Deeds of he Abbots of Fontenelle

Primary sources are the closest information we have to 'eye witness' accounts of a distant past. They provide evidence contemporary (or nearly so) to a building's construction, materials, and appearance as well as patrons and craftsmen. Every source contains some historical and/or personal bias that reflects the author's agenda and the cultural attitudes of the society and class in which he or she lived; the values and beliefs of the audience for which the work is intended are also important factors. As can be appreciated from reading these sources related to the historical period and architecture of Jumièges, documents vary enormously in how much they reveal about buildings and how well they may answer the questions we ask.

The sources cited here from the Early Middle Ages are biased in favour of Benedictine monasticism and have an interest in praising religious leaders (mostly male). Nonetheless, in the authors' zeal to recount the pious works of an abbot, bishop, or saint, he often reveals a personal enthusiasm for splendid architecture and its decoration. Scale, craftsmanship, and the number of features (columns, towers, windows, etc.) and arrangement of buildings seem to be of particular interest aside from extolling the patron. Measurements are also often given.

These excerpts from the documentary sources are well known and have often been cited in the context of patrons as active participants in the building process; however, they have not been considered from the standpoint of historic carpentry and the valuable information they relate for the existence of early medieval ceilings.

DEEDS OF THE ABBOTS OF FONTENELLE, Anonymous. The following description from the Gesta abbatum Fontanellensium is taken from the Monumenta Germ. Hist., Scriptores and is quoted here from W. Braunfels, Monasteries of Western Europe, Princeton, 1972. Insertions in brackets are mine.

The work, written at the time of Louis the Pious (814–840), is by a monastic chronicler from the abbey of Fontenelle in Neustria (the Carolingian kingdom of northwest France, much of which became the duchy of Normandy); in celebrating the deeds of Abbot Ansegis (822–33) of Fontenelle, he records not just the building campaigns but a careful description of the fabric of the conventual buildings. Of interest here is the description of the scale of individual buildings of the monastic complex and specifically, the oak timberwork used for the monks' dormitory (dorter) and dining hall (refectory). It is noteworthy that the ceilings are described as 'panelled' and thus would have involved a series of axial timbers in addition to the transverse tie beams. Fontenelle (later St. Wandrille) is located along the Seine north of Rouen very close to Jumièges.

In the first place he had the most noble monks' dorter built 208 feet long and 27 feet wide; furthermore, the structure that it is in is raised to a height of 64 feet throughout; the walls are constructed of solid tufa and a strong binding mortar made of lime, reddish river sand, and pebbles. There is also a chamber in the middle of it, laid with an exquisite pavement, and with a panelled ceiling adorned with the finest paintings above. This same building also has upper windows of glass , and apart from the walls, everything is constructed of the most lasting oak…

Then he built another building, called the refectory, which he had divided down the middle by a wall so constructed that one part served as a refectory [dining hall] and the other for stores [a pantry]. This building is of the same measurements and materials as the dorter, and he had the walls and the panelled ceiling decorated with paintings by Madalulfo, the famous painter of the church of Cambrai.

[In addition] He further ordered that a 35 foot spire made of finely wrought wood be placed on top of the church tower and that it should be sheathed in an alloy of lead and tin with a copper gilding, and placed three symbols on it; for before that it was altogether too modest.