I understand what you were saying about perception of time/history, my local (pub) is 400 years old and I live next to a castle. Americans are in awe at a house 150 years old, your country is very young in comparison, love your vids and that you pause and question so much, it shows you have an inquisitive open mind.
Our town is in the middle of a fight between council officers and developers, and local people who don't want it turned into another concrete desert. Met a man who the council call "That bloody man ****". He heard developers wanted to knock down a very old pub and build, I don't know, another McDonalds, Carphone Warehouse, whatever. He investigated and found an old outhouse was originally a 12th century chapel and rest stop for those making a pilgrimage to Canterbury. Well done ****!
We don't always appreciate our history and the wonderful things around us, but we do appreciate you for being in awe of our past and our homeland and history.!
7:35 "Why is there a barrier between two parts of the church?" - that's the pulpitum, built prior to the Reformation to provide an area in which monks could remain separate from the public, at a time when pilgrims came from all over Christendom to venerate the murdered saint Thomas Becket, making the cathedral an exceedingly busy place. After the dissolution of the monasteries it continued to be used as a place for the choir.
It is ok to be impressed, Connor. Although we are more used to it, most of us are still impressed with these buildings, their history and what they represent. Whenever I pass an old building I always take a moment to admire the architecture and when I have a little time I will wander inside when that is allowed.
The british sense of time is like the American perception of distance to each other. brits - oh that building isn't that old, its only around 100 years old Americans - that would have been replaced 3 times by now Americans - its only down the road, 6 hrs drive away brits - down the road means ~5 minutes drive
@@aleksandergolembka8659 I didnt say europeans as I perceive europeans conception of distance and time to be like a combined version of both the brits and Americans. the larger area of mainland europe makes longer road trips more likely on a whim, while the continents long continuous history gives its a similar sense of time historically to what the brits feel
@aleksandergolembka8659 Why so salty dude, no need to attack the guy. Us brits are pretty special. Hell, our democracy in different forms is spread around the world along with industrial technologies amongst other things
That old cloth as you called it, is a Regimental flag called by the military term Colours, as in Trooping the Colours each regiment has its own colours.
Like you Connor I'm not religious but I've been to many of Europe's great cathedrals and admire their historical significance but also of course their aesthetic qualities.
I studied history at Canterbury Christ Church University, It's literally around the corner from all of this. You can see the campus on the overhead map in the video, between the Cathedral and St Martin's Church. The University key card also gave us access to the Cathedral grounds and my graduation ceremony was in the Cathedral itself. I've always loved Canterbury, but the Cathedral is special. The grounds are so peaceful, and the actual building is such an awesome sight, I often sat in the gardens when I had an hour or two spare between lectures. I wasn't very interested in the graduation ceremony at first, but that changed completely once I was sat in the cathedral.
My son studied psychology at Canterbury Christ Church University, I attended his graduation ceremony in the Cathedral too, such a wonderful experience. He met his soon to be wife at uni, she has actually said that one of her main reasons for choosing to study there was because the graduation ceremonies are held in the cathedral 😊
I know the Cathedral very well as I used to live nearby. It was free entry in those days & I used to go with my dog most Saturday afternoons when the Verger used to say he was his special guest. It was only later that I found out my family coat of arms is featured a few times on the ceiling of the Cloisters because of donations hundreds of years ago by ancestors. I remember when the original (faded & threadbare) clothes of the Black Prince hung in plain sight from the Cathedral ceiling. In the crypt there's a big hooded shadow on a wide pillar that they say is the shadow of the ghost of Thomas a Beckett. It really is a great place to visit.
Joan of Navarre was the wife of King Henry IV, not Henry VII as stated in this video around 14:50. Henry VII was married to Elizabeth of York ( daughter of Edward IV and sister of the Princes in the Tower) and they were the parents of Henry VIII - Henry VII and his wife are buried in Westminster Abbey, not Canterbury Cathedral
There were British/Welsh churches in late Roman times and Scottish/Irish churches in early Medieval times before Canterbury was founded. York is the home of the second greatest church in England which is nearly as old as Canterbury Cathedral.
The British/Welsh Church was well established before the Roman Catholic Church achieved supremacy and declared everyone else heretics. There were 3 British bishops present at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD.The Saxons were converted, and sponsored by Rome to eradicate the existing British Church, and the Druids, who were at that time highly respected scholars, historians and lawgivers, spiritually closely aligned to the early Church. All that nonsense about converting/subduing British Pagan tribes is propaganda, mostly by Bede, who never left his home his whole life, couldn't read the British/Welsh histories, and simply represented Saxon/Catholic interests.
You are so right about us brits becoming blasé about the history that surrounds us. From my window i can see a norman castle which i pass every day, i can also see a gothic church, a beautiful church. I never think twice about these buildings. Ive been in them so many times without really appreciating them. Thank you for - you do a great job showing how lucky we are
Don't forget that Henry VIII was the son of Henry VII who took the throne at the end of the Wars Of The Roses. Both men were always aware that there were whole families who had a better right to the throne than they did and had to watch their backs to the point of paranoia.
If you want to see ship building the old fashioned way come to Roskilde Denmark where archaeologists and ship builders work together to rebuild Viking ships.🙂 About how the interior of the church: very different from one sort of Christianity to another. About old churches: In Denmark the oldest churches are build with boulders found in the fields until the mid 12th century when they learned to use bricks (baked stones as they were known),
That would be fantastic! They still build ships the old-fashioned way in parts of the Middle East and perhaps other places too. The peoples of the world are at different stages of development and needs. There is so much to see.
The window shows Becket being murdered by the 4 knights, on behalf of the King. It's a bit like a cartoon strip, telling the story in several scenes. The tombs would have the bodies beneath, but many were moved/disturbed over time, so the bones may be missing. Many burials were deliberately destroyed in the Reformation or later Civil War period.
One of my dearest friends took me and my partner around Canterbury Cathedral he took us to parts other tours didn't go to and told us stories that none of the other tours knew or because of the subject matter had the balls to tell and he was hilarious. By the end of our tour there were over 50 people following us and they gave him one hell of a round of applause and he walked away with over £1000 in tips.
Oh, yes! I remember it well and at the end, we carried Dave out, shoulder high and carried him through the precinct with talk of petioning for a Knighthood, good times....
I want to visit the church and wander around that graveyard, imagine the stories of those people. You're right about the way we see time. They say "Americans think 100 years is a long time and the British think 100 miles is a long way". But then I was in Rome earlier this year, standing inside a 2000 year old building, perfectly preserved, and thinking about it the same way you think about our new-fangled 1000 year old buildings. I guess it's all relative!
I've been in the great cathedrals many times and I still marvel a how they built them with only rope and wooden poles as scaffolding and bronze chisels that become blunt every five minutes. Even today with all our fancy technology it would be a major feat.
I lived next to St Augustine Church and opposite St Augustine's Abbey in Ramsgate Kent, the church and The Grange next to it were designed by Augustus Pugin who also designed the House of Parliament. The church is amazingly beautiful and The Grange, recently refurbished, is a work of art some of the original indoor tiles are worth £1000's
@@simoncanterbury I lived in Chartham Terrace right next to the church we moved away before The Grange was renovated definitely on my To do list to visit may even stay in one of the rooms.
I visited it a few years ago on one of the Landmark Trust open days. The area where the school classes were situated was not accessible, but the main building where Pugin lived was. One of my old teachers actually lived in Pugin's former bedroom / office! I am ashamed to say that all the history of the place passed me by at the time. At that age we simply didn't appreciate the architectural and historic importance.
He misspoke saying that Augustine arrived in the kingdom of Kent during Roman times as the Roman legions left the Roman province of Britannia in about 411. Augustine was sent by the Pope to convert the Anglo-Saxon pagan King of Kent in 595, so that church was built after that, although Christianity was in Britannia during the Roman occupation as it was one of many religions practiced throughout the Roman Empire.
A building was already there - a Roman one - before Bertha arrived, let alone Augustine. The only relevant (yet unanswerable) questions are therefore: how old was the first build?, and what was its initial function? It may even have been used as a church (or private chapel) in late Roman times before being reused as a church once more when Bertha asked for a place to worship from her new pagan husband. (As it kind of makes some sense to reuse an old, established (and maybe consecrated?) place of worship.) However, that's pure supposition really, as we also don't know what it was used for between the end of Roman rule in Britain in 410 and the time of Æthelberht either. (And as we don't know much about the presumed abandonment of Durovernum Cantiacorum after 410 as a whole and its eventual return as a perennial place of occupation under the earlier Kings of Kent as well.) What we DO know though are that there are walls in the church that date back to the 4th century... which is, of course, two centuries before Bertha's worship there and Augustine's subsequent Gregorian mission.
