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MEDIEVAL NEW YORK

Paul Halsall/Fordham University
Fall 1996-Spring 1998 Classes
Introduction to Medieval History

since May 25, 1998
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The city of New York is a great creation of modern American culture, but to the eyes of a medievalist the histories of the European, Byzantine, and Islamic Middle Ages are documented in its streets and buildings:

After reading through the contents of this site, you will have little doubt about just how deeply, and in how many different ways, the European middle ages permeate New York's life. Far from being a matter of antiquarianism, without some knowledge of the middle ages, it is hardly possible to understand the city and its culture.

This website is the result of class project to which all students of Paul Halsall's 1996-1998 introductory medieval history courses have contributed. It should serve as a fairly complete guide to Medieval New York. Each student [or groups of two or three] took a particular aspect of the middle ages in New York, researched it, visited it if appropriate, secured pictures, and wrote about it. Some pages are clearly better than others. Students were asked to secure permission for any images/texts they used, and the individual pages are copyright to the student creator(s) of the page.

Contents


I Medieval Architecture

Architecture presents perhaps the most dramatic impact of the Middle Ages in New York. Romanesque, Gothic, pre-Gothic and Gothic revival churches abound. Jewish and Muslim buildings also draw on the building styles of the past.

BYZANTINE

Byzantine church architecture in the large domed basilica form represented by Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is represented in New York only in a somewhat odd fashion by Holy Trinity RC Church on West 82nd St. Later styles - which emphasized smaller churches with domes on a square base - are more visible.

ROMANESQUE

"Romanesque" is the name given to the distinctive style of Western medieval building before the twelfth century. The "Roman" comes from the use of columns, barrel vaults, and rounded arches, but the effect is quite different from ancient Roman architecture. In England the style is often called "Norman". The simplicity of Romanesque appeals to the modern eye.

GOTHIC

"Gothic" architecture begins with the building of the Abbey of St. Denis in the mid twelfth century. It is marked by pointed arches, complex vaults, and the use, in some cases, of flying buttresses. In practice many buildings show both "Romanesque" and "Gothic" characteristics [See the Chapter House at the Cloisters for example.] Gothic architecture underwent significant development after the twelfth-century, and also developed distinct national styles. See the Catholic Encyclopedia: Gothic Architecture for a pretty good online summary. There are more examples of varieties of Gothic architecture in New York than any other medieval style.

FAKE MEDIEVAL

The castles are fake, of course, but there many examples of Gothic elements being used in essentially modern buildings. They can still be enjoyable to visit.

  • Queen's Court, on Fordham's Rose Hill Campus, 1844 [Sarah Downey]
    Fordham's Rose Hill Campus contains an imitation medieval university quad. Along with the close-by University Church, one can sit here and dream of Oxford.
  • General Theological Seminary, another quad, (20th St. and 9th Avenue.)
  • City College - another quad, (Convent Avenue)
  • Plaza Hotel, Central Park South @ Grand Army Plaza. [Alexandra Chiurri and Gianna Ortiz]
    An attempt to imitate a late medieval French château

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II Medieval Life and Technology

We had to stretch just a little bit here! But there are elements of colonial New York sites which recall Medieval technology - a colonial farmhouse, the Snuff Mill, and brewing, are just three examples.

  • Dykeman House, 4881 Broadway @ 204th St. 1785 [Sondra Ganelli]
    This is the last remaining Colonial Farmhouse in New York - right in the middle of the vibrant Dominican community of Washington Heights. Colonial farms were not the same as medieval farms, but the farming and building methods brought over by European colonists did not emerge from nothing - they reflect adaptations of what was known to the New World setting.
  • Snuff Mill, in New York Botanical Garden, 1792 [Jaisy Reyes]
    The use of mills, and water wheel technology, was one of the most dramatic aspects of medieval life. Romans had known about water mills, but had not used them. In the medieval period, with its typically higher estimation of the value of work than the slave-society or Rome, technological innovation ran way ahead of the classical world. This mill in the Bronx was connected to the very New World trade of Tobacco, but its location and purpose recall an earlier past.
  • Brewing In New York [Ricardo Roces]
    Some modern industries are in direct continuity with medieval practices. This cannot be said for modern brewing, but recently in New York, older brewing methods have been revived in the belief that the beer tastes better. [It does.] Some even use 20oz pints [as in Britain], which turns out to the perfect measure for real beer.
  • Bowling Green [Paul Halsall]
    America's first public park was built for, and named after, a sport played since at least 1299 - crown.green (or lawn) bowling.
  • The Potter's Field

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III Medieval Geography

New York was named after the Duke of York, but York itself was an important medieval town. New York's geography is a patchwork of Dutch, English, Native American names. The European one's at least present a physical memory of old Europe.

