I'm Related to THIS Guy?

13 July 2012

Good news! I didn’t have classes today! It was so great. Instead of holding class, our group hired a bus for the day so that we could visit some important, historical sites.

Our first stop was Battle, a town built around the site of the Battle of Hastings. In case you don’t know what that is, here’s a very low-key history lesson for you (otherwise, you won’t understand the significance of our visit there):

So you’ve got the Saxons in England, being ruled by Edward the Confessor, and then there are the Normans next door in modern-day France, who are under William, Duke of Normandy. Edward and William are cousins, and Edward at one point tells William that he should inherit the English throne. But by the time Edward dies, he changes his mind and tells his brother-in-law, Harold, that he should have the throne. So the nobility (who are in charge of appointing the new king) choose Harold as the new king. Well, William is infuriated. So he decides to sail to England to fight Harold and take the throne. That battle takes place at Hastings, and William and the Normans destroy Harold and the Saxons. So William is now the new French-speaking king of England (hence his nickname, William the Conqueror). And it is because of this invasion that English (which used to sound closer to German) now sounds semi-French. The Battle of Hastings was the most significant event in the history of the English language.

So you can see why, being students of English linguistics, we absolutely had to go there. (And apparently, I'm related to William the Conqueror...not sure how I feel about that.) Now, there is an abbey built on the battlefield. It was William’s way of commemorating those who died there, including King Harold.

It was really interesting to be there. We were able to just walk around the grounds, and it felt similar to walking around Gettysburg. It was hard to imagine seven thousand men dying there. They also have a stone laid in the very spot that King Harold died.

Battle Abbey

Battle Abbey...again

Inside the Abbey

"The traditional site of the high altar of Battle Abbey founded to commemorate  the victory of
Duke William on 14 October 1066. The high altar was placed to mark the spot where King Harold died.

"This stone has been set in this place to commemorate the fusion of the English
and Norman peoples which  resulted from the great battle fought here in 1066."

After that, we made our way to Canterbury. And on the way there, we kind of saw the Cliffs of Dover. We didn’t have time to stop. I wish we would have.

Cliffs of Dover

Canterbury was cool though. We got to walk through the cathedral there. And this cathedral is really significant because it’s the death place of St. Thomas Beckett. William the Conqueror had him killed because he wouldn’t sign a document that would have given the king more power and the Church less power. But what really makes it bad is that William’s knights killed Thomas in the cathedral. They didn’t even have the decency to take him outside. So now, a lot of people will go on a pilgrimage to the Canterbury Cathedral to commemorate St. Thomas.

Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral

The spot and memorial of St. Thomas Beckett's death

After we left Canterbury, we went to a really nice restaurant and ate dinner as a group. And that was a lot of fun, just being together (and getting a real meal that was already paid for!).

By the time we got home, we were exhausted. I wish we could sleep in tomorrow. But we have class. But that’s okay. I can sleep once I’m back in Utah, right? :)