Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: green man

Until the 9th century the area around Kilpeck was within the Welsh kingdom of Ergyng. After the Norman conquest it became part of Herefordshire. In the Domesday Book of 1086, Kilpeck was given by William the Conqueror to William Fitz Norman de la Mare. The clan de la Mare is one of the oldest in Normandy and is descended from Ragnvald Eysteinsson, earl of Møre and Romsdal. The village of Kilpeck is renowned for its small but outstanding Norman/Romanesque) St Mary and St David's Church. The church was built around 1140. In 1143 it was given to the Abbey of Gloucester. It may have replaced an earlier Saxon church at the same site, and the oval raised form of the churchyard is typical of even older Celtic foundations. When the church was built, the area around Kilpeck was relatively prosperous and strategically important. The economic decline of the area after the 14th century may have helped preserve features which would have been removed elsewhere. However, it is unclear why the carvings were not defaced by Puritans in the 17th century. The carvings in the local red sandstone are remarkable for their number and their fine state of preservation. The carvings are all original and in their original positions. They have been attributed to a Herefordshire School of stonemasons, probably local but who may have been instructed by master masons recruited in France by Oliver de Merlimond. He was steward to the Lord of Wigmore, Hugh Mortimer, who went on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain and, on his return, built a church with similar Romanesque carvings at Shobdon, 30 miles north of Kilpeck. Hugh de Kilpeck, a relative of Earl Mortimer, employed the same builders here.

Winchester, today a town with a population of about 40.000, played an important role in the history of England. In the 10th and early 11th centuries, Winchester was the capital of England and before that the capital of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex. The Romans already knew the place under the name "Venta Belgarum". In the middle of the 9th century, St Swithin was Bishop of Winchester. At the end of the 9th century, the city also became part of a number of fortifications along the south coast of England, built by Alfred the Great. Winchester remained the capital of Wessex and later England until after the Norman Conquest, when the Normans chose London as their capital in 1066. Jews lived in Winchester from at least 1148, and in the 13th century the Jewish community was one of the most important in England. There were a series of blood libel claims against the Jewish community in the 1220s and 1230s, which likely was the cause of the hanging of the community's leader, Abraham Pinch, in front of the synagogue. Simon de Montfort ransacked the Jewish quarter in 1264, and in 1290 all Jews were expelled from England. A pre-Norman cathedral was founded in 642 on a site immediately north of the present one. This building became known as the Old Minster. It became part of a monastic settlement in 971 and was demolished in 1093. Edward the Confessor was crowned in the Old Minster in 1043. The cathedral in its present form was built between 1079 and 1532 and is dedicated to numerous saints, in particular Swithun of Winchester. It has a very long and very wide nave, an early English transept, Norman transepts and a tower. With a total length of 170 metres, it is probably the longest medieval cathedral in Europe. When William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066, he began to install his own bishops in place of the Anglo-Saxon bishops. William installed his friend and relative Walkelin as the first Norman Bishop of Winchester in 1070, and nine years later Walkelin began the construction of a huge Norman cathedral. The new cathedral was consecrated with the completion of the east end in 1093, and the many tombs of Saxon kings moved from the Old Minster into the new cathedral. Then the demolition of the New and Old Minsters began, and quickly progressed, leaving virtually no remains. The outline of the Old Minster can still be seen today to the north of the present nave. The first alteration to Walkelin's cathedral was in 1202 when Bishop Godfrey de Luci started construction of a new Early English retrochoir, this resulted in the demolition of the Norman apse. In 1346, Bishop Edington had the Norman west front demolished and began building a new Perpendicular Gothic facade, featuring a huge west window, which still stands today. Edington also began renovation of the nave. Master mason William Wynford remodelled the massive Norman nave into a soaring Perpendicular Gothic masterpiece. Little green men in the choir stalls

In the 8th century, Arab-Moorish armies advanced into the north of the Iberian Peninsula, but as early as the 10th century the area was temporarily reconquered by the Christians (Reconquista). In the late 11th century, Count Pedro Ansúrez made the largely depopulated city his residence, expanded it, and promoted its repopulation (repoblación), which is why he is often considered the actual founder of the city. The University of Valladolid was founded in 1241 by Alfonso VIII of Castille. It is one of the oldest universities in the world. In the 15th century, it became the capital of the Kingdom of Castile until Philip II moved the center of power to the newly built monastery residence Real Sitio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial near Madrid in 1561. In 1561 most of the city burned down but was rebuilt under Philip II. The Colegio de San Gregorio was formerly a university and now houses the “Museo Nacional de Escultura”. This building is one of the best examples of the architectural Gothic style known as Isabelline. The University of Valladolid was founded in the 13th century by Alfonso X ("the Wise"). This also meant that over time so-called "colegios" /colleges emerged alongside or in connection with the university. So this colegio was founded as a teaching institution. As a theological college for Dominican monks. With papal approval, work began in 1488. The construction of the college was probably completed in 1496. The college accommodated around 20 students at a time. The main facade is spectacular. By its stylistic features, it sets regarding the workshop of Gil de Siloé, a Flemish-origin artist, who was at that time in Burgos dealing with the royal sepulchers of the Miraflores Charterhouse. The portal´s door is guarded by a group of hairy wild men. These scaring guys are really woodwoses.

