Merry Illuminations by Alison Merry

The ‘young ones’ have told me I should be on Facebook and who am I to disagree? I shall add new images as and when and hope this will mean my artwork reaches a new audience!

Oranges and Lemons

The exact date and origin of this rhyme and singing game is unknown but there was a square dance popular in the late seventeenth century called ‘Oranges and Lemons’ (published 1665 in Playford’s Dancing Master). The earliest printed version of the rhyme, as we would recognise it today, appears in the 1744 Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book (the oldest printed collection of English language nursery rhymes). Card measures 150mm x 105mm and is blank – no message.

Norwich Nativity

The Holy Family seated beneath the guiding star. The artwork was inspired by the late fifteenth century carved roof bosses in Norwich Cathedral.

Card measures 136mm x 136mm and has the message – With best wishes for Christmas and the New Year

Norwich Shepherds

Norwich Cathedral has a wonderful and unique collection of late fifteenth century carved roof bosses. I have designed a Christmas card for 2011 which makes reference to some of the shepherds featured on two of these bosses. One of the shepherds plays on his pipe whilst another points heavenwards towards the stars. Perhaps he has just heard the first call of the angels?

Christmas card packs now available online in the www.merryilluminations.co.uk shop. £4.50 for a pack of 10 cards and envelopes.

St Beornwald of Bampton goes fishing on the Thames.

Little is known of St Beornwald’s life or even of his dates. He was possibly the founder of the Anglo Saxon Minster church in Bampton, Oxfordshire. An early 12th century charter refers to his feast day being celebrated at Bampton and to his shrine in the church. His feast day was December 21st.

The artist and her cat

St Thomas Cantilupe of Hereford and his cat

Eton Mess

I was enjoying a delicious lunch at The Chequers restaurant in Churchill, Oxon last week and observed a fellow diner tucking in to an Eton Mess from the pudding menu. It reminded me of my own version of the same subject. Much less dangerous to the waistline!

http://walking-quite-fast.blogspot.com/

The Replica Sandon Pax

The Original Sandon Pax

Experience a Medieval mass at St Teilo’s

Section Education | Published on 9 Sep 2011

Step into the Medieval Church of St Teilo’s next week (Tuesday 13th and Thursday 15th 11.30 & 4.00) and you will experience, as closely as possible, the sights and sounds that accompanied our Medieval ancestors at prayer. The rare and unusual services take place at the reconstructed medieval decorated church of St Teilo at St Fagans: National History Museum of Wales.

In the morning, a medieval Mass and Procession with authentic music, will be celebrated by people in period dress and using recreated religious artefacts. Compline, the final church service of the day, and a short related devotion in honour of the Holy Name of Jesus will also be celebrated at 4pm. All of these services will be sung to Latin plainchant, with some polyphonic music for choir or organ.

Members of the public are also welcome to attend.

The ritual enactments take place as part of a Bangor University research project: The Experience of Worship in Medieval Cathedral and Parish Church.

“What we’re doing is trying to recreate the medieval experience of worship as authentically as possible. We’re also reliving the devotional services that we think would have been heard regularly at St Teilo’s. The recreations also help those of us who study music to better understand that element and bring new insights to our colleagues in several other subject areas – the medieval church, social history, art and archaeology,” said Sally Harper, one of the project investigators.

The Arms of Christ based on the carving made for Cardinal David Beaton c. 1530 painted by Lois Raine for The Experience of Worship Research Project to stand on the Jesus Altar, St Teilo’s Church, St Fagans Museum 7 xi 2011Professor John Harper, who leads the project says: “A long period of research lies behind these church services. The project team has examined many early written sources and surviving artefacts. A complete set of historically-informed vestments and essential ritual objects have now been made, in addition to a rare reconstruction of a medieval organ.”

Prof Harper explains further: “About a dozen craftspeople have contributed to the project to date. No fewer than five individuals (including a wood turner and a blacksmith) collaborated in making a copy of the very rare painted pax board that survives at Sandon Parish Church in Essex, and dates from around1500. This object was kissed during the Mass by each member of the medieval congregation in strict status order – a moment of particular reverence. The project has also enabled recreation of a painting of the ‘Arms of Christ’, two pyxes or containers used for consecrated bread, flagons, an incense boat and spoon, and hanging lamps.

Professor John Harper of Bangor’s International Centre for Sacred Music Studies, is working in association with Dr Sally Harper and Judith Aveling of Bangor University’s School of Music and colleagues from Oxford University and Newcastle University. The project is funded by both the Arts & Humanities Research Council and the Economic & Social Research Council as part of the ‘Religion and Society’ programme.

The project seeks to reveal not only how worship was conducted and experienced in the Middle Ages, but also how this might lead to new insights about worship in medieval buildings today. The project’s partner organizations are St Fagans and Salisbury Cathedral, and a team of associated clergy is led by Canon Jeremy Davies, precentor of Salisbury Cathedral.

The Latin liturgies themselves have been assembled from a variety of manuscript and printed sources of the widespread liturgical Use of Salisbury rite (‘Sarum Use’) and will be published online. Some of the melodies will be sung direct from original notation. The project team will be leading further enactments in Salisbury Cathedral on 6 October and 9 October.

http://www.bangor.ac.uk/music/AHRC/index.php.en

http://www.loisraine.com/index.php

http://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/news.php?id=558