“From the Devil they came and to the Devil they will return” – the Angevins were notorious even in their own day, descended as they were from Melusine, the reputed daughter of Satan, who married Fulke of Anjou. Henry II, crowned King of England in 1154, shared all the family characteristics: a fiery temper, restless energy and willful self-indulgence.
In Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Henry II met an equally obstinate spirit, with the king’s determination to be master of church and state leading to the murder of the “turbulent priest“ in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. Four years later Henry was making a penitential visit, bare-footed and hair-shirted, to Becket’s tomb – the king’s first steps in exploiting the reputation of the martyr’s shrine as a centre of pilgrimage. Then, between 1179 and 1188, Henry invested huge resources in rebuilding Dover Castle to accommodate wealthy pilgrims on their way to pay homage to the man he murdered.
Canterbury Cathedral, the seat of the Church of England for nearly five centuries, and Dover Castle, magnificently restored by English Heritage, are just two of the highlights of our programme, together with the leper church of St Nicholas, to which Henry gave an annual grant of 20 marks as part of his reparation for the murder of Becket.
Our course is based at the three-star Canterbury Cathedral Lodge situated in the grounds of Canterbury Cathedral.
Date: September 8–10, 2011 |
Cost: £390 |
Lecturer: Mary Dicken |
Course Code: ANG211 |
Itinerary
Day 1 Course assembles 1300 at Canterbury Cathedral Lodge for two nights. Afternoon: Rochester Castle (tower-keep built circa 1127 by Archbishop of Canterbury). Evening talk: Henry II and Thomas Becket followed by sherry reception.
Day 2 Canterbury: cathedral (where Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170) and fortifications followed by boat tour on River Stour including: Greyfriars (13th century chapel), 12th century Eastbridge Hospital, King’s Bridge, Dominican priories, ducking stool. Evening talk: The Angevins.
Day 3 Harbledown (Norman leper church of St Nicholas), Dover Castle (western Europe’s first concentric fortress). Course disperses 1700 at hotel.
Cost
Cost of £390 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, drinks reception, breakfast & dinner, excursions & admissions (except English Heritage properties for non-members).
Not included: travel insurance, single room supplement £100.