Weight of history 💀

I'm in Wales. The smallest city¹ in the UK is St. Davids, and it wasn't far, so I went to see its cathedral, which dates back to the year 589. That's a lot of years.

One weird thing is that the cathedral isn't flat. The floor slopes, and there are steps, so the altar (east end) is considerably higher than the west end (where the plebs can sit).

Second weird thing: the massive columns along the nave² lean outwards quite noticeably. How is this building still standing? Well, several parts have collapsed during its history.

Third weird thing: in the middle ages, some bishop decided to build a stonking great stone screen between the nave and the quire³, and to leave space in it for his tomb. And they let him do this!

Fourth weird thing: there are toilets, but obviously a recent addition. For well over a thousand years, people have congregated here, but surely some of them needed to pee?

=> #Wales | #cathedral

=> back to gemlog

¹ Depending where you live, "city" may mean different things. In the UK it means somewhere that has been granted city status, often because it has a cathedral. But some cities have no cathedral, and some towns with cathdrals are not cities.

² The nave is the main part of a church where the public sits during a service. The name is supposed to be related to the Latin for "ship".

³ The quire is where the choir sits. Its the same word, but spelled two ways. None of this makes any sense.