The oldest cathedral in Dublin, the cathedral was founded probably sometime after 1028 when King Sitric Silkenbeard, the Hiberno-Norse king of Dublin made a pilgrimage to Rome.
The crypt is considered the largest cathedral crypt in Britain or Ireland measuring just over 63 meters in length. It was constructed between 1172-1173. The crypt contains various monuments and historical features, including: the oldest known secular carvings in Ireland. These two carved statues stood outside the Tholsel (Dublin's medieval city hall, which was demolished in 1806) until the 1800's. There is also a tabernacle and set of candlesticks which were used when the cathedral last operated (for a very short time) under the "Roman rite". That was when the Roman Catholic king, James II, fled England in 1690.
Crypts were an ancient feature found in some of the earliest of Christian worship places. Basically, a crypt
an underground room, or vault, beneath a church and was used as a chapel and/or burial place. The arches seen here support the entire weight of the massive structure of the cathedral.
 |
| Dr. Marvin J. Hudson |
 |
| Marilyn A. Hudson, M.L.I.S. |
No comments:
Post a Comment