About Medieval Canterbury Weekend 2018

As in the Middle Ages, crowds flocked to Canterbury but instead of pilgrims heading for St Thomas’ shrine from 6th-8th April 2018 they were intent on reaching Canterbury Christ Church University to hear exciting lectures given by eminent historians such as Helen Castor, David Starkey, Janina Ramirez and Carenza Lewis.

They were not disappointed and among the hundreds of ticket holders were those who not only came for the talks but others who greatly enjoyed the guided tours of such iconic medieval buildings as St John’s Hospital, the Blackfriars and the Poor Priests’ Hospital.

Others went to the Cathedral, but not to the ‘shrine’ rather they enjoyed a special exhibition of archival treasures provided by Canterbury Cathedral Archives and Library.

This year, as a new venture, the Weekend included two events for ‘young medievalists’ on the Friday: Saturn, the green dragon, made a guest appearance at Waterstones book shop, courtesy of The Canterbury Tales, and Russell, the medieval story-teller, introduced children and adults to Chaucer’s Tales by giving them a special Canterbury Twist.

As before, the Weekend attracted an international audience, this year from Uppsala in the east to New York in the west, as well as across the British Isles.