The Chantry Chapels of Cardinal Beaufort and Bishop Waynflete in Winchester Cathedral

Abstract

The great chantry chapels of Cardinal Beaufort (d. 1447) and Bishop Waynflete (d. 1486) dominate the 13th-century retrochoir of Winchester Cathedral, and once flanked the shrine of St Swithun. This paper considers the chapels’ patrons, formal vocabulary and relationship to other major tomb projects in 15th-century England. In particular, it focuses on the formal and conceptual relationships between the two chantries and their roles in liturgical and devotional practice and commemoration in Winchester Cathedral in the 15th century.