Posted 10 years ago
vetraio50
(751 items)
When the Miler's visited york in 1906 they collected three cards of St. Mary's Abbey. These are two views of the Abbey from different publishers: the Reliable Series and the B & R series. The third I will have a look at tomorrow before we leave York.
As I mentioned the first of the two cards here was the view in A. Clutton-Brocks's tour guide of York Minster.
These ruins of St Mary's Abbey are only a five minute walk away from York Minster. It is within a walled area. It was the largest and wealthiest of the Benedictine monasteries in northern England. The Abbot of this monastery was seen as being the arch rival of Robin Hood. The wealth of the Abbot and the lifestyle of the monks became part of the Robin Hood story.
The Abbey was founded in 1080. The building was rebuilt in 1089 in the Romanesque style. The Abbot was assisted by a prior, 40 to 60 monks, around 50 boy scholars and several servants. The monks would have worked on administrative duties while servants assisted with the community’s granaries, barns, mill and bakery, brewery and tailor’s workshop.
Interestingly it was a group of monks who left this Abbey in 1132 led by Prior Richard to found a new poorer lifestyle at Fountains Abbey at Rippon.
"The Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1530 saw the abbey’s decline; the monks were pensioned off in 1539, the buildings converted for Henry VIII’s visits to York, one of which was in 1541. St Mary’s, then worth more than £2,000 a year equalled many wealthy landholders. The Abbot’s house survived as the ‘King’s Manor’– the seat of the Council of the North in 1539. Gradually the abbey’s stone was reduced, some was sold, more was stolen and the ‘wasteland’ became known as the Manor Shore, used for grazing animals.
The north and west walls remain, plus the West Gate, Pilgrims’ Hospitium, the Abbot’s House (King’s Manor), St Mary’s Tower and a polygonal water tower by the river."
http://www.jorvik.co.uk/st-marys-abbey/
Love these black and white prints. So moody.
Is that a eucalypt left of centre on card 2? Distinctive shape....but may not be.
Well covered again. Unpopular historical notes say that the nuns of that era were prostitutes to raise money for the church. With current revelations makes one wonder what those monks taught their "scholars"? LOL
Same tree in both cards, I think. Leaves at different periods of year. Deciduous? Nearly all eucalyptus are evergreen but some tropical species lose their leaves at the end of the dry season. Maybe something else?
Many thanks KAREN, BLUNDERBUSS, AGHCOLLECT 'n PHIL too!
Ah Blunderbuss, the bawdy tales!
Money is a the recurrent theme.
Money and Religion!
Tales before crystal cathedrals!
The Robin Hood connection goes back a long way, though the literary sources seem to start around 1400. Scribing until then was mostly confined to religious topics rather than the profane.
St Mary's is portrayed as a money lending centre in "A Gest of Robyn Hode"!
Usury!
( A Gest, Merry Geste or Lytell Geste) was printed and reprinted numerous times in the 16th century. Current scholarship suggests it was written in the latter half of the 1400s, but it was composed around 1400.
Gest means a story, tale, adventure or even a deed.
The Gest is divided into eight sections, known as Fyttes.
"Fytte 1 -- Robin wants to have a guest before they eat. Little John finds a poor knight in threadbare clothing. The knight's son killed someone in a joust and the knight had to borrow 400 pounds from St. Mary's Abbey, York to pay the bail. Now, the loan is due, and the knight doesn't have the money and will lose his lands. Finding him to be honest, Robin loans him the money and gives him fine clothing. He sends Little John along with the knight.
Fytte 2 -- The abbot of St. Mary's and others are eager to seize the knight's land. The knight shows up and pretends to be broke. They show no mercy. And therefore, when the knight pays up he doesn't give them a tip. The knight returns home, collects the money, and makes a gift of fine bows and arrows, to repay Robin. On his way to Barnsdale (Robin's base), he is delayed to help a yeoman in a wrestling match."
http://www.boldoutlaw.com/robspot/1197.html
Thomas de Multon was the Abbot, I think.
The story appeared in the Robin Hood TV series of 1953, March 24:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0806515/
Talk about over-kill with fables! Interesting but no brass ring. I did enjoy the fables though. Few fables have more than a grain of truth though if you study history seriously. More like gossip.
Sorry I overdid it. Robin Hood was favourite TV show in the Fifties!
Robin Hood, Robin Hood
Riding through the glen.
Robin Hood, Robin Hood
With his band of men.
Feared by the bad,
loved by the good.
Robin Hood,
Robin Hood,
Robin Hood.
That's OK Vetra. I am easy to live with & can let it ride. Well, -- maybe not so easy to live with, as I've been told a number of times.
Little John!!!
Many thanks DON 'n MIKELV!
Archie Duncan was a giant!
'n Friar Tuck aka Alexander Gauge.
Many thanks GEO!
Beautiful!!!
Many thanks SEAN, BRACKEN3, MANKIN, PHIL, GARY 'n ANTIQUES IN NJ & ROYCROFTBOOKSFROMME too!
Many thanks AIMATHENA!
Many thanks ANTIQUES IN NJ!
Many thanks INKY!
Many thanks NH10 !!!! ! !!!!