[Illustration: CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL FROM THE SOUTH. ]

 THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF CANTERBURY

 A DESCRIPTION OF ITS FABRIC AND A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ARCHIEPISCOPAL SEE

 BY HARTLEY WITHERS, B. A. 

 [Illustration: Arms of Canterbury. ]

 LONDON GEORGE BELL & SONS 1897

 _First Edition December, 1896. __Second Edition, Revised, with many Additional Illustrations, May, 1897. _

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GENERAL PREFACE. 

This series of monographs has been planned to supply visitors to the greatEnglish Cathedrals with accurate and well illustrated guide books at apopular price. The aim of each writer has been to produce a work compiledwith sufficient knowledge and scholarship to be of value to the student ofarchæology and history, and yet not too technical in language for the useof an ordinary visitor or tourist. 

To specify all the authorities which have been made use of in each casewould be difficult and tedious in this place. But amongst the generalsources of information which have been almost invariably found usefulare:--firstly, the great county histories, the value of which, especiallyin questions of genealogy and local records, is generally recognized;secondly, the numerous papers by experts which appear from time to time inthe transactions of the antiquarian and archæological societies; thirdly, the important documents made accessible in the series issued by the Masterof the Rolls; fourthly, the well-known works of Britton and Willis on theEnglish Cathedrals; and, lastly, the very excellent series of Handbooks tothe Cathedrals, originated by the late Mr. John Murray, to which thereader may in most cases be referred for fuller detail, especially inreference to the histories of the respective sees. 

 GLEESON WHITE. E. F. STRANGE. _Editors of the Series. _

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PREFACE. 

Among authorities consulted in the preparation of this volume, the authordesires to name specially Prof. Willis's "Architectural History ofCanterbury Cathedral" (1845), Dean Stanley's "Historical Memorials ofCanterbury" (Murray, 1855, and fifth edition, 1868), "Canterbury, " by theRev. R. C. Jenkins (1880), and the excellent section devoted to Canterburyin Murray's "Handbooks to the English Cathedrals, Southern Division, "wherein Mr. Richard John King brought together so much valuable matter, to which reference has been made too often to be acknowledged in eachinstance. For permission to use this the publishers have to thank Mr. JohnMurray. 

For the reproduction of the drawings of the various parts of theCathedral, and the arms on the title page, by Mr. Walter Tallent Owen, the editors are greatly indebted to the artist, from whose volume, "Bitsof Canterbury Cathedral, " published by W. T. Comstock, New York, 1891, theyhave been taken. Others are taken from Charles Wild's "Specimens ofMediæval Architecture, " and from Carter's "Ancient Sculpture andPaintings. "

The illustrations from photographs in this volume have been reproducedfrom the originals by Messrs. Carl Norman and Co. 

 H. W. 

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CONTENTS. 

 PAGECHAPTER I. --History of the Building 3

CHAPTER II. --Exterior and Precincts: The Angel or Bell Tower 24 The Monastery 32 Christchurch Gate 35 Ruins of the Infirmary 38 The Treasury 38 The Lavatory Tower 40 The Chapter House 42 The Library 44 The Deanery 44 The Green Court 48

CHAPTER III. --Interior: The Nave 52 The Central Tower 55 The Western Screen 56 The Choir 57 The Altar 61 The Choir 64 The Choir Stalls 65 South-East Transept 67 South-West Choir Aisle 69 St. Anselm's Tower and Chapel 69 The Watching Chamber 72 Trinity Chapel 72 Tomb of the Black Prince 75 Becket's Crown 88 St. Andrew's Tower 90 North-East Transept 90 Chapel of the Martyrdom 92 The Dean's Chapel 94 South-West Transept 95 St. Michael's Chapel 95 The Main Crypt 96 The Eastern Crypt 101

CHAPTER IV. --The History of the See 103

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

 PAGEThe Cathedral from the South _Frontispiece_Arms of Canterbury _Title_The Cathedral from the North 1Plan of Canterbury Cathedral (_Circa 1165_) 4The Cloisters 19View on the Stour 22The Central Tower, "Bell Harry" 25Detail of St. Anselm's Tower 32The Christchurch Gate 33The South-West Porch of the Cathedral 36Cloisters of the Monks' Infirmary 37Ruins of the Monks' Infirmary 38The Baptistery Tower 39Turret of South-West Transept 41The Cloisters 43Norman Staircase in the Close 45Details of the Norman Staircase in the Close 46Details of Ornament 47Old Painting, "The Murder of St. Thomas à Becket" 51The Shrine of St. Thomas à Becket (from the Cottonian MS. ) 52Capitals of Columns in the Eastern Apse 54The Choir--looking East 59 Do. Before Restoration 62A Miserere in the Choir 65Some Mosaics from the Floor of Trinity Chapel 73The Black Prince's Tomb 77Shield, Coat, etc. , of the Black Prince 80West Gate 81Trinity Chapel, looking into Corona, "Becket's Crown" 88Chair of St. Augustine 89Transept of "The Martyrdom" 92Part of South-Western Transept 94The Crypt 97 Do. St. Gabriel's Chapel 100 Do. Cardinal Morton's Monument 101Plans of Cathedral at three periods 130

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[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL FROM THE NORTH(FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY CARL NORMAN AND CO. ). ]

CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL. 

CHAPTER I. 

THE HISTORY OF THE BUILDING. 

More than four hundred years passed by between the beginning of thebuilding of this cathedral by Archbishop Lanfranc (1070-1089) and itscompletion, by the addition of the great central tower, at the end of thefifteenth century. But before tracing the history of the construction ofthe present well-known fabric, a few words will not be out of placeconcerning the church which preceded it on the same site. A British orRoman church, said to have been built by a certain mythical King Lucius, was given to St. Augustine by Ethelbert in A. D. 597. It was designed, broadly speaking, on the plan of the old Basilica of St. Peter at Rome, but as to the latest date of any alterations, which may or may not havebeen made by Augustine and his immediate successors, we have no accurateinformation. It is, however, definitely stated that Archbishop Odo, whoheld the see from A. D. 942-959, raised the walls and rebuilt the roof. Inthe course of these alterations the church was roofless for three years, and we are told that no rain fell within the precincts during this time. In A. D. 1011 Canterbury was pillaged by the Danes, who carried offArchbishop Alphege to Greenwich, butchered the monks, and did much damageto the church. The building was, however, restored by Canute, who madefurther atonement by hanging up his crown within its walls, and bringingback the body of Alphege, who had been martyred by the Danes. In the year1067 the storms of the Norman Conquest overwhelmed St. Augustine's church, which was completely destroyed by fire, together with many royal deeds ofprivilege and papal bulls, and other valuable documents. 

A description of the church thus destroyed is given by Prof. Willis, whoquotes all the ancient writers who mention it. The chief authority isEadmer, who was a boy at the monastery school when the Saxon church waspulled down, and was afterwards a monk and "singer" in the cathedral. Itis he who tells us that it was arranged in some parts in imitation of thechurch of St. Peter at Rome. Odo had translated the body of Wilfrid, Archbishop of York, from Ripon to Canterbury, and had "worthily placed itin a more lofty receptacle, to use his own words, that is to say, in thegreat Altar which was constructed of rough stones and mortar, close to thewall at the eastern part of the presbytery. Afterwards another altar wasplaced at a convenient distance before the aforesaid altar.... In thisaltar the blessed Elphege had solemnly deposited the head of St. Swithin... And also many relics of other saints. To reach these altars, a certaincrypt which the Romans call a Confessionary had to be ascended by means ofseveral steps from the choir of the singers. This crypt was fabricatedbeneath in the likeness of the confessionary of St. Peter, the vault ofwhich was raised so high that the part above could only be reached by manysteps. " The resting-place of St. Dunstan was separated from the cryptitself by a strong wall, for that most holy father was interred before theaforesaid steps at a great depth in the ground, and at the head of thesaint stood the matutinal altar. Thence the choir of the singers wasextended westward into the body of the church.... In the next place, beyond the middle of the length of the body there were two towers whichprojected beyond the aisles of the church. The south tower had an altar inthe midst of it, which was dedicated in honour of the blessed PopeGregory.... Opposite to this tower and on the north, the other tower wasbuilt in honour of the blessed Martin, and had about it cloisters for theuse of the monks.... The extremity of the church was adorned by theoratory of Mary.... At its eastern part, there was an altar consecrated tothe worship of that Lady.... When the priest performed the Divinemysteries at this altar he had his face turned to the east.... Behind him, to the west, was the pontifical chair constructed with handsomeworkmanship, and of large stones and cement, and far removed from theLord's table, being contiguous to the wall of the church which embracedthe entire area of the building. 

Lanfranc, the first Norman archbishop, was granted the see in 1070. Hequickly set about the task of building himself a cathedral. Making noattempt to restore the old fabric, he even destroyed what was left ofthe monastic building, and built up an entirely new church and monastery. Seven years sufficed to complete his cathedral, which stood on the sameground as the earlier fane. His work, however, was not long leftundisturbed. It had not stood for twenty years before the east end of thechurch was pulled down during the Archiepiscopate of Anselm, and rebuiltin a much more splendid style by Ernulph, the prior of the monastery. Conrad, who succeeded Ernulph as prior, finished the choir, decorating itwith great magnificence, and, in the course of his reconstruction, nearlydoubling the area of the building. Thus completed anew, the cathedral wasdedicated by Archbishop William in A. D. 1130. At this notable ceremony thekings of England and Scotland both assisted, as well as all the Englishbishops. Forty years later this church was the scene of Thomas à Becket'smurder (A. D. 1170), and it was in Conrad's choir that the monks watchedover his body during the night after his death. 

Eadmer also gives some description of the church raised by Lanfranc. Thenew archbishop, "filled with consternation" when he found that "the churchof the Saviour which he undertakes to rule was reduced to almost nothingby fire and ruin, " proceeded to "set about to destroy it utterly, anderect a more noble one. And in the space of seven years he raised this newchurch from the very foundations and rendered it nearly perfect.... Archbishop Anselm, who succeeded Lanfranc, appointed Ernulf to beprior.... Having taken down the eastern part of the church which Lanfranchad built, he erected it so much more magnificently, that nothing like itcould be seen in England, either for the brilliancy of its glass windows, the beauty of its marble pavement, or the many coloured pictures which ledthe wondering eyes to the very summit of the ceiling. " It was this part ofthe church, however, that was completed by Ernulf's successor, Conrad, andafterwards known as Conrad's choir. It appears that Anselm "allowed themonks to manage their own affairs, and gave them for priors Ernulf, andthen Conrad, both monks of their own monastery. And thus it happened that, in addition to the general prosperity and good order of their property, which resulted from this freedom, they were enabled to enlarge theirchurch by all that part which stretches from the great tower to the east;which work Anselm himself provided for, " having "granted to the saidchurch the revenues of his town of Peckham, for seven years, the whole ofwhich were expended upon the new work. " Prof. Willis, unable to accountfor the haste with which the east end of Lanfranc's church was pulleddown, assumes that the monks "did not think their church large enough forthe importance of their monastery, " and moreover wanted shrine-room forthe display of relics. The main body of Lanfranc's church was leftstanding, and is described as follows by Gervase. "The tower, raised upongreat pillars, is placed in the midst of the church, like the centre inthe middle of a circle. It had on its apex a gilt cherub. On the west ofthe tower is the nave of the church, supported on either side upon eightpillars. Two lofty towers with gilded pinnacles terminate this nave oraula. A gilded _corona_ hangs in the midst of the church. A screen with aloft (_pulpitum_) separated in a manner the aforesaid tower from the nave, and had in the middle and on the side towards the nave, the altar of theholy cross. Above the _pulpitum_ and placed across the church, was thebeam, which sustained a great cross, two cherubim, and the images of St. Mary and St. John the Apostle.... The great tower had a cross from eachside, to wit, a south cross and a north cross, each of which had in themidst a strong pillar; this pillar sustained a vault which proceeded fromthe walls on three of its sides, " etc. Prof. Willis considers that as faras these parts of the building are concerned, the present fabric standsexactly on the site of Lanfranc's. "In the existing building, " he says, "it happens that the nave and transepts have been transformed into thePerpendicular style of the fourteenth century, and the central towercarried up to about double its original altitude in the same style. Nevertheless indications may be detected that these changed parts standupon the old foundations of Lanfranc. "

The building, however, was not destined to remain long intact. In A. D. 1174 the whole of Conrad's choir was destroyed by a fire, which wasdescribed fully by Gervase, a monk who witnessed it. He gives anextraordinary account of the rage and grief of the people at the sight ofthe burning cathedral. The work of rebuilding was immediately set on foot. In September, 1174, one William of Sens, undertook the task, and wroughtthereat until 1178, when he was disabled by an unfortunate fall from ascaffolding, and had to give up his charge and return to France. AnotherWilliam, an Englishman this time, took up the direction of the work, and under his supervision the choir and eastern portion of the churchwere finished in A. D. 1184. Further alterations were made under PriorChillenden at the end of the fourteenth century. Lanfranc's nave waspulled down, and a new nave and transepts were constructed, leaving butlittle of the original building set up by the first Norman archbishop. Finally, about A. D. 1495, the cathedral was completed by the addition ofthe great central tower. 

[Illustration: PLAN OF CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL, ABOUT A. D. 1165. 

From a Norman drawing inserted in the Great Psalter of Eadwin, in theLibrary of Trinity College, Cambridge. First published in _VetustaMonumenta_ (Society of Antiquaries, 1755). For full description and aplan of the waterworks see _Archæologia Cantiana_, Vol. VII. , 1868. ]

During the four centuries which passed during the construction andreconstruction of the fabric, considerable changes had manifestedthemselves in the science and art of architecture. Hence it is thatCanterbury Cathedral is a history, written in solid stone, ofarchitectural progress, illustrating in itself almost all the variouskinds of the style commonly called Pointed. Of these the earliest form ofGothic and Perpendicular chiefly predominate. The shape and arrangement ofthe building was doubtless largely influenced by the extraordinary numberof precious relics which it contained, and which had to be properlydisplayed and fittingly enshrined. Augustine's church had possessed thebodies of St. Blaize and St. Wilfrid, brought respectively from Rome andfrom Ripon; of St. Dunstan, St. Alphege, and St. Ouen, as well as theheads of St. Swithin and St. Furseus, and the arm of St. Bartholomew. These were all carefully removed and placed, each in separate altars andchapels, in Lanfranc's new cathedral. Here their number was added to bythe acquisition of new relics and sacred treasures as time went on, andfinally Canterbury enshrined its chiefest glory, the hallowed body of St. Thomas à Becket, who was martyred within its walls. 

Since, owing to an almost incredible act of royal vindictiveness in A. D. 1538, Becket's glorious shrine belongs only to the history of the past, some account of its splendours will not be out of place in this part ofour account of the cathedral. It stood on the site of the ancient chapelof the Trinity, which was burnt down along with Conrad's choir in thedestructive fire of A. D. 1174. It was in this chapel that Thomas à Beckethad first solemnized mass after becoming archbishop. For this reason, aswe may fairly suppose, this position was chosen to enshrine the martyr'sbones, after the rebuilding of the injured portion of the fabric. Thoughthe shrine itself has been ruthlessly destroyed, a mosaic pavement, similar to that which may be seen round the tomb of Edward the Confessorin Westminster Abbey, marks the exact spot on which it stood. The mosaicis of the kind with which the floors of the Roman basilicas were generallyadorned, and contains signs of the zodiacs and emblems of virtues andvices. This pavement was directly in front of the west side of the shrine. On each side of the site is a deep mark in the pavement running towardsthe east. This indentation was certainly worn in the soft, pinkish marbleby the knees of generations of pilgrims, who prostrated themselves herewhile the treasures were displayed to their gaze. In the roof above thereis fixed a crescent carved out of some foreign wood, which has proveddeeply puzzling to antiquaries. A suggestion, which hardly seems veryplausible, connects this mysterious crescent with the fact that Becket wasclosely related, as patron, with the Hospital of St. John at Acre. It wasbelieved that his prayers had once repulsed the Saracens from the walls ofthe fortress, and he received the title of St. Thomas Acrensis. Near thiscrescent a number of iron staples were to be seen at one time, and it islikely that a trophy of some sort depended from them. The Watching Towerwas set high upon the Tower of St. Anselm, on the south side of theshrine. It contained a fireplace, so that the watchman might keep himselfwarm during the winter nights, and from a gallery between the pillars hecommanded a view of the sacred spot and its treasures. A troop of fierceban-dogs shared the task of guarding the shrine from theft. How necessarysuch precautions were is shown by the fact that such a spot had to beguarded not only from common robbers in search of rich booty, but alsofrom holy men, who were quite unscrupulous in their desire to possessthemselves and their own churches of sacred relics. Within the first sixyears after Becket's death we read of two striking instances of thelengths to which distinguished churchmen were carried by what Dean Stanleycalls "the first frenzy of desire for the relics of St. Thomas. " Benedict, a monk of Christ Church, and "probably the most distinguished of hisbody, " was created Abbot of Peterburgh in A. D. 1176. Disappointed to findthat his cathedral was very poor in the matter of relics he returned toCanterbury, "took away with him the flagstones immediately surrounding thesacred spot, with which he formed two altars in the conventual church ofhis new appointment, besides two vases of blood and parts of Becket'sclothing. " Still more striking and characteristic of the prevalent passionfor relics is the story of Roger, who was keeper of the "Altars of theMartyrdom, " or "Custos Martyrii. " The brothers of St. Augustine's Abbeywere so eager to obtain a share in the glory which their great rival, theneighbouring cathedral, had won from the circumstances of Becket'smartyrdom within its walls, that they actually offered Roger no less areward than the position of abbot in their own institution, on conditionthat he should purloin for them some part of the remains of the martyr'sskull. And not only did Roger, though he had been specially selected fromamongst the monks of Christ Church to watch over this very treasure, agreeto their conditions, and after duly carrying out this piece ofsacrilegious burglary become Abbot of St. Augustine's; but the chroniclersof the abbey were not ashamed to boast of this transaction as an instanceof cleverness and well-applied zeal. 

The translation of Becket's remains from the tomb to his shrine took placeA. D. 1220, fifty years after his martyrdom. The young Henry III. , who hadjust laid the foundation of the new abbey at Westminster, assisted at theceremony. The primate then ruling at Canterbury was the great StephenLangton, who had won renown both as a scholar and a statesman. He hadcarried out the division of the Bible into chapters, as it is nowarranged, and had won a decisive victory for English liberty by forcingKing John to sign the Great Charter. He was now advanced in years, and hadrecently assisted at the coronation of King Henry at Westminster. 

The translation was carried out with imposing ceremony. The scene musthave been one of surpassing splendour; never had such an assemblage beengathered together in England. Robert of Gloucester relates that not onlyCanterbury but the surrounding countryside was full to overflowing:

 "Of bishops and abbots, priors and parsons, Of earls, and of barons, and of many knights thereto; Of serjeants, and of squires, and of husbandmen enow, And of simple men eke of the land--so thick thither drew. "

The archbishop had given notice two years before, proclaiming the day ofthe solemnity throughout Europe as well as England: the episcopal manorshad been bidden to furnish provisions for the huge concourse, not only inthe cathedral city, but along all the roads by which it was approached. Hay and provisions were given to all who asked it between London andCanterbury; at the gates of the city and in the four licensed cellars tunsof wine were set up, that all who thirsted might drink freely, and wineran in the street channels on the day of the festival. During the nightbefore the ceremony the primate, together with the Bishop of Salisbury andall the members of the brotherhood, who were headed by Walter the Prior, solemnly, with psalms and hymns, entered the crypt in which the martyr'sbody lay, and removed the stones which covered the tomb. Four priests, specially conspicuous for their piety, were selected to take out therelics, which were then placed in a strong coffer studded with iron nailsand fastened with iron hasps. 

Next day a procession was formed, headed by the young king, Henry III. After him came Pandulf, the Italian Bishop of Norwich and Papal Nuncio, and Langton the archbishop, with whom was the Archbishop of Rheims, Primate of France. The great Hubert de Burgh, Lord High Justiciary, together with four other barons, completed the company, which was selectedto bear the chest to its resting-place. When this had been duly deposited, a solemn mass was celebrated by the French archbishop. The anniversary ofthis great festival was commemorated as the Feast of the Translation ofthe Blessed St. Thomas, until it was suppressed by a royal injunction ofHenry VIII. In 1536. 

A picture of the shrine itself is preserved among the Cottonian MSS. , anda representation of it also exists in one of the stained windows of thecathedral. At the end of it the altar of the Saint had its place; thelower part of its walls were of stone, and against them the lame anddiseased pilgrims used to rub their bodies, hoping to be cured of theirafflictions. The shrine itself was supported on marble arches, andremained concealed under a wooden covering, doubtless intended to enhancethe effect produced by the sudden revelation of the glories beneath it;for when the pilgrims were duly assembled on their knees round the shrine, the cover was suddenly raised at a given signal, and though such a devicemay appear slightly theatrical in these days, it is easy to imagine howthe devotees of the middle ages must have been thrilled at the sight ofthis hallowed tomb, and all the bravery of gold and precious stones whichthe piety of that day had heaped upon it. The beauties of the shrine werepointed out by the prior, who named the giver of the several jewels. Manyof these were of enormous value, especially a huge carbuncle, as large asan egg, which had been offered to the memory of St. Thomas by Louis VII. Of France, who visited the shrine in A. D. 1179, after having thrice seenthe Saint in a vision. A curious legend, thoroughly in keeping with themystic halo of miraculous power which surrounds the martyred archbishop'sfame, relates that the French king could not make up his mind to part withthis invaluable gem, which was called the "Regale of France;" but when hevisited the tomb, the stone, so runs the story, leapt forth from the ringin which it was set, and fixed itself of its own will firmly in the wallof the shrine, thus baffling the unwilling monarch's half-heartedness. Louis also presented a gold cup, and gave the monks a hundred measures, medii, of wine, to be delivered annually at Poissy, also ordaining thatthey should be exempt from "toll, tax, and tallage" when journeying in hisrealm. He himself was made a member of the brotherhood, after dulyspending a night in prayer at the tomb. It is said that, "because he wasvery fearful of the water, " the French king received a promise from theSaint that neither he nor any other that crossed over from Dover toWhitsand, should suffer any manner of loss or shipwreck. We are told thatLouis's piety was afterwards rewarded by the miraculous recovery, throughSt. Thomas's intercession, of his son from a dangerous illness. Louis wasthe first of a series of royal pilgrims to the shrine. Richard the LionHeart, set free from durance in Austria, walked thither from Sandwich toreturn thanks to God and St. Thomas. After him all the English kings andall the Continental potentates who visited the shores of Britain, paid duehomage, and doubtless made due offering, at the shrine of the saintedarchbishop. The crown of Scotland was presented in A. D. 1299 by EdwardLongshanks, and Henry V. Gave thanks here after his victory over theFrench at Agincourt. Emperors, both of the east and west, humbledthemselves before the relics of the famous English martyr. Henry VIII. Andthe Emperor Charles V. Came together at Whitsuntide, A. D. 1520, in morethan royal splendour, and with a great retinue of English and Spanishnoblemen, and worshipped at the shrine which had then reached the zenithof its glory. 

But though the stately stories of these royal progresses to the tomb ofthe martyred archbishop strike the imagination vividly, yet the picturepresented by Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" is in reality much moreimpressive. For we find there all ranks of society alike making thepilgrimage--the knight, the yeoman, the prioress, the monk, the friar, themerchant, the scholar from Oxford, the lawyer, the squire, the tradesman, the cook, the shipman, the physician, the clothier from Bath, the priest, the miller, the reeve, the manciple, the seller of indulgences, and, lastly, the poet himself--all these various sorts and conditions of menand women we find journeying down to Canterbury in a sort of motleycaravan. Foreign pilgrims also came to the sacred shrine in great numbers. A curious record, preserved in a Latin translation, of the journey of aBohemian noble, Leo von Rotzmital, who visited England in 1446, gives aquaint description of Canterbury and its approaches. "Sailing up theChannel, " the narrator writes, "as we drew near to England we saw loftymountains full of chalk. These mountains seem from a distance to be cladwith snows. On them lies a citadel, built by devils, '_a Cacodæmonibusextructa_, ' so stoutly fortified that its peer could not be found in anyprovince of Christendom. Passing by these mountains and citadel we put inat the city of Sandwich (_Sandvicum_).... But at nothing did I marvel moregreatly than at the sailors climbing up the masts and foretelling thedistance, and approach of the winds, and which sails should be set andwhich furled. Among them I saw one sailor so nimble that scarce could anyman be compared with him. " Journeying on to Canterbury, our pilgrimproceeds: "There we saw the tomb and head of the martyr. The tomb is ofpure gold, and embellished with jewels, and so enriched with splendidofferings that I know not its peer. Among other precious things upon it isbeholden the carbuncle jewel, which is wont to shine by night, half ahen's egg in size. For that tomb has been lavishly enriched by many kings, princes, wealthy traders, and other righteous men. "

Such was Canterbury Cathedral in the middle ages, the resort of emperors, kings, and all classes of humble folk, English and foreign. It was in thespring chiefly, as Chaucer tells us, that

 "Whanne that April with his showres sote The droughte of March hath perced to the rote, And bathed every veine in swiche licour, Of whiche vertue engendred is the flour; When Zephyrus eke with his sote brethe Enspired hath in every holt and hethe The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne, And smale foules maken melodie That slepen alle night with open eye, So priketh hem nature in hir corages; Than longen folk to gon on pilgrimages And palmeres for to seken strange strondes To serve hauves couthe in sondry londes; And specially from every shires ende Of Englelonde, to Canterbury they wende The holy blissful martyr for to seke, That hem hath holpen when that they were seke. "

The miracles performed by the bones of the blessed martyr are stated bycontemporary writers to have been extraordinarily numerous. We have it onthe authority of Gervase that two volumes full of these marvels werepreserved at Canterbury, and in those days a volume meant a tome offormidable dimensions; but scarcely any record of these most interestingoccurrences has been preserved. At the time of Henry VIII. 's quarrel withthe dead archbishop--of which more anon--the name of St. Thomas and allaccount of his deeds was erased from every book that the strictestinvestigation could lay hands on. So thoroughly was this spiteful edictcarried out that the records of the greatest of English saints areastonishingly meagre. A letter, however, has been preserved, written aboutA. D. 1390 by Richard II. To congratulate the then archbishop, WilliamCourtenay, on a fresh miracle performed by St. Thomas: "_Litera dominiRegis graciosa missa domino archiepiscopo, regraciando sibi de novomiraculo Sancti Thome Martiris sibi denunciato. _" The letter refers, inits quaint Norman-French, to the good influence that will be exercised bysuch a manifestation, as a practical argument against the "various enemiesof our faith and belief"--_noz foie et creaunce ount plousours enemys_. These were the Lollards, and the pious king says that he hopes andbelieves that they will be brought back to the right path by the effectof this miracle, which seems to have been worked to heal a distinguishedforeigner--_en une persone estraunge_. 

