Dunstan post-Edgar

Unfortunately, St. Dunstan could never stop himself from speaking truth to power, even when power was more, um powerful than he. (I suppose that was the point.) He only survived after his clash with Eadwig thanks to the accession to the throne of Edgar the Peaceable.

Dunstan as Archbishop of Canterbury and Edgar as King of England made a terrific pair for 16 years, but Edgar's death in 975 led to a dispute over succession. Edgar had more than one son by more than one wife, and the most recent wife, Ælfthryth, wanted her son Æthelred to succeed. Dunstan (and others) supported the candidacy of the older son Edward. Both boys were in their minority, but Edward won.

This turned out to be a bad move by Dunstan, since Edward's reign was characterized by anti-monastic and anti-reform views. The link on Ælfrthryth above will give you a taste of what happened. Edward was assassinated a few years later (some say Ælfthryth was involved), and Æthelred became king.

This is where speaking truth to power again shows how risky it is for the speaker. As Archbishop of Canterbury, Dunstan was the chief celebrant at the coronation, during which he lectured Æthelred about the evils about to visit themselves upon the kingdom because of the evil act that led to Æthelred's succession.

Dunstan then wisely went back to Canterbury and stayed there, teaching at the school. His name rarely appears in any official records. In 980, Dunstan was part of the "translation" of the relics of Edward. His remains were moved from their original burial place to a shrine at Shaftesbury Abbey. (Edward's death had gained him the nickname "the Martyr"; the moving of the relics was a step toward declaring him a saint.)

Dunstan apparently persuaded Æthelred to appoint Ælfheah of Mercia as Bishop of Winchester, and bribed the king with 100 pounds (lbs., not £) of silver to stop persecuting the See of Rochester. (Æthelred was taking land from the diocese to give grants to a retainer.)

Dunstan led a quiet retirement, saying Mass, visiting shrines, teaching. On 19 May 988 he assembled the clergy and had Mass said. He knew he was dying, and asked for Extreme Unction (Last Rites). He died right after. He was considered a saint, and formally canonized in 1029. He was England's favorite Archbishop-turned-saint until Thomas Becket overshadowed him.

His feast day is 19 May. He is patron saint of goldsmiths and silversmiths because of how he occupied himself at Glastonbury. The monks of Glastonbury used to say that his relics were taken there for safekeeping from Canterbury during a 1012 Danish invasion, but a 16th-century Archbishop of Canterbury opened Dunstan's tomb and proved the monks wrong.

Tomorrow we'll get to the third of the Three Holy Hierarchs of English Reform, Oswald of Worcester.