are to write an introduction
to the guide, which is to be around 1000 words (see the more detailed brief
below).
The guide is to be
aimed at an educated readership, which will be receptive to trying to
understand the appearances of the Chapel in the context of power and belief in
the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. To write such a book, your editor believes
that we shall need to consider Michael Baxandall’s method of cultural history
(see bibliography below), aspects of Erwin Panofsky’s ideas about iconology and
the views of Michel Foucault, on discursive formations, knowledge and
power. (However, you may want to
challenge the editor on these methodological preferences.)
As your editor, I
have drawn up a preliminary list of areas that might be covered in our
contextual analysis of the Chapel, though, ultimately, it will be for the group
to decide which to include, whether the titles should be modified or elided and
how they might be sequenced.
1. The
design and function of college chapels in the medieval Oxford and Cambridge
2. Patronage
and the genesis of the late medieval building
3. Henry
V1’s foundation of King’s and Queens’ Colleges
4. Evidence
of the role of the masons, carpenters and other craftsmen
5. The
material evidence for the building history of the Chapel
6. Royal chapels in England and
France in relation to the Chapel at King’s.
7.
The
Chapel in the context of the City of Cambridge and East Anglia
8.
The
relevance of notions of heresy and orthodoxy in the appearances of the Chapel
9.
Images
in wood and stone (and painted panels?)
10.
The
Chapel and medieval aesthetic theory
11.
The
Chapel in the context of Yorkist and Lancastrian rivalries
12.
The
Chapel and Anglo-French, Anglo-Spanish
and Anglo-Imperial history
13.
Comparisons
with Islamic institutions and architecture of the 15th and 16th
centuries, (Istanbul, Cairo, Isfahan and Damascus?) (editor’s note: this topic
needs to be dealt with in the guide)
14.
The
imprint of Tudor hegemony; Henry V11 and Henry V111
15.
The
validity of the terms ‘late medieval’ and ‘renaissance’ in the analysis of the
Chapel
16.
The
iconography and style of the windows
17.
The
significance of music in the design and organisation of the Chapel
18.
The
relevance for the Chapel of the New Learning
19.
The
Reformation and the Chapel
20.
Alterations
and conservation since the 17th century
The seminar group
will meet on the following dates (n.b. there are no classes between weeks 7 and
10).
·
Preliminary discussion of the possible
lines of inquiry which an investigation of the Chapel might suggest.
·
Preliminary discussion of bibliography
·
Consideration of relevance of methodology of Baxandall, Panofsky and
Foucault.
·
Visit to King’s College Chapel
·
Examination of the plan of the Chapel
·
The building history
·
Questions raised by the fabric and
elevations
·
Second visit to King’s College Chapel
·
Examination of the windows
·
The iconographic programme
·
Netherlandish designers and glaziers
·
Patronage and the genesis of
architectural ideas
·
St George’s Windsor
·
Eton College Chapel
·
Confirmation of the lines of inquiry
·
Assignment of topics to seminar members
·
Discussion of the method and direction
·
Agreement about order and format
Week 10 Thurs 9-12,
28 November (PS)
·
Individual tutorials in preparation for
the presentations (10-minutes); (you will need to bring your bibliography)
Week 11 Thurs,
10-12, 5 December (PS and another)
·
First set of presentations
Week 12, Thurs, 10-12, 12 December (PS and another)
·
Second set of presentations
Besides the arranged
visits, you should try to visit some of the following:
Little St Mary’s
Great St Mary’s
St Bene’t’s
St Edwards
Holy Trinity
The Chapels of
Trinity Hall, Trinity and Magdalene Colleges
The old court of
Queens’ College and the chapel (altarpiece of the Master of St Gudule)
Burwell, St Mary’s
parish church
St Mary’s, Saffron
Walden
Suffolk,
Holy Trinity, Long
Melford (Lady Chapel)
St Nicholas, Denton
St Peter Mancroft
Ely Cathedral – the
Lady Chapel; Bishop West’s and Alcock’s Chapel
Peterborough
Cathedral - the retrochoir (though when I was there last, post-fire restoration
was going on; best phone in advance).
