Cathedral

The Canterbury Cathedral is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It is the Cathedral of the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, the primate of all England and the religious leader of the Church of England. This mother church of the Diocese of Canterbury (in eastern Kent) is the focal point of the Anglican Religion. Its formal title in English is Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ at Canterbury.
It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, along with St. Augustine's Abbey and St. Martin's Church.
The construction of the complex took place on the ruins of a building built by Saint Augustine in the 6th century. The current building is the result of two phases of construction, the first from 1070 to 1184 and the second from 1378 to 1505. The initiator of the works was Archbishop Lanfranc, appointed by Duke William in 1070.
A dark chapter in the history of the cathedral was the decapitation of Thomas Becket in the northeast corner of the interior of the complex on Sunday, December 29, 1170, by guards who accidentally heard King Henry II of England saying, "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?" after he had an altercation with Becket. The guards took the king's words literally and murdered Becket in his own Cathedral. Becket would be the second of four Archbishops of Canterbury who were killed.
After the disastrous fire of 1174, which destroyed the eastern end of the cathedral, William of Sens rebuilt the place with a much more modern Gothic design, including high pointed arches, flying buttresses, emphasizing the vertical lines of the tall pillars and spires on the exterior to create greater heights in the interior. Later, William the English added the Trinity Chapel as a holy place for the relics of Saint Thomas the Martyr. Over time, other important burials took place in this location, such as that of Edward Plantagenet (the Black Prince) and King Henry IV of England. The Corona Tower (original name) was built at the eastern end to contain the relic of the head of Saint Thomas that was severed during his murder.
The income generated from the pilgrims (including figures like Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales) who visited Becket's shrine, considered a healing place, largely paid for all subsequent reconstructions of the Cathedral and its surrounding buildings.
The façade is open to a window with openwork tracery and flanked by two towers with buttresses. It has a very ornate entrance built between 1425 and 1427. Access is through the south door; the central nave is open with very high and narrow pointed arches between clustered columns that fan out as they reach the vault. From the transept, whose vault consists of fan-shaped marble branches, one descends to the crypt with a five-nave layout. It is the largest and most elaborate in all of England. It occupies the space of the choir and the Trinity Chapel and the apse annexes. It belongs to the first Norman period and retains the figurative capitals and the carved ribs of the composite pillars. In the right nave, two chapels open: the Temple Chapel and St. Gabriel's Chapel, dating from the Norman period, with a two-nave plan decorated with 12th-century frescoes. In the left nave, there are two other chapels: St. Nicholas Chapel and the Holy Innocents Chapel, with two naves separated by Salomonical pillars and decorated capitals.
The choir is from the 12th century, and its creator was Guillaume de Sens. Ascending the lateral stairs of the high altar, one enters the Trinity Chapel, built in honor of Becket. It is an elliptical building supported by paired columns of varied marbles. It is illuminated by stained glass windows that depict the miracles of the saint. Becket's tomb was located at the point marked by the Altar of Swords Point before being destroyed in 1538 on the orders of Henry VIII. Behind the altar is the Chair of Saint Augustine, from the 12th century, a marble throne from Purbeck used in the coronation of archbishops.
The old Norman central tower was demolished in 1430. The reconstruction of the tower (Bell Henry) occurred about 50 years later, starting in 1490 and finishing in 1505, with a final height of 91 meters and a perpendicular Gothic style.

HIGHLIGHTED DETAILS OF THE CATHEDRAL

The Rose of the Winds

The bronze rose of winds is the symbol of the Anglican communion worldwide, of which Canterbury Cathedral is the Mother Church. The inscription in Greek means "The truth will set you free" (John 8:32).

The martyrdom

It is the precious place where Thomas Becket was murdered, making it the historical heart of the Cathedral. Thus, on the evening of December 29, 1170, the knights of King Henry II burst into the Cathedral through the cloister door behind him. While Becket was preparing for vespers, they violently attacked him with swords, causing his death on these stones. Since then, this has been a sacred place of pilgrimage.

The modern version of the Altar of Swords Point (named so because the tip of a knight's sword broke, by the force of the blows, upon striking the stone floor) is located where a medieval altar previously existed. For centuries, this has been one of the pilgrimage points of the Cathedral. It is significant that Pope John Paul II and Archbishop Robert Runcie prayed here on May 29, 1982, during the Pope's first visit to England. On the day of Saint Thomas Becket (December 29), during a candlelight procession after the vespers service, the Archbishop prays here a prayer.

The eastern crypt

Originally, from 1170 to 1220, Becket's tomb was located in it. It is believed that many miraculous healings have taken place here. The two latticed windows at the center, at the top, allowed the monks to guard the tomb from the watch chamber above.

The Crown Chapel

This chapel was added to house the crown of Saint Thomas, which fell from him while he was being martyred. In 1978, the chapel was dedicated to the Saints and Martyrs of our time.

Next to it is the tomb of Archbishop Hubert Walter, the oldest tomb in the Cathedral. It dates from 1205 and has Romanesque heads carved.

The tomb of the Black Prince

Beyond, to his right, is one of the most beautiful medieval tombs in the Cathedral, that of Edward, Prince of Wales, known as the Black Prince (d. 1376). The gilded effigy shows him in full armor, including gauntlets and helmet, with the spurs he earned from the battle of Crécy, and next to his dog. Hanging above are copies of his "funeral attire." The shields on the tomb include, for the first time, the three ostrich feathers, a symbol of peace, which are still known as "the feathers of the Prince of Wales." The detailed funeral instructions that the prince left were faithfully followed, except for the burial in the Crypt— it was deemed more appropriate to place the tomb here, near Saint Thomas Becket.

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