Thoughts at Windsor Castle and Westminster Abby

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Westminster Abby (no pictures of inside allowed)
* ridiculously tall ceilings! stonework is exquisite!
*the Chapel of the "Order of the Knights of Bath"- knights who are installed are given a stall/chair with a plaque of their coat of arms attached, head piece and flag hang above. When they die, the plaque stays and the rest is returned to their family. Every four years, new knights are installed
*names I recognized in the Dead Poets' Corner- Jane Austen (not actually buried here), William Shakespeare, Geoffry Chauser, Robert Browing, John Masefield, Lewis Caroll, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling, George Hangel, Emily Bronte, Dr Johnson
*Oliver Cromwell lead civil war against the monarch and became Lord Protector for 5 years (until his death). He was buried in Westminster Abbey, which would be similar to Darwin being buried in a church! After the royals returned to power, however, they had his corpse dug up, hung in chains, and beheaded.


Took the train from Paddington Station to Windsor Castle
*the King's Chamber was not used as hid bedroom but as a ceremonial setting for waking up and meetings with advisors
*the reason there are so many chimneys in London is every room had a fireplace!
*Peter Bruegel "The Massacre of the Innocents"
-Originally painted around 1567, it was subsequently changed by the owner who was shocked at the brutality and realistic portrayal of violence. The original scenes of infants being hurled around, slaughtered and mourned by their screaming mothers, were replaced by indeterminate packages and animals.
*In St George's Chapel, Princess Charlotte's Memorial is one of the most beautiful things I've seen. The stone work is incredibly detailed! The carved marble looks like real sheets, gently hanging across her lap
*In the banquet hall, the walls and ceiling are covered with shields of coat of arms of the knights, past and present. If they've done something dishonorable, their shield is whited out, but left up to remind others what not to do.
*as a child, Queen Elizabeth was called 'Lilibet"


Tonight at class, we talked about Dicken's "Bleak House" (which we read while on the train) and his poem "Night Walks". In Bleak House, we noticed that there is a lack of verbs and verbs of being and that he uses unusually short sentences. His imagery and descriptions create a snap shot and his personification makes London come alive. By capturing something in art or words, it elevates its status. In group work, we analyzed "Night Walks" and discussed how places are connected and what they add to the journey.

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