After my gargoyle post yesterday, that was a little disturbing to some, I decided to post a few doorways today in between more of my very full Oxford posts coming soon. These doorways are from Magdalen College. (Pronounced Maudlin)
I’m working on a full post from Magdalen College with some history of C.S. Lewis’ connections there.
I’ll keep it simple today and leave you with a quote from C.S. Lewis.
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” From The Weight of Glory.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 
They are all beautiful, the last one is my favorite. Take care, have a great day!
…these are wonderful.
So I guess I’m not the only one who finds gargoyles creepy! 😂 There they are though, and you were reporting what you saw! But the doorways are prettier, no doubt. There’s something about a doorway that draws you to see the other side . . .
Beautiful doors. I especially like the first one.
Great designs, great quote!
I forget what those ceiling decorations are called, but the ones in your middle photo are charming for some reason… maybe because they are low enough that one doesn’t need binoculars to see them 😉
I tried to research what they call these cloister medallions to no avail. We saw a lot of them!
I found a site with a cathedral glossary: https://www.abelard.org/france/cathedral_glossary.php
It names those ceiling ornaments BOSSES. Medallions are also listed on this page; they are an aspect of stained glass windows. Here is what I read about bosses:
“The joins between various ribs were usually covered by bosses of various artistic merit and complexity. Such bosses can be seen in Norwich, Exeter, Ely, Winchester, Hereford, King’s College Chapel Cambridge, Gloucester, and many other cathedrals. Even fancier pendant vaulting can be seen at Canterbury and at Westminster. The bosses were, in part, used to cover the joins between ribs, but also developed as an art form. These bosses have lasted rather better than much English church art, as the vandals of Henry VIII and Cromwell were less able to get at them. In Norwich, there are over 150 bosses, often highly coloured.”
My daughter and I saw many bosses both traditional and modern at York Cathedral when we visited there almost twenty years ago. Since then I hadn’t given them much thought. Thank you for prompting me to re-learn one small thing.
Wow! Love this. Thank you so much for sharing it here. Lord willing I’ll be able to see the bosses at Ely. We have been in the cathedrals in Gloucester, York, Hereford, Canterbury, Kings College Chapel. Some of those places before digital cameras so I don’t have a lot of photos or any photos at all. We visited York with our daughter in 2004 so maybe we crossed paths without knowing it. 🙂
Beautiful! Happy New Year to you Ellen and to your loved ones!!!
Beautiful and thank you for the pronounciation lesson! I’ve read about the College before and only ever said it in my mind but definitely said it wrong to myself. (Now I hope I sometime have the chance to say it out loud in a conversation. ) And now that I look, It really isn’t the same spelling as the Mary whom Jesus forgave is it!
Sallie, I have to remind myself of the pronunciation every time I try to say it out loud!
I like the doorways and the quote too.