13:45 "Was King Henry VIII's [assorted bellendery] all due to the need for a son?" - It's a matter of dispute whether Henry (a strong-willed man increasingly prone to neurotic behaviour as he got older) might have ended up in conflict with the Pope sooner or later anyway, and if the divorce was just one among hundreds of potential sparks that could have started the fire against a general backdrop of religious upheaval across Northern Europe. But certainly, with a brutal civil war triggered by a succession crisis still well within living memory, you can't underestimate just how desperate Henry was to ensure the throne would pass to a legitimate male heir.
Interestingly, in the Middle Ages there was another church building of a similar size to Canterbury Cathedral situated a few hundred yards to the east of the cathedral. This was St Augustine's Abbey, and the impressive ruins are looked after by the English Heritage organisation and can be visited, which I did this Summer. The dissolution of the abbeys by Henry VIII spelt the end of such institutions in the British Isles, and most were eventually destroyed.
The Abbey at Gloucester was an exception. Henry VIII had a quarrel with the Bishops of Hereford and Worcester and 'punished them by evicting the monks at Gloucester and re-naming it as a Cathedral. Just as well he did because it was later the Major location for the first Harry Potter film. Henry also lopped off the bit of Hereford south and west of the Severn and tacked it on to Gloucestershire. After Henry 's changes Hereford's fame depended on white faced cows and Worcester's on Sauce. There is a church at Greenstead Ongar in Essex which was built in the 8th century from Oak slabs. Recent work shows that the slabs were second hand ships timber already 300 years old when the church was built.
Yes, I don't pretend to be a devout Christian, but going to midnight mass on Christmas Eve in a church where my ancestors have worshipped since the 13th century sort of places you in the cycle of life - gives you a real sense of how everything is connected.
The barrier between the Quire and congregation is partly to separate the monks and priest from the ordinary people (I wonder if hygiene and plague played a part in that ?) but also has to do with the medieval way of saying Mass which is much different from modern masses. Back in those days the priest would say Mass with his back to the congregation in front of the altar, and the mass would be entirely in Latin so the congregation were much more disengaged and separate in every way. Churches still ring bells at the consecration of the bread and wine to this day stemming from those medieval times when the ordinary worshipper wouldn't be able to follow what was happening.
Yes Connor we do have a very different concept of time compared to you. I live in Ireland and I surrounded by ancient buildings, I am so used to seeing them it is normal to me but to you Connor it is not normal to see these very very old buildings as your country is so so young in comparison to Ireland and the UK. Love you and your channel. Thank you for all your time and effort you put into putting out video s on your channel for you and your viewers to watch. 🙋💚🇮🇪🇺🇸👍😁☘️❤️. Marcus from Ireland.
When the first Harry Potter film was in production, the location scouts desperately wanted to use Canterbury Cathedral as Hogwarts but the request was denied- so this was what Hogwarts nearly looked like- bet they're kicking themselves now!
It always amazes me still how the Saxons or early Normans managed to construct such magnificent buildings without modern technology, from design (with drawings) to constructing spires and huge stainglass windows. Truly amazing! My grandchildren (9 & 5) love just going in and exploring a local church, that dates back to the 1100s and we even discovered ancient walls recently that we had not noticed before in the churchyard. I am more interested in the architecture than the religious side anyway. We do look after and restore our ancient buildings, so it may look new, but is just been restored. You grew up yesterday, we grew up last year. The pilgrams that first went to the Americas were strict Protestants and would have hated these wonderful pieces of architecture. They preferred a plain building with whitewashed walls. That is what America got and not these wonderful buildings. The churches and cathedrals of our towns and cities are normally the oldest buildings of the land and should not be missed out, regardless of any religious beliefs. My local town has connections to Beckett as he had a palace here (sadly long gone) and there is still a pub bearing his name. I also have a local very small church built in Saxon times and was used by the Knights Templar. There has been removal of the whitewash from the walls to reveal some of the wonderful paintings underneath.
Churches usually have a screen separating the Altar,Choir Stalls ,Organist /organ loft .from the body of the church I don't know the reason why , I sang in church choir for some years it never occurred to me to ask why. Re ,Henry V111 ,it's a simple as that he wanted a son and heir .
What you were trying to say is ,we grew up surrounded by old buildings ,the past everywhere and understand the passing of time with our history dates we take it for granted at some level but we still are amazed how old they are , whereas in the US everything is new and doesn’t have the same to coax you with the feeling of awe but your descendants will in time with your History James Town, Boston etc to the present time so theses places have a head start to the History of the Nation , it’s got to start sometime and must treasure what you have and not destroy them ,preserve them TOP PRIORITY 🤷♀️
It wasn't discovered till Mid Twentieth Century that lead could leach out of the lead water pipes into the water,the house where i live had lead pipes when it was built 1930s❤.
Narrator said Henry VII is buried there with his wife Joan of Navarre.. That's got to be a mistake. Henry was married to Queen Elizabeth of York and is buried in Westminster Abbey (in the Lady Chapel). The king buried in Canterbury Cathedral is Henry IV. And yes Henry the eights fight with the pope was about him not having a male heir. He never turned protestant though and he ordered a catholic mass for his own funeral.
The list on this page is entertaining: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_buildings_in_the_United_Kingdom Of course, Mediterranean islands such as Malta, Crete, Cyprus, the Balkans, what we know call Turkey, and points east to the Indian Ocean are where the super old places are. The oldest building near where I grew up is a tiny 13th century chapel that stands in the grounds of a Victorian church.
Henry VIII had one overriding concern and that was a son for the succession and the continuity of the Tudor monarchy of which he was only the second king. His father having usurped the throne by winning the Battle of Bosworth and causing the death in battle there of King Richard III. That's why he was obsessed with having a son. The break from the Roman Catholic church was caused by them not granting him a divorce from his brothers widowed wife who gave him a daughter Mary, later Mary I or "Bloody Mary", and was older than him. In a way it's quite straightforward throughout his reign. Your perception of historical time is limited because your part of the US starts in 1629. We've got pubs down the road from here that are years older than that and other stuff from the first and second century AD. So it's a bit hard to be wowed by a country that's only a couple of hundred years old. Just like here there's the really old stone age stuff in the US as well so it's not like there's nothing before the colonies, it's just you didn't get the Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Norman's to leave castles and stuff round your way.
St. Martin's church was first used by Queen Berths 580AD and St.Augustine , who setup his mission when he arrived from Rome in 597 and expanded the church. It's architecture is part Roman, Saxon, Norman and Medieval.
The narrator said it was built "in Roman times" which wrongly suggests it was built during the Roman occupation of Britain which ended around 410 AD but, as you point out, it was not built until many decades later.
I'm an atheist but one can not deny the importance these buildings have in our history, culture and values. Just like i would visit old castles and townhalls when i'm in the area, i will also visit old churches. In catholic churches you can also admire a lot of mindblowing art besides the obvious architecture. Protestant churches on the mainland europe obviously arent as ornately decorated as it conflicts with their beliefs. In any case they are buildings i enjoy to visit for esthetical reasons, it can be a reminder of what people were capable of back then, but to me also a reminder how much power the church had up untill the 60s and usuall they didnt use it to serve the people but themselves. Ps: you're right about that we are often numb to all the history coz we walk these streets every day. My towns main church was built in the 11th century, and i live next to a road that was first paved by the romans and is still in use ( tarmac these days, no worries 😂) . Its as normal to us as the sun rising each morning. 🤘❤️
The Coronation was at Westminster, This is cantrbury.. The seperation is for parts of the church for the clergy or other non public areas. You should check out some Orthodox churches, the sheer ammount of detail in every part is astonishing.
No the Archbishop is not the Pope's ambassador, he is a Bishop in charge of other Bishops in a Diocese. Pope Gregory sent Augustine to Britain with orders to appoint Metropolitan Bishops to the two former Roman cities of Brittania, London & York. London was beyond his reach, the chief city of the Kent King Ethelbert was Canterbury, so that was where Augustine himself became Bishop. The Archbishop title came later, & later still York got it's own Archbishop. The two are the joint heads of the Church in England, with whichever is appointed first being the senior. At the Reformation these positions were continued into the Church of England, now ruled by the Monarch instead of the Pope.
In what way is the Archbishop of York ever senior over Canterbury in modern times? The House of Lords Precedence Act of 1539 in tge reign of Henry VIII settled this question in favour of Canterbury and nothing has been changed since then.
