Angels in the Market Place (Paperback)

Angels in the Market Place explores the establishment of Christianity in seventh century England. Augustine of Canterbury has received most of the credit, but what of his forerunner, Bishop Liudhard? He was already chaplain of Queen Bertha of Kent, and was honoured at the time with a magnificent gold medalet and a place in the royal mausoleum. This play supposes that Liudhard was exiled from his diocese and almost erased from history because he was married, when clerical marriage was highly repugnant to Pope Gregory the Great. This play is intended for reading, even if rarely performed. As with the historical plays of Shakespeare, events and characters come alive and the issues raised can be explored. The author is a retired Senior Lecturer of the University of London who for fifty years has lived in Wye, a royal vill of the Kingdom of Kent, where a pre-Christian shrine was replaced by a Saxon minster church dedicated to Gregory. He has written a number of books and articles on local history.