parish directory
55F5maAIR
55F5maAIR
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LECTERNS<br />
2<br />
1<br />
3<br />
Eagle soars in the summit of Heaven,’ wrote T. S. Eliot<br />
in ‘The Rock’. As the eagle was the bird supposed to fly<br />
‘The<br />
closest to heaven, so it was appropriate for an eagle to<br />
support Holy Scripture. Like the one at Cropredy (1: Oxon), around<br />
50 brass-eagle lecterns survive that were made in the century before<br />
the Reformation, possibly in the Low Countries. They would have<br />
been placed in the chancel adjacent to the High Altar, for reading the<br />
Gospel at Mass. Some bear dates, like the one of 1518 at St Mary the<br />
Virgin, Wiggenhall (2: Norfolk).<br />
A few earlier lecterns survive, a couple from c.1200, near<br />
neighbours in Worcestershire, though not in original condition. The<br />
marble example, showing a bishop blessing, at Norton (3: Worcs) was<br />
found in the churchyard of the former Evesham Abbey; a similar one<br />
nearby at Crowle (4: Worcs) is made of limestone. ND<br />
4<br />
June 2016 ■ newdirections ■ 19