My Big Fat Family Tree: A Genealogical Quest Through Europe: Abbeys, Cathedrals and Walls

Today was our last day in England and what better way to end it than by touring a 900 year old abbey, a 979 year old cathedral and an almost 2000 year old wall? Outside of the small town of Ripon is the ruins of the 900 something year old Cistercian Fountains Abbey. It is huge. It was formed by thirteen monks who were expelled from St. Mary's Abbey (Benedictine) after a riot broke out in 1132. When they were unable to return, they were taken under the protection of the Archbishop of York, who gave them land along the River Skell to build their own monastery. They joined the Cistercian order of monks. Fountains Abbey grew from the endowments of generous donors and became very wealthy, which is clear by its incredible size and architectural design...large windows, arches and doorways. It was actually the richest Cistercian monastery in England. The Abbey was in operation for about 400 years until Henry VIII shut it down in 1539. Fun fact, some parts of The Secret Garden were filmed here. What is so incredible to me is that despite having been more or less left alone for 400 years after it's closing, the Abbey is still remarkably "intact." You can still clearly see how grand the church was, you can walk in the cellarium, see where the abbots house and infirmary, and clearly imagine what it was like in its full majesty before 1539.

Durham Cathedral is in Durham, England. It was built in the 10th century. Viking raids caused the monks of Lindisfarne to flee their monastery, taking with them the coffin (and remains) of St. Cuthbert. They traveled for seven years until they settled and established a new community in Chester-le-street. But in 995 they were forced to move once again with St. Cuthbert's remains because of more Viking invasions. According to legend, the monks were following two dairy maids when suddenly St. Cuthbert's coffin became immovable and the monks took it as a sign that this place (Durham) was where they should build their new community. First they built a shrine, then a wooden church followed by a stone church. The current cathedral that can be seen today was built by a bishop who had been appointed by William the Conqueror. Construction began in 1093 and was completed in 1140. What is so cool, at least to me, is that the Venerable Bede is buried here. That's right, the guy who wrote the first history of England. I got to see his tomb. I had to hold in my squeals of excitement! Behind the high altar lies the body of St. Cuthbert. Talk about chills! I wish I could have taken pictures of the inside, but you weren't allowed so just take my word for it...the cathedral is amazingly beautiful! The woodwork, the stained glass, the carvings on the pillars, the cavernous ceiling...it's magnificent! What is also very cool is that on the northern door of the cathedral is a sanctuary knocker. If someone had committed a grave offense, all he had to do was to put his hand on that knocker and knock on the door. He would be given 37 days of sanctuary during which he could try to reconcile with his enemies or plan an escape. The individual was given a black robe with a cross sewn on the shoulder signifying that he was under the protection of God. He was given a place to sleep, food and drink, but was kept apart from the rest of the church in an enclosure until arrangements could be made to move him out of the diocese. The Right to Sanctuary was abolished in 1624. Fun fact, the cathedral was featured in the Harry Potter movies. A spire was digitally added on top of the towers.

In 122 AD, the Roman emperor Hadrian began the construction of a 72 mile long wall that stretched across the northern part of what is today England. It is now known as Hadrian's Wall. There are several theories as to why he had the wall built, one is to defend the empire from the northern Brits, those barbarians who, although he had conquered, had a nasty habit of rebelling. Another is that it would have provided a better control on immigration, customs and smuggling. A final theory, of course, is simply to show the strength of the Roman Empire. After Hadrian's death, the new emperor, Antoninus Pius began building a new wall almost 100 miles north in the Scottish lowlands. He was never able to conquer the Celtic tribes and by the time Marcus Aurelius ascended as emperor, the wall was abandoned and Hadrian's Wall was re-fortified for defense. The Romans eventually left Britian without ever having fully conquered those pesky British tribes.