Edinburgh Research Archive logo

Edinburgh Research Archive

University of Edinburgh homecrest
View Item 
  •   ERA Home
  • Edinburgh College of Art
  • Edinburgh College of Art thesis and dissertation collection
  • View Item
  •   ERA Home
  • Edinburgh College of Art
  • Edinburgh College of Art thesis and dissertation collection
  • View Item
  • Login
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Rosslyn chapel: an icon through the ages

View/Open
MaggiA_2002redux.pdf (62.37Mb)
Date
2002
Author
Maggi, Angelo
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
 
 
For many people and for many centuries the Collegiate Church of St Matthew in Midlothian, commonly called Rosslyn Chapel, though never completed and existing now only after a history of neglect, near ruin and restoration - sometimes too casual, at others too thorough -, stands as the most romantic and picturesque monument of late medieval Scotland. In a sense the building has become an icon of its age yet it is a monument which, as a piece of architecture that is unique, has been interpreted and understood in different ways at different times.
 
The primary intention of this study is two fold: to examine and record the range of historical and visual evidence that exists to sustain the perception of Rosslyn as a uniquely valuable and evocative structure; and to evaluate, through the discussion of this evidence, the changing cultural climate and understanding of the `meaning of architecture' as expressed by the various images that the building has generated as an historic monument.
 
The study proceeds in four chapters, each investigating a different category: 1, an historical and descriptive account; 2, the visual evidence which amplifies our knowledge not only of the Chapel but also of the cultural preferences existing at different times and at different moments in British and Scottish taste; 3, the changing conceptions of the Chapel from antiquarian and picturesque perspectives; 4, the conflict of values on aesthetic, historical, or technical grounds, occasioned by the conservation of the fabric.
 
In such a critical analysis Rosslyn Chapel becomes a changing cultural icon for succeeding generations of architects, architectural critics and amateurs and a touchstone for essential value judgements, made both in European and in national, Scottish terms.
 
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1842/35114
Collections
  • Edinburgh College of Art thesis and dissertation collection

Library & University Collections HomeUniversity of Edinburgh Information Services Home
Privacy & Cookies | Takedown Policy | Accessibility | Contact
Privacy & Cookies
Takedown Policy
Accessibility
Contact
feed RSS Feeds

RSS Feed not available for this page

 

 

All of ERACommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsPublication TypeSponsorSupervisorsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsPublication TypeSponsorSupervisors
LoginRegister

Library & University Collections HomeUniversity of Edinburgh Information Services Home
Privacy & Cookies | Takedown Policy | Accessibility | Contact
Privacy & Cookies
Takedown Policy
Accessibility
Contact
feed RSS Feeds

RSS Feed not available for this page