If you would like to focus solely on architecture, please skip the first two paragraphs and begin reading at the bold face words.
Like many individuals, due to recent events, I have found myself experiencing a shift in my life. This semester has been extremely busy for me, and I originally thought I was tilting at windmills. When I started this blog, it was with the intention of writing once a week minimum. Something my twelve-year-old self also once promised a diary with about as much success. Likewise, I have found myself in a very similar situation where I finally realize that perspective is everything. Like many of you, I am suddenly switching my way of life from an immersive experience to a digital one. Now I have always been a huge fan of digital work and have fully embraced the digital lifestyle-for examples, please see my digital portfolio-while appreciating the comforting weight of an ink quill in hand as well. However, I feel like many others I personally took for granted the teaching experience of walking into a new building and feeling the cool marble beneath your feet. Feeling how the sun heats the air across your face when darting across an open window. Or even feeling the cool whispers of leaves dancing across your skin, creating the feeling of vibrancy and place as you march under a darken canopy of a new forest. Architecture and Landscape Architecture are the cultivation of these experiences housed within. They are all of your senses and all of your experiences. To me, architecture is art that we live in.
I’m not a doctor, so I won’t lecture anyone beyond asking everyone to make safe choices and stay home if you can. I refuse to contribute to misinformation, or accidentally spread the wrong sources. At the bottom of the blog post, I have attached links to the CDC website, WHO, and a few others. Please feel free to use those sources. I am NOT getting paid to attach those links. I am NOT attempting to impose my opinion of the situation. As a Biology undergrad, I know that its extremely hard to find sources with just facts. So, I tried to find a few ranges of sources for information that are predominately not opinion based. Wherever you are in the world, COVID-19 is a devastating situation. So please, stay safe out there.
The Tomb of Saint Nicholas, Ireland
Since I have had a sudden massive readjustment to my schedule, it seems that I have been attempting to balance tasks and time. The transition from a pretty rigorous schedule to one that is primarily self-imposed is rough, regardless of whether or not you color code your notes. As stated previously, I am a graduate student who spent roughly all of my time 8-5 on campus. So, switching to being entirely home based necessitated me to bring home and order a few extra books for the goal of finishing this semester strong.
(Aside: To all my electronic book lovers, I am sorry as I love the convenience and practicality of digital books, but give me a dusty library with vintage coaches and dirty windows any day. I want to lazily look up over a steaming mug, watch the dust dance through the sunbeams while a cat purrs on the pillow next to you and the dulled vibrancy of book covers plagues your vision.)
I was attempting to re-arrange my office in such a way that I could take calls and classes with out needing to scale the entirety of my bookshelf when I managed to find my scrapbook of one of my trips. Now I had been struggling to figure out what topic to discuss. I have some vague ideas of Donald Judd and Environmental generational Amnesia I want to visit in the future, but nothing concrete that hasn’t put the dog to sleep while proof-reading out loud. So finding this scrapbook felt like the answer to my Arthurian Quest. While I could go on and on with sentiment about the trip itself, the thing I really wanted to focus my post about was the Tomb of St. Nicholas.
As you approach the site, the land the tomb is housed on is as beautiful as the rest of Ireland. Rolling landscape, eclipsed by the mountains, glazed by the sun, and set into the County Kilkenny countryside. Altogether the scene sets a striking picture, with the Cistercian Jerpoint Abby in the background. The fencing for the animals shows the hint of modern, betraying the otherwise timeless landscape. I admit I am easily and completely captivated by a well-placed building within a beautiful landscape. Like my previous posts, I am using my personal photos I took during my trip-that I briefly had on Facebook for a while before I removed them, however there are a lot more photos available online.
