This fence is where they post Cambridge student's exam grades... They are one of the last Universities to publicly display results in such a fashion. Can you imagine! Now onto a slightly different story. Right behind where I took this picture is Saint Mary's Church. It is Cambridge University's church. To fulfill you residency requirement for school, you must live within ten miles of the church bells. During Henry VIII's reign, Cardinal Wolsey burned Martin Luther's books in front of this very church, in the space I am standing. Whenever I thought of Henry VIII, I thought of him being protestant, but from what I am learning, he was still very much Catholic. He despised Luther's teachings. Upon writing a book in defense of the Catholic Faith (before his infamous break with Rome), the Pope granted Henry the title, "Defender of the Faith". After the break, he continued to use the title, and it remains with the English monarchs today.
The two images below were taken in front of Trinity College, the college established by Henry VIII. Although there are very few Tudor structures remaining in London (because of the great fire), there are still quite a lot through out Cambridge. This school remains a great example of the Tutor style. You can clearly see Henry VIII represented. Years ago, Henry held a golden scepter, but it was stollen and replaced with a chair leg. The story goes that the chair leg was later stolen, and the school asked for it back. Trinity College is known for its massive wealth. It remains one of the largest landowners through out England. My professor also informed us that it bought the new Olympic Stadium in London.
When Henry VII (Henry VIII's father) came into power after seizing it from Richard III, he wanted to legitimize him right to the throne because he had a pretty weak stance at that point. From what I understand, the two competing families for the throne were the House of Lancaster and the House of York. Henry VII was a decedent from the House of Lancaster. He then married a woman, Elizabeth, from the House of York (mom, if you read this, if you remember the two little boys who were likely killed at the Tower of London, Henry married their sister, and Richard III was their uncle....). From this marriage, he united the two houses. The Red Rose of Lancaster was united with the White Rose of York, and to symbolize this, Henry VII very publicly displayed the Tudor Rose, a red and white flower. Once you know this, you see these roses everywhere. In an age when illiteracy was the norm, nonwritten symbols became hugely important. Henry VII's reign is really defined by a desire to gain legitimacy as King. Below is a tudor rose in front of another entrance of Trinity College.
My professor also took us inside of King's College to see the chapel. The chapel was started much earlier in the reign of Henry VI, but was restarted again during the reign of Henry VII, and finished during the time of Henry VIII. Because of this, it is covered in Tudor symbolism. So this chapel has a huge history. The stain glassed windows are still the originals from the Tudor era! When England largely converted from Catholic to Anglican, the stained glass windows were usually destroyed because they are considered to be very catholic. When Oliver Cromwell came into power, he stationed his troops inside King's College Chapel. He was going to destroy the windows, but the troops complained it would be too cold, so they left them intact. The professor showed us some graffiti left over from his troops.
During World War II, they were worried that the bombing may hurt the stained glass windows, so they removed all of them and placed them in the basement and even sent some home with the fellows of King's College. In the process, they forgot to write down where each of the pieces went, so after the war it became one man's job to recreate the windows the best he could. The ceiling is most definitely one of the most beautiful things about the chapel.
I didn't good a good picture of it, but in the middle of the chapel, there is this giant screen with an organ built into it. Henry VIII made it for Anne Boleyn. Within the wood, there is an H A, for Henry and Anne. For me, its very odd. I mean, this relationship contributed to Henry's terrible treatment of Catherine of Aragon, the execution of Thomas Moore, the monumental split with Rome, Anne Boleyn's own execution only a few years later, and thereafter years of religious strife through out England. Yet, this symbol of his passion for her remains in this beautiful church hundreds of years later. It's pretty crazy. My professor said that when Elizabeth I went to visit Cambridge, she went inside the organ tower and just sat up there during the service. She commented on how weird Elizabeth must have felt knowing that her father had built it for her mother.
Well, I need to stop writing and start reading for class and packing for London. I can't imagine how dull this post would have been for those of you who aren't very into history...
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