Canterbury Cathedral, Trinity Chapel

Canterbury Cathedral, Trinity Chapel
Author: David S. Neal
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2022-09-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 178925843X

Canterbury Cathedral possesses a unique marble mosaic pavement, dating from the early twelfth century, which has long intrigued scholars and been the subject of speculation and debate. It forms part of the floor of the Trinity chapel, adjacent to the site where the shrine of St Thomas Becket stood, prior to the Reformation. Since the mosaic is older than the chapel itself and partly destroyed a pavement of figurative roundels, laid c. 1215, it must have been moved here from elsewhere in the cathedral. This volume explores the history and archaeology of the Trinity chapel, the pavement and the physical remains of the cult of Becket, based largely on hitherto unrecorded and unpublished evidence. In the early twelfth century, Archbishop Anselm rebuilt the eastern arm of the cathedral, introducing architectural elements from his native Italy, and these included a magnificent mosaic pavement, composed of the most expensive marbles, which lay in front of the high altar. In 1170, Archbishop Becket was murdered in the cathedral, and his body rested overnight on the pavement before being buried in the crypt. Thomas was immediately revered as a martyr, and in 1173 was canonized by the pope; a simple shrine was erected over his tomb. In the following year, a fire (arson) destroyed the eastern arm of the cathedral, precipitating the construction of the present Trinity and Corona chapels, wherein St Thomas’s remains were enshrined. After decades of delay and political strife, the enshrinement took place in 1220, in the presence of Henry III. The shrine comprised a great marble table, supported on six clusters of columns. On top of the table was a marble sarcophagus containing the saint’s body in an iron-bound timber coffin, over which stood the sumptuous feretory, a gabled timber ‘roof’, plated with sheets of gold and adorned with jewels. East of the shrine lies the small Corona chapel in which a fragment of Becket’s skull was separately encased in a ‘head-shrine’, and to the west a large area was paved with forty-eight figurative stone roundels, created by French artisans. All around, stained-glass windows display the early miracles of Becket. The layout of the Trinity chapel underwent transmutations, first around 1230, when the mosaic pavement was taken up from the old presbytery, reduced in size and relaid in front of Becket’s shrine, where is it today. Second, the chapel was reordered in c. 1290, when the podium carrying the shrine was enlarged and the paving around it reconfigured. Medieval tombs were now being installed in the chapels, including those of the Black Prince and Henry IV. The end came in 1538, when Henry VIII ordered the thorough destruction of Becket’s shrines, but a great deal of archaeological evidence remained in the floors, walls and a few surviving fragments of the shrines, all now recorded and discussed in this volume for the first time.

The Quest for Becket's Bones

The Quest for Becket's Bones
Author: John R. Butler
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 196
Release: 1995-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780300068955

In January 1888, workmen excavating in the eastern crypt of Canterbury Cathedral discovered the bones of a skeleton many believed to be that of the martyred archbishop, Thomas Beckett. This book traces the full history of `Beckett's bones', from their alleged destruction by Henry VIII's commissioners during the Reformation to the present day. Includes fascinating observations, such as the unexpected discovery by workmen in 1865 of Dante's bones concealed in a wooden box a short distance from his empty tomb.

The Book in the Cathedral

The Book in the Cathedral
Author: Christopher de Hamel
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 69
Release: 2020-08-06
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0141994258

From the bestselling author of Meetings With Remarkable Manuscripts, a captivating account of the last surviving relic of Thomas Becket The assassination of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December 1170 is one of the most famous events in European history. It inspired the largest pilgrim site in medieval Europe and many works of literature from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales to T. S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral and Anouilh's Becket. In a brilliant piece of historical detective work, Christopher de Hamel here identifies the only surviving relic from Becket's shrine: the Anglo-Saxon Psalter which he cherished throughout his time as Archbishop of Canterbury, and which he may even have been holding when he was murdered. Beautifully illustrated and published to coincide with the 850th anniversary of the death of Thomas Becket, this is an exciting rediscovery of one of the most evocative artefacts of medieval England.

