A Fight in Westminster Abbey, 1378 (litho)

A Fight in Westminster Abbey, 1378. In theory every church was a sanctuary, but in reality the only real safety for a fugitive was in sanctuaries such as Westminster, Durham, etc, which possessed special charters, and there were occasions when even these were occasions when even these were violated. During High Mass in the Abbey on 11 August 1378, two knights, escaped prisoners from the Tower, fled into the Choir for sanctuary, pursued by some fifty men-at-arms. One of the fugitives was killed in front of the Prior's Stall, and one of the monks with him. As a result of this flagrant violation of sanctuary, the church was closed for four months, and the murderers excommunicated and heavily fined. Illustration for one a set of cards on Historical London, issued by Hignett's Cigarettes in 1926.