The
cathedral history has been warped by plausible assertions made without
empirical evidence. Repetition has then made them accepted. It is unfortunate,
even embarrassing, the cathedral website persistently repeats some of these falsehoods.
- It was King
Oswiu of Northumbria who founded the site for a church at Lichfield.
Before
the 20th century, the following was accepted. Oswy (now Oswiu), King of
Northumberland (now Northumbria), about the year 656, having conquered and put
to death Penda, King of the Mercians, converted his kingdom to Christianity,
and established a bishopric in this place. Here he built a church, which was
dedicated to St. Peter and St. Mary, and appointed Dwina (now Diuma), a
Scotsman (now an Irishman), the first prelate of Mercia.[1]
This myth was so embedded it was written in Latin under the west window of the
cathedral from the mid-17th century. Translated it stated, “Oswy is the
founder, but the repairer was Offa. The fame of these Kings will be immortal.
King Stephen, King Henry, Richard I and King John bestowed many gifts.”[2]
Statue
of King Oswiu on the arch above the northwest door. He is holding treasure
which could be for the churches he is said to have founded.
Oswiu was the
king of Northumbria, which included Yorkshire. Penda, King of Mercia, attacked
and pillaged Northumbria, but on his return journey died, 654. It is likely he died
by drowning in a swollen Yorkshire River according to Bede. Stephen of Ripon in
his biography of Bishop Wilfrid of Ripon described how the church at Lichfield
(Licitfelda) was founded, and it does not include Oswiu. Bede does
include Oswiu, but King Wulfhere and Archbishop Theodore were the chief
instigators of the new church. Why would Oswiu commemorate the death of an
enemy and then build a church at the centre of a huge, new diocese far from
(400 miles) his northern diocese? There is no evidence Kings Stephen, Henry I
and II, Richard I and John did anything for the cathedral, except possibly paid
for a chantry. Misinformation, or is it misrepresentation, is not new and the
Victorians cared more for the romanticism of a story than its truth. Pioneering
Christian kings were more attractive than missionary bishops.
The remarkable feature of this myth is the way the first cathedral was founded (667-669) is clearly laid out in two reliable books, Bishop Wilfrid’s biography (712-13) and Bede’s book on English history (731).
2. Bishop Headda built the first church in the year 700.
Little
is known about Bishop Headda of Lichfield, c. 691 x 716–27. His length
of episcopacy is uncertain and so is his origin. He had a close relationship
with Bishop Wilfrid of Mercia, bishop of the Middle Angles, and it has been
suggested it was Wilfrid who consecrated Headda.[3]
This relationship, senior Wilfrid and minor Headda, continued and lasted for
eleven years, between 691/2 to 703.[4]
Strangely Bede never mentioned Headda or his relationship with Wilfrid. The spurious date of 700[5]
is known from the 14th century and a text that is wholly unreliable. The text
was in the Chronicon Lichfeldense, since lost, but copied in Warton’s, Anglia
Sacra. Originally it was titled ‘The book of Alan de Assheborn, Vicar of
Lichfield’ and dated in 1320s. Alan of Ashbourne wrote a
tangled history full of fabled beliefs from c.1323 until his death in
1334.
Page 428 of Wharton’s Anglia Sacra. The translation is, ‘By this Bishop Hedda the church of Lichfield was built on the 2nd of January, 700, and the bones of Bishop Cedda (Chad) were transferred to the same.’
Headda with his supposed new church. The church resembles the early medieval church at Escomb, County Durham. The small statue in the north presbytery aisle demonstrates the myth clung to by the Victorians.
3. The cathedral was built cross-shaped for biblical symbolism. Its three spires represent the Trinity. The cathedral lies east-west and points to Jerusalem. The cathedral is straight.
The
cathedral shape is a Greek cross (+) with small side arms, not a tau cross (T).
