England

Tuesday, June 3

The Roman army withdrew from Londinium in the early 400s. England was at the very edge of the Empire and the troops were needed to defend territory closer to home. The protection of the soldiers and the laws of the politicians were no more, so the region was thrown into chaos. Strong leaders arose and the land was divided into kingdoms, like the legendary Arthur who was probably based on a real king. There were migrations from Germany, raids from Vikings, and the slow spread of Christianty. This was the Anglo-Saxon period. For history lovers, I feel the need to apologize. I'm going to skip that era. Unfortunately, there are little remains in London from that time. There's a stone wall here and there, but not enough sites to wrap into a fruitful discussion. (The exception is Westminster Palace and Abbey by Edward the Confessor, which we will talk about later.)

We'll fast forward to 1066 and one of the city's most famous landmarks, the Tower of London.

Here's where it gets tricky. The Tower has over one thousand years of history. It was a fortress, a palace, a prison, and even a zoo. Today, it is the home of the Crown Jewels. For our purposes, we're going to focus on only one part. The center of it all, the White Tower.    

It was the Battle of Hastings that occurred in 1066. William the Conqueror was victorious thus granting him control over all of England. He constructed many fortifications to consolidate his power and discourage rebellions. This was one of them.

It served its purpose well. William remained in power and he became the catalyst for the entire royal line. That means the current King Charles III can trace his lineage all the way back to him. 

There's another location a few miles away where we can find more remains of that period: Temple Church.

Not only is it old, but it was built by the Knights Templar. They were the secretive sect of monastic soldiers who protected pilgrims on their journeys to the Holy Land. How can we identify the connection? 

The design is based on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Just as Jesus' tomb lies beneath the Dome of the Anastasis, the knights placed their burials in the same location, in deference to their savior. This is what it looks like from above and then close up.

History allows us to make connections, even a 1000 years ago and 2000 miles away.

For my final destination of the day, I returned to the Tower of London at dusk, after all the tourists had gone.

The Ceremony of the Keys is a ritual that has occured each night for last 700 years. Planning ahead allowed me to be among the few permitted to witness it.

Beginning at 9:52 PM, the Chief Yeoman Warder locks the Tower, assuring the treasures within are safe. We were not allowed to take photos, but you can click here to see a video. Here was my view after the ceremony concluded -- locked within the Tower grounds.

Goodnight London!

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