If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I love cathedrals. Those towering monuments in stone, built by generations of men figuring out the laws of physics stone by stone, arch by arch take my breath away every encounter.
Welcome to St. Giles Cathedral, in the heart of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. It’s a good one to start with if you haven’t ever spent time in a cathedral because it’s small enough you can take it all in and yet experience the very things that captivate me.
As with any good cathedral, the architecture is designed to make you look up, towards the heavens, because they were built, after all, as places of worship. The columns and arches at the entrance of the cathedral do just that here. But we’re not looking all the way up quite yet…
I love how this photo highlights the arches, two rows of them, and then the windows are another set of arches. While the cathedral is a large building, the arches give it scale and create different areas.
One end of the cathedral features this beautiful stained glass window, encased in an arch and framed by other arches. Just beautiful. The vaulting here is simply gorgeous, as is the glass.
Now it’s time to look up, and be amazed by the work of countless artisans over the centuries. The building began in the 14th century and continued into the 16th century, with later additions in the 19th and 20th centuries. Think about that for a minute and a half: the people that built this did it by trial and error, imagination and learning from other builders and their own mistakes. No computer, no CAD programs, not even a slide rule or a spreadsheet. And yet they made that ceiling.
Looking the other way, the ceiling echoes the older construction but with a more modern design.
One last bit of craft to show – the keystones that cap the ribs of the arches. Each one locks the ribs that touch it into position, allowing those ribs (or vaults) to bear the weight. The builders could have just put boring old round stones up there, but they rarely did. Instead, they carved designs into each one, and look at them, these are all different designs. It was one way for the stonemasons to both glorify their God and show their artistic flair. The complexity of this design amazes me, I still can’t figure out how they put it all together. A bit like reverse Jenga, maybe.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t include a photo of the organ, installed in 1992. It’s a beautiful example of combining old and new to create a breath-taking space. Big organs like this seem part and parcel of a cathedral. I only wish I could have heard it being played.
I’ve seen cathedrals all over England and a few in France (Notre Dame before the devastating fire, and Chartres). The construction, the designs, and the stained glass never cease to amaze me. I grew up in LA, where anything older than 1930s was considered too old and ready to be torn down and replaced by something newer and more modern. European cathedrals have stood for hundreds of years, beloved and cared for by those who appreciate them. Count me in that crowd.
It is not architectural achievement that makes the structures of earlier times seem to us so full of significance but the circumstance that antique temples, Roman basilicas, and even the cathedrals of the Middle Ages are not the works of single personalities but creations of entire epochs.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
author
So impressive! Glad you posted about this.
Annie, your photography continues to amaze me. You have such and eye for things. Did you get to go to the Church within a church I think it was in Scotland. Rats, now I am not sure! It was one church built on top of another church and now for the life of me I cannot recall exatly why they did it that way. It was a small church by many standards yet larger than any I knew growing up for sure. I just sent some of my traveling companions a message to see if they can recall. We saw so many over a 2 week period between a week in Scotland and a week in Ireland that it was nearly impossible to keep track of them and our photos etc.!
Thank you! It is hard especially when your traveling companion is ready to go!
Oh, and now that cathedral in Arles is on my list. I miss France.
Visiting cathedrals are always top of my list whenever we travel. They are so amazing. Looks like you were having a great time on your trip and thanks for the wonderful pictures.
They always fill me with awe. You’ve captured beautiful shots – not always easy to do in such spaces, I know!
When my husband lay abed in Arles (our French tour not happening), I wandered alone into the gorgeous cathedral (Notre Dame) there. Chagall windows! I’d love to return. Inputting St Giles on the list now too, thank you.
I have been lucky, too, to visit a few. Notre Dame, also before the fire, St Peter’s in Rome and the National Cathedral in Washington DC. They are all stunning.