Polychromy and Meaning in the Angel Roof Sculptures of The Church of St Agnes, Cawston.

Oliver  Coulson

doi:10.5209/dmae.98087

Polychromy and Meaning in the Angel Roof Sculptures of The Church of St Agnes, Cawston.

Oliver Coulson Brown University https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4918-3436

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Parole chiave: Late medieval England, Polychromy, Iconography, Architectural Sculpture

Abstract

In the fifteenth century, a fashion grew for filling the roofs of parish churches in eastern England with sculptures of angels. Whilst some sculptures have lost their colour and others were likely never painted, extremely rare surviving polychromy at the Church of St Agnes in Norfolk offers a unique opportunity to consider the iconography of these artworks in new ways. This paper explores how the iconography and polychromy of this sculptural program relates to the uncertain contemporary climate of reform engendered by the spread of the Lollard heresy in the region, arguing that multi-coloured displays were designed to oppose the iconophobic position of the Lollards by communicating the idea of universal hierarchies, from angelic orders down to mankind.

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Pubblicato

2026-07-01

Come citare

Coulson, Oliver. 2026. «Polychromy and Meaning in the Angel Roof Sculptures of The Church of St Agnes, Cawston». De Medio Aevo 15 (2): e98087. https://doi.org/10.5209/dmae.98087.