The London adventures continue, this time at the Tower of London! Coming up to the Tower was truly like going back in time. The first landmark we came across, before even entering the Tower itself, was the London Wall. This wall dates back to the Roman city of Londinium and is estimated to have been built around 200 CE. Seeing something that was built nearly two thousand years ago that still (partially) stands to this day is an incredible reminder of just how much humans have accomplished throughout our history. As someone who loves to look to the cosmos (in both an academic and spiritual way), I often think of how humanity is really a blip in the history of the universe. However, being confronted firsthand with something that has withstood so many wars, rulers, and lifetimes truly reminded me of just how much humanity has done in the relatively short time we have existed. Claire and I even touched the wall! It felt a bit scandalous; we are both avid museum-goers, so touching it felt almost like we were breaking a rule.
Once inside the Tower of London we hightailed it to the Crown Jewels. There was practically no line, which is a very uncommon occurrence. Inside the Jewel House no photographs are allowed. I’m curious as to why – my best guess is that the only media in which they want these historical and precious items to be shown is that directly from royals and officials. Either way, these crowns and scepters are beautifully adorned and preserved. My main thought as we passed the crown jewels – which you do on a slowly moving walkway put in to keep people from standing and staring too long – was God these people are RICH! Obviously when one thinks of kings and queens it is assumed that they are incredibly wealthy, but it was insane to be confronted face to face with just how much they have.
One of my favorite parts of the Tower was the Royal Beasts exhibition. This detailed the menagerie of animals that were kept within the tower walls for over 600 years. These animals ranged from polar bears to snakes to monkeys to tigers! My favorite fun fact in this exhibit was that the snakes were kept on a stove after being fed to keep warm. There were also beautiful statues of many of the animals, which appeared to be covered in chainmail – I assume this is a commentary on their captivity. The only live animal we saw was a raven, who perched and posed for photos very professionally. These ravens – of which there are six – are considered to be the guardians of the Tower, and it is said that if they were to ever leave then both the kingdom and the Tower would fall.
The next exhibit we hit was the Torture at the Tower exhibition that detailed many of the torture cases recorded to have happened within the Tower walls. Interestingly, only 48 people are known to have been tortured. While a seemingly large number, it is relatively low considering how long this place has existed and how many prisoners passed through its walls.
My favorite exhibit was definitely the Bloody Tower. Within this exhibit I learned the story of the Princes in the Tower. These two princes were born to Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville in the 1470s. The eldest was Edward V, who was in line to be king, and his younger brother, the only other boy, was Richard. After Edward IV’s untimely passing, his brother Richard III (I know, two sets of brothers with the same names; talk about confusing!) took the crown for himself. Both young Edward V and Richard went to live in the Tower and disappeared in 1483. Their fate still remains unknown, though the two sets of bones belonging to young boys that were discovered in 1647 seem like pretty damning evidence of foul play. Though we may never know the truth, I believe that Richard III either ordered for these boys to be killed or killed them himself in order to keep the crown.
A bit of a bummer note to end this blog post on, I know, but look at these pictures to cheer yourself back up!
Theatre in London U of A 