#st oswald

[roehenstart]

St. Oswald (604-642), King of Northumbria.

[dreamconsumer]

St. Oswald (604-641/42) by Stephen Reid.

[tinyshe]

A Dane by birth, St. Oswald studied in the household of his uncle, Archbishop Odo of Fleury, France, where he was ordained. Returning to England in 959, he was later made Bishop of Worcester (962), by St. Dunstan. In this office, he worked hard to eliminate abuses and built many monasteries, including the famous abbey of Ramsey in Huntingdonshire. In 972, St. Oswald became Archbishop of York, although he also retained the See of Worcester in order to promote his monastic reforms which were under attack by Elfhere, King of Mercia. In addition to striving to improve the morals of his clergy, this holy man also labored to increase their theological knowledge - he himself wrote two treatises and several synodal decrees. St. Oswald was associated for most of his public life with St. Dunstan and St. Ethelwold and when he died in 992 popular veneration joined his name to theirs. He has been revered ever since as one of the three saints who revived English monasticism.

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.[1] 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. 

https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=798

[maypoleman1]

5th August

Old St James’ Day and the Legend of Tom Hickathrift

Tom Hickathrift by Mike Lea. Source: Look and Learn magazine

Under the Old Calendar, today is St James’ Day and also the day that the legend of Tom Hickathrift was born. Tom was a large and good-hearted man who lived in eleventh century England. A brewer, whose produce was being regularly stolen and his men killed by the fearsome Wisbech Giant, prevailed on Tom to take the job of safeguarding the ale. Tom agreed to drive a cart filled with beer from King’s Lyn to the inns of Wisbech. Sure enough midway through his journey, Tom was assailed by the Giant, wielding a tree as a club and who pointed out his collection of severed heads - the remains of Tom’s unfortunate predecessors. Nothing daunted, Tom pulled off a wheel from the cart to use as a shield and the axle as a club and the two titans joined battle. The men were evenly matched and the fight went on for hours, until Tom eventually prevailed, striking the Giant’s head and administering a death blow. On entering his foe’s cave, Tom discovered a horde of stolen treasure. From that moment Tom, hitherto viewed as a bit of a simpleton, became a wealthy gentleman, ‘Mr Thomas’ Hickathrift and honoured throughout East Anglia.

On this day in 642, St Oswald, the Christian King of Northumbria, was defeated and killed by Penda, the pagan king of Mercia at the Battle of Maserfield. Oswald’s body was dismembered under Germanic pagan rites and what remained of the king was taken to Bardney Abbey in Lincolnshire for burial. The monks refused to accept the corpse because although Oswald was Christian, he was also from Northumbria, which the holy men viewed as an enemy land. God took a hand and a bright light then allegedly shone continually from the field where Oswald was dumped, all the way to heaven. Unsurprisingly the monks changed their minds and Oswald was duly interred in the Abbey with all due ceremony.

[fotochurch]

St Oswald’s, Filey, North Yorkshire

[cumbriacrack]

James Cropper supplies free paper to help children enjoy a creative Easter Burneside-based paper maker James Cropper PLC is doing its bit to help keep children occupied this Easter. It has delivered stacks of large-sized white paper to Kendal supermarkets Morrisons, Asda and Sainsburys Full story: https://www.cumbriacrack.com/2020/04/10/james-cropper-supplies-free-paper-to-help-children-enjoy-a-creative-easter/

[suevincent]

Whitby Weekend: Inside the church at Lythe...

Whitby Weekend: Inside the church at Lythe…

Stuart and I had been to Lythe before, some years ago, early in our travels, sent to the little church by a friend. The church is dedicated to St Oswald, a figure we have come upon again and again in recent years. Born around 604, he was king of Northumbria from 634, a reign of a mere eight years… or nine, according to some chroniclers of the time, who assign the one year reign of the previous…

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[suevincent]

Whitby Weekend: Inside the church at Lythe...

Whitby Weekend: Inside the church at Lythe…

Stuart and I had been to Lythe before, some years ago, early in our travels, sent to the little church by a friend. The church is dedicated to St Oswald, a figure we have come upon again and again in recent years. Born around 604, he was king of Northumbria from 634, a reign of a mere eight years… or nine, according to some chroniclers of the time, who assign the one year reign of the previous…

View On WordPress