Secret Spaces. Sacred treasuries in England 1066–1320

Extract

This valuable new book is the fruit of studies by Courtauld-trained medievalist Lesley Milner, guided by Professor Paul Crossley, into treasuries attached to churches in England between the Norman Conquest and the early fourteenth century. The volume looks at about twenty examples, including some relevant European ones such as Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim (Norway) and the Cathedral of St-Omer in Pas-de Calais (France). Milner follows a logical structure, commencing with an analysis of the names of the treasury rooms, followed by an examination of the approach taken from the fifth century onwards by the Latin and Orthodox churches. It is primarily an architectural history of building typology in which the author progresses chronologically through the Middle Ages, noting differences in practice between institutions such as monasteries and churches run by secular canons, and including a case study of the various chambers designed to conserve the treasure of the Benedictine abbey church at Westminster.