. The greater abbeys of England . he precincts, he exclaimed: The sunhath not shone on a goodlier abbey, whether a manindifferently consider either the endowment with re-venues or the largeness or the incomparable magni-ficence thereof. He that saw it would say, verily, thatit was a city, so many gates are there in it, and someof brass, and so many towers and a most stately church,upon which attend three others also, standing glorious-ly in one and the same churchyard, all of passing fineand curious workmanship. Such was the great abbey in the day of its magni-ficence: to this it was slowly an
. The greater abbeys of England . he precincts, he exclaimed: The sunhath not shone on a goodlier abbey, whether a manindifferently consider either the endowment with re-venues or the largeness or the incomparable magni-ficence thereof. He that saw it would say, verily, thatit was a city, so many gates are there in it, and someof brass, and so many towers and a most stately church,upon which attend three others also, standing glorious-ly in one and the same churchyard, all of passing fineand curious workmanship. Such was the great abbey in the day of its magni-ficence: to this it was slowly and painfully built upduring the five hundred years of its existence. Thefirst abbot was succeeded by Leofstan, another of themonks who had come as founders from Hulme, andit was during the time of his abbacy that Edward theConfessor visited the shrine of St Edmund on morethan one occasion. At these times, out of venerationfor the saintly King and martyr, Edward was wont toperform the last mile of his journey on foot like an 44 ^^*. Bury St Edmundsordinary pilgrim. Upon the death of Leofstan thefavour of the Confessor procured the election of Bald-win, a monk of St Denis and his own physician, andthe convent had no reason to regret their compliancewith the Kings suggestion. Even after the Conquestthis learned abbot continued in high favour with Wil-liam. He was always well received at Court, and theKing kept him for long periods near his person as afriend and adviser. Towards the close of his life Abbot Baldwin sawthat the church built by Canute was hardly adequatefor the more modern requirements, when the abbeyhad already grown in size and importance. He deter-mined, therefore, to begin the building of a noblechurch, and so quickly did the work proceed that hecompleted what was considered one of the most won-derful churches of its age in 1095. The same year thebody of St Edmund was translated to its new shrinewith great pomp, on April 29, in the presence of avast concourse of pe
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