Henry broke with Rome when he wanted to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, when after 20 years she had not produced a son. Henry had chosen Anne Boleyn by this time, & taking charge of the Church allowed him to do as he wished. He executed Anne for adultery after 3 years & then married Jane Seymour, who did have a boy child, Edward, but she died soon after. Henry then married Anne of Cleve's, but disliked her & divorced. He then married Katherine Howard, but had her executed for adultery. Finally he took Catherine Parr as wife, & she outlived him . The ancient church was not built in 597, but was of Roman construction, that is before 410 ad, though I guess it will have been much repaired since then.
Henry 8th did break away from the Catholic Church as a way of being able to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, for only giving him a daughter, his second wife, Anne Boleyn, was executed for only having a daughter. However, his third wife, Jane Seymour, did give him a son who became King Edward 6th upon the death of Henry 8th, and she died of a fever about two weeks after the birth of her son. His fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, was divorced as she was not what he expected from her portrait, the fifth wife, Catherine Howard, who was Anne Boleyns cousin, was executed for adultery and his last wife, Catherine Parr, survived Henry.
It's amazing when you realise the impact that Henry VIII philandering eye had on Britain's future as a protestant nation, and subsequent world super power.......a lot of our most impressive events would probably not have occurred if we had remained catholic.
The stained glass window shows the story of the murder of Archbishop Thomas A Becket by knights of King Henry II and Henry's subsequent penances for the murder.
I grew up in and around Canterbury - you really don't appreciate it as a kid. The old Whitefriars shopping centre and its bridge across to Ricemans toy department was a favourite haunt (now sadly both gone).......it is a shame they didn't mention more about the Kings School, which is possibly the oldest school in Europe (built around 597).....oh, and the fabulous Jolly Sailor pub that backed onto it (until the school bought it).
The screen or pulpitum separates the nave of a large church (where the less important lay people worshipped) from the quire (where the clergy conducted the worship: monks, priests and choristers). Often the screen was surmounted with a large crucifix depicting Christ on the cross - a "rood", hence the name "rood screen" - and there might be statues of the Virgin Mary and St John tge Evangelist on either side of the archway, leading through into the choir stalls.
Hi. Henry VIII did have a son. Edward VI. He was from his 3rd wife. He took the throne aged 9 years. Because of his young age he was a Regent. He only lived foe 6Years after that.
14:33 it is an oversimplification. Henry was still a devout Catholic but he just separated the civil power of the monarchy from the papal power. The wife and son thing was a convenient way to do this, plus the Reformation was well underway on the Continent so Protestantism was ascendent.
I've never been in Canterbury cathedral and I lived around the corner for 2 years 😮to tight to pay to go in but I heard you are free to go in if you say your lighting a candle shame on me
The Church of St Patrick in Wales in Eglwys Llanbadrig was founded in 440 CE. older than that newfangled Canterbury St Martin's. But they didn't speak Anglish.
The reformation in Europe had started a movement protesting at the things they thought were wrong in the Catholic Church. There were many advisors and relatives of Henry viii who had become Protestants and were keen to break with the Roman Catholic Church. The kings desire for a divorce in order to try and get a male heir was an opportunity for Protestants to set out their case and persuade the king to get behind it. Which he did, so it is a bit simplistic to say that he broke with Rome just to divorce his wife but it certainly was a catalyst that made the change that had been brewing for a while for more legitimate reasons.
It's on the pilgrims way. After Canterbury cathedral next stop is all saints church Maidstone. Which has a American twist with a dedication to Lawrence Washington uncle of George.
Queen Bertha of Kent was a French princess - a Christian - who married the English king, Ethelbert, a pagan. He allowed her to build St Martin's as a sign of respect. However, most of the country was pagan and St Augustine converted the rest of us. The church used pre-existing Roman walls but, although some of these remain, it looks a bit different today than it did then. St Augustine converted us but it was the second time we had been Christian. When the Romans invaded 2000 years ago, we were pagan as were the Romans. Then, gradually, their Empire became Christian and took us along with them. When they left in the 5th C and we were invaded by the Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians, we converted back to paganism again - until the coming of St Augustine. When you return to England, you must buy a train ticket from London (Waterloo) to Portsmouth, to the Hard, the final stop on the Portsmouth line. From there, it is a few minutes' walk to the Historic Dockyard where you will see enough ancient ships to satisfy even you, such as the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's flagship which sank off Portsmouth and was dredged up when I was young. It is 500 years old and is beautifully presented in a newly built museum which has a huge collection of all the objects found on board. Fast forward a few hundred years, and you can explore Nelson's flagship, the Victory, a great warship, built in the late 1700s. Then visit HMS Warrior, the first iron plated warship which never fired a shot in anger because they all ran away when they saw her coming. What amazed me was to see, after visiting the first two wooden ships, that Warrior somehow was built in the same style, even though she was a massive steam ship. So many things to see on this site - you need at least a long weekend. But, you'd love it. The Thomas à Becket story is a very sad one. Before he became a priest, he was great friends with Henry II (12thC king). Then Henry had this great idea: he would make his best friend Archbishop of Canterbury and, through him, manipulate the powerful church. However, once he became Archbishop, Thomas 'got religion' and refused to do what the king said. One drunken night, the angry Henry said to a group of men, 'Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?' So these knights rode straight to Canterbury where they murdered Thomas - and thought the king would be pleased. Instead, he was very distressed and repentant and allowed himself to be whipped by monks outside the cathedral.
Connor as English person you're spot on with Henry VIII executing his wife's, it was purely a means to have a son to carry on the tudor dynasty as having sons as heirs was the norm then. So came the break with the Catholic Church during his time with Anne boleyn, which resulted in cardinal wolsey been executed as he couldn't give Henry VIII the divorce from Catherine of Aragon as the Catholic Church wouldn't allow it. Crazy to think as under his child with Anne boleyn, Elizabeth I, the English started on the path to becoming a superpower.
It's not true that Augustine didn't find an existing Christian presence in what would become England in 927. The established religious presence monks etc were still here after the Roman army left in 410. Augustine was surprised to find them and how developed and advanced they were away from the contact with Rome. He worked to circumvent them and restablish the Roman Catholic church's presence in the country by converting the Anglo-Saxon rulers of the kingdoms. He succeeded so the view everyone gets is that there was nothing here before he came and that is not true and there is plenty of evidence for it but you have to look a bit harder for it. The Roman Catholic church has never liked competition.
Just think of the building requirements in 1075 to be able to built such a structure as the Cathedral, I think we would struggle even today. The Cathedral has just finished being refurbished. America was formed in 1776 and the Cathedral 1075, so it was 700 years old when the declaration of independence was announced. The 'pocket watch' was a old sun dial belonging to a monk in the 11th century! You need to look up Canterbury Cathedrals history, its a lesson in itself. Over the hundreds of years different people have added or altered parts so it will be confusing.
Henry had a long marriage to his first wife, but she was older than him, was past child bearing and he had one sickly daughter, no woman had ruled, and he didn't even have a brother. His first responsibility was to provide an heir. He had at least one illegitimate son, so he knew it wasn't him. That drove his desire to move on. Anne Bolynne was a bit different, in part it was that she lost a baby boy, but there were personal differences too, she was politically active. With Anne of Cleves, it was just a personal revulsion, and Catherine Howard was an adulterer (unlike Bolyne who was probably framed) . By then he was probably incapable himself. So in truth only in the case of Catherine of Aragon and partly Anne Bolynne was getting an heir the driving force in his actions.
English church hierarchy is hard to understand, Connor. Everything was indeed under the jurisdiction of Popes until King Henry VIII (of six wives fame) was excommunicated for adultery; and responded by changing the national religion from the Church of Rome to the Church of England and placing himself (and his successors) as its supreme governor (and thus, displacing the Pope). The Archbishop of Canterbury, whose full title also includes "Primate of All England," is the most senior, professional clergyman who runs the Church of England on the King's behalf; but it is the King - Charles III - whom he is responsible to. That's what most of the Coronation rituals are about, when they dressed him in a cloth of gold and then with a cope like that of a bishop - with the ring, stirrups, sceptres, orb etc', and then literally crown him as the pope would traditionally also have been crowned in his enthronement. Unlike a pope, the king (or queen regnant) is not a professional clergyman however, his role is more symbolic. So, decide for yourself which role the archbishop's is most like! Remember though, neither he nor the king are absolute monarchs!!
