Old England: A Pictorial Museum (page 37/48)

1053.—Glasgow Cathedral.

“As St. Patrick’s Cathedral is the chief specimen of Gothic architecture in Ireland, so is Glasgow Cathedral (Fig. 1053) the most perfect relic of the kind in Scotland, or anywhere else, in the opinion of some of its frequenters and admirers. It is one of the four remarkable points of Glasgow, namely the Cathedral, the Green, a great public esplanade, the Trongate, a noble specimen of a street, and the [...] [more...]

1058.—Melrose Abbey

“Francis Drake, writing in 1742, also observes “Mailross, I shall take it upon me to say, has been the most exquisite structure of the kind in either kingdom.” Lastly comes the poet, also pointing out, as the great architectural attractions of [...] [more...]

1060.—Cathedral of Kildare.

“At Kildare, in ireland, still remain the relics of a small building in which, previous to the thirteenth century, the holy fire of St. Brigid used to be kept burning. It was suppressed at that period, by Henry de Loundres, Archbishop of Dublin, a man who seemed to rise above many of the superstitions of his age. After his death it was revived, and [...] [more...]

1140.—Library Chair, Reading Table, and Reading Desk (Royal MS. 15D iii.)

“The square-backed chair (Fig. 1146) was frequent in the mansions of the thirteenth century. In the fourteenth, they, and other articles combining household utility and elegance, were modified by the pointed architecture, and partook of the beautiful variety of its forms: this, in the engraving of Library furniture (Fig. 1140) we see in the reading-table [...] [more...]

Book stand (Detail from Fig. 1140)

The book stand taken from Fig. 1140. Mediæval clip art. Or, for Americans, medieval clip art.

1143.—Mummers (Bodleian MS.)

On the far left a young mang with curly hair wears a plain robe or long tunic; he plays a lute or other stringed instrment. There are then, from left to right, a person wearing the head of a deer, a person dressed in plain mediæval (or “medieval”) clothes, a person dressed as a rabbit, and another perhaps as a bull, and on the right a woman. The [...] [more...]

1144.—Quarter-staff (From the Old Ballad of Robin Hood and the Tanner.)

“Quarter-staff (Fig. 1144) was the glory of the stout old English peasant or yeoman, in which, as far as we can learn, he was without a competitor in any foreign nation.” (p. 334) [more...]

1145.—Playing at Draughts (Harleian MS. 4431)

Two men in mediæval clothing [US: medieval] sit with a draughts [US: drafts or checkers] board balance between their knees. Two other men, one a knight [...] [more...]