This is because all four arms are buttresses for the massive central tower; it
is an architectural necessity. The central spire is the tallest (78.65 m), the
bell tower spire in the southwest corner is next in height (60 m) and the spire
on the northwest tower is the lowest (59 m). This could be the trinity, but
different heights provide a ranking which would be heresy. Three spires might
be because there were three towers, and other cathedrals had three towers, and
some had spires; there was no fixed rule for cathedrals. The cathedral was
built at the same time as the cathedrals of Wells and Salisbury and the Minster
at York. All had three towers, though their spires varied. The layout of the
cathedral is nearer west-southwest to east-northeast; it is out of east-west
alignment by 27o. Also, there is a 2o kink in the line of
the cathedral. The building was subjected to the whims of kings, master-masons
and architectural constraints and each added their own ideas.[7]
Why the cathedral is kinked is uncertain, though the commonest explanation is
the builders had to follow the line of the bedrock.[8] It
is quite possible that without accurate ways of measurement the builders did
not get it right. Lichfield, like other cathedrals, is not perfect.
Misalignment
of the cathedral.
Another
kink in the north presbytery aisle. Some have speculated there was once a
passageway or room attached to this north wall and its demolition left a kink
in the wall.
4. The cathedral was built in a Norman Gothic style
Soaring
pinnacles, pointed arches, heavy, thick walls pierced by large
open windows and arcades, flying buttresses, elaborate vaulted, stone roofs and
windows subdivided by closely spaced parallel mullions (narrow vertical bars of
stone) are some of the features associated with the Gothic fashion of
architecture. Many have described it as Norman but they are misconceived. Much
of this architecture was inspired by Islamic architecture of the Middle East.
It was borrowed by French stonemasons in the Ile de France, centred on Paris,
from around1130 to 1170.[9] It did not originate in Normandy with Norman
stonemasons. When it crossed the channel, it was known as ‘French work’ and
never labelled Gothic until the 19th century and the Gothic revival in
architecture around 1860.[10]
There are Norman cathedrals with round arches, small windows and very little in
the form of pinnacles and pointed stonework, see Rochester Cathedral. There are
many Early Medieval Churches with round, arched front doors. There was a
transitional period in the 12th century with much crossover of styles. Indeed,
much of the Gothic architecture was completed in the neo-Gothic revival by the
Victorians and this is typified by Lichfield, Wells and Salisbury cathedrals.
Lichfield Cathedral was built from the early 13th century (perhaps a start date
of 1220) by Plantagenets, 1154‑1485, and postdated the Norman era by at least
50 years. There is no verifiable Norman stonework in Lichfield Cathedral.
Misleading
labelling originated from Thomas Rickman (1776‑1841) who wrote a handbook[11]
for clergy to help them to understand the ‘English Style’. He sub-divided it
into Early English, Decorated English and Perpendicular English architecture.
He then added an earlier fourth style following the Norman conquest, described
it as Romanesque and called it Norman rather than English.[12]
Coming after the long isolation of England during the French Revolution and
Napoleonic wars the name gave it a patriotic base, and has been difficult to
change. [13]
5. The Lindisfarne Gospels are earlier and superior to the Chad Gospels
If
you prefer Gospels that are colourful, have elaborate gold and silver artwork
and are complete, then the Lindisfarne Gospels are the best. The Chad Gospels
are incomplete having lost John and much of Luke, the artwork is simpler on
eight surviving pages with no gold or silverwork (it might have been present
originally but lost with use of the book), and handwriting differences indicating
at least four scribes were involved. The Gospels contain excellent Chi-Rho and
carpet pages, display interesting marginalia, have some text in runic-like form
and have diminuendo for every one of the 20 lines on each of its 236 pages.
Artwork is in pastel tones and replete with symbolic references. The two
Gospels could not be more different, yet they have affinities.
Gospels
written in different scriptoria are bound to differ and, of course, all are
wonderful. The surprising aspect is the two gospels are similar in several
ways. They were commissioned for Cuthbert and Chad. Both suffered an exodus
away from the Viking onslaught. The layout of the carpet page is strikingly
similar with the Lindisfarne having cormorant birds and the Chad crane-like
birds. Similar styles with the carpet page, three incipit pages and
the Chi-rho page with the equivalent in the Lindisfarne Gospels let Brown[14]
to write the artist must have studied the Lindisfarne book at first hand. It is
better to see the two Gospels as comparable and written in the two powerful
kingdoms of the 8th-century. Context suggests that the Chad Gospels are the
earliest (Chad died in 672, Cuthbert in 687. The Lindisfarne Gospels were not
finalised until 715-721). Dating any Gospels is not precise, but the simplicity
of Chad’s Gospels compared with the intricacy of the Lindisfarne Gospels might
be an indicator of its earlier provenance.
