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Major
Questions | Durham Cathedral and Anglo-Norman Romanesque
Professor Roger Stalley
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England,
Durham Cathedral, Aerial view
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England,
Durham Cathedral, View from southwest
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England,
Durham Cathedral
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Before examining
a monument like Durham cathedral, it is important to establish
what type of problems the historian is trying to solve. The
following questions are among the issues that arise at Durham,
but many of the questions could be applied to any major building
of the period:
Why was the cathedral erected on such an enormous
scale?
Why was such a monumental structure built in the north of England,
an area which at first sight appears to be far removed from
the main centres of political power and artistic development?
How radical was the design and what precedents
existed for the various components of that design?
Who was the key influence behind the design—the bishop
or the master-mason(s)?
What was their background and where did they come from?
To what extent was the cathedral built to a consistent design?
Why were changes introduced as building progressed?
What was the function of the cathedral and how well was it designed
to suit that function?
How important was the cult
of relics and what were the liturgical
requirements of a cathedral church at the time?
How was the building perceived by contemporaries?
To what extent did it influence the course of Romanesque architecture
in the rest of England?
briefing
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