Promoted by a Miracle

St. Dunstan's life had its ups and downs, as the Wheel of Fortune predicts. Driven from one king's court because of the jealousy of others, returned to a later king's court, and then driven away by the jealousy of others—his life was developing a dismal pattern.

The second king was Edmund, and he was becoming increasingly disillusioned with Dunstan as a minister because of the lies of others. Dunstan was prepared to leave, even asking representatives of the kingdom of East Anglia to let him go with them when they left Edmund's court.

Before that event, however, Edmund went out hunting in the Mendip Forest. I'll let someone else take it from here:

He became separated from his attendants and followed a stag at great speed in the direction of the Cheddar cliffs. The stag rushed blindly over the precipice and was followed by the hounds. Eadmund endeavoured vainly to stop his horse; then, seeing death to be imminent, he remembered his harsh treatment of St. Dunstan and promised to make amends if his life was spared. At that moment his horse was stopped on the very edge of the cliff. Giving thanks to God, he returned forthwith to his palace, called for St. Dunstan and bade him follow, then rode straight to Glastonbury. Entering the church, the king first knelt in prayer before the altar, then, taking St. Dunstan by the hand, he gave him the kiss of peace, led him to the abbot's throne and, seating him thereon, promised him all assistance in restoring Divine worship and regular observance. [link]

Dunstan's childhood dream of restoring Glastonbury Abbey to its former glory was in his grasp. Edmund also sent Æthelwold to help. The two began to rebuild the abbey (see illustration for how it might have looked before Henry VIII) and established Benedictine Rule, although probably not as strictly as it was being reformed on the continent. Unlike Æthelwold, Dunstan was not opposed to the presence of secular priests.

Dunstan had a brother, Wulfric, who was given responsibility for the material upkeep of the abbey, so that the cloistered monks did not have to "break enclosure." The first project was to rebuild the church of St. Peter.

Things were looking up for Dunstan and Glastonbury. When Edmund was assassinated in 946, his successor's policies looked to make things even better for Dunstan. Eadred promoted unification of all parts of the kingdom, both Saxon and Danish, along with moral reform and rebuilding of churches. Dunstan's position grew in authority. But Eadred died in 955, and Eadwig was a very different kind of king.

The 45-year-old Dunstan clashed with the 15-year-old Eadwig on the very day of the coronation, setting up another turn of the wheel. I'll tell that awkward story next time.

Æthelwold of Winchester

It was a Bishop of Winchester who made a former Bishop of Winchester so prominent. Æthelwold of Winchester decided to rededicate the church at Winchester to St. Swithin instead of Saints Peter and Paul. What was Æthelwold's background?

He was born into a noble family somewhere between 904 and 909 CE, and from the time he was at least a teenager he served in the court of King Æthelstan, supposedly as his very close companion according to Æthelwold's biographer, Wulfstan the Cantor. The king had Æthelwold ordained a priest on the same day as his friend Dunstan by another Bishop of Winchester, Ælfheah the Bald.

Dunstan became Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, and in the late 930s Æthelwold moved there where he studied grammar and other topics, eventually being made dean of the school there. When Æthelwold wanted to travel the continent and study more, the current king, Eadred, refused to give permission for him to abandon his post. Eadred then put him in charge of Abingdon Abbey, which had fallen into the hands of secular priests. Æthelwold established Benedictine Rule at Abingdon.

When Eadred died, Eadwig (reigned 955 - 959) became king, and drove Æthelwold's friend Dunstan into exile. Æthelwold served Eadwig during his short reign, and when Eadwig was succeeded by Edgar the Peaceable, who as a youth had been taught by Æthelwold, Dunstan was brought back and made a bishop.

Æthelwold's interest was in monasteries, not in secular clergy. Æthelwold was named Bishop of Winchester on 29 November 963, and one of his first steps was to, with the help of King Edgar and a military force, drive the priests out of Winchester and establish it as a monastery with monks from Abingdon Abbey.

Tomorrow we'll look more at his work with monasteries and at the role he envisaged for the king and queen.

P.S. Happy New Year!

Edmund I

from a genealogy of the kings of England

Edmund I
Edmund the Magnificent
Edmund the Just
Edmund the Deed-Doer

It isn't often that we run across an early king of England who had so much good will from his people, especially one who ruled for only a few years.

Edmund was the younger brother of Æthelstan (sometimes thought of as "the Forgotten King"), and grandson of Alfred the Great. He came to power when Æthelstan died in 939. Although Edmund was King of England for only a few years (he died on 26 May 946), he distinguished himself in the eyes of his people.

A national crisis is always a good reason for people to rally around their king. King Olaf III of Dublin invaded and conquered Northumbria and the Midlands during Edmund's reign, but Edmund succeeded in reconquering them in 942 and 943. Edmund also conquered Strathclyde in the north, but made a treaty with King Malcolm I of Scotland in which Malcolm got Strathclyde and Malcolm and Edmund became allies. Edmund also had good relations with Ireland, since he was godfather to King Olaf of York (not the same as the King Olaf mentioned above).*

He was married twice: first to Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury, by whom he had two children who would later become kings (Eadwig and Edgar, the father of Æthelred), and after her death to Æthelflæd of Damerham.

His death could probably have been easily avoided. While at church on 26 May, Edmund saw a thief who was supposed to be exiled. He attacked the thief, Leofa by name, who fought back and stabbed the king. Leofa didn't survive the encounter, either: he was attacked by the nobles present and killed. But the damage was done. Edmund died, leaving the kingdom to his brother, Eadred, who ruled for the next ten years, after which Edmund's sons succeeded him.

*You may guess that Ireland had a "Norse problem" just as England did.