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Old Sarum Cathedral was a
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and Norman
cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...
at old Salisbury, now known as
Old Sarum Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest r ...
, between 1092 and 1220. Only its foundations remain, in the northwest quadrant of the circular outer bailey of the site, which is located near modern
Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...
, Wiltshire, in the United Kingdom. The cathedral was the seat of the
bishops of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...
during the early
Norman period The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
and the original source of the
Sarum Rite The Use of Sarum (or Use of Salisbury, also known as the Sarum Rite) is the Latin liturgical rite developed at Salisbury Cathedral and used from the late eleventh century until the English Reformation. It is largely identical to the Roman r ...
.


Description

At its greatest height, the Norman cathedral was from end to end, smaller than most of the cathedrals being constructed at the time. Built in the standard cruciform shape, the building had a nave of seven bays with cross-shaped piers, an apse and a central crossing tower, as well as several peripheral chapels. The cathedral's six altars comprised the
high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...
in the presbytery; the altars of , , and in three
apsidal In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
chapels in the easternmost wall of the church; and the altars of the (the parish altar) and in the
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...
, set against the western side of the pulpitum.


History

During the
Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conqu ...
following his 1066 victory at
Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
, used Old Sarum (known at the time by variants of "Saresbury" or "Salisbury") as a base of operations. It was within a newly constructed strong fortress on a high hill (originally the Old Sarum Hill Fort) and was surrounded by the massive walls of the new fortress. In 1075, the Council of London
translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
Herman to Old Sarum as ', "bishop of Seribury".British History Online
''Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300'', Vol. IV, "Salisbury: Bishops"
Institute of Historical Research (London), 1991.
The see was a new foundation, uniting the former dioceses of
Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish includes the hamlets of Nether Coombe and Lower Clatcombe. ...
and
Ramsbury Ramsbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. The village is in the Kennet Valley near the Berkshire boundary. The nearest towns are Hungerford about east and Marlborough about west. The much larger town of S ...
. (Herman's initial choice for his seat had been at
Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...
, but this plan had been blocked by the local monks and
Earl Godwin Godwin of Wessex ( ang, Godwine; – 15 April 1053) was an English nobleman who became one of the most powerful earls in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great (King of England from 1016 to 1035) and his successors. Cnut made Godwin the ...
.) Its district covered the
counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
,
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, and
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...
. The cathedral was begun shortly afterwards but was not completed until after Herman's death in 1078. His successor was
Saint Osmund Osmund (died 3 December 1099), Count of Sées, was a Norman noble and clergyman. Following the Norman conquest of England, he served as Lord Chancellor (–1078) and as the second bishop of Salisbury, or Old Sarum. Life Osmund, a native o ...
, count of Sées and
Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...
of
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. Osmund was William's cousin and largely responsible for the education of . The cathedral was
consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different gro ...
on 5 April 1092 with
John of Tours John of Tours or John de Villula (died 1122) was a medieval Bishop of Wells in England who moved the diocese seat to Bath. He was a native of Tours and was King William I of England's doctor before becoming a bishop. After his consecration ...
,
bishop of Bath The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of ...
, in attendance. It suffered extensive damage in a storm, however, traditionally said to have occurred only five days later. Osmund's successor (after a vacancy of four years) was
Roger le Poer Roger le Poer was a medieval Lord Chancellor from 1135 until 1139 for King Stephen of England. The son of a powerful bishop, Roger owed his position to his family connections. He lost his office when his father and other relatives lost power. Ar ...
, who was not formally consecrated for another five years owing to a dispute between and . Roger rebuilt and enlarged sections of the cathedral, completing construction around 1120. Unusually, most of the flooring in the new sections of the cathedral was in patterns of green and white stone. He also served as Henry's viceroy while the king was in
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
and was closely connected with King Stephen during his reign. Roger constructed a royal palace at Old Sarum between 1130 and 1139. In that year, Stephen antagonized the clergy by demanding the surrender of the castles held by Roger's family, including Old Sarum Castle. He was arrested and his lands sequestrated, dying before the arrival of
Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...
and Stephen's deposition. A dispute between King Stephen and Henry,
bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except ...
and the
papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...
in England, left the see vacant for three years before the consecration of
Josceline de Bohon Josceline de Bohon or Bohun ( c. 1111–1184) was an Anglo-Norman religious leader. Life Josceline was a great-grandson of Humphrey de Bohun, one of the companions of William the Conqueror. Savaric FitzGeldewin, who was bishop of Bath from 1192 ...
. Around 1150, he obtained permission from
Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...
Theobald Theobald is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements '' theod-'' "people" and ''bald'' "bold". The name arrived in England with the Normans. The name occurs in many spelling variations, including Theudebald, Diepold, Theobalt, Tyb ...
to move the cathedral's Feast of the Relics to September 17, a
double feast The Ranking of liturgical days in the Roman Rite is a regulation for the liturgy of the Roman Catholic church. It determines for each liturgical day which observance has priority when liturgical dates and times coincide (or "occur"), which texts ...
which permitted pilgrims a 40-day
indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission before God of ...
.Frost (2009)
p. 30.
/ref> Around the same time, the central
apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...
was developed into a single-story
chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...
while the altar and reliquary were moved into the
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...
. Josceline was
excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
by
Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...
Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and the ...
in 1170, ostensibly for having assisted in the coronation of son Henry. His case was ignored by Rome until after Becket's assassination: he was finally pardoned in 1172 and held his see until his resignation to become a
Cistercian monk The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...
in 1184. The see was again vacant for another five years before the consecration of
Hubert Walter Hubert Walter ( – 13 July 1205) was an influential royal adviser in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries in the positions of Chief Justiciar of England, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Lord Chancellor. As chancellor, Walter be ...
at the behest of the newly installed . Richard's father had maintained the vacancy in order to retain its revenue, but Walter had been duly elected by the cathedral chapter at
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
and Richard provided him the position at Sarum in order to name his own half-brother Geoffrey as
archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...
.Turner, Ralph V. "Richard Lionheart and English Episcopal Elections" in ''Albion'', Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 4–5. Spring 1997. . . Walter then abandoned his appeal to
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
and accompanied Richard on the
Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity ( Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...
. While abroad, he negotiated with
Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سه‌لاحه‌دین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt an ...
and completed a
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
to
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, but he was translated to
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...
upon his return. The next bishop,
Herbert Poore Herbert Poore or Poor or - the Norman did not necessarily translate the English ''poor'' but represents Latin , a "boy", and particularly one of good family, a knight. (died 1217) was a medieval English clergyman who held the post of Bisho ...
, was elected and consecrated the next year in 1194. He succeeded in naming his brother
Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...
as dean of the
cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. ...
in 1197 and the two of them received permission from to move the cathedral from Old Sarum, where it was exposed and lacked a large water supply,Scalberg, p. 51. sometime before the turn of the century.Frost (2009)
p. 34.
/ref> The 12th-century
Peter of Blois Peter of Blois ( la, Petrus Blesensis; French: ''Pierre de Blois''; ) was a French cleric, theologian, poet and diplomat. He is particularly noted for his corpus of Latin letters. Early life and education Peter of Blois was born about 1130. Ear ...
had described the old church site as "barren, dry, and solitary, exposed to the rage of the wind" and the cathedral itself as "a captive on the hill where it was built, like the ark of God shut up in the profane house of
Baal Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied t ...
."Petrus Blesensis. ''Epist.'' No. 105. Bishop Herbert was, however, disliked by Walter, now archbishop over the diocese. He was dispossessed of his lands and forced into exile in Normandy in 1198. He was unable to return to his see until he paid a further large fine. Herbert eventually befriended King John but was unable to accomplish much in the chaos surrounding his reign. Bishop Herbert fled to
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
in 1209 during the
interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits persons, certain active Church individuals or groups from participating in certain rites, or that the rites and services of the church are banished from ...
against and was not restored to his diocese's temporalities until 1213. He died in 1217 and his diocese was given to his brother
Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...
. A dispute between Richard and the military garrison at Old Sarum led to Richard receiving royal permission to move his seat to his estate at Merryfield in the
Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wit ...
. Old Sarum Cathedral was slowly dismantled, with its stone transported to the new site and used to construct the present
Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury. The buil ...
, whose site was consecrated in 1220. The new Early English-style cathedral was completed by 1258. A licence to build the new cathedral close wall with stone from the ruins of the Old Sarum cathedral was granted in 1327; it was completed in 1331. The remains at the cathedral seem to have initially been left undisturbed: it was not until July 23 in the year of his canonization, 1457, that the
relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
s of
Saint Osmund Osmund (died 3 December 1099), Count of Sées, was a Norman noble and clergyman. Following the Norman conquest of England, he served as Lord Chancellor (–1078) and as the second bishop of Salisbury, or Old Sarum. Life Osmund, a native o ...
were
translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
to Salisbury Cathedral. The remains of the cathedral, together with the ruined 12th and 13th century fortifications, were designated as
Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...
in 1972.