For me, both Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy are authentic traditions of Church leaders. However, this is the problem: they are ways of faith that suit leadership types. After about 1200, the Church of Rome - which had hitherto done some very good stuff - became power-obsessed and corrupt. When Thomas a Becket, a former secular minister of Henry II's, became Archbishop of Canterbury, he wrongly saw his calling as keeping the priesthood independent of Royal power, so I have some sympathy with Henry II. Likewise, pilgrimages and worship at shrines had become a money-spinning racket, with spiritual blackmail thrown in. ( So worshipping - and paying for indulgences - would get you to Heaven quicker...) This is why the shrines were removed. I retain quite a lot of time for Henry VIII. The country had been torn apart by a terrible civil war (the Wars of the Roses). The fragile peace had depended on the marriage of his father Henry VII to Elizabeth of York. For the good of the country - not just himself - Henry VIII had to have a son. But by 1529 Queen Catherine only had a daughter, and was past child-bearing. Kings in those days were always granted annulments, and in this case there were particularly good grounds for one, since Henry had married his brother's widow without the proper paperwork. But the Holy Roman Emperor wanted to take over England by marrying his son to Henry's daughter. This would have brought untold woe to England, particularly since that Holy Roman Emperor, as also King of Spain, was an enthusiastic supporter of the Spanish Inquisition. So, you're right. Much of Henry's marriage problems came from a desperate quest for a son. Like you, I disapprove of the Catholic tendency to separate the altar from the congregation. This was to preserve the mystique of the priest. Another commenter is quite right in pointing out that the tomb is not of Henry VII, but of Henry IV. Not only did Augustine's coming have to do with the building of St Martin's Church, but he also brought with him a copy of the Gospels from Rome, which are therefore sixth-century. During the Coronation of King Charles III, when the Gospel was read, these were carried in the procession to the lectern.
The old pocket watch wasn’t a wrong guess, although he said it was from the 10th century, it’s unbelievable isn’t it ? I wanted to say, as an English woman, I stop and stare too
Good video Connor, but quite a few factual inaccuracies (like Henry VII being buried there - it was Henry IV). And whilst wanting a legitimate son was a big part of Henry VIII's motives, yes it is a bit of an oversimplification. You'll also find my home city's cathedral, Lincoln, impressive (and indeed a few others).
Certainly Henry VIII's first divorce from Catherine of Aragon and the Brexit style split from Rome to marry Anne Boleyn was to do with the need for an heir and the execution of Anne Boleyn on trumped up charges was to move on to produce a male heir. But he then had his son Edward with third wife Jane Seymour who then died of a retained placenta. Fourth Anne of Cleves was a big mistake he should have swiped the other way and they amicably annulled the marriage. Fifth teenage Catherine Howard was executed on proven adultery and Sixth Catherine Parr outlived him.
Henry VIII had a son Edward VI he died of consumption ( tuberculosis)aged 15. He was intelligent and reigned from the age of 9. He maybe would have been a better king than his father.
Mate, because you watch historical vlogs in random order it seems you still don't understand how history works. Like so many US people "The 19thC" seems to be understood as anything historic that isn't Medieval.While they use "Medieval" itself to stand for all the vast sweep of centuries before that.The 18th & 19thC were the time when the Industrial Revolution gave us steam trains, bicycles, dictionaries, great Industrial installations, etc. etc. Watches & clocks were intricate and beautiful and top any time-piece we have today. Sun dials belong back in the Roman and post-Roman periods. So no! "Wealthy 19thC people" did not carry portable sund-dials around with them" He IS the Archbishop of C - so he doesn't "represent" or be an Ambassador for himself! We are a secular society now, but, because our history is to be found in every ecclesiastical site: churches, monasteries, convents etc. So most of us head to the local church in any new place we visit, because that will be where the history of the area is to be found. ps Looking for cracks in the 'restored' font? Well "restoration" means it is returned to it's original form - which would not have had cracks in it. (I do restoration work with lime plaster...and believe me, it's bloody exciting!!
Yeah the whole Henry VIII thing is always oversimplified. What people tend to forget is that he was married to his first wife over 20 years and it had been a long popular reign up to then. He was always religious and was concerned that he was cursed into not having a son because he married his brother's widow. He may have suffered some mental issues after a jousting accident. But the Pope at the time is known for being corrupt, manipulated and bought by the Roman Emperor. The Emperor just happened to be the nephew of Henry's wife, so he figured that the Pope's refusal to end his marriage was due to corruption, which may have caused his hostility towards Rome. Some of Henry's actions were definitely selfish but the Pope's behaviour at the time is blamed for contributing to the Protestant Reformation. Henry wasn't really Protestant though and the reformation in England was stalling before his son Edward VI, a devout Protestant, went full force into Protestantism. Mary I tried to take England back to Catholicism, which failed, as Elizabeth I's long reign basically cemented the mild kind of Protestantism we have today.
The narrator said that the only king buried in Canterbury Cathedral is Henry VII. This is completely wrong. It is Henry IV who was married to Joan of Navarre.
The Archbishop of Canterbury was, most certainly, *not* the Pope's ambassador in England. There were other clerics (nuncios and legates) sent from Rome who fulfilled that role. England was divided into two ecclesiastical provinces, namely Canterbury (in the south) and York (in the north), each with an archbishop who is the principal bishop in each province. The provinces are made up of dioceses, each of which has its own bishop, the archbishop himself being in charge of the one that gives the province its name (e.g. Canterbury). In pre-Reformation times, the Archbishop was subordinate to the Pope in terms of the church hierarchy and was appointed by him, often on the recommendation of the King (as happened with Thomas Becket). The Archbishop of Canterbury ("Primate of All England") is senior to the Archbishop of York ("Primate of England") by a whisker, making him the top cleric in the Church of England. Many archbishops in former times acted as close political advisors to English kings (e.g. Wolsey, Cranmer), sometimes allying themselves with the King in opposition to the Pope, pleading the King's case; at other times, it might be the other way round. Nowadays the Archbishop of Canterbury presides over the worldwide Anglican Communion, though he is not head of it as each constituent branch of it is autonomous. In fact, in England, HM the King is the supreme governor of the Church of England and all archbishops, bishops and other senior clergy are officially appointed by the monarch (with advice from the Church and the Prime Minister).
Henry VIII was a controller he wanted a Tudor heir his first wife was 6 yrs older and past child bearing days he wanted a male Heir ,he met Anne Boleyn and wanted a divorce but the country was Catholic , so Henry Anne and Cranmer his 2nd chief Minister after Wolseley devised a way of divorcing so broke with Rome when Wolseley his 1st chief minister couldn’t find a solution,he then named the New English Religion The Church OF England (Protestant) and thus able to Marry Anne and divorce K O Aragon and a plus was that he could raid all Catholic buildings Abbeys etc and take the booty , and destroyed any signs Catholicism it’s called the English Reformation a sad time in our History of our Heritage along with the English Civil war ,and the bombing of our towns and cities in WWII that’s in a nutshell 🤷♀️
I understand what you were saying about perception of time/history, my local (pub) is 400 years old and I live next to a castle.
Americans are in awe at a house 150 years old, your country is very young in comparison, love your vids and that you pause and question so much, it shows you have an inquisitive open mind.
If you want to see an “old cloth”, look into the Bayeux Tapestry, that’s nearly a thousand years old. It’s pretty amazing.
Our town is in the middle of a fight between council officers and developers, and local people who don't want it turned into another concrete desert. Met a man who the council call "That bloody man ****". He heard developers wanted to knock down a very old pub and build, I don't know, another McDonalds, Carphone Warehouse, whatever. He investigated and found an old outhouse was originally a 12th century chapel and rest stop for those making a pilgrimage to Canterbury. Well done ****!
We don't always appreciate our history and the wonderful things around us, but we do appreciate you for being in awe of our past and our homeland and history.!
7:35 "Why is there a barrier between two parts of the church?" - that's the pulpitum, built prior to the Reformation to provide an area in which monks could remain separate from the public, at a time when pilgrims came from all over Christendom to venerate the murdered saint Thomas Becket, making the cathedral an exceedingly busy place. After the dissolution of the monasteries it continued to be used as a place for the choir.
It is ok to be impressed, Connor. Although we are more used to it, most of us are still impressed with these buildings, their history and what they represent. Whenever I pass an old building I always take a moment to admire the architecture and when I have a little time I will wander inside when that is allowed.
The british sense of time is like the American perception of distance to each other.
brits - oh that building isn't that old, its only around 100 years old
Americans - that would have been replaced 3 times by now
Americans - its only down the road, 6 hrs drive away
brits - down the road means ~5 minutes drive
That's cool, but change "Brits" with Europeans. You aren't THAT special
@@aleksandergolembka8659 I didnt say europeans as I perceive europeans conception of distance and time to be like a combined version of both the brits and Americans. the larger area of mainland europe makes longer road trips more likely on a whim, while the continents long continuous history gives its a similar sense of time historically to what the brits feel
@aleksandergolembka8659 Why so salty dude, no need to attack the guy. Us brits are pretty special. Hell, our democracy in different forms is spread around the world along with industrial technologies amongst other things
@@aleksandergolembka8659 We kind of are to be honest.
