It is exceedingly rare, in contemporary studies of medieval architecture, to encounter a work of scholarship that does not, in some sense, retread previously trodden ground. Yet that is precisely the accomplishment of Lesley Milner’s Secret Spaces: Sacred Treasuries in England 1066-1320. This perceptive study, whose rather modest size belies its considerable contribution, represents the first book-length examination of one of the essential auxiliary spaces of the medieval church: the area reserved for the protection, preparation, and preservation of precious objects. That the analysis should focus on insular versus continental contexts is deliberate. As Milner explains, the geographical concentration of the study reflects the balance of the available architectural evidence, more of which survives in Britain (where post-medieval Protestant rebuilding was rare) and less of which survives on the Continent (where post-medieval Catholic rebuilding was frequent). Nevertheless, because the book incorporates a collection of case studies on both sides of the Channel, the result is a work of (at least Western) European scope.
Secret Spaces unfolds in nine clearly organized chapters--the first of which examines basic issues of form, function, and meaning. Milner begins by defining the “treasure house”--a variation on the common period termthesaurarium (treasury)--as a building comprising one or more chambers reserved for the storage of church treasure. (The inspiration comes from a reference to the domus thesaurus of Notre-Dame of Paris in a charter of 1241.) Among these constituent chambers were the sacristy (sacristia,sacrarium, secretarium), the vestry (vestiarium, revestiarium), and the treasure room (donarium, gazophylacium). The first and the second were utilized for staging, storing, and securing liturgical vessels and/or liturgical vestments. (A single combined space could be known as either a sacristy or a vestry.) In order to accommodate important rituals such as the reservation of the Eucharistic Host, the washing of hands, and the cleansing of objects, the sacristy/vestry frequently included a fully consecrated altar, a water-warming stove (with a chimney), and a water-holding sink (with a drain), traces of which can still be found in a handful of surviving structures. The treasure room, for its part, was a more flexible “overflow” space, sometimes equipped with extra layers of security, for the safeguarding of items ranging from vessels, vestments, and monies to relics, reliquaries, and muniments. As such, treasure houses played a critical role in the day-to-day operation of large religious foundations, facilitating their care of objects whose value was both earthly and heavenly.
Chapter 2 explores the varied architectural precedents for the medieval treasure house. This eye-opening survey begins, appropriately enough, in the late antique Mediterranean with Paulinus’s famous description of his basilica at Nola, built just after 400, which was distinguished by a triconch terminus whose side apses functioned as storage spaces for holy volumes (left) and holy vessels (right). The popularity of the arrangement is suggested by its employment at several sixth-century basilicas in Rome. But there were other configurations. The sanctuary of the longitudinally planned church of San Giovanni Evangelista in Ravenna was flanked by rectangular chambers. The sanctuary of the centrally planned church of San Vitale in Ravenna was flanked by circular chambers. (Other paired arrangements are documented at the church of the Holy Prophets, Apostles, and Martyrs at Jerash in Jordan and at the church of the Theotokos at Mount Gerizim in Palestine.) Even more distinctive was a type of treasury associated with lavish imperial churches: a semi-autonomous rotunda of a kind represented by the surviving fifth-centuryskeuophylakion (storehouse) at Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Northern European examples, for their part, were no less diverse--although the evidence is sparer. Of special importance is the information furnished by the well-known St. Gall Plan, created around 800, which illustrates a hypothetical church with a sanctuary flanked to the north by a two-story chamber containing a scriptorium and a library and to the south by a two-story chamber containing a sacristy and a vestry. To what extent fully realized churches of the period followed such an ambitious arrangement is difficult to determine. Charlemagne’s palace chapel at Aachen, it is suggested, had a pair of two-story auxiliary structures (replaced in later centuries). The tenth-century abbey church at Cluny is described as having a multi-level sacristy. The eleventh-century abbey church at Montecassino is described as having a multi-room sacristy. Yet, according to Milner (who pursues the point more fully in subsequent chapters), it was perhaps the example of several “biblical” treasuries that had the greatest impact on the imaginations of those responsible for the treasure houses erected in Britain after the Norman Conquest of 1066--namely the tomb of Christ (associated with the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem), the earthly Temple (specifically the Sancta sanctorum or Holy of Holies) described in 2 Chronicles, and the heavenly Temple (specifically the gazophylacium or treasure room) described in Ezekiel.