Wonderful to Relate

Wonderful to Relate
Author: Rachel Koopmans
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Total Pages: 349
Release: 2011-11-29
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0812206991

While the late Anglo-Saxons rarely recorded saints' posthumous miracles, a shift occurred as monastic writers of the late eleventh and twelfth centuries started to preserve hundreds of the stories they had heard of healings, acts of vengeance, resurrections, recoveries, and other miraculous deeds effected by their local saints. Indeed, Rachel Koopmans contends, the miracle collection quickly became a defining genre of high medieval English monastic culture. Koopmans surveys more than seventy-five collections and offers a new model for understanding how miracle stories were generated, circulated, and replicated. She argues that orally exchanged narratives carried far more propagandistic power than those preserved in manuscripts; stresses the literary and memorial roles of miracle collecting; and traces changes in form and content as the focus of the collectors shifted from the stories told by religious colleagues to those told by lay visitors to their churches. Wonderful to Relate highlights the importance of the two massive collections written by Benedict of Peterborough and William of Canterbury in the wake of the murder of Thomas Becket in 1170. Koopmans provides the first in-depth examination of the creation and influence of the Becket compilations, often deemed the greatest of all medieval miracle collections. In a final section, she ponders the decline of miracle collecting in the thirteenth century, which occurred with the advent of formalized canonization procedures and theological means of engaging with the miraculous.

The Cult of St Thomas Becket in the Plantagenet World, C.1170-c.1220

The Cult of St Thomas Becket in the Plantagenet World, C.1170-c.1220
Author: Paul Webster (Medievalist)
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2016
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1783271612

The extraordinary growth and development of the cult of St Thomas Becket is investigated here, with a particular focus on its material culture. Thomas Becket - the archbishop of Canterbury cut down in his own cathedral just after Christmas 1170 - stands amongst the most renowned royal ministers, churchmen, and saints of the Middle Ages. He inspired the work of medieval writers and artists, and remains a compelling subject for historians today. Yet many of the political, religious, and cultural repercussions of his murder and subsequent canonisation remain to be explored in detail. This book examines the development of the cult and the impact of the legacy of Saint Thomas within the Plantagenet orbit of the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries - the "Empire" assembled by King Henry II, defended by his son King Richard the Lionheart, and lost by King John. Traditional textual and archival sources, such as miracle collections, charters, and royal and papal letters, are used in conjunction with the material culture inspired by the cult, toemphasise the wide-ranging impact of the murder and of the cult's emergence in the century following the martyrdom. From the archiepiscopal church at Canterbury, to writers and religious houses across the Plantagenet lands, to thecourts of Henry II, his children, and the bishops of the Angevin world, individuals and communities adapted and responded to one of the most extraordinary religious phenomena of the age. Dr Paul Webster is currently Lecturer in Medieval History and Project Manager of the Exploring the Past adult learners progression pathway at Cardiff University; Dr Marie-Pierre Gelin is a Teaching Fellow in the History Department at University College London. Contributors: Colette Bowie, Elma Brenner, José Manuel Cerda, Anne J. Duggan, Marie-Pierre Gelin, Alyce A. Jordan, Michael Staunton, Paul Webster.

Materials for the History of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury (Canonized by Pope Alexander III, AD 1173)

Materials for the History of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury (Canonized by Pope Alexander III, AD 1173)
Author: James Craigie Robertson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 627
Release: 2012-11-15
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1108049257

This seven-volume work, published 1875-85, brings together all Latin materials concerning the life and fall of Thomas Becket (c.1120-70). Volume 1 contains the collection of miracles compiled by William of Canterbury, who was present at the scene of Becket's murder.

Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage
Author: Colin Morris
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2002-06-13
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9780521808118

Publisher Description

The Formation of English Gothic

The Formation of English Gothic
Author: Peter Draper
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2006-01-01
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 0300120362

In this original account of architecture in England between c.1150 and c.1250, Peter Draper explores how the assimilation of new ideas from France led to an English version of Gothic architecture that was quite distinct from Gothic expression elsewhere. The author considers the great cathedrals of England (Canterbury, Wells, Salisbury, Lincoln, Ely, York, Durham, and others) as well as parish churches and secular buildings, to examine the complex interrelations between architecture and its social and political functions. Architecture was an expression of identity, Draper finds, and the unique Gothic that developed in England was one of a number of manifestations of an emerging sense of national identity. The book inquires into such topics as the role of patrons, the relationships between patrons and architects, and the wide variety of factors that contributed to the process of creating a building. With 250 illustrations, including more than 50 in color, this book offers new ways of seeing and thinking about some of England’s greatest and best-loved architecture.