@dageezerboi indeed we are! 🇬🇧 ❤️
That old cloth as you called it, is a Regimental flag called by the military term Colours, as in Trooping the Colours each regiment has its own colours.
Like you Connor I'm not religious but I've been to many of Europe's great cathedrals and admire their historical significance but also of course their aesthetic qualities.
I studied history at Canterbury Christ Church University, It's literally around the corner from all of this. You can see the campus on the overhead map in the video, between the Cathedral and St Martin's Church. The University key card also gave us access to the Cathedral grounds and my graduation ceremony was in the Cathedral itself.
I've always loved Canterbury, but the Cathedral is special. The grounds are so peaceful, and the actual building is such an awesome sight, I often sat in the gardens when I had an hour or two spare between lectures. I wasn't very interested in the graduation ceremony at first, but that changed completely once I was sat in the cathedral.
My son studied psychology at Canterbury Christ Church University, I attended his graduation ceremony in the Cathedral too, such a wonderful experience. He met his soon to be wife at uni, she has actually said that one of her main reasons for choosing to study there was because the graduation ceremonies are held in the cathedral 😊
It was Bulit with hard work and sweat, and stone masonry. A BEAUTIFUL Catheral. 😄🇬🇧
You should watch "The Pillars of the Earth" series - it's fiction but shows how Cathedrals were built as well as being a top class Historical drama.
I’ve not seen the film but I’ve read the book, and you’re right, a very historical correct piece of work
I know the Cathedral very well as I used to live nearby. It was free entry in those days & I used to go with my dog most Saturday afternoons when the Verger used to say he was his special guest. It was only later that I found out my family coat of arms is featured a few times on the ceiling of the Cloisters because of donations hundreds of years ago by ancestors. I remember when the original (faded & threadbare) clothes of the Black Prince hung in plain sight from the Cathedral ceiling. In the crypt there's a big hooded shadow on a wide pillar that they say is the shadow of the ghost of Thomas a Beckett. It really is a great place to visit.
Joan of Navarre was the wife of King Henry IV, not Henry VII as stated in this video around 14:50. Henry VII was married to Elizabeth of York ( daughter of Edward IV and sister of the Princes in the Tower) and they were the parents of Henry VIII - Henry VII and his wife are buried in Westminster Abbey, not Canterbury Cathedral
I was about to make the same comment. Glad I read through the comments first!
Canterbury is only an hour from me , stunning isn't it Connor 😊
There were British/Welsh churches in late Roman times and Scottish/Irish churches in early Medieval times before Canterbury was founded. York is the home of the second greatest church in England which is nearly as old as Canterbury Cathedral.
It was built on the Roman Forum, administrative centre, of Eboracum the Roman fort built in 71AD by the 9th Legion Hispania.
The British/Welsh Church was well established before the Roman Catholic Church achieved supremacy and declared everyone else heretics. There were 3 British bishops present at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD.The Saxons were converted, and sponsored by Rome to eradicate the existing British Church, and the Druids, who were at that time highly respected scholars, historians and lawgivers, spiritually closely aligned to the early Church. All that nonsense about converting/subduing British Pagan tribes is propaganda, mostly by Bede, who never left his home his whole life, couldn't read the British/Welsh histories, and simply represented Saxon/Catholic interests.
Henry VIII did have a son with Jane Seymour (wifey #3). Edward VI, the boy king, ascended the throne aged nine when his dad snuffed it.
You are so right about us brits becoming blasé about the history that surrounds us. From my window i can see a norman castle which i pass every day, i can also see a gothic church, a beautiful church. I never think twice about these buildings. Ive been in them so many times without really appreciating them. Thank you for - you do a great job showing how lucky we are
Don't forget that Henry VIII was the son of Henry VII who took the throne at the end of the Wars Of The Roses. Both men were always aware that there were whole families who had a better right to the throne than they did and had to watch their backs to the point of paranoia.
If you want to see ship building the old fashioned way come to Roskilde Denmark where archaeologists and ship builders work together to rebuild Viking ships.🙂
About how the interior of the church: very different from one sort of Christianity to another.
About old churches: In Denmark the oldest churches are build with boulders found in the fields until the mid 12th century when they learned to use bricks (baked stones as they were known),
That would be fantastic! They still build ships the old-fashioned way in parts of the Middle East and perhaps other places too. The peoples of the world are at different stages of development and needs. There is so much to see.
I went to the University of Kent in Canterbury and my graduation ceremony was held in Canterbury Cathedral back in July, was an amazing experience.
The window shows Becket being murdered by the 4 knights, on behalf of the King.
It's a bit like a cartoon strip, telling the story in several scenes. The tombs would have the bodies beneath, but many were moved/disturbed over time, so the bones may be missing. Many burials were deliberately destroyed in the Reformation or later Civil War period.
One of my dearest friends took me and my partner around Canterbury Cathedral he took us to parts other tours didn't go to and told us stories that none of the other tours knew or because of the subject matter had the balls to tell and he was hilarious.
By the end of our tour there were over 50 people following us and they gave him one hell of a round of applause and he walked away with over £1000 in tips.
Oh, yes! I remember it well and at the end, we carried Dave out, shoulder high and carried him through the precinct with talk of petioning for a Knighthood, good times....
@@Loki1815 You're a few genes short of a genome .. I know that will go wayyyy over your head but others will laugh
I’ve had the pleasure of singing with a church choir in Canterbury Cathedral many years ago. It really is a special place.
I want to visit the church and wander around that graveyard, imagine the stories of those people. You're right about the way we see time. They say "Americans think 100 years is a long time and the British think 100 miles is a long way".
But then I was in Rome earlier this year, standing inside a 2000 year old building, perfectly preserved, and thinking about it the same way you think about our new-fangled 1000 year old buildings. I guess it's all relative!
I've been in the great cathedrals many times and I still marvel a how they built them with only rope and wooden poles as scaffolding and bronze chisels that become blunt every five minutes. Even today with all our fancy technology it would be a major feat.
I lived next to St Augustine Church and opposite St Augustine's Abbey in Ramsgate Kent, the church and The Grange next to it were designed by Augustus Pugin who also designed the House of Parliament.
The church is amazingly beautiful and The Grange, recently refurbished, is a work of art some of the original indoor tiles are worth £1000's
I went to School at The Grange from 1967.
@@simoncanterbury I lived in Chartham Terrace right next to the church we moved away before The Grange was renovated definitely on my To do list to visit may even stay in one of the rooms.
I visited it a few years ago on one of the Landmark Trust open days. The area where the school classes were situated was not accessible, but the main building where Pugin lived was. One of my old teachers actually lived in Pugin's former bedroom / office! I am ashamed to say that all the history of the place passed me by at the time. At that age we simply didn't appreciate the architectural and historic importance.
He misspoke saying that Augustine arrived in the kingdom of Kent during Roman times as the Roman legions left the Roman province of Britannia in about 411. Augustine was sent by the Pope to convert the Anglo-Saxon pagan King of Kent in 595, so that church was built after that, although Christianity was in Britannia during the Roman occupation as it was one of many religions practiced throughout the Roman Empire.
A building was already there - a Roman one - before Bertha arrived, let alone Augustine. The only relevant (yet unanswerable) questions are therefore: how old was the first build?, and what was its initial function?
It may even have been used as a church (or private chapel) in late Roman times before being reused as a church once more when Bertha asked for a place to worship from her new pagan husband. (As it kind of makes some sense to reuse an old, established (and maybe consecrated?) place of worship.)
However, that's pure supposition really, as we also don't know what it was used for between the end of Roman rule in Britain in 410 and the time of Æthelberht either. (And as we don't know much about the presumed abandonment of Durovernum Cantiacorum after 410 as a whole and its eventual return as a perennial place of occupation under the earlier Kings of Kent as well.)
What we DO know though are that there are walls in the church that date back to the 4th century... which is, of course, two centuries before Bertha's worship there and Augustine's subsequent Gregorian mission.
13:45 "Was King Henry VIII's [assorted bellendery] all due to the need for a son?" - It's a matter of dispute whether Henry (a strong-willed man increasingly prone to neurotic behaviour as he got older) might have ended up in conflict with the Pope sooner or later anyway, and if the divorce was just one among hundreds of potential sparks that could have started the fire against a general backdrop of religious upheaval across Northern Europe. But certainly, with a brutal civil war triggered by a succession crisis still well within living memory, you can't underestimate just how desperate Henry was to ensure the throne would pass to a legitimate male heir.
