Rood screen
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The Rood screen was a common feature in late medieval church architecture, dividing the chancel from the nave. It was often surmounted by a loft (called the Rood Loft) on which stood the Rood itself, a large figure of the crucified Christ, set high up, usually level with the springing of the chancel arch. Sometimes the rood loft was also substantial enough to be used as a singing gallery; access was via a rood stair. Often, to either side of the Rood, there stood supporting statues of saints, such as St. Mary and St. John. The word rood is derived from the Saxon word ‘rode’, meaning a cross.
Rood screens are not unique to Britain; they can be found in churches in many parts of Europe: the German word for one is lettner; the French, jubé; the Dutch, doksaal.
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Notable British examples
The earliest known example of a Rood screen in Britain, dating back to the 13th century, is to be found at Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire. The majority date back to the 15th century, such as those at Trull, Somerset and Attleborough, Norfolk. Many East Anglian wooden screens retain their original decoration; the quality of the painting and gilding is, some of it, of a very high order, notably those from the Ranworth school of painters: notable examples can be found in Southwold and Blythburgh as well as at Ranworth itself. The magnificent painted screen at Barton Turf is unique in giving an unusually complete view of the heavenly hierarchy, including nine orders of angels.
Symbolic significance
The rood screen was a physical and symbolic barrier, separating the sanctuary, the domain of the priesthood, from the chancel where ordinary people gathered to worship. It was also a means of seeing; often it was solid only to waist height and richly decorated with pictures of saints and angels. Concealment and revelation were part of the mediaeval Mass. When kneeling, the congregation could not see the priest, but might do so through the upper part of the screen, when he elevated the Host on Sundays. In some churches, 'squints' (holes in the screen) would ensure that everyone could see the elevation, as what was significant to the largely illiterate congregation was seeing the bread made flesh. Moreover, while Sunday Masses were very important, there were also weekday services which were taken from in front of the screen which thus became the backdrop to the celebration of the Mass. This would take place at what was called a "Jesus altar", erected for the worship of the Holy Name, a popular dedication in mediaeval times.
The Rood itself provided a focus for worship, most especially in Holy Week, when worship was highly elaborate. During Lent the Rood was veiled; on Palm Sunday it was revealed before the procession of palms and the congregation knelt before it. The whole Passion story would then be read from the Rood loft, at the foot of the crucifix by three priests.
Destruction and restoration
At the Reformation, one of the major targets of the Reformers were abused images i.e. statues and paintings which were the focus of adoration or worship. Thus not a single mediaeval Rood survives in Britain. They were removed as a result of the 1547 Injunctions of Edward VI, (some to be restored when Queen Mary I came to the throne and removed again under Queen Elizabeth I). Of Rood lofts, which were held to be a reminder of the supposed superstitious worship, very few are left, two surviving (and very beautiful) examples in Wales being at the ancient churches in Llanengan and Llanegryn. Rood screens remain in some numbers but most were defaced. (The word 'deface' derives from the fact that it was the faces of the figures that were scratched out, usually crudely and with the apparent intention of leaving a visual reminder of the iconoclastic attitude of the defacers.) Hundreds of screens were removed altogether; today, in many British churches, the rood stair (which had given access to the rood loft) is often the only remaining trace of the former rood loft and screen.
In many places, under the influence of the Tractarians in the 19th century, Roods have been restored, though often without screens. A notably complete restoration can be seen at Eye, Suffolk, where the rood screen dates from 1480. Its missing rood loft was reconstructed by Sir Ninian Comper in 1925, complete with a Rood and figures of saints and angels, and gives a good impression of how a full rood group would have appeared in a mediaeval English church.
References
Duffy, Eamon, The Stripping of the Altars (Yale 1992)
External links
- Norfolkchurches.co.uk/screens Painted screens in Norfolk churches.
- Norfolkchurches.co.uk/norfolkroods More about the painted rood screens of East Anglia.
See also
Iconostasis - a wall of icons and religious paintings serving a rather different role in Eastern Christianity.de:Lettner fr:Jubé nl:Doksaal pl:Lektorium sv:Lektorium