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Gothicissimus

@gothicissimus.bsky.social

34 followers 47 following 55 posts

The wonders created by builders of old. Photography, history, exploring dark nooks & crannies, books. All pictures and opinions of them are my own!

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Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · Dec 15

The 14th century pulpitum of Lincoln cathedral stands beneath a waterfall of modern light. #gothic #cathedral #church

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Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · 4d

A puzzle for you. A gravestone in Salisbury cathedral, England.

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · 18d

This is the steepest ancient amphitheatre in the world. At Pergamon in Turkey, it is on the side of the mountain itself and needed to be steep to fit there. Notice there is no room for a full orchestra, here being just a semi-circle. The valley floor beyond is some 300 metres below.

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · 23d

An early church? A medieval monastery? A Roman vault?
Although similar in form it's the barrel vaulted winter quarters of the Sultanhani Seljuk caravanserai. Begun in 1229 it's the largest medieval caravanserai in Turkey, providing shelter to travellers on the Silk Road section from Konya to Iran.

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · 24d

Minaret at sunset.
Neveshir, Cappadocia, Turkey.

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · 26d

A script of great beauty, both animated and expansive in the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul.
The western world with its Latin letters has trouble matching the sheer artistic impact of this, nor can we decipher it from a knowledge of Latin or Greek, so what does it mean?

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · Jul 20

An old, old song I heard just once but have always remembered:

"Be kind to yourself,
when you're tired of yourself,
don't go mixing the reds,
along with the blues."

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · Jul 9

My point was the reason behind the question, not the form of the question itself. Starmer knows beforehand what Badenoch is going to ask and has prepared that theatrical, playing to the gallery response (who wouldn't?) One word or fifty she has cleverly elicited a commitment he may find he regrets.

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · Jul 9

She's setting a trap for the Chancellor's autumn statement at the end of October. Useful ploy to extract a commitment on those 3 now as the Government will have to raise taxes another way to pay for the costs of the welfare u-turn. That then makes them look untrustworthy. Not so stupid as it seems.

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · Jul 4

Churches are built of stone to last? Not always. The left nave of St Catherine's in Honfleur, France. Wood built it dates from 1468, so long ago the 'War of the Roses' was ongoing in England. The church is unusual in having 2 naves, the later from 1496 also wooden.
#churches #architecture #honfleur

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · Jun 23

A four winged raptor. The serendipity of taking animal pictures.
#Birds #Dordogne #Wildlife

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · Jun 21

In the French religious wars (1564/98) this large XVIIc Black Madonna was taken from its hilltop church, carried down to the River Dordogne and thrown in. Recovered later, battered but miraculously intact it was returned. Her right arm is in an interestingly relaxed pose.
#Madonna #Dordogne #Limeuil

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · Jun 21

The things you never consider: Palaeolithic people only made, drew or painted animals and human forms, never plants or trees.
Which is why this beautiful piece of bone is extremely rare, flowers having been cut into it.
c. 16,000 - 12,000 BC

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · Jun 18

On the left, a reproduction of a wild horse carving in the French National Museum of Prehistory, les Eyzies; next to a photo of the actual carving still in La Chaire à Calvin rock shelter, Charente. Magdalenian period c.13000 BCE. Wonderful lines.
#Prehistory #Caveart #Stoneage #Magdalenian #France

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · May 18

Do you not just love it when little souls prove they have ambition (with a little support from the neighbours.)

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · May 15

A view from the Admiral's window on the oldest navy ship still in commission in the World today, of one of the newest.

220 years after his death, Lord Nelson would have seen this view from his cabin on HMS Victory - the 65,000 ton HMS Queen Elizabeth at her Portsmouth mooring.
(Victory 3,500 tons!)

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · May 15

Superb.

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · May 14

Is protecting the environment achieved better by educating society about its importance, or by writing laws to punish those that harm it?

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · May 14

See his coat of arms above. Below the grille are steps to a small chamber where George and his wife were laid to rest, nothing remains of them today. Shakespeare claims he was ordered to be drowned by Richard, his younger brother. He was an unreliable ally for Edward and Richard in the war at times.

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · May 14

#WarsoftheRoses #EdwardIV #RichardIII. The eldest brother usurped the throne from his cousin, the youngest lost it.
In Tewkesbury Abbey it is easy to miss this grille in the floor where the middle brother, George, Duke of Clarence was buried after being allegedly drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine!

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · May 13

Wandering around cathedrals or churches can turn up oddities. Not the out of place, garish model lion here, but the item beneath.
A rare example of a "ducking-stool," which gave dishonest tradesmen or scolding women a public "ducking" in the pond or river so they mended their ways. Unlikely to work!

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · Apr 4

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-L%...
Found it, it is by a French artist, details are on English wiki.

Jean-Léon Gérôme - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · Apr 4

Yes, you did, thank you, 1875. It is a very striking painting.

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Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · Apr 4

Do you have more information on this picture? Artist? Date? Where is it kept now?

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Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · Feb 1

You could not fault their commitment, though. Over the years I've seen other teams just stop trying in that situation and they never did. I saw lots of promise which, with increased experience, could make for a very good team down the road.

Gothicissimus @gothicissimus.bsky.social · Jan 28

I now frequently find that Nanny Grammaria is an unwelcome guest when using Office, Pages and various mails.
I am so pleased to have the predecessor to AI installed, NI.
Otherwise known as Natural Intelligence.