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Article BASILICA ANGLICANA—II. ← Page 2 of 3 →
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Basilica Anglicana—Ii.
ConiAA'all , tho dishes Avhich Avere set upon tables numbered upAvards of thirty thousand . The Hall thus built by Rufus stood about three hundred years , when it Avas pulled clown and rebuilt b y Richard II ., Avhile the Abbey was permitted to fall into decay . The first church , of AA'hich tho present building is the
successor , AA'as built by Sibcrt , king of Essex , A . D . 605 , in proof of the sincerity of his conversion to Christianity . This account rests for support principally upon the fact that the several restorers of the building exhibited no little anxiety lost his remains and those of his queen , Ethclgitha , should suffer from desecrationor that they should not be deposited
, in the mosfc honourable place AA'ifchiu ifc . Some Avriters , ifc should however be observed , contend that the cliurcli of Westminster could not have had existence for at least a century after Sibert ' s decease ; Avhilst others claim him for tho honour of foundinar the cathedral of St . Paul aboA'e
Ludgate , as AVCII as that of Sfc . Peter in the " Isle of Thorney . " One of the most extraordinary legends in connexion Avith Westminster Abbey is that of its consecration b y St . Peter himself . It Avould appear , that after the death of Sibert , the people having relapsed into paganism , the church fell
into a ruinous state of decay . It Avas in the next century restored by Ofl ' a , king of Mercia , and again doomed to destruction . On the occasion of the invasion by the Danes , King Edgar , at the instance of St . Dunstan , repaired the edifice in 9 G 9 ; and it is probably to this date , Avhen Dunstau ' s remarkable character is taken into account , that the folloAving extraordinary story may be referred . There Avere no bridges in those days across the Thames , and its banks between Chelsea and Rotherhithe Avere bleak
comfortless moors tenanted solely by the vagrant will-of-Avisp and a ICAV moor birds . A stout waterman used to ferry passengers betAveen Millbank and Lambeth ; for this privilege hoAvever he had to pay tolls and tithes , so that although he earned a very considerable sum he Avas by no means rich . He AA'as sitting on a stormy night in his boat ,
moored ofl ' Avhat IIOAV is Lambeth-stairs , in front of the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury , Avhen he AA'as applied to by a venerable looking man AVIIO seemed to have come a long journey and to be in great haste to be ferried across tho river . As the Avaterman proceeded it came on a hurricane and his little craft had well nigh been overAvhelmed by the
rising wind and tide . Nothing of importance passed betAveen the passenger ancl the boatman until one fearful gust came Avhich throAV the boat on her beam ends , and disarranged the cloak Avhich the aged traveller had wrapped about him . For the first time a feeling struck the ferryman that he AA'as hearing a person of distinction , for he could see beneath the cloak a light like that Avhich is emitted by the diamond . His eflbrts accordingly heightened Avith his respect . When
the boat at length got to the opposite side , the Avaterman with the reverent disposition of the time saluted his passenger ; bufc instead of paying his faro the traA'cller threAV off his cloak and Avalked into the church like a pillar of light . Presently the AvindoAvs ofthe abbey emitted a celestial lustre , and music soft and solemn , as from a choir of angels , Avas
heard above the roar of the furious tempest without . The poor ferryman trembled in every limb until he at length tumbled into the river and must have been drowned but b y a miraculous interposition , since he found himself the next morning fast asleep in his boat under Lambeth-stairs . It afterwards appeared that the traveller was no less
distinguished a person than St . Peter himself , and that the business on which lie journeyed Avas to consecrate the Abbey Church of Westminster . At all events , Avhatever respect -nay be paid to the above particulars , it is clear that the monks of the tAvelfth and thirteenth centuries pretended some , belief in them ; for it is ou record , as Flcfca tells us , fchat the
brethren of the West Monastery sued the minister of Rotherhithe for the tithe of the salmon that should be caught
in his parish , and based their claim upon the fact that Sfc . Peter had given them this rig ht when he consecrated the abbey in person . ' *' Bufc ifc Avas Edward the Confessor who a century later raised the cathedral church to the consequence Avliich it lias since maintained . We may here observe that by some
authors the dignity bestowed on the cathedral by the chief of the apostles was in no small degree OAving to the prayers of this saintly king . This monarch had previously fixed on the abbey as his burial place , and he resoh'ed to make it a temple worthy of the Most High , and a right kingly monument of his own faith and piety . He devoted to the Avork ,
AA'e are told , " a tenth part of his entire substance as AA ' CII in gold , silver , and cattle ,, as in all his other possessions . " It proved in strict truth' his burial place and his monument . The sacred p ile wasi completed ou the 28 th of December , 1065 , but the king was seized Avith his mortal illness on the Christmas clay preA'iously , ancl died on the 5 th of January folloAving . On the 12 th of the same month his body Avas laid Avith great pomp before the hig h altar . Here on next Christmas day took place .. the coronation of William the
