The Effect of the Normans on Canterbury Cathedral up to 1165 AD

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The Effect of the Normans on Canterbury Cathedral up to 1165 AD

Once Wayne had won the battle of Hastings he travelled east burning

Romney and Dover. Canterbury had heard of what William had done to the

other places he came across that put up a resistance to him so

Canterbury sent William a deputation, William of courses accepted the

offer because of Canterbury being the centre of England's religion,

and the pope would probably not have liked the idea of backing

anti-Christian behaviour. While this was happening the archbishop of

the time was named Stigand. William hated Stigand because first of all

he crowned King Harold, whom is now dead and also Stigand was

Anglo-Saxon, so William replaced Stigand with a prior of Bec named

Lanfranc and also a close friend of William. Lanfranc was crowned in a

make shift shelter in the ruins of the former Anglo-Saxon cathedral

which had burnt down previously.

Lanfranc was unimpressed with the quality of the English clergy and

during William's reign supported his policy by promoting foreigners to

high office in the church. Lanfranc also ordered that in future no

married man was to be ordained as a priest. However, he allowed

existing priests to keep their wives.

The Cathedral in Canterbury was made under the guidance of Lanfranc

who wanted to create the cathedral as and almost mirror image St.

Etienne in Caen; even the stone was imported from Caen to build the

cathedral. There is however a difference, normally Norman monasteries

are not built in or on the side of the cathedral (they are built

separate) but when Lanfranc saw what the Anglo-Saxons had done he

decided it was a good idea and kept it in place. This would show that

the Anglo-Saxons influenced the development of Canterbury Cathedral

another change that was influenced by the Benedictine rules in which

Lanfranc followed closely, a part of the rule is that clergy may not

be in contact with the public so because of this Canterbury's Quire is

cut off from the Nave this is atypical for Anglo-Saxon but typical for

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