Chapters 3, 4, and 5 investigate treasure houses built for communities of regular monks in eleventh- and twelfth-century England. These fall into two main groups. Among the first were several eleventh-century examples erected at Canterbury Cathedral Priory, Winchester Cathedral Priory, and Ely Abbey (later Ely Cathedral Priory). These, it is shown, were relatively minor architectural affairs insofar as they stood inside the bodies of their respective church complexes in the form of sacristies located under the tribunes of cloister-facing transept arms, and treasuries located over the slypes of transept-facing claustral ranges. The emphasis in such early examples, Milner argues, was on architectural discretion--an attitude in keeping with the essentially private nature of their monastic communities. Subsequent treasure houses dateable to the twelfth century, however, betray a different kind of approach. Among the most notable examples discussed were those built at the same three churches. At Ely, where the earlier sacristy was demolished, a new sacristy was created in the adjacent transept aisle. At Winchester, where the earlier sacristy was retained, a new treasury was created in the adjacent transept aisle. In both cases, the work was of a richer architectural character than earlier examples, distinguished by decorative arcading and luxurious carving. More extensive still was the ensemble erected at Canterbury, where Archbishop Anselm’s new choir was equipped with two treasure houses in the form of tower-like radiating chapels, the north of which was subsequently expanded by means of the addition of a large vestry whose crypt-level porch provided access between the monastic cloister and the monastic cemetery. Here, as in subsequent chapters, Milner returns to the issue of architectural iconography, arguing that the Canterbury vestry may have been modeled after the Golden Gate in Jerusalem, which was widely understood by medieval authorities to be the treasury of the Jewish Temple. She also points to other significant architectural parallels closer to home--including the lofted treasure house at Noyon Cathedral and the vaulted treasury at St. Pantaleon’s, Cologne.
Chapters 6 and 7 investigate treasure houses built for communities of secular canons in twelfth- and thirteenth-century England. These fall into two main groups. Among the first were several twelfth-century examples erected at Old Sarum Cathedral, Hereford Cathedral, and Ripon Minster. These, it is demonstrated, were relatively major architectural affairs insofar as they stood outside the bodies of their respective church complexes in the form of multi-cell rectangular annexes located near or along the east ends. The emphasis in such early examples, Milner argues, was on architectural distinction--an attitude in keeping with the essentially public nature of their collegiate communities. Subsequent treasure houses dateable to the thirteenth century, however, betray a different kind of approach. Among the most notable examples discussed were those built at three different churches. At Beverley Minster, where the whole of the church was rebuilt, a lower treasury and an upper chapter house and sacristy were housed in a small octagonal structure with a short vestibule. At Wells Cathedral, where the whole of the church was rebuilt, a lower treasury and sacristy and an upper chapter house were housed in a large octagonal structure with a long vestibule. In both cases, the work was of a richer architectural character than earlier examples, distinguished by decorative arcading and luxurious carving. More extensive still was the ensemble erected at Salisbury Cathedral, where Bishop Poore’s new church was equipped with a treasure house in the form of a two-story octagonal annex, the lower level of which functioned as a vestry and sacristy and the upper level of which functioned as a treasure room. Here, as in previous chapters, Milner returns to the issue of architectural iconography, arguing that the Salisbury treasure house (together with its siblings at Beverley and at Wells) may have been modeled after the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, which was widely understood by medieval authorities to be the core of the Jewish Temple. She also points to other significant architectural parallels closer to home, including the centralized chapter house at Worcester Cathedral and the octagonal water tower at St. Bavo’s, Ghent.
