But in 1220 it was decided to translate the body from the crypt
to the new shrine in the Trinity Chapel in July, for the winter
pilgrimage was irksome. From that year a new feast was established, the
feast of the Translation of St Thomas upon July 7th, and thus in
England down to our own day, St Thomas has two feasts, that of his
Martyrdom on December 29, when still his relics are exposed in the
great Catholic Cathedral of Westminster, and in the little church of St
Thomas, the Catholic sanctuary in Canterbury, and that of his
Translation upon July 7th.
Of that first summer pilgrimage to the new shrine of St Thomas we have
very full accounts. It was the most glorious and the most extraordinary
assemblage that had perhaps ever been seen in England. The Archbishop
had given two years' notice of the event, and this had been circulated
not only in all England, but throughout Europe. "Orders had been issued
for maintenance to be provided for the vast multitude not only in the
city of Canterbury itself, but on the various roads by which the
pilgrims would approach. During the whole celebration along the whole
way from London to Canterbury, hay and provender were given to all who
asked, and at each gate of Canterbury in the four quarters of the city
and in the four licensed cellars, were placed tuns of wine to be
distributed gratis, and on the day of the festival, wine ran freely
through the gutters of the streets.
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