writing and reading

yes, I've actually started writing something. High time. That was yesterday though.. After an inspiring debate with a long lost friend on Thursday evening, I spent the rest of the night constructing first sentences and chapter structures - unfortunately only on my mind, as I was in bed then. Obviously the next morning, all my lovely compositions were gone. Nevertheless I started WRITING on Friday morning. Beginning with general stuff about literature. do you wanna know?

Hmm, it's basicly about there not being too many art historians who have dealt with the topic thoroughly. There is one Lefèvre-Pontalis who wrote two pretty detailed essays in 1886 and 1919. And there is not too much more new stuff. BUT the good thing is, that a very industrious historian (A. Sohn, as mentioned before) wrote two highly interesting pieces on Saint Martin des Champs and there are several publications by the archaeologists who've been involved in the digging going on there in the 1990s.

btw:
Most texts are in French. Which wouldn't be a real problem if technical words were used consistantly. Or translated consistantly...

there's also a really good website with pictures of romanesque and gothic buildings, I can recommend to anyone interested:
http://romanes.com

that's what I'm up to at the moment.
WrItInG
wRiTiNg

Henry Ist, King of France gives privileges to Saint Martin des Champs

book illumination
British Museum, London,
ms. Add. 11662, fol.4
(dated 1079-1096)

linguam latinam sacram cognoscere, studiare et sapere necesse est

currently I'm working on all the old documents that proove that something that many people claim to be true actually happened. It's quite fascinating to find yourself reading nearly 1000 year old texts. And mostly they are quite easy to understand (see the green lines form the dedication charta on the bottom right of the page) - at least once you've got used to having a giant dictionary on your lap most of the time. Its interesting how you can even read between the lines. HAINRICUS' reasons for his foundations are pretty obvious. He was old and ill, and worried about his spiritual welfare as well as the future of his kingdom. Thus, in the few months before his death he founded Saint Martin des Champs and a lithurgical memorial donation at St.Remi in Reims, and announced his son Philipp to be successor to the throne. That all makes perfect sense. But why did his son, Philipp, that is Philipp Ist, King of France, after continuing his father's foundation for a few years, turn Saint Martin des Champs into something completely different - he exchanged the secular canon monks for Clunacian ones, decreased the independant status of the abbey by turning it into a priory and put it under the control of the abbot of Cluny, then Hugo Ist... hmm, Andreas Sohn gives nice answers to this. He's my favourite in this whole literary battle anyway. His arguments are fresh, he seems to trace back everything himself (a good opportunity to find other people's mistakes) and always gives the exact sources of what he's claiming. A model of a historian. Pity he isn't an art historian; on the other hand I wouldnt have anything to do here, if he was.

apologeez

sorry guys (is anyone reading this at all? hopefully not, its actually all quite top secret), due to technical problems and malfunctions I havent been able to access that is to edit this luvly page. Although I have been way to lazy in terms of working on my project its not like I didnt do anything at all. Im sitting ovet the document thing (Depoin and Company) and have come up with some great charts. Ill show you later, along with some new pictures.. need to rush off (blood to the head) now.

PS: got flagged in the meantime.. yay.