“What did they do to those three Normans?” demanded John indignantly.
“Nothing. I believe they went free. But Henry II himself tried to atone for the deed in doing penance by walking barefooted to Canterbury and Becket’s shrine. Come, let’s go outside now.”
They then wandered about the precincts of the cathedral, pausing by some lovely, ruined arches which tell of an ancient monastery. Everywhere stretch smooth lawns, with grand old trees, and here and there the houses of those connected with the church. Also, very close by stands the King’s School, which was founded by Archbishop Theodore in the seventh century, ‘for the study of Greek,’ and later refounded by Henry VIII. Here that famous Canterbury boy, Christopher Marlowe, was educated. The school is well worth a visit, if only to see the beautiful outside Norman stairway.
Mrs. Pitt next led the way down Mercery Lane, at the corner of which stood The Chequers of Hope, the inn where Chaucer’s pilgrims put up.
“You remember the old gate by which we entered the town yesterday,” said Mrs. Pitt. “Well, under that same arch came the pilgrims as they approached from London. Although the city-wall then boasted twenty-one towers and six gates, the West Gate is the only remaining bit. Here, at the inn which stood conveniently near the cathedral, the pilgrims stayed, and in Mercery Lane they bought their souvenirs,—probably rosaries or phials of Holy Water. At the further end of the Lane stood the ancient rush-market. Rushes were then in great demand, you recollect, for people used them to strew over their floors.”
One might stay on indefinitely in Canterbury, and still not discover all its treasures and interesting nooks and corners. The streets are narrow, crooked, and contain many very old houses. There is at Canterbury a castle; one may see the ruins of St. John’s Hospital, and of St. Sepulchre’s Nunnery, where Elizabeth Barton, the “Holy Maid of Kent,” once lived; the old gate of St. Augustine’s Monastery still stands, though it is now restored; by exploring, traces of the city-wall may be found, and the weavers’ houses which hang over the little river offer a delightful view. Interest is endless in Canterbury. But as it is impossible to see it all, especially in limited time, the visitor usually seeks out the best known and most famous places; and surely, after the great cathedral itself, ranks St. Martin’s Church.
A little way out of the town, and up against a sunny hillside, is this tiny “Mother Church of England.” Imbedded in the rough stone of the square, Norman tower are the huge stems of giant vines. Altogether, a more primitive, ancient appearing building cannot well be imagined.
“Well,” remarked Betty impressively, “this is the very oldest place we’ve been in yet. It makes me feel as Stonehenge did, somehow.”
“Yes, that’s true,” assented Mrs. Pitt. “The two places do give you similar sensations. It’s simply that you feel the age. I’ve always thought that if I were suddenly blindfolded, carried away, and set down in St. Martin’s Church at Canterbury, that I should know where I was just from the atmosphere, which is so heavy with the weight of the years.”
It is claimed for St. Martin’s that it is the most ancient church in all England, a land filled with ancient churches. It is in the vicinity of sixteen hundred years old, for Bede states that it was built while the Romans were still in possession, and certain it is that numerous Roman bricks may be seen to this day in the outer wall. The church was perhaps erected for the use of Queen Bertha, whose husband, Ethelbert, King of Kent, was also converted to Christianity, and baptized here. After the arrival of St. Augustine, it is believed that he and his followers came here to worship. Inside, the little church is a curious conglomeration of different styles of architecture; here a Roman doorway, there a Norman, and here an ancient Saxon arch. Some of the relics in the church are the Saxon font, built of twenty-two separate stones, a tomb which has been called that of Queen Bertha, and two Elizabethan brasses. The party found a most excellent and intelligent guide, a woman, who showed them the vessel which held the Holy Oil (a very valuable thing), and the “leper’s squint,” a slit in the wall to which the unfortunate sick men were allowed to come and listen to the service.