After the Norman Conquest two monastic orders headquartered in Burgundy established abbeys in Yorkshire: the Cluniacs (at Pontefract anf Monk Bretton) and the Cistercians (at Rievaulx and Fountains), In addition the first new Benedictine Abbey in the north was established in Selby by a monk from Auxerre - also in Burgundy. Peter's talk looks at the early history of these implantations and how they developed.
Views: 51 | Enquiries: 0Since retiring as a specialist in career change (job change and pre-retirement), Peter has volunteered as a guide at Fountains Abbey. He has also presented a radio programme - a History of the World Special - based on his Uncle Bryn's 5 years in prisoner-of-war camps in Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland, including 6 months in Auschwitz where, from a Red Cross postcard, one of the inmates painted a portrait in oils of Bryn's wife Peggy
Peter's talks reflect his interest in the history of Yorkshire, especially the devastation wreaked in the 12th Century by the Harrying of the North and the subsequent rebuilding, much of which was undertaken by the newly arrived monastic orders, especially the Cistercians whose abbeys (Riveaulx, Byland, Fountains, Jervaulx, Kirkstall, Sawley, Meaux and Roche), though magnificent ruins, are a reminder of their lasting influence on the Yorkshire landscape.
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