{"id":14626,"date":"2023-12-07T22:09:09","date_gmt":"2023-12-07T22:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/kenthistory\/?p=14626"},"modified":"2023-12-07T22:09:18","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T22:09:18","slug":"finding-medieval-animals-in-canterbury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/kenthistory\/finding-medieval-animals-in-canterbury\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding ‘Medieval Animals’ in Canterbury"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Still some finishing touches to the new CKHH<\/strong> website but the Medieval Canterbury Weekend 2024<\/strong> details are all on it which means I\u2019m still very hopeful that the website can be launched next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Royal Harbour Academy students at Augustine House (photo: Diane Heath)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

For the blog this week, I had hoped to feature Maureen\u2019s presentation to the Kent History Postgraduates<\/strong> group but unfortunately Maureen was not well today, which means that it has been postponed until next month. However, some of the postgraduates still met up in Augustine House for a pre-Christmas social and thus enjoyed lunch together. Obviously, everyone wished Maureen a speedy recovery and we can all find out about how in the 17th<\/sup> century the Tonbridge deer parks and chases were broken up to form an agrarian landscape next time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consequently, I\u2019ll now turn to my second topic for this week, the absolute final event for Dr Diane Heath\u2019s \u2018Medieval Animals Heritage\u2019 project<\/strong>, this week also seeing the final MAH project board meeting before the end of project report is sent to the National Lottery<\/strong>. For Diane\u2019s final event, this was the postponed visit by Year 8 students from the Royal Harbour Academy<\/strong> in Ramsgate to Canterbury to explore a number of locations, including Canterbury Cathedral, the CCCU Augustine House library, buildings on the main university campus and, of course, the two \u2018Green Dragons\u2019 in Becket Garden, using the theme of \u2018medieval animals\u2019 in a wide range of ways. To do this, I\u2019ll be quoting from Diane\u2019s report about the day and bringing you some of her photos as well as those from Michelle Crowther.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Produced during the workshop (photo: Diane Heath)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThe RHA pupils began their day with CCCU with a tour of Canterbury Cathedral with Dr Heath. They visited Becket\u2019s shrine, the Chapter House, the cloisters, and the nave to explore some of the history and heritage of Canterbury.\u201d Having learnt about some of the details concerning Becket and his early cult, \u201cwe saw the place where St Thomas Becket died in the Cathedral.\u201d Moreover, later that day \u201cDr Catriona Cooper told us more about the medieval stone carving of Becket coming back from exile.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The focus on medieval pilgrims and other visitors who came to Becket\u2019s shrine was followed up by looking for images and sculptures of animals in the Cathedral. \u201cIn two 12th Century Miracle stained-glass windows, we saw a pilgrim riding a white horse to Canterbury. In another we saw Adam the Forester attacked by poachers who has just killed an animal (Adam survived and he thought it was a miracle). We spotted creatures on wooden seats in the Cathedral and carved on the Christ Church Gate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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More artwork from the library workshop (photo: Michelle Crowther)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The next stop was Augustine House and the library workshops. There the pupils learnt 5 key ideas: \u201cAnimals are living organisms that feed on organic matter, usually they have sense organs and nervous systems and can respond rapidly to stimuli.\u201d The second is: \u201cMedieval animals include all the animals we know today and all the ones we wish still existed, like dragons, unicorns, centaurs and mermaids\u2026\u201d which brings us to the third: \u201cHeritage includes features that belong to the past culture of a particular society, e.g., language, customs and architecture and are still valued. Green heritage relates to creatures and plants associated with specific heritage sites.\u201d The fourth is \u201cSevere problems caused by changes in the weather such as warming caused by humans polluting the atmosphere with greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.