Interestingly, in the Middle Ages there was another church building of a similar size to Canterbury Cathedral situated a few hundred yards to the east of the cathedral. This was St Augustine's Abbey, and the impressive ruins are looked after by the English Heritage organisation and can be visited, which I did this Summer. The dissolution of the abbeys by Henry VIII spelt the end of such institutions in the British Isles, and most were eventually destroyed.
The Abbey at Gloucester was an exception. Henry VIII had a quarrel with the Bishops of Hereford and Worcester and 'punished them by evicting the monks at Gloucester and re-naming it as a Cathedral. Just as well he did because it was later the Major location for the first Harry Potter film. Henry also lopped off the bit of Hereford south and west of the Severn and tacked it on to Gloucestershire. After Henry 's changes Hereford's fame depended on white faced cows and Worcester's on Sauce.
There is a church at Greenstead Ongar in Essex which was built in the 8th century from Oak slabs. Recent work shows that the slabs were second hand ships timber already 300 years old when the church was built.
These scenes are meaningful, because our English ancestors lived there, knew these buildings.
Yes, I don't pretend to be a devout Christian, but going to midnight mass on Christmas Eve in a church where my ancestors have worshipped since the 13th century sort of places you in the cycle of life - gives you a real sense of how everything is connected.
@@gillianrimmer7733 Yep, being over the hills, far away ... in the Colonies, I must use my imagination, and the Internet.
The barrier between the Quire and congregation is partly to separate the monks and priest from the ordinary people (I wonder if hygiene and plague played a part in that ?) but also has to do with the medieval way of saying Mass which is much different from modern masses. Back in those days the priest would say Mass with his back to the congregation in front of the altar, and the mass would be entirely in Latin so the congregation were much more disengaged and separate in every way. Churches still ring bells at the consecration of the bread and wine to this day stemming from those medieval times when the ordinary worshipper wouldn't be able to follow what was happening.
Usually music through a video irks me but that music was lovely , angelic even
It was amazing at the coronation to see the book of the gospels that Augustine brought over to the Kingdom of Kent from the Pope in Rome.
Yes Connor we do have a very different concept of time compared to you. I live in Ireland and I surrounded by ancient buildings, I am so used to seeing them it is normal to me but to you Connor it is not normal to see these very very old buildings as your country is so so young in comparison to Ireland and the UK. Love you and your channel. Thank you for all your time and effort you put into putting out video s on your channel for you and your viewers to watch. 🙋💚🇮🇪🇺🇸👍😁☘️❤️. Marcus from Ireland.
When the first Harry Potter film was in production, the location scouts desperately wanted to use Canterbury Cathedral as Hogwarts but the request was denied- so this was what Hogwarts nearly looked like- bet they're kicking themselves now!
Old soul in a young body that's why you love history.
It always amazes me still how the Saxons or early Normans managed to construct such magnificent buildings without modern technology, from design (with drawings) to constructing spires and huge stainglass windows. Truly amazing!
My grandchildren (9 & 5) love just going in and exploring a local church, that dates back to the 1100s and we even discovered ancient walls recently that we had not noticed before in the churchyard. I am more interested in the architecture than the religious side anyway.
We do look after and restore our ancient buildings, so it may look new, but is just been restored. You grew up yesterday, we grew up last year. The pilgrams that first went to the Americas were strict Protestants and would have hated these wonderful pieces of architecture. They preferred a plain building with whitewashed walls. That is what America got and not these wonderful buildings. The churches and cathedrals of our towns and cities are normally the oldest buildings of the land and should not be missed out, regardless of any religious beliefs.
My local town has connections to Beckett as he had a palace here (sadly long gone) and there is still a pub bearing his name.
I also have a local very small church built in Saxon times and was used by the Knights Templar. There has been removal of the whitewash from the walls to reveal some of the wonderful paintings underneath.
Churches usually have a screen separating the Altar,Choir Stalls ,Organist /organ loft .from the body of the church I don't know the reason why , I sang in church choir for some years it never occurred to me to ask why.
Re ,Henry V111 ,it's a simple as that he wanted a son and heir .
That's so weird, I'm going there for the first time tomorrow
What you were trying to say is ,we grew up surrounded by old buildings ,the past everywhere and understand the passing of time with our history dates we take it for granted at some level but we still are amazed how old they are , whereas in the US everything is new and doesn’t have the same to coax you with the feeling of awe but your descendants will in time with your History James Town, Boston etc to the present time so theses places have a head start to the History of the Nation , it’s got to start sometime and must treasure what you have and not destroy them ,preserve them TOP PRIORITY 🤷♀️
Fabulous building ❤
It wasn't discovered till Mid Twentieth Century that lead could leach out of the lead water pipes into the water,the house where i live had lead pipes when it was built 1930s❤.
Narrator said Henry VII is buried there with his wife Joan of Navarre.. That's got to be a mistake. Henry was married to Queen Elizabeth of York and is buried in Westminster Abbey (in the Lady Chapel). The king buried in Canterbury Cathedral is Henry IV. And yes Henry the eights fight with the pope was about him not having a male heir. He never turned protestant though and he ordered a catholic mass for his own funeral.
St Martin's church was built in Roman times, so was about 100 years old at least when Augustine arrived. Ethelbert was king from 550 - 616
The list on this page is entertaining:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_buildings_in_the_United_Kingdom
Of course, Mediterranean islands such as Malta, Crete, Cyprus, the Balkans, what we know call Turkey, and points east to the Indian Ocean are where the super old places are. The oldest building near where I grew up is a tiny 13th century chapel that stands in the grounds of a Victorian church.
Henry VIII had one overriding concern and that was a son for the succession and the continuity of the Tudor monarchy of which he was only the second king. His father having usurped the throne by winning the Battle of Bosworth and causing the death in battle there of King Richard III.
That's why he was obsessed with having a son. The break from the Roman Catholic church was caused by them not granting him a divorce from his brothers widowed wife who gave him a daughter Mary, later Mary I or "Bloody Mary", and was older than him.
In a way it's quite straightforward throughout his reign.
Your perception of historical time is limited because your part of the US starts in 1629. We've got pubs down the road from here that are years older than that and other stuff from the first and second century AD. So it's a bit hard to be wowed by a country that's only a couple of hundred years old.
Just like here there's the really old stone age stuff in the US as well so it's not like there's nothing before the colonies, it's just you didn't get the Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Norman's to leave castles and stuff round your way.
St. Martin's church was first used by Queen Berths 580AD and St.Augustine , who setup his mission when he arrived from Rome in 597 and expanded the church. It's architecture is part Roman, Saxon, Norman and Medieval.
The narrator said it was built "in Roman times" which wrongly suggests it was built during the Roman occupation of Britain which ended around 410 AD but, as you point out, it was not built until many decades later.
I'm an atheist but one can not deny the importance these buildings have in our history, culture and values. Just like i would visit old castles and townhalls when i'm in the area, i will also visit old churches. In catholic churches you can also admire a lot of mindblowing art besides the obvious architecture. Protestant churches on the mainland europe obviously arent as ornately decorated as it conflicts with their beliefs. In any case they are buildings i enjoy to visit for esthetical reasons, it can be a reminder of what people were capable of back then, but to me also a reminder how much power the church had up untill the 60s and usuall they didnt use it to serve the people but themselves.
Ps: you're right about that we are often numb to all the history coz we walk these streets every day. My towns main church was built in the 11th century, and i live next to a road that was first paved by the romans and is still in use ( tarmac these days, no worries 😂) . Its as normal to us as the sun rising each morning. 🤘❤️
I as a boy played in cockermouth casle cumbria (cumberland then ) built in 1180 aprox 76 years young
The Coronation was at Westminster, This is cantrbury..
The seperation is for parts of the church for the clergy or other non public areas.
You should check out some Orthodox churches, the sheer ammount of detail in every part is astonishing.
No the Archbishop is not the Pope's ambassador, he is a Bishop in charge of other Bishops in a Diocese. Pope Gregory sent Augustine to Britain with orders to appoint Metropolitan Bishops to the two former Roman cities of Brittania, London & York.
London was beyond his reach, the chief city of the Kent King Ethelbert was Canterbury, so that was where Augustine himself became Bishop. The Archbishop title came later, & later still York got it's own Archbishop. The two are the joint heads of the Church in England, with whichever is appointed first being the senior. At the Reformation these positions were continued into the Church of England, now ruled by the Monarch instead of the Pope.
