4502 x 2990 px | 38,1 x 25,3 cm | 15 x 10 inches | 300dpi
Aufnahmedatum:
2011
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Leicester Abbey, the Abbey of Saint Mary de Pratis ("St Mary of the Meadows"), standing about a mile (2 km) north of the city of Leicester in the riverside meadows on the west bank of the River Soar, was built under the patronage of Robert le Bossu, Earl of Leicester. It was founded as a community of Augustinian Canons, the canons regular of the Order of Saint Augustine. Canons regular follow a similar, but perhaps less rigid rule than monks, following a rule set down by Saint Augustine in a letter to a convent in his diocese. The abbey was one of the largest and most influential land owners in Leicestershire, thanks to contributions by important patrons such as the Earl of Winchester, Simon de Montfort, Alan la Zouche, Ernard de Bosco and, finally, the Crown. The abbey certainly held more manors than any lay lord. The abbey is perhaps most famous for its connection to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor of England, who was for a time the most powerful man in England, second only to the King. In spiritual terms, his power even surpassed that of the Archbishop of Canterbury (the Primate of All England). Wolsey, at one part, was a candidate for the papacy on the death of Leo X, when Adrian VI was elected. Wolsey fell out of the King’s favour in 1529 and went north to visit his Archdiocese of York. A year later he was accused of high treason and ordered to return to London. On the way, he stopped at Leicester Abbey. As he arrived, he told the abbot, "I am come to leave my bones among you.” Wolsey died at the abbey on 29 November 1530 and was buried within the walls of the Abbey church, where today a monument stands on his supposed resting place. From the disgrace of Wolsey, the path to schism from Rome was short, and the inevitable fall of the Abbey of St Mary de Pratis of Leicester. The clothes manufacturers Wolsey is based nearby in Leicester and the company is named in honour of Cardinal Wolsey.
