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Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and Blessed Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England cathedral in Worcester, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Worcester and is the mother church of the diocese of Worcester; it is administered by its dean and chapter. The cathedral is a grade I listed building and part of a scheduled monument.
The cathedral was founded in 680. The earliest surviving fabric dates from 1084, when the cathedral was rebuilt in the Romanesque style by Bishop Wulfstan. The chapter house dates from 1120, and the nave was extended in the 1170s. Between 1224 and 1269 the east end was rebuilt in the Early English Gothic style. The remainder of the nave was rebuilt in the 1360s, and the "exquisite" central tower completed in 1374. The cathedral retains a set of medieval misericords, now set into Victorian choir stalls; the cathedral was heavily restored in the nineteenth century, and contains a set of furnishings by George Gilbert Scott. It contains several funerary monuments, including those of King John; Arthur, Prince of Wales; and the prime minister Stanley Baldwin.
The cathedral was founded in 680, with a Northumbrian priest, Tatwine, appointed as its first bishop. Tatwine died before he could be consecrated, however, so his successor Bishop Bosel may be regarded as Worcester's first serving bishop. The first cathedral church, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, was built in this period, but no remains of its architecture survive. The crypt of the present-day cathedral dates from the 11th century and the time of Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester.
The community associated with the cathedral in the early eighth century included members of various clerical orders. The cathedral community was regulated along formal monastic lines as a consequence of the Benedictine reforms in the second half of the tenth century (one author gives the time range 974–977; another considers 969 more likely). There is an important connection with Fleury Abbey in France, as Oswald, bishop of Worcester from 961 to 992, was professed at Fleury and introduced the monastic rule of Fleury to the monastery that he established at Worcester around the year 966, which was dedicated – as the present cathedral church is – to St. Mary.
Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester, was the last surviving Anglo-Saxon bishop, living until 1095. He was later made a saint. The cathedral is the burial place of King John, who died in 1216.
The cathedral priory, one of a number of religious institutions in the city, was a major landowner and economic force, in both Worcester and the county. Its properties included the priory manor of Bromsgrove. It was a centre of learning, providing schooling, and was associated with hospitals. The Church received a portion of local taxations, and administered ecclesiastical law as applied to Christian morals, which could result in punishments. It had close political associations with leading gentry and aristocracy. It thus had a central role in the medieval life of the city and county.
The Diocese was notably hostile to the small Jewish community in Worcester. Peter of Blois was commissioned by a Bishop of Worcester, probably John of Coutances, to write a significant anti-Judaic treatise Against the Perfidy of Jews around 1190. William de Blois, as Bishop of Worcester, imposed particularly strict rules on Jews within the diocese in 1219. As elsewhere in England, Jews were officially compelled to wear rectangular white badges, supposedly representing tabulae.[clarification needed] In most places, this requirement was waived as long as fines were paid. In addition to enforcing the church laws on wearing badges, Blois tried to impose additional restrictions on usury, and wrote to Pope Gregory IX in 1229 to ask for better enforcement and further, harsher measures. In response, the Papacy demanded that Christians be prevented from working in Jewish homes, "lest temporal profit be preferred to the zeal of Christ", and insisted on enforcement of the wearing of badges.
The priory came to an end with King Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. Shortly beforehand, in 1535, the prior William More resigned, and was replaced by Henry Holbeach. More had a reputation for fine living, although his standards seem in line with other senior ecclesiasts of the time. However, there certainly were problems with the administration of the priory, including divisions within the community.
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Worcester Cathedral AI simulator
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Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and Blessed Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England cathedral in Worcester, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Worcester and is the mother church of the diocese of Worcester; it is administered by its dean and chapter. The cathedral is a grade I listed building and part of a scheduled monument.
The cathedral was founded in 680. The earliest surviving fabric dates from 1084, when the cathedral was rebuilt in the Romanesque style by Bishop Wulfstan. The chapter house dates from 1120, and the nave was extended in the 1170s. Between 1224 and 1269 the east end was rebuilt in the Early English Gothic style. The remainder of the nave was rebuilt in the 1360s, and the "exquisite" central tower completed in 1374. The cathedral retains a set of medieval misericords, now set into Victorian choir stalls; the cathedral was heavily restored in the nineteenth century, and contains a set of furnishings by George Gilbert Scott. It contains several funerary monuments, including those of King John; Arthur, Prince of Wales; and the prime minister Stanley Baldwin.
The cathedral was founded in 680, with a Northumbrian priest, Tatwine, appointed as its first bishop. Tatwine died before he could be consecrated, however, so his successor Bishop Bosel may be regarded as Worcester's first serving bishop. The first cathedral church, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, was built in this period, but no remains of its architecture survive. The crypt of the present-day cathedral dates from the 11th century and the time of Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester.
The community associated with the cathedral in the early eighth century included members of various clerical orders. The cathedral community was regulated along formal monastic lines as a consequence of the Benedictine reforms in the second half of the tenth century (one author gives the time range 974–977; another considers 969 more likely). There is an important connection with Fleury Abbey in France, as Oswald, bishop of Worcester from 961 to 992, was professed at Fleury and introduced the monastic rule of Fleury to the monastery that he established at Worcester around the year 966, which was dedicated – as the present cathedral church is – to St. Mary.
Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester, was the last surviving Anglo-Saxon bishop, living until 1095. He was later made a saint. The cathedral is the burial place of King John, who died in 1216.
The cathedral priory, one of a number of religious institutions in the city, was a major landowner and economic force, in both Worcester and the county. Its properties included the priory manor of Bromsgrove. It was a centre of learning, providing schooling, and was associated with hospitals. The Church received a portion of local taxations, and administered ecclesiastical law as applied to Christian morals, which could result in punishments. It had close political associations with leading gentry and aristocracy. It thus had a central role in the medieval life of the city and county.
The Diocese was notably hostile to the small Jewish community in Worcester. Peter of Blois was commissioned by a Bishop of Worcester, probably John of Coutances, to write a significant anti-Judaic treatise Against the Perfidy of Jews around 1190. William de Blois, as Bishop of Worcester, imposed particularly strict rules on Jews within the diocese in 1219. As elsewhere in England, Jews were officially compelled to wear rectangular white badges, supposedly representing tabulae.[clarification needed] In most places, this requirement was waived as long as fines were paid. In addition to enforcing the church laws on wearing badges, Blois tried to impose additional restrictions on usury, and wrote to Pope Gregory IX in 1229 to ask for better enforcement and further, harsher measures. In response, the Papacy demanded that Christians be prevented from working in Jewish homes, "lest temporal profit be preferred to the zeal of Christ", and insisted on enforcement of the wearing of badges.
The priory came to an end with King Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. Shortly beforehand, in 1535, the prior William More resigned, and was replaced by Henry Holbeach. More had a reputation for fine living, although his standards seem in line with other senior ecclesiasts of the time. However, there certainly were problems with the administration of the priory, including divisions within the community.