on at least
the cathedral church of Exeter was severely bombarded, with the result
that the northern tower differs considerably from the southern in
places. The church, then, we may presume, was intended to be used, when
necessary, as a fortress: but as it was also something else very
different, this necessity was rather shunned than courted. Therefore it
was customary to separate the church from the world by walls and gates
of proved strength. This space so secured formed an outer fortress,
against which the attacks of an enemy must, perforce, have been directed
first. It placed entirely in the hands of the clergy the defence of
their own church, a task they were quite capable of performing with
credit; for Matthew Paris tells us of one bishop of Exeter, Bruere, that
he displayed activity both "spiritual and temporal" in the Holy Land.
The defence of the city, that of the sacred building being thus provided
for, was the business of the captains and men-at-arms. The walls and
gates of the close have vanished, without leaving a trace of their
existence. One privilege, however, yet haunts the place--the corporation
have no jurisdiction over it.

In the close at the north side of the cathedral has been placed a statue
of Richard Hooker, the theologian (1553-1600), author of "The Laws of
Ecclesiastical Polity." The "Judicious Hooker" was born in Exeter, and
was a nephew of John Vowel, alias Hoker, Chamberlain and Historian of
the city.

#The Cathedral Library# was founded by Leofric himself. One of his
principal reasons for translating the see from Crediton to Exeter being
his fear lest the valuable books he had collected should at any time be
destroyed by raiders in an unfortified town.

When, in the beginning of the seventeenth century, Sir Thomas Bodley,
himself a native of Exeter, founded the Bodleian Library at Oxford, the
Dean and Chapter of Exeter presented to it a large number of books and
manuscripts, many of which had belonged to Leofric. Fortunately one
volume remained in Exeter, overlooked by owners then unaware of its
value, possibly of its very existence. This volume, "The Exeter Book,"
is the greatest treasure possessed by the Dean and Chapter, being an
Anglo-Saxon manuscript, containing almost a third of all the Anglo-Saxon
literature that is known. The contents include "Cynewulf's Christus," a
poem on the life of our Lord; some legends of saints; and a quaint
collection of riddles and jokes. The ink of i