Description

Arthur Penrhyn Stanley (1815-81), later Dean of Westminster, was a canon of Canterbury when he published this work, consisting of four essays on the history of the cathedral, in 1854. It was reprinted almost immediately, and the 1855 printing is reissued here. Stanley described the work as 'an endeavour to connect topics of local interest with the general course of history', and he takes four events associated with Canterbury - the arrival of Augustine, the murder of Becket, the death of the Black Prince, and the development of the shrine of Becket - and puts them in a historical context, while also describing the locations in which scenes of historical importance were enacted, and including fascinating details from his literary sources, such as Becket's hair shirt, discovered after his murder to be alive with vermin. Other works by Dean Stanley, including his Historical Memorials of Westminster, are also reissued in this series.