Another document (dated A. D. 1455) preserves the story of the miraculouscure of a young Scotsman, from Aberdeen, _Allexander Stephani filius inScocia, de Aberdyn oppido natus_. Alexander was lame, _pedibus contractus_, from his birth, we are told that after twenty-four years of pain anddiscomfort--_vigintiquatuor annis penaliter laborabat_--he made apilgrimage to Canterbury, and there "the sainted Thomas, the divineclemency aiding him, on the second day of the month of May did straightwayrestore his legs and feet, _bases et plantas_, to the same Alexander. "

Other miracles performed by the saint are pictured in the painted windowsof Trinity Chapel, of which we shall treat fully later on. The fame of themartyr spread through the whole of Christendom. Stanley tells us that"there is probably no country in Europe which does not exhibit traces ofBecket. A tooth of his is preserved in the church of San ThomasoCantuariense at Verona, part of an arm in a convent at Florence, andanother part in the church of St. Waldetrude at Mons; in Fuller's timeboth arms were displayed in the English convent at Lisbon; while Bourbourgpreserves his chalice, Douay his hair shirt, and St. Omer his mitre. Thecathedral of Sens contains his vestments and an ancient altar at which hesaid mass. His story is pictured in the painted windows at Chartres, andSens, and St. Omer, and his figure is to be seen in the church of Monrealeat Palermo. "

In England almost every county contained a church or convent dedicated toSt. Thomas. Most notable of these was the abbey of Aberbrothock, raised, within seven years after the martyrdom, to the memory of the saint byWilliam the Lion, king of Scotland. William had been defeated by theEnglish forces on the very day on which Henry II. Had done penance at thetomb, and made his peace with the saint, and attributing his misfortunesto the miraculous influence of St. Thomas, endeavoured to propitiate himby the dedication of this magnificent abbey. A mutilated image of thesaint has been preserved among the ruins of the monastery. This is perhapsthe most notable of the gifts to St. Thomas. The volume of the offeringswhich were poured into the Canterbury coffers by grateful invalids whohad been cured of their ailments, and by others who, like the Scotch king, were anxious to propitiate the power of the saint, must have beenenormous. We know that at the beginning of the sixteenth century theyearly offerings, though their sums had already greatly diminished, wereworth about £4, 000, according to the present value of money. 

The story of the fall of the shrine and the overthrow of the power of themartyr is so remarkable and was so implicitly believed at the time, thatit cannot be passed over in spite of the doubts which modern criticismcasts on its authenticity. It is said that in April, A. D. 1538, a writ ofsummons was issued in the name of King Henry VIII. Against Thomas Becket, sometime Archbishop of Canterbury, accusing him of treason, contumacy, andrebellion. This document was read before the martyr's tomb, and thirtydays were allowed for his answer to the summons. As the defendant did notappear, the suit was formally tried at Westminster. The Attorney Generalheld a brief for Henry II. , and the deceased defendant was represented byan advocate named by Henry VIII. Needless to relate, judgment was given infavour of Henry II. , and the condemned Archbishop was ordered to have hisbones burnt and all his gorgeous offerings escheated to the Crown. Thefirst part of the sentence was remitted and Becket's body was buried, buthe was deprived of the title of Saint, his images were destroyedthroughout the kingdom, and his name was erased from all books. The shrinewas destroyed, and the gold and jewels thereof were taken away intwenty-six carts. Henry VIII. Himself wore the Regale of France in a ringon his thumb. Improbable as the story of Becket's trial may seem, such aprocedure was strictly in accordance with the forms of the Roman CatholicChurch, of which Henry still at that time professed himself a member:moreover it is not without authentic parallels in history: exactly thesame measures of reprisal had been taken against Wycliffe at Lutterworth;and Queen Mary shortly afterwards acted in a similar manner towards Bucerand Fagius at Cambridge. 

The last recorded pilgrim to the shrine of St. Thomas was Madame deMontreuil, a great French dame who had been waiting on Mary of Guise, inScotland. She visited Canterbury in August, A. D. 1538, and we are toldthat she was taken to see the wonders of the place and marvelled at allthe riches thereof, and said "that if she had not seen it, all the men inthe world could never 'a made her believe it. " Though she would not kissthe head of St. Thomas, the Prior "did send her a present of coneys, capons, chickens, with divers fruits--plenty--insomuch that she said, 'What shall we do with so many capons? Let the Lord Prior come, and eat, and help us to eat them tomorrow at dinner' and so thanked him heartilyfor the said present. "

Such was the history of Becket's shrine. We have dwelt on it at somelength because it is no exaggeration to say that in the Middle AgesCanterbury Cathedral owed its European fame and enormous riches to thefact that it contained the shrine within its walls, and because the storyof the influence of the Saint and the miracles that he worked, and themillions of pilgrims who flocked from the whole civilized world to dohomage to him, throws a brighter and more vivid light on the lives andthoughts and beliefs of mediæval men than many volumes stuffed withhistorical research. No visitor to Canterbury can appreciate what he sees, unless he realizes to some extent the glamour which overhung the restingplace of St. Thomas in the days of Geoffrey Chaucer. We have no certainknowledge as to whether the other shrines and relics which enriched thecathedral were destroyed along with those of St. Thomas. Dunstan andElphege at least can hardly have escaped, and it is probable that most ofthe monuments and relics perished at the time of the Reformation. We knowthat in A. D. 1541, Cranmer deplored the slight effect which had beenwrought by the royal orders for the destruction of the bones and imagesof supposed saints. And that he forthwith received letters from the king, enjoining him to cause "due search to be made in his cathedral churches, and if any shrine, covering of shrine, table, monument of miracles, orother pilgrimage, do there continue, to cause it to be taken away, so asthere remain no memory of it. " This order probably brought about thedestruction of the tombs and monuments of the early archbishops, mostof whom had been officially canonised, or been at least enrolled in thepopular calendar, and were accordingly doomed to have their resting-placesdesecrated. We know that about this time the tomb of Winchelsey wasdestroyed, because he was adored by the people as a reputed saint. 

Any monuments that may have escaped royal vandalism at the Reformationperiod, fell before the even more effective fanaticism of the Puritans, who seem to have exercised their iconoclastic energies with especial zealand vigour at Canterbury. Just before their time Archbishop Laud spent agood deal of trouble and money on the adornment of the high altar. Aletter to him from the Dean, dated July 8th, A. D. 1634, is quoted byPrynne, "We have obeyed your Grace's direction in pulling down theexorbitant seates within our Quire whereby the church is very muchbeautified.... Lastly wee most humbly beseech your Grace to take noticethat many and most necessary have beene the occasions of extraordinaryexpences this yeare for ornaments, etc. " And another Puritan scribe tellsus that "At the east end of the cathedral they have placed an Altar asthey call it dressed after the Romish fashion, for which altar they havelately provided a most idolatrous costly glory cloth or back cloth. "

These embellishments were not destined to remain long undisturbed. In A. D. 1642, the Puritan troopers hewed the altar-rails to pieces and then "threwthe Altar over and over down the three Altar steps, and left it lying withthe heels upwards. " This was only the beginning: we read that during thetime of the Great Rebellion, "the newly erected font was pulled down, theinscriptions, figures, and coats of arms, engraven upon brass, were tornoff from the ancient monuments, and whatsoever there was of beauty ordecency in the holy place, was despoiled. "

A manuscript, compiled in 1662, and preserved in the Chapter library, gives a more minute account of this work of destruction. "The windowswere generally battered and broken down; the whole roof, with that of thesteeples, the chapter-house and cloister, externally impaired and ruinedboth in timber-work and lead; water-tanks, pipes, and much other lead cutoff; the choir stripped and robbed of her fair and goodly hangings; theorgan and organ-loft, communion-table, and the best and chiefest of thefurniture, with the rail before it, and the screen of tabernacle workrichly overlaid with gold behind it; goodly monuments shamefully abused, defaced, and rifled of brasses, iron grates, and bars. "

The ringleader in this work of destruction was a fanatic named RichardCulmer, commonly known as Blue Dick. A paper preserved in the Chapterlibrary, in the writing of Somner, the great antiquarian scholar, describes the state in which the fabric of the cathedral was left, at thetime of the Restoration of King Charles II. , in 1660. "So little, " saysthis document, "had the fury of the late reformers left remaining of itbesides the bare walles and roofe, and these, partly through neglect, andpartly by the daily assaults and batteries of the disaffected, soshattered, ruinated, and defaced, as it was not more unserviceable in theway of a cathedral than justly scandalous to all who delight to serve Godin the beauty of Holines. " Most of the windows had been broken, "thechurch's guardians, her faire and strong gates, turned off the hooks andburned. " The buildings and houses of the clergy had been pulled down orgreatly damaged; and lastly, "the goodly oaks in our common gardens, ofgood value in themselves, and in their time very beneficial to our churchby their shelter, quite eradicated and _set to sale_. " This last touch isinteresting, as showing that the reforming zeal of the Puritans was notalways altogether disinterested. 

After the Restoration some attempt was made to render the cathedral oncemore a fitting place of worship, and the sum of £10, 000 was devoted torepairs and other public and pious uses. A screen was put up in the sameposition as the former one, and the altar was placed in front. But, inA. D. 1729, this screen no longer suited the taste of the period, and asum of £500, bequeathed by one of the prebendaries, was devoted to theerection of a screen in the Corinthian style, designed by a certain Mr. Burrough, afterwards Master of Caius College, Cambridge. A little beforethis time the old stalls, which had survived the Puritan period werereplaced: a writer describes them, in the early half of the seventeenthcentury, as standing in two rows, an upper and lower, on each side, withthe archbishop's wood throne above them on the south side. This chair hementions as "sometime richly guilt, and otherwise well set forth, but nownothing specious through age and late neglect. It is a close seat, madeafter the old fashion of such stalls, called thence _faldistoria_; only inthis they differ, that they were moveable, this is fixt. "

Thus wrote Somner in A. D. 1640: the dilapidated throne of which he speakswas replaced, in A. D. 1704, by a splendid throne with a tall Corinthiancanopy, and decorated with carving by Grinling Gibbons, the gift ofArchbishop Tenison, who also set up new stalls. At the same time QueenMary the Second presented new and magnificent furniture for the altar, throne, stalls of the chief clergy, and pulpit. Since then many alterationshave been made. The old altar and screen have been removed, and a newreredos set up, copied from the screen work of the Lady Chapel in thecrypt; and Archbishop Tenison's throne has given place to a lofty stonecanopy. In 1834 owing to its tottering condition the north-west tower ofthe nave had to be pulled down. It was rebuilt on an entirely differentplan by Mr. George Austin, who, with his son, also conducted a good dealof repairing and other work in the cathedral and the buildings connectedwith it. A good deal of the external stonework had to be renewed, but thework was carried out judiciously, and only where it was absolutelynecessary. On the west side of the south transept a turret has been pulleddown and set up again stone by stone. The crypt has been cleared out andrestored, and its windows have been reopened. The least satisfactoryevidences of the modern hand are the stained glass windows, which have beenput up in the nave and transepts of the cathedral. The Puritan trooper hadwrought havoc in the ancient glass, smashing it wherever a pike-thrustcould reach; and modern piety has been almost as ruthless in erectingwindows which are quite incredibly hideous. 

In September, 1872, Canterbury was once more damaged by fire, just aboutseven hundred years after the memorable conflagration described byGervase. On this occasion, however, the damage did not go beyond the outerroof of the Trinity Chapel. The fire broke out at about half-past ten inthe morning, and was luckily discovered before it had made much progress, by two plumbers who were at work in the south gutter. According to the"Builder" of that month, "a peculiar whirring noise" caused them to lookinside the roof, and they found three of the main roof-timbers blazing. "Thebest conjecture seems to be that the dry twigs, straw, and similar_débris_, carried into the roof by birds, and which it has been the customto clear at intervals out of the vault pockets, had caught fire from aspark that had in some way passed through the roof covering, perhaps undera sheet raised a little at the bottom by the wind. " Assistance was quicklysummoned, and "by half-past twelve the whole was seen to be extinguished. At four o'clock the authorities held the evening service, so as not tobreak a continuity of custom extending over centuries; and in thesmoke-filled choir, the whole of the Chapter in residence, in the properPsalm (xviii. ), found expression for the sense of victory over a conqueredenemy. "

Thus little harm was done, but it must have been an exciting crisis whileit lasted. "The bosses [of the vaulting], pierced with cradle-holes, happened to be well-placed for the passage of the liquid lead dripping onthe back of the vault from the blazing roof, " which poured down on to thepavement below, on the very spot which Becket's shrine had once occupied. "Through the holes further westward water came, sufficient to float overthe surfaces of the polished Purbeck marble floor and the steps of thealtar, and alarmed the well-intentioned assistants into removing thealtar, tearing up the altar-rails, etc. , etc. The relics of the BlackPrince, attached to a beam (over his tomb) at the level of the caps of thepiers on the south side of Trinity Chapel, were all taken down and placedaway in safety. The eastern end of the church is said to have been filledwith steam from water rushing through with, and falling on, the moltenlead on the floor; and, in time, by every opening, wood-smoke reached theinside of the building, filling all down to the west of the nave with ablue haze. " The scene in the building is said to have been one ofextraordinary beauty, but most lovers of architecture would probablyprefer to view the fabric with its own loveliness, unenhanced by numerousstreams of molten lead pouring down from the roof. 

Since that date Canterbury Cathedral has been happy in the possession ofno history, and we pass on, therefore, to the examination in detail of itsexterior. 

[Illustration: THE CLOISTERS. ]

CHAPTER II. 

EXTERIOR AND PRECINCTS--THE MONASTERY. 

The external beauties of Canterbury Cathedral can best be viewed in theirentirety from a distance. The old town has nestled in close under thewalls of the church that dominates it, preventing anything like a completeview of the building from the immediate precincts. But Canterbury is girtwith a ring of hills, from which we may enjoy a strikingly beautiful viewof the ancient city, lying asleep in the rich, peaceful valley of theStour, and the mighty cathedral towering over the red-tiled roofs of thetown, and looking, as a rustic remarked as he gazed down upon it "like ahen brooding over her chickens. " Erasmus must have been struck by somesuch aspect of the cathedral, for he says, "It rears its crest (_erigitse_) with so great majesty to the sky, that it inspires a feeling of aweeven in those who look at it from afar. " Such a view may well be got fromthe hills of Harbledown, a village about two miles from Canterbury, containing in itself many objects of antiquarian and æsthetic interest. It stands on the road by which Chaucer's pilgrims wended their way to theshrine of St. Thomas, and it is almost certainly referred to in the linesin which the poet speaks of

 "A little town Which that yeleped is Bob Up and Down Under the Blee in Canterbury way. "

The name Harbledown is derived by local philologists from Bob up and Down, and the hilly nature of the country fully justifies the title. Here standsLanfranc's Lazar-house, "so picturesque even now in its decay, and inspite of modern alterations which have swept away all but the ivy-cladchapel of Lanfranc. " In this hospital a shoe of St. Thomas was preservedwhich pilgrims were expected to kiss as they passed by; and in an oldchest the modern visitor may still behold a rude money-box with a slit inthe lid, into which the great Erasmus is said to have dropped a coin whenhe visited Canterbury at the time when St. Thomas's glory was justbeginning to wane. Behind the hospital is an ancient well called "theBlack Prince's Well. " The Black Prince, as is well known, passed throughCanterbury on his way from Sandwich to London, whither he was escortinghis royal prisoner, King John of France, whom he had captured at thebattle of Poitiers, A. D. 1357. We need not doubt that he halted atHarbledown to salute the martyr's shoe, and he may have washed in thewater of the well, which was henceforward called by his name. Anothertradition relates that he had water brought to him from this well whenhe lay sick, ten years later, in the archbishop's palace at Canterbury. 

[Illustration: VIEW ON THE STOUR. ]

Another good view may be had from the crest on which stands St. Martin'sChurch, which was formerly believed to be the oldest in England, soancient that its origin was connected with the mythical King Lucius. Modern research has decided that it is of later date, but there is nodoubt that on the spot on which it now stands, Bertha, the wife ofEthelbert--who was ruling when Augustine landed with his monks--had alittle chapel, as Bede relates, "in the east of the city, " where sheworshipped, before her husband's conversion, with her chaplain, Luidhard, a French priest. Dean Stanley has described this view in a fine passage:

"Let any one sit on the hill of the little church of St. Martin, and lookon the view which is there spread before his eyes. Immediately below arethe towers of the great abbey of St. Augustine, where Christian learningand civilization first struck root in the Anglo-Saxon race; and withinwhich, now, after a lapse of many centuries, a new institution has arisen, intended to carry far and wide to countries of which Gregory and Augustinenever heard, the blessings which they gave to us. Carry your view on--andthere rises high above all the magnificent pile of our cathedral, equal insplendour and state to any, the noblest temple or church, that Augustinecould have seen in ancient Rome, rising on the very ground which derivesits consecration from him. And still more than the grandeur of the outwardbuilding that rose from the little church of Augustine, and the littlepalace of Ethelbert, have been the institutions of all kinds, of whichthese were the earliest cradle. From the first English Christiancity--from Kent, the first English Christian kingdom--has, by degrees, arisen the whole constitution of Church and State in England which nowbinds together the whole British Empire. And from the Christianity hereestablished in England has flowed, by direct consequence, first, theChristianity of Germany--then after a long interval, of North America, andlastly, we may trust in time, of all India and all Australasia. The viewfrom St. Martin's Church is, indeed, one of the most inspiriting that canbe found in the world; there is none to which I would more willingly takeany one who doubted whether a small beginning could lead to a great andlasting good--none which carries us more vividly back into the past, ormore hopefully forward to the future. "

In the town itself, the best point of vantage from which the visitor canget a good view of the cathedral is the summit of the Dane John, a loftymound crowned by an obelisk; from this height we look across at the roofand towers of the cathedral rising above thickly clustering trees: fromhere also there is a fine view over the beautiful valley of the Stour inthe direction of Thanington and Chartham. 

In the immediate precincts, a delightful picture is presented from theGreen Court, which was once the main outer court of the monastery. Hereare noble trees and beautifully kept turf, at once in perfect harmony andagreeable contrast with the rugged walls of the weather-beaten cathedral:the quiet soft colouring of the ancient buildings and that look ofcloistered seclusion only to be found in the peaceful nooks of cathedralcities are seen here at their very best. 

[Illustration: "BELL HARRY, " THE CENTRAL TOWER. ]

The chief glory of the exterior of Canterbury Cathedral is the central#Angel or Bell Tower#. This is one of the most perfect structures thatGothic architecture, inspired by the loftiest purpose that ever stimulatedthe work of any art, has produced. It was completed by Prior Selling, whoheld office in 1472, and has been variously called the Bell Harry Towerfrom the mighty Dunstan bell, weighing three tons and three hundredweight, and the Angel Tower from the gilded figure of an angel poised on one ofthe pinnacles, which has long ago disappeared. The tower itself is of twostages, with two two-light windows in each stage; the windows aretransomed in each face, and the lower tier is canopied; each angle isrounded off with an octagonal turret and the whole structure is amarvellous example of architectural harmony, and in every way a work oftranscendent beauty. The two buttressing arches and the ornamental braceswhich support it were added at the end of the fifteenth century by PriorGoldstone, to whom the building of the whole tower is apparentlyattributed in the following quaint passage from a mediæval authority: "Heby the influence and help of those honourable men, Cardinal John Mortonand Prior William Sellyng, erected and magnificently completed that loftytower commonly called Angyll Stepyll in the midst of the church, betweenthe choir and the nave--vaulted with a most beautiful vault, and withexcellent and artistic workmanship in every part sculptured and gilt, withample windows glazed and ironed. He also with great care and industryannexed to the columns which support the same tower two arches orvaults of stone work, curiously carved, and four smaller ones, to assistin sustaining the said tower" ("Ang. Sac. " i. 147, translated by ProfessorWillis). The western front of the cathedral is flanked by two towers ofgreat beauty; a point in which Mediæval architecture has risen above thatof all other ages is the skill which it displays in the use of towers ofdifferent heights, breaking the dull straight line of the roof andcarrying the eye gradually up to the loftiest point of the building. Canterbury presents an excellent example of the beauty of thissubordination of lower towers to the chief; we invite the visitor, whenlooking at the exterior, to compare it mentally, on the one hand, with thedull severity of the roof line of a Greek temple, and on the other, totake a fair example of modern so-called Gothic, with the ugly straightline of the Houses of Parliament, as seen from the Lambeth Embankment, broken only by the two stark and stiff erections at each end. The twotowers at the west end of Canterbury were not always uniform. At thenorthern corner an old Norman tower formerly uplifted a leaden spire onehundred feet high. This rather anomalous arrangement must have had adecidedly lopsided effect, and it is probable that the appearance of thecathedral was changed very much for the better when the spire, which hadbeen taken down in 1705, was replaced by Mr. Austin in 1840, by a toweruniform with the southernmost tower, called the Chicele or Oxford steeple:this tower was completed by Prior Goldstone, who, during his tenure ofoffice from 1449-68, also built the Lady Chapel. On its south side standsthe porch, with a remarkable central niche, which formerly contained arepresentation of Becket's martyrdom. The figures of the Archbishop'sassassins now no longer remain; but their place has been filled up withfigures of various worthies who have lived under the shadow of thecathedral. Dean Alford suggested, about 1863, that the many vacant nichesshould be peopled in this manner, and since then the work has proceededsteadily. The western towers are built each of six stages: each of the twoupper tiers contains two two-light windows, while below there is a largefour-light window uniform with the windows of the aisles. The base tier isornamented with rich panelling. The parapet is battlemented and the anglesare finished with fine double pinnacles. At the west end there is a largewindow of seven lights, with three transoms. The gable contains a windowof very curious shape, filled with intricate tracery. The space above theaisle windows is ornamented with quatrefoiled squares, and the clerestoryis pierced by windows of three lights. In the main transept there is afine perpendicular window of eight lights; the choir, or south-easttransept, has a Norman front, with arcades, and a large round window; alsoan arcaded west turret surmounted by a short spire. Beyond this, the lineis again broken by the projection of St. Anselm's so-called Tower; thischapel hardly merits such a title, unless we adopt the theory that it, andthe corresponding building on the north side, were at one time a good dealmore lofty, but lost their upper portions at the time of the great fire. The end of the cathedral has a rather untidy appearance, owing to the factthat the exterior of the corona was never completed. On the northern sidethe building is so closely interwoven with the cloister and monasticbuildings that it can only be considered in conjunction with them. Thelength of the cathedral is 514 feet, the height of the central tower 235feet, and that of the western towers 130 feet. 

The chief interest of ancient buildings to the ordinary observer, as apartfrom the architectural specialist, is the fact that they are after all themost authentic documents in our possession from which we can gain anyinsight into the lives and modes of thought of our ancestors. To tell ushow ordinary men lived and busied themselves is beneath the dignity ofhistory. As Carlyle says: "The thing I want to see is not Redbook Lists, and Court Calendars, and Parliamentary Registers, but the _Life of Man_ inEngland: what men did, thought, suffered, enjoyed; ... Mournful, in truth, is it to behold what the business 'called History' in these so enlightenedand illuminated times, still continues to be. Can you gather from it, readtill your eyes go out, any dimmest shadow of an answer to that greatquestion: How men lived and had their being; were it but economically, as, what wages they got, and what they bought with these? Unhappily theycannot.... History, as it stands all bound up in gilt volumes, is but ashade more instructive than the wooden volumes of a backgammon-board. "Most of us have felt, at one time or another, the truth of these words, though it is only fair to add that the fault lies not so much at the doorof the modern historian as of our ancestors themselves, who were too busywith fighting and revelling to leave any but the most meagre account oftheir own lives behind them; so that "Redbook Lists and ParliamentaryRegisters" are all that the veracious chronicler, who will not let hisimagination run riot, can find to put before us. But happily, in thewildest days of the Middle Ages, there were found some peace-loving soulswho preferred to drone away their lives in quiet meditation behind thewalls of the great monasteries, undisturbed by the clash of swords. Someoutlet had to be found for their innate energies and their intensereligious enthusiasm; missionary zeal had not yet been invented, and thewriting of books would have seemed to them a waste of good parchment, forin their eyes the Scriptures and the Aristotelian writings supplied allthe food that the most voracious intellect could crave for. So theyapplied all their genius--and it is probable that the flower of theEuropean race, as far as intelligence and culture are concerned, wasgathered in those days into the Church--and all the ecstatic fervour oftheir religious devotion, the strength of which men of these latter dayscan hardly realize, to the construction of beautiful buildings for theworship of God. They have written a history in stone, from which athoughtful student can supply much that is left out by the dry-as-dustannalists, for it is not only the history, but the actual result andexpression, of the lives of the most gifted men of the Middle Ages. 

If we would read this history aright it is necessary that we should lookat it as far as possible, as it was originally published. If the oldbinding has been torn off, and the volume hedged in by a crowd of modernliterature, we must try to put these aside and consider the book as it wasfirst issued; in other words, to drop metaphor altogether, in consideringa building like Canterbury Cathedral, we must forget the busy littlecountry town, with its crowded streets and noisy railway stations, though, from one point of view, the contrast that they present is agreeable andvaluable, and try to conceive the church as it once stood, the centre of aharmonious group of monastic buildings. 