In chapter 8, the reader returns to the world of the cloister, where attention is trained on a very special church, Westminster Abbey, rebuilt by King Henry III (r. 1216–1272) to stage the performance of royal coronations, royal commemorations, and devotions to the cult of the royal saint, Edward the Confessor. Milner explores how no fewer than four spaces created for the church’s vast treasures met interlocking needs for invisibility and impregnability (longstanding Benedictine concerns), formal opulence, and functional convenience. The first of these was St. Faith’s Chapel, located next to the south transept arm, which served as the combined sacristy and vestry for the resident monastic community. The second was a chamber below the chapter house on the east side of the south transept that probably functioned as a treasure room for the Crown. The third was a chamber above the cloister walk on the west side of the south transept that possibly functioned as an accounting room for the Crown. (The provision of both a treasure room and an accounting room would have greatly facilitated the logistics of Henry’s reconstruction project.) The fourth space, which, unlike the others, was much more conspicuous given its location on the north (public) side of the church, was the so-called sacristaria--a large structure, long since destroyed, that, it is argued, housed the treasures associated with various royal rituals. One of the highlights of this chapter is the way in which Milner mobilizes the evidence of multiple media--not just architecture--to explore medieval attitudes toward the care of ecclesial treasure. Illustrative is her examination of St. Faith’s Chapel. The provision of corbel sculptures depicting menacing faces is analyzed and interpreted not merely as internal decoration but as a means of protecting the church’s riches. The provision of wall paintings depicting select saints is analyzed and interpreted not merely as external decoration but as a means of promoting the church’s relics. Even the dedication of the chamber itself is shown to be significant insofar as, if the eleventh-century Book of Sainte Foy is any guide, St. Faith was perceived to be a particularly aggressive protector of ecclesial treasures. What emerges from this chapter, then, is a sense that, by the middle of the thirteenth century, the treasure house had become a powerful vehicle for accomplishing multiple institutional priorities.
This theme continues into chapter 9, the book’s final section, which examines three later thirteenth-century treasure house “towers” erected at the secular cathedrals of Lichfield, Lincoln, and Exeter. These multi-level rectangular structures, it is noted, were very different in conception from the polygonal treasure houses that had been popular at secular institutions a generation beforehand--although the reason for the change in planning is never fully investigated. Lichfield’s, on the one hand, was built in a maximal style, complete with pinnacled turrets, which gave it the appearance of a kind of reliquary (possibly inspired by the postulated function of the uppermost chamber as a storeroom for the cathedral’s relics). Lincoln’s, on the other hand, was built in a minimal style, complete with (now lost) crenellated parapets, which gave it the appearance of a kind of strongbox (possibly inspired by the postulated function of the uppermost chamber as a storeroom for the cathedral’s records). At Exeter, by contrast, there were two treasure houses--one on either side of the cathedral’s east arm. It is plausibly suggested that the northern structure was used by the canons, and the southern structure was used by the bishop.
Milner, in sum, is to be heartily congratulated for this path-breaking study. As her work makes readily apparent, those who commissioned and constructed medieval treasure houses invested a considerable amount of care and creativity in their architectural arrangement, frequently incorporating a hand-picked selection of regressive features (round arches) and/or progressive features (rib vaults) to emphasize their security, sacrality, and splendor. (Indeed, for this reader, the possibility that the treasure house functioned as a “testing ground” for architectural experimentation across the period is one that merits further exploration.) While one might be inclined to contest the occasional claim--see, for instance, the idea that the design of Lincoln’s treasure house was inspired by Richard of St. Victor’s twelfth-century drawing of Ezekiel’s Heavenly Temple--the overall synthesis (not to mention the wealth of photographs of generally inaccessible spaces) is indisputably valuable. It will no doubt remain the standard reference on the subject for a long time to come.