First St Paul's Cathedral, London, is completed

Literary/ Cultural Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.02: English Writing and Culture: High and Late Medieval, 1066-1485.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Rory Critten (Université de Lausanne), David Fuller (University of Durham), Natalie Hanna (University of Liverpool), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast), Jamie McKinstry (University of Durham), Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool), Sebastian Sobecki (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Domains

Religious Architecture

Dates

Date of occurrence 1314

Places

England (Location)

Resources

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The great medieval cathedral was actually the fourth church dedicated to St Paul that had stood upon the site on Ludgate Hill. The previous building had been destroyed by a huge fire in 1087, and, in response to this disaster, one of William the Conqueror's last acts as king was to commission a new cathedral, towards which he donated the stone of the destroyed Palatine Tower.

The cathedral took over a century to complete, delayed by political troubles including the 'Anarchy' of Stephen and Matilda's reigns, and damaging storms in the mid-thirteenth century. After its completion in 1314, however, it served as London's religion centre, renowned for its beautiful stained glass and awe-inspiringly long nave, until its destruction in the Great Fire of London in 1666.

The cathedral took over a…

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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "First St Paul's Cathedral, London, is completed". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 July 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=9366, accessed 06 May 2024.]

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