Conqueror ; and in the same place have been crowned the sovereigns of England , Avith the exception of Edward V " ., during eig ht centuries . The edifice thus completed by the Confessor Avas in the form of a cross , and remained AA'ithout any repairs or additions until the reign of Henry III ., AA'I IO finding the structure
much impaired by time , took it doAvn and began to rebuild it on a scale of still greater magnificence . Edward I . continued the Avork , ancl gave to it a neAV feature of importance , by placing iu it A . D . 1296 , the celebrated stone from Scone , in Scotland , Avhich he had captured , on Avhich from time immemorial the kings of Scotland had been crowned , and
the monarchs of this country are croAvned to this day . As with St . Paul's , so Sfc . Peter ' s has had to pass through not a few vicissitudes . During the contest betAveen the Roses of York and" Lancaster , it was permitted to fall again into decay . The house of York mostly held its state afc the ToAver , so that Westminster came to be looked upon as a suburb . Westminster Abbey seems hoAvever to have been , spared the gross and sacrilegious desecration Avhich befell St . Paul ' s . This is not wonderful Avhen Ave consider the
great events of Avhich it has been the scene , and the great men of Avhom it is the resting place . Here it was that the laws Avere promulgated—that the king SAVOI-C fealty to his people in return for the allegiance ho claimed . Here the churchman had invoked upon the multitude the blessing of the redeeming faith , and the martyr went boldly to the
torture , having refreshed his fortitude by a prayer for divine aid . It would bo impossible in our space to attempt an enumeration of the various objects of interest Avhich are to be found in this abbey , or to name the great persons Avhose mortal frames moulder beneath its stony floor . The church as Ave have saidis in the form of a crossbut its
proper , , , eastern end is surrounded by chapels , each of which embraces a distinct history , and a special interest , and each varies iu architectural shape and proportions . Formerly there Avere fourteen of the accessory buildings , but there still remain tAvelve , of which that built by Henry VII . is the best known , and Avhich for richness and beauty stands out conspicuously
from the rest . In these mortuary mansions are p laced the dust of royalty and nobility . All around us and under our feet are the insignia of departed renown . The poet ' s lyretuneless reposes in its humble corner , its laurel wreath broAvn ancl damp , its wires snapped by the frost and neglect of many years . The sAvord of the Avarrior rusts , ancl the voice ofthe
senator , though still heard in the busy market , and in the distant colony , is silent here . What a world of daring , of knowledge , of skill , of subtle Avisdom , of prosperity deserved and undeserved , of misfortune rightfully or wrongfully * Philips and Stuart ' s History and Architecture of AVestminster Abbey .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Basilica Anglicana—Ii.
ConiAA'all , tho dishes Avhich Avere set upon tables numbered upAvards of thirty thousand . The Hall thus built by Rufus stood about three hundred years , when it Avas pulled clown and rebuilt b y Richard II ., Avhile the Abbey was permitted to fall into decay . The first church , of AA'hich tho present building is the
successor , AA'as built by Sibcrt , king of Essex , A . D . 605 , in proof of the sincerity of his conversion to Christianity . This account rests for support principally upon the fact that the several restorers of the building exhibited no little anxiety lost his remains and those of his queen , Ethclgitha , should suffer from desecrationor that they should not be deposited
, in the mosfc honourable place AA'ifchiu ifc . Some Avriters , ifc should however be observed , contend that the cliurcli of Westminster could not have had existence for at least a century after Sibert ' s decease ; Avhilst others claim him for tho honour of foundinar the cathedral of St . Paul aboA'e
Ludgate , as AVCII as that of Sfc . Peter in the " Isle of Thorney . " One of the most extraordinary legends in connexion Avith Westminster Abbey is that of its consecration b y St . Peter himself . It Avould appear , that after the death of Sibert , the people having relapsed into paganism , the church fell
into a ruinous state of decay . It Avas in the next century restored by Ofl ' a , king of Mercia , and again doomed to destruction . On the occasion of the invasion by the Danes , King Edgar , at the instance of St . Dunstan , repaired the edifice in 9 G 9 ; and it is probably to this date , Avhen Dunstau ' s remarkable character is taken into account , that the folloAving extraordinary story may be referred . There Avere no bridges in those days across the Thames , and its banks between Chelsea and Rotherhithe Avere bleak
comfortless moors tenanted solely by the vagrant will-of-Avisp and a ICAV moor birds . A stout waterman used to ferry passengers betAveen Millbank and Lambeth ; for this privilege hoAvever he had to pay tolls and tithes , so that although he earned a very considerable sum he Avas by no means rich . He AA'as sitting on a stormy night in his boat ,
moored ofl ' Avhat IIOAV is Lambeth-stairs , in front of the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury , Avhen he AA'as applied to by a venerable looking man AVIIO seemed to have come a long journey and to be in great haste to be ferried across tho river . As the Avaterman proceeded it came on a hurricane and his little craft had well nigh been overAvhelmed by the