The founder of the monastic system in the West was the famous Benedict ofNursia, who had adapted the strict code of St. Basil, mitigating itsseverity, and making it more in accordance with the climate, manners, and general circumstances of Western peoples. His code was described byGregory the Great as "excellent in its discretion, lucid in itsexpression"--_discretione præcipuam sermone luculentam_. He founded themonasteries of Montecassino and Subiaco in the beginning of the sixthcentury. In the ninth and tenth centuries--the worst period of the DarkAges--corruption and laxity pervaded society in general, and theBenedictine monasteries especially. At the end of this deplorable epochmany efforts were made in the direction of reform. Gregory the Greathimself was a member of the Benedictine brotherhood; so also wasAugustine, who founded the great monastery of Christ Church. The venerableBede relates that "when Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, assumed the episcopal throne in that royal city, he recovered therein, by the king's assistance, a church which, as he was told, had beenconstructed by the original labour of Roman believers. This church heconsecrated in the name of the Saviour, our God and Lord Jesus Christ, andthere he established an habitation for himself and all his successors. "This was the Basilica-Church, mentioned in an earlier part of this work, an imitation of the original Basilica of St. Peter at Rome. Augustine'smonastery was handsomely endowed. A large stretch of country was given tothe monks, and they were the first who brought the soil into cultivation, and built churches and preached in them. "The monks, " says Bede, "were theprincipal of those who came to the work of preaching. " In the city itselfthere were thirty-two "mansuræ" or mansions, held by the clergy, rendering35_s. _ a year, and a mill worth 5_s. _ per annum. Augustine's monasterylived and prospered--though, as we shall see, it did not escape thegeneral corruption of the eighth and ninth centuries--until the time ofthe Norman invasion. In 1067 a fire destroyed the Saxon cathedral and thegreater part of the monastic buildings. But the year 1070 marks an epochin the history of the monastery, for it was then that William theConqueror having deposed Stigand, the Saxon Primate, invited Lanfranc, theAbbot of Caen, to accept the vacant see. He "being overcome by the will ofGod as much as by the apostolic authority, passed over into England, and, not forgetful of the object for which he had come, directed all hisendeavours to the correction of the manners of his people, and settlingthe state of the Church. And first he laboured to renew the church ofCanterbury ... And built also necessary offices for the use of the monks;and (which is very remarkable) he caused to be brought over the sea inswift sailing vessels squared stones from Caen in order to build with. Healso built a house for his own dwelling near the church, and surroundedall these buildings with a vast and lofty wall. " Also "he duly arrangedall that was necessary for the table and clothing of the monks, " and "manylands which had been taken away he brought back into the property of theChurch and restored to it twenty-five manors. " He also added one hundredto the original number of the monks, and drew up a new system ofdiscipline to correct the laxity which was rife when he entered on theprimacy. He tells Anselm in a letter that "the land in which he is, isdaily shaken with so many and so great tribulations, is stained with somany adulteries and other impurities, that no order of men consults forthe benefit of his soul, or even desires to hear the salutary doctrine ofGod for his increase in holiness. " Perhaps the most interesting feature ofhis reconstruction of the "regula, " or rule for the monks' discipline, washis enactment with regard to the library and the studies of the brethren. In the first week in Lent, the monks had to bring back and place in theChapter House the books which had been provided for their instructionduring the previous year. Those who had not duly performed the yearlyportion of reading prostrated themselves, confessing their fault andasking pardon. A fresh distribution was then made, and the brethrenretired, each furnished with a year's literary task. Apparently noexamination was held, no test applied to discover whether the last year'sinstruction had been digested and assimilated. It was assumed thatanything like a perfunctory performance of the allotted task was outof the question. 

Another important alteration introduced by Lanfranc was his inaugurationof the system under which the monastery was in immediate charge, no longerof the archbishop, but of a prior. Henceforward the primate stood forth asthe head of the Church, rather than as merely the chief of her mostancient foundation. 

We have dwelt at some length on the subject of the monastery atCanterbury, because, as we have said, it is impossible to learn thelesson of the cathedral truly, unless we regard the fabric in its originalsetting, surrounded by monastic buildings; and it is impossible tointerest ourselves in the monastic buildings without knowing something ofthe institution which they housed. 

[Illustration: DETAIL OF ST. ANSELM'S TOWER. ]

The buildings which contained a great #monastery# like that of Canterburywere necessarily very extensive. Chief among them was the chapter house, which generally adjoined the principal cloister, bounded by the nave ofthe church and one of the transepts. Then there were the buildingsnecessary for the actual housing and daily living of the monks--thedormitory, refectory, kitchen, buttery, and other indispensable offices. Another highly important building, usually standing eastward of thechurch, was the infirmary or hospital for sick brethren, with its chapelduly attached. Further, the rules of Benedictine monasteries alwaysenjoined the strict observance of the duty of hospitality, and some partof the buildings was invariably set aside for the due entertainment ofstrangers of various ranks. Visitors of distinction were entertained inspecial rooms which generally were attached to the house of the prior orabbot: guests of a lower order were lodged hard by the hall of thecellarer; while poor pilgrims and chance wanderers who craved a night'sshelter were bestowed, as a rule, near the main gate of the monastery. Lastly, it must not be forgotten that a well-endowed monastery was alwaysthe steward of a great estate, so that many storehouses andfarm-buildings--barns, granaries, bakehouse, etc. --were a necessary partof the institution. Extensive stabling was also required to shelter thehorses of illustrious visitors and their suites. Moreover, the clergythemselves were often greatly addicted to the chase, and we know that thepious St. Thomas found time to cultivate a taste for horseflesh, which wasremarkable even in those days when all men who wanted to move at all werebound to ride. The knights who murdered him thought it worth while topillage his stable after accomplishing their errand. 

[Illustration: THE CHRISTCHURCH GATE(FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY CARL NORMAN AND CO). ]

The centre round which all these manifold buildings and offices wereranged was, of course, the cathedral. Wherever available space and thenature of the ground permitted it, the cloister and chief buildings wereplaced under the shelter of the church on its southern side, as may beseen, for instance, at Westminster, where the cloisters, chapter house, deanery, refectory (now the College Hall), etc. , are all gathered on thesouth side of the Abbey. At Canterbury, however, the builders were notable to follow the usual practice, owing to the fact that they were hemmedin closely by the houses of the city on the south side, so that we findthat the space between the north side of the cathedral and the city wall, all of which belonged to the monks, was the site of the monasticbuildings. The whole group formed by the cathedral and the subsidiarybuildings was girt by a massive wall, which was restored and made moreeffective as a defence by Lanfranc. It is probable that some of theremains of this wall, which still survive, may be considered as datingfrom his time. The chief gate, both in ancient and modern days, is PriorGoldstone's Gate, usually known as #Christ Church Gate#, an exceedinglygood example of the later Perpendicular style. A contemporary inscriptiontells us that it was built in 1517. It stands at the end of Mercery Lane, a lofty building with towers at its corners, and two storeys above thearchway. In front there is a central niche, in which an image of ourSaviour originally stood, while below a row of shields, much battered andweather-beaten, display armorial bearings, doubtless those of piouscontributors to the cost of the building. An early work of Turner's haspreserved the corner pinnacles which once decorated the top of the gate;these were removed some thirty years ago. 

[Illustration: THE SOUTH-WEST PORCH OF THE CATHEDRAL. ]

[Illustration: CLOISTERS OF THE MONKS' INFIRMARY. ]

Entering the precincts through this gateway we find ourselves in what wasthe _outer_ cemetery, in which members of the laity were allowed to beburied. The _inner_ cemetery, reserved as a resting-place for the brethrenthemselves, was formerly divided from the outer by a wall which extendedfrom St. Anselm's chapel. A Norman door, which was at one time part ofthis wall, has now been put into a wall at the east end of the monks'burying ground. This space is now called "The Oaks. " A bell tower, _campanile_, doubtless used for tolling the passing bell, once stood on amound in the cemetery, close to the dividing wall. The houses on the southside of this space are of no great antiquity or interest, and the site onwhich they stand did not become part of the monastery grounds before acomparatively late period. But if we skirt the east end of the cathedralwe come to the space formerly known as the "Homors, " a word supposed to bea corruption of _Ormeaux_, a French word, meaning elms. [1] Here stood thebuilding in which guests of rank and distinction were entertained; and thegreat hall, with its kitchen and offices, is still preserved in a house inthe north-east corner of the inclosure, now the residence of one of theprebendaries. The original building was one of great importance in amonastery like Canterbury, which was so often visited, as has already beenshown, by royal pilgrims. It is said to have been rebuilt from top tobottom by Prior Chillenden, and the nature of the architecture, as far asit can be traced, is not in any way at variance with this statement. Thehall, as it originally stood, was pierced with oriel windows rising to theroof, and at its western end a walled-off portion was divided into twostoreys, the lower one containing the kitchens, while the upper one waseither a distinct room separated from the hall, or it may have been agallery opening upon it. 

 [1] Though it is also derived from one Dr. Omerus, who lived on the spot in the thirteenth century. 

To the west of this house we find the #ruins of the Infirmary#, whichcontained a long hall with aisles, and a chapel at the east end. The hallwas used as the hospital, and the aisles were sometimes divided intoseparate compartments; the chapel was really part of the hall, with only ascreen intervening, so that the sick brethren could take part in theservices. This infirmary survived until the Reformation period, but notwithout undergoing alterations. Before the fifteenth century the southaisle was devoted to the use of the sub-prior, and the chancel at the eastend of the chapel was partially restored about the middle of thefourteenth century. A large east window was put in with three-lightwindows on each side. In the north wall there is a curious opening, through which, perhaps, sufferers from infectious diseases were allowed toassist at the services. On the southern side, the whole row of the pillarsand arches of the chapel, and some traces of a clerestory, still remain. On the wall are some traces of paintings, which are too faded to bedeciphered. Such of the pillars and arches of the hall as still surviveare strongly coloured by the great fire of 1174, in which Prior Conrad'schoir was destroyed. 

[Illustration: RUINS OF THE MONKS' INFIRMARY. ]

[Illustration: THE BAPTISTERY TOWER. ]

Westward of the infirmary, and connected with St. Andrew's tower, stands astrikingly beautiful building, which was once #the Vestiarium, orTreasury#: it consists of two storeys, of which the lower is open on theeast and west, while the upper contained the treasury chamber, a finelyproportioned room, decorated with an arcade of intersecting arches. 

An archway leads us from the infirmary into what is called the Dark Entry, whence a passage leads to the Prior's Gate and onward into the Prior'sCourt, more commonly known as the Green Court: this passage was theeastern boundary of the infirmary cloister. Over it Prior de Estriaraised the _scaccarium_, or checker-building, the counting-house ofthe monastery. 

Turning back towards the infirmary entrance we come to #the LavatoryTower#, which stands out from the west end of the substructure of thePrior's Chapel. The chapel itself was pulled down at the close of theseventeenth century, and a brick-built library was erected on its site. The lavatory tower is now more commonly called the baptistery, but thisname gives a false impression, and only came into use because the buildingnow contains a font, given to the cathedral by Bishop Warner. The lowerpart of the tower is late Norman in style, and was built in the latter halfof the twelfth century, when the monastery was supplied with a system ofworks by which water was drawn from some distant springs, which stillsupply the cathedral and precincts. The water was distributed from thistower to the various buildings. The original designs of the engineer arepreserved at Trinity College, Cambridge. The upper part of the tower wasrebuilt by Prior Chillenden. 

From the lavatory tower a covered passage leads into the great cloister, which can also be approached from a door in the north-west transept. Thecloister, though it stands upon the space covered by that built byLanfranc, is largely the work of the indefatigable Prior Chillenden. Itshows traces of many architectural periods. The east walk contains a door, leading into the transept, embellished with a triple arcade of earlyEnglish; under the central arch of the arcade is the doorway itself, alater addition in Perpendicular. There is also a Norman doorway which oncecommunicated with the monks' dormitory: after the Reformation it waswalled up, but in 1813 the plaster which concealed it was taken away, andsince then it has been carefully restored. The rest of the work in thispart of the cloister is chiefly Perpendicular. The north walk is adornedwith an Early English arcade, against which the shafts which supportChillenden's vaulting work are placed with rather unsatisfactory effect. Towards the western end of this walk is the door of the refectory. 

[Illustration: TURRET OF SOUTH-WEST TRANSEPT. ]

The cellarer's quarters were outside the west walk, and they wereconnected with the cloister by a doorway at the north-west corner:opposite this entrance was a door leading to the archbishop's palace, andthrough this Becket made his way towards the cathedral when his murdererswere in pursuit of him. 

The great dormitory of the monks was built along the east walk of thecloister, extending some way beyond it. It was pulled down in 1547, butthe substructure was left standing, and some private houses were erectedupon it. These were removed in the middle of the last century, and a gooddeal of the substructure remained until 1867, when the vaulting whichsurvived was pulled down to make way for the new library, which waserected on the dormitory site. Some of the pillars on which the vault ofthe substructure rested are preserved in a garden in the precincts; and afragment of the upper part of the dormitory building, which escaped thedemolition in 1547, may be seen in the gable of the new library. Thesubstructure was a fine building, 148 feet by 78 feet; the vaulting was, as described by Professor Willis, "of the earliest kind; constructed oflight tufa, having no transverse ribs, and retaining the impressions ofthe rough, boarded centring upon which they had been formed. " A secondminor dormitory ran eastward from the larger one, while outside this wasthe third dormitory, fronting the Green Court. Some portion of the vaultsof this building is still preserved in the garden before the lavatorytower. 

#The Chapter House# lies eastward of the wall of the cloister, on the siteof the original Norman building, which was rather less extensive. Thepresent structure is oblong in shape, measuring 90 feet by 35 feet. Theroof consists of a "barrel vault" and was built by Prior Chillenden, alongwith the whole of the upper storey at the end of the fourteenth century. The windows, high and four-lighted, are also his work; those at the eastand west ends exceed in size all those of the cathedral, having sevenlights. The lower storey was built by Prior de Estria about a centurybefore the work was completed by Chillenden. De Estria also erected thechoir-screen in the cathedral, which will be described in its properplace. The walls of the chapter house are embellished with an arcade oftrefoiled arches, surmounted by a cornice. At the east end stands a thronewith a splendid canopy. This building was at one time, after theReformation, used as a sermon house, but the inconvenience caused bymoving the congregation from the choir, where service was held, across tothe chapter house to hear the discourse, was so great that the practicewas not long continued. It has been restored, and its opening by H. R. H. The Prince of Wales, May 29th, 1897, is announced just as this editiongoes to press. 

[Illustration: THE CLOISTERS. ]

#The Library# covers a portion of the site of the monks' dormitory. Storedwithin it is a fine collection of books, some of which are exceedinglyrare. The most valuable specimens--among which are some highly interestingbibles and prayer-books--are jealously guarded in a separate apartmentcalled the study. The most interesting document in the collection ofcharters and other papers connected with the foundation is the charter ofEdred, probably written by Dunstan _propriis digitorum articulis_; thisroom also contains an ancient picture of Queen Edgiva painted on wood, with an inscription below enlarging on the beauties of her character andher munificence towards the monastery. 

In the garden before the lavatory tower, to the west of the prior'sgateway, two columns are preserved which once were part of the ancientchurch at Reculver--formerly Regulbium, whither Ethelbert retired aftermaking over his palace in Canterbury to Augustine. These columns werebrought to Canterbury after the destruction, nearly a hundred years ago, of the church to which they belonged. After lying neglected for some timethey were placed in their present position by Mr. Sheppard, who bestowedso much care on all the "antiquities" connected with the cathedral. Thesecolumns are believed by experts to be undoubted relics of Roman work: theyare of circular form with Ionic capitals. A curious ropework decoration onthe bases is said to be characteristically Roman, occurs on a monumentoutside the Porta Maggiore at Rome. 

#The Deanery# is a very much revised version of what once was the "NewLodging, " a building set up for the entertainment of strangers by PriorGoldstone at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Nicholas Wotton, thefirst Dean, chose this mansion for his abode, but since his day thebuilding has been very materially altered. 

[Illustration: NORMAN STAIRCASE IN THE CLOSE(FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY CARL NORMAN AND CO. ). ]

[Illustration: DETAILS OF THE NORMAN STAIRCASE IN THE CLOSE. ]

The main gate of the #Green Court# is noticeable as a choice specimen ofNorman work; on its northern side formerly stood the Aula Nova which wasbuilt in the twelfth century; the modern buildings which house the King'sSchool have supplanted the hall itself, but the splendid staircase, aperfect example of Norman style and quite unrivalled in England, isluckily preserved, and ranks among the chief glories of Canterbury. 

The site of the archbishop's palace is commemorated by the name of thestreet--Palace Street--in which a ruined archway, all that remains of thebuilding, may still be seen. This mansion, in which so many royal andimperial guests had been entertained with "solemne dauncing" and othergood cheer, was pillaged and destroyed by the Puritans; since then thearchbishops have had no official house in their cathedral city. 

[Illustration: DETAILS OF ORNAMENT. ]

CHAPTER III. 

INTERIOR. 

Dean Stanley tells us that in the days of our Saxon forefathers and forsome time after, "all disputes throughout the whole kingdom that could notbe legally referred to the king's court or to the hundreds of counties"were heard and judged on in the south porch of Canterbury Cathedral. Thiswas always the principal entrance, and was known in early days as the"Suthdure" by which name it is often mentioned in "the law books of theancient kings. " Through this door we enter the nave of the cathedral; thispart of the building was erected towards the end of the fourteenthcentury; Lanfranc's nave seems to have fallen into an unsafe and ruinousstate, so much so that in December, 1378, Sudbury, who was thenarchbishop, "issued a mandate addressed to all ecclesiastical persons inhis diocese enjoining them to solicit subscriptions for rebuilding thenave of the church, '_propter ipsius notoriam et evidentem ruinam_' andgranting forty days' indulgence to all contributors. " Archbishop Courtenaygave a thousand marks and more for the building fund, and ArchbishopArundell gave a similar contribution, as well as the five bells which wereknown as the "Arundell ryng. " We are told also that "King Henry the 4thhelped to build up a good part of the Body of the Chirch. " The immediatedirection of the work was in the hands of Prior Chillenden, alreadyfrequently mentioned; his epitaph, quoted by Professor Willis, states that"Here lieth Thomas Chyllindene formerly Prior of this Church, _DecretorumDoctor egregius_, who caused the nave of this Church and divers otherbuildings to be made anew. Who after nobly ruling as prior of this Churchfor twenty years twenty five weeks and five days, at length on the day ofthe assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary closed his last day. In theyear of the Lord 1411. " It is not certain that Chillenden actuallydesigned the buildings which were erected under his care, with which hisname is connected. For we know that work which was conceived and executedby humble monks was ascribed as a matter of course to the head of themonastery, under whose auspices and sanction it was carried out. MatthewParis records that a new oaken roof, well covered with lead, was built forthe aisles and tower of St. Alban's by Michael of Thydenhanger, monk and_camerarius_; but he adds that "these works must be ascribed to the abbot, out of respect for his office, for he who sanctions the performance of athing by his authority, is really the person who does the thing. " PriorChillenden became prior in 1390, and seems at any rate to have devoted aconsiderable amount of zeal to the work of renovating the ruined portionsof the church. 

[Illustration: THE MURDER OF ST. THOMAS À BECKET. 

(Restoration, by T. Carter, of a painting on board hung on a column nearthe tomb of Henry IV. ). ]

[Illustration: THE SHRINE OF ST. THOMAS À BECKET. 

(Specially reproduced from a drawing among the Cottonian MSS. Brit. Mus. )]

The new #Nave# replaced the original building of Lanfranc. Professor Willissays: "The whole of Lanfranc's piers, and all that rested on them, appearto have been utterly demolished, nothing remaining but the plinth of theside-aisle walls.... The style [of Chillenden's new work] is a lightPerpendicular, and the arrangement of the parts has a considerableresemblance to that of the nave of Winchester, although the latter is of amuch bolder character. Winchester nave was going on at the same time withCanterbury nave, and a similar uncertainty exists about the exactcommencement. In both, a Norman nave was to be transformed; but atWinchester the original piers were either clothed with new ashlaring, orthe old ashlaring was wrought into new forms and mouldings where possible;while in Canterbury the piers were altogether rebuilt. Hence the piers ofWinchester are much more massive. The side-aisles of Canterbury are higherin proportion, the tracery of the side windows different, but those of theclerestory are almost identical in pattern, although they differ in themanagement of the mouldings. Both have 'lierne' vaults [_i. E. _, vaults inwhich short transverse ribs or 'liernes' are mixed with the ribs thatbranch from the vaulting capitals], and in both the triforium is obtainedby prolonging the clerestory windows downward, and making panels of thelower lights, which panels have a plain opening cut through them, by whichthe triforium space communicates with the passage over the roof of theside-aisles. " Chillenden, then, setting to work with the thoroughnessthat marks his handiwork throughout, rebuilt the nave from top to bottom, leaving nothing of Lanfranc's original structure save the "plinth of theside-aisle walls, " which still remains. The resemblance between the navesof Canterbury and Winchester, pointed out by Professor Willis, will atonce strike a close observer, though the greater boldness of charactershown in the Winchester architecture is by no means the only point ofdifference. The most obvious feature in the Canterbury nave--a point whichrenders its arrangement unique among the cathedrals both of England andthe Continent--is the curious manner in which the choir is raised aloftabove the level of the floor; this is owing to the fact that it standsimmediately above the crypt; the flight of steps which is thereforenecessarily placed between the choir and the nave adds considerably to thegeneral effect of our first view of the interior. On the other hand, theraising of the choir is probably to some extent responsible for the greatheight of the nave in comparison with its length, a point which spoils itseffectiveness when we view it from end to end. Stanley, in describing theentrance of the pilgrims into the cathedral, points out how different ascene must have met their eyes. "The external aspect of the cathedralitself, " he says, "with the exception of the numerous statues which thenfilled its now vacant niches, must have been much what it is now. Not soits interior. Bright colours on the roof, on the windows, on themonuments; hangings suspended from the rods which may still be seenrunning from pillar to pillar; chapels, and altars, and chantriesintercepting the view, where now all is clear, must have rendered it sodifferent, that at first we should hardly recognize it to be the samebuilding. " The pilgrims on entering were met by a monk, who sprinkledtheir heads with holy water from a "sprengel, " and, owing to the crowd ofdevout visitors, they generally had to wait some time before they couldproceed towards a view of the shrine. Chaucer relates that the "pardoner, and the miller, and other lewd sots, " whiled away the time with staring atthe painted windows which then adorned the nave, and wondering what theywere supposed to represent:

 "'He beareth a ball-staff, ' quoth the one, 'and also a rake's end;' 'Thou failest, ' quoth the miller, 'thou hast not well thy mind; It is a spear, if thou canst see, with a prick set before, To push adown his enemy, and through the shoulder bore. '"

[Illustration: CAPITALS OF COLUMNS IN THE EASTERN APSE. ]

None of these windows now remain entire, though the west window has beenput together out of fragments of the ancient glass. The latter-daypilgrims will do well to look as little as possible at the hideous glasswhich the Philistinism of modern piety has inserted, during the lasthalf-century, in the windows of the clerestory and the nave. Its obtrusiveunpleasantness make one wish that "Blue Dick" and his Puritan troopersmight once more be let loose, under judicious direction, for half an houron the cathedral. When Erasmus visited Canterbury, the nave containednothing but some books chained to the pillars, among them the "Gospel ofNicodemus"--printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1509--and the "tomb of someperson unknown. " The last words must refer either to the chapel in thesouth wall, which was built by Lady Joan Brenchley in 1447, and removed in1787, or to the monument of Archbishop William Wittlesey, who died in1374, and was interred in the south side of the nave in a marble tomb witha brass, now destroyed. At present the south aisle contains a monument, inalabaster, to Dr. Broughton, sometime Bishop of Sydney, who was educatedin the King's School, under the shadow of the cathedral. The figure isrecumbent, and the base of the monument, which is by Lough, is decoratedwith the arms of the six Australian sees. In the north aisle we findmonuments to Orlando Gibbons, Charles I. 's organist; Adrian Saravia, prebendary of Canterbury, and the friend of Hooker, the author of the"Ecclesiastical Polity;" Sir John Boys, who founded a hospital for thepoor outside the north gate of the town, and died in 1614; Dean Lyall, whodied in 1857; and Archbishop Sumner, who died in 1862. These last twomonuments are by Phillips and H. Weekes, R. A. , respectively. 

#The Central Tower. #--In the nave the whole of Lanfranc's work wasdestroyed, but in the central tower, which we will next examine, theoriginal supporting piers were left standing, though they were coveredover by Prior Chillenden with work more in keeping with the style in whichhe had renewed the nave. "Of the tower piers, " says Willis, "the westernare probably mere casings of the original, and the eastern certainlyappendages to the original.... Of course I have no evidence to show howmuch of Lanfranc's piers was allowed to remain in the heart of the work. The interior faces of the tower walls appear to have been brought forwardby a lining so as to increase their thickness and the strength of thepiers, with a view to the erection of a lofty tower, which however was notcarried above the roof until another century had nearly elapsed. " It wasPrior Goldstone the second who, about 1500, carried upward the centraltower, which Chillenden seems to have left level with the roof of thecathedral. "With the countenance and help of Cardinal John Morton andPrior William Sellyng he magnificently completed that lofty towercommonly called Angyll Stepyll in the middle of the church. The vaultingof the tower is his work--_testudine pulcherrimâ concameratamconsummavit_--and he also added the buttressing arches--with great careand industry he annexed to the columns which support the same tower twoarches or vaults of stonework, curiously carved, and four smaller ones, toassist in sustaining the said tower. " The addition of these buttressingarches, not altogether happy in its artistic effect, was probably renderednecessary by some signs of weakness shown by the piers of the tower, forthe north-west pier, which was not so substantially reinforced as theothers, now shows a considerable bend in an eastward direction. The "twoarches or vaults of stonework" were inserted under the western andsouthern tower arches. "The eastern arch having stronger piers did notrequire this precaution, and the northern, which opened upon the'Martyrium, ' seems to have been left free, out of reverence to the altarof the martyrdom, and accordingly to have suffered the dislocation justmentioned. " The four smaller arches connected the two western tower-pierswith the nearest nave-pier and the wall of the transept. The buttressingarches are strongly built, and are adorned with curious bands ofreticulated work. The central western arch occupies the place of therood-loft, and it is probable that until the Reformation the great roodwas placed over it. The rebus of Prior Thomas Goldstone--a shield withthree gold stones--is carved upon these arches. 