A saxonian settlement had probably existed here since the 6th century, but the town of Blomberg was founded around 1240 by Bernhard III. zur Lippe, the ruling lord of the Principality of Lippe. His grandson Simon I. zur Lippe built a castle as his residency and fortified Blomberg. In 1460 a woman named Alheyd Pustekoke stole from the near Martini -church 45 consecrated hosts. For fear of discovery, she threw them into a fountain, but the wafers did not sink. As host desecration was a felony at that time, Alheyd was convicted and burned as a punishment at the stake. Soon after, the news spread that the well, where the wafers did not had sunken, had miraculous healing powers and Blomberg became a place of pilgrimage. A chapel was erected over the well and in 1468 Augustinian canons estabslished a monastery. The church was expanded in 1473 to a late-Gothic hall church and is today the Protestant-Reformed parish church. The former abbey church lost the dedication after 1605 when Simon VI. von Lippe ordered his subjects to follow Johannes Calvin, but the the area around the church and the street are still named "Seliger Winkel" - "Blessed Corner". Though it was not really adequate to austere protestant beliefs (remember the iconoclasms), some nice embellishments inside the church did survive.

The abbey, dedicated to Saint Magloire of Dol, a Welsh monk who became Bishop of Dol-de-Bretagne and ended his life on the island of Sark (~575). The abbey was founded in the 9th century with a strong support of Nominoë, the legendary first Duke of Brittany. In 910, the Vikings raid the area and loot and destroy the monastery. The monks had left already. They transferred the relics of Saint-Magloire to Paris, where they founded a new Abbaye Saint-Magloire. The monks returned and and started to rebuilt from 1008 on. The abbey flourished, but was dependent from the Abbaye de Marmoutier (Tours), what caused trouble with all bishops around. The convent had a long history, that ended when, in 1767, - the buildings were crumbling -, the last six monks left. The building were sold as "National Property" after the French Revolution and were used as a brewery for a while. Reconstruction started mid 19th century. The single nave church, built around 1190-1210, now serves the parish. The nicely sculpted, monolithic baptismal font (13th c.) was used in the older parish church, before it was moved to the former abbey church after the renovation. The "green men" on the bottom may stand for the pagan gods.

Marnes, a village about 5kms southeast from the former Abbey of Saint-Jouin-de-Marnes, is a small village with a population of well under 300. It has a Romanesque Parish Church, seen here, that serves the villagers since more than 800 years. Inside the church is this extraordenary capital. The carving style is rough, compared to most works created in the area. Humans and foliage. A strange, rare species of the "Green Man"?

Colombiers is a small village (pop. 300) in the former marshes of the Seugne river. Life must be hard here in medieval times. Saint-Maclou, the village´s parish church, was erected in the 12th century. It was the church of a priory, dependent from the Benedictian Abbaye Saint-Sauveur in Charroux. The church got altered and modified during the Gothic period (15th.), when it lost its once Romanesque portal. Single nave churches, like Saint-Maclou, are typical for the villages of the Saintonge. They may not look spectacular on the first sight. But here in Colombiers are some extraordenary carvings. Most of the frieze-like capitals are similar to the carvings in Marinac. The style differs, but the "story" is the same. In an impenetrable djungle of entwining vines humans fight creatures, lurking through the foliage. The bearded head and the lion my be "green creatures". The most interesting is the fight to the right. The standing man (in the corner) wields an axe and kills the person on the ground. The standing man has his shank partly amputated and wears a prothesis. This prothesis sticks in the mouth of the opponent. After having seen the many (megaphallic) carvings in Champagnolles, I notice, that the prothesis looks very "phallic"..

Colombiers is a small village (pop. 300) in the former marshes of the Seugne river. Life must be hard here in medieval times. Saint-Maclou, the village´s parish church, was erected in the 12th century. It was the church of a priory, dependent from the Benedictian Abbaye Saint-Sauveur in Charroux. The church got altered and modified during the Gothic period (15th.), when it lost its once Romanesque portal. Single nave churches, like Saint-Maclou, are typical for the villages of the Saintonge. They may not look spectacular on the first sight. But here in Colombiers are some extraordenary carvings. I have visited this church on two occassions, but unfortunately even a second visit with some better light, did not result in good photos. Sorry! Most of the frieze-like capitals are similar to the carvings in Marinac. The style differs, but the "story" is the same. In an impenetrable djungle of entwining vines humans fight creatures, lurking through the foliage. Dangerously growing green is everywhere. Green men as well.