\u201d The fifth being: \u201cMitigating climate change means cutting greenhouse gases from main sources such as power plants, factories, cars, and farms. Forests, oceans, and soil absorb and store these gases, and are an important part of the solution. Sustainability is about meeting the world\u2019s needs now and in the future by creating systems so we can live well and within the limits of our planet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Pupils showcase their artwork (photo: Michelle Crowther)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Having heard about these, the \u201cRHA pupils enjoyed a tour of the Library led by Michelle Crowther, key librarians and Harry from the Student Green Office. The pupils learnt about the award-winning building\u2019s sustainability, including using the natural stable temperature in the earth, with 258 structural piles as geo-thermal energy sources, that provide 20%+ of the building\u2019s energy. Carbon emissions have been reduced by 23%.\u201d Then it was time for the workshops, the group split into two: the \u2018Dragons\u2019 and the \u2018Unicorns\u2019 so that while one group had their tour of the building, followed by an \u201ceco-warrior badge making activity\u201d the other group took on \u201cTask 2: Design a colourful eco-heritage space for children (be creative \u2013 think mountain lair, forest den, cliff eyrie, crystal cavern, fabulous treehouse) on A3 coloured card using felt tips and paint sticks.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe badge-making activity took place in our Library\u2019s Atrium Social Learning space. This airy space is also part of our CCCU students\u2019 wellbeing space #StressLess. Harry joined us. He is a CCCU student and Project Officer from the Student Green Office and helped build our climate emergency dragon in CCCU Becket Gardens.\u201d For Task 2, \u201cCreative and imaginative art centring on eco-heritage, wellbeing and sustainability, included an image of a Phoenix that represents regeneration.\u201d For this, \u201cBob, our CCCU librarian focussing on education, prepared a hints and tips sheet. Dr Heath prepared some Medieval Animals info sheets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Results from the badge-making activity (photo: Michelle Crowther)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Then it was off to the main campus for the \u201cSustainability Tour with John Hills, Sustainability Projects Officer and Jack, CCCU student and Student Green Office project officer.\u201d Under the banner \u201cGreen Heritage and Sustainability\u201d it is great that \u201cOur campus holds a unique space in Canterbury\u2019s history. We sit in the outer precinct of St Augustine\u2019s Abbey, an ancient monastery that is a key element of Canterbury\u2019s UNESCO World Heritage site, which includes the Cathedral and St Martin\u2019s Church.\u201d To reflect this \u201cJohn Hills and Jack from the Student Green Office guided RHA pupils and staff to the vineyard outside Verena Holmes Building. Then, via the hop poles near Fisher Tower, we walked to Becket Gardens where green heritage and sustainability meet in the shape of our two student and volunteer-built dragons, Spiro and Baby. This was a fun project with a serious theme of climate mitigation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Designing eco-centres (photo: Michelle Crowther)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

To get a taste of what it means to be a university student, the next stop was the Verena Holmes building for mini lectures. \u201cOur newest building, Verena Holmes, places engineers, scientists, doctors, and healthcare students together in an inspirational learning environment, with industry standard, hi-tech facilities throughout. Dr Cat Cooper gave a mini lecture on the V&A St Thomas Becket medieval stone altar fragment (the size of a paving slab) re-envisioned with 3D printing technology for handheld tactile engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second mini lecture was by Diane: \u201cWe looked at a 1,000-year-old book that was once in Canterbury Cathedral\u2019s medieval library and owned by St Dunstan. The manuscript has an \u2018animal list\u2019 in Latin added to the first leaf. We learnt how these funny animal sounds were linked to memory \u2013 forging the equivalent of Sherlock Holmes\u2019s fuzzy logic palace! Then we noticed that some sounds we associate with animals come from Latin words; \u2018Ovis balat\u2019 means \u2018the sheep bleats\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Exploring the CCCU library (photo: Michelle Crowther)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Thus, through all these activities the pupils discovered that \u201cHeritage is not just about what we can see and read but about what we can understand through touching and hearing too.\u201d And as a final comment \u201cAll of us at CCCU wish RHA staff and Year 8 the very best. Thank you for joining us today \u2013 you are fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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