About the event
Described in 1603 as Oxford’s ‘chiefest wonder’, the Divinity School with its elaborate late-fifteenth-century vaulted ceiling continues to impress and amaze all those who visit it. The 465 carved roof-bosses which range from the heraldic shields of great magnates to a man wrestling a bear or a fox running off with a goose have delighted and puzzled viewers in equal measure for centuries.
In this talk, Dr Duncan Taylor offers a new understanding of the iconography through an interpretation which considers the political and religious milieu in the period the vault was commissioned. The choice of carvings is shown to have been carefully thought through with thematic connections between what were previously considered unrelated and often inexplicable images.
Speaker
Dr Duncan Taylor is a historian and part of the ARCHiOx Project.
Event information
- This event is free and open to all.
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- All times listed are UK time.
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