Gerald the Naturalist

Holmes, Urban T.

doi:10.2307/2846877

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…While such realistic headstops reflect Roman portrait busts, in this case the facial modelling and the animated expression must surely be explained through the sculptor having observed real human beings (Whittingham 1979). Observation of nature by a sculptor in the 1180s may seem somewhat revolutionary, but given the careful description of contemporary pen-portraits it should not be so surprising (Holmes 1936;Gransden 1972). An excellent example is provided in Gerald of Wales's description of King Henry II as a man of reddish, freckled complexion with a large round head, grey eyes which glowed fiercely and grew bloodshot in anger, a fierce countenance and a harsh, cracked voice.…”

Section: Should Like To Thank Dr Norton For Sendingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Lady Chapel of Glastonbury Abbey

Thurlby¹

1995

Antiq. J.

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After the devastating fire of 1184, the Lady Chapel of Glastonbury Abbey was constructed on the site of the Old Church (Vetusta Ecclesia), the wattle church traditionally associated with Joseph of Arimathea. The lavish decoration of the chapel is frequently mentioned in the literature. In many cases authors emphasize the old-fashioned, Romanesque character of much of the ornament in contrast to the seemingly more progressive contemporary early Gothic mouldings of nearby Wells Cathedral. Nevertheless, it is generally recognized that the designer of Glastonbury Lady Chapel knew of the latest developments in French Gothic architecture as witnessed in his use of crocket capitals and sharply pointed arches in the vault. This juxtaposition of Romanesque and Gothic motifs has led to the categorization of the Lady Chapel as Transitional. Convenient as such a label may be as a term of reference in charting a purely typological evolution, it does little for our understanding of the use of some distinctly different elements in contemporary structures located in the same region. Is it the case that the patron and/or master mason of Glastonbury Lady Chapel are simply more conservative than at Wells Cathedral? Could Glastonbury Lady Chapel be consciously archaizing in an effort to emphasize the antiquity of the site? Should we perhaps think in terms of a traditional Benedictine monastic style at Glastonbury as opposed to an innovative style for the secular canons of Wells? Or is the rich decoration at Glastonbury Lady Chapel to be explained in a more general sense as an imitation of the art of church treasures? To address these questions the first part of this essay will examine the stylistic sources of the Lady Chapel. The meaning of the style of the Lady Chapel in the context of the beginnings of Gothic architecture in Britain will be discussed. Attention will then be turned to the sculpture of the Lady Chapel (Thurlby 1976a).

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Section: Should Like To Thank Dr Norton For Sendingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Lady Chapel of Glastonbury Abbey

Thurlby¹

1995

Antiq. J.

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“…Gerald of Wales claimed credibility because he was an eyewitness: Vidi multotes oculis meis plusquam mille minuta hujusmodi avium corpuscular. (I have seen more than a thousand instances of these birds with my eyes) [47]. Nonetheless, medieval natural history is not ‗necessarily adequately represented by the bestiaries influenced by models like the Physiologus of Alexandria which were not reliant on ‗first hand observation' [24,47].…”

Section: Making Sense Of the Barnacle-goosementioning

confidence: 99%

“…(I have seen more than a thousand instances of these birds with my eyes) [47]. Nonetheless, medieval natural history is not ‗necessarily adequately represented by the bestiaries influenced by models like the Physiologus of Alexandria which were not reliant on ‗first hand observation' [24,47]. A proper appreciation of Gerald's merits begins by acknowledging his powers of observation which in turn necessitates that ‗our ideas about medieval zoology may need to be revised' as we develop a better appreciation of the ‗actual working knowledge of the medieval man' [47].…”

Section: Making Sense Of the Barnacle-goosementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The representation of the barnacle-goose as a hybrid form simply served to make sense both of a goose with no known nesting ground and of a crustacean that looks like a goose. It was widely believed that the goose ‗generated spontaneously from sap exuding from marine driftwood' with Gerald claiming to have seen minute budding specimens of this bird; importantly, the morphological relationship between adult and embryo was unlikely to have been widely appreciated [47]. The very absence of evidence about this aspect of the bird's life cycle illustrates how people set about reaching an acceptable world-view, and the representation of the barnacle-goose gained traction because it apparently explained observed phenomena.…”

Section: Making Sense Of the Barnacle-goosementioning

confidence: 99%

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Illuminating Our World: An Essay on the Unraveling of the Species Problem, with Assistance from a Barnacle and a Goose

Buckeridge

Watts

2012

Humanities

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Abstract:In order to plan for the future, we must understand the past. This paper investigates the manner in which both naturalists and the wider community view one of the most intriguing of all questions: what makes a species special? Consideration is given to the essentialist view-a rigid perspective and ancient, Aristotelian perspective-that all organisms are fixed in form and nature. In the middle of the 19th century, Charles Darwin changed this by showing that species are indeed mutable, even humans. Advances in genetics have reinforced the unbroken continuum between taxa, a feature long understood by palaeontologists; but irrespective of this, we have persisted in utilizing the ‗species concept'-a mechanism employed primarily to understand and to manipulate the world around us. The vehicles used to illustrate this journey in perception are the barnacle goose (a bird), and the goose barnacle (a crustacean). The journey of these two has been entwined since antiquity-in folklore, religion, diet and even science.

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The birds of English medieval manuscripts

Yapp¹

1979

Journal of Medieval History

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Gerald the Naturalist

Cited by 5 publications

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The Lady Chapel of Glastonbury Abbey

The Lady Chapel of Glastonbury Abbey

Illuminating Our World: An Essay on the Unraveling of the Species Problem, with Assistance from a Barnacle and a Goose

The birds of English medieval manuscripts

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