Medieval History
I haven't posted any medieval content here for a while, nor have I ever written about my trip to London--so I'm using this post to do both. I've long been fascinated by London, and I finally had the chance to visit (for a conference and sight-seeing) in July. I'm no less fascinated, and my wonder of the city is even more now.
While there, my wife and I had several conversations about how much of a remix-mashup the city is: its earliest bits coming from the Romans, through tot he medieval mercantile hub that it became, into the modern, surviving the Great Fire, with reconstruction and continued growth up to the present.
Layers. Layers of the city are visible everywhere.
There some are pieces--like the Saxon arch in All-Hallows-by-the-Tower (below) and the remains of the earlier Roman building in the basement below, where visitors can still walk--that have been preserved pretty well intact, with more recent (though still medieval) construction around them. Yes, some of the city's treasures are quite well preserved in the many museums, but many are still kept in street corners, in the open, or tucked into churches that have stood against time. There are other bits--like the London Wall, once spanning along the city, now only visible at certain sites--that are crumbling, in need to restoration. And still some sites--like the Tower of London, with its Norman keep and massive fortification built up around it over time--are now regarded as national treasures, teeming with guards and security. Walking along the streets in central London, many of the buildings show the layering quite visibly, as the soot from the Great Fire lines the walls.
The mashup of the city's history is stunning, and a wonder I look forward to beholding again.
So here's a photo-set of just a few of my favorite details.
- Hunting For A Mass Killer In Medieval Graveyards
Beneath the Royal Mint Court, diagonally across the street from the Tower of London, lie 1,800 mute witnesses to the foresight of the city fathers in the year 1348. Recognizing that the Black Death then scourging Europe would inevitably reach London,...
- Views From The Walls: The Story Of Chester's Most Notable Feature
A new exhibition celebrating Chester?s famous city walls will open at the Grosvenor Museum this week (Saturday 16 July). Chester's city walls form the most complete circuit of walls in Britain, so Chester is rightly renowned as 'The Walled City'....
- Tour The City Walls Of Dublin On Your Iphone
Dublin City Council has unveiled a new iPhone App which gives a virtual tour of the medieval city walls of the Irish capital. The City Walls App functions as a walking tour for city visitors and residents and a historical guide for anyone interested in...
- Medieval Roof Finial Discovered In London
A rare find has been uncovered from the shores of the Thames by the Museum of London. A clay medieval roof finial was discovered a week ago by a mudlark, who was helping survey the foreshore of the river by the Tower of London, and reported to the Portable...
- Dublin's Viking Wall Can Now Be Seen
Dublin?s 900-year-old Viking city wall has been put on public view for the first time at the city council's civic offices on the Southside. The wall was discovered during excavations of the site in the late 1970s and early 1980s in preparation for...
Medieval History
London Layers
I haven't posted any medieval content here for a while, nor have I ever written about my trip to London--so I'm using this post to do both. I've long been fascinated by London, and I finally had the chance to visit (for a conference and sight-seeing) in July. I'm no less fascinated, and my wonder of the city is even more now.
While there, my wife and I had several conversations about how much of a remix-mashup the city is: its earliest bits coming from the Romans, through tot he medieval mercantile hub that it became, into the modern, surviving the Great Fire, with reconstruction and continued growth up to the present.
Layers. Layers of the city are visible everywhere.
There some are pieces--like the Saxon arch in All-Hallows-by-the-Tower (below) and the remains of the earlier Roman building in the basement below, where visitors can still walk--that have been preserved pretty well intact, with more recent (though still medieval) construction around them. Yes, some of the city's treasures are quite well preserved in the many museums, but many are still kept in street corners, in the open, or tucked into churches that have stood against time. There are other bits--like the London Wall, once spanning along the city, now only visible at certain sites--that are crumbling, in need to restoration. And still some sites--like the Tower of London, with its Norman keep and massive fortification built up around it over time--are now regarded as national treasures, teeming with guards and security. Walking along the streets in central London, many of the buildings show the layering quite visibly, as the soot from the Great Fire lines the walls.
The mashup of the city's history is stunning, and a wonder I look forward to beholding again.
So here's a photo-set of just a few of my favorite details.
 |
| Sutton Hoo exhibit in the British Museum |
 |
| The Charterhouse in Charterhouse Square |
 |
| The Saxon Arch in All-Hallows-by-the-Tower |
 |
| An Anglo-Saxon stone cross in the basement of All-Hallows-by-the-Tower |
 |
| A detail from the Tower of London |
 |
| One site of the crumbling London Wall |
- Hunting For A Mass Killer In Medieval Graveyards
Beneath the Royal Mint Court, diagonally across the street from the Tower of London, lie 1,800 mute witnesses to the foresight of the city fathers in the year 1348. Recognizing that the Black Death then scourging Europe would inevitably reach London,...
- Views From The Walls: The Story Of Chester's Most Notable Feature
A new exhibition celebrating Chester?s famous city walls will open at the Grosvenor Museum this week (Saturday 16 July). Chester's city walls form the most complete circuit of walls in Britain, so Chester is rightly renowned as 'The Walled City'....
- Tour The City Walls Of Dublin On Your Iphone
Dublin City Council has unveiled a new iPhone App which gives a virtual tour of the medieval city walls of the Irish capital. The City Walls App functions as a walking tour for city visitors and residents and a historical guide for anyone interested in...
- Medieval Roof Finial Discovered In London
A rare find has been uncovered from the shores of the Thames by the Museum of London. A clay medieval roof finial was discovered a week ago by a mudlark, who was helping survey the foreshore of the river by the Tower of London, and reported to the Portable...
- Dublin's Viking Wall Can Now Be Seen
Dublin?s 900-year-old Viking city wall has been put on public view for the first time at the city council's civic offices on the Southside. The wall was discovered during excavations of the site in the late 1970s and early 1980s in preparation for...