The site is currently located on private lands so please don’t just show up; so if you ever want to visit, tours can be booked in advanced. While the house was designed by Sir. Richard Morrison, the architect and founder of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland, the church and tombs were believed to have been built around the 1170. Now if you are as much of a nerd as I am, you may suddenly see a slight problem with the dates. The St. Nicholas in question is none other than the patron of children, giver of gifts, and occasional wearer of bright suits. Often referred to more familiarly by his Dutch name Sinterklaas, he was alive during the Roman Empire from 260 AD to 343 AD. Beyond the usual supernatural powers, he was rumored to have performed various miracles. While he was born in Patara, he became the bishop of Demre, Turkey. If you would like more information on either him or the areas mentioned, please feel free to visit any of the links listed below.
This site is brilliant, in addition to the fact that it and the surrounding lands of Jerpoint currently are as one of the best of the Middle Ages (in Ireland), but also as a clear example of the conquest and travel. I was able to locate 8 different major locations all claiming to be final resting place of St. Nicholas. One of which is the New York St. Nicholas Orthodox Church which is currently inaccessible though another church has been built to replace it. Each of these locations are claiming to have a piece of the remains, as during the old days Saints remains were often used as holy relics. These holy relics were often buried or placed into the building in such a way, that oil or cloth, or something could come into close enough contact to create a secondary relic. This way you could bless the masses, without losing pieces of the original.
Now, Jerpoint was the home base of the Normans, who used this particular location to leave for the Holy Wars. Interestingly for us this included the areas around Demre, Turkey. The same Demre, where the Bishop St. Nicholas was originally believed to have been buried. Additionally, many of those who participated within the Holy Wars were extremely fond of relics, like they could be a close cousin of a Niffler, from Fantastic Beasts (copyright J.K. Rowling). And acquiring said relics, including the relics of patron saints, more in the Supernatural style. Now in credence to the other locations, documentation exists showing how the movement of several individuals across the globe correspond to the formation of new locations claiming to have a relic from St. Nicholas.
I won’t go into a theological debate, or get more into the nitty gritty details as this is a long enough post, but within the realm of architecture – why is this important? While I have read in school about how the housing of relics have led an impact on architectural design, I strongly believe that a secondary importance can be gained. The concepts such as the of the tomb’s location within the overall town of Jerpoint, and the establishment as a separate entity from Jerpoint Abby. Can we use the layout and designs of the buildings to establish a clearer understanding of the day to day life and beliefs of the people of the past? Can we understand further how the spread of ideas has moved and been influenced by the Crusades? Or can we understand more from tracking those who have fled? Given that several of the relics cancel each other out, as St. Nicholas wasn’t reported to have two skulls among other parts; the spread of ideas and designs is essential to fully unweaving the past. Now whether or not this is the real Tomb, now that’s up you.
Links
References
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/12/holidays-saints-religion-tombs-burials/
https://www.stnicholascenter.org/around-the-world/customs/ireland
The most important source was a local tour guide, and the visit to the site itself.
For the COVID-19 virus
CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
- It has information on how to protect yourself, symptoms, etc. it is the Center for Disease control. It also has a few options to translate the website in Español
- 繁體中文 Tiếng Việt 한국어 listed if needed.
John Hopkins University Interactive Map: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
- It has an interactive map which allows you to zoom in by area, with tabs up top for additional information, and statistics.
World Health Organization (WHO): https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1
- In addition to general information, the top of the website has the option to switch to regional viewing-allowing you to find things a little closer to your hometown quicker.
European Union: https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/health/coronavirus-response_en
- This will take you directly to the European Union’s response, with additional links.
United Nations: https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus
- This will include general information and links.
If you feel strongly that I have missed one that you would like to be included, please feel free to either leave it in a comment or email it to me directly and I can add it. I know that this barely begins to cover all of the organizations and personnel who are handling this pandemic.
Finally, I would like to thank all essential personnel, not just the doctors and nurses, but the paramedics, janitors, engineers, chefs, those in delivery, at stores, and hundreds more who are working through this.
Thank you.
May your coffee mugs be full, and your ink wells never run dry.
