REVIEWS
BOOKS
The Architecture of the Scottish Medieval Church
1100-1560
Rarely does one get the chance to read the
distillation of a lifetime of erudite academic
research but here it is. The importance of
Scotland’s rich pre-Reformation ecclesiastical
heritage has long been recognised, with
numerous major monuments being in the care
of Historic Scotland. Here one of their most
eminent historians, Dr Fawcett, examines in
great detail the development of the church. This
is a book that is not confined by the geographic
limits of Scotland but puts the complex story in
an international context showing Scotland’s
masons looked to the Low Countries and to
France for their inspiration.
Scottish form of Gothic of the 15th century is
celebrated in buildings such as Roslin Chapel, St
Michael’s of Linlithgow and the High Kirk of St Giles,
Edinburgh. This Scottish reading and interpretation
of the Gothic is taken further in the 16th century
when for example the crown steeple becomes a
recognisable, if not exclusively, Scottish feature in
such buildings as Kings College Chapel, Aberdeen
and St Giles, Edinburgh. The final chapter elegantly
draws together the complex arguments to a
conclusion showing how the Reformation impacted
on the church buildings that survived the
destruction. Glasgow Cathedral along with many
others was subdivided to create a number of
Author: Richard Fawcett
Published by:
smaller preaching kirks. The narrative concludes
Yale University Press (2011)
The book is, thankfully, arranged chronologically.
with two important 17th century monuments,
ISBN: 0300170491
Beginning with the early church before 1100, it
namely, the church at Dairsie and the chapel of
Price: £50.00
looks at beehive monastic cells, and the
Heriot’s Hospital, two late flowerings of Scots
magnificent 10th century Irish influenced round
Gothic.
towers of Brechin and Abernethy. It then moves to the
As the aut