What do you think?
Rate this book
The Early History of the Church at Canterbury: Christ Church from 597 to 1066
Now reissued in paperback, this critical study of the cathedral church of Canterbury, of its archbishops and of the community, from its foundation in AD 598 to the Norman Conquest is based on liturgical, art-historical, numismatic, architectural and archaeological evidence. An attempt is made throughout to understand the early history of the church without misleading interpretations and myths created by post-Conquest writers.
402 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1984
16 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas Brooks
23 books1 followerNicholas Peter Brooks, FBA was an English medieval historian.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 2, 2020
Nicholas Brooks, The Early History of the Church of Canterbury, 315 pages, 1996
This is a well written book with a clear flow of well researched information. An alternative title may well have been: Everything about the church of Canterbury that you ever wanted to know, but were afraid to ask.
It is in four parts: The church and its setting, The rule of the Kentish Kings, Mercian and West Saxon overlordship and Christ Church and the English Monarchy. Under these headings are various chapters that deal with developments from 597 to 1066.
This work is almost two books in one. Partly it is about the Cathedral and Monastic Communities of Canterbury, detailing their highs and lows. That is great if you are interested specifically in those aspects, but if your interest is the period as a whole it really comes into its own when dealing with the interactions between outside powers and Canterbury. You can learn a lot from this and it comprises most of the book.
Especially interesting are the sections dealing with land disputes, in particular that between Wulfred and Coenwulf which resulted in an almighty row. Brooks is very strong concerning questionable charters and there is a lot to enjoy in his dismantling of some of the more ambitious forgeries. He points out a lot of clues to their detection and it's a shame he didn't manage to fit in, '....and just one more thing, why have you anachronistically used the continental form of Oda?'
I really enjoyed the paragraphs concerning Archbishop Stigand, but was surprised that Brooks didn't go into the political circumstances surrounding the translation of St Aelfheah from London to Canterbury.
This is a solid book that you won't breeze through, but is far from being a stodgy read.
This is a well written book with a clear flow of well researched information. An alternative title may well have been: Everything about the church of Canterbury that you ever wanted to know, but were afraid to ask.
It is in four parts: The church and its setting, The rule of the Kentish Kings, Mercian and West Saxon overlordship and Christ Church and the English Monarchy. Under these headings are various chapters that deal with developments from 597 to 1066.
This work is almost two books in one. Partly it is about the Cathedral and Monastic Communities of Canterbury, detailing their highs and lows. That is great if you are interested specifically in those aspects, but if your interest is the period as a whole it really comes into its own when dealing with the interactions between outside powers and Canterbury. You can learn a lot from this and it comprises most of the book.
Especially interesting are the sections dealing with land disputes, in particular that between Wulfred and Coenwulf which resulted in an almighty row. Brooks is very strong concerning questionable charters and there is a lot to enjoy in his dismantling of some of the more ambitious forgeries. He points out a lot of clues to their detection and it's a shame he didn't manage to fit in, '....and just one more thing, why have you anachronistically used the continental form of Oda?'
I really enjoyed the paragraphs concerning Archbishop Stigand, but was surprised that Brooks didn't go into the political circumstances surrounding the translation of St Aelfheah from London to Canterbury.
This is a solid book that you won't breeze through, but is far from being a stodgy read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review