throughout the ruin in sheets of livid flame; hail, succeeded by
torrents of rain, deluged the plain, and
“Peal on peal
Crashed horrible, convulsing earth and heaven!”
During this sudden and tremendous visitation, the indignant spirit of
<g>Strongbow</g>--accompanied by the spectral forms of many whose death-sleep
had been thus wantonly disturbed--arose from the grave, and fixed his
eyes upon the petrified strangers. Then raising his gauntleted hand, he
pointed to the abbey door--which at the sight had mysteriously
opened--and sternly beckoned the impious visitors to depart! The awful
signal was instantly obeyed; and some crawling, others trembling--all
pale and speechless, the daring adventurers rushed from his presence,
they knew not how, and fled they knew not whither; while the savoury
viands left behind them were instantly swept over the abbey walls in a
whirlwind.
<g>The Engraved Views of Tinterne Abbey.</g>
I.--<g>The West Entrance</g>,[180] a beautiful specimen of Decorated Gothic;
the principal feature of which is the great west window, of which all
visitors and writers on this subject have expressed their unqualified
admiration. The stonework of this magnificent feature is nearly entire;
the five mullions, tall, slender, and elaborately moulded, retain their
original forms; and, terminating in the rich flowing tracery that fills
and completes the arch, appear as if they wanted nothing but the ancient
painted glass to restore the window to its primitive splendour. The ivy
inserting itself into every joint, and hanging in graceful festoons,
seems more like artificial garlands woven in honour of a fête day, than
as the sure emblem and evidence of dilapidation and decay. Beneath this
window is the richly-carved double doorway leading into the nave. On the
right hand is another window communicating with the southern aisle,
surmounted by a window of three compartments, and two buttresses
terminating in pinnacles, of which only one remains. On the left hand is
the north aisle, in form and dimensions exactly corresponding with the
former, but much less perfect. Closely adjoining this were the abbey
cloisters, the remains of which have been noticed in a former page.
II.--<g>The Vale of Tinterne</g>,[181] as it is seen from a point--in the woods
covering the left bank of the Wye--called the Devil’s Pulpit. This
engraving conveys a most correct, beautiful, and comprehensive view of
the abbey, and its circumjacent scenery. In the backgrounds is seen the
hill country stretching westward towards Monmouth. On the left, crowning
an eminence that overlooks the village and abbey, stands the church of
Chapel-hill, with the characteristic feature of an immense yew-tree
expanding its gloomy branches over the cemetery. Beneath is seen the
public road from Chepstow running westward, and branching off in the
village to right and left; the latter branch running along the hills
towards Raglan, and the former following the course of the Wye to
Monmouth. To the right, under the wooded rocks which appear to overhang
its channel, the Wye is seen making a curve like a horseshoe, so as to
form a peninsula, the outer rim of which, as described in the text, is
lined with houses that rise one above the other, and planted here and
there with tall poplars, and refreshed with numerous springs and
rivulets, that, after murmuring down the rocks, throw their crystal
tribute into the Wye. Here the river is seen enlivened with
passage-boats, by means of which a daily communication between the
villages above and below the abbey is kept open for the conveyance of
market produce, or the convenience of passengers.
In the foreground lies the glory of the scene--the <g>abbey</g> and its
appendages--the latter much curtailed; but once, as history informs us,
enclosing the goodly space of thirty-four acres. The view looks down
upon the conventual church, showing the nave and transepts in their
cruciform proportions, with the magnificent east window opening upon
some rich productive orchards, the ground of which was consecrated in
former times as the abbey cemetery. Stretching along the river eastward
is a luxuriant tract of pasture land, called the Abbots’ Meadows,
already described. Nothing can be more soothing and tranquil than this
scene, embosomed, as it is, among sylvan landscapes, and bordered by a
river whose smooth yet swift-flowing waters are heard in the calm summer
evening like distant music.
“And ever, as the summer sun goes down,
From bank to bank, amidst yon leafy bower,
The woodland songsters trill harmonious notes;
Till every tree that crowns the verdant steep,
Or shades the stream, that flows in amber light,
Sends forth its melody.”
III.--<g>From the Chancel</g>, westward.[182] This is justly considered to be
the most imposing view in the whole abbey; and is that to which every
stranger visiting the ruins is conducted at the close of his survey. The
point from which it is taken, is under the area of the great tower, near
the further angle of the north transept and chancel. Looking through the
lofty arches that supported the central tower, it takes in the west
window, the window of the north aisle, the nave, and on the right, the
<g>doorway</g> leading into the cloisters--of which an engraving is here
given--with the massive clustered pillars, lofty and delicately moulded
arches, in which an airy lightness, combined with strength and solidity,
strike the spectator with feelings of awe and admiration, to which it is
hardly possible to give expression--
“Silence sublime, and stillness how profound;
Yet every arch, with clustered ivy hung,
And every column, as thou gazest round,
Seems to address thee in thy native tongue;
Telling how first these mighty structures rose,
And how they fell beneath their Vandal foes.”
