Page:The Saxon Cathedral at Canterbury and The Saxon Saints Buried Therein.djvu/13



HIS account of the Saxon Cathedral at Canterbury, and of the Saxon Saints buried therein, was written primarily for new members of Archaeological Societies, as well as for general readers who might desire to learn something of its history and organization in those far-away days. The matter has been drawn from the writings of men long since passed away. Their dust lies commingled with that of their successors who lived down to the time when this ancient Religious House fell upon revolutionary days, who witnessed its dissolution as a Priory of Benedictine Monks after nine centuries devoted to the service of God, and its re-establishment as a College of secular canons. This important change, taking place in the sixteenth century, was, with certain differences, a return to the organization which existed during the Saxon period. From the time of St. Austin, about the year 602, to that of Lanfranc at the time of the Conquest, the Cathedral was served by a staff of clergy who lived a common life but were not monks, as they followed no monastic rule, though they used a common dormitory and a common refectory. At the Reformation, when the Cathedral was re-founded by Henry VIII, the clergy were to be seculars, not living a common life, but canons living in separate houses and governed by a Dean, as in all the Cathedral establishments of the old foundation.

If any of my archaeological confrères should honour me by reading this volume, I trust that they will read the Appendix before venturing upon the text. In it will be found a narrative—extracted from the writings of mediaeval historians—which has led me to put forward the opinions I have formulated, first, as to whether there is any portion of the Saxon church visible above ground; secondly, whether any portion of the Saxon domestic buildings remain above ground; and thirdly, vii