#The Western Screen#, which separates the nave from the choir, is now morecommonly known as the organ-screen: it is a highly elaborate and beautifulpiece of work, and the carvings which decorate it are well worthy ofexamination. In the lower niches there are six crowned figures: oneholding a church is believed to be Ethelbert, while it has been assumedthat the figure on the extreme right represents Richard II. : probablyHenry IV. , who, as has been already mentioned, "helped to build a goodpart of the body of the Church" has a place of honour here, but nocertainty on this matter is possible. The thirteen mitred niches whichencircle the arch once contained figures of Christ and the twelveApostles, but these were destroyed by the Puritans. The exact date of thisoutward screen is uncertain, but it was set up at some time during thefifteenth century. "A little examination, " says Willis, "of its centralarchway will detect the junction of this new work with the stone enclosureof the choir. " In fact, this archway is considerably higher than that ofDe Estria which still remains behind it. The apex of this arch reaches buta little above the capitals of the new arch, and the flat space, ortympanum, thus left between the two, is filled with Perpendicular tracery. 

#The Choir. #--"In the year of grace one thousand one hundred andseventy-four, by the just but occult judgment of God, the Church of Christat Canterbury was consumed by fire, in the forty-fourth year from itsdedication, that glorious choir, to wit, which had been so magnificentlycompleted by the care and industry of Prior Conrad" ("Gervase, " translatedby Willis). The work of rebuilding was immediately begun by William, thearchitect of Sens. At the beginning of the fifth year of his work, he was, by a fall from the height of the capitals of the upper vault, "renderedhelpless alike to himself and for the work, but no other person thanhimself was in the least injured. Against the master only was thevengeance of God or spite of the devil directed. " He was succeeded in hischarge by one "William by name, English by nation, small in body, but inworkmanship of many kinds acute and honest. " Now in the sixth year fromthe fire, we read that the monks were "seized with a violent longing toprepare the choir, so that they might enter it at the coming Easter. Andthe master, perceiving their desires, set himself manfully to work, tosatisfy the wishes of the convent. He constructed, with all diligence, thewall which encloses the choir and presbytery. He carefully prepared aresting-place for St. Dunstan and St. Elfege. The choir thus hardlycompleted even with the greatest labour and diligence, the monks wereresolved to enter on Easter Eve with the 'new fire, '" that is, thepaschal candle which was lit on Easter Eve and burnt until Ascension Day. The kindling of this light was carried out in a very ceremonious manner asenjoined in Lanfranc's statutes. A fire was made in the cloister and dulyconsecrated, and the monks, having lit a taper at this fire carried it onthe end of a staff in solemn procession, singing psalms and hymns andburning incense, and lit the paschal candle in the choir with it. 

Thus was the new choir completed, in the sixth year after the burning ofConrad's. This part of the cathedral will be peculiarly interesting to thearchitectural student, owing to the curious mixture of styles, whichenables him to compare the Norman and Early English characteristics sideby side. A striking feature in the aspect of the building, as seen fromthe choir, is the remarkable inward bend with which the walls turn towardsone another at the end of the cathedral. The choir itself is peculiar inthe matter of length (180 feet--the longest in any English church), andthe lowness of the vaulting. The pillars, with their pier-arches and theclerestory wall above are said by Willis to be without doubt the work ofWilliam of Sens: but the whole question as to where the French Williamleft off and his English namesake began is extremely uncertain, as therecan be no doubt that William of Sens had fully planned out the work whichhe was destined never to complete, and it is more than probable that hissuccessor worked largely upon his plans. We are on safer ground when weassert that the new choir was altogether different from the building whichit replaced. The style was much more ornate and considerably lighter: thecharacteristics of the work of the Williams are rich mouldings, varied andelaborately carved capitals on the pillars, and the introduction ofgracefully slender shafts of Purbeck marble. Gervase, in pointing out thedifferences between the works before and after the fire, mentions that"the old capitals were plain, the new ones most artistically sculptured. The old arches and everything else either plain or sculptured with an axeand not with a chisel, but in the new work first rate sculpture aboundedeverywhere. In the old work no marble shafts, in the new innumerable ones. Plain vaults instead of ribbed behind the choir. " "Sculptured with anaxe, " reads rather curiously, but Professor Willis points out that "theaxe is not quite so rude a weapon in the hands of a mason as it mightappear at first sight. The French masons use it to the present day withgreat dexterity in carving. " The mouldings used by Ernulf were extremelysimple, and were decorated with a "peculiar and shallow class of notchedornament", of which many examples exist in other buildings of the period;while the mouldings of William of Sens "exhibit much variety, but are mostremarkable for the profusion of billet-work, zigzag and dogtooth, that arelavished upon them. " The first two methods of ornamentation are Norman, the last an Early English characteristic. This mixture is not confined tothe details of decoration but may be observed also in the indiscriminateemployment of round and pointed arches. This feature, as Willis remarks, "may have arisen either from the indifference of the artist as to themixture of forms or else from deliberate contrivance, for as he wascompelled, from the nature of his work, to retain round-headed arcades, windows, and arches, in the side-aisles, and yet was accustomed to anddesirous of employing pointed arches in his new building, he mightdiscreetly mix some round-headed arches with them, in order to make thecontrast less offensive by causing the mixture of forms to pervade thewhole composition, as if an intentional principle. "

[Illustration: THE CHOIR, LOOKING EAST(FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY CARL NORMAN AND CO. ). ]

Whatever the motive, this daring mixture renders the study of thearchitectural features of our cathedral peculiarly interesting. In thetriforium we find a semicircular outer arch circumscribing two innerpointed ones. The clerestory arch is pointed, while some of the transverseribs of the great vault are pointed and some round. 

The inward bend of the walls at the end of the choir was necessitated bythe fact that the towers of St. Anselm and St. Andrew had survived thegreat fire of 1174. Naturally the pious builders did not wish to pull downthese relics of the former church, so that a certain amount of contractionhad to be effected in order that these towers should form part of the newplan. This arrangement also fitted in with the determination to build achapel of the martyred St. Thomas at the end of the church, on the site ofthe former Trinity Chapel. For the Trinity Chapel had been much narrowerthan the new choir, but this contraction enabled the rebuilders topreserve its dimensions. 

#The Altar#, when the choir was at first completed by William, stoodentirely alone, and without a reredos; behind it the archbishop's chairwas originally placed, but this was afterwards transferred to the corona. The remarkable height at which the altar was set up is due to the factthat it is placed over the new crypt, which is a good deal higher than theolder, or western crypt. Before the Reformation the high altar was richlyembellished with all kinds of precious and sacred ornaments and vessels:while beneath it, in a vault, were stored a priceless collection of goldand silver vessels: such of these as escaped the rapacity of Henry VIII. Were destroyed by the bigotry of the Puritan zealots: the latter madehavoc of the reredos which had been erected behind the high altar, probably during the fourteenth century, and also a "most idolatrous costlyglory cloth, " the gift of Archbishop Laud. The reredos was replaced by aCorinthian screen, which was of elaborate design, but must have beenstrangely out of keeping with its surroundings; it was removed about 1870, to make way for the present reredos which was designed in the style of thescreen work in the Lady Chapel in the crypt, but which cannot be commendedas an object of beauty. The altar coverings which are now in use werepresented to the cathedral by Queen Mary, the wife of William III. , whenshe visited Canterbury. A chalice, given by the Earl of Arundel in 1636, is among the communion-plate. In his account of the building of the newchoir, Gervase tells us that "the Master carefully prepared aresting-place for St. Dunstan and St. Elfege--the co-exiles of the monks. "When the choir was ready, "Prior Alan, taking with him nine of thebrethren of the Church in whom he could trust, went by night to the tombsof the saints, so that he might not be incommoded by a crowd, and havinglocked the doors of the church, he commanded the stone-work that inclosedthem to be taken down. The monks and the servants of the Church, inobedience to the Prior's commands, took the structure to pieces, openedthe stone coffins of the saints, and bore their relics to the_vestiarium_. Then, having removed the cloths in which they had beenwrapped, and which were half-consumed from age and rottenness, theycovered them with other and more handsome palls, and bound them with linenbands. They bore the saints, thus prepared, to their altars, and depositedthem in wooden chests, covered within and without with lead: which chests, thus lead-covered, and strongly bound with iron, were inclosed instone-work that was consolidated with melted lead. " This translationwas thus carried out by Prior Alan on the night before the formal re-entryinto the choir: the rest of the monks, who had not assisted at theceremony, were highly incensed by the prior's action, for they hadintended that the translation of the fathers should have been performedwith great and devout solemnity. They even went so far as to cite theprior and the trusty monks who had assisted him before the Archbishop, andit was only by the intervention of the latter, and other men of authority, and "after due apology and repentance, " that harmony was restored in theconvent. 

[Illustration: THE CHOIR BEFORE RESTORATION. ]

The bones of St. Dunstan were long a cause of contention between thechurches of Canterbury and Glastonbury. The monks of Glastonburyconsidered that they had a prior claim on the relics of the saintedarchbishop, and stoutly contended that his body had been conveyed to theirown sanctuary after the sack of Canterbury by the Danes; and they used toexhibit a coffin as containing Dunstan's remains. But early in thefourteenth century they went so far as to set up a gorgeous shrine inwhich they placed, with much pomp and circumstance, the supposed relics. Archbishop Warham, who then ruled at Canterbury, accordingly replied bycausing the shrine in our cathedral to be opened, and was able to declaretriumphantly that he had found therein the remains of a human body, in thecostume of an archbishop, with a plate of lead on his breast, inscribedwith the words "SANCTUS DUNSTANUS. " In the course of the subsequentcorrespondence which passed between the two monasteries, the Abbot ofGlastonbury, after trying to argue that perhaps part only of the saint'srelics had been conveyed to his church, at last frankly confesses "thepeople had believed in the genuineness of their saint for so long, that heis afraid to tell them the truth. " This shrine of St. Dunstan stood on thesouth of the high altar, and was erected after the manner of a tomb:though the shrine itself perished at the time of the Reformation, therestill remains, on the south wall of the choir, between the monuments ofArchbishops Stratford and Sudbury, some very fine open diaper-work, inwhat is known as the Decorated style, which once formed part of theornamentation of St. Dunstan's altar. The shrine of St. Elfege, orAlphege, who was archbishop at the time of the sacking of Canterbury bythe Danes, and was murdered by them, has been altogether destroyed. 

#The Choir Screen#, a solid structure of stone we know to be the work ofPrior de Estria, _i. E. _, of Eastry in Kent, who was elected in 1285, anddied in 1331. According to the Obituary record, he "fairly decorated thechoir of the church with most beautiful stone-work cunningly carved. " Inhis Register there is an entry which evidently refers to the same work:"Anno 1304-5. Reparation of the whole choir with three new doors and a newscreen (_pulpito_). " The three doors referred to are the north and southentrances and the western one. It has already been pointed out that thepresent western screen is a later addition. Professor Willis, whose greatwork on the Architectural History of Canterbury Cathedral should bestudied by all who wish to examine the details of the building moreclosely than is allowed by the scope of this work, describes De Estria'sscreen as follows: "The lateral portions of this wall of enclosure are inexcellent order. In the western part of the choir, namely, between theeastern transepts and the organ-screen, this wall is built so that itsinner face nearly ranges with the inner faces of the pillars; but eastwardof the transepts it is built between the pillars. The north doorwayremains perfect. The present south doorway, which is in a much laterstyle, is manifestly a subsequent insertion. This enclosure consists of asolid wall, seven feet nine inches in height from the pavement of theside-aisles. It has a stone-bench towards the side-aisles, and above thata base, of the age of William of Sens; so that it is clear that the workof De Estria belongs to the upper part only of the enclosure, whichconsists of delicate and elaborately worked tracery, surmounted by anembattled crest.... The entire work is particularly valuable on accountof its well-established date, combined with its great beauty andsingularity. "

A portion of the choir-pavement, lying between the two transepts, isinteresting as being undoubtedly part of the original flooring of Conrad'schoir, and probably the only fragment of it that was left undisturbedafter the great fire which destroyed "that glorious choir which had beenso magnificently completed by the care and industry of Prior Conrad. " Thispart of the pavement consists of large slabs of a peculiar "stone, orveined marble of a delicate brown colour. When parts of this are taken upfor repair or alteration, it is usual to find lead which has run betweenthe joints of the slabs and spread on each side below, and which is withgreat reason supposed to be the effect of the fire of 1174, which meltedthe lead of the roof, and caused it to run down between the paving stonesin this manner. " It is said that when the choir was filled with pews in1706, and it was necessary to remove part of the pavement, the men engagedon the work picked up enough of this lead to make two large gluepots. 

[Illustration: A MISERERE IN THE CHOIR. ]

The original wooden #stalls of the choir# were described by the writer of abook published in 1640. He relates that there were two rows on each side, an upper and a lower, and that above the stalls on the south side stoodthe archbishop's wooden chair, "sometime richly guilt, and otherwiserichly set forth, but now nothing specious through age and late neglect. "Perhaps the battered and shabby condition of this part of the cathedralfurniture accounts for its having survived the Puritan period; it is atleast certain that it remained untouched until 1704, when the refurnishingof the choir was begun by Archbishop Tenison; he himself presented awainscoted throne with lofty Corinthian canopy adorned with carving byGibbons, while the altar, the pulpit, and the stalls for the dean andvice-dean were provided with rich fittings by Queen Mary II. The traceryof the screen was hidden by a lining of wainscoting, which was put beforeit. This arrangement lasted little more than a century. In the time ofArchbishop Howley, who held office from 1828 to 1848, the wainscotingwhich concealed the screen was taken away, and Archbishop Tenison's thronehas made way for a lofty canopy of tabernacle work. Some carved work, which has been ascribed to Gibbons, still remains before the eastern frontof the screen, between the choir and the nave. 

The position of the organ has been frequently shifted. In Conrad's choirit was placed upon the vault of the south transept; afterwards it was setup upon a large corbel of stone, over the arch of St. Michael in the sametransept. This corbel has now been removed; subsequently it was placedbetween two pillars on the north side of the choir, and, later on, it wasagain transferred to a position over the west door of the choir, the usualplace for the organ in cathedral churches; finally it has been"ingeniously deposited out of sight in the triforium of the south aisle ofthe choir; a low pedestal with its keys stands in the choir itself, so asto place the organist close to the singers, as he ought to be, and thecommunication between the keys and the organ is effected by trackerspassing under the pavement of the side aisles, and conducted up to thetriforium, through a trunk let into the south wall. " This arrangement notonly secures the retirement from view of the organ, which, with itstedious rows of straight and unsightly pipes, is generally more or less aneyesore in cathedrals, but is said to have caused a great improvement inthe effect of its music. The present organ, which was built by SamuelGreen, is believed to have been used at the Handel Festival in WestminsterAbbey in 1784. It was enlarged by Hill in 1842, and entirely reconstructedin 1886. In this connection we may mention that Archbishop Theodore firstintroduced the ecclesiastical chant in Canterbury Cathedral. 

The tombs in the choir are all occupied by famous archbishops andcardinals. On the south side, hard by the site of the shrine of St. Dunstan, is the tomb of Simon of Sudbury, who was archbishop from 1375 to1381. He built the west gate of the city, and a great part of the townwalls; in consideration of these benefits the mayor and aldermen used atone time to make an annual procession to his resting-place and offerprayers for his soul. Outside Canterbury his acts were not regarded withso much gratitude, for he was the inventor, or reviver, of the poll tax, and was in consequence beheaded on Tower Hill by Wat Tyler and hisfollowers. Stanley relates that "not many years ago, when this tomb wasaccidentally opened, the body was seen within, wrapped in cere-cloth, aleaden ball occupying the vacant place of the head. " Sudbury is alsofamous as having spoken against the "superstitious" pilgrimages to St. Thomas' shrine, and his violent death was accordingly attributed to theavenging power of the incensed saint. Westward of his monument stands thatof Archbishop Stratford (1333-1348), who was Grand Justiciary to EdwardIII. During his absence in Flanders, and won fame by his struggle with theking. Between this tomb and the archbishop's throne lies Cardinal Kemp(1452-1454), who was present at Agincourt in the camp of Henry V. ; histomb is surmounted by a remarkable wooden canopy. Opposite, on the northside, is the very interesting monument of Archbishop Henry Chichele(1414-1443). Shakespeare tells us that he was the instigator of Henry V. 'swar with France, and it is supposed that out of remorse for this act hebuilt, during his lifetime, the curious tomb which now conceals his bones;it is kept in repair by All Souls' College, which was founded by thepenitent archbishop that its fellows might pray for the souls of all whohad perished during the war; the effigy, in full canonicals, with its headsupported by angels, and with two monks holding open books, kneeling atits feet, lies on the upper slab; and underneath is a ghastly figure in awinding-sheet, supposed to represent the archbishop after death; thediminutive figures which originally filled the niches were destroyed bythe Puritans, but have been to some extent replaced. The gaudy colours ofthe tomb enable one to form some idea of the appearance of the churches inthe Middle Ages, when they were bedizened with painted images, hangings, and frescoes: to judge from this specimen the effect must have beendistinctly tawdry. Further east we find the monument of Archbishop Howley;he was chiefly remarkable as having crowned Queen Victoria and married herto the Prince Consort, and his monument is noticeable as being the firsterected to an archbishop, in the cathedral, since the Reformation; hehimself lies at Addington. Beyond is a fine tomb well worthy ofexamination, crowned by an elaborate canopy which shows traces of roughusage at the hands of the restoring enthusiasts, who surrounded the choirwith classical wainscoting after the Restoration. It is the monument ofArchbishop Bourchier, a staunch supporter of the House of York; he wasprimate for thirty-two years, from 1454 to 1486, and crowned Edward IV. , Richard III. , and Henry VII. The "Bourchier knot" is among the decorationswhich enrich the canopy of his tomb. 

#The South-East Transept. #--According to the present custom of theCanterbury vergers, the visitor is led from the choir to the south-easttransept. "In the choir of Ernulf, " says Willis, "the transepts were cutoff from the body by the continuity of the pier-arches and the wall above, and each transept was therefore a separate room with a flat ceiling.... But in the new design of William the transepts were opened to the centralportion, and the triforium and clerestory of the choir were turned atright angles to their courses, and thus formed the side walls of thetransepts.... The entire interior of the eastern transept has been mostskilfully converted from Ernulfian architecture to Willelmian (if I may beallowed the phrase for the nonce). It was necessary that the triforium andclerestory of the new design should be carried along the walls of thesetransepts, which were before the fire probably ornamented by acontinuation of those of Ernulf. But the respective level of theseessential members were so different in the old and new works that theonly parts of them that could be retained were the windows of the oldclerestory, which falls just above the new triforium tablet, andaccordingly these old windows may still be seen in the triforia of thetransepts, surmounted by the new pointed clerestory windows. But the wholeof the arcade work and mouldings in the interior of these transeptsbelongs to William of Sens, with the sole exception of the lower windows. Even the arches which open from the east wall of these transepts to theapses have been changed for pointed arches, the piers of which have asingularly elegant base. "

In the two apses of this transept altars to St. Gregory and St. John oncestood, and here were shrines of four Saxon primates. There is a window inthe south wall erected to the memory of Dean Alford; below it is the spoton which the tomb of Archbishop Winchelsea (1294-1313) was placed. He wasfamous for his contest with Edward I. Concerning clerical subsidies, andfor having secured from the king the confirmation of the charter. He wasmore practically endeared to the people by the generosity of hisalmsgiving--it is said that he distributed two thousand loaves among thepoor every Sunday and Thursday when corn was dear, and three thousand whenit was cheap. His tomb was heaped with offerings like the shrine of asaint, but the Pope refused to confirm the popular enthusiasm bycanonizing the archbishop; the fact, however, that it had been soreverenced was enough to qualify it for destruction in the days of HenryVIII. This transept is used at present as a chapel for the King's School, a direct continuation of the monastery school, at which ArchbishopsWinchelsea and Kemp were both educated. It contains the Corinthian thronewhich was set up in the choir early in the last century. 

#The South-West Choir Aisle. #--At the corner of this aisle we may noticethe arcade which shows the combination of the Norman rounded arch anddouble zigzag ornamentation with the pointed arch and dogtooth tracery ofWilliam. Here also are two tombs, which have given rise to a good deal ofspeculation. The more easterly one used to be regarded as the monument ofHubert Walter, who was chancellor to Richard Coeur de Lion and followedhim and Archbishop Baldwin to Palestine, and, on the death of the latter, was made primate in the camp at Acre: it is thought more probable, however, in the light of recent research, that he is buried in the TrinityChapel. The other tomb used to be the resting place of ArchbishopReynolds, the favourite of Edward II. , but it also affords food fordiscussion, as there is no trace of the "pall"--a Y-shaped strip of lamb'swool marked with crosses, a special mark of metropolitan dignity which wassent to each primate by the Pope--on the vestments of the effigy. Henceconjecture doubts whether these tombs are tenanted by archbishops at all, and inclines to the theory that they contain the bones of two of thePriors, perhaps of d'Estria. From this point we can notice the ingeniousapparatus connected with the organ. 

#St. Anselm's Tower and Chapel. #--Proceeding eastward, towards the TrinityChapel, we pause to examine the chapel or tower of St. Anselm, whichcorresponds to that of St. Andrew on the north side of the cathedral. Boththese chapels probably at one time were much more lofty, as they aredescribed as "lofty towers" by Gervase; it was in order to bring them intothe church, when it was reconstructed after the fire, that the eastwardcontraction, which presents such a curious effect as seen from the choir, was found necessary. They are now, as Willis points out, "only of the sameheight as the clerestory of the Norman Church, to which they formedappendages, and consequently they rose above the side-aisles of thatchurch as much as the clerestory did. The external faces of the inwardwalls of these towers are now inclosed under the roof of William'striforium, and it may be seen that they were once exposed to the weather. "The arches in St. Anselm's tower were originally set up by Ernulf, butthere is reason to believe that they were rebuilt after the greatconflagration. "The arch of communication, " says Willis, "is a roundarch, at first sight plainly of the Ernulfian period, having plaited-workcapitals and mouldings with shallow hollows. A similar arch opens on theeastern side of the tower into its apse. But a close examination will shewthat both these arches have undergone alteration.... I am inclined tobelieve that both these arches were reset and reduced in space after thefire, probably to increase their strength and that of their piers, onaccount of the loss of abutment, when the circular wall of the choir-apsewas removed. " The alterations that were made in these arches were probablynot important, and did not extend beyond the re-modelling of the mouldingson the side of the arch towards the choir-aisle; for we may notice thatabove both the arches we can still trace the notched decoration which ispeculiar to Ernulf's work. This chapel was originally dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, and a very interesting relic of this saintly patronagehas lately been discovered. Apparently, in order to strengthen thebuilding, two of the three windows in the chapel were blocked up, and abuttress was built across a chord of the apse, in the early part of thethirteenth century. In the course of the restoration of the tower whichwas recently carried out, this buttress was taken away, and its removallaid bare a fresco painting, representing St. Paul and the viper atMelita. This piece of decoration, as need hardly be said, must have beenput in before the construction of the buttress which has concealed andpreserved it for nearly seven centuries; it is conjectured, with a gooddeal of reason, that a similar presentment of St. Paul[Transcriber: St. Peter?] was painted at the same time on the oppositewall, but as it had no buttress to protect it, it has been altogethereffaced. A copy of the fresco of St. Paul has been placed in the cathedrallibrary. The altar of SS. Peter and Paul stood at the east end, and behindit was the tomb of the celebrated Archbishop Anselm, by whose name thechapel is now commonly called. A very interesting feature of this toweris a large and elaborate five-light window of the Decorated period. Itreplaced the original south window of the chapel, and was inserted byPrior d'Estria in 1336; it is remarkable as being one of the few instancesof Decorated architecture in the cathedral, and also because of thedetailed account that has been preserved of its erection and cost. Thepassage in the archives runs as follows:--"Memorandum, that in the year1336, there was made a new window in Christ Church, Canterbury, that is tosay, in the chapel of the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, upon whichthere were expended the following sums:

 _£ s. D. _"Imprimis, for the workmanship, or labour of the masons 21 17 9Item, for the breaking down of the wall, where the window now is 0 16 9----for lime and gravel 1 0 0----for 20 cwt. Of iron bought for said window 4 4 0----for the labour of the smiths 3 5 4----for Caen stone bought for same 5 0 0----for glass and the labour of the glaziers 6 13 4 ----------- Total 42 17 2. "

On the heads of the lights of this window were pendent bosses, like thoseof the door in the choir-screen, which, as has been said, was also thework of Prior de Estria. These bosses and the stones from which they weresuspended, have altogether disappeared, otherwise the internal tracery ofthe window is in good preservation. "The outside, however, is in a verybad condition for the purpose of the antiquarian; for, apparently onaccount of the decayed state of its surface, the tracery has undergone theprocess of splitting, namely, the whole of the outer part has been faceddown to the glass, and fresh worked in Portland stone; Portland stonemullions, or _monials_ as they are more properly called, have also beensupplied. And as this repair was executed at a period when this class ofarchitecture was ill understood, the mouldings were very badly wrought, which, with the unfortunate colour and surface of the Portland stone, hasgiven the window a most ungenuine air. However, the interior is as good asever it was, and it is on account of its date, as well as for its beauty, a most valuable example" (Willis). 

The insertion of the window in question probably had the effect ofweakening the walls of the chapel; at any rate they show signs of atendency to settle. Beneath it is the tomb of Archbishop Bradwardine, agreat scholar and divine, whose primacy only lasted three months. Oppositeto him lies Simon de Mepeham--archbishop from 1328 to 1333--whose tombforms the screen of the chapel. It is a black marble monument well worthyof examination, with a double arcade and a richly decorated canopy; theornamentation has been greatly damaged, but the shattered remains showtraces of beautiful work. Mepeham's short primacy was brought to anuntimely end by the contumacy of Grandisson, Bishop of Exeter, who refusedto allow him to enter Exeter Cathedral, actually guarding the west doorwith an armed force. The pope sided with the recalcitrant bishop, andMepeham died, according to Fuller, of a broken heart in consequence ofthis humiliation. 

