The 14th-century Holy Almandal tradition, centred around texts describing an device that was thought to bring people closer to the divine, has long puzzled scholars.
James D. Wenn’s research, into the Cosmati Pavement and Anglo-Saxon art, partly set out at a recent conference here in Shropshire, provides a new perspective.
He sets out how he believes that the device was intended to project a rhombic dodecahedron onto smoke, a shape deeply significant in medieval cosmology and theology.
This interpretation aligns with allegorical readings of Ezekiel’s vision and Plato’s geometric harmonies.
This sober, non-sensational reading of this historical phenomenon, which is concerned with sincere interest in mathematics, respects classical thinking, and scripture, has much to recommend it. It is an analysis that the Ashton family takes seriously.
The craftsman and artist Shay Shani’s wooden model of the Almandal, combined with James D. Wenn’s artistic visualizations, offers a tangible and visual representation of this intriguing historical artifact.
