Mount Athos: E. front of the refectory (trapeza) of the Monastery of Great Lavra
Department | Archive |
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Collection | BSA SPHS Image Collection |
Reference No. | BSA SPHS 01/4574.9413 |
Level | Item |
Description | Film negative, approximately quarter plate size, an original negative. |
Dimensions | 11 x 8.5 cm |
Place |
Monastery of Great Lavra Mount Athos |
Dates | 1911 |
Donor/Creator |
Hasluck, Dr Frederick William |
Project | Hasluck in Mount Athos 1911 |
Scope and Content | Part of a series of images taken by F.W. Hasluck during the course of his visit to Mount Athos in 1911. The original description in the SPHS register reads: "Athos: Laúra, E front of trapeza." |
Notes | Date based on Hasluck's visit to Mount Athos to research his book, Mount Athos and its Monasteries (1924). |
Further information | The Monastery of Great Lavra is situated on the coast with a cove commanded by a massive tower which does duty as its port (arsenal). It is the largest and earliest of the first-rank monasteries on Athos, founded by St. Athanasius in the 10th century. In the 17th century it went through a period of extreme poverty, but it recovered before the end of that century. Hasluck, who visited in 1911, mentions that the katholikon (dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin) was thought to have been built by Athanasius and served as a model for Athos churches in general. Among the many towers of this monastery, the massive 'Tower of Tzimiskes' is thought to be equally old. The refectory (trapeza) was constructed in 1512 by Gennadios, Archbishop of Serres, and, according to Hasluck, it was thought to be the finest on Athos. The hospital was also constructed in the 14th century, but in Hasluck's day, it served as the guesthouse. Several free-standing chapels were constructed in the 17th and 18th centuries. Hasluck, F.W. 1924. Athos and its Monasteries, London: Kegan Paul (pp. 180-185) |