I went back to the
Tower of London today with Joe. And in our three or four hours there, I only repeated one exhibit from yesterday. The place is huge, and amazing. The highlight of the day was the extended skit by reenactors. They staged the capture, imprisonment, and sentencing of Sir Thomas More. Their acting was excellent, and I enjoyed following them around different areas of the tower as they performed different scenes. Afterwards we were allowed to ask questions and take pictures, so I’ve included a picture of me and Thomas. I asked him if they had to read “A Man for all Seasons” before acting in the production, and he said yes, but they also had to read the entire history as well as all the primary documents. I also told Thomas that my mom was his biggest fan, and had made me watch “A Man for All Seasons” when I was nine. Then we started talking about the formation of the Anglican church and I asked a question about the theology behind King Henry VIII taking over –everyone knows his edict in effect said that he superseded the pope. So I asked if that was just a governmental role, or if he was ever given any sort of investiture of papal infallibility or theological supremacy. Thomas was impressed with that question, and referred me to his “wife” who knew much more about it. She said the answer was no.The pictures are first, of one of the inside courtyards of the tower. Second, Sir Thomas More emerging from his cell to talk to an old university friend and a representative of the King who are about to accuse him of treason, and third, of More and me.
After the tower (as Joe said, “I think I’ve seen enough instruments of death, destruction, and torture for one day”) we walked along the North bank of the Thames for a while, until eventually hopping on a tube train and heading back home. We went to eat in a delicious Chinese restaurant, and then got ice cream at a delicious Italian gelato place around the corner which everyone has been singing the praises of. After my nutella-flavored gelato, I’m enthusiastically joining that choir.
2 comments:
Carolyn,
This relates to a couple of days ago, but Patrick Mason and I compared notes on our siblings meeting up in London. Pretty cool!
Cheryl
Carolyn,
Henry VIII was a real character. His break from Rome was the Act in Restraint of Appeals, which declared "Rex est Imperator" (the king is the emperor). The act said that England was an empire, no longer subject to political control from the Vatican, and that no cases could be appealed outside of England. Hence, a papal court could not hear the divorce case.
After More's death, Henry and Thomas Cromwell consolidated their power over the church by dissolving all the monasteries in England and putting up those properties for sale. That was 15% of the land in England. Nobility and the wealthier emerging middle class bought the real estate. Those new owners were unlikely to support a return of the status quo ante.
Also, with the monasteries no longer functioning, 10,000 priests and nuns were kicked out and told to fend for themselves. Most had nowhere to go.
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