These letters were written by Morris in reply to The Dean of Canterbury who wrote to the Times on 24 May 1877 about the proposed restorations to Canterbury Cathedral: `Mr. Morris's Society probably looks on our Cathedral as a place for antiquarian research or for budding architects to learn their arts in. We need it for the daily worship of God.'
Canterbury Cathedral I
By William Morris
As Mr Loftie's letter, quoted in your columns, calls on our Society by name, and as the letters of the Dean of Canterbury and Mr Beresford Hope touch our principles closely, I venture to hope that you will give me space for a word or two on the subject of the restoration of the choir of Canterbury Cathedral. As to the present woodwork at the west end, it seems superfluous to praise it, as it is agreed on all hands that it is good, though in some people's minds I suppose it would be condemned as inherently unholy, because it is a post-Reformation work. But, good as it is, I cannot conceive what purpose it can serve when it is taken away from the place it was made for, and in which it looks both dignified and serious, as well as elegant; furthermore, what is to be the fateof the present stone screen when Sir Gilbert Scott's conjectural restoration of Prior Eastry's work is carried out? It is true that its surface has been destroyed by restoration, but it has been at least a fine work of a good date.
It may seem a little matter to make a stir about a piece of clever joinery and carving of Charles II's time, when the great work of the twelfth century Frenchman is about it and above it, but I must confess to sharing that fear which Mr Beresford Hope thinks has made reason unhelpful to Mr Loftie; for I suppose that the proposed imitation, restoration or forgery of Prior Eastry's rather commonplace tracery is only the beginning of the evil day at Canterbury, and that before long we shall see the noble building of the two Williams confused and falsified by the usual mass of ecclesiastical trumpery and coarse daubing that all true lovers of art and history dread so sorely; that, in short, the choir of Canterbury will go the way of Ely, St Cross, and Salisbury.
Sir, I think that our ancient historical monuments are national property and ought no longer to be left to the mercy of the many and variable ideas of ecclesiastical propriety that may at any time be prevalent among us.
Letter to the Times, 4 June 1877.
Dictionary[edit]
- Aisle: 《建築》（教会堂の）側廊；礼拝堂の中央通路 A pair of walkways that are parallel to the primary public spaces in the church, e.g. nave, choir and transept. The aisles are separated from the public areas by pillars supporting the upper walls, called an arcade.[3]
- Ambulatory: [名]《建築》（教会の）周歩廊；（修道院の）歩廊 A specific name for the curved aisle around the choir[2]
- Apse:教堂屋頂：教堂後部（走廊頂端）半圓形之頂。西洋建築で、聖堂などの建物・部屋から突出した半円形の内部空間。後陣。The end of the building opposite the main entry. Often circular, but it can be angular or flat. In medieval traditions, it was the east end of the building.[3]
- Buttress:《建築》バットレス，控え壁（◇建物の補強のために屋外から壁面に向けて設置される小さな壁） Large stone pier holding the roof vaults in place.[3] A buttress may be visible as in the Gothic flying buttress, or it may be hidden in the complex of aisles and galleries.[2]
- Cathedral: 主教座堂：教區中的首要聖堂，堂內置有主教的（寶座）座位； cathedra 拉丁文意即座位，故稱主教座堂。The home church of a Bishop, which contains the cathedra or bishop's chair.[2] The church may be of any size.[3]
- Choir/Quire: (1) 聖詠團；唱經班；唱詩班；歌侶；歌席。 (2) 唱經樓：教堂中之唱經樓、合唱團。The part of the church usually beyond the transept and in line with the axis of the nave. The area may be higher than the level of the nave.[3] The name choir is used because traditionally the clergy of the Cathedral stood here as a chorus, chanting or singing during the responsive portion of Divine Offices or Mass.[4]
The 12th-century
quire (
Canterbury Cathedral)
Crossing 十字形の教会で本堂と袖廊そでろうとが交差する所
- Quire: An alternative spelling of Choir.
- Crypt: (1) 地下聖堂。 (2) 墓室。Usually the below ground foundation. Used for burial or as a chapel.[3]
- Facade立面: The outside of the church, where the main doors are located. In traditional medieval design, this faced the west and is called the West End.[2]
- Narthex: [名]《建築》拝廊（◇教会の正面入り口から本堂までの広間になっている廊下）The entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave.
- Nave: 中央走道：教堂中間自入口處到祭台前的走道，是進出聖堂必經之路。The primary area of public observance of the Mass.[3] It is immediately inside the front doors.
- Chapel：小聖堂；小教堂；小禮拜堂；分堂： (1) 指學校、軍營、醫院等附設的教堂。 (2) 指大教堂內區隔的小教堂。
- Radiating Chapels: Located around the Apse of the church, accessible from the Ambulatory.[2] 〈道路・線などが〉放射状に広がる，（中心から）八方に伸びる（out）≪from≫；他〈物が〉〈棒状の物を〉放射状に広げる
- Sanctuary: (1) 聖所：教堂中祭台附近的空間。 (2) 朝聖地；聖地：是教區主教（教長）批准的教堂或聖所，以便信徒前去祈禱、朝聖（法典 1230 ）；又稱 shrine 。An elevated platform that contains the main altar and associated liturgical elements that is restricted for ceremonial use by the clergy, often fenced from adjoining spaces. It is centered on the main east–west axis within the east end and generally located within the choir or the apse.
- Transept:[名]《建築》（十字形教会堂の）翼廊 Sometimes called the ‘Crossing’, the transept forms wings at right angles to the nave.[2] In early Romanesque churches, it was often at the east end, creating a Tau Cross. Later designs placed the transept about two-thirds of the way from the West End to the East End. This created the Latin cross plan. It usually separates the nave from the choir.[3]
