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Byland Tiles


Byland Tiles
Photo Information
Copyright: Robert Janovski (robiuk) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2002 W: 173 N: 2263] (9755)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-04-28
Categories: Artwork, Ruins
Camera: Minolta Dimage 7Hi, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM, Lexar CF 256MB 12x
Exposure: f/3.5, 1/750 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Europe, mes préférées [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2005-11-01 14:07
Viewed: 942
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 28
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Here we are at the Byland Abbey again, following my recent post.

Byland was founded as a Savigniac house in 1134, but was brought within the Cistercian family in 1147, when Savigny and her affiliations were absorbed by the Cistercian Order. The community had a rather unsettled start and the monks moved five times before they eventually established a thriving monastery at the present site of New Byland, near Coxwold. Byland’s early history was marked by disputes with Furness and Calder regarding its independence, and with its neighbouring houses at Rievaulx and Newburgh. The monks overcame these hardships and by the late twelfth century Byland’s reputation was such that it was described by a Yorkshire Augustinian as one of the ‘three shining lights of the North’.

Although Byland did not have achieve the celebrity or financial success of its neighbour, Rievaulx, the monastery was renowned for sheep-rearing and the export of wool, and its twelfth-century church was amongst the most impressive in Cistercian Europe. The community experienced mixed fortunes throughout the Middle Ages. Some of the monks’ misfortunes were of their own making; others were caused by external factors including war, famine and plague. At the time of the Dissolution Byland was valued at £238 9s 4d and, according to the duke of Norfolk, exercised more hospitality than any other house in the region.

The monastic ruins at Byland are of considerable importance today. Of particular interest are thirteenth-century floor tiles in the abbey church and an altar table, which is now in Ampleforth. A stone lectern base recovered from the chapter house is the only surviving example of its kind in England.

This is particularly impressive in the south transept and offers a glimpse of just how magnificent the interior of the church would have been in the Middle Ages. The community had a tilery at ‘Tile House grange’, which was established at Old Byland when the monks relocated to Stocking in 1147. However, the fact that the tiles at Byland, Fountains, Meaux and Rievaulx are similar in design and were manufactured using the same techniques suggests that whilst they were made at different kilns, they were probably fashioned by the same men.


Post-processing in this case involved adjusting the exposure for +1 stop, channel curving to get most accurate colours, vignetting and some light sharpening.
Galeota, alvaraalto, Tue, Cormac, vlado, wilkinsonsg, Michael_Gan, pamastro, zorro, hubert has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To vlado: hope you'll like the stayrobiuk 3 12-19 15:30
To wilkinsonsg: Knight on the tilesrobiuk 1 11-03 13:12
To Michael_Gan: while standing on this floorrobiuk 1 11-03 13:05
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Critiques [Translate]

Hi Robi, good work on textures and a particularly interesting subject according to your exhaustive note. I like yur framing and the way you focused on a detail with a geometrical dimension. Cheers.

Hi Robi,
Great info and a excellent picture. The colours are marvelous. There are so much of this interesting old places in England and Scotland.
groet Rob

  • Great 
  • Tue Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5152 W: 56 N: 7274] (23275)
  • [2005-11-01 19:48]

Hej Robi,
Wonderful idea for a picture. I like the textures on the tiles as well as their wonderful colours! Very well captured. :-)
Hilsner,
Lars

  • Great 
  • Cormac Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3197 W: 56 N: 5876] (24527)
  • [2005-11-01 22:26]

The texture and feel apparent in this shot is almost tangible! The detail is incredible, and the colour so rich. I like the decayed beauty in these tiles, which speaks of great age and history. Well done!

  • Great 
  • Cos Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 309 W: 2 N: 278] (1560)
  • [2005-11-02 4:02]

Hi Robi
Excellent detail, tones and textures with this shot. Good note too. Well done.
Regards
Sarah

  • Great 
  • vlado Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 93 W: 11 N: 16] (174)
  • [2005-11-02 7:16]
  • [+]

Hi

A very orignial shot with a good realisation. Fine colors and sharpness may be just a bit overexposed, but still a very good shot. Also very interesting notes.

Regards
(hope you'll like the stay ;))

Beautiful warm rustic colours and a sharp image creates a very attractive graphic image, the note is also informative.

BTW - Is it true that the monks once found a Knight sleeping on these? - in other words they had a Knight on the tiles (groan).

Hey Robert, you have a very keen eye for attractive details and you're showing us another example in this picture. Nice textures, paintings and colours are combined in this image, but what I find most attractive is the level of degradation of these tiles. At first I thought it was another wall, but then I read your note and saw that it is a floor. Did you take the picture while standing on this floor or from a higher level?

Hi Robert, I tried similar shots (walls or bas-relief) in the abbey of Villers but I did not get anything as picturesque as this. I had problems getting the right angle and light to reveal reliefs and textures and also the stone color was much colder. Your picture is a bit abstract as it is and I like it that way. However it could be more descriptive if you included something like a dead leaf or weed growing between the tiles. This would help recognising you pictured the ground.

Fun detail of these tiles, Robert. The varying textures are all well captured here. I like the subtle colors, too. Alternatively, you could tilt this shot to see if you like the changes. Nice work.

Picking out my likings for the fine colored graphical appoach, excellent color/sharpness.

Une explosion de couleurs, c'est superbe !
Marie

  • Great 
  • zorro Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 127 W: 119 N: 13] (578)
  • [2006-05-28 10:19]

very nice texture,you've got good and natural materials.tnx for posting this photo it helps me a lot.big smile for you

With warm and winding colors as a quilt
Well done
Bye
Marco

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