Although misericords were originally installed on the hidden undersides of church folding seats to provide comfort to those standing for long periods of prayer, the have gradually become more ornately carved and decorated. Now they, along with the benches installed in parish churches in the later middle ages, are the objects of a large proportion of the surviving medieval woodcarving in Britain. The subject matter of these carvings is not merely concerned with religion and religious symbolism. This book outlines the history of church seating, considers the status of the craftsmen and the influences on their work, and then explains the subject matter of the carvings.

Church Misericords and Bench Ends (Shire Library)

Arts & Photography

Hayman, Richard

History & Criticism

Shire

Green men are figures or heads that were carved in churches, abbeys and cathedrals from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries. Inspired by the illustrations in book margins where heads were used to terminate trails of foliage, they were usually carved in the form of human masks, cats' or demons' heads. The earliest architectural green men are found in the churches of the wealthy and influential, such as Henry I's private chapel in Derbyshire but they were still produced in lesser numbers into the nineteenth century. Richard Hayman discusses the origins and definitions of these fascinating figures and traces their many declines and revivals throughout history - a valuable guide for any church history enthusiast.

The Green Man: Cathedral carved heads from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries (Shire Library)

The Reformation transformed England forever. From peasants in the lanes and fields to the court of Henry VIII, no life was left untouched as the Roman Catholic Church was replaced as the centre of the nation's religious life. Emerging from a dense mesh of European ecclesiastical and political controversy and Tudor dynastic ambition, the English Reformation ended with the Pope supplanted as the head of the national church, the great monasteries -owners of much of the country's land-disbanded and destroyed, the Latin Mass replaced by vernacular services and the colourful wall paintings of parish churches whitewashed. This is a fully illustrated introduction that looks at the main players-Thomas Cranmer, Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell and others-as well as the broad sweep of this era of bitter controversy, brutal persecution and seismic upheaval.

The Tudor Reformation (Shire Library)

History

Europe

Part of the Tempus History &amp; Guide series, this book offers an in-depth look at the British settlement of Ironbridge. Charting the rise and fall of the iron, clay, and coal industries of Ironbridge, this book brings to life the communities that worked in them.

Ironbridge: History & Guide

Horton, Wendy

Tempus

From the heady days at Coalbrookdale on the banks of the Severn to the decline of a once-mighty industry, Richard Hayman tells the story of iron and its effects on Britain and the world.

Ironmaking: A History and Archaeology of the Iron Industry (Revealing History (Paperback))

Ancient Civilizations

Although misericords were originally installed on the hidden undersides of church folding seats to provide comfort to those standing for long periods of prayer, the have gradually become more ornately carved and decorated. Now they, along with the benches installed in parish churches in the later middle ages, are the objects of a large proportion of the surviving medieval woodcarving in Britain. The subject matter of these carvings is not merely concerned with religion and religious symbolism. This book outlines the history of church seating, considers the status of the craftsmen and the influences on their work, and then explains the subject matter of the carvings.

Architecture

The Holy Grail and Holy Thorn explores the legends of King Arthur and Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury and how their influence has been felt from medieval to modern times. Joseph was said to have built at Glastonbury the first church in Christendom, which made it a center of medieval pilgrimage, and gave Glastonbury an international profile in the fifteenth century. Through the winter-flowering holy thorn, said to have grown from Joseph's staff, and later the Chalice Well, Glastonbury remained a focus of superstition in the Protestant centuries. In medieval romance Joseph of Arimathea had been the first keeper of the Holy Grail, a mystical past that was revived by Romantic writers and artists and ensured that Glastonbury retained a place in our national culture. In the twentieth century Glastonbury's reputation was further elaborated by the belief that Joseph was the great-uncle of Jesus Christ, and that when he first came to Britain he brought the young Jesus with him, an idea suggested by William Blake's Jerusalem. In the same mystical tradition, in the 1960s John Michell saw in Glastonbury the dimensions of New Jerusalem, which proved crucial in making Glastonbury the capital of New Age culture.

Holy Grail and Holy Thorn: Glastonbury in the English Imagination

Fonthill Media

Coal heated the homes, fuelled the furnaces and powered the engines of the Industrial Revolution. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the coalfields – distinct landscapes of colliery winding frames, slag heaps and mining villages – made up Britain's industrial heartlands. Coal was known as 'black gold' but it was only brought to the surface with skill and at considerable risk, with flooding, rock falls and gas explosions a constant danger. Coal miners became a recognised force in British political life, forming a vociferous and often militant lobby for better working conditions and a decent standard of living. This beautifully illustrated guide to Britain's industrial heritage covers not just the mines, but the lives of the workers away from the pits, with a focus on the cultural and religious life of mining communities.

Coal Mining in Britain (Shire Library)

Shire Publications

Illuminated manuscripts are among the most beautiful, precious and mysterious works of Western art. Before the printing press was invented, books were produced by hand, and their illustration using brightly colored pigments and gold embellishments was a labor of love and an act of piety in itself. The results are stunning. The works emanating from the scriptoria of monasteries were mainly religious texts, including illuminated bibles, psalters, and works for private devotion known as books of hours. 
Illuminated Manuscripts describes the origin and history of illumination in the Middle Ages, covering the artists and their techniques, and the patrons who commissioned them. It explains the subject matter found in medieval works, such as saints and Bible stories and the use of ornamental flourishes, and is illustrated with many fine examples of the genre including the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells.

Illuminated Manuscripts (Shire Library, 841)

The rood screen was the visual focus of the medieval parish church, dividing the nave from the chancel. Most were built of wood and were adorned with intricate carved decoration painted in bright colors, often with images of saints. Defaced and often dismantled during the Reformation in the mid-sixteenth century, most surviving screens have been restored to their former glory since the nineteenth century and are now among the most prized treasures of our parish churches. This fully illustrated book explains the symbolic and practical significance of rood screens and describes the ways in which they were constructed and decorated. There is also an extensive list of churches in England and Wales where screens can be found.

Rood Screens (Shire Library)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hayman, Richard. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hayman, Richard

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hayman, Richard. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Church Misericords and Bench Ends (Shire Library)

The Green Man: Cathedral carved heads from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries (Shire Library)

The Tudor Reformation (Shire Library)

Ironbridge: History & Guide

Ironmaking: A History and Archaeology of the Iron Industry (Revealing History (Paperback))

Church Misericords and Bench Ends (Shire Library)

Holy Grail and Holy Thorn: Glastonbury in the English Imagination

Coal Mining in Britain (Shire Library)

Illuminated Manuscripts (Shire Library, 841)

Rood Screens (Shire Library)