#The Watching Chamber. #--Above the Chapel of St. Anselm is a small room, which is reached by a staircase from the north-west corner. A window init commands a view into the cathedral, and from this circumstance it hasbeen inferred that a watcher was stationed here at night to protect thepriceless treasures of St. Thomas's shrine from pillage by marauders. Somedoubt has been thrown on this assumption, since the site of the shrine isnot fully seen from the window, but the room is still generally known asthe Watching Chamber. Probably the shrine was much more efficientlyguarded than by the presence of a solitary monk in a chamber, from whicheven if he could see thieves he certainly could not arrest them; for weknow that "on the occasion of fires the shrine was additionally guarded bya troop of fierce ban-dogs" (Stanley). It is also said that King John ofFrance was imprisoned in this chamber during his stay at Canterbury, butthis is most unlikely, seeing that he was treated by the Black Prince moreas a sovereign than as a captive. 

[Illustration: SOME MOSAICS FROM THE FLOOR OF TRINITY CHAPEL. ]

#Trinity Chapel. #--Passing further east, we ascend the flight of steps, deeply worn by innumerable pilgrims, and enter the precincts of theTrinity Chapel. All this part of the cathedral, from the choir-screento the corona, was rebuilt from the ground, specially with a view to itsreceiving the shrine of St. Thomas. It is still, however, called by thename of the Trinity Chapel, which previously occupied this site, and wasburnt down by the fire which destroyed Conrad's choir. In this chapelThomas à Becket celebrated his first mass after his installation asarchbishop, and his remains were laid for some time in the crypt belowit. This portion of the building was all carried out under the directionof English William. Gervase relates that when William of Sens, after hisaccident, "perceiving that he derived no benefit from the physicians, returned to his home in France, " his successor, English William "laid thefoundation for the enlargement of the church at the eastern part, becausea chapel of St. Thomas was to be built there; for this was the placeassigned to him; namely the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, where hecelebrated his first mass--where he was wont to prostrate himself withtears and prayers, under whose crypt for so many years he was buried, where God for his merits had performed so many miracles, where poor andrich, kings and princes, had worshipped him, and whence the sound of hispraises had gone out into all lands. " As to the extent to which the secondWilliam was guided by the plans of his predecessor we have no means ofjudging accurately. Certainly the general outline of this part of thebuilding must have been arranged by William of Sens, for the contractionof the choir, in order to preserve the width of the ancient Trinity Chapelhad been carried out up to the clerestory before his retirement. Willisdeals with the subject at some length: "Whether, " he says, "we are toattribute to the French artist the lofty elevation of the pavement ofthe new chapel, by which also so handsome a crypt is obtained below, mustremain doubtful. The bases of his columns, as well as those of the shaftsagainst the wall are hidden and smothered by the platform at the top ofthese steps and by the side steps that lead to Becket's chapel. This lookslike an evidence of a change of plan, and induces me to believe that thelofty crypt below may be considered as the unfettered composition of theEnglish architect.... The Trinity Chapel of the Englishman is under theinfluence of the French work of which it is a continuation, andaccordingly the same mouldings are employed throughout, and the triforiumand clerestory are continued at the same level; but the greater level ofthe pavement wholly alters the proportion of the piers to their arches, and gives a new and original, and at the same time a very elegantcharacter to this part of the church compared with the work of theFrenchman, of which, at first sight, it seems to be a mere continuation. The triforium also of this Trinity Chapel differs from that of the choir, in that its four pointed arches instead of being, like them, includedunder two circular ones, are set in the form of an arcade of four arches, of two orders of mouldings each. The mouldings are the same as in thechoir, but the effect of their arrangement is richer. Also in theclerestory two windows are placed over each pier-arch, instead of thesingle window of the choir. The mixture of the two forms of arches isstill carried on, for although the semicircular arch is banished fromthe triforium, it is adopted for the pier-arches. 

"However, in the side-aisles of the Trinity chapel, and in the corona, our English William appears to have freed himself almost as completelyfrom the shackles of imitation, as was possible. In the side-aisles themouldings of the ribs still remain the same, but their management inconnection with the side walls, and the combination of their slendershafts with those of the twin lancet windows, here for the first timeintroduced into the building, is very happy. Slender shafts of marble areemployed in profusion by William of Sens, and Gervase expressly includesthem in his list of characteristic novelties. But here we find them eitherdetached from the piers, or combined with them in such a manner as togive a much greater lightness and elegance of effect than in the work ofthe previous architect. This lightness of style is carried still fartherin the corona, where the slender shafts are carried round the walls, andmade principal supports to the pier-arches, over which is placed a lighttriforium and a clerestory; and it must be remarked that all the arches inthis part of the building are of a single order of mouldings, instead oftwo orders as in the pier-arches and triforium of the choir. "

So much for the architectural details of the Trinity Chapel. To theordinary visitor its interest lies rather in the fact that it containedBecket's shrine, and that we here see the curious old windows portrayingthe sainted Archbishop's miracles, and what is, perhaps, most important ofall to many, #the tomb of Edward the Black Prince#. This monument is thefirst feature that we notice as we enter by the south-west gate of thechapel; it stands between the two first pillars, and by the side of thesite of the shrine. By the Prince's will he had left directions that heshould be buried in the crypt, where he had already founded a chantry, at the time of his marriage with the "Fair Maid of Kent" in 1363. But forsome unknown reason, probably in order that the dead hero's bones might beplaced in the most sacred spot possible--he was laid to rest by the sideof the martyr, then in the zenith of his sanctity. One of the mostromantic figures in English history is that of Edward the Black Prince, who "fought the French" as no Briton, except perhaps Nelson, has foughtthem since; he was sixteen years old when he commanded the English armyin person at the battle of Cressy, and was wounded in the thickest of thatmost sanguinary fray: ten years later, facing an army of 60, 000 men witha mere 8, 000 behind him, he inflicted a still more severe defeat on theFrench at Poitiers, and captured their king, whom he took with him toCanterbury on his triumphant return to London. In all our list of nationalheroes there is not one who upheld the prowess of the English arms moregallantly than this mighty warrior who was cut off while still in theflower of his years, leaving England to the miseries of sedition and civilwar. His tomb is one of the most impressive of such monuments. The gildingand bright colours have almost entirely disappeared, but the strikingeffect of the effigy is probably only enhanced by the solemn sombreness ofits present appearance. It is a figure clad in full armour, spurred andhelmeted, as the Prince had ordained by his will. The head rests on thehelmet and the hands are joined in the attitude of prayer. The face, whichis undoubtedly a portrait, is stern and masterful. "There you can seehis fine face with the Plantagenet features, the flat cheeks, and thewell-chiselled nose, to be traced, perhaps, in the effigy of his father inWestminster Abbey, and his grandfather in Gloucester Cathedral. " The tombitself is worthy to support the figure and guard the ashes of the BlackPrince. Carved on its side clearly, that all might read it, is theinscription which he had himself chosen; it is in Norman French, which wasstill the language spoken by the English Court, and in the same spiritwhich moved the designer of Archbishop Chichele's tomb to portray theliving man and the mouldering skeleton, this epitaph contrasts the gloriesof the Prince's life--his wealth, beauty, and power--with the decay andcorruption of the grave. It is distinctly pagan in thought, and remindsone strongly of the laments of the dead Homeric heroes as they wail forthe joys of life and strength and lordship. Stanley states that it is"borrowed, with a few variations, from the anonymous French translation ofthe 'Clericalis Disciplina' of Petrus Alphonsus composed between the years1106 and 1110. " But it is strangely un-Christian in sentiment as a fewlines will show--

 "Tiel come tu es, je autiel fu, tu seras tiel come je su, De la mort ne pensay je mie, tant come j'avoy la vie. En terre avoy grand richesse, dont je y fys grand noblesse, Terre, mesons, et grand tresor, draps, chivalx, argent et or. Mesore su je povres et cheitifs, perfond en la terre gys, Ma grand beaute est tout alee, ma char est tout gastee Moult est estroite ma meson, en moy ne si verite non, Et si ore me veissez, je ne quide pas que vous deeisez Que j'eusse onges hom este, si su je ore de tout changee. "

Below this inscription are ranged coats-of-arms, bearing the ostrichfeathers and the motto _Ich Diene_ ("I serve"), which, according totime-honoured but unauthenticated tradition, the prince won from the blindKing of Bohemia, who was led into the thick of the fighting at Cressy, anddied on the field. Welsh archæologists, however, maintain that these wordsare Celtic, and mean "behold the man;" their theory suggests that this wasthe phrase used by Edward I. When he presented his firstborn son to theWelsh people as their prince, and that the words thus became the motto ofthe princes of Wales. This is a rather far-fetched piece of reasoning, andone would certainly prefer to accept the more picturesque tradition whichconnects the phrase with the glories of Cressy. The other word found onthese escutcheons--_Houmont_--is still more puzzling. We know that theBlack Prince was wont to sign himself _Houmont, Ich Diene_. Stanleyexplains the combination gracefully, but not very convincingly. "If, asseems most likely, they are German words, they exactly express what wehave seen so often in his life, the union of 'Hoch muth, ' that is _highspirit_, with 'Ich Dien, ' _I serve_. They bring before us the very sceneitself after the battle of Poitiers, where, after having vanquished thewhole French nation, he stood behind the captive king, and served him likean attendant. "

[Illustration: THE BLACK PRINCE'S TOMB(FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY CARL NORMAN AND CO. ). ]

The tomb is surmounted by a canopy on which is painted an interestingrepresentation of the Trinity. The work is a good deal faded, but stillworthy of notice; the absence of the figure of the dove is curious, but isnot unparalleled in such designs. At the corners are symbols of the fourevangelists. The Holy Trinity--on whose feast-day he died--was held inpeculiar veneration by the Black Prince. The ordinance of the chantryfounded by him in the crypt contains the phrase, _Ad honorem SancteTrinitatis quam peculiari devocione semper colimus_. A curious metalbadge, preserved in the British Museum, is stamped with the figure of theprince kneeling before the Almighty and our Saviour, whose representationis almost identical with the design on the canopy over the tomb; here alsothe figure of the dove is absent. Round the canopy and in the pillars wecan still see the hooks which upheld the black tapestry, bordered withcrimson and embroidered with _cygnes avec têtes de dames_, which was hung, as ordained by his will, round the prince's tomb and Becket's shrine. 

[Illustration: SHIELD, COAT, ETC. , OF THE BLACK PRINCE. ]

Lastly, above the canopy, on a cross-beam between two pillars, aresuspended the brazen gauntlets, the helmet, the wooden shield with itsmoulded leather covering, the velvet coat emblazoned with the arms ofEngland and France, and the empty sheath. The gauntlets were onceembellished with little figures of lions on the knuckles; these have beendetached by "collectors, " vandals almost as ruthless as Blue Dick and histroopers, and without their excuse of mistaken religious zeal. The helmetstill has its original lining of leather, showing that it was actuallyworn. The sword which fitted the now empty sheath is said to have beentaken away by Oliver Cromwell; it appeared in Manchester at the beginningof this century under circumstances so curious, that we may be excused forquoting the following letter from Canon Wray, given in Stanley's Appendixon the Black Prince's will. "The sword, or supposed sword, of the BlackPrince, which Oliver Cromwell is said to have carried away, I have seenand many times have had in my hands. There lived in Manchester, when Ifirst came here, a Mr. Thomas Barritt, a saddler by trade; he was a greatantiquarian, and had collected together helmets, coats of mail, horns, etc. , and many coins. But what he valued most of all was a sword: theblade about two feet long, and on the blade was let in, in letters ofgold, 'EDWARDUS WALLIE PRINCEPS'.... He was in possession of this swordA. D. 1794. He told me he purchased many of the ancient relics of a pedlar, who travelled through the country selling earthenware, and I think he saidhe got this sword from this pedlar. When Barritt died, in 1820, hiscuriosities were sold by his widow at a raffle, but I believe this swordwas not amongst the articles so disposed of. It had probably been disposedof beforehand, but to whom I never knew; yet I think it not unlikely thatit is still in the neighbourhood. The sword was a little curved, scimitar-like, rather thick, broad blade, and had every appearance ofbeing the Black Prince's sword. " Truly a most remarkable story. Thishistoric blade, which may have hewn down the French ranks at Poitiers, isdisposed of by an itinerant crockery vender to an antiquarian saddler; onhis death is, or is not, "sold at a raffle" and--vanishes!

[Illustration: WEST GATE. ]

These arms that hang over the prince's tomb are all that are left oftwo distinct suits, one for war, and one for use in the joust and theceremonials of peace, which were, according to directions given in thewill, carried in the funeral procession through the West Gate and alongthe High Street to the cathedral. The pieces which remain all belong tothe suit worn in actual warfare. 

The centre of the chapel looks curiously blank, being left so by thethoroughness with which all trace of Becket's shrine was removed by thereforming zeal and insatiable rapacity of Henry VIII. And his minions. Theeffect of the bare stone pavement presents an impressive contrast to thevanished glories of the shrine blazing with gold and jewels, as we read ofit. (For a description of the shrine and its history, see Chapter I. ) Theexact place on which it stood is plainly shown by the marks worn in thestones by the knees of generations of pilgrims as they knelt before it, while the prior, with his white wand, pointed out the choicest of itstreasures. To the west, between the altar-screen--the unhappy effect ofwhich is painfully conspicuous from this point--and the site of theshrine, there is some very interesting mosaic pavement, containing thesigns of the zodiac, and emblems of virtue and vice, an example of the_Opus Alexandrinum_, which appears in the floors of most of the Romanbasilicas. A similar piece of mosaic work may be seen round the shrine ofEdward the Confessor at Westminster. Above the eastern end of the shrine agilded crescent was fixed in the roof, which still remains; the origin andmeaning of this emblem have been disputed with considerable heat, and manyingenious conjectures have been framed to account for its presence here. One theory regards it as an allusion to the tradition according to whichBecket's mother was a Saracen. But this legend is believed to becomparatively modern, and, as Mr. George Austin points out, "even if thelegend of Becket's mother had obtained credence at that early period, itmay be observed that in the painted windows around no reference is madeto the subject, though evidently capable of so much pictorial effect. "Another solution would connect the crescent with the worship of the VirginMary, who is often pictured as standing on the moon (comp. Rev. Xii. 1). Supporters of this theory lay stress on the fact that the Trinity Chapelat Canterbury occupies the extreme east end of the church, which isgenerally the site of the Lady Chapel, and that therefore the presence ofthis emblem--if it can be connected with the Virgin--would be peculiarlyappropriate here. Mr. Austin propounded the explanation which is now mostgenerally accepted. "When the groined roof, " he says, "was relieved of thelong-accumulated coats of whitewash and repaired, the crescent was takendown and regilt. It was found to be made of a foreign wood, somewhat likein grain to the eastern wood known by the name of iron-wood. It had beenfastened to the groining by a large nail of very singular shape, with alarge square head, apparently of foreign manufacture. " He comes to theconclusion that the crescent is one of a number of trophies which hesupposes to have once decorated this part of the cathedral, and he isled to his conclusion by the fact that "more than one fresco painting ofencounters with the Eastern infidels formerly ornamented the walls (thelast traces of which were removed during the restoration of the cathedralunder Dean Percy, afterwards Bishop of Carlisle), and in one of which thegreen crescent flag of the enemy seems borne away by the English archers. Might not these frescoes have depicted the fights in which these trophieswere won?" Also, in the hollows of the groining which radiate from thecrescent, there were a number of slight iron staples, which Mr. Austin, having shown that they cannot have supported either hanging lamps or thecovering of the shrine, believes to have upheld flags, horsetails, etc. , which formed the trophy of which the gilded crescent was the centre. Weknow that Becket received the title of St. Thomas Acrensis owing to hisclose connection with the knights of the Hospital of St. John at Acre. Butnone of these explanations seem very convincing, and the history andsignificance of the crescent in the roof seem likely to remain a mystery. 

Before we turn from Becket and his shrine to the other monuments in theTrinity Chapel, we must call the attention of our readers to the stainedwindows which depict the miracles of the sainted martyr. The chapel was atone time entirely surrounded with glass of this sort, but only a portionhas survived the ravages of the Puritans. "Of these windows, " says Austin, "unfortunately but three remain, but they are sufficient to attest theirrare beauty; and for excellence of drawing, harmony of colouring, andpurity of design, are justly considered unequalled. The skill with whichthe minute figures are represented cannot even at this day be surpassed;it is extraordinary to see how every feeling of joy or sorrow, pain andenjoyment, is expressed both in feature and position. But in nothing isthe superiority of these windows shown more than the beautiful scrolls andborders which surmount the windows, and gracefully connect the groups ofmedallions. " Most of these windows probably contained representations ofBecket, and so were doomed to destruction by the decree of Henry VIII. , inwhich "his Grace straitly chargeth and commandeth, that henceforth thesaid Thomas Becket shall not be esteemed, named, reputed, nor called asaint, but Bishop Becket, and that his images and pictures throughout thewhole realm shall be put down and avoided out of all churches and chapels, and other places; and that from henceforth the days used to be festivalsin his name shall not be observed, nor the service, office, antiphonies, collects and prayers in his name read, but rased and put out of allbooks. " This proclamation was rigorously carried out though the stainedwindows which come within its terms have, in some cases, escapeddestruction. For instance there remains a window in the south transept ofChrist Church Cathedral, Oxford, representing the martyrdom of Becket, butit is interesting to note that even here the archbishop's head was removedfrom the glass. Three of the windows of the Trinity Chapel have survived, and fragments of others are scattered over the glass of the building. Theyare entirely devoted to depicting the miracles of the martyr, which beganimmediately after his death and reception--according to a vision ofBenedict--in a place between the apostles and the martyrs, above even St. Stephen. 

The window towards the east on the north side of the shrine is dividedinto geometrical figures, each figure composed of a group of finemedallions; every group tells the story of a miracle, or series ofmiracles, performed by the influence of the saint. The lower groupportrays the story of a child who was drowned in the Medway, andafterwards restored to life by the efficacy of the saint's blood mixedwith water. The first medallion shows the boy falling into the stream, while his companions pelt the frogs in the reeds by the river side; thenext shows the companions relating the story of the accident to the boy'sparents, and in the third we see the grief-stricken parents watching theirson's corpse being drawn out of the river. "The landscape in thesemedallions is exceedingly well rendered; the trees are depicted withgreat grace" (Austin). Unfortunately the medallions which complete thisstory have been destroyed. The next group depicts the quaint story of asuccession of miracles which were wrought in the family of a knight calledJordan, son of Eisult. His ten year old boy died, and the knight, who hadbeen an intimate friend of Becket in his lifetime, resolved to try torestore his son with water mixed with the saint's blood. At the thirddraught, as Benedict tells the story, the dead boy "opened one eye, andsaid, 'Why are you weeping, father? Why are you crying, lady? The blessedmartyr, Thomas, has restored me to you!' At evening he sat up, ate, talked, and was restored. " But the father forgot the vow which he made inthe first moment of joy at his son's recovery, namely, that he would offerfour silver pieces at the martyr's shrine before Mid Lent. And once moreall the household was stricken with sickness, and the eldest son died. Then the parents, though sore smitten themselves, dragged themselves toCanterbury and performed their vow. The whole of this story with otherdetails for which we have no space may be accurately traced on this uniquewindow. The most striking is the central medallion of the group in whichthe vengeance of the saint is shown forth. In the middle of a large roomwe see a bier on which lies the dead son; the father and mother, overcomewith despair, stand at the head and feet of the body. Behind the bier areseveral figures, which, from their "unusually violent attitudes expressiveof grief, " Mr. Austin considered to be professional mourners. Above, unseen by the group below, the figure of St. Thomas, clad in fullepiscopal robes, holding a sword in his right hand, and pointing tothe corpse with his left, is seen appearing through the ceiling. "Theexpression, " says Austin, "of the various figures in the abovecompartments, both in gesture and feature, is rendered with great skill. In the execution of this story, the points which, doubtless, the artistsof the monastery were chiefly anxious to impress upon the minds of thedevotees who thronged to the shrine are prominently brought out: theextreme danger of delaying the performance of a vow, under whatevercircumstances made, the expiation sternly required by the saint, and thesatisfaction with which the martyr viewed money offerings made at theshrine. "

One of the other groups is noteworthy as proving that severe penances weresometimes performed before the shrine. One medallion shows a womanprostrating herself before a priest at the altar, while two men standnear, holding formidable-looking rods. The next picture represents the twomen vigorously flagellating the woman with the rods; while, in the third, one of the men is still beating the woman, who now lies fainting on theground, while the other is addressing the priest, who sits hard bycomposedly reading his book. The other two windows contain representationsof the healings effected by the saint, which seem to have been of a veryvaried character, to judge from the catalogue with which Benedict sumsthem up. "What position, " he asks, "in the Church, what sex or age, whatrank or order is there, which could not find something beneficial toitself [_aliquid sibi utile_] in this treasure-house of ours? Here thelight of truth is furnished to schismatics, confidence to timid pastors, health to the sick, and pardon to the deserving penitent [_pænitentibusvenia ejus meritis_, the last two words probably implying an offering]. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, thedead rise again, the dumb speak, the poor have the gospel preached tothem, the paralytic recover, the dropsical lose their swellings[_detumescunt hydropici_], the mad are restored to sense, the epilepticare cured, the fever-stricken escape, and, to sum up, _omnimoda curaturinfirmitas_. "

The last of these windows to which we must call the special attention ofour readers is one on the north side, representing a vision which Benedicttells us that he saw himself. The martyr is seen coming forth from hisshrine in full pontifical robes, and making his way towards the altar asif to celebrate mass. This window is noticeable as containing the onlyrepresentation that now exists of the shrine itself--for the picture inthe Cottonian MSS. Evidently shows us, not the shrine, but its outershell, or covering. "The medallion, " says Austin, "is the moreinteresting, from being an undoubted work of the thirteenth century; andhaving been designed for a position immediately opposite to and within afew yards of the shrine itself, and occupying the place of honour in thelargest and most important window, without doubt represents the mainfeatures of the shrine faithfully. "

On the north side of the Trinity Chapel, immediately opposite the tomb ofthe Black Prince, is that of King Henry IV. , who died in 1413, and hissecond consort, Joan of Navarre, who followed him in 1437. This king hadmade liberal offerings towards the rebuilding of the nave of thecathedral, and it has been conjectured that one of the figures on theorgan-screen represents him: his will ordered that he should be laid torest in the church at Canterbury, and here accordingly he was buried onthe Trinity Sunday after his death. The tomb, with its rich canopy, is abeautiful piece of work, and the figures of the king and queen areprobably faithful representations. A curious story was circulated by theYorkists, to the effect that Henry was never buried here, but that hisbody was thrown into the water between Gravesend and Barking, during thevoyage of the funeral _cortège_ to Faversham, and that only an emptycoffin was laid in the Trinity Chapel. That this point might be clearedup, the tomb was opened in 1832 in the presence of the Dean, and there theking was found in perfect preservation, and bearing a close resemblance tothe effigy on the monument--"the nose elevated, the beard thick andmatted, and of a deep russet colour, and the jaws perfect, with all theteeth in them, except one foretooth. "

In the wall of the north aisle, just opposite the king's tomb, is a smallchapel, built according to the directions contained in his will "that therbe a chauntre perpetuall with twey prestis for to sing and prey for mysoul. " The roof shows the first piece of fan-vaulting admitted into thecathedral. On the eastern wall an account is scratched of the cost of areredos which once stood here, but has been entirely destroyed: it tellsus that the cost of "ye middil image was xix^s 11^d. " This chapel wasdoubtless used at one time as a storehouse of sacred relics. Two recessesin the west wall have lately been chosen to receive certain archiepiscopalvestments which were discovered in a tomb on the south side of TrinityChapel, which was long believed to be that of Archbishop Theobald. 

To the east of Henry IV. 's monument is the tomb of Dean Wotton, adornedwith his kneeling figure. He was the first Dean of Canterbury after thereorganization by Henry VIII. Opposite to him is an unsightly brickerection which was once intended as a temporary covering for the remainsof Odo Coligny, Cardinal of Chatillon and brother of Admiral Coligny, whowas one of the victims of the massacre of St. Bartholomew. The Cardinalfled from France in 1568, on account of his leanings towards the tenets ofthe Huguenots, and was welcomed by Queen Elizabeth. It is believed thathe died from the effects of a poisoned apple given to him by a servant. Itseems curious that the French Huguenots who settled in Canterbury neverprovided him with a more fitting monument. 

Between this tomb and that of the Black Prince is the monument ofArchbishop Courtenay, who was primate from 1381 to 1396, and wascelebrated for his severity towards Wycliffe and his followers. He wasa large contributor to the fund for the re-building of the nave, whichperhaps accounts for the distinguished position of his tomb; the fact alsothat he was executor to the Black Prince may be responsible for his beingburied at his feet. It is not, however, certain that his body actuallylies here, though the ledger book of the cathedral states that he wasburied within the walls of the church. It is known, however, that he diedat Maidstone, and that he ordered in his will that his remains should restthere, and a slab in the pavement of All Saints', Maidstone, shows tracesof a brass representing the figure of an archbishop, whence it has beenconcluded that Courtenay was in fact buried there, and that his monumentin Canterbury is only a cenotaph. 

