The Sun in the Oratory: Calendric Orientation of
Early Christian Chapels
Vance Tiede
Yale University
During Europe's Dark Ages, the metaphor of Christ
as the "Sun of Righteousness" (Malachi, 4:2, Vth Century BC) and "True
Sun" (Patrick and Sedulius Scottus, c. AD 450) inspired solar imagery both
on illuminated pages of Celtic Gospels and in carved motifs of High Crosses.
Because Romans referred to an ancient astronomical tradition among Celtic
Druids (Cæsar, c. 50 BC) and Irish Early Christian monk-scholars
preserved much of classical learning (Cahill, 1995), one may ask if the
monks also incorporated astronomical symbolism into ecclesiastical architecture
as they did into their iconography. To test this hypothesis, the author
surveyed 67 oratories in Ireland and Scotland, and matched corresponding
skyline declinations (AD 400-1100) for Irish Saint's Days derived from
Hawkins (1968), Ryan (1968) and Tuckerman (1964). He found that oratory
windows were not simply oriented to traditional pagan bonfire festival
days of Solstice, Quarter Day and Equinox as previously reported (Tiede,
1994). Orientation was as often to the sunrise on a Festival Day commemorating
an Early Christian saint's translation (i.e., removal to heaven without
death). The Vernal Equinox sunrise, for example, not only heralded the
approach of Passover/Eastertide, but also coincided with St. Patrick's
Day, 17 March AD 500 - 800. Digital 3-D models recreate the sunrise effects
in now ruined Early Christian monasteries in the British Isles, Gaul, North
Africa and Syria.
A hypothetical reconstruction of monastic affiliation
throughout Early Christendom based on oratory orientation is discussed.