Masons Of God

[poliphilo]

I enjoyed this. I particularly liked the reconstruction of the West Front of Wells Cathedral as it was before all the paint washed off.  Has there ever been a movie set in the Middle Ages that  faithfully reflected the medieval delight in colour? 

Did we really lose 90% of our medieval sculpture at the Reformation? Who comes up with these figures anyway? When I'm out trundling round churches I'm always astonished by just how much survives.  Consider Wells: the statues on the west front are mostly still there- the only casualties having been caused- not by starchy chaps with hammers- but by wind and weather. Go into any moderately well preserved medieval church and the higher you look, the more sculpture there is to see-  Reformers and Puritans baulked at climbing ladders I think- and very sensible of them too. But, perhaps I'm in denial. It hurts to think of so much beauty being wantonly destroyed. 

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

90% is the figure cited in the programme. I don't see how any such estimate can be more than a guess. And what counts as sculpture- do roof bosses count? Do carved capitals?

The reconstruction of Wells cathedral in its original colours is quite startling. It looks nothing like our modern idea of a medieval cathedral. The effect is gaudy, baroque, carnivalesque...