Secret Spaces: Sacred Treasuries in England 1066-1320 (Art and Material Culture in Medieval and Renaissance Europe)

The medieval treasure house, consisting of sacristy, vestry and treasure rooms was the depository for the ecclesiastical treasure belonging to a church, holy vessels, vestments, altar hangings, candlesticks and priceless liturgical books and reliquaries. It was carefully designed to convey the message of its status and function. A book devoted to these medieval museums which housed such precious materials is long overdue. Ironically, the interest in the objects that they conserved has often resulted in ecclesiastical treasure being removed to new museums, leaving their former places of protection in need of protection themselves. Contents 6 Acknowledgements 8 Figures 9 Introduction 14 Chapter 1 The Treasure House, Its Chambers and Function 23 1 Location and Function 28 1.1 Location 28 1.2 Function 28 1.2.1 Storage of Eucharistic Vessels and the Sacrament 28 1.2.2 Washing of Eucharistic Vessels and Cloths 31 1.2.3 Storage of Ecclesiastical Treasures 34 Chapter 2 Precedents of English Treasure Houses 39 1 Treasure Houses of the Bible 49 Chapter 3 Hidden Assets: Conserving the Treasures of the Great Norman Monasteries, Part 1 52 1 Early Norman Benedictine Sacristies and Treasure Rooms 52 1.1 Canterbury 54 1.2 Winchester 58 1.3 Ely 63 1.4 Gloucester 64 2 Cistercian Sacristies and Treasure Rooms 66 Chapter 4 Hidden Assets: Conserving the Treasures of the Great Norman Monasteries, Part 2 71 1 Ely 71 2 Canterbury 75 Chapter 5 Hidden Assets: Conserving the Treasures of the Great Norman Monasteries, Part 3 82 1 The ‘Treasury’ at Winchester Cathedral 82 2 The Vestiarium at Canterbury Cathedral 87 Chapter 6 Treasure Houses of Secular Canons, Part 1 102 1 Old Sarum, St Osmund’s Church 103 2 Old Sarum, Bishop Roger’s Church 105 3 Hereford Cathedral 106 4 The Treasure House of Ripon Minster 108 5 The Treasure House of Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim 116 6 The Plans and Forms of the Treasure Houses of Ripon Minster and Trondheim Cathedral 122 Chapter 7 Treasure Houses of Secular Canons, Part 2 126 1 Salisbury 126 2 The Treasure House of the Cathedral of Saint-Omer, Pas-de-Calais, Northern France 134 3 Beverley Minster 140 4 Wells Cathedral 143 Chapter 8 The Treasure Chambers of Westminster Abbey, 1245–69 160 1 The Treasure of Westminster Abbey 161 1.1 Altar Treasures 161 1.2 Relics 162 1.3 The Regalia 163 1.4 Money 164 1.5 Documents 165 2 The 11th-Century Abbey and Church (Begun 1042) 165 3 Henry III’s Abbey Church at Westminster 166 4 Treasure Chamber 1: St Faith’s Chapel, the Sacristy of Henry III’s Church 168 5 Treasure Room 2: the Chapter House Crypt 179 6 Treasure Room 3: the Muniment Room 184 7 Treasure Room 4: the Sacristaria 192 Chapter 9 The Treasure Houses of Secular Canons at Lichfield, Lincoln, and Exeter Cathedrals, c.1250–1300 196 1 Lichfield Cathedral Treasure House 196 2 Lincoln Cathedral Treasure House 203 3 The Treasure Houses of Exeter Cathedral 220 Conclusion 233 Bibliography 242 Index 261