Within Peterborough Cathedral lies one of Europe’s greatest medieval painted wooden ceilings tracing all the way back to 1225-1250. We spoke to Cathedral Volunteers Kate and Mark to learn more about its purpose and design.
Why was the ceiling decorated in this way/for what purpose was it built?
The building’s wider purpose was to glorify God, which is why it was so large and also why many forms of decoration were used. The West front has an outward lean of a few degrees as an optical illusion to make it seem more imposing!
The nave ceiling is partly decorative but it also provides teaching about the Christian faith and its relationship to a wider set of ideas, including English history, education and music. It is by no means entirely Christian and the majority of the images are secular or profane. It was aimed at a largely illiterate group of viewers who would have been better than we are at interpreting visual prompts. It was probably part of a larger scheme which included the Presbytery ceiling, which is now replaced and which might have had a more Christian focus through being closer to the most sacred part of the building. The transept ceilings have clearly been painted at some stage too but have lost their pictures.
The sequence of alternative kings and bishops/archbishops seems to me to illustrate the divine teaching the monarchs. The king at the time it was built, Henry III, is flatteringly portrayed. Some individual pictures can be interpreted fairly easily. The Agnus Dei, representing Christ’s sacrifice, probably sat above a nave altar where that sacrifice was commemorated in the Eucharist. The Janus heads representing the Roman god of entrances and exits was probably above the point where the monks entered and left the choir to sing in the offices.
How long did it take to paint the ceiling and how was this accomplished?
The ceiling is made from oak planks arranged in a series of lozenge or diamond shapes. It has been tree-ring dated and the trees it is made from were felled around 1225-1250. Analysis of isotopes in the wood and of the tree ring patterns show that the wood was sourced in Northern Germany and Poland. The planks making up each diamond were arranged on the ground, painted and then put in place in the ceiling. We know this because the nails securing them to the structure above do not have their heads painted over. It was painted over in 1740 and 1830 and extensively examined and conserved after a fire in 2001. By examining the paint chips, it was clear that the over-paintings had retained the original pattern of illustrations, although some detail seems to have been lost. The frames around the frieze are significantly different in colour to the 13th century originals, which were a sort of orange colour. It is possible that the ceiling survived the attentions of the iconoclasts in the 16th and 17th centuries because it was so blackened by centuries of candle smoke that they could not see it
Is there a reason for the broad combination of figures within its decoration? (i.e. archbishops, the liberal arts, musicians etc.)
There are many influences on the decoration. Peterborough Abbey produced illuminated manuscripts and there are stylistic similarities. Benedictines tended to have a ‘house style’ and even Monks wanted the latest fashions. The inclusion of the Liberal arts was a harking back to classical times. The subjects are in groups – there are four musicians which include an angel playing a cornet. Angels given instruments as attributes became fashionable around 1240, and dated examples can be seen at Worcester Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Lincoln Cathedral, so Peterborough was certainly in touch with national trends. Other reasons for inclusion (the kings and bishops) might have been through their role as either founders or as patrons.
On the other hand, the sinister, strange creatures serve as a warning. My favourite is the anthropophagus, which is shown to be eating an arm with a leg lined up for dessert. That must have been enough to make the naughtiest Medieval child behave!
Who would you say is the most important/significant figure on the ceiling?
I think St Peter, St Paul and the Agnus Dei are the most important. The dedication of these saints (Peter and Paul) is rooted in the Cathedral’s history as both a monastery and as a Cathedral. It is thought that the Agnus Dei sat above the altar, where His sacrifice was recalled in the Mass every day.
Credit: information compiled with the help from Cathedral Volunteers Kate and Mark. Photographer: Graham Williams