University Church (above the Vaults and Garden Café), High St, Oxford OX1 4BJ Old Library
Taking the University Church itself as a model, Dr Karl Kinsella, medieval art historian, will use the work of the twelfth-century theologian Honorius Augustodunensis to unlock the symbolic meaning of ecclesiastical architecture. He will move through the church and discuss why the windows were like the doctors of the church and how the altar emulated the figure of Christ, amongst other things.
This is part of a six-part series of talks on the important role that architecture – both physical and representational – played in the imaginative, artistic, and theological life of early medieval England.
Talks will range from the layout and construction of actual early medieval buildings to the symbolic use of architecture in literary texts in order to demonstrate the pervasive importance of architecture in early medieval thought.
