This blog is long overdue! My sincerest apologies. On September 25th, all of us SCIO students made our way to Bath. I was very sick that morning and running late, so I actually had to run half the way to the bus stop, and then the bus was twenty minutes late! On top of this, I had the pressure of knowing that I had lots to do on my essays. However, once I got to Bath, it was totally worth it.
Bath was originally discovered by the Celts, who built a shrine to the goddess Sul beside the hot springs. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, King Bladud, a man afflicted with leprosy, was herding pigs near the springs when he observed that the diseased pigs who rolled in the mud by the springs came out healed. The King followed suit and his leprosy was healed. Since then, the rumor that Bath's springs possessed healing properties spread throughout the country.
After the Celts came the Romans, who venerated the springs by constructing a bath complex and building a temple for Aquae Sulis. The Romans left in 407 AD, but people continued visiting the springs. Interestingly enough, if you watch "Amazing Grace," William Wilberforce pays a visit to Bath and there meets his future wife. (A great movie, by the way.)
Bath was interesting, but I was disappointed that I couldn't actually get in the water. However, my disappointment was quickly assuaged by Bath Abbey. The abbey is gorgeous! Words cannot describe how beautiful it is, you simply have to visit it. Check out the pictures and you'll get a small taste of its majesty.
Finally, we took an architectural tour of Bath, which included seeing the John Wood's Circus, Queen's Square, and the Royal Crescent. I also walked by the Jane Austen club, which was kind of ironic because Austen is Bath's most famous resident, but she actually hated Bath. As a side note, my friend Courtney went back to Bath the next weekend for a Jane Austen Regency Ball and got to witness a British reenactment of the American Civil War. How bizarre is that?
*All historical information is from Dr. Baigent's lecture on Bath, given on September 24, 2008*
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Dab, trying again to see if I can leave a blog.
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