Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1998. Vol. 2. Eger Journal of English Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 26)

Studies - Endre Abkarovits: Teaching the Englishness of English Gothic cathedral architecture

(Wilson: 72) This happened, because in the south-east there was no need to build a great church until the 1170s, as after the post-conquest boom a lull followed in the middle of the 12th century, and only accidental fires (like in Canterbury) or the collapse of Norman parts forced the clergy and the congregations to start major construction activities. On the other hand, in the north and west it was rather the influence of the Cistercians than that of the Ile-de-France that prevailed. There were also some basic differences in the organization of the Church itself in the two countries. On the one hand, the cathedral was a typical product of a town on the Continent, the symbol of the growing riches of the burghers, while a monastery was typically built in far-away places. The two were exclusive of one another in several countries. Cathedrals were normally built for huge lay congregations in most countries and were served by 'secular' clergy. In England there were, however, some monastic cathedrals, so the two institutions got mixed up to a certain extent, often causing friction between the bishop and the monks. (Harvey: 210-211) But there were also several cathedrals in England which, although they had never had monks, had monastic buildings for show or practical purposes. (One of the best and most beautiful examples of this is the cloisters of Salisbury.) On the other hand, England was also different from France in the number of dioceses. The great provinces of France were almost like separate countries at that time and the number of dioceses was far more than in England, where there have always been just 2 archiepiscopal provinces and in the whole history of England there have been only about 100 cathedrals, 27 of which survive. 'When the Middle Ages ended there were still only 17 dioceses and about three times as many clergy to cover about 9500 parishes.' (Edwards: 29) The relative small number also has a share in the high quality of English cathedrals. In connection with France we should not only think of the huge cathedrals of the lle-de-France, but of the many insignificant ones of other provinces, too. (Harvey: 21) There were some basic differences even between French cathedrals and the French-like 'cathedral', Westminster Abbey, even the first, Norman version of which (built at the time of Edward the Confessor in 1045-1050) had already had the emphasis on length (as it became typical of English cathedrals) instead of the French emphasis on height. The French were obsessed with height and the rivalry in this field led to the disastrous collapse of some parts of Beauvais cathedral, which put an end to the until then continuous development of French Gothic. (1284) The proximity of Normandy and the activity of some French master masons in England, like that of William of Sens in Canterbury, made their influence felt in the Early English period, but in later English cathedrals French features were avoided. As Wilson puts it, 'Canterbury was also an 50