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Line 1: − + + + + + + + + + + + + + − Canterbury is the seat of the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], the spiritual leader of the [[Church of England]] and the most senior bishop in the [[Anglican Communion]]. The cathedral became a major site of [[pilgrimage]] after the murder and subsequent burial there of the medieval archbishop [[Thomas Becket]]. {{fact}} − [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]'s ''[[Canterbury Tales]]'', the first major literary work written in the English language, is a collection of tales told by [[pilgrimage|pilgrims]] on their way to Canterbury. + +
Replaced stub
'''Canterbury''' is an historic city in east [[Kent]] in South East [[England]].
'''Canterbury''' (derivation from ''Cantwaraburg'' = fortress of the people of [[Kent]] – from the Old-Celtic for Kent + O.E. wara = people + burg (fortified place)) is a [[cathedral]] town in [[Kent]][[England]] on the River Stour, 100km (60 miles) southeast of [[London]].
It is very old and was an important [[Iron Age]] settlement when the [[Roman]]s arrived and made it a regional centre (Durovernum) in the 1st century A.D., There is evidence of its importance throughout the Roman occupation until the turn of the fifth century – including walls, temples and, possibly, early [[Christian]] churches which may have existed into the early [[Anglo-Saxon]] era. One such church, St. Martin’s was included with the cathedral and St. Augustine’s Abbey as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988.
It became the capital of the [[pagan]] kingdom of Kent; at that time the most powerful in the lower half of England. In 602 St. Augustine of Canterbury, under the patronage of the Kentish king’s Christian wife, founded a church and monastery there and it is from there that [[Christianity]] spread through Anglo-Saxon England. When Kent lost its dominance, first to [[East Anglia]] then to [[Wessex]], the [[Diocese|See]] of Canterbury retained its position as the leading centre of the Church in England. This would continue with the post-[[Reformation]] [[Church of England]].
The town would prosper with its ecclesiastical importance. Centuries before the cathedral became one of the most important places of pilgrimage after the murder of [[Thomas Becket]] in 1170, the pre-eminence of such men as [[St. Dunstan]] in the 10th century, [[St. Anselm]] (d.1109) and others brought patronage to the town.
Construction of the present Canterbury Cathedral began in 1070. Parts were rebuilt after a fire in 1174 with the reconstruction focused on the “pilgrim trade”. The town suffered relatively little from [[Henry VIII]]'s [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|actions]] during the Reformation, then continued to grow as the centre of the Anglican communion.
The ancient centre of the town was extensively damaged by bombing during [[World War II]] but enough remains for it to warrant the constant stream of visitors it receives.
Its literary fame is secure as the destination of the pilgrims in [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]’s ''"Canterbury Tales"''.
[[Category:United Kingdom Cities and Towns]]
[[Category:United Kingdom Cities and Towns]]
Reference: ''”Brewer’s England and Ireland”'' 2005. p198