Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding. I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... it was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.


Thursday 20 May 2010

St Dunstan addenda


I have based this on John Dillon's posting on the Medieval Religion discussion group.

Dunstan's cult commenced almost immediately after his death; his first Vita (BHL 2342) was already in existence in 1004.
An expandable view of the tenth-century drawing of Dunstan prostrating himself before Christ, which I used yesterday, is
here:
This is from fol.1r of Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Auct. F. 4. 32.
This is a composite manuscript known as Dunstan's Classbook as much of it can be connected with Dunstan's teaching activity at Glastonbury. The two-line prayer
Dunstanum memet clemens, rogo, Christe, tuere / Tenarias me non sinas sorbsisse procellas ('I beseech you, kind Christ, to protect me, Dunstan. Do not permit the storms of Hell to suck me in.') is almost certainly of Dunstan's own composition. An online facsimile of the manuscript is here, and there is a fuller account of it than the one linked to from the facsimile  here:

There are two views of St Dunstan's Church, Canterbury, the first to be dedicated to him, although it has been rebuilt since, and now contains the head of St Thomas More which was buried there with Margaret Roper, 
here and here. There is a page on St Dunstan's Church, Mayfield in East Sussex  here.

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