How to Build a Cathedral
Group Members:
Building a cathedral can be fun and easy!
No, really.
Your tribe’s cathedral is going to have eight parts.
1) A stained glass window: This is a beautifully designed
window that usually tells a story about a particular
person. Sometimes, that person is a king, other times, a
religious leader. You are going to decide who is in your
stained glass window, and why.
2) A Doom Painting: Doom Paintings reminded
Christians that if they didn’t lead good lives, they went
to Hell and were punished for their sins. You need to
make a doom painting for your cathedral that reminds
people to lead good lives, and shows them the
consequences if they don’t.
3) A gargoyle: Gargoyles are carved stone statues that
served two functions: They were decorative, and they
were also waterspouts; they would drain rainwater
from the roof of a cathedral, usually through a hole in
the gargoyle’s mouth. Some people say that gargoyles
were used to scare evil spirits away from a church,
others say that they reminded church-goers that evil
was kept outside the church’s walls.
4) A statue: Statues remind us of important people to the
city, the country, or the world. Your cathedral needs to
have a statue of an important person. You decide who,
and you decide why.
5) A relic / shrine: “Relics” are objects that were once
used or touched by prominent people in a religious
faith. For example, the chains that were used to hold
St. Peter are in a cathedral in Rome. Often, relics are
the actual remains of a Saint. For example, the St.
Edward, also known as Edward the Confessor’s body
(his relic) is in a shrine in Westminster Abbey. A
shrine is a special case, stand, or altar used to display
relics to pilgrims.
6) Walls and windows: Medieval cathedrals in England
almost all look similar. They have what is called a
Gothic style, with tall, narrow windows, arches, and
lots of very intricate stonework. These designs are
beautiful, but they are also very functional in that they
support the weight of the building very well.
7) A guidebook for pilgrims: In the sixteenth century,
eighty per cent of all books published were guidebooks
for pilgrims, who traveled all over Europe and the
Middle East visiting holy sites, and sites of significance.
They believed that going on a pilgrimage to a holy site
would help them get into heaven. They could also pray
at holy sites, and ask for help with problems from the
Saints who were buried there, or connected to that
place.
8) A postcard: This is a very modern-day part of
cathedrals. Apart from pilgrims, cathedrals get
thousands of visitors per year who are interested in
taking part in the cathedral’s history, seeing the beauty
of the building, and visiting tombs and graves of
important people who are buried there. Postcards can
be sent to tell friends and loved ones where someone
has been, but they can also be used as souvenirs of a
place you’ve visited.
1) Stained Glass Window
This stained glass
window shows Mary
with the infant Jesus.
Look at the thick
lines between the
panes of glass that
make up the picture.
Also, notice the rich
colours that are used
to make this window.
You are going to make a stained glass window.
First, decide who you are going to make it about. You can
make it about anyone, it doesn’t have to be someone you
know about, but it has to be someone important for your
tribe’s cathedral.
I am going to make my stained glass window about:
I am doing it about this person because:
2) A Doom Painting
The left side of the
picture shows
Heaven, where
people are happy
and free.
In the middle of the
painting are Jesus and
the Saints, who judge
everyone and decide
who goes to Heaven
and who doesn’t.
The right side of
the picture shows
Hell, where people
are being
punished for their
sins.
A Doom painting is a specific kind of painting that depicts
(shows) what would happen when the world ends, and
everyone is getting judged by Christ. These paintings were
huge, and were put into cathedrals to remind Christians to
lead good lives, or they would go to Hell be punished for
their sins.
Your Doom painting should show the different elements
(parts) of any Doom painting: Heaven, Hell, and the Judge.
3) A Gargoyle
A gargoyle is a sculpted
stone statue on the
outside of a cathedral. It
is almost always a
mythical (made up)
creature, and can look
scary like a monster.
But, like everything in a
cathedral, it served a
purpose: to move water
off the roof. Usually,
water would run out of the gargoyles mouth.
When you make your gargoyle, you should make it scary
looking. Gargoyles usually sit on the corners of a cathedral,
near the roof.
This gargoyle has a bat’s head,
feathered wings, and looks down
scarily on the people below.
Water
drains out
of a
gargoyle’s
mouth.
4) A Statue
Your statue can look like anyone you want it to. It does not
have to look like either of these statues here, which are in
the Rochester Cathedral.
Statues are carved images of someone or something – an
angel, for example. They are in cathedrals as decoration,
and to memorialize people who might be buried there.
You need to decide who you are doing your statue of, and
why you think they should have a place in your cathedral.
I am doing a statue of:
I chose this person because:
5) A Relic and Shrine
Relics are physical reminders of important religious people
who lived a long time ago. The most important relics are
actual remains of a person who lived. The second-most
important relics are things that a person used or touched
when they were alive.
Shrines are things we build to hold relics, and where
pilgrims can visit and pray to the person the relic is attached
to.
This is a picture
of St. Edward’s
shrine in
Westminster
Abbey. It was
built to give
pilgrims a play
to pray to St.
Edward.
The coffin holding St.
Edward’s body is
somewhere around
here in the shrine.
These spaces here are
tall and wide enough to
allow pilgrims to kneel
inside, so they could be
as close as possible to
Edward’s body inside
the shrine.
6) Walls and Windows
Thick stonework
forms the wall of
your cathedral.
Cathedrals have very
distinctive walls and
windows. They usually
follow what is called a
Gothic design; they are
tall, narrow, and have
very pointed arches.
They design looks very
intricate, but it is also
very functional. You will
need to build your best
recreation of a cathedral
wall with a window in it.
You don’t need as much
detail as is in this
picture, but you should
show the brickwork of
the wall, and the shape o
the window.
If you are feeling ambitious, you can put your group’s
stained glass window into your cathedral wall (if it will fit)
or you can add your own stained glass… it’s up to you!
Notice
how
nice and
tall this
window
looks?
7) A Guidebook for Pilgrims
Did you know that in the sixteenth century, more than
eighty per cent of the books that were being published
were guidebooks for pilgrims?
Guidebooks for pilgrims can cover a range of topics. Things
like, how to get to the cathedral from a certain place; what to
expect at the cathedral; which religious services are offered
at the cathedral; which relics and religious artifacts can be
seen there… The list is long.
Your guidebook should cover the journey to your cathedral,
as well as describe the six features that can be seen there
(the gargoyle, the walls and windows, the shrine and relic,
the statue, the Doom painting, and the stained glass window
that your group has created).
The title of my guidebook is:
Some ideas I have for art on the cover are:
8) A Postcard
Postcards have been around almost as long as there has
been mail to be delivered. They are mementoes of visits, and
can also update your family and friends about where you
have been, and what you have been doing.
Postcards always have a
picture on the front, and it’s
usually a very peaceful scene
or image.
The back of the postcard
always contains a sentence or
two about the picture on the
front, printed on the bottom or
the top.
There is always a space for
someone to write on the back
of the postcard, and put an
address down.
Your postcard should have a
picture of your cathedral, as
well as a little bit of
information about it. You will
also need to write a message to someone on the back of your
postcard, talking about your visit.
What I want to write about my visit to the cathedral: