2004 Programme

Medieval Pilgrimage - "Itinerary"

We offer a unique combination of lectures, presentations, and guided visits to major historical sites in Sussex, Kent, and culminating in Canterbury, the premier pilgrimage destination in medieval Britain.
The first part of our trip is based in the 15th-century Herstmonceux Castle near the Southeastern coast of England, in the heart of '1066 Country' where William the Conqueror landed during his bid for the English throne. From the castle, which is the first brick castle in England and now houses a fully functioning university campus and conference centre, we will explore the path of the Normans as they moved in following the Battle of Hastings. The abbey at Battle, built as a penance by William for his role in the bloodshed of the battle, commemorates the exact site where the English army led by Harold fell.
The second part of the course is based in Canterbury at the County Hotel located right in the pedestrianised High Street of the city. We will visit the many sites in Canterbury associated with the earliest Christian holy shrines - St. Martin of Tours church, where the Frankish Christian queen of Kent, Bertha, and her Frankish retinue worshipped even before the English were converted to Christianity. St. Augustine's Abbey, built just outside the Roman city walls to house the large community of Benedictine monks who had come from Rome to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons. Your tour organiser and leader is Professor Monica Sandor, a medieval historian trained at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, University of Toronto and now working at the International Academy for Spirituality in Brussels, Belgium.