The Ruin – Medieval Poem

“The Ruin” is an elegy in Old English, written by an unknown Dark Age author of the 8th or 9th century. It was published in the 10th century Exeter Book, a large collection of poems and riddles. The poem evokes the former glory of a ruined Roman city by juxtaposing the grand, lively past state with the decaying present. The section has a large diagonal burn from a kind of branding in the center of the page. The burn has rendered many parts of the script illegible. This is a possible reconstruction interpretation:

This masonry is wondrous; fates broke it
courtyard pavements were smashed; the work of giants is decaying.
Roofs are fallen, ruinous towers,
the frosty gate with frost on cement is ravaged,
chipped roofs are torn, fallen,
undermined by old age. The grasp of the earth possesses
the mighty builders, perished and fallen,
the hard grasp of earth, until a hundred generations
of people have departed. Often this wall,
lichen-grey and stained with red, experienced one reign after another,
remained standing under storms; the high wide gate has collapsed.
Still the masonry endures in winds cut down
persisted on, fiercely sharpened, fate honed
Nature she shoned and men atoned.
Thing of ancient skill worked
Thing of crusted mud fallen away
spirit mourned, put together keen-counselled
a quick design in rings, a most intelligent one bound
the wall with wire brace wondrously together.
Bright were the castle buildings, many the bathing-halls,
high the abundance of gables, great the noise of the multitude,
many a meadhall full of festivity,
until Fate the mighty changed that.
Far and wide the slain perished, days of pestilence came,
death took all the brave men away;
their places of war became deserted places,
the city decayed. The rebuilders perished,
the armies to earth. And so these buildings grow desolate,
and this red-curved roof parts from its tiles
of the ceiling-vault. The ruin has fallen to the ground
broken into mounds, where at one time many a warrior,
joyous and ornamented with gold-bright splendour,
proud and flushed with wine shone in war-trappings;
looked at treasure, at silver, at precious stones,
at wealth, at prosperity, at jewellery,
at this bright castle of a broad kingdom.
The stone buildings stood, a stream threw up heat
in wide surge; the wall enclosed all
in its bright bosom, where the baths were,
hot in the heart. That was convenient.
Then they let pour hot streams over grey stone.
under the vaulted roof and open sky,
until the ringed pool once hot,
grew weeds where the baths were.
Then is that ancient wonder gone?
Nay, here, that is a noble thing,
to the house, city, and castle ruin!

Palladian Bridge near Bath at Prior Park

Palladian Bridge at Prior Park near Bath, England

This tribute to the Prior Park Bridge is dedicated to the memory of Architect Kip Stowell

This picturesque landscape architecture folly exists in at least 3 different locations in England. The original ‘Palladian Style’ Bridge is at Wilton [near Salisbury], put up in 1737 to the design of Lord Pembroke, the ‘Architect Earl’, and his assistant, Roger Morris. The second tribute to Palladio was built at Stowe in 1742. This was one near Bath was the last of the 3 built.

Garden Cities by Ebenezer Howard

From the book Garden Cities of To-morrow by Ebenezer Howard 1898, 1902

Ebenezer Howard was a shop keeper’s assistant, farmer, writer, sociologist, and statesman. Howard valued good living conditions, democracy, nature, human rights, and personalities. Howard lived in England and America (London, Nebraska, and Chicago). Osburn and Mumford added notes that introduce, critique, review, and praise Howard. JH Osburn claims Howard may have been influenced by Bellamy’s book Looking Backward. According to Lewis Mumford, Howard was also inspired by Spense, Buckingham, Wakefield, George, Kropotkin, and Howard’s wife Elizabeth Ann Bills of Nuneaton (who loved intellect and country-side). Howard’s narrow building lots were handed down from medieval English dimensions (20 x 130 ft).

Garden Cities of To-morrow begins by describing the “Three Magnets”: Town, Country, and Town-Country. Howard explains why we are attracted to the best of both Town and Country aspects. Town-Country benefits have cooperation, beauty, nature, green fields, green parks, good utilities, good commerce, social opportunity, high wages, low rents, low price rates, and low pollution!