Excavation

The pavement of the cathedral was excavated in 1913.


See also

*
Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...
*
Dean of Salisbury The Dean of Salisbury is the head of the chapter of Salisbury Cathedral in the Church of England. The Dean assists the archdeacon of Sarum and bishop of Ramsbury in the diocese of Salisbury. List of deans High Medieval * Walter * Osbert ...
*
Sarum Rite The Use of Sarum (or Use of Salisbury, also known as the Sarum Rite) is the Latin liturgical rite developed at Salisbury Cathedral and used from the late eleventh century until the English Reformation. It is largely identical to the Roman r ...


References

* ''Ancient and Historical Monuments in the City of Salisbury'', London:
Her Majesty's Stationery Office The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the Un ...
, 1977 * Britton, John, ''The history and antiquities of the cathedral church of Salisbury'', London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1814 * Ecclesiological Society, Old Sarum Cathedral in ''The Ecclesiologist'', Vol. 3, Cambridge:
Cambridge Camden Society The Cambridge Camden Society, known from 1845 (when it moved to London) as the Ecclesiological Society,Histor ...
, 1846. * Evans, Sydney. ''Salisbury Cathedral: A Reflective Guide'', Salisbury: Michael Russell Publishing, 1985 * Fernie, Eric, ''The Architecture of Norman England'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002 * Scalberg, Daniel A., ''The Kregel Pictorial Guide to Christian Heritage of England'', Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2001. * nknown ''Old Sarum'', London: English Heritage Guidebooks, 2003


External links


English Heritage
{{coord, 51.0942, N, 1.8064, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Tourist attractions in Wiltshire Grade I listed churches in Wiltshire Grade I listed cathedrals Churches in Salisbury English churches with Norman architecture Former cathedrals in England Demolished buildings and structures in England Grade I listed ruins Roman Catholic cathedrals in England