In the centre are the two sepulchral slabs, already described in another
portion of the text; and on the left, leaning against the base of one of
the pillars, is a mutilated statue, supposed to be that of Roger Bigod,
or Gilbert de Clare, as shown in the woodcut, page 41. In various parts
of the chancel, choir, and transepts, as well as in the nave and aisles,
many dilapidated fragments are collected in heaps; among which the
visitor will distinguish pieces of elaborate carving, particularly some
ingenious and fancifully sculptured <g>bosses</g>, the connecting ornaments of
the richly-groined roof that once overhung this gorgeous temple, and
echoed back the anthems of its assembled choir.
IV.--<g>From the Ferry</g>,[183] on the opposite or left bank of the Wye. On
the foreground is the landing-place, from which a road,[184] or
bridle-path, winding along the wooded heights, already noticed in our
description of the ‘Devil’s Pulpit,’ presents many picturesque, and some
romantic points of view. The river is here the boundary line between the
counties of Monmouth and Gloucester, or, anciently, between England and
South Wales. Directly opposite, and terminating the causeway leading up
from the ferry, is an archway, the ancient <g>watergate</g> of the abbey.
Through this gate the monastery received its supplies from the barges
that daily ascended and descended the river, or lay at anchor under the
protection of the abbey; for here, we were told, there is depth of
water--which is increased at every tide--sufficient to float vessels of
seventy tons burthen. The grove, which occupies the space between the
water and the abbey walls, consists chiefly of apple and pear-trees,
which form a continuous girdle of orchards round the abbey church, and
are particularly luxuriant and productive, on the site of the ancient
burial-ground. The ring of offices with which the abbey was originally
enclosed on nearly three sides, has almost disappeared, leaving only the
foundations, upon which, from time to time, mean hovels have been
hastily thrown together--ill adapted for the health, comfort, or even
convenience of human beings.
The prominent features of the abbey as seen from this point, and taken
in detail are--the <g>nave</g>, terminating in the great west window, with its
own five lancet-pointed windows rising above the trees; the north
<g>transept</g>, part of the south, and two windows of the <g>chancel</g>.
Following the course of the river eastward, richly-wooded rocks are
seen, closing the landscape, and commanding the minute and beautiful
view of the “Vale of Tinterne,” already given as an illustration. All
beyond the white sail on the stream is a scene of richly-wooded rocks on
the left bank, and on the right a wide expanse of smooth and verdant
meadows. The hills, immediately overlooking the abbey on the south,
possess the same picturesque character as those opposite, but are
enlivened by more frequent habitations, and with more traces of industry
and cultivation. The ferry-house, close to the watergate, presents some
features of antiquity; and stands, probably, on the old foundation of
what was occupied by the abbot’s <g>Charon</g> of the olden time. A glance at
the debris, under which some of the monastic buildings here lie half
buried, suggests an idea that, with due permission and encouragement,
antiquaries could hardly fail to discover excellent “diggings” in these
purlieus. But thus far the prying archæologist has been regarded with
suspicion and distrust, and condemned to look upon the antiquities of
Tinterne as treasures laid up for the benefit of future generations.
V.--<g>Doorway leading into the Cloisters.</g>--This beautiful specimen of art
is one of the very finest in the abbey. The elegance of the design is
only surpassed by the elaborate taste and skill displayed in its
execution. The clustered mouldings of the doorway; the wavy multifoil
outline of the inner arch; the beautifully carved ornament that
surrounds the whole like a riband of delicate lacework; the whole
crowned with the symbolic trefoil resting on the apex of the arch,
present a combination of features--all harmonizing, and all elaborately
adjusted to one another--rarely to be met with even among the
masterpieces of Decorated Gothic.[185]
Looking through this doorway, the window in the distance is that of the
southern aisle, through which are seen the woods on the opposite hill;
and inside the walls the ivy is seen climbing in verdant masses along
the arches and pillars of the nave. Under the broken steps, where the
group of figures is represented, are the remains of sepulchral
stone-slabs, covering the resting-place of the old abbots, and formerly
inlaid with the symbols of their holy office, as
[Illustration: _The Door from Cloister into Sacristy._