More than six hundred years ago, the Archbishop of Canterbury was murdered by King Henry II’s knights. Before the Archbishop’s blood dried on the Cathedral floor, the miracles began. The number of pilgrims visiting his shrine in the Middle Ages was so massive that the stone floor wore thin where they knelt to pray. They came seeking healing, penance, or a sign from God. Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, one of the greatest, most enduring works of English literature, is a bigger-than-life drama based on the experience of the medieval pilgrim. Power, politics, friendship, betrayal, martyrdom, miracles, and stories all had a place on the sixty mile path from London to Canterbury, known as the Pilgrim’s Way. Walking to Canterbury is Jerry Ellis’s moving and fascinating account of his own modern pilgrimage along that famous path. Filled with incredible details about medieval life, Ellis’s tale strikingly juxtaposes the contemporary world he passes through on his long hike with the history that peeks out from behind an ancient stone wall or a church. Carrying everything he needs on his back, Ellis stops at pubs and taverns for food and shelter and trades tales with the truly captivating people he meets along the way, just as the pilgrims from the twelfth century would have done. Embarking on a journey that is spiritual and historical, Ellis reveals the wonders of an ancient trek through modern England toward the ultimate goal: enlightenment.

A guidebook to walking the Pilgrims’ Way, a 230 km (138 mile) historic pilgrimage route to Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, home of the shrine of the martyred archbishop, St Thomas Becket. With relatively easy walking on ancient pathways, it can be comfortably completed in under a fortnight. The route is presented in 15 stages ranging between 7 and 22 kms (5-14 miles) and is described from both Winchester in Hampshire (138 miles) and London’s Southwark Cathedral (90 miles), with an optional link to Rochester. 1:50,000 OS mapping for each stage Detailed information on accommodation, public transport, and refreshments for each stage Information on the historical background of the pilgrimage, historical figures, and local points of interest GPX files available to download Facilities table to help you plan your itinerary

England offers so many royal palaces, massive cathedrals, glorious gardens, world-class museums, and historical sites that you could be overwhelmed, but this guide helps you zero in on the things you want to see and do and plan the perfect trip for you! It gives you up-to-date info on: shopping and antiquing; side trips to attractions; where to pay homage to literary giants; important castles and palaces; central England, the picturesque Cotswolds region, and northern England.

For every major feast, saint’s day and commemoration in the calendars of the Anglican churches of the UK, this liturgical resource and spiritual companion offers a feast of readings that reflects the richness, depth and variety of the Christian tradition from the earliest years of the church to the present day. Writings from across the centuries represent the Eastern, Western, Roman and Celtic traditions and constitute a vibrant history of Christianity manifested in the lives of hundreds of holy men and women as diverse as first century martyrs, or twentieth century social reformers. A complementary volume to Exciting Holiness which provides scripture readings and prayers for the calendar, this is now updated to include the additional commemorations in the Church of England’s calendar of saints.

Guli Francis-Dehqani was born in Isfahan, Iran, to a family who were part of the tiny Anglican Church established by 19th century missionaries. Her father, a Muslim convert, became the first indigenous Persian bishop. As the Islamic Revolution of 1979 swept across the country, church properties were raided, confiscated or closed down. Guli’s father was briefly imprisoned before surviving an attack on his life, which injured his wife. Soon after, whilst he was out of the country for meetings, Guli’s 24 year-old brother, Bahram, a university teacher in Tehran, was murdered. No one was ever brought to justice and the family were advised to leave Iran. Guli was 14. They eventually settled in England with refugee status. Drawing on the riches of Persian culture and her own dramatic experience of loss of a homeland, Guli offers memorable and perceptive reflections on Jesus’ seven final sayings from the cross, opening up for Western readers fresh and arresting insights from a Middle Eastern perspective.

Anglo-Saxon England is the only publication which consistently embraces all the main aspects of study of Anglo-Saxon history and culture - linguistic, literary, textual, palaeographic, religious, intellectual, historical, archaeological and artistic - and which promotes the more unusual interests - in music or medicine or education, for example. Articles in volume 36 include: The tabernacula of Gregory the Great and the conversion of Anglo-Saxon England by Flora Spiegel; The career of Aldhelm by Michael Lapidge; The name 'Merovingian' and the dating of Beowulf by Walter Goffart; An abbot, an archbishop and the Viking raids of 1006-7 and 1009-12 by Simon Keynes; and Demonstrative behaviour and political communication in later Anglo-Saxon England by Julia Barrow.

This is a lavishly illustrated history of Britain's greatest cathedral from its Anglo-Saxon origins to the late twentieth century. Seven chronological chapters tell the fascinating story of Canterbury from 597, while a further five thematic chapters discuss the Cathedral School, the Archives and Library, the liturgy and music, and the monuments within the Cathedral. The contributors are all leading scholars and their chapters are based on the most up-to-date research. Their emphasis is on the people who, over the centuries, have formed the community of Canterbury and continued the tradition of Christian worship there for over a thousand years. A History of Canterbury Cathedral will be essential for readers with an interest in the Cathedral, as well as for scholars and students of cultural, religious, ecclesiastical, and architectural history.

This series is home to scholarship of the highest order covering a wide range of themes: from politics and warfare to administration, justice and society. The topics of the papers in this book range from the sublime to the macabre: romance, rape, money, politics and religion. Wide-ranging papers cover many themes: the role of knights in the civil war at the end of John's reign, the politics of Ireland at the time of Richard Marshal's rebellion, the crusading context of the de Montfort family, the Petition of the Barons of 1258, and the government of England during Edward I's absence on crusade form one group of papers which illuminate the politics of the period. The history of the Jews in their final days in England is examined, as are the techniques used to supply Edward I's armies. Legal matters are considered, with papers on manorial courts, capital punishment, and the offence of rape. Romance is treated in a historical context with Edward I's marriage plans of 1294. Also included is discussion of the dissemination of the Sarum rite, the building of Westminster Abbey, ecclesiastical mints, and Matthew Paris's maps. Contributors: MARTIN ALLEN, DAVID CARPENTER, DAVIDCROOK, KATHERINE FAULKNER, PETER EDBURY, PAUL HARVEY, RICHARD HUSCROFT, NIGEL MORGAN, MARK ORMROD, ZEFIRA ROKEAH, CORINNE SAUNDERS, BRENDAN SMITH, KATHERINE STOCKS, HENRY SUMMERSON, MARK VAUGHN.