In what way is the Archbishop of York ever senior over Canterbury in modern times? The House of Lords Precedence Act of 1539 in tge reign of Henry VIII settled this question in favour of Canterbury and nothing has been changed since then.
Henry broke with Rome when he wanted to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, when after 20 years she had not produced a son.
Henry had chosen Anne Boleyn by this time, & taking charge of the Church allowed him to do as he wished. He executed Anne for adultery after 3 years & then married Jane Seymour, who did have a boy child, Edward, but she died soon after. Henry then married Anne of Cleve's, but disliked her & divorced. He then married
Katherine Howard, but had her executed for adultery. Finally he took Catherine Parr as wife, & she outlived him .
The ancient church was not built in 597, but was of Roman construction, that is before 410 ad, though I guess it will have been much repaired since then.
It's a nice cathedral but if you want to check out a cathedral even more impressive you should see York minster
Here, Connor, is how it was done: "MIDDLE AGE ARCHITECTURE : How The Great Cathedrals Were Built" - National Geographic V (on YT)
Henry 8th did break away from the Catholic Church as a way of being able to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, for only giving him a daughter, his second wife, Anne Boleyn, was executed for only having a daughter. However, his third wife, Jane Seymour, did give him a son who became King Edward 6th upon the death of Henry 8th, and she died of a fever about two weeks after the birth of her son. His fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, was divorced as she was not what he expected from her portrait, the fifth wife, Catherine Howard, who was Anne Boleyns cousin, was executed for adultery and his last wife, Catherine Parr, survived Henry.
It's amazing when you realise the impact that Henry VIII philandering eye had on Britain's future as a protestant nation, and subsequent world super power.......a lot of our most impressive events would probably not have occurred if we had remained catholic.
The stained glass window shows the story of the murder of Archbishop Thomas A Becket by knights of King Henry II and Henry's subsequent penances for the murder.
I grew up in and around Canterbury - you really don't appreciate it as a kid. The old Whitefriars shopping centre and its bridge across to Ricemans toy department was a favourite haunt (now sadly both gone).......it is a shame they didn't mention more about the Kings School, which is possibly the oldest school in Europe (built around 597).....oh, and the fabulous Jolly Sailor pub that backed onto it (until the school bought it).
The screen or pulpitum separates the nave of a large church (where the less important lay people worshipped) from the quire (where the clergy conducted the worship: monks, priests and choristers). Often the screen was surmounted with a large crucifix depicting Christ on the cross - a "rood", hence the name "rood screen" - and there might be statues of the Virgin Mary and St John tge Evangelist on either side of the archway, leading through into the choir stalls.
Hi. Henry VIII did have a son. Edward VI. He was from his 3rd wife. He took the throne aged 9 years. Because of his young age he was a Regent. He only lived foe 6Years after that.
The Queens funeral and the King's coronation were held in Westminster Abby in Central London, not Canterbury
14:33 it is an oversimplification. Henry was still a devout Catholic but he just separated the civil power of the monarchy from the papal power. The wife and son thing was a convenient way to do this, plus the Reformation was well underway on the Continent so Protestantism was ascendent.
I've never been in Canterbury cathedral and I lived around the corner for 2 years 😮to tight to pay to go in but I heard you are free to go in if you say your lighting a candle shame on me
Restore can also mean
To put back as before...not damaged but restored to original place..
The Church of St Patrick in Wales in Eglwys Llanbadrig was founded in 440 CE. older than that newfangled Canterbury St Martin's. But they didn't speak Anglish.
The reformation in Europe had started a movement protesting at the things they thought were wrong in the Catholic Church. There were many advisors and relatives of Henry viii who had become Protestants and were keen to break with the Roman Catholic Church. The kings desire for a divorce in order to try and get a male heir was an opportunity for Protestants to set out their case and persuade the king to get behind it. Which he did, so it is a bit simplistic to say that he broke with Rome just to divorce his wife but it certainly was a catalyst that made the change that had been brewing for a while for more legitimate reasons.
It's on the pilgrims way. After Canterbury cathedral next stop is all saints church Maidstone. Which has a American twist with a dedication to Lawrence Washington uncle of George.
Queen Bertha of Kent was a French princess - a Christian - who married the English king, Ethelbert, a pagan. He allowed her to build St Martin's as a sign of respect. However, most of the country was pagan and St Augustine converted the rest of us. The church used pre-existing Roman walls but, although some of these remain, it looks a bit different today than it did then. St Augustine converted us but it was the second time we had been Christian. When the Romans invaded 2000 years ago, we were pagan as were the Romans. Then, gradually, their Empire became Christian and took us along with them. When they left in the 5th C and we were invaded by the Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians, we converted back to paganism again - until the coming of St Augustine.
When you return to England, you must buy a train ticket from London (Waterloo) to Portsmouth, to the Hard, the final stop on the Portsmouth line. From there, it is a few minutes' walk to the Historic Dockyard where you will see enough ancient ships to satisfy even you, such as the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's flagship which sank off Portsmouth and was dredged up when I was young. It is 500 years old and is beautifully presented in a newly built museum which has a huge collection of all the objects found on board. Fast forward a few hundred years, and you can explore Nelson's flagship, the Victory, a great warship, built in the late 1700s. Then visit HMS Warrior, the first iron plated warship which never fired a shot in anger because they all ran away when they saw her coming. What amazed me was to see, after visiting the first two wooden ships, that Warrior somehow was built in the same style, even though she was a massive steam ship. So many things to see on this site - you need at least a long weekend. But, you'd love it.
The Thomas à Becket story is a very sad one. Before he became a priest, he was great friends with Henry II (12thC king). Then Henry had this great idea: he would make his best friend Archbishop of Canterbury and, through him, manipulate the powerful church. However, once he became Archbishop, Thomas 'got religion' and refused to do what the king said. One drunken night, the angry Henry said to a group of men, 'Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?' So these knights rode straight to Canterbury where they murdered Thomas - and thought the king would be pleased. Instead, he was very distressed and repentant and allowed himself to be whipped by monks outside the cathedral.
Perhaps. Happiness and inner peace
Connor as English person you're spot on with Henry VIII executing his wife's, it was purely a means to have a son to carry on the tudor dynasty as having sons as heirs was the norm then. So came the break with the Catholic Church during his time with Anne boleyn, which resulted in cardinal wolsey been executed as he couldn't give Henry VIII the divorce from Catherine of Aragon as the Catholic Church wouldn't allow it. Crazy to think as under his child with Anne boleyn, Elizabeth I, the English started on the path to becoming a superpower.
It's not true that Augustine didn't find an existing Christian presence in what would become England in 927.
The established religious presence monks etc were still here after the Roman army left in 410. Augustine was surprised to find them and how developed and advanced they were away from the contact with Rome.
He worked to circumvent them and restablish the Roman Catholic church's presence in the country by converting the Anglo-Saxon rulers of the kingdoms. He succeeded so the view everyone gets is that there was nothing here before he came and that is not true and there is plenty of evidence for it but you have to look a bit harder for it. The Roman Catholic church has never liked competition.
Just think of the building requirements in 1075 to be able to built such a structure as the Cathedral, I think we would struggle even today. The Cathedral has just finished being refurbished. America was formed in 1776 and the Cathedral 1075, so it was 700 years old when the declaration of independence was announced. The 'pocket watch' was a old sun dial belonging to a monk in the 11th century! You need to look up Canterbury Cathedrals history, its a lesson in itself. Over the hundreds of years different people have added or altered parts so it will be confusing.
Henry wanted all the church's land and money, the wives business was incidental, im sure
I'm used to seeing them all the time castles and churches in history things
Just remember: the Puritans who trashed the font and various other parts of the Cathedral are the lot who settled America.
Here in the UK a place can have New in its name and be many hundreds of years old.
Henry had a long marriage to his first wife, but she was older than him, was past child bearing and he had one sickly daughter, no woman had ruled, and he didn't even have a brother. His first responsibility was to provide an heir. He had at least one illegitimate son, so he knew it wasn't him. That drove his desire to move on. Anne Bolynne was a bit different, in part it was that she lost a baby boy, but there were personal differences too, she was politically active. With Anne of Cleves, it was just a personal revulsion, and Catherine Howard was an adulterer (unlike Bolyne who was probably framed) . By then he was probably incapable himself. So in truth only in the case of Catherine of Aragon and partly Anne Bolynne was getting an heir the driving force in his actions.