Westminster Abbey
Henry V11’s Chapel
(you could visit this on one of the London trips in visits’ weeks)
And, on the
off-chance, if you are in Oxfordshire of Gloucestershire for any reason, visit:
Oxford
Merton College and
New College Chapels
Gloucester
The cathedral –
choir, transepts and Lady Chapel
Fairford
St Mary’s parish
church (for the windows)
One of the most
important objectives of the module is to encourage you to develop your
bibliographical skills. The
bibliography below simply lists the key works on the Chapel itself; it will be
for you, individually and as a member of the group, to develop the
bibliography.
The Royal Commission
on the Historical Monuments of England (1955), City of Cambridge, Parts 1 & 11, London.
Wayment, H. (1976), Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi: King’s College
Chapel, Supp.Vol. 1, Cambridge.
Willis, R. (1886,
reprinted 1988), The Architectural
History of the University of Cambridge, Cambridge.
Woodman, F. (1985), The Architectural History of King’s College
Chapel, Cambridge.
All of these books
are in the APU library; none are still in print. Besides the APU library, you should use the Cambridgeshire
Collection of the Cambridge Central Library in Lion Yard.
As for method, you
should look particularly at:
Baxandall, M. (1972),
Painting and Experience in 15th
Century Italy, Oxford
Baxandall, M. (1980),
The Limewood Sculptors of Renaissance
Germany, Yale
Panofsky, E. (1972), Studies in Iconology, Princeton
Rabinow, P. (1991), The Foucault Reader, London.
Danaker, G.,
Schirato, T., Webb, J. (2000), Understanding
Foucault, London.
Rode, G. (2001), Visual Methodologies, London (especially
chapter 6, Discourse Analysis 1 & chapter 7, Discourse Analysis 11).
There are two
component to the assessment.
1. Seminar
contribution 30%
In all of the Advanced
Seminars, there is a 30% allocation to oral contributions. The mark will be
awarded for two oral elements: your contributions
to seminar discussions in the seminars and your presentation in weeks 11 or 12.
In this module, your contribution to seminar discussions is
vital to the success of the project.
This aspect accounts for 10% of
the marks and the allocation will be left to the group to decide. You should attempt to ensure that your own
efforts further the learning and achievement of the whole group. Your visual observations and reflections
upon reading should feed in to the seminar discussions. You will also be
expected to offer your views about which topics should be covered in the guide
and who should do what. You will need
to discuss issues of method, direction and format. Bibliographic information is to be shared and you should inform
other members of the group about reading that might be helpful for their
particular topic.
Your presentation will take place in week 11
or 12 and will be allocated 20% of
the marks.
You will be allocated
15 minutes in which to explain to the group:
The
issues your topic has raised
The
method you are adopting
The
visual evidence you are examining
The
reading you have done/intend to do
The
conclusions you think you may reach
It is understood that
your research is not yet concluded, yet by this stage of the semester, you
should be well on the way to shaping your topic.
The group will be
invited to offer constructively critical comments. The tutor will include comments on your progress on the returned
coversheet. Your mark will be decided according to the assessment criteria on
the attached Study of Art coversheet.
2.
The written
assignment 70%
The presentation topic is to be written up as an illustrated essay (3000-word maximum).
This essay is to take its place in the notional guide to the Chapel and
so should conform to the common brief.
In effect, your essay will be one chapter in the guide, the remaining
chapters being written by the other twelve members of the group.
The essay should include a bibliography, referenced using the Harvard
method. It should contain at least six
illustrations, integrated in the text.
The essay’s argument should demonstrate your close familiarity with your
sources, both written and visual. The
manner should be independent, critical, resourceful and thought-provoking. The
essay should show evidence of your constructive response to suggestions made by
members of the group, including your tutor.
The essay will be marked using the marking criteria on the Study of Art
assignment coversheet, together with the learning outcomes at the top of this
handout.
Deadline for the
submission of the written work: I p.m.,
Wednesday, 8 January