Engraving of Tintern Abbey, by John Le Keux, published 1809
The sprawling ruins of Tintern Abbey in a secluded valley in Monmouthshire, Wales, became a source of inspiration for numerous Romantic poets and artists. Wordsworth, Turner, and later Tennyson, all visited it and were enthralled by the rambling, ivy-clad stones, the epitome of the ‘Romantic ruin’. As a solemn reminder of Man’s transience, the glorious but faded medieval past and the unstoppable forces of Nature, the abbey became immortalised. When one visits it today, however, the picturesque foliage has all been cleared away, but the power of the crumbling arches still remains.
(Source: funeral-wreaths, via goxe)








