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Definition: Canterbury from Philip's Encyclopedia

City on the River Great Stour, Kent, SE England. It is the seat of the archbishop and primate of the Anglican Church. The present cathedral (built in the 11th-15th centuries) replaced the original Abbey of St Augustine. Thomas à Becket was murdered in the cathedral in 1170; after his canonization, Canterbury became a major pilgrimage centre. It contains the University of Kent (1965). Tourism is a major industry. Pop. (2001) 135,287.


Canterbury

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Historic cathedral city in Kent , southeast England, on the River Stour, 100 km/62 mi southeast of London; population (2001) 135,300. The city is the centre of the Anglican community and seat of the archbishop of Canterbury. It is a popular tourist destination. Paper, paper products, and electrical goods are manufactured here. The public sector is the biggest employer in the city, largely due to the presence of two universities (Canterbury Christ Church University College (1962) and the University of Kent at Canterbury (1965)), a further education college, and an art college. History Canterbury was the site of the Roman town Durovernum Cantiacorum . Situated on Watling Street, the Roman road between Dover and London, it was an important fortress and military station. Damage caused by World War II bombing raids and subsequent demolition revealed numerous Roman building works, including baths, streets, walls, and theatres. It is believed that a settlement was maintained from Roman times…
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Full text Article Canterbury

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Historic city and administrative district (pop., 2011: 151,145), southeastern England. Located on the River Great Stour , the site has been occupied since pre-Roman times; the Roman town of Durovernum Cantiacorum was established after Claudius invaded Britain in 43 ce . It has been an ecclesiastical…
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Full text Article Canterbury

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
city (1991 pop. 34,046) and district, Kent, SE England, on the Stour River. Tourism, services, and retail are the city's main industries. There is also some light manufacturing. Canterbury is famous as the long-time spiritual center of England. In 597, St. Augustine went to England from Rome to…
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Full text Article Canterbury

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Historic cathedral city in Kent , southeast England, on the River Stour, 100 km/62 mi southeast of London; population (2001) 135,300. The city is the centre of the Anglican community and seat of the archbishop of Canterbury. It is a popular tourist destination. Paper, paper products, and electrical…
| 787 words
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Full text Article CANTERBURY

From Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity
City of SE England ( Durovernum Cantiacorum ), with good probability was one of the first emplacements aimed at by the *Romans after their landing on the coast of Kent in AD 43. Three important arterial military roads, from Rutupiae (Richborough), Dubris (Dover) and Lemanis (Lympne), converged at…
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Full text Article Canterbury

From The Oxford Companion to British History
Succeeding an important late Iron Age settlement, the civitas -capital of Durovernum was laid out on either side of the Great Stour in the later 1st cent., with a rather irregular street-grid. Canterbury had an above-average range of public buildings. The site of a forum/basilica complex is known; …
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Full text Article Canterbury

From Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary
anc. Du•ro•ver•num \ˌdu̇r-ə-ˈvər-nəm, ˌdyu̇r-\ or ecclesiastical Lat. Can•tu•ar•ia \ˌkan-chə-ˈwar-ē-ə\ or O.E. Cant•wa•ra•burh \ˈkant-ˌwar-ə-bu̇rḵ\. Town, Windham co., NE Connecticut; pop. (2000c) 4692. anc. Du•ro•ver•num \ˌdu̇r-ə-ˈvər-nəm, ˌdyu̇r-\ or ecclesiastical Lat. Can•tu•ar•ia…
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Full text Article The Canterbury Tales

From Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature
ca. 1386 Work Author: Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales , composed by Geoffrey Chaucer, is the most celebrated literary work of the English Middle Ages. The book is a collection of stories purportedly told by a diverse company of English men and women on pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Thomas…
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Full text Article Canterbury Tales, The

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Unfinished collection of stories in prose and verse ( c. 1387) by Geoffrey Chaucer , told in Middle English by a group of pilgrims on their way to Thomas à Becket 's tomb at Canterbury. The tales and preludes are remarkable for their vivid character portrayal and colloquial language, and they were a…
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Full text Article Augustine of Canterbury, St

From Chambers Biographical Dictionary
d.604 Italian prelate and the first Archbishop of Canterbury Born probably in Rome, he was prior of a Benedictine monastery there, when in 596 Pope Gregory I, the Great sent him with 40 other monks to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. He was kindly received by Ethelbert , King of Kent, whose…
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Full text Article Canterbury Cathedral

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Cathedral in Canterbury , Kent, England. It is in the form of a double cross, with a central and two west towers. The total length is 160 m/525 ft, the east transept measuring 47 m/154 ft. The finest work of four centuries of medieval English architecture , from Norman to Perpendicular, is…
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