In most chapters, Howard proposes how Garden Cities would function with diagrams. He describes inter-connected urban nodes. Central City is shown with a constellation of satellite micro-cities (garden cities, towns, villages, developments). Garden Cities at their heart have a central garden, with rings of dwellings, shops, roads, industry, fields, and farms. The ordered layout is meant to improve biological, social, economic, and personal life for everyone.

Howard considered some difficulties with analytic self-criticism. He saw the weak points in his plans, and how they might fail. This foresight can allow us to prepare for the worst problems, to better shape designs for the future. He maintained that human ideals are worth trying; quoting Darwin “Selfish and contentious men will not cohere, and without coherence nothing can be accomplished,”. Howard believed that Socialism and Individualism must come together in the future to realize a true, vital organic society and state.

Ebenezer Howard felt that Garden Cities would work, because the plans were based on understanding human nature. He indicated that Urban or Communal failures are a result of the ‘Duality Principle’ (Janus). Ignorance of the Duality Principle allows kindred mistakes, by regarding one principle action to the exclusion of others. Howard believed we are all communists to some degree, even those that shudder at being told this, because we believe in roads, parks, and libraries. Individualism is no less excellent, in his mind, as he compares good society to an orchestra that plays together, but practice separately. Expense, however, always tends to get in the way of progress.

Sir Raymond Unwin worked with Howard. In 1903 they designed and established the first Garden City in England, named ‘Letchworth’. Letchworth proved a success, and in 1919 the second Garden City ‘Welwyn’ was founded. By 1950 the cities had a combined population of over 40,000. The account of their success is given in Purdom’s Building of Satellite Towns. Some key points regarding the study of Garden Cities are: how urban and rural districts connect, health and sanitation, zoning limitations of density and sprawl allowing light, gardens, and leisure, harmony rather than standardization, communications, ownership and cooperative leasing, public freedom and choice of enterprise.

Contemporary critics dismissed “Garden Cities” as more akin to the fantasy of H.G. Wells, than to the realities of urban planning. Despite the critics, Garden Cities of To-morrow is cited in countless planning bibliographies, and provides an organic alternative to bleak industrial future city-scapes. So what happened? Our suburbs in America do not follow his models, although some are better than others. Howard wanted to keep the city, town, and country distinct from each other, unlike amorphous suburban sprawl. He wanted more green around and in cities, by confining and condensing urban development, to keep the country rural, pastoral, and agrarian; yet integrating their foundations for healthy and function living.

“The pathway of any experiment worth achieving, is strewn with failures. Success is, for the most part, built on failure.”  – Ebenezer Howard

“Creative work always arises by the synthesis in one’s mind of material from otherwise unrelated sources…”  – J.H. Osburn

Related Article:  Garden City Chapters

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PJ Harvey – Musician

A Review of PJ Harvey’s Music

PJ Harvey’s songs were heard at my colleges during the 1990’s. I remember hearing her at college, but was not a fan. Now that I am putting the name (and face) with the specific music (because of interviews), I do hear 2 styles. Her older 1990’s style seems more “Rock’n’Roll” with fast low pitched vocals (gritty blues), and the newer style does seem more “Pop” with slow high pitch vocals (more like Bjork). She said she was trying to make the latest album “Let England Shake” “nice to listen to” and “the vocals fit for each song”. So she intentionally sang these War Songs more like a little girl, way less adult than her previous style; which is a very odd mismatch, yet a pleasant experiment.

I guess the softer sound will appeal to a more gentle pop audience. I was most interested in her family’s bio as rock quarry/musicians. Her life story must be very interesting! This review is an opinion and observation, not a critique (those are reserved for snobby critics that put artists down at whim). Her new album was thought-provoking to me, and I recommend it as she humbly asserts she has tried to touch on serious topics while communally entertaining.