We are now only a couple of days away from the Medieval Canterbury Weekend 2024, but if you haven’t got your tickets, you still can and details of all the great lectures are at: https://ckhh.org.uk/mcw . Moreover, there will be a temporary Box Office in Augustine House throughout the Weekend where tickets can be purchased using either cash or card. Also on sale will be our lovely souvenir brochure, again for either cash or card payment. This will be located next to the special CCCU Medieval Canterbury Weekend Bookstall.

Due to things being rather busy, I thought this week just a short blog would be good and it as an opportunity to highlight upcoming events. Firstly, please see Kent Maps Online’s annual symposium organised by Professor Carolyn Oulton and Michelle Crowther. This will be taking place on Thursday 25 April entitled ‘All Change! Place and Modernity‘ between 10am and 3.30pm in Verena Holmes VH2.39 in the morning and Augustine House, AH3.31 in the afternoon. The event is free and a place can be booked at: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/arts-and-culture/event-details.aspx?instance=448006 and Carolyn and Michelle will be delighted to see you.

Moving into May, I thought I would mention an event taking place at the Centre for Medieval & Early Modern Studies at the University of Kent, before three events in one week involving our CCCU Centre for Kent History and Heritage. Firstly, the MEMS Renaissance Lecture at Kent this year will be given by Professor Kenneth Fincham, who I am sure is known to many of you. This free lecture will be on Thursday 9 May at 5pm in the Templeman Lecture Theatre. His title is: ‘Charles II: Conformity, Toleration and Supremacy’ and Professor Fincham will explore Charles II’s active supremacy, the problems he faced in handling religious pluralism and the mixed success that he enjoyed. As he says, “Charles II is often regarded as a ‘merry monarch’ or as a devious and cynical politician, who wore his religion lightly. Yet it can be argued that the king took the politics of religion extremely seriously, especially during the return of the episcopalian church of England in 1660-3.  A recently discovered royal declaration of November 1661 throws new light on his views and aspirations, including the pursuit of religious toleration through extending his powers as supreme governor. Yet paradoxically Charles II was a staunch episcopalian in his public profession of religion. The lecture will explore Charles II’s active supremacy, the problems he faced in handling religious pluralism and the mixed success that he enjoyed.” For more details, see: https://www.kent.ac.uk/events/event/66238/renaissance-lecture-2024 .

Now to the busy week beginning Monday 13 May when the Kent Archives free lunchtime talk will be me speaking on ‘Rethinking mayor-making and other civic rituals in medieval times at the Kentish Cinque Ports’. This talk will be at 1pm at the Kent History and Library Centre, Maidstone, taking as its premise that civic elections have for centuries been valued by towns as a means to demonstrate their collective identity. The Cinque Ports as a group were at the forefront of such developments, frequently recording such details at the beginning of their custumals. My talk will explore these civic ceremonies which may have been in operation from as early as the 13^th century and although I’ll be drawing on evidence from a broad range of Ports, the fullest evidence comes from Dover and Sandwich. Furthermore, we’ll also investigate the holding of courts in these Ports, another role which offered the authorities opportunities to enhance the town’s identity; as did civic pilgrimages, the third section of my talk. To book a place, please email archives@kent.gov.uk or phone 03000 420673.

Then on Tuesday 14 May back in Canterbury at CCCU it will be the Annual Becket Lecture which in 2024 will be given by Professor Elisabeth van Houts (University of Cambridge). This public lecture will be in The Michael Berry Lecture Theatre, Old Sessions House, CCCU CT1 1PL at 6pm (drinks reception from 5.30pm) in. We are delighted to welcome Professor van Houts to Canterbury where she will be speaking on ‘Empress Matilda (d. 1167) and Archbishops in Twelfth-Century Germany, France and England’. In her lecture, she will explore archiepiscopal behaviour during the career of Matilda from child bride and widow in Germany and uncrowned queen regnant England to her second widowhood and retirement in Normandy when she championed Thomas Becket. The lecture is free and all welcome, however booking is encouraged at: https://ckhh.org.uk/events/details/annual-becket-lecture-2024 to give us an idea about numbers.

Two days later on Thursday 16 May at 7pm in Newton, Ng07, CCCU campus, it will be the joint CKHH and FCAT lecture to be given by Dr Catriona Cooper (Senior Lecturer in Digital Humanities, CCCU). Entitled ‘Beyond the visual: digital sensory past’, Dr Cooper will examine how digital approaches have opened up routes into exploring sensory pasts in new and exciting ways. Her talk will discuss two approaches to opening up our understanding of sensorial experience of the past: auralisation and 3D printing, using case studies from Kent and further afield. All are welcome and the lecture is free to students.

This is just a taster of lectures in May before the CKHH moves into gear for some summer events which will, of course, include Canterbury’s Medieval Pageant that we have contributed to annually since its inception. In 2024 we will be back at St Paul’s church, so please keep the date of Saturday 6 July.