Digging deeper at St Albans

John Whetehamstede found at
St Albans Abbey

Most mornings, still half asleep, I have a look at Facebook on my phone to see whether anything monumental has happened overnight.  Most mornings I am disappointed, but the other morning I was suddenly wide awake:  Another cleric had been found, but not just any old cleric!  This one is John Whetehamstede, well-known to anyone interested in the late medieval period and the Wars of the Roses as an eye witness to the two battles of St Albans.

St Albans Cathedral seen from the east

Nicholas Breakspear

An English Pope –

Nicholas Breakspear chosen as pontiff

On 4 December 1154, a new pope was elected, following the death of pope Anastasius IV.  The choice fell on Nicholas Breakspear, so far he has been the only pope from Britain.  He assumed the name Adrian IV.

The Schoolmaster Printer

the Medieval Printing Press in St Albans

Here endyth this present cronycle of Englonde wyth the frute of tymes, compiled in a booke and also empryted by one somtyme scole mayster of saynt Albons, on whoos soule God have mercy (Wynkin de Worde, 1497)

After the first book printed with movable type had had its debut at the Frankfurt Fair in 1454, Johannes Gutenberg’s invention quickly spread all over Europe.

William Caxton was the first to bring printing to England, when he set up his workshop in Westminster in the mid-1470s (either 1475 or – more probably – 1476).  Two years after Caxton opened his shop in Westminster, another printing press, in Oxford, published its first book (in 1478).  However, given my personal interest, I would like to find out more about the third English printing press – in St Albans.

The Medieval Grammar School of St Albans

The Medieval Grammar School

of St Albans

St Albans School, which exists to this day, started life as a medieval grammar school. Even if the claim that it was founded in 948 is not supported by evidence, there is no doubt that the school has been in existence since the turn of the 11th to the 12th century. We know that the first Norman abbot, Paul de Caen (1077-1093) [1] wanted to establish St Albans as “a centre of learning” and among other buildings built the scriptorium.[2] Perhaps we can also thank him for the school.