Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket

Author: William Urry

Publisher: Sutton Publishing

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Focusing on the last month of Becket's life after his return to Canterbury, the author describes the dispute that broke out with renewed ferocity culminating in his murder in the Cathedral by four of the King's knights and concludes with an Epilogue reviewing his reputation in the centuries since his death.

Medieval Art, Architecture & Archaeology at Canterbury
Medieval Art, Architecture & Archaeology at Canterbury

Author: Alixe Bovey

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-05

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 1351558617

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"From the time of the foundation of its cathedral in 597, Canterbury has been the epicentre of Britain's ecclesiastical history, and an exceptionally important centre for architectural and visual innovation. Focusing especially but not exclusively on Christ Church cathedral, this legacy is explored in seventeen essays concerned with Canterbury's art, architecture and archaeology between the early Anglo-Saxon period and the close of the middle ages. Papers consider the relationship between between architectural setting and liturgical practice, and between stationary and movable fittings, while fresh insights are offered into the aesthetic, spiritual, and pragmatic considerations that shaped the fabric of Christ Church and St Augustine's abbey, alongside critical reflections on Canterbury's historiography and relationship to the wider world. Taken together, these studies demonstrate the richness of the surviving material, and its enduring ability to raise new questions.

England under the Norman and Angevin Kings
England under the Norman and Angevin Kings

Author: Robert Bartlett

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2002-08-08

Total Pages: 830

ISBN-13: 0192547372

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This lively and far-reaching account of the politics, religion, and culture of England in the century and a half after the Norman Conquest provides a vivid picture of everyday existence, and increases our understanding of all aspects of medieval society. This was a period in which the ruling dynasty and military aristocracy were deeply enmeshed with the politics and culture of France. Professor Bartlett describes their conflicts, and their preoccupations - the sense of honour, the role of violence, and the glitter of tournament, heraldry, and Arthurian romance. He explores the mechanics of government; assesses the role of the Church at a time of radical developments in religious life and organization; and investigates the peasant economy, the foundation of this society, and the growing urban and commercial activity. There are colourful details of the everyday life of ordinary men and women, with their views on the past, on sexuality, on animals, on death, the undead, and the occult. The result is a fascinating and comprehensive portrayal of a period which begins with conquest and ends in assimilation.

Nigel of Longchamp, Speculum Stultorum
Nigel of Longchamp, Speculum Stultorum

Author: Jill Mann

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2023-06-15

Total Pages: 646

ISBN-13: 019887281X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

An edition and English translation of the Speculum Stultorum (The Mirror for Fools), a long Latin beast epic written near the end of the twelfth century by a monk of Christ Church, Canterbury. This was one of the most popular works of the Middle Ages, a favourite of Chaucer, Gower, and Henryson, and was copied for over three centuries, with a circulation extending as far as eastern Europe. It is not only a milestone in the history of medieval beast epic, but a rich source of information about contemporary life and events at Canterbury. The work is dedicated to William Longchamp, who was Richard I's chancellor, and the significance of this fact is shown. This is a highly entertaining narrative about a donkey who longs to have a longer tail and journeys to Salerno to buy some (imaginary) medicines which will provide it. When his medicines are destroyed in an accident, he decides to become learned instead, and goes off to study at the university of Paris for seven years, but can still say only 'heehaw'. Interwoven into this simple narrative are other stories and long rhetorical set-pieces which satirise the distorted values of contemporary religious life or the corruption of the papal curia, and describe the qualities of an ideal bishop (which the donkey hopes to become).

The lives of Thomas Becket
The lives of Thomas Becket

Author: Michael Staunton

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2013-01-01

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 152611268X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This collection tells the story of Thomas Becket's turbulent life, violent death and extraordinary posthumous acclaim in the words of his contemporaries. The only modern collection from the twelfth-century Lives of Thomas Becket in English and features all his major biographers, including many previously untranslated extracts. Providing both a valuable glimpse of the late twelfth-century world, and an insight into the minds of those who witnessed the events. By using contemporary sources, this book is the most accessible way to study this central episode in medieval history. Thomas Becket features prominently in most medieval core courses. This book allows the subject to be taught as never before, and is highly suitable as a set text.