[Illustration: TRINITY CHAPEL, LOOKING INTO THE CORONA, "BECKET'S CROWN, "WITH CHAIR OF ST. AUGUSTINE. ]

#Becket's Crown. #--The circular apse at the extreme east end of the churchis known as Becket's Crown. The name has caused a good deal of discussion. The theory once generally received was to the effect that the portion ofBecket's skull which was cut away by Richard le Breton was preserved hereas a relic of special sanctity. We know that the Black Prince bequeathed, by his will, tapestry hangings for the High Altar and for three others, viz. , "l'autier la ou Mons'r Saint Thomas gist--l'autier la ou la testeest--l'autier la ou la poynte de l'espie est. " The first and last areevidently the altars at the shrine and in the Chapel of the Martyrdom, andit has been contended that the altar "where the head is" was the altar ofwhich traces may still be seen in the pavement of the corona, or Becket'sCrown. Against this notion we must place the authority of Erasmus, whosewords plainly show that the martyr's head was displayed in the crypt:"_hinc digressi subimus cryptoporticum: illic primum exhibetur calvariamartyris perforata_ (the martyr's pierced tonsure): _reliqua tecta suntargento, summa cranii pars nuda patet osculo_. " While Willis considersthat the term corona was a common one for an apse at the end of achurch, citing "Ducange's Glossary, " which defines "Corona Ecclesiæ" as_Pars templi choro postica, quod ea pars fere desinat in circulum_; "atall events, " he concludes, "it was a general term and not peculiar toChrist Church, Canterbury. The notion that this round chapel was calledBecket's Crown, because part of his skull was preserved here as a relic, appears wholly untenable. There is at least no doubt that a relic ofsome sort was preserved here, because we know from a record of theofferings--Oblaciones S. Thomæ--during ten years in the first half of thethirteenth century, that the richest gifts were made at the shrine and inthe corona. And we know that the spot was one of peculiar sanctity fromthe fact that the shrines of St. Odo and St. Wilfrid were finallytransferred thither. _Corpus S. Odonis in feretro, ad coronam versusaustrum. Corpus S. Wilfridi in feretro ad coronam versus aquilonem. _"

[Illustration: CHAIR OF ST. AUGUSTINE. ]

On the north side of the corona is the tomb of Cardinal Pole, the lastArchbishop of Canterbury who acknowledged the supremacy of the Pope. Heheld office from 1556 to 1558, and died the day after Queen Mary. Herestands also the patriarchal chair, made out of three pieces of Purbeckmarble. It is called St. Augustine's chair, and is said to be the throneon which the old kings of Kent were crowned; according to the tradition, Ethelbert, on being converted, gave the chair to Augustine, from whom ithas descended to the Archbishops of Canterbury. It is needless to saythat this eminently attractive legend has been attacked and overthrownby modern criticism. It is pointed out that the original archiepiscopalthrone was of one piece only, and that Purbeck marble did not come intouse until some time after Augustine's death. From its shape it isconjectured that the chair dates from the end of the twelfth century orthe beginning of the thirteenth, and that it may have been constructed forthe ceremony of the translation of St. Thomas' relics. It is in thischair, and not in the archiepiscopal throne in the choir, that thearchbishops are still enthroned. From the corona we have a view of thefull length of the cathedral, which measures 514 feet, and is one of thelongest of English cathedrals. Of the windows in Becket's Crown, thecentre one is ancient, while the rest are modern and afford a mostinstructive contrast. 

#St. Andrew's Tower, or Chapel. #--Leaving the Trinity Chapel, anddescending the steps, we find on our right the door of St. Andrew's Chapelwhich is now used as a vestry. Formerly, it was the sacristy, a place fromwhich the pilgrims of humble rank were excluded, but where those of wealthand high station were allowed to gaze at a great array of silken vestmentsand golden candlesticks, and also the Martyr's pearwood pastoral staff withits black horn crook, and his cloak and bloodstained kerchief. Here alsowas a chest "cased with black leather, and opened with the utmostreverence on bended knees, containing scraps and rags of linen with which(the story must be told throughout) the saint wiped his forehead and blewhis nose" (Stanley). Erasmus describes this exhibition with a touch ofscorn. "_Fragmenta linteorum lacera plerumque macci vestigium servantia. His, ut aiebant, vir pius extergebat sudorem e facie_, " etc. The walls ofthis chapel show many traces of fresco decoration: the pattern seems tohave consisted of a clustering vine tree spread over the roof. In thenorth wall is a Norman chamber which originally served as the Treasury;the door is still secured by three locks, the keys of which were held bydifferent officials. St. Andrew's Chapel is part of Ernulf's work, and thepeculiar ornamentation which marks his hand may be noticed over the archof the apse which terminates it. 

#The North-East Transept. #--Passing along the choir aisle, we see the oldBible desk, holding the Bible which was originally placed there, and wasrestored to this position by the late Bishop Parry. Next we enter thenorth-east transept, which in its architectural features is practically arepetition of the south-east transept, with which we have already dealt. The monument to Archbishop Tait, designed by Boehm, is well worthy of itssurroundings. Above it, in the north wall, about ten feet from the ground, we may notice three slits in the wall. These are what are calledhagioscopes. On the other side of the wall was a recess connected with thePrior's Chapel. Through these hagioscopes--or "holy spy-holes"--the priorcould see mass being celebrated at the high altar and at the altars belowin the transept, without entering the cathedral. These transeptal altarsare in the Chapels of St. Martin and St. Stephen which occupy two apses inthe eastern wall. St. Martin is represented in a medallion of ancientglass preserved in the modern window, as dividing his coat with a beggar. Scratched on the walls are the names "Lanfrancus" and "Ediva Regina;" thebodies of Lanfranc and Queen Ediva were removed to this transept after thefire. Lanfranc originally lay in the old Trinity Chapel, and when thisbuilding was levelled to the ground, he was "carried to the vestiarium inhis leaden covering, and there deposited until the community should decidewhat should be done with so great a Father. " Apparently the heavy sheet oflead was removed, for Gervase goes on to say that "Lanfranc havingremained untouched for sixty-nine years, his very bones were consumed withrottenness, and nearly all reduced to powder. The length of time, the dampvestments, the natural frigidity of lead, and above all the frailty of thehuman structure, had conspired to produce this corruption. But the largerbones, with the remaining dust, were collected in a leaden coffer, anddeposited at the altar of St. Martin. " Queen Ediva, as we learn from thesame authority, "who before the fire reposed under a gilted _feretrum_ innearly the middle of the south cross, was now deposited at the altar ofSt. Martin, under the _feretrum_ of Living, " an archbishop who died in1020. Ediva, the wife of Edward the Elder, and a generous benefactressto the cathedral, died about 960. 

From an early list of the subjects represented in the windows of thecathedral, it appears that the north windows of the north-east transeptdepicted the Parable of the Sower. The ancient glass, however, has beendisplaced, and a good deal of it has been moved to the windows of thenorth choir aisle, between the transept and the Chapel of the Martyrdom, which are of great beauty, and should be examined carefully. In thetransept itself are windows in memory of Dean Stanley, Dr. Spry, andCanon Cheshyre. 

On the wall of the choir aisle, close to the transept, we can trace theremains of a fresco representing the conversion of St. Hubert. Further on, there hangs a picture, by Cross, which is intended to represent the murderof Becket. As a work of art it is not without merit, but its details areentirely inaccurate. 

#The North-West Transept, or Chapel of the Martyrdom. #--The actual siteof the tragedy which rendered Becket and his cathedral famous throughoutChristendom was the North-West Transept, or as it was more commonly calledthe Chapel of the Martyrdom. Hardly any portion, however, of thisstructure as it stands actually witnessed the murder. In the time ofBecket the transept was of two storeys, divided by a vault, which wasupheld by a single pillar. The upper partition was dedicated to St. Blaise, and the lower to St. Benedict. In the west wall, as now, wasa door which opened into the cloister. 

[Illustration: THE MARTYRDOM, NORTH-WEST TRANSEPT. ]

The story of Becket and his quarrel with Henry II. Will be dealt within the next chapter. But before examining the spot on which he wasassassinated it is perhaps fitting to recall the events which immediatelypreceded his death. Henry's wrathful exclamation, which stirred the fourknights to set out on their bloodthirsty mission, is well known. Whateverwe may think of the methods employed by these warriors--Fitzurse, deMoreville, de Tracy, and le Bret were their names--we must at leastconcede that they were gifted with undaunted courage. To slay an anointedarchbishop in his own cathedral was to do a deed from which the boldestmight well shrink, in the days when excommunication was held to be aliving reality, and the Church was believed to hold the power of eternalblessing or damnation in her hand. These men--who were all closelyattached to the king's person, and were sometimes described as his"cubicularii, " or Grooms of the Bedchamber--arrived at the gate of thearchbishop's palace in the afternoon of Tuesday, December 29th, 1170. Witha curious want of directness they seem to have left their swords outside, and entered, and had a stormy interview with Becket; enraged by hisunyielding firmness, they went back for their weapons, and in themeantime the archbishop was hurried by the terrified monks through thecloister and into the cathedral, where the vesper service was being held. The knights quickly forced their way after him, and the monks locked andbarricaded the cloister door. But Becket, who bore himself heroicallythrough the whole scene, insisted that the door should be thrown open, exclaiming that "the church must not be turned into a castle. " Then allthe monks but three fled in terror. Those who stayed urged Becket to hidehimself in the crypt or in the Chapel of St. Blaise above. But he wouldnot hear of concealment, but preferred to make his way to the choir thathe might die at his post by the high altar. As he went up the stepstowards the choir the knights rushed into the transept, calling for "thearchbishop, the traitor to the king, " and Becket turned and came down, andconfronted them by the pillar of the chapel. Clad in his white rochet, with a cloak and hood over his shoulders, he faced his murderers, who werenow girt in mail from head to foot. They tried to seize him and drag himout of the sacred precinct, but he put his back against the pillar andhurled Tracy full-length on the pavement. Then commending his cause andthe cause of the Church "to God, to St. Denys, the martyr of France, toSt. Alfege, and to the saints of the Church, " he fell under the blows ofthe knights' swords. The last stroke was from the hand of le Bret, itsevered the crown of the archbishop's head, and the murderer's sword wasshivered into two pieces. Then the assassins left the church, ransackedthe palace, and plundered its treasures, and, lastly, rode off on horsesfrom the stables, in which Becket had to the last taken especial pride. 

Such is the brief outline of the events of this remarkable tragedy, fora fuller account of which we must refer our readers to the excellentdescription in Stanley's "Memorials of Canterbury. " As we have alreadysaid, the present transept has been entirely rebuilt; although not damagedby the fire, it was reconstructed by Prior Chillenden at the time when heerected the present nave. It is even doubtful whether the present pavementis the same as that which was trodden by Becket and his murderers. A smallsquare stone is still shown in the floor of the transept, as marking theexact spot on which the archbishop fell; it is said to have been insertedin place of the original piece which was taken out and sent to Rome, butthere is little or no authority for this statement. On the other hand, weread that Benedict, when he became Abbot of Peterborough, in order tosupply his new cathedral with relics, in which it was sadly deficient, came back to Canterbury and carried off the stones which had beensprinkled with St. Thomas's blood, and made therewith two altars forPeterborough. 

In this transept an altar was erected, called the Altar of the Martyrdom, or the Altar of the Sword's Point (_altare ad punctum ensis_), from thefact that upon it was laid the broken fragment of le Bret's sword, whichhad been left on the pavement. Also, a portion of the martyr's brains werekept under a piece of rock crystal, and a special official, called theCustos Martyrii, was appointed to guard these relics. 

The chief window in this chapel was presented by Edward IV. ; in it we canstill see the figures of himself and his queen and his two daughters, andthe two young princes who were murdered in the Tower. It originallycontained representations of "seven glorious appearances" of the Virgin, and Becket himself in the centre, but all this portion was destroyed byBlue Dick, the Puritan zealot. The west window was the gift of the Rev. Robert Moore, sometime Canon of Canterbury; it is an elaborate piece ofwork depicting Becket's martyrdom and scenes in his life. 

Here also we see the very beautiful and interesting monument to ArchbishopPeckham (1279-1292), the oldest Canterbury monument which survives in itsentirety; even it has been encroached upon by the commonplace erectionadjoining it, which commemorates Warham who was archbishop from 1503 to1532, and was the friend of Erasmus. 

#The Dean's Chapel. #--Eastward of the north-west transept is the chapelwhich was formerly known as the Lady Chapel, but has latterly been namedthe Dean's Chapel from the number of deans whose monuments have beenplaced here. It stands on the site of the Chapel of St. Benedict, and wasbuilt by Prior Goldstone, who dedicated it to the Blessed Virgin in 1460. The usual place for the Lady Chapel in cathedrals is, of course, at theextreme east end; but at Canterbury the situation was occupied by theshrine of St. Thomas. The principal altar to the Virgin in our cathedralwas that in the crypt, in the "Chapel of Our Lady Undercroft. " Thevault of the Dean's Chapel is noticeable. It is a fan vault, of the styledeveloped to so great perfection in the Tudor period, as shown in HenryVII. 's Chapel at Westminster, and in the roof of the staircase leading tothe dining-hall of Christ Church, Oxford. The architecture of this chapelis Perpendicular in style, and its delicate decoration should be carefullynoticed; the screen which separates it from the Martyrdom Transept is alsoworthy of close attention. The monuments here are interesting rather thanbeautiful. Dean Fotherby is commemorated by a hideous erection bristlingwith skulls. Dean Boys is represented as he died, sitting among his booksin his library; it is curious that the books are all apparently turnedwith the backs of the covers towards the wall, and the edges of the leavesoutwards. Here also is the monument of Dean Turner, the faithful followerof Charles I. 

[Illustration: PART OF SOUTH-WESTERN TRANSEPT. ]

#The South-West Transept. #--Crossing the cathedral through the passageunder the choir steps, we find ourselves in the south-west transept, which, together with the nave and the north-west transept, was rebuiltby Prior Chillenden. In the pavement we see memorial stones to canonsand other departed worthies. Among them is the tombstone of Meric Casaubon, Archbishop Laud's prebendary, and son of Isaac Casaubon, the famousscholar. 

#St. Michael's, or the Warrior's Chapel. #--Eastward of the south-westtransept is a small chapel, generally known as that of St. Michael. Inposition and size it closely corresponds with the Dean's Chapel on thenorth side of the church. In general style there is also some resemblance, but the vaulting of the roof is quite different; it is described byProfessor Willis as "as a complex lierne vault of an unusual pattern, butresembling that of the north transept of Gloucester Cathedral, which datesfrom 1367 to 1372. " The exact date and the name of the builder of thischapel are alike uncertain, but it probably replaced the old Chapel of St. Michael at some time towards the end of the fourteenth century, and Williscomes to the conclusion that it is most probable that its erection may beascribed to Prior Chillenden, and that "it formed part of the generalscheme for the transformation of the western part of the church. "

A curious effect is presented by the tomb of Stephen Langton, who wasarchbishop from 1207 to 1228, and is famous as having compelled King Johnto sign the Great Charter, and also as having divided the Bible intochapters. His tomb, shaped like a stone coffin, is half in the chapel andhalf under the eastern wall, and Professor Willis considers that it wasoriginally outside the wall, in the churchyard; "and thus the new wall, when the chapel was rebuilt and enlarged in the fourteenth century, wasmade to stride over the coffin by means of an arch. " The reverence inwhich Langton's memory was held is attested by the fact that his remainsmust have lain under the altar of the chapel, a most unusual positionexcept in the case of celebrated saints. In the middle of the chapel is avery beautiful and interesting monument erected by Margaret Holland, whodied in 1437, to the memory of her two husbands and herself. The monumentis of alabaster and marble, and represents the lady reposing with herfirst spouse, John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset, and son of John of Gaunt, on her left, and Thomas, Duke of Clarence, her second husband, on herright. The latter was the second son of Henry IV. , and, so, nephew of Johnof Somerset the first husband; he was killed at the battle of Baugé in1421. Leland thinks that this chapel was built expressly for the receptionof this tomb: "This chapel be likelihood was made new for the Honor ofErle John of Somerset, " but it is probably of rather earlier date thanwould be allowed by this theory. The figures of Margaret and her two lordsare very fine and are interesting examples of fifteenth century costume. As such they may be contrasted with the effigy of Lady Thornhurst, whoexhibits all the beauty of an Elizabethan ruff. Sir Thomas Thornhurst, whose monument is hard by, was killed in the ill-fated expedition to theIsle of Rhé. In the corner of the chapel is the bust of Sir George Rooke, Vice-Admiral, who led the assault on Gibraltar by which it was firstcaptured. And the title of "Warrior's" Chapel is further justified by thepresence here of tattered standards, memorials of dead comrades, left bythe famous Kentish regiment, "the Buffs. "

[Illustration: THE CRYPT. ]

#The Main Crypt. #--Returning through the passage under the steps that leadup to the choir, we turn to the right into the crypt which originallysupported Conrad's "glorious choir. " On the wall as we enter we may noticesome diaper-work ornamentation, interesting from the fact that a similardecoration may be traced on the wall of the chapter house at Rochesterfor Ernulf who built the westward crypt, was afterwards made Bishop ofRochester. Willis tells us that there are five crypts in England under theeastern parts of cathedrals, namely, at Canterbury, Winchester, Gloucester, Rochester, and Worcester, and that they were all foundedbefore 1085. "After this they were discontinued except as a continuationof former ones, as in Canterbury and Rochester. " This crypt of Ernulf'sreplaced the earlier one set up by Lanfranc; Willis thinks it notimpossible that the whole of the pier-shafts may have been taken from theearlier crypt. "The capitals of the columns are either plain blocks orsculptured with Norman enrichments. Some of them, however, are in anunfinished state. " He describes minutely one of the capitals on thesouth-west side. "Of the four sides of the block two are quite plain. Onehas the ornament roughed out, or "bosted" as the workmen call it, that is, the pattern has been traced upon the block, and the spaces between thefigures roughly sunk down with square edges preparatory to the completion. On the fourth side, the pattern is quite finished. This proves that thecarving was executed after the stones were set in their places, andprobably the whole of these capitals would eventually have been soornamented had not the fire and its results brought in a new schoolof carving in the rich foliated capitals, which caused this merelysuperficial method of decoration to be neglected and abandoned. In thesame way some of the shafts are roughly fluted in various fashions. Theplain ones would probably have all gradually had the same ornament givento them, had not the same reasons interfered. " The crypt then stands asit was left by Ernulf except that some of the piers were afterwardsstrengthened and one new pillar was inserted in the aisle by William ofSens, in order to fit in with the new arrangement of the pillars in thechoir which he was then rebuilding. It is therefore, of course, the oldestpart of the church, and remains a most beautiful and interesting relic ofNorman work in spite of the hot water pipe apparatus which now disfiguresit, and its general air of unkempt untidiness. There are signs, however, that in this respect there is likely to be some improvement. The floor isbeing lowered to its original level by the removal of about a foot ofaccumulated dirt which had been heaping itself up for the last eighthundred years and had at last entirely smothered the bases of the columns, and it is even whispered that the part now cut off and used as the Frenchchurch, may be opened out and restored to its original position as part ofthe main crypt. 

According to Gervase, the whole of the crypt was dedicated to the VirginMary. Here stood the Chapel of Our Lady Undercroft, surrounded byPerpendicular stone-work screens, from which the altar-screen in the choirabove was imitated. The shrine of the Virgin was exceedingly rich and wasonly shown to privileged worshippers: traces of decoration may still beseen in the vault above. It was at the back of this shrine that Becketwas laid between the time of his murder and his translation to theresting-place in the Trinity Chapel. 

In the main crypt we may notice the monument of Isabel, Countess of Athol, who died in 1292; she was heiress of Chilham Castle, near Canterbury, andgrand-daughter of King John. She was twice married, her second husbandbeing Alexander, brother of John Baliol, King of Scotland. The monumentof Lady Mohun of Dunster is in the south screen of the Chapel of Our Lady. She was ancestress of the present Earl of Derby, and founded a perpetualchantry. Lastly, here is the tomb of Cardinal Archbishop Morton, thefriend of Sir Thomas More, and the faithful servant of the House ofLancaster; it was he who brought about the union of the Red and WhiteRoses by arranging the marriage of Henry of Richmond with Elizabeth ofYork. As Henry VII. 's Chancellor he made great exactions under theeuphonious title of "Benevolences, " and propounded the famous dilemmaknown as "Morton's Fork, " by which he argued that those who lived lavishlymust obviously have something to spare for the king's service, while thosewho fared soberly must be grown rich on their savings, and so were equallyfair game to the royal plunderer. He lies in the south-west corner of thecrypt, and his monument, which has suffered considerably at the hands ofthe Puritans, bears the Tudor portcullis and the archbishop's rebus, ahawk or _mort_ standing on a tun. 

[Illustration: ST. GABRIEL'S CHAPEL. ]

In the south-east corner, under Anselm's Tower, is a chapel generallyknown as that of St. John, sometimes as that of St. Gabriel. It has beendivided into two compartments by a wall. There are some very interestingpaintings[2] on the roof, representing Our Lord in the centre of theangelic host, the Adoration of the Magi, and a figure of St. John; thiswork is believed to be of the thirteenth century. The central pillar ofthis chapel, with the curved fluting in the column and the quaintlygrotesque devices of the figures carved on the capital, is well worthy ofclose examination. The grate that we see here was erected by the FrenchProtestants, large numbers of whom fled to England during the persecutionwhich was instituted against their sect in 1561. They were welcomed byQueen Elizabeth, and allowed to settle in Canterbury, where the cathedralcrypt was made over to them to use as a weaving factory. It is possiblethat the ridges in the floor of St. John's Chapel are marks left by theirlooms, but more evident trace of their occupation is afforded by theinscriptions in French painted on the pillars and arches of the maincrypt, and again by the custom which still survives of holding a Frenchservice in the south aisle of the crypt; this part has been walled offespecially as a place of worship for the descendants of the French exiles, and here service is still held in the French tongue. Alterations have beenlately made by which the French service is held in the Black Prince'sChantry, and the part of the crypt formerly walled off has been mergedwith the rest of the crypt, which is thus completely thrown open. Accessto the French church is now obtained from the crypt, and not from outside. This chantry was founded by the Black Prince in 1363 to commemorate hismarriage with his cousin Joan, the "Fair Maid of Kent. " Here, according tothe prince's ordinance, two priests were to pray for his soul, in hislifetime and after; the situation of the two altars, at which the priestsprayed, can still be traced. On the vaulting we see the arms of theprince, and of his father, and what seems to be the face of his wife. Inreturn for the permission to institute this chantry, the prince left tothe monastery of Canterbury an estate which still belongs to the Chapter, the manor of Fawkes' Hall. This was a piece of land in South Lambeth, which had been granted by King John to a baron called Fawkes. His namestill survives in the word "Vauxhall. "

 [2] The above paintings are illustrated in Dart's "History of Canterbury, " 1726, and in "Archæologia Cantiana, " vol. Xviii. 

[Illustration: IN THE MAIN CRYPT, WITH TOMB OF CARDINAL MORTON(see p. 99). ]

#The Eastern Crypt. #--The eastern portion of the crypt, under the TrinityChapel and the corona, is a good deal more lofty than Ernulf's building. We noticed the ascent from the choir and presbytery to the Trinity Chapel, and it is, of course, this greater elevation of the cathedral floor at theeast end which accounts for the greater height of the eastern crypt. Theeffect, both above and below, is exceedingly happy. The most strikingthing about the interior of the cathedral is the manner in which itrises--"church piled upon church"--from the nave to the corona, and thischaracteristic enabled William the Englishman to build a crypt below whichhas none of the cramped squatness which generally mars the effect of suchbuildings. "The lofty crypt below, " says Willis, "may be considered theunfettered composition of the English architect. Its style and its detailsare wholly different from those of William of Sens. The work, from itsposition and office, is of a massive and bold character, but its unusualloftiness prevents it from assuming the nature of a crypt.... There is onedetail of this crypt which differs especially from the work above. Theabacus of each of the piers, as well as that of each central shaft, isround; but in the whole of the choir the abacuses are either square, orsquare with the corners cut off. "

It was in the smaller eastern crypt, which formerly occupied the site ofWilliam's building which we are now examining, that Becket was hastilyburied after his assassination, when his murderers were still threateningto come and drag his body out, "hang it on a gibbet, tear it with horses, cut it into pieces, or throw it in some pond to be devoured by swine orbirds of prey. " And from that time until the translation of the relics in1220, this was the most sacred spot in the cathedral, and it was known, down to Reformation times, as "Becket's tomb. " Hither came the earliestpilgrims in the first rush of enthusiasm for the newly-canonized martyr. And here Henry II. Performed that penance, which is one of the moststriking examples of the Church's power presented by history. We are toldthat he placed his head and shoulder in the tomb, and there received fivestrokes from each bishop and abbot who was present, and three from each ofthe eighty monks. After this castigation he spent the night in the crypt, fasting and barefooted. His penitence and piety were rewarded by thevictory gained at Richmond, on that very day, by his forces over Williamthe Lion of Scotland, who was taken prisoner, and afterwards, recognizingthe power of the saint, founded the abbey of Aberbrothwick to Saint Thomasof Canterbury. 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE HISTORY OF THE SEE. 

The history of the See of Canterbury may be said to have begun with thecoming of Augustine, for there can be no doubt that it is owing to itsbeing the settling-place of the first messengers of the gospel in SaxonEngland that Canterbury has been the metropolis of the English Church. Pope Gregory, with his usual thoroughness, sent to Augustine, soon afterhis arrival here, an elaborate scheme for the division of our islandinto sees, which were to be gradually developed as Christianity spread. According to his arrangement, there were to be two archbishops, one atLondon and one at York. But we cannot regret that this scheme was notcarried out, as an archiepiscopal see is much more picturesquely framed bythe hills which encircle Canterbury than it could have been by the dingyvastness of the political and social capital. 

#Augustine# reached England in 597, and found that his path had been madeeasy by the fact that Bertha, wife of Ethelbert, King of Kent, was aChristian. He soon effected the conversion of the king himself, and hislabours were so rapidly successful that at Christmas, 597, no less thanten thousand Saxons were baptized at the mouth of the Medway. Thearchiepiscopal pall, and a papal Bull, creating Augustine first Englisharchbishop, were duly sent from Rome, and the royal palace in Canterbury, with an old church--Roman or British--close by, were handed over to him byEthelbert. The first archbishop died in 605, and was buried, according tothe old Roman custom, by the side of the high road which had brought himto Canterbury. A few years later, however, his remains were transferred tothe Abbey of SS. Peter and Paul, which had then just been completed. 

Augustine was succeeded by one of the monks who had originally come withhim from Rome. The new archbishop's name was #Lawrence#; he had beenalready consecrated by Augustine in his lifetime. This unusual measure wasthought to be necessary, as the Church had hardly yet established itself ina strong position. Indeed, so weak was its hold over its rapidly acquiredconverts, that when Ethelbert's son, who succeeded his father in 616, backslid into the path of heathendom, the great majority of the peoplefollowed the royal example, and Lawrence, together with the Bishops ofLondon and Rochester, prepared to leave England altogether, as a countryhopelessly abandoned to paganism. However, the archbishop determined tomake one more attempt to maintain his position, and succeeded interrifying the king, by a pretended miracle, into becoming a Christian. Hethen recalled the two bishops who had already crossed to France, and onhis death, in 619, was succeeded by the Bishop of London, #Mellitus#. Mellitus only held the Primacy till 624, when his place was filled by#Justin#, who also had a brief archiepiscopal life, being succeeded in 627by #Honorius#. This archbishop held the see for twenty-six years, till 653, and it was not until 655 that his successor was appointed. 