  • New York Botanical Garden [offsite link]
    In a sense the only real "medieval" [and also ancient, etc.] part of New York City is in the New York Botanical Garden (right next to Fordham's Bronx campus). The Botanical Garden alone contain old growth forest with in the City's boundaries. There are also occasional exhibitions reflecting medieval themes:- for example the early summer 1997 exhibition on plants from the Unicorn Tapestries.
  • Medieval Astoria [Paul Halsall]
    The medieval side of Archie Bunker's home town.
  • Town Names
    • Chelsea
    • Flatbush
    • Flushing
    • Greenwich
    • Haarlem
    • Pelham
    • York
    • Richmond
    • St. Albans
    • Roots of names ["wick", "chester", "hurst", "bay", "dale", "haven", etc.]

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IV Medieval Religious Echoes

Catholicism, Judaism and African-American Protestant Churches dominate New York's religious life. The first two, at least, have major historical antecedents in the European middle ages [Protestantism emerged a little later]. But all sorts of other echoes of religious practices which recall topics discussed in medieval courses also have New York reminders -- for instance saints' festivals, medieval "heresies", and churches with very different histories from the American mainstream. The emphasis here then, is not on religious architecture, but on religious practices.

GENERAL CHRISTIAN

  • The Cathedrals of New York [Paul Halsall]
    A whole slew of churches have cathedrals in New York. In all there are at least eighteen such structures located so far!
  • New York Churches Dedicated to Medieval Saints [Paul Halsall]
    At least 58 medieval Christian saints (between 312 and 1517) have about 114 churches named after them in New York. St. Nicholas has the most with eleven churches, including 2 Cathedrals.
  • The Cult of the Virgin Mary in New York [Paul Halsall]
    The growth of the cult of Virgin Mary is a distinctive feature of both Byzantine and Western Medieval Christianity. In a very real sense, New York is Mary's city. She has more churches here (over 95) than in any Medieval city, including Constantinople. There are also active apparition cults, regular processions, and Marian groups.

MEDIEVAL CATHOLICISM

Street festivals for Catholic saints occur all over New York. Many were originated by local ethnic neighborhood organizations seeking to recall the street festivals of the homeland. Today these events are dominated by greasy foods and stall games, but usually some sort of religious procession is involved as well. See the NYC government's calendar of street events.

  • San Gennaro Festival, 10-20th September, (in Mulberry St.) [offsite link]
    St. Januarius was an ancient Christian martyr, and patron of Naples. The feast has been held in New York since 1926. The feast today has more to do with gambling and sausages.
  • St. Anthony of Padua Festival, early June, Sullivan St., Soho.
  • Our Lady of Mount Carmel, August, @ 116th St.
  • Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and St. Paulinus of Nola,  mid July, North 8 and Havemeyer St., Williamsburg,  in Williamsburg/ Greenpoint, Brooklyn [offsite link]
    Famous for the dancing procession of the Giglio (a huge tower with a statute of Mary and an eight piece band on it) through the streets.
  • Halloween, (Greenwich Village) [David Earle, Stephanie Fike, and Michael Galkoski]
  • Relics and Preserved Bodies of Saints in New York
    • Mother Cabrini Shrine, Washington Heights [Jennifer McCabe]
      Mother Cabrini was an important figure in bringing aid to poor immigrants in New York. Her body, without its head, is, as far as we can establish so far, the only full body of a saint on public display in New York.
    • Pieces of the True Cross in New York
      The True Cross had an exciting career after its "invention" in the fourth century. There are several pieces in New York, including the Bronx [[If you know of more, email Paul Halsall, halsall@murray.fordham.edu]
      • St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue @ E. 50th St.
      • St. Vincent Ferrar, Lexington Ave @ E. 65th St
      • St. Helena's Church, The Bronx.
    • Old St. John's, Fordham University Church [Dan Venturi] - has relics of Jesuit North American Martyrs, [This is the same page as that for Fordham Church, listed under Gothic Architecture]
    • St. Vincent Ferrar [Tim McHale]- has relics of St. Vincent, all Dominican saints, St. Anne, St. Theresa, St. Bernadette of Lourdes, and St. Paul of the Cross. and a piece of the True Cross [This is the same page as that for St. Vincent Ferrar, listed under Gothic Architecture]
  • Medieval Religious Orders with New York Houses
    • Benedictines
    • Franciscans [Ian Trammell]
    • Dominicans [Tim McHale]
      [This is the same page as that for St. Vincent Ferrar, listed under Gothic Architecture]
    • Augustinians
    • Enclosed Monastaries

