Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
styles: early Christian (round tower and St. Patrick's high cross), Romanesque (Cormac's
Chapel), and Gothic (the main cathedral).
• Follow this tour counterclockwise around the Rock. To start the tour, climb the indoor
stairs opposite the ticket desk.
Hall of the Vicars Choral:
ThisistheyoungestbuildingontheRock(early1400s).
It housed the minor clerics appointed to sing during cathedral services. These vicars—who
were granted nearby lands by the archbishop—lived comfortably here, with a large fire-
place and white, lime-washed walls (to reflect light and act as a natural disinfectant that
discouraged bugs as well). Window seats gave the blessedly literate vicars the best light to
read by. The furniture is original, but the oak timber roof is a reconstruction, built to medi-
eval specifications using wooden dowels instead of nails. The large wall tapestry, showing
King Solomon with the Queen of Sheba, contains intentional errors—to remind viewers
that only God can create perfection. The vicars, who formed a sort of corporate body to
assist the bishop with local administration, used a special seal to authorize documents such
as land leases. You can see an enlarged wooden copy of the seal (hanging above the fire-
place), depicting eight vicars surrounding a seated organist. It was a good system—until
some of the greedier vicars duplicated the seal for their own purposes, forcing the arch-
bishop to curtail its use.
• Go outside the hall and find...
St. Patrick's Cross:
St. Patrick baptized King Aengus at the Rock of Cashel in
about
A.D.
450. Legend has it that St. Patrick, intensely preoccupied with the holy cere-
mony, accidentally speared the foot of the king with his crosier staff while administering
the baptismal sacrament. But the pagan king stoically held his tongue until the end of the
ceremony, thinking this was part of the painful process of becoming a Christian. Probably
not that many other converts stepped forward that day.
This 12th-century cross, a stub of its former glory, was carved to celebrate the handing
over of the Rock to the Church 650 years after St. Patrick's visit. Typical Irish high crosses
use a ring around the cross' head to support its arms and to symbolize the sun (making
Christianity more appealing to the sun-worshipping Celts). But instead, this cross uses the
Latindesign:Theweightofthearmsissupportedbytwoverticalbeamsoneachsideofthe
main shaft, representing the two criminals who were crucified beside Christ (today only
one of these supports remains).
On my first visit, more than 30 years ago, the original cross still stood here, outside.
Butcenturies ofwindandrainwereslowlyerodingawayimportant detail, sothecrosswas
moved into the adjacent museum (opposite the ticket desk) and replaced by this replica.
