The Magnificent St Albans Cathedral / 圣奥尔本大教堂

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St Albans Cathedral

St Albans Cathedral is named after a man named Alban, who was Britain’s first saint. He was in fact executed, giving his life for his unrelenting faith over 1700 years ago.

St Albans Cathedral has the longest "nave" (the main length of the building) in England at 84 metres.

It boasts amazing architecture where people have flocked to see it's beautiful designs from all around the world. It used to be classified as an "abbey" but since 1877 has been changed to becoming a cathedral. There is a wealth of history contained within it's walls. Many famous dukes and people of importance have been buried on the grounds itself.

(Just a small section of this huge cathedral.)

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(A small area where some important church figures and dukes are buried.)

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(These foundation brickworks are actually Roman ruins from many years ago.)

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The cathedral has one of the oldest and most extensive collections of medieval wall paintings surviving today. They range from the late 12th century all the way up to the 16th century. They are stunning with their rose-tinted windows and magnificently colour-stained glass artistry. Truly beautiful works that I found spellbinding!

(This hall looks longer in real life than in this photo, lol)

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The Morris Dancers

Stepping outside the Cathedral, I was surprised to find a small group of people wearing bell pads on their shins and attire that looked not too dissimilar to a Swiss yodeler. It was not until they started to dance I realised they were performers of the famous Morris Dance!

(Final preparations before the main event.)

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Morris dancing first appeared around the thirteenth century, and used to be held as a part of village celebrations. Though nowadays we can find similar traditions in countries around the world. Morris Dancing is so much fun to watch and I'm sure even more so to partake in. It involves rhythmic stepping and jumping in time to the jingling of the bells they all wear. I especially loved the unique choreography (if that's the right term to be used) by the dancers. Implementations of wooden sticks and short swords were also used in the performance too.

The Morris Dancers perform these shows for their own enjoyment as well as that of their audience members and the preservation of the venues cultural heritage. And I think they did spectacularly well, as I left there very entertained as did everybody else who watched the show.

(Careful, boys! Easy does it, lol!)

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The Subtle Beauty In Autumn

I took a moment to sit on a bench in front of the Cathedral itself and just take in the beautiful scenery. There was a cold chill in the air with the Autumn leaves turning the ground into a colourful mix of red and brown patterns. The whole park looked simply enchanting with the famous

St. Albans Cathedral being a historic and charming centre piece. I love it here and will be returning again for sure.

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圣奥尔本大教堂

圣奥尔本大教堂为了纪念英国首位殉道的基督徒奥尔本而命名。大教堂长84米，是英国教堂中最长的。它的宏伟建筑吸引了来自世界各地的众多游客。

教堂曾经是修道院，于1877年正式升格为圣奥尔本大教堂。这里古老悠久的历史，看看教堂的外墙就可以感觉到。据说，这里也是许多著名公爵和重要人物的墓地。

教堂里面神圣辉煌， 收集了当今最古老和最广泛的中世纪壁画，从十二世纪到十六世纪不等。最吸引我的是他们的彩色玻璃玫瑰花窗，美得令人震惊，非常值得仔细欣赏。

莫里斯舞者

走出大教堂外面，我惊讶地发现一小群人穿着全套彩色服装，同时小腿处绑上了铃铛。直到他们开始跳舞，我才意识到原来他们就是传统的莫里斯舞者！

莫里斯舞蹈最早出现在十三世纪左右，主要在科茨沃尔德区域。它曾经是乡村庆典的一部分，现在英国很多地方都能看到。莫里斯的舞蹈非常有特色，一般是六位表演者，三人一排呈两列。随着舞者有节奏的踏步与跳跃，带动了他们脚上的铃铛发出清脆的响声，非常有气氛！表演时，他们还有使用木棍和短剑哦。

莫里斯舞蹈是历史遗留下来的传统民间舞蹈，舞者们都是经过训练的，表演很出色。观众们更是热情，甚至鼓掌配合舞蹈的节奏，让现场的气氛达到了高潮，呵呵！

秋天的景色

看完表演，我坐在大教堂前面的一张长椅上，静静地欣赏迷人的秋景。这里满地的落叶，黄的绿的红的，把地面变成了一个巨大的，五彩缤纷的调色板！一阵凉风拂过，金黄的扇形树叶，从空中飘飘而下，很有童话的意境！

圣奥尔本大教堂是英国保存得最好的古老建筑之一，我很喜欢，有机会一定再来！