6. The Gospels were removed by the Dean during the Civil War and were stored in London.
The authority of the Church of England
is thought by many to be embedded in a very long tradition which grew from an
ancient time. Consequently, the way of worship within the cathedral is supposed
to have long roots from the far past. In fact, much of the ritual is no more
than two centuries old and is essentially Victorian.
Following
restoration from the Civil War, 1640s, most Anglicans agreed on the authority
of the English Church, but there was a rapidly growing number of Dissenting
Churches. By the 1820s to 30s internal
divisions were giving three distinct, even sharply different, approaches to
Christian belief and worship, namely Evangelical, Anglo-Catholic and Liberal
interpretations.[15]
In response to this division High Anglo-Catholic Churchmen began to resist
further reform. A small group based in Oxford between the years 1833 and 1845
led a campaign, known as the Oxford Movement, to return to the theology and
practice lost since reformation times, 1530s.[16]
Their philosophy was called Tractarianism after a series of publications
called ‘Tracts for the Times’ published from 1833 to 1841. This included
neo-Gothic aesthetics,[17]
revived colourful ceremony and intense sacramentalism. Essentially, it was the
doctrine of the church standing alone with its own authority and having its own
traditional practices unfettered by actions from the state. This doctrine
derived from the idea priests connected in time to the Apostles by ordination
through the laying on of hands known as ‘Apostolic Succession’. It meant the
ordained ministry could not be beholden to civil or State authority. By 1845,
the movement conflicted with the bishops and it splintered into factions
leading some to join the Catholic Church. However, many Anglican priests were
strongly asserting a doctrine of real presence and of eucharistic sacrifice.
The eucharist was only valid when celebrated by a priest or bishop.[18]
For some Tractarians, life was in anticipation of death and judgment.[19]
Penance was important.
Tractarianism
is thought by some to have led to Ritualism and Ceremony. The church service
now adopted frequent procession, colourful dress, use of incense and above all
the centrality of the eucharist in worship. Choral music in cathedrals and
church bands in smaller churches became an intrinsic part of a service.
Coloured altar frontals, candles on the altar and choristers in surplices
appeared. A credence table with the chalices and receptacles of communion stood
alongside the altar. The host, now wafer bread, was raised above the head in a
prayer of consecration. The wine was mixed with water. A modern Anglo-Catholic
liturgy and worship became widely accepted, especially in cathedrals.
This
High Church Revival spurred new relations with the Catholic and Eastern
Orthodox churches, inspired artists, poets, writers and musicians,[20]
and new neo-Gothic architecture became the fashion with G. Gilbert Scott, his
sons George and John and grandson Giles prominent especially at Lichfield. The
connection between the Oxford Movement, Ritualism and neo-Gothic architecture
was obvious.[21]
This Victorian movement is the background to current worship in the cathedral,
but most, not all (such as saying the creed and some responses), is relatively
recent.
A
further change resulted from the first World War. A new cult of sacrificial
death entered into churches. Language formerly restricted to Christian martyrs
and Christ was extended to include ordinary people killed in the war. Loss was
glorious, death for King and country was the highest sacrifice and all for the
pursuit of peace. Demand for prayers for the dead was an annual event.
