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Chronicle of the Abbey of Evesham

The Chronicle of the Abbey of Evesham is a remarkable medieval history of one of England’s great Benedictine monasteries. Beginning with the abbey’s legendary and royal foundations, it traces the fortunes of Evesham through centuries of religious devotion, political conflict, legal struggle, rebuilding, reform, and royal patronage. At the heart of the chronicle is the abbey’s determination to defend its ancient liberties. Its monks record disputes with bishops, appeals to popes and papal legates, contested elections of abbots, lawsuits over lands and privileges, and the long struggle to preserve Evesham’s exemption from episcopal control. Alongside these institutional battles are vivid accounts of saints and miracles, including St Ecgwine, St Odulf and the royal martyr St Wistan, whose relics and cult formed an important part of the abbey’s identity. The chronicle also preserves a wealth of detail about everyday monastic life. It describes the building and repair of churches, cloisters, chapels, halls, mills, granges and fishponds; the acquisition of estates and revenues; the making of vestments, shrines, bells and liturgical books; and the provision of food, clothing, recreation and medical care for the monks. Successive abbots emerge not merely as religious superiors but as administrators, builders, patrons, diplomats and defenders of the community. Extending into the later Middle Ages, the narrative reflects the changing political world around Evesham, from the Norman Conquest and the Angevin kings to the Wars of the Roses and the reign of Henry VIII. The result is both a history of a single monastery and a richly detailed record of medieval English religious, legal, economic and political life. This edition offers modern readers direct access to one of the most important monastic chronicles of medieval England, revealing how the monks of Evesham understood their saints, their privileges, their rulers and their place in history.

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Pant y Saer Burial Chamber, Benllech, Anglesey, North-West Wales aka Gwynedd, British Isles [Map]

Pant y Saer Burial Chamber is in Benllech, Anglesey, Prehistoric Anglesey Burial Chambers.

Archaeological Journal Volume 28 1871 Pages 97-108. 9. Manan Pant y Saer [Map], Llanfair yn Mathafarn eithav par. (E).

David Thomas mentions a cromlech at this place (Cambr. Reg., vol. ii. p. 989), the same probably that is given in Mr. Longueville Jones' list of British remains, and described as "thrown down, on a hill near a farm called Bryn-y-felin, half a mile S.E, of Llanfair-Mathafern church." Arch. Cambr., third series, vol. i. p. 25. Angharad Llwyd also notices a cromlech at Manan Pant-y-Saer (part of Rhos Yawr), and observes that " formerly there was one at Llech-tal-y-Μδη, but that is now destroyed." Hist. Anglesey, p. 253.

It has been recently described and figured by the Rev. Hugh Prichard, Arch. Cambr., third series, vol. xiv. p. 89.

Archaeologia Cambrensis 1933 Pages 185-228. The Chambered Tomb Of Pant-Y-Saer [Map], Anglesey. By W. Lindsay Scott, F.S.A.Scot.

The chambered tomb of Pant-y-saer stands in latitude 530 18' 3" N., longitude 40 14' 15" W., on the outskirts Of the village Of Tvnygongl and about a mile distant from the northern end of Red Wharf Bay. This sandy bay on the east coast of Anglesey provides good shelter in westerly winds: and in such conditions is a safe place for hauling up boats. The lower land around it is reasonably fertile and the situation is not unattractive for settlement and distinctly advantageous for sea-raiders seeking a base for operations on the north coast of Wales.