St Augustine's Abbey

The St. Augustine Abbey in Canterbury was founded in 597 or shortly thereafter by Augustine of Canterbury, and is the first monastery in southern England and the first foundation of the Benedictine outside of continental Europe. Since 1988, the abbey belongs together with the Cathedral and the St. Martin's Church in Canterbury World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

History

Augustine was a monk of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Andrew on the Caelian Hill in Rome, by Gregory I had been founded a few years before his election as pope. However, there are, as David Knowles points out, some legitimate doubt that St. Andrew's has adhered strictly to Benedict's rule, since it was quite common at the time this rule to be provided with your own parts, which emphasize, for example, the liturgy more.

After Gregory became pope, he received the request of King Aethelberht from Kent, missionaries to send to him. Gregor was on Augustine and other monks of the Abbey of St. Andrew the order to move to England, where they arrived 597. For the accompanying monks Aethelberht was a Peter and Paul church dedicated to build, which then belonged to the newly founded monastery. The monastery became a grave place of the kings of Kent and the Archbishops of Canterbury.

The connection to Italy was also maintained later. So Wilfrid traveled, originally a monk of Lindisfarne, and his friend Biscop from Northumbria to Rome. Biscop remained then for two years at the Abbey of Lérins on the island of Saint- Honorat, where she learned the monastic life after Benedict's rule to know in detail. Later, on his second trip back to Rome, sent by Pope Theodore of Tarsus Vitalian together with, the future Archbishop of Canterbury, to England. After arriving in Canterbury 669 Biscop was abbot of the Abbey and led the Rule of Benedict, indicating in particular the liturgy and the study were given greater weight. After two years Biscop traveled a second time to Rome and founded upon his return to his homeland in the north, the Benedictine monasteries of Wearmouth ( 674 ) and Yarrow ( 685 ). This was the starting point of a development in which the abbeys of the Benedictines in England came to a special flower that culminated in the 8th century, when parts of continental Europe were missionary from England (such as Boniface ) and Willibald, an English Benedictine monk, even the head monastery of the Benedictines of Montecassino helped to a spiritual renewal.

In the year 978 the church and so the monastery was dedicated to the now sainted founder and first Archbishop of Canterbury Augustine.

At the abbey was the grange Salmstone. 1027 also Benedictine Abbey Minster was struck by King Canute the Great St. Augustine. Founded in 1137 by Abbot Hugh the Hospital of St. Laurence, which included a chaplain, a managing director and 16 brothers and sisters. The management of the hospital was taken over by a prioress later. In 1535 worked in the hospital next to the Prioress seven sisters and a priest.

The abbey also had later despite the arrival of the Cistercians ( 1128 founding of Waverley was ) not a few monks. In 1146 the monastery was one of 61 monks. Later the number increased to 84 in 1423. And the John Prior Dygon one of the few composers of the Tudor period was known.

At the time of the Reformation led by resolution on 30 July 1538 was by the abbot for 30 monks. The last abbot did not oppose the resolution, but instead tried with Thomas Cromwell to find the best possible agreement that supplied his monks and him as possible. The Hospital of St. Laurence was only resolved in 1557 and had at this time in addition to the Prioress only two sisters.

Architecture

As excavations prove this first church, or at least still being built in the early Christian era church was one for Quadratbau shortened Basilica Byzantine type, as he is about yet to find the Trier Cathedral today and at that time was not unusual even in Rome. To the Byzantine style was also a porch on the west side. From the excavations indicate that this early church, as is also possessed of Reculver, such a porch on each of the four sides. This served as suspected brown, the improved weather protection.

From the cloister from the 10th century and thus the oldest of England foundation walls are still preserved. Unlike elsewhere in the northern countries the usual cloister lay to the north of the church. Around 1100, the church was rebuilt according to the models of French architecture with an apse and three apses arising therefrom.

Library

The abbey had a very extensive library from which to date is just over 250 manuscripts have been preserved. The stock is now widely scattered to nearly thirty libraries, of which those who own British Library Bodleian Library at Oxford University and not less than six colleges at the University of Cambridge larger part of collections. Not a few manuscripts are outside of England. So is a native of St. Augustine copy of a work by Gervase of Tilbury in the Herzog August Library in Wolfenbüttel.

The basis for the library already put Augustine when he took several volumes from Italy to Canterbury. Of this was a Gospel book of Italian hands from the 6th century. The book is now part of inventory of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. However, it is still connected to Canterbury, as the Archbishop of Canterbury would do his oath of office on. Additional collections of the early Middle Ages has a gospel from the 8th century, the counts for possession of the British Library, of which but a sheet was separated for the Cathedral to Canterbury.