It's time to go back just a few weeks and revisit some of my favorite memories of this visit to England. For this Pink Saturday we're going to Oxford University and specifically to Magdalen College. When I made my original plans to visit Oxford I thought of taking a walking tour that included all of the colleges of Oxford University. I'm not quite sure where I got that idea or if such a tour exists, but after an initial bus ride around Oxford I realized seeing all of the colleges would be a bigger project than one I could accomplish in two days. I opted to visits to Christ Church and to Magdalen. I chose Christ Church because a friend from New York was taking a summer course there and Magdalen because it was across the street from my hotel. I wasn't disappointed with either choice.
Magdalen, founded in 1458 by William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester, is spectacularly beautiful. I had a wonderful tour with a second year physics student, Alex. I enjoyed learning about the history of the college and present day student life. Notable graduates include -- in no particular order -- Oscar Wilde, Dudley Moore, Cardinal Wolsey, Edward VIII and T.E. Lawrence.
The New Buildings, built in the 1730's, where C.S. Lewis lived during his teaching years at Oxford.
Magdalen College is especially known for its association with C.S. Lewis. Lewis was not a graduate of Magdalen, but he taught English Language and Literature there from 1925-1954. It was also at Magdalen where he began his journey towards belief in G'd. He had been an atheist for several decades but moved away from this and began to attend the daily morning service in the Magdalen Chapel.
The Magdalen College Chapel
Addison's Walk, Magdalen College
But it was in this spot on Addison's Walk in the autumn of 1931, in conversation with his colleagues and friends, Hugo Dyson and J.R. Tolkien that Lewis came to believe specifically in Christianity. Lewis was a literary scholar and his work during his Magdalen tenure was greatly respected, but much of the world knows him as the author of Mere Christianity, the Screwtape Letters and the Chronicles of Narnia. I've read a lot about C.S. Lewis, but have actually read very little that he wrote. My visit to Magdalen is a catalyst to begin to Lewis' work.
The buildings of Magdalen are magnificent, but equally so are the gardens.
I've enjoyed revisiting Oxford and I hope you have, too. If there are any C.S. Lewis readers in Buttercupland -- and I anticipate there are a good number -- which of his books are your favorite?
As ever, thanks for visiting and wishes for a great week!