So far the archbishops had all been foreigners who had come over eitherwith Augustine or with the second company of missionaries who weredespatched by Gregory soon after Ethelbert's conversion. In 655, however, a native Englishman, named Frithona, was consecrated by the Saxon Bishopof Rochester, and adopted the name of #Deus Dedit#. He ruled at Canterburytill 664, and after his death the see remained vacant for four years, probably owing to the plague which was then wasting all Europe, and causedthe death of Wighard, a Saxon, who had started for Rome to receive hisconsecration there. But in 668, #Theodore#, a native of Tarsus in Cecilia, was appointed, and was welcomed by the members of the torn and dividedEnglish Church. He devoted all his energy to centralizing andconsolidating the power of the archbishop, which had been hitherto largelynominal. He journeyed all over England, correcting the prevalent laxity ofdiscipline and establishing the control of the metropolitan authority. Hewent so far as to interfere with the Archbishopric of York, and with thehelp of the king attempted to divide it into three sees. He was, moreover, an enthusiastic scholar, and first diffused the study of Greekin England. He had brought a copy of Homer with him, and is said to haveestablished a school of Greek in Canterbury. He died in 690, and after hisdeath there was no archbishop for three years. In 693, one #Brethwald#, anEnglish monk, some time Abbot of Reculver, was appointed to the see. TheSaxon Church shows that it had benefited by Theodore's rigorousdiscipline, in that it was henceforth able to supply its own archbishops;it had now securely established itself all over the country, and the lasthome of paganism, which, curiously enough, held its own longest in Sussex, had been finally converted in Theodore's time. Brethwald ruled till 731, and was followed by #Tatwin# (731-734) and #Nothelm# (734-740). In 740#Cuthbert# became archbishop. He seems to have been an interestingpersonage with a good deal of zeal for reform; he is recorded to haveassembled a synod at Cliff to discuss measures for the improvement of thelives and behaviour both of clergy and laity. Probably at his instigationthe synod ordained that the Lord's Prayer and the Creed should be taught inthe vulgar tongue; he was the first archbishop buried in the cathedral. Hewas succeeded by #Bregwin#, who held the see from 759 to 765. He was anexception among the series of English primates, being of German origin. During the rule of the next archbishop, #Jaenbert#, an attempt was madeto transfer the primacy from Canterbury. Offa, the King of Mercia, hadestablished himself in a position of commanding power, and wishing thatthe seat of the chief ecclesiastical authority should be within his owndominion, obtained a Bull from Pope Adrian I. By which an Archbishop ofLichfield was created, with a larger see than that of Canterbury. Jaenbertseems to have acquiesced, though doubtless most unwillingly, in thisarrangement, but in spite of the central situation of Lichfield, thetraditional claims of Canterbury were too strong, and Adulf was the firstand last Archbishop of Lichfield. #Athelard#, who succeeded Jaenbert in790, had the primacy restored to him. The Northmen began their raids on theEnglish coasts at this time, and their ravages probably continued throughthe days of his successors, #Wulfred#, #Feologild#, #Ceolnoth#, and#Ethelred# (805-889). 

In 889 the learned #Plegmund#, formerly tutor of Alfred, was by his quondampupil's influence made Archbishop of Canterbury. It was during his timethat the sees of Wells for Somerset and Crediton for Devonshire wereestablished. 

#Athelm# (914-923). 

#Wulfhelm# (923-942). 

#Odo# (942-959), called "the severe, " was born a pagan Dane of EastAnglia, but having been received into a noble Saxon family, was dulybaptized into the faith. He was appointed to the Wiltshire bishopric byAthelstane, and combined in his person the characters of the warlike Daneand the Christian churchman. Like his successor Dunstan, Odo made hischief objects in life the maintenance of the Church's supremacy and thereformation of the married clergy. He bore his archbishopric with muchpomp and dignity through the reigns of Edmund, Edred, and Edwy. He wasresponsible for Dunstan's conduct on the occasion of King Edwy'scoronation, though it is not known how far he sanctioned the crueltiessubsequently practised on Elgiva. Odo reconstructed and enlarged thecathedral. 

His immediate successor was #Elsi#, Bishop of Winchester, but thisarchbishop died while on his way to Rome to receive his pall from thePope. 

#Dunstan# (960-988), the next archbishop, continued Odo's crusade againstthe married clergy, which he conducted relentlessly. In many cases thesecular clergy were turned out of their livings to make room for membersof the regular monkish orders. Even with these harsh measures and theemployment of miracles the archbishop does not seem to have succeeded inenforcing celibacy among the clergy. Dunstan was born in Somersetshire ofnoble parents, and educated at the Abbey of Glastonbury. He became abbotof that place, and Bishop of Worcester and London. At the coronation ofEdwy he intruded himself into the king's presence, and was afterwardsobliged to retire to Ghent. He held the See of Canterbury for twenty-sevenyears, and on his death was buried in the cathedral, where countlessmiracles are said to have been worked at his tomb. 

#Ethelgar# (988-989). 

#Siricius# (990-994). 

#Ælfric# (995-1005). 

#Alphege# (1005-1012), Prior of Glastonbury, migrated thence to Bath, wherehe founded the great abbey, afterwards united to the See of Wells. Afterholding the See of Winchester for twenty-two years, he was translated toCanterbury. When in 1011 Canterbury was sacked by the Danes, he wascarried off a prisoner, and on his refusal to ransom himself, wasbarbarously murdered by his captors. His body was ransomed by the peopleof London and buried at St. Paul's Cathedral, whence it was removed toCanterbury by Canute. Subsequently, in the time of Lanfranc, he wascanonized. 

#Living# (1013-1020) also suffered much from the Danes, who from this timecontinued their incursions until the reign of Canute. 

#Egelnoth# (1020-1038) is described as the first dean of the Canterburycanons who seem to have acquired an ascendancy over the monks ever sincethe massacre of the latter by the Danes in 1011. He restored the cathedralafter the damages inflicted by the invaders. 

#Eadsi# (1038-1050). 

#Robert of Jumièges# (1051-1052) was one of the many Normans who werebrought over into England by King Edward the Confessor; he took an activepart in the king's quarrel with the great Earl Godwin, and in the reactionwhich followed against the Normans retired to Jumièges, where he remainedtill his death. 

#Stigand# (1052-1070), Bishop of Winchester, held this see conjointly withthat of Canterbury. He was remarkable for his avarice. His espousal of thecause of Edgar the Atheling led the Conqueror to regard him withsuspicion. William took the archbishop with him when he returned intoNormandy, and eventually dispossessed him, along with some other bishopsand abbots, at a synod held at Winchester in the year 1070. Stigand wasimprisoned at Winchester, where he eventually died, resisting to the lastthe attempts made by the king to elicit information as to the whereaboutsof the vast treasures which he had accumulated and hidden. 

#Lanfranc# (1070-1089) was the first Norman Archbishop of Canterbury. Hewas born at Pavia, and educated at the monastery of Bec, in Normandy, thenthe most remarkable seat of learning existing in Europe. His conspicuousabilities raised him to the position of prior of the monastery. He wassubsequently abbot of the new monastery which William of Normandy foundedat Caen, and on the deposition of Stigand was called over by that king tocomplete the subjection and reform of the Anglo-Saxon Church, which taskhe undertook with much zeal and not a little high-handed procedure. Heassisted the king in the removal of the Saxon bishops and the substitutionof Normans in their places, as also in the reformation of the greatEnglish monasteries which appear to have fallen into considerabledisorder. Lanfranc's character was remarkable for its firmness, andbrought him into frequent collision with the imperious temper of hisroyal master. On one occasion Lanfranc insisted on the restoration oftwenty-five manors which belonged to the archiepiscopal see, and whichhad been appropriated by Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, William's half-brother. William, however, continued to honour his able servant, and during theking's absence in Normandy, Lanfranc held the office of chief justiciaryand vice-regent within the realm, and maintained his independent attitudeagainst all the world, refusing to go to Rome at the summons of the pope. Lanfranc crowned William II. , and as long as he lived did much to moderatethat monarch's rapacious attacks on the wealth of the Church. He rebuiltthe cathedral which had fallen into ruin, and founded the great monasteryof Christ Church. He was the author of a celebrated treatise in refutationof the doctrine of Berengarius of Tours, on the subject of the RealPresence, and was present at the council held in Rome by Leo IX. , in whichBerengarius was condemned. He lies buried in the nave of his cathedral, but the exact spot is not known. 

#Anselm# (1093-1109) was born at Aosta, and studied under Lanfranc at Bec, when he succeeded him as Prior of the Convent, and subsequently becameabbot. He visited England on the invitation of Hugh the Fat, Earl ofChester, and while there was called in by the king and made Archbishop ofCanterbury. Rufus had kept the see vacant, and appropriated the revenuesof this and many other Church properties, and was only induced by the fearof impending death to appoint Anselm to the see. Anselm was withdifficulty persuaded to accept the post, but from that hour posed as thefirm champion of the rights of the Church, and the opponent and denouncerof the king's exactions and the general immorality of the times. Herefused to receive his pall at the hands of the king, but eventuallyagreed to take it himself from the high altar of the cathedral atCanterbury. Though deserted by his bishops he held his own against theking until an accusation of failing in his duty to supply troops for theking's Welsh expedition drove him into exile and he made his way to Rome, when his learning created much sensation and was enlisted against theerrors of the Greek Church on the subject of the procession of the HolyGhost. On his accession to the throne, Henry I. , as part of his reversalof his brother's ecclesiastical policy recalled Anselm from banishment andfilled up the vacant see. But Anselm remained firm on the subject of therights of the church in the matter of the investiture of the clergy, andrefused to consecrate the bishops who had received their investiture fromthe king, or to do homage or swear fealty to Henry. The king, on his side, was determined to uphold the rights of the crown and the matter wasreferred to the pope. Anselm had to visit Rome in person, and meeting withbut lukewarm support from the pope agreed at last to a compromise, at Bec, in 1106, by which the king surrendered the symbols of the ring andcrozier, while retaining his right to the oaths of fealty and homage. Anselm returned to England and spent the last two years of his life incomparative repose: he died at Canterbury, and was buried near Lanfranc, but his remains were afterwards removed to the tower that bears his name. After his death the see was again vacant for five years, and was managedby Ralf, Bishop of Rochester, who was however made archbishop later; hewas a disciple of Lanfranc, but as an archbishop was unimportant. 

#William de Corbeuil# (1123-1136) was the first archbishop who received thetitle of Papal Legate. He crowned King Stephen after solemnly swearing tosupport the cause of Matilda, and is said to have died of remorse for hisconduct in the matter. He completed the restoration of the cathedral anddedicated it with much pomp and display. 

#Theobald# (1139-1161), the next archbishop, had been Abbot of Bec, and wasa Benedictine. His importance as archbishop was much overshadowed by Henryof Blois, Bishop of Winchester, and brother of King Stephen. The popegranted him the title of "Legatus natus, " which was retained by hissuccessors until the Reformation. The life of this prelate was one ofvarying fortunes, and he was twice in exile. He eventually, along withHenry of Blois, took an important part in the final compromise which waseffected between the factions of Stephen and Matilda. On his death thesee remained vacant for more than a year. 

#Thomas Becket# (1162-1170) was the son of a London merchant, and waseducated among the Augustinian canons of Merton, in Surrey. He cameunder the patronage of Archbishop Theobald whom he accompanied when thelatter visited Rome. While still only a deacon Becket received manyecclesiastical benefices, including the Archdeaconry of Canterbury. About1155 he was appointed Chancellor, through the influence of Theobald, andthenceforward, until he became archbishop enjoyed the most intimatefriendship and confidence of King Henry II. His magnificence and authorityduring this period of his career exceeded that of the most powerfulnobles, and created much sensation in France whither he was dispatched todemand the hand of the Princess Margaret for the king's infant son. Whenoffered the Archbishopric of Canterbury he is said to have warned the kingthat his acceptance of the office would entail his devotion to God and hisorder in preference to the interests of the king. He was however persuadedto accept the primacy, and after being duly ordained priest wasconsecrated archbishop by Henry of Blois, the Bishop of Winchester. 

From this moment onwards the entire character and attitude of Becket waschanged. He gave up his old pomp and magnificence and devoted himself tomonastic severity and works of charity: he furthermore insisted onresigning his temporal offices, including that of chancellor, and engagedon his lifelong struggle with the king on the subject of the privileges ofthe clergy. 

Since the separation of the bishops from the secular courts by theConqueror, a gross system of abuse had arisen under which all persons whocould read and write could claim exemption from the jurisdiction of theordinary secular courts, and insist on being tried only before their ownecclesiastical tribunal. The spiritual courts could inflict no corporalpunishment, and the result was that many guilty persons escaped punishmentat their hands, and the benefit of clergy came to mean a practical licenceto commit crimes. This was naturally in radical opposition to the judicialpolicy of Henry II. , and matters were brought to a climax by thescandalous case of Philip Brois, a murderer, whom Becket rescued from theking's justice and condemned to a totally inadequate sentence. The kingdetermined to clear the question of all doubt, and to this end drew upthe famous constitutions of Clarendon in which the clergy was subjectedequally with the laity to the common laws of the land. The archbishop tookthe oath, but refused to sign the constitution, as he insisted on theimmunity of the clergy from all secular jurisdiction. On retiring from thecouncil he sought and obtained absolution from his oath at the hands ofthe pope--Alexander III. --who, insecure in his own position, and unableto dispense with the friendship of the King of England, maintained avacillating attitude in the quarrel between Becket and Henry. The kingnow began a systematic persecution of the archbishop. He was pressed withvarious charges, and finally was ordered to account for the moneys whichhe had received from the vacant See of Canterbury and other ecclesiasticalproperties in his capacity as Chancellor. There seems small reason todoubt that the charge was an unjust one, and was merely employed by theking as an instrument of offence against his political adversary. Thearchbishop came before the council in all the pomp and panoply of hisoffice, and bearing his own cross, as he had been deserted by most of hisbishops. After an exciting scene he escaped before any definite judgmentwas pronounced, and took refuge in France, where he was hospitably andhonourably received by King Louis VII. Here he continued his strugglewith the King of England. Henry seized upon the revenues of the See ofCanterbury, and banished all Becket's kinsmen, dependants, and friends. Becket replied by solemnly denouncing the constitution of Clarendon, andexcommunicating all who should enforce them. After further contentionsand fruitless negotiations Henry issued a proclamation withdrawing hissubjects' obedience to the archbishop, enforced by an oath from allfreemen. This oath many of the bishops refused to take. The pope, undertemporary pressure from Becket's enemies, authorized the Archbishop ofYork to crown the young prince Henry: and the supremacy of the See ofCanterbury over all England, being thus called in question, becamethenceforward one of the principal subjects of dispute between Becket andthe king. The action of the king was unpopular, and Henry, seeing that hehad gone too far, consented to enter on some sort of reconciliation withBecket, who ventured to return to England. In spite of the manifestdanger in which he found himself, Becket, on his return to England, continued his high-handed policy, excommunicating the Archbishop of Yorkand others of his enemies. On hearing of this conduct Henry's fury got thebetter of him, and his famous exclamation led to the departure of the fourknights to Canterbury. They demanded the immediate removal of theexcommunication. Becket was hurried into the cathedral by the monks andmurdered at the altar. 

On his death he was immediately canonized, and many miracles occurred athis tomb. Henry himself was ordered to do penance for his death. The fameof his shrine brought countless pilgrims to Canterbury, which was thus forthe first time raised to a position of importance throughout the whole ofEurope. 

#Richard# (1174-1184), Prior of Dover, was the next archbishop: he had beenpresent at Becket's murder and helped to convey his body to the crypt. Hewas somewhat indifferent to spiritual matters, and was chiefly occupied insupporting the supremacy of the See of Canterbury over that of York, aquestion which led to at least one scene of unseemly disturbance in whichthe Archbishop of York nearly lost his life. One result of the quarrel wasthe conferring of the title of "Primate of England, " and "Primate of allEngland, " on the Archbishops of York and Canterbury respectively, by thepope. 

#Baldwin# (1185-1190) was the first monk of the Cistercian order who heldthe See of Canterbury. He came into collision with the Benedictine monkswith whom the election to the primacy had always rested, and whom heattempted in vain to deprive of that privilege in favour of a body ofcanons at Lambeth, which he purchased for the see. He accompanied RichardCoeur de Lion to the Holy Land, and died in camp before Acre. 

#Reginald Fitz Jocelyn#, Bishop of Bath and Wells, was next elected, butdied before receiving the pall. 

#Hubert Walter# (1193-1205) was born at West Derham, in Norfolk, andeducated by Ranulph de Glanville: he was made Bishop of Salisbury, andaccompanied Richard I. To the Holy Land. When archbishop he held theoffice of Justiciary, but was removed from the latter by a Papal Bullsince it compelled him to judge "causes of blood. " He became chancellor, and conducted the duties of his high offices in an admirable manner. Thelaws enacted under Richard I. Are said to have been drawn up by him, andhe completed the house of regular canons at Lambeth. He was buried in hisown cathedral where his effigy still remains. 

After some disputes on the subject of election, the Pope, Innocent III. , was appealed to and decided in favour of

#Stephen Langton# (1207-1228) who was an Englishman of spotless characterand profound theological learning: he was consecrated at Peterborough byInnocent III. The "fury of King John knew no bounds, " he drove the monksof Canterbury to Flanders, and refused to allow Langton to set foot inEngland. The result of this conduct was the publication of the celebratedInterdict, followed soon after by the personal excommunication of the kingand the absolution of his subjects from their oath of allegiance by thepope. Philip of France was ordered to depose the English king, whose crownwas declared forfeited. Hard pressed by his enemies, and having alienatedhis people from his cause, King John was driven to humiliating submission:he promised to receive Langton and to restore the Church property, andfinally, formally resigned his crown into the hands of Pandulph, the PapalLegate. Archbishop Langton was received with honour, and King John threwhimself at his feet and reconciled himself with the Church. He alsoordered a great council to meet at St. Alban's to settle finally therestitution of the church property. Here, however, he was met by an opendeclaration of the complaints of all classes. Langton, though elevated tothe primacy, entirely through the influence of the pope, proved himself astaunch Englishman, and posed as the champion of national liberty againstthe claims of both pope and king. It was he who produced to themalcontents the Coronation Charter of Henry I. , which the barons acceptedas a declaration of the views and demands of their party. He was at thehead of the barons in their struggle with the king, and his name appearsas that of the first witness to the famous Magna Charta. John at onceapplied to the pope, and obtained from him the abrogation of the charterand a papal order to Langton to excommunicate the king's enemies. This herefused to do. John overran the country with foreign mercenaries, and hiscruelties eventually resulted in the barons summoning Louis of France totheir assistance. Langton was summoned to Rome to attend the LateranCouncil, and was detained there until the deaths of Innocent III. And KingJohn, after which he was permitted to return to his see and passed theremainder of his life in comparative tranquillity, siding strongly withthe national party under Hubert de Burgh. He presided at the translationof Becket's remains from the crypt to Trinity Chapel; he rebuilt much ofthe archiepiscopal palace at Canterbury and he lies buried in his owncathedral. He was the first who divided the Bible into chapters. 

#Richard de Wethershed# (1229-1231), Chancellor of Lincoln, was nextappointed, but died on his way back from Italy. After three more electionsby the monks which were all set aside by the pope, Honorius III. , themonks consented to accept

#Edmund Rich# (1234-1240), treasurer of Salisbury: he was the son of amerchant of Abingdon, and was educated at Oxford University. He had agreat reputation for learning and piety. He came into disfavour with theking by his opposition to the marriage of his sister Eleanor to Simon deMontfort. His sympathies were all on the side of the national party: heprocured the downfall of Des Roches and maintained the struggle againstthe foreign favourites and papal exactions for which the reign of HenryIII. Is notorious. At length he retired to the Cistercian Abbey atPontigny, which had formerly sheltered Becket and Langton, in despair atthe condition of England and of her Church. It was during his time thatthe great movements of the Dominican and Franciscan friars reached Englandand though the archbishop never actually joined their ranks, he wasdoubtless much influenced by their teaching and example, and was himselfan itinerant preacher after leaving Oxford. He was canonized six yearsafter his death. He was succeeded by

#Boniface of Savoy# (1241-1270), one of the king's uncles, whose violenceand warlike bearing made him a strange contrast to his predecessor. Histerm of office was one long history of papal exactions from the Englishclergy, and of the tyranny of foreigners, creatures of Henry III. , overthe rights of the nation. The revenues of the See of Canterbury and theenormous sums wrung from the clergy were squandered on foreign wars, andthe archbishop himself resided abroad. Boniface took a leading part in thespoliation of the English Church: he was one of the king's council at theso-called "Mad Parliament. "

#Robert Kilwardby# (1273-1278) was nominated by the pope, after a fruitlesselection of their subprior by the monks. He was a very learned Dominican, educated at Oxford and Paris. 

#John Peckam# (1279-1292) was, like his predecessor, nominated by the popeafter an education at Oxford and Paris; he also was a Franciscan. He wasat first a staunch supporter of King Edward I. , whom he accompanied toWales. It is to be regretted that he supported the king in his crueltiesto the conquered Welsh and in the expulsion of the Jews. He firmlydefended the privileges of his see against first, the Archbishop of York, and secondly, the king. It was in his time (1279) that the famous Statuteof Mortmain was passed. The exactions of the papacy had been considerablylessened, and the Church was beginning to recover its wealth and nationalcharacter. Peckam died at Mortlake, and was buried in the transept of themartyrdom at Canterbury, where his tomb and effigy still remain. 

#Robert Winchelsea# (1292-1313) was next nominated, king and clergy beingunanimous on this occasion, and at once proceeded to Rome, where heremained some time before returning to England. Meanwhile, Edward I. Haddemanded the enormous subsidy of one half their annual revenue from theclergy. Winchelsea is said to have been responsible for the celebratedBull _Clericis laicis_ issued by Boniface VIII. In defence of the propertyof the Church. On his return home the archbishop continued to lead theclergy in their opposition to the king's demands, and paid the penalty inthe seizure of his whole estate for the king's use. He retired with asingle chaplain to a country parsonage, discharged the humble duties of apriest, and lived on the alms of his flocks. When the war broke out Edwardsought to propitiate the clergy by restoring the archbishop to his barony, and summoning him to a parliament at Westminster, where the clergyabandoned their own ground of ecclesiastical immunity from taxation andtook shelter under the liberties of the realm, thus identifying themselveswith the popular cause in their opposition to the exactions of the king. On his return from Flanders Edward accused Winchelsea of conspiringagainst him in his absence, and the archbishop was again deprived of allhis possessions, and, after many privations, escaped to France. 

On the accession of Edward II. He was recalled and restored to his honour, but subsequently became again the centre of revolution, and himselfexcommunicated the king's favourite, Gaveston. He nevertheless continuedundisturbed in the discharge of his office until his death. During hisprosperous years Winchelsea was famous for his charities and liberality. After his death he was regarded as a saint, and his shrine in thesouth-east transept was removed by the commissioners of Henry VIII. Atthe same time as that of Saint Thomas à Becket. 

#Walter Reynolds# (1313-1327) was appointed by the pope at the requestof the king, who had set aside an election of the monks. He was tutor andsubsequently Chancellor to Edward II. After Gaveston's death he becameKeeper of the Great Seal. He obtained many bulls of privilege from Rome. In spite of the favour he had received from Edward II. He deserted him inhis troubles. His tomb remains in the south aisle of the choir. 

#Simon Mepeham# (1328-1333) was elected by the monks and consecrated atAvignon. He was opposed in his visitation by Grandisson, the powerfulBishop of Exeter, who refused him admission to his cathedral by force. Hewas unsupported by the pope, and is said to have died of a broken heart inconsequence. His tomb forms the screen of St. Anselm's Chapel. 

#John Stratford# (1333-1348) was appointed by the pope at the requestof Edward III. He was educated at Merton College, Oxford, and becameArchdeacon of Lincoln and Bishop of Winchester. He was made Lord Treasurerby Edward II. , to whose cause he remained faithful during the short-livedtriumph of Isabella and the desertion of the archbishop. Edward III. Madehim Lord Chancellor, in which office he was succeeded by his own brother, Robert. Stratford had endeavoured to dissuade the king from entering onthe French war, and the king, hard pressed for money, had the archbishoparraigned for high treason. Stratford fled from Lambeth to Canterbury, where he excommunicated his accusers. He subsequently returned to Londonand sheltered himself, not under his ecclesiastical immunity, but underhis privileges of parliament as a member of the House of Peers, asignificant landmark in the history of the English Church. The quarrelbetween the king and the archbishop was amicably settled. 

Stratford held exalted opinions on the subject of clerical superiority, and his arraignment, without the support of the pope, was a decisive blowagainst the power of the Church. In his time, also, a layman was for thefirst time appointed to the office of Chancellor, and Edward III. Wrote aletter to the pope protesting against the frequent papal nominations tovacant English sees, which was followed up by the Statute of Provisors in1350. Stratford died at Mayfield in Sussex, and was buried in his owncathedral, where his monument still remains. 

#Thomas Bradwardine# (1349) was consecrated after election by the monks ofChrist Church after the death of John Ufford, the king's nominee, who diedof the Black Death before consecration. Bradwardine had been the king'sconfessor. He was educated at Merton College, and was one of the bestgeometers of his time, besides being the author of an important tractagainst Pelagianism. 

#Simon Islip# (1349-1366), the king's secretary, built most of the palaceat Mayfield, and completed that at Maidstone. He founded and endowedCanterbury Hall, now forming one of the quadrangles of Christ Church, Oxford, in which he endeavoured to bring together the monastic and secularpriests. 

#Simon Langham# (1366-1368) had been Bishop of Ely, Treasurer of England, and Lord Chancellor, and also Prior and Abbot of Westminster. On beingappointed a cardinal by the Pope Urban V. , he resigned his archbishopric, the temporal powers and revenues of which had been seized by the king, anddied at Avignon. 

#William Whittlesea# (1368-1374), a nephew of Islip, was translated fromWorcester. 

