Anglo Saxon churches

Churches Very few remains are readily found outside museums. This is partly due to the habit the Saxons had of building with impermanent materials (wood), and partly to the very nasty habits of the Viking raiders (they burned down everything in sight). Most of what remains is therefore from the post Viking times of the 10th and 11th centuries. One exception is:…

Churches - Many English churches have bits and pieces of earlier Saxon buildings contained within their walls. Literally within their walls. Saxon (and Roman) stones were used to build medieval churches. If you want to be a real historical detective, look for the rough hewn Saxon stones amid the later work. They are most common around windows and door openings (look for round or triangular headed openings). Many churches also have Saxon foundations supporting a newer structure.

Monks A monk, in modern parlance also referred to as a "monastic", is a person who practices religious studies, the conditioning of mind and body in favour of the spirit, and does so living either alone or with any number of like- minded people, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many religions and in philosophy. In the Greek language the term can apply to men or women; but in modern English it is in use only for men, while nun is used for female monastics. Although the term monarchs-“monk” is of Christian origin, in the English language it tends to be used analogously or loosely also for ascetics from other religious or philosophical backgrounds. The term "monk" is generic. In some religious or philosophical traditions it therefore may be considered interchangeable with other generic terms such as ascetic. However, being generic, it is not interchangeable with terms that denote particular kinds of monk, such as cenobite, hermit, anchorite, hesychast, solitary.