rising wind and tide . Nothing of importance passed betAveen the passenger ancl the boatman until one fearful gust came Avhich throAV the boat on her beam ends , and disarranged the cloak Avhich the aged traveller had wrapped about him . For the first time a feeling struck the ferryman that he AA'as hearing a person of distinction , for he could see beneath the cloak a light like that Avhich is emitted by the diamond . His eflbrts accordingly heightened Avith his respect . When
the boat at length got to the opposite side , the Avaterman with the reverent disposition of the time saluted his passenger ; bufc instead of paying his faro the traA'cller threAV off his cloak and Avalked into the church like a pillar of light . Presently the AvindoAvs ofthe abbey emitted a celestial lustre , and music soft and solemn , as from a choir of angels , Avas
heard above the roar of the furious tempest without . The poor ferryman trembled in every limb until he at length tumbled into the river and must have been drowned but b y a miraculous interposition , since he found himself the next morning fast asleep in his boat under Lambeth-stairs . It afterwards appeared that the traveller was no less
distinguished a person than St . Peter himself , and that the business on which lie journeyed Avas to consecrate the Abbey Church of Westminster . At all events , Avhatever respect -nay be paid to the above particulars , it is clear that the monks of the tAvelfth and thirteenth centuries pretended some , belief in them ; for it is ou record , as Flcfca tells us , fchat the
brethren of the West Monastery sued the minister of Rotherhithe for the tithe of the salmon that should be caught
in his parish , and based their claim upon the fact that Sfc . Peter had given them this rig ht when he consecrated the abbey in person . ' *' Bufc ifc Avas Edward the Confessor who a century later raised the cathedral church to the consequence Avliich it lias since maintained . We may here observe that by some
authors the dignity bestowed on the cathedral by the chief of the apostles was in no small degree OAving to the prayers of this saintly king . This monarch had previously fixed on the abbey as his burial place , and he resoh'ed to make it a temple worthy of the Most High , and a right kingly monument of his own faith and piety . He devoted to the Avork ,
AA'e are told , " a tenth part of his entire substance as AA ' CII in gold , silver , and cattle ,, as in all his other possessions . " It proved in strict truth' his burial place and his monument . The sacred p ile wasi completed ou the 28 th of December , 1065 , but the king was seized Avith his mortal illness on the Christmas clay preA'iously , ancl died on the 5 th of January folloAving . On the 12 th of the same month his body Avas laid Avith great pomp before the hig h altar . Here on next Christmas day took place .. the coronation of William the
Conqueror ; and in the same place have been crowned the sovereigns of England , Avith the exception of Edward V " ., during eig ht centuries . The edifice thus completed by the Confessor Avas in the form of a cross , and remained AA'ithout any repairs or additions until the reign of Henry III ., AA'I IO finding the structure
much impaired by time , took it doAvn and began to rebuild it on a scale of still greater magnificence . Edward I . continued the Avork , ancl gave to it a neAV feature of importance , by placing iu it A . D . 1296 , the celebrated stone from Scone , in Scotland , Avhich he had captured , on Avhich from time immemorial the kings of Scotland had been crowned , and
the monarchs of this country are croAvned to this day . As with St . Paul's , so Sfc . Peter ' s has had to pass through not a few vicissitudes . During the contest betAveen the Roses of York and" Lancaster , it was permitted to fall again into decay . The house of York mostly held its state afc the ToAver , so that Westminster came to be looked upon as a suburb . Westminster Abbey seems hoAvever to have been , spared the gross and sacrilegious desecration Avhich befell St . Paul ' s . This is not wonderful Avhen Ave consider the
great events of Avhich it has been the scene , and the great men of Avhom it is the resting place . Here it was that the laws Avere promulgated—that the king SAVOI-C fealty to his people in return for the allegiance ho claimed . Here the churchman had invoked upon the multitude the blessing of the redeeming faith , and the martyr went boldly to the
torture , having refreshed his fortitude by a prayer for divine aid . It would bo impossible in our space to attempt an enumeration of the various objects of interest Avhich are to be found in this abbey , or to name the great persons Avhose mortal frames moulder beneath its stony floor . The church as Ave have saidis in the form of a crossbut its
proper , , , eastern end is surrounded by chapels , each of which embraces a distinct history , and a special interest , and each varies iu architectural shape and proportions . Formerly there Avere fourteen of the accessory buildings , but there still remain tAvelve , of which that built by Henry VII . is the best known , and Avhich for richness and beauty stands out conspicuously
from the rest . In these mortuary mansions are p laced the dust of royalty and nobility . All around us and under our feet are the insignia of departed renown . The poet ' s lyretuneless reposes in its humble corner , its laurel wreath broAvn ancl damp , its wires snapped by the frost and neglect of many years . The sAvord of the Avarrior rusts , ancl the voice ofthe
senator , though still heard in the busy market , and in the distant colony , is silent here . What a world of daring , of knowledge , of skill , of subtle Avisdom , of prosperity deserved and undeserved , of misfortune rightfully or wrongfully * Philips and Stuart ' s History and Architecture of AVestminster Abbey .