MEDIEVAL NON-CATHOLIC CHRISTIANITY

  • Monophysites
    • Armenian Orthodoxy in NYC [Oster], [descended from 5th century "Monophysites"]
    • The Coptic Church [descended from 5th century "Monophysites"]
      • St George Coptic Orthodox Church, 38-25 31st Street, Astoria, N.Y., 11101 [offsite link]
      • St. Mary and St. Antonios Coptic Orthodox Church, 606 Woodward Ave., Ridgewood, Queens.
      • Resurrection Catholic Coptic Church, 328 14th St, Brooklyn
    • The Ethiopian Orthodox Church
      St. Mary of Zion Church, 140 W. 176th St. Bronx
  • Eastern Orthodoxy
  • Western Non-Catholics
    • Waldensianism in New York [Paul Halsall]
      The First Waldensian Church of New York, 127 East 82d Street, (now Congregation Or Zarua). The building is non-descript, but has a fascinating history. See also First Presbyterian Church: Sanctuary Windows which has a window dedicated to Peter Waldo as a hero of the Reformation.
    • Hussites in New York
      Jan Hus Presbyterian Church, 351 E. 74th St. (212) 288-6743).

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V Medieval Museums

The robber barons of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries have ensured that New York has by far the finest collections of medieval art, artifacts, and documents in the Western hemisphere. The most famous example is the Metropolitan Museum's Cloisters collection, but that is only part of the treasure.

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VI Medieval Manuscript Collections

  • Jewish Theological Seminary, Broadway @ W. 120th St. [Aaron Herman]
    The collection at JTSA is perhaps the most important collection of Jewish manuscripts, and microfilms, in the world.
  • The Pierpont Morgan Library, 29 E. 36th St @ Park Aveneue South. Designer: Charles McKim [Danielle Reda and Nina V. Dzajkic]
  • New York Public Library
  • Columbia University Library
  • Fordham University Library [Jennifer Owens]
    Fordham has only a few late MSS, but has extensive facsimile collections.
  • New York University Library

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VII Medieval Art and Music

  • Gregorian Chant in New York [Laura Aquaviva and Sofia Diana]
  • Corpus Christi Church, 529 West 121th St @ Broadway [offsite link]
    The building is neo-classical, but the choir at the 11.15 am Sunday mass has the longest tradition of liturgical chant and polyphonic music in New York. It is composed of professional singers (which is rare in Catholic churches).
  • Polyphony.com [offsite link]
    A websote devoted to performances of medieval, Renaissance and baroque music in New York City.


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VIII Medieval Studies in the New York Area

  • Brooklyn College
  • Columbia University
  • Fordham
  • Hunter College
  • Queens College - Byzantine Studies
  • New York University

Medieval Interest Groups in New York

  • Medieval Club of New York
  • Society for Creative Anachronism [offsite link]
    The SCA is a medieval re-enactment club. [The link is to SCA's main website, from where New York groups can be accessed. There are apartments in New York with enough armor to slay several dragons.]

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IX Medieval People

There are not any Medieval people in New York, although there are many who are fairly "Gothic". There are, however, statues of Medieval People scattered around the city.

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LEGAL NOTICE

Medieval New York was created as a series of class projects by students of Paul Halsall at Fordham University, Fall 1996-Spring 1998. Text, layout and images were the work of the students, HTML by Paul Halsall.

Medieval New York describes as a group the various buildings and institutions which reflect the continuing impact of medieval art and life on the people and fabric of New York city. In no case are any of the student web pages to be taken as official productions or publications of either Fordham University, or the churches and institutions which are often the subjects.

In creating Medieval New York students were responsible for securing permissions to take photographs. The images and text of each page are copyright to the students involved and may not be reproduced off this site.

Since each and every student web page is linked to this main index page, it is a sufficient guide to the copyrights and claims made about the individual pages.

Last updated March 20, 2007



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