Even today in a much more crowded landscape, the churches, cathedrals and minsters remain central in their communities - right there, towering, demanding attention, whether it be spiritual or commercial.
Also more in the forefront of my awareness than ever before is the damage wrought by Henry's reformation and the huge social change it initiated.
Here is a photo of Bolton Abbey (actually a priory) from a very icy hillside pathway where, for the first time ever, I wished for a walking stick...
...and here is a view of the River Wharfe looking down from the priory on a sparkling, frosty morning.
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*shyly puts hand up*
ReplyDeletePlease can you explain:
"Also more in the forefront of my awareness than ever before is the damage wrought by Henry's reformation and the huge social change it initiated."
Thanks :o)
Aargh (smacks hand). Sounds like thesis mode!! Sorry.
ReplyDeleteHenry VIII wanted a divorce from Katherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn but to do so he had to get an annulment from the Pope (who was head of the church in England) and the Pope wouldn't agree. So in a hissy fit Henry decided to break away from the Roman Catholic church. He did, and he got his divorce (and Katherine was beheaded) and then he set about destroying anything connected with the RC church - all the monasteries and abbeys etc.
The monasteries weren't only places where the monks prayed etc, they were also big employers of local people through farming activity.
So when I see these abbey/monastery/priory ruins I think what must it have been like when they were huge, busy businesses and how tough it must have been for so many people when they were closed down by force.
So Henry's hissy fit is the reason why we have an Anglican church (an all its spin-offs) as well as a RC church. It was a power game. Henry became head of the Church of England.
Now it sounds like a history lesson :-P
ahhhh so the ruins of what Henry did are still there today. I don't know why I didn't take history at school because I really love it. My Nan collected miniature dolls (which she left to me)from her travels around the world and my favourites have always been Henry and his six wives. :o)
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