Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2004. Vol. 4. Eger Journal of English Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 30)

MATTHEW PALMER The English Cathedral: Prom Description to Analysis

Eger Journal of English Studies IV (2004) 73-84 The English Cathedral: From Description to Analysis* Matthew Palmer That the appearance of English cathedrals differs from those of its counterparts on the continent is beyond question.

1 That English cathedrals have "a distinctive national character", as has been suggested mostly famously by Nikolaus Pevsner in his famous essay "The Englishness of English Art", is however open to debate.

2 By questioning this latter statement, which appears to be the starting point for Endre Abkarovits's "English Gothic Cathedral Architecture" seminar, we hope to provide students with new fields for debate and analysis.

3 Most of the debates outlined below are wellknown with the exception perhaps of a suggested intercultural analysis of Gothic architecture in Hungary and England. By providing what British Council British Studies literature describes as an "intercultural focus" we are hope to provide students not only with an opportunity to apply knowledge and architectural examples from closer to home but to make the point that English Gothic is not necessarily distant and exotic.

4 Indeed, by * The English Department at the Károly Eszterházy College in Eger is unique amongst English Departments in Hungarian Higher Education in offering courses on Medieval Art History. What is remarkable is, that despite the lack of resources, the specialised language the discipline demands and the fact nearly all the primary documents are in Latin, the courses on offer have proved popular. It is a notable achievement for which Endre Abkarovits deserves to take great credit. This paper has been written especially with Dr. Abkarovits and his students in mind. 1 Fletcher, Sir Banister Flight, A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method (London, Architectural Press, 1896, 1921 edition), pp. 500-507. Abkarovits, E., "Teaching the Englishness of English Gothic Cathedrals", Eger Journal of English Studies Vol. II., ed. Abkarovits, E. (Eger, EKF Líceum Kiadó, 1998), pp. 43-65; Pevsner, Nikolaus, The Englishness of English Art (Harmondsworth, Peregrin, 1956) Abkarovits, op. cit. p. 62. 4 Jones, K. (Senior Advisor for British Studies, English Language Division) 1992. "British Studies R and D Project: Executive Summary First Quarterly Report", The British Council, April 1.