Memorialisation took several forms. For veterans church became important.[22]
A
recent archaeological account in a national journal described the cathedral as
‘forgotten.’[23]
It is true the Normans marginalised the cathedral and removed the bishop to
first Chester and later Coventry. Up to Reformation the cathedral was secondary
in many ways to the larger monastic Coventry Cathedral. The cathedral Close was
the centre of three ferocious sieges, 1643-1646, but could not at this time be
described as forgotten. Between the Civil War destruction and the Victorian
restoration, 1850s onwards, the cathedral was only an inner church in an outer,
drab, much repaired frame of a building. Visitors to the nave would see a
screened off choir, presbytery and altar, and hear a muffled sound of worship
by clergy and known laypeople. However, describing the cathedral as forgotten
is perverse because throughout these travails it remained a major centre for
pilgrimage. Its origin, survival and Victorian recovery have depended on
pilgrimage. For 12 centuries it has been firstly a major local and later a
national pilgrimage centre with the relics and cult of Chad.[24]
It has also had national importance in being the ecclesiastical centre of King
Offa’s large kingdom and has also received the rich refurbishment from Bishop
Walter de Langton including, perhaps, the greatest saint’s shrine and best Lady
Chapel in the country. Ownership of the Chad’s Gospels gives significance and
now the finding of the (Lichfield) Staffordshire Hoard adds to its importance.
The Lichfield Angel is the best kept early medieval stonework in Europe.
[1] T.
Harwood, The history and antiquities of the
church and city of Lichfield, (London:
1806), 3.
[2] J.
Jackson, History of the City and Cathedral of
Lichfield. (London: 1805). 110.
[3] M. Capper, ‘Prelates and
politics: Wilfrid, Oundle and the Middle Angles’. Wilfrid Abbot, Bishop,
Saint. Papers from the 1300th Anniversary Conference, ed. N. J.
Higham. (Donington, 2013), 262.
[4] M.
Capper, ‘Prelates and politics: Wilfrid, Oundle and the Middle Angles’. Wilfrid
Abbot, Bishop, Saint. Papers from the 1300th Anniversary Conference, ed.
N. J. Higham. (Donington, 2013), 262.
[5]
This dating appeared in the ‘Lichfield Chronicle,’ British Library MS Cotton
Cleopatra D IX. It was later published in H. Wharton, Anglia Sacra, Volume
1. (London, 1691), 428. The source and detail for this date, January 700,
and construction of a church are unknown. Sargent suggested St Peter’s church
can be plausibly connected with a church built by Bishop Headda, see A.
Sargent, Lichfield and the Lands of St Chad: creating community in Early
Medieval Mercia (Hatfield: 2020), 53. If so, the church could have been
built from the start of Headda’s episcopate, namely 691 onwards.
[6]
See the post, ‘A sacred layout for the first cathedral.’
[7]
See the post, ‘Building a cathedral.’
[8] A.
Clifton-Taylor, The Cathedrals of England’, (London and New York: 1967
and 1986), 191, wrote ‘Lichfield Cathedral is built on a bed of sandstone which
veers to the northeast.’
[9]
Strangely, not in Scotland or Wales. Perhaps, the greatest example was the
royal chapel of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. There were rivals in other parts of
Europe; the cathedrals of Burgos and Toledo in Spain, the cathedral of
Strasbourg near the French border with Germany and the cathedral of Cologne
when it was finally completed.
[10]
See the post ‘Gothic Cathedral’.
[11]
T. Rickman, (1819) Attempt to discriminate the styles of English
Architecture. (Cambridge: 2014).
[12]
M. J. Lewis, The Gothic Revival, (London: 2002), 48.
[13]
Ibid. 49.
[14]
M. P. Brown, ‘The Lichfield/Llandeilo Gospels reinterpreted’. In R. Kennedy and
S. Meecham-Jones (eds) Authority and Subjugation in writing of Medieval
Wales. (New York: 2008), 57–70.
[15]
Ibid. 237.
[16]
Ibid. 239. The movement included John Henry Newman, John Keble, Edward Pusey
and Richard Hurrell Froude.
[17]
See the post ‘Gothic Cathedral’.
[18]
Ibid. 241. With great emphasis on the eucharist came new forms of clerical
dress including a white collar, black cassock, coloured vestments and a revived
practice of personal confession and sacramental absolution.
[19]
Ibid 246.
[20]
Ibid. 255.
[21]
M. J. Lewis. The Gothic Revival. (London: 2002).
[22]
J. Morris, A People’s Church. A history of the Church of England.
(London: 2022), 340.
[23]
W. Rodwell, The forgotten cathedral. Current
Archaeology, (2006), Vol. XVIII No. 1(205), 9--17.
[24]
See the post, ‘Pilgrimage defines the cathedral’.