Oswald of Worcester
Oswald | |
---|---|
Archbishop of York | |
Appointed | 972 |
Term ended | 29 February 992 |
Predecessor | Edwald |
Successor | Ealdwulf |
Other post(s) | Bishop of Worcester |
Orders | |
Consecration | 961 |
Personal details | |
Died | 29 February 992 Worcester |
Buried | Worcester |
Sainthood | |
Feast day | 29 February (leap years)[1]
28 February (common years) 19 May (POCSP) |
Venerated in | Catholic Church Anglican Communion |
Oswald of Worcester (died 29 February 992) was Archbishop of York from 972 to his death in 992. He was of Danish ancestry, but brought up by his uncle, Oda, who sent him to France to the abbey of Fleury to become a monk. After a number of years at Fleury, Oswald returned to England at the request of his uncle, who died before Oswald returned. With his uncle's death, Oswald needed a patron and turned to another kinsman, Oskytel, who had recently become Archbishop of York. His activity for Oskytel attracted the notice of Archbishop Dunstan who had Oswald consecrated as Bishop of Worcester in 961. In 972, Oswald was promoted to the see of York, although he continued to hold Worcester also.
As bishop and archbishop, Oswald was a supporter and one of the leading promoters (together with Æthelwold) of Dunstan's reforms of the church, including monastic reforms.[2] Oswald founded a number of monasteries, including Ramsey Abbey, and reformed another seven, including Winchcombe in Gloucestershire and Pershore and Evesham in Worcestershire. Oswald also switched the cathedral chapter of Worcester from secular clergy to monks. While archbishop, he brought the scholar Abbo of Fleury to teach, and he spent two years in England, mostly at Ramsey. Oswald died in 992, while washing the feet of the poor. A hagiographical life was written shortly after his death, and he was quickly hailed as a saint.
Early life
Oswald, of
Return to England
Oswald returned to England in 958 at the behest of his uncle, but Oda died before Oswald returned. Lacking a patron, Oswald turned to Oskytel, recently named Archbishop of York. It is possible that Oswald along with Oskytel travelled to Rome for Oskytel's pallium, but this story is only contained in a 12th-century Ramsey Abbey chronicle, so it may not be authentic.[5] Even if he did not travel to Rome, Oswald was active in ecclesiastical affairs at York until Dunstan obtained Oswald's appointment to the see, or bishopric, of Worcester.[3] He was consecrated as Bishop of Worcester in 961.[7] Soon after his consecration, he persuaded Germanus to come back to England and made him head of a small religious community near Westbury-on-Trym.[3] After the establishment of this group about 962, Oswald grew worried that because the monastery was located on lands owned by the see of Worcester, his successors in the see might disrupt the community. He was offered the site of Ramsey Abbey in Huntingdonshire by Æthelwine, son of Æthelstan Half-King, and Oswald established a monastery there about 971 that attracted most of the members of the community at Westbury. This foundation at Ramsey went on to become Ramsey Abbey.[8] Ramsey was Oswald's most famous foundation,[9] with its church dedicated in 974. Later, Oswald invited Abbo of Fleury to come and teach at Ramsey.[10] Oswald directed the affairs of Ramsey Abbey until his death, when the dean Eadnoth became the first abbot.[5] He gave a magnificent Bible to Ramsey, which was important enough to merit a mention in Oswald's Life.[11] Alongside the gift of the book, Oswald also contributed wall hangings and other textiles to the abbey.[12]
Oswald supported Dunstan and Æthelwold,
Archbishop of York
In 972 Oswald was made Archbishop of York
In 985, Oswald invited Abbo of Fleury to come to Ramsey to help found the monastic school there. Abbo was at Ramsey from 985 to 987, where he taught
Death and sainthood
Oswald died on 29 February 992 in the act of washing the feet of the poor at Worcester,[13] as was his daily custom during Lent, and was buried in the Church of St Mary at Worcester. He promoted the education of the clergy and persuaded scholars to come from Fleury and teach in England.[16] A Life of Oswald was written after his death, probably by Byrhtferth, a monk of Ramsey Abbey.[20] Two manuscripts, a psalter (Harley MS 2904 in the British Library) and a pontifical (MS 100, part 2 from Sidney Sussex College of Cambridge University), probably belonged to Oswald and would have been used in his daily devotions.[5]
Almost immediately after his death miracles were reported at his funeral and at his tomb. His remains were translated to a different burial spot in Worcester Cathedral ten years after his death. His feast day is celebrated on 28 February[21] or on 19 May in the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter.[22]
Citations
- ^ "FEBRUARY 29 BUSY Saint Oswald of Worcester A.D. 925–992". Today’s Saint. The Dynamic Catholic Institute. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ Lawrence Medieval Monasticism p. 101
- ^ a b c d e Knowles Monastic Order p. 40
- ^ Richardson and Sayles Governance of Mediaeval England p. 57
- ^ a b c d e f g Brooks "Oswald (St Oswald)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ Lawrence Medieval Monasticism pp. 102–103
- ^ a b c Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 224
- ^ Knowles Monastic Order p. 51
- ^ a b Stenton Anglo Saxon England p. 450
- ^ a b Knowles Monastic Order p. 488
- ^ Dodwell Anglo-Saxon Art p. 95
- ^ Dodwell Anglo-Saxon Art p. 129
- ^ a b c Knowles Monastic Order p. 55
- ^ Knowles Monastic Order p. 621
- ^ Stenton Anglo Saxon England 3rd ed. p. 436
- ^ a b Knowles Monastic Order p. 53
- ^ Williams Æthelred the Unready p. 9
- ^ Fletcher Bloodfeud p. 92
- ^ Wormald Making of English Law p. 186
- ^ Knowles Monastic Order p. 494
- ^ Walsh New Dictionary of Saints p. 459
- ^ Divine Worship: The Missal p. 734
References
- required)
- Dodwell, C. R. (1985). Anglo-Saxon Art: A New Perspective. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-9300-5.
- ISBN 0-19-516136-X.
- Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
- ISBN 0-521-05479-6.
- Lawrence, C. H. (2001). Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages (Third ed.). New York: Longman. ISBN 0-582-40427-4.
- Lutz, Cora E. (1977). Schoolmasters of the Tenth Century. Archon Books. ISBN 0-208-01628-7.
- Richardson, H. G.; OCLC 504298.
- ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5.
- Walsh, Michael J. (2007). A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West. London: Burns & Oats. ISBN 978-0-86012-438-2.
- ISBN 1-85285-382-4.
- ISBN 0-631-22740-7.
Further reading
- Lapidge, Michael, ed. (2009). Byrhtferth of Ramsey: The Lives of St Oswald and St Ecgwine. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-955078-4.