English church hierarchy is hard to understand, Connor. Everything was indeed under the jurisdiction of Popes until King Henry VIII (of six wives fame) was excommunicated for adultery; and responded by changing the national religion from the Church of Rome to the Church of England and placing himself (and his successors) as its supreme governor (and thus, displacing the Pope). The Archbishop of Canterbury, whose full title also includes "Primate of All England," is the most senior, professional clergyman who runs the Church of England on the King's behalf; but it is the King - Charles III - whom he is responsible to. That's what most of the Coronation rituals are about, when they dressed him in a cloth of gold and then with a cope like that of a bishop - with the ring, stirrups, sceptres, orb etc', and then literally crown him as the pope would traditionally also have been crowned in his enthronement. Unlike a pope, the king (or queen regnant) is not a professional clergyman however, his role is more symbolic. So, decide for yourself which role the archbishop's is most like! Remember though, neither he nor the king are absolute monarchs!!
For me, both Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy are authentic traditions of Church leaders. However, this is the problem: they are ways of faith that suit leadership types.
After about 1200, the Church of Rome - which had hitherto done some very good stuff - became power-obsessed and corrupt. When Thomas a Becket, a former secular minister of Henry II's, became Archbishop of Canterbury, he wrongly saw his calling as keeping the priesthood independent of Royal power, so I have some sympathy with Henry II.
Likewise, pilgrimages and worship at shrines had become a money-spinning racket, with spiritual blackmail thrown in. ( So worshipping - and paying for indulgences - would get you to Heaven quicker...) This is why the shrines were removed.
I retain quite a lot of time for Henry VIII. The country had been torn apart by a terrible civil war (the Wars of the Roses). The fragile peace had depended on the marriage of his father Henry VII to Elizabeth of York. For the good of the country - not just himself - Henry VIII had to have a son.
But by 1529 Queen Catherine only had a daughter, and was past child-bearing. Kings in those days were always granted annulments, and in this case there were particularly good grounds for one, since Henry had married his brother's widow without the proper paperwork. But the Holy Roman Emperor wanted to take over England by marrying his son to Henry's daughter. This would have brought untold woe to England, particularly since that Holy Roman Emperor, as also King of Spain, was an enthusiastic supporter of the Spanish Inquisition.
So, you're right. Much of Henry's marriage problems came from a desperate quest for a son.
Like you, I disapprove of the Catholic tendency to separate the altar from the congregation. This was to preserve the mystique of the priest.
Another commenter is quite right in pointing out that the tomb is not of Henry VII, but of Henry IV.
Not only did Augustine's coming have to do with the building of St Martin's Church, but he also brought with him a copy of the Gospels from Rome, which are therefore sixth-century. During the Coronation of King Charles III, when the Gospel was read, these were carried in the procession to the lectern.
The old pocket watch wasn’t a wrong guess, although he said it was from the 10th century, it’s unbelievable isn’t it ?
I wanted to say, as an English woman, I stop and stare too
Good video Connor, but quite a few factual inaccuracies (like Henry VII being buried there - it was Henry IV). And whilst wanting a legitimate son was a big part of Henry VIII's motives, yes it is a bit of an oversimplification. You'll also find my home city's cathedral, Lincoln, impressive (and indeed a few others).
Don't worry. We also stop and stare at all the wonderful buildings.
Henry 8 was a changed man after a jowsting injury and his actions stem from this.
No, not henry 7 , henry 4
Coronations take place in London at Westminster Abbey, not Canterbury Cathedral.
Certainly Henry VIII's first divorce from Catherine of Aragon and the Brexit style split from Rome to marry Anne Boleyn was to do with the need for an heir and the execution of Anne Boleyn on trumped up charges was to move on to produce a male heir. But he then had his son Edward with third wife Jane Seymour who then died of a retained placenta. Fourth Anne of Cleves was a big mistake he should have swiped the other way and they amicably annulled the marriage. Fifth teenage Catherine Howard was executed on proven adultery and Sixth Catherine Parr outlived him.
Henry VIII had a son Edward VI he died of consumption ( tuberculosis)aged 15. He was intelligent and reigned from the age of 9. He maybe would have been a better king than his father.
Mate, because you watch historical vlogs in random order it seems you still don't understand how history works. Like so many US people "The 19thC" seems to be understood as anything historic that isn't Medieval.While they use "Medieval" itself to stand for all the vast sweep of centuries before that.The 18th & 19thC were the time when the Industrial Revolution gave us steam trains, bicycles, dictionaries, great Industrial installations, etc. etc. Watches & clocks were intricate and beautiful and top any time-piece we have today. Sun dials belong back in the Roman and post-Roman periods. So no! "Wealthy 19thC people" did not carry portable sund-dials around with them"
He IS the Archbishop of C - so he doesn't "represent" or be an Ambassador for himself!
We are a secular society now, but, because our history is to be found in every ecclesiastical site: churches, monasteries, convents etc. So most of us head to the local church in any new place we visit, because that will be where the history of the area is to be found.
ps Looking for cracks in the 'restored' font? Well "restoration" means it is returned to it's original form - which would not have had cracks in it. (I do restoration work with lime plaster...and believe me, it's bloody exciting!!
Warner Bros initially planned to use this cathedral for Harry Potter but they got rejected.
Your soul has been to England in the past I get the same thing . Pam uk
Yeah the whole Henry VIII thing is always oversimplified. What people tend to forget is that he was married to his first wife over 20 years and it had been a long popular reign up to then. He was always religious and was concerned that he was cursed into not having a son because he married his brother's widow. He may have suffered some mental issues after a jousting accident. But the Pope at the time is known for being corrupt, manipulated and bought by the Roman Emperor. The Emperor just happened to be the nephew of Henry's wife, so he figured that the Pope's refusal to end his marriage was due to corruption, which may have caused his hostility towards Rome. Some of Henry's actions were definitely selfish but the Pope's behaviour at the time is blamed for contributing to the Protestant Reformation.
Henry wasn't really Protestant though and the reformation in England was stalling before his son Edward VI, a devout Protestant, went full force into Protestantism. Mary I tried to take England back to Catholicism, which failed, as Elizabeth I's long reign basically cemented the mild kind of Protestantism we have today.
Henry VII is buried at Westminster Abbey, not Canterbury Cathedral
The narrator said that the only king buried in Canterbury Cathedral is Henry VII. This is completely wrong. It is Henry IV who was married to Joan of Navarre.
The Archbishop of Canterbury was, most certainly, *not* the Pope's ambassador in England. There were other clerics (nuncios and legates) sent from Rome who fulfilled that role.
England was divided into two ecclesiastical provinces, namely Canterbury (in the south) and York (in the north), each with an archbishop who is the principal bishop in each province. The provinces are made up of dioceses, each of which has its own bishop, the archbishop himself being in charge of the one that gives the province its name (e.g. Canterbury). In pre-Reformation times, the Archbishop was subordinate to the Pope in terms of the church hierarchy and was appointed by him, often on the recommendation of the King (as happened with Thomas Becket). The Archbishop of Canterbury ("Primate of All England") is senior to the Archbishop of York ("Primate of England") by a whisker, making him the top cleric in the Church of England.
Many archbishops in former times acted as close political advisors to English kings (e.g. Wolsey, Cranmer), sometimes allying themselves with the King in opposition to the Pope, pleading the King's case; at other times, it might be the other way round.
Nowadays the Archbishop of Canterbury presides over the worldwide Anglican Communion, though he is not head of it as each constituent branch of it is autonomous. In fact, in England, HM the King is the supreme governor of the Church of England and all archbishops, bishops and other senior clergy are officially appointed by the monarch (with advice from the Church and the Prime Minister).
You stopping and staring won't be strange Connor. I'm guessing 90% of the time you'll be staring at the grass! 🟩😁
8 million horses dead makes no sense, but why would it. The war its self still doesn't make any sense!
Henry VIII was a controller he wanted a Tudor heir his first wife was 6 yrs older and past child bearing days he wanted a male Heir ,he met Anne Boleyn and wanted a divorce but the country was Catholic , so Henry Anne and Cranmer his 2nd chief Minister after Wolseley devised a way of divorcing so broke with Rome when Wolseley his 1st chief minister couldn’t find a solution,he then named the New English Religion The Church OF England (Protestant) and thus able to Marry Anne and divorce K O Aragon and a plus was that he could raid all Catholic buildings Abbeys etc and take the booty , and destroyed any signs Catholicism it’s called the English Reformation a sad time in our History of our Heritage along with the English Civil war ,and the bombing of our towns and cities in WWII that’s in a nutshell 🤷♀️
Connor you didn't put a foot wrong or say anything stupid!! I'm extremely disappointed in you!!
In Europe there is infinite time, in America there is infinite space.
Henry VIII cared more about his dynasty than about God.