Historical Description of Westminster Abbey, Its Monuments and CuriositiesAnonymous
History
Historical Description of Westminster Abbey, Its Monuments and Curiosities
Anonymous
Westminster Abbey
Above those chairs, along the frieze of the screen of this Chapel, are
fourteen legendary sculptures, respecting the Confessor. The first is the
trial of Queen Emma; the next the birth of Edward; another is his
coronation; the fourth tells us how our saint was frightened into the
abolition of the Dean-gelt, by his seeing the devil dance upon the money
casks; the fifth is the story of his winking at the thief, who was robbing
his treasure; the sixth is meant to relate the appearance of our Saviour
to him; the seventh shows how the invasion of England was frustrated by
the drowning of the Danish King; in the eighth is seen the quarrel between
the boys Totsi and Harold, predicting their respective fates; in the ninth
sculpture is the Confessor's vision of the seven sleepers; the tenth, how
he met St. John the Evangelist in the guise of a pilgrim; the eleventh,
how the blind were cured by their eyes being washed in his dirty water;
the twelfth, how St. John delivers to the pilgrims a ring; in the
thirteenth they deliver the ring to the King, which he had unknowingly
given to St. John as an alms, when he met him in the form of a pilgrim;
this was attended with a message from the saint, foretelling the death of
the King; and the fourteenth shows the consequential haste made by him to
complete his pious foundation.
Before leaving this Chapel you will observe a large plain tomb, composed
of five slabs of grey marble; two make the sides, two the ends, and one
the cover. This rough unpolished tomb enclosed the body of the glorious
King EDWARD I., of whom we have just been speaking. He was son of Henry
III., and born at Westminster, June 17, 1239, named Edward, in honour of
St. Edward, his father's patron and predecessor, and afterwards
Longshanks, from his tall and slender body. He is called Edward I.,
because he was the first of that name after the Conquest. He died July 7,
1307, after a reign of thirty-four years, and a life of sixty-eight. This
tomb was opened in 1774, by permission of Dr. Thomas, then Dean of
Westminster, granted to the Society of Antiquaries, a deputation of whom,
with the Dean, attended the process. The body was perfect, having on two
robes, one of gold and silver tissue, and the other of crimson velvet; a
sceptre in each hand, measuring near five feet; a crown on his head, and
many jewels; he measured six feet two inches.
Near this tomb is a large stone, plated with brass, to the memory of JOHN
of WALTHAM, the twenty-sixth Bishop of Salisbury, anno 1388. He was master
of the Rolls in 1382, then Keeper of the Privy Seal, in the year 1391, and
died Lord High Treasurer of England to Richard II., in 1395.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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