#Simon of Sudbury# (1375-1381) was Chancellor of Salisbury and Bishop ofLondon, whence he was transferred to Canterbury. As chancellor he proposedthe famous poll tax, which supplied the motive for Wat Tyler's rebellion, and, as archbishop, caused to be imprisoned the priest, John Ball. He wascaptured in the tower, and beheaded during Wat Tyler's rebellion; his bodywas eventually removed to Canterbury, and buried in the south aisle ofthe choir. He built the west gate at Canterbury, and a great part of thecity walls. 

#William Courtenay# (1381-1396) was, like his predecessor, translated fromthe See of London. In a synod he condemned twenty-four articles in thewriting of Wycliffe, who was unjustly held responsible for the recentrebellion. Much persecution of Wycliffe's followers ensued. Courtenaysucceeded in establishing his right to visit his province, althoughopposed by the Bishops of Exeter and Salisbury. His monument adjoins thatof the Black Prince. 

#Thomas Arundel# (1396-1414) was translated from the See of York. He wasinvolved in the conspiracy for which his brother, the Earl of Arundel, wasexecuted, and was himself exiled. He was restored after Bolingbroke'ssuccess, and received the abdication of Richard II. In 1400 the statute_De haeretico comburendo_ was enacted, and Arundel began to put it inforce against the Lollards. He condemned Sawtree, the first EnglishProtestant martyr, to be burnt, and took a prominent part in the attackupon Sir John Oldcastle. In the parliament of 1407 he defended the clergyagainst the attempts of the Commons to shift the burden of taxation uponthe wealth of the Church. 

#Henry Chichele# (1414-1443) was educated at New College, Oxford. He becamesuccessively Archdeacon of Dorset and of Salisbury, and Bishop of St. David's. He supported Henry V. In his unjust claim to the crown of France, and promised large subsidies from the Church for its support. There is nodoubt that this was a successful attempt at diverting the popularattention from threatened attempts on the wealth of the Church. He wasreproached by the Pope Martin V. With lack of zeal in the interests of thepapacy in not procuring the reversal of the statutes of provisors and ofpræmunire by which, amongst others, the papal power was held in check inEngland. Among his foundations are the colleges of St. Bernard (afterwardsSt. John's), and All Souls, at Oxford, and a library at Canterbury for themonks of Christ Church. In his old age he was stricken with remorse forhis sin in instigating the French war, and applied to the pope forpermission to resign his see. Before a reply was received the archbishopdied, after holding the see for nearly thirty years, a longer time thanany of his predecessors. His tomb, constructed by himself during hislifetime, is in the north aisle of the choir, and is kept in repair bythe Fellows of All Souls. 

#John Stafford# (1443-1452), Bishop of Bath and Wells, was nominated bythe pope with the king's consent on the recommendation of Chichele. He alsoheld the office of chancellor for ten years, but was undistinguished ineither office. He lies in the south aisle of the choir. 

#John Kemp# (1452-1454), Archbishop of York, succeeded. He was educatedat Merton College, and was Archdeacon of Durham and Bishop of Rochester, Chichester, and London. He died at an advanced age, after a very briefprimacy, and was buried in the north choir aisle. 

#Thomas Bourchier# (1454-1486), Bishop of Ely, was next elected by themonks. He was a great-grandson of Edward III. He was educated at Oxford, of which university he became chancellor; he subsequently held the sees ofWorcester and Ely. His lot fell upon difficult times, and he endeavouredto maintain a position of neutrality in the struggle between the twoRoses, and at last effected their union by performing the marriage ofHenry VII. With Elizabeth of York. He died soon after, and his tombremains at Canterbury. He was bishop for fifty-one years, out of which heheld the primacy for thirty-two years. He actively encouraged education, and helped to introduce printing into this country. 

#John Morton# (1486-1500) was, like his predecessor, translated from Ely. He was educated at Balliol College. Richard of Gloucester, after makingvain overtures to him, removed him from his office and committed him to theTower, and afterwards to Brecknock Castle, whence he escaped and joinedthe Earl of Richmond on the Continent. After Bosworth he was recalled, andon Bourchier's death was made archbishop. In 1493 he obtained a cardinal'shat. In 1487 he was made Lord Chancellor, and continued for thirteenyears, until his death, in this office and in the confidence of the king, whom he assisted in his system for controlling the great feudal barons andin the exaction of "benevolence. " His famous dilemma propounded to themerchants was known as "Morton's fork. " It was he who prevailed upon thePope to canonize Archbishop Anselm. His tomb, constructed during hislifetime, may be seen in the crypt of his cathedral. 

#Henry Dean# (1501-1503) was translated from Salisbury; he held the GreatSeal, with the title of Lord Keeper, after the death of Morton. 

#William Warham# (1503-1532) was born of a good Hampshire family, andeducated at Winchester and New College. He was sent to Burgundy on amission to protest against the support of Perkin Warbeck by the DuchessMargaret. He held the offices of Lord Keeper, Lord Chancellor, Master ofthe Rolls, and Bishop of London. He crowned King Henry VIII. , andprotested from the first against his marriage with Catherine. He was agreat rival of Wolsey, and retired from the court until the fall of thecardinal. In the disputes of the time he embraced the side of the oldreligion, and gave some countenance to Elizabeth Barton, the Nun of Kent. The last part of his life was devoted to the cares of his diocese and toletters, which he cultivated diligently. He was a personal friend ofErasmus, whom he induced to visit England. His tomb remains in theTransept of the Martyrdom. 

#Thomas Cranmer# (1533-1556) may be considered the first Protestantarchbishop. From the first he would only accept the archbishopric ascoming from the king without intervention of the pope. He was born of agood family in Nottinghamshire, and was educated at Cambridge, where hebecame fellow of Jesus. He was first brought to the king's notice by hissuggestion that the question of Catherine's divorce might be settledwithout reference to the pope. The king set him to write on the subject, and he was rewarded with the Archdeaconry of Taunton. In 1530 heaccompanied the Earl of Wiltshire to the papal court, and was thereoffered preferment by the pope. He married the niece of Osiander, who hadhimself written on the subject of the divorce. On Warham's death hesucceeded him in the primacy, and returned to England. As archbishop, Cranmer pronounced the divorce against Catherine and crowned Anne Boleyn, and was sponsor to the Princess Elizabeth, whom he baptized. After AnneBoleyn's trial he pronounced her marriage void, and acted as her confessorin the Tower. Throughout his primacy Cranmer actively supported thereforming party. In 1539 he was one of the commissioners for inspectinginto the matter of religion. In 1545 he was accused of heresy by theopposite party led by Gardiner, and would have fallen but for the supportof the king, who befriended Cranmer throughout his life, and sent for himto attend his death-bed. Great changes had occurred at Canterbury. Becket's shrine had been destroyed, and a dean and twelve canons wereestablished in place of the old monastery of Christ Church, which wasdissolved. Under Henry's will Cranmer was appointed one of the Regents ofthe Kingdom and Executors of the Will, and it was he who crowned EdwardVI. Who, like Elizabeth, was his godchild. Throughout the reign of Edward, Cranmer earnestly supported the cause of the Reformation. The Six Articleswere repealed and the first Book of Common Prayer was issued. On thedeath-bed of Edward, Cranmer signed the king's will, in which he appointedLady Jane Grey his successor. On the accession of Queen Mary he was atonce ordered to appear before the council and within a month was committedto the Tower. In November, 1553, he was pronounced guilty of high treason, but was pardoned on this count, and it was decided to proceed against himas a heretic. In 1554 he was sent to Oxford, with Latimer and Ridley, where he remained two years in prison and was condemned as a heretic bytwo successive commissions. After the death of Latimer and Ridley, Cranmerwas degraded and deprived. It was after this that, in the hopes of savinghis life, he made his famous recantation. He was brought into St. Mary's, and in his address to the people withdrew his recantation and declaredthat his right hand which had signed it should be the first to burn. Hewas hurried to the place of execution opposite Balliol College, and, whenthe pyre was lighted, held his right hand in the flames till it wasconsumed, and died, calling on the Lord Jesus to receive his spirit. 

#Reginald Pole# (1556-1558) a near connection of Henry VIII. Thensucceeded. He was born in Worcestershire and was educated by theCarthusians at Shene and at Magdalen College, Oxford. He was earlyadvanced to the Deanery of Exeter and other preferments. On leaving Oxfordhe visited the universities of France and Italy and returned to England in1525. Henry attempted in vain to secure Pole's support on the divorcequestion, and on the appearance of his book, "Pro Unitate Ecclesiastica, "he was sent for by the king, and when he refused to come, an act ofattainder was passed against him. In 1537 Pole was induced to accept acardinal's hat. It is said that he was most unwilling to do so on theground that he contemplated marrying the Princess Mary and seating himselfon the English throne. He took an active part in promoting the Pilgrimageof Grace and the second rising in 1541. He remained in Italy until thedeath of Edward VI. On the accession of Mary he returned to England aspapal legate after the question of his marriage with Mary had been againdiscussed and set aside through the influence of the Emperor Charles V. OnCranmer's execution Pole was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury. Aslegate he absolved the Parliament and made a solemn entry into London. Forthe next three years Pole was in sole management of the ecclesiasticalaffairs of England, and was consenting to the persecutions which disgracedthe reign of Mary. He was at one time deprived of his legatine authority byPope Paul IV. Who had wished for the elevation of Gardiner to the primacy. The archbishop submitted to the pope and was again appointed legate shortlybefore his death which occurred about the same time as that of Mary. Hewas buried in the corona at Canterbury, where his tomb yet remains. He wasthe last Archbishop of Canterbury to be buried in his own cathedral, untilthe recent interment of Dr. Benson. 

#Matthew Parker# (1559-1575) was born of an old Norfolk family and educatedat Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Wolsey invited him to become afellow of Christ Church, his new foundation at Oxford, but this hedeclined. After various other offices he was appointed to the Deanery ofLincoln by Edward VI. On the accession of Mary he was deprived of all hisoffices as a married priest, and lived privately until the accession ofElizabeth, who made him archbishop. He was duly elected by the new Chapterof Canterbury, and held his post during a most difficult time withmarvellous tact and judgment. Religious toleration for its own sake was anidea yet unknown, but Parker directed that great caution should beobserved in administering the oath of supremacy to those of the clergy whostill favoured the old religion. It is much to his credit that he managedto preserve such good relations with the queen in face of Elizabeth'sprejudice against the marriage of the clergy. He was an enlightened patronof learning, and did much to encourage all branches of art. 

#Edmund Grindall# (1576-1583) was born at St. Bees and educated atCambridge, where he became Master of Pembroke Hall. He was Chaplain toEdward VI. During the troubles of Mary's reign he lived in Germany, and onElizabeth's accession became the first Protestant Bishop of London. Thencehe was removed to York and in 1575 was appointed as archbishop. He wasinclined to view the Puritans with more leniency than his predecessor andalways refused to forbid the prophesyings, or meetings of the clergy fordiscussing the meaning of scripture, which Elizabeth disliked so much, andwas in consequence deprived of his jurisdiction. He went blind before hisdeath and was buried at Croydon. 

#John Whitgift# (1583-1604) was born at Great Grimsby and educated atCambridge, where John Bradford was his tutor: he became one of Elizabeth'schaplains and Master of Pembroke Hall and of Trinity. He wrote an answerto Cartwright's "Admonition" and was preferred to the Deanery of Lincolnand Bishopric of Worcester. After Grindall's death he was translated toCanterbury. From this date his severity towards the Puritans increased. Heinsisted that every minister of the Church should subscribe to threepoints: the queen's supremacy, the Common Prayer, and the Thirty-nineArticles, and enforced his principle with much vigour, contrary to theadvice of the more enlightened Lord Burleigh. The severity of thesemeasures called into existence the "Martin Marprelate" libels and producedmuch dissatisfaction and suffering among the more Puritanical clergy, which was by no means lessened by the accession of James, who, on his wayto London rejected a petition signed by more than one thousand Puritanministers. Whitgift was buried at Croydon where he founded a school andhospital. 

#Richard Bancroft# (1604-1610) was born near Manchester and educated atJesus College, Oxford. He became one of Elizabeth's chaplains, and Bishopof London, whence he was translated to Canterbury. He was even more severethan his predecessor against the Puritans, and was a most stern championof conformity. He advocated the king's absolute power beyond the law andattempted to establish episcopacy in Scotland. He died at Lambeth and wasburied in the parish church there. 

#George Abbot# (1610-1633) was born at Guildford and educated at BalliolCollege. He assisted in establishing union between the Scotch and EnglishChurches and was rewarded with the Bishopric of Lichfield and Coventry. Thence he was translated to London, and on the death of Bancroft wasappointed to the primacy. In contrast to his predecessor he connived atsome irregularities of discipline in the Puritanical clergy. At the sametime he was a zealous Calvinist and hater of popery, and disapproved ofthose who preached up the arbitrary power of the king. These latter viewsrendered him unpopular with the courtiers and the party of Laud. Theaccidental death of a keeper at the hands of the archbishop was utilizedagainst him by his enemies and he was with difficulty restored to hisarchiepiscopal functions. On refusing to licence a sermon by Dr. Sibthorpe, asserting the king's right to tax his subjects without theirconsent, he was obliged to retire to his palace of Ford, near Canterbury. He assisted at the coronation of Charles I. , but never managed to win thefavour of that monarch. He died at Croydon, and was buried at Guildford, where his tomb and effigy still remain. 

#William Laud# (1633-1645) was born at Reading, and educated at St. John'sCollege, Oxford. At the university he soon became conspicuous for hishatred of the Puritans and his devotion to High Church doctrines. Hebecame President of St. John's in spite of the opposition of ArchbishopAbbot. He became successively one of the royal chaplains, Dean ofGloucester, Bishop of St. David's, Bath and Wells, and London. He acted asDean of Westminster at Charles I. 's coronation. He was made Dean of theChapel Royal, Chancellor of Oxford, and a Privy Councillor of Scotland. OnAbbot's death he was elevated to the primacy, and is said to have refusedthe offer of a cardinal's hat. As archbishop he was responsible for thegeneral Church persecution which produced his own unpopularity anddownfall, and was one of the main causes of the Civil War. Prosecutionsfor non-conformity were enforced with the utmost severity. The courts ofStar Chamber and High Commission were brought to bear on the Puritans, andLaud became universally detested. The superiority of the king over the lawwas openly preached, and the Irish and Scotch Puritans were alienated bythe severity of the measures taken against them. On the common idea ofpopular government, the Puritans were driven into coalition andidentification with the national party, while the king, court, bishops, and judges represented the High Church movement and the doctrine of theking's absolute authority. In 1639 the palace at Lambeth was attacked, butthe archbishop was removed to Whitehall and escaped for the time. In 1640, however, he was impeached for high treason, and confined in the Tower. Various charges were brought against him and fines inflicted, and hisproperty was seized and sold or destroyed for the use of the commonwealth. The charge of high treason could not be legally established, and a bill ofattainder was passed against him in 1645. He was eventually beheaded onTower Hill, at the age of seventy-one years; his remains were interred atBarking, but subsequently removed to the chapel of St. John's College atOxford. His conduct has been differently judged by his friends andenemies. He built the greater part of the inner quadrangle of St. John's, and presented a large collection of important manuscripts to theuniversity. In his time the archiepiscopal palace at Canterbury was ruinedby the Puritans, and on the Restoration an Act was passed dispensing thearchbishops from restoring it. From this time they have had no officialresidence in Canterbury. 

#William Juxon# (1660-1663) was born at Chichester, and educated, likehis predecessor, at St. John's College, Oxford, where he attracted theattention of Laud. He became successively President of St. John's, Dean ofWorcester, Bishop of Hereford, and Bishop of London. He also became LordTreasurer, a post which had been held by no churchman since the days ofHenry VII. , and was the last instance of any of the great offices of Statebeing filled by an ecclesiastic. He attended Charles I. On the occasion ofhis execution. On the Restoration he became Archbishop of Canterbury, anddied three years afterwards. He lies in the chapel of St. John's College. 

#Gilbert Sheldon# (1663-1677) was educated at Oxford, and became Fellow andWarden of All Souls' College. He was a strong supporter of the king duringthe Civil War. He was deprived of his wardenship and imprisoned by theParliamentarian commissioners when they visited Oxford. He retired toDerbyshire until the Restoration, when he was restored to his wardenship;he was made Dean of the Chapel Royal, and succeeded Juxon in the See ofLondon. In 1661 he assisted at the discussion of the liturgy between thePresbyterian and Episcopal divines known as the Savoy Conference. In 1663he succeeded Juxon in the primacy, and in 1667 was elected Chancellor ofOxford. He built the Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford, which building is anearly work of Sir Christopher Wren's. He offended the court party by hisopen disapproval of the king's morals, and retired in 1669 to his palaceat Croydon, where he spent most of the remainder of his life. He wasburied at the parish church at Croydon, where his tomb and effigy stillremain. 

#William Sancroft# (1678-1691) was born at Fresingfield, in Suffolk, andeducated at St. Edmundsbury and at Cambridge, where he became Fellow ofEmmanuel College. He was deprived of his fellowship in 1649, and retiredto the Continent, where he remained until the restoration of Charles II. He then returned to England, and subsequently became Master of EmmanuelCollege, and Dean of York, and of St. Paul's, and Archdeacon ofCanterbury, and was raised to the primacy by Charles II. , whose death-bedhe attended. In the reign of James he was at the head of the seven bishopswho presented the famous petition against the Declaration of Indulgence, for which they were committed to the Tower, tried, and acquitted amidstimmense popular excitement. After James's flight, Sancroft acted as thehead of the council of peers who took upon themselves the administrationof the government of the country. His plan was to retain James nominallyon the throne, while placing the reins of government in the hands of aregent. He refused to take the oath of allegiance to William and Mary, considering himself bound by his former oath to James II. He wasaccordingly suspended and deprived, and when ejected by law from Lambethhe retired to his small ancestral property at Fresingfield, where he diedand was buried. 

#John Tillotson# (1691-1694) was born of Puritan parents at Sowerby, inYorkshire, and was educated at Cambridge. During the Protectorate he hadfollowed the teachings of the Presbyterians, but on the Restoration hesubmitted to the Act of Uniformity. He held among other posts those ofPreacher at Lincoln's Inn and Dean of Canterbury, and enjoyed the intimateconfidence of William and Mary. On the deprivation of Sancroft he wasreluctantly induced to accept the primacy, which he was destined to holdonly for some three years. He died at Lambeth after this short term ofoffice, and was buried in the Church of St. Lawrence, Jewry. As atheologian Tillotson was remarkable for his latitudinarianism, and he wasone of the finest preachers who have ever lived. 

#Thomas Tenison# was born at Cottenham, in Cambridgeshire, and educated atCambridge. His fame as a preacher procured him the Archdeaconry of Londonand the Bishopric of Lincoln, in which diocese he did admirable work. Hedied at Lambeth, and lies buried in the parish church there. 

#William Wake# (1716-1737) was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, andbecame Dean of Exeter and Bishop of Lincoln. He was gifted with greatlearning, and took an active part in the controversy with Atterbury onthe subject of the rights of convocation. 

#John Potter# (1737-1747) was the son of a linendraper at Wakefield, inYorkshire, and was educated at University College, Oxford, becoming Fellowof Lincoln and afterwards Bishop of Oxford. He was a learned divine andwriter. Like his predecessor he was buried in the parish church atCroydon. 

#Thomas Herring# (1747-1757) and

#Matthew Hutton# (1757-1758) were both translated to Canterbury from York. 

#Thomas Secker# (1758-1768) was born of dissenting parents near Newark. Atthe instance of Butler, afterwards the famous Bishop of Durham, he joinedthe Church of England and abandoned the study of medicine, and took holyorders. He held many posts in succession, including the Bishoprics ofBristol and Oxford. He died and was buried at Lambeth, where his portrait, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, still remains. 

#Frederick Cornwallis# (1768-1783) was the seventh son of Charles, 4th LordCornwallis. He was consecrated Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry in 1750, and in 1766 became Dean of St. Paul's. On October 6th, 1768, he wasenthroned Archbishop of Canterbury. In Hasted's "Kent" we find himcommended highly for having abolished that "disagreeable distinctionof his chaplains dining at a separate table. " More renowned for hisaffability and courteous behaviour than for learning, he entertained attimes with semi-regal state; but once fell into some disfavour because"his lady was in the habit of holding _routs_ on Sundays. "

#John Moore# (1783-1805) became Dean of Canterbury in 1771. He wasconsecrated Bishop of Bangor in 1775, and thence translated to thearchiepiscopal see in 1783. Although a promoter of Sunday-schools andforeign missions, he did not escape reproach for paying undue regard tothe interests of his family. It has been well said that during his tenureof office and that of his immediate successor, the sinecures andpluralities held by the highest clergy were worthy of the mediæval period. 

#Charles Manners-Sutton# (1805-1828) was grandson of John, 3rd Duke ofRutland. In 1791 he was made Dean of Peterborough, and Bishop of Norwichin 1792. In 1794 he was appointed Dean of Windsor, and became Archbishopof Canterbury in 1805 owing to Court influence, which outweighed thehostility of Pitt, who wished to appoint his own nominee. As a prelate hewas distinguished for many virtues and qualities befitting his office. Hewas president at the foundation of the National Society, and workedstrenuously to advance the cause of education which it represents. Whilehe held the primacy a fund which had been accumulated from the sale ofCroydon Palace was applied to the purchase of Addington, where he liesburied. 

#William Howley# (1828-1848) was tutor to the Prince of Orange (afterwardsWilliam II. Of Holland) then successively Regius Professor of Divinity ofOxford, Bishop of London, 1813, and archbishop, 1823. He played a prominentpart in politics and state ceremonials and marked the transition betweenthe new _régime_, and the old princely days of the archbishoprics. 

#John Bird Sumner# (1848-1862) was brother of Dr. C. Sumner, Bishop ofWinchester. In 1823 he was appointed Bishop of Chester, and in 1848 waspromoted to the See of Canterbury. He published a large number of works, and by his activity and simplicity of life is "remembered everywhere asrealizing that ideal of the Apostolic ministry which he had traced in hisearliest and most popular work. "[3]

 [3] Diocesan Histories: "Canterbury, " by R. C. Jenkins, M. A. 1880. 

#Charles Thomas Longley# (1862-1868) was the son of a Recorder ofRochester. In 1836 he was consecrated the first bishop of the newly foundedSee of Ripon, translated to Durham in 1856, became Archbishop of York in1860, and in 1862 was transferred to Canterbury. Perhaps the most memorableincidents in a memorable career are the Pan-Anglican Synod held at Lambethin 1867, and his establishment of the Diocesan Society for ChurchBuilding. 

#Archibald Campbell Tait# (1868-1882) was son of Craufurd Tait, Esq. , aScots attorney. He succeeded Arnold as Master of Rugby in 1842, and becameDean of Carlisle in 1850. He presided over the Pan-Anglican Synod in 1867, and in 1868 succeeded to the archbishopric. "Memorials of Catherine andCraufurd Tait" is a book so well known that even the barest sketch of hiscareer here would be superfluous. 

#Edward White Benson# (1882-1896), son of Edward White Benson, Esq. , ofBirmingham Heath, was a master of Rugby. He was Head Master of Wellingtonfrom 1858 to 1872, Prebendary and Chancellor of Lincoln in 1872, wasconsecrated the first bishop of the newly created See of Truro in 1877, and translated to Canterbury in 1883. He was buried in the Cathedral onOctober 16th, 1896, in a secluded corner of the north aisle, immediatelyunder the north-west tower, the first archbishop who was interred in thecathedral of the metropolitan see since Reginald Pole in 1558. 

#Frederick Temple# (1896- ), the present archbishop, is sonof the late Major Octavius Temple. He was Head Master of Rugby, 1858 to1869, consecrated the sixty-first Bishop of Exeter in 1869, translated toLondon in 1885, and to Canterbury in 1896. His share in the famous "Essaysand Reviews, " and the many active works he has instituted, are too wellknown to need comment. 

PLANS OF CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL, AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. 

[Illustration: Fig. 1. Plan of Saxon Cathedral (from Willis). ]

[Illustration: Fig. 2. The Cathedral in 1774. The lighter shading showsthe conjectural termination of Lanfranc's church (from Willis). ]

REFERENCES TO FIG. 2. 

 Altars. E. Holy Cross. F. St. Mary the Virgin. H. St. Michael's (below). All Saints (above). M. St. Benedict (below). St. Blaise (above). X. High Altar. 

[Illustration: Fig. 3. Plan of Canterbury Cathedral at the present time. ]

REFERENCES TO FIG. 3. 

 EXTERIOR. 

 A. West Door. B. South Door. CC. Nave. D. South Aisle. E. North Aisle. G. Tower, N. W. H. Tower, S. W. J. Transept, S. W. K. Martyrdom, or Transept, N. W. L. Central Tower. M. Choir. N. South Aisle. O. North Aisle. P. Transept, S. E. Q. Transept, N. E. R. Presbytery. S. Altar. T. Trinity Chapel. U. Aisle ditto. W. Corona. X. Anselm's Tower. Y. Vestry. Z. Treasury. 

 INTERIOR. 

 1. Doorway to Cloister. 3. " to Warrior's Chapel. 4. " to Dean's Chapel. 5. " to Crypt. 6. " to Cloister. 7. Warham's Mt. (Monument [Transcriber's Note]) 8. Peckham's Mt. 9. Staircase. 10. Lady Holland's Mt. 11, 12 and 13. Stairs. 15. Walter's Mt. 16. Reynold's Mt. 17. Kemp's Mt. 18. Stratford's Mt. 19. Sudbury's Mt. 20. Mepeham's Mt. 21. Black Prince's Mt. 22. Courtney's Mt. 23. Chatillon's Mt. 24. Theobald's Mt. 25. Pole's Mt. 26. Dean Wotton's Mt. 27. Henry IV. 's Mt. 28. Henry IV. 's Chantry. 29. Bourchier's Mt. 30. Chichele's Mt. 31. Stairs to Crypt. 35. Library. 38. Chapter-House. 39. Cloister Square. 

 * * * * *

Transcriber's Notes:

1. Words and phrases which were italicized in the original have been surrounded by underscores ('_') in this version. Words or phrases which were bolded have been surrounded by pound signs ('#'). 

2. Obvious printer's errors have been corrected without note. 

3. Inconsistencies in hyphenation or the spelling of proper names, and dialect or obsolete word spelling, has been maintained as in the original.