Our annual day schools in 2026 were held in Stoke Goldington Village Hall and were attended by about 40 delegates each day. The day schools provide a welcome opportunity to meet some of our members who usually attend lectures remotely. The programme over the two days was in the area of the Medieval World.
On Day 1, Dr Jonathan Foyle took us into the world of The Language of Medieval Arts. Starting with the meaning of symbols in church buildings, the talks moved onto the messages found in paintings of the medieval garden, as a symbol of Heaven, finishing with the role of animals to represent good and evil in the world.
The Little Garden of Paradise
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Professor Stephen Upex spoke about the development of Monastic Landscapes in Britain and their subsequent decline. He gave an overview of the power the monasteries held over the population at the time and an outline of their agricultural activities.
Fountains Abbey by Draco2008
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
