Keepin' it Local

        Today, instead of venturing out on the bus for yet another day of flitting from site to site, we spent the day right here in the heart of Durham! Though I especially loved the churches we saw yesterday, the things we saw today have definitely been my highlight of this week in Durham. We began the morning with a visit to Durham Cathedral, a breath-taking Romanesque church. Professor Lomas is clearly highly knowledgable and passionate about the cathedral so his lecture was informative and really brought the history to life! That being said, the church didn't need much help--though Romanesque walls are much smaller than the later Gothic and the churches have a reputation for being thick-walled and dark, Durham Cathedral did not give me that impression at all. We learned that it has a  revolutionarily wide roof that is supporting by vaulting--but the height and width of the roof gives the interior a spaciousness one might not expect. No pictures of the inside though, not allowed :(

         The cloister of the cathedral is actually where they shot several scenes from Harry Potter, including where they first learn to play quidditch and where Harry releases Hedwig in the snow in the first movie. It was so awesome! On the oppposite side of the cloister was the Chapter house, also known as Professor McGonagall's classroom! We didn't get to go in there, just peek in the window so I didn't get a good picture...

And in the film:

Chapter House:

           At 12:00 it was finally time to do what I have been anticipating the whole time we've been up here: SEE THE LINDISFARNE GOSPELS! They had to stagger us in to control the humidity, and it was really cold. They had a great exhibit featuring other contemporary insular manuscripts and other artifacts, not to mention explanatory panels and films, before we finally made it to the book.

         

        I was a little disappointed that the page it was open to was the canon table, which is one of less decorated and easy to understand pages. Basically a canon table is there to show similarities between the four gospels. Still, what especially struck me about it was how shiny the illuminations were! The blues and oranges of the interlace just practically shone. The perfection of the lines is astounding even after so many centuries!

This is a detail from the actual page we saw today. 

         After the exhibit we headed back to college for tuna sandwiches, falafel and hummus, followed by very rich brownies saved for us by the nice kitchen staff (the etonians are here so we've been delegated to a different dining room with different food but it is still really nice!) Following lunch we had another short briefing and then a historic walking tour of the town ending at Durham castle, which actually now serves as a college itself! Inside is the oldest structure in Durham, a stone chapel from probably the early 11th century. 

  

Not a great castle pic but the only one I got! 

       Popping back in the cathedral, Alex and I talked to several of the women wearing purple robes, one of whom had recently been on a holiday to Memphis! We had a great time talking to her about the peabody ducks and hearing the two elderly british women quote Scarlet O'Hara. They both love Gone With the Wind! 

       When we got back I took a weird jet-laggy nap before dinner, then at 8 we had a seminar with Professor Lomas about Bede. Right before the lecture I set off some sort of alarm in the bathroom that rang the whole time.... awkward. But I figured out how to turn it off at the end! Then some of us went to the grocery store to buy all kinds of british candy. All in all, a truly fab day!!