[The Imp I didn't see]
Anna and I have just returned from a wonderful SOTS (linked with EABS and OTW) in Lincoln. Despite the heavy rain it was a good conference for proposals and book sales, and the papers that I attended all held things to interest. Axel Knauf's paper on the 'End of History' (?), which opened the SOTS programme being particularly good. Although, alas, I did not understand the German quotations he made. Bob Becking spoke on 'David from Evidence to Archaeology', which was very interesting, but I could have done with a bit more on ideology.
It was good to catch up with authors and to meet with new possible authors. Some good proposals might come from this conference - more on that anon.
There was just time on the last day to brave the rain and rush up to the cathedral. Extremely impressive vaulting, and nice to see the base of the shrine which held the head of little St Hugh of Lincoln. However the building as a whole felt strangely soul-less for some reason. Perhaps it was the rain? Unfortunately I failed to spot the famous ‘imp’ as we had to rush back for our train. Next time.
Upon returning to London I took advantage of the late opening of the Henry VIII exhibition at the British Library. It is quite astonishing, and I strongly urge anyone who has an interest in the Reformation to see it. Most wonderful to see was Henry’s Defensor Fidei medal, just a few yards away from the Act of Supremacy. However seeing the exhibition one does get the very definite feeling that Henry was not merely intent on getting a pretty new wife and a male heir in his desire to divorce Catherine of Aragon (although of course that had something to do with it!), but convinced that he was being punished for Leviticus 18.16 and thus needed to be free from divine condemnation.
The following day I had another brief moment of holiday in Oxford, doing some reading myself, and had a cup of tea with Sister Benedicta Ward, whose new book on Anselm of Canterbury is published by SPCK. Sr Benedicta is of course the author of our OCT book on the Venerable Bede.
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