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Published: August 7th 2007
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From Stonehenge, we went to nearby Salisbury (I'll write about Stonehenge in the next posting). It started to rain as we got out of the car (not unusual, as it has rained for part of each day since we arrived in England). The rain was the perfect setting for our walk through the Medieval part of Salisbury (I always imagine Medieval Europe as cold, damp, and bone chilling). We ran from doorway to doorway, ducking into the shelter of alleys, hoping the rain would let up. It looked so warm and cozy in the pubs, but we were on a mission to the cathedral. As you can see in the photos, Salisbury is very pretty. I loved the swans on the Avon river - haven't seen many of them since leaving Germany ten years ago.
Salisbury Cathedral was built in the 13th century and has the tallest spire (404 ft.) in England. It is a great example of early English Gothic. In France, Gothic cathedral builders tried to reach to the heavens (to the point where the churches sometimes collapsed) but in the English countryside there was plenty of room to spread out, so English cathedrals tend to be horizontal.
Swans on Avon
I hadn't seen many swans since leaving Germany in 1996 The cathedral houses one of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta (Great Charter). Jay, the history buff, was impressed. I was amazed at how incredibly small and neat the calligraphy was. This is the best preserved copy (no holes!) It's amazing that any piece of paper from 1215 still survives. In case you are a little fuzzy about English history and are scratching your head- the importance of this document is that it forced King John (one of the bad guys in the Robin Hood movies) to concede that he couldn't do anything he damned well pleased as king. His barons had certain legal rights. King John must have felt forced to sign the document, because shortly afterward, he ignored the agreement completely and tried anew to get everything his way. Still, the document set an important legal precedent and was an inspiration for English law and the American Constitution.
As we walked around the cathedral admiring the architecture and feeling the vibrations from the organ music, I noticed the brass and bronze plaques and the sculpture effigies (many were worn and damaged) of the important people who had lived and died here. There were several
plaques commemorating soldiers who had been killed during the first and second world wars. The British suffered great population and property losses in both wars- the memory of this is still very much with them. Even though America has its own history, I felt all this was my heritage, too. Without the British, we wouldn't be who we are. Malcolm, our tour guide in London, said that he thanked the ancient Romans, because without their invasion, the British wouldn't be who they are. They had a civilizing influence. Roman soldiers built cities and a network of roads. They also brought their bureaucracy. Malcolm thinks without the Romans, the Brits would still be painting themselves blue and running buck naked through woods.
The British inspired us to be stubborn and confident and have a respect (but not awe) for the law. I got to thinking about what a struggle it's been to defend this little island for more than 2000 years. More recently the invaders have been Irish terrorists and now Islamic terrorists.
As you can see in the photos, the cathedral is so huge is can make you feel quite small and somewhat insignificant in comparison to its
magnificence.
The photos of the arched walkways are the Cathedral cloister. I'd seen photos of these in art history texts and wondered if they would look as good in reallity. The idea of these famous places can loom much larger in the imagination and seem small and ordinary in reality. I wondered if I would be disappointed when I saw Stonehenge.
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