Episode 50 – A Night in King’s College Chapel

A Podcast to the Curious - The M.R. James Podcast

This episode Mike and Will pack their sleeping bags and bed down for ‘A Night in King’s College Chapel’ by M.R. James.

The episode also features an exclusive interview with James Drewett and Richard Svensson, creators of ‘Monsters and Miscreants’ a new M.R. James-themed card game available to order now. You can also watch an unboxing video of the same game featuring your humble hosts, Will and Mike, recorded live in Will’s kitchen. The glamour!

About Monsters and Miscreants:

• Order your copy at pleasingterror.wordpress.com, or find out more at their Facebook page
• View more of Richard’s artwork at his website loneanimator.com, where you can also find some of his awesome M.R. James animated short films. Also check out Richard on DeviantArt.
• Props also go to Ivory Graphics, the company responsible for printing the card game.
• If you are curious about James’s other still-in-development M.R. James card game ‘Cards for the Curious’, watch this Youtube video to find out more.

Show notes:

• A Night in Kings College Chapel by M.R. James (Ghosts & Scholars)
  You can read the full text of this story at the ever-useful Ghosts & Scholars website.
• A Guide to the Windows of King’s College Chapel, Cambridge by M.R. James (Cambridge University Press)
  After writing this story M.R. James went on to write this book on the King’s College Chapel glass. It was published in 1899.
• The Medieval Stained Glass Photographic Archive (therosewindow.com)
  This website contains images of nearly all the stained glass mentioned in this story, including their locations within the chapel. More detailed text about the windows can also be found at vidimus.org, and this video from The Guardian explores the chapel.
• The Univeristy Pitt Club
  The final fragment of this story was found written on Pitt Club note paper, hinting at where James may have been sitting when he wrote it.
• ‘Dare to be a Daniel’ (Youtube)
  It is likely that this is the sort of thing James was afraid of when he makes his sniffy comments about ‘congregational singing’!
• Reuben and the well (Biblehub.com)
  Genesis 37:29 – the scene from the bible that Reuben is supposed to be representing in his window when ‘on duty’.
• Moses and the Manna from heaven (biblegateway.com)
  Exodus 16 – where the Manna comes from which the naughty children of Israel are throwing at Reuben in the story.
• Biblical typology (theopedia.com)
  When Reuben says “I may only be a type…” he is referring to this.
• The most misunderstood woman in the bible (todayschristianwoman.com)
  In this story Job’s wife is portrayed as an unsympathetic nagging tyrant, a traditional interpretation of her character. However, more modern minds have reassessed her character and come to a different conclusion.
• Window of opportunity (spectator.co.uk)
  During the episode Mike mentions the surprising story of how King’s College Chapel got it’s famous west window. This is it!

The windows themselves (mostly at therosewindow.com):

• Reuben
• Gathering the manna (or throwing the bread rolls)
• Naomi, she of the deceased and hen-pecked husband
• Job, tormented by demons (and his wife)
• Jonah and one crazy-ass looking whale
• Tobias and his mother
• And here’s the vicious dog