The Ideology of Benedictine Reform
Oswald of Worcester (d.992) is usually viewed as one of three episcopal leaders of monastic reform in tenth-century England, but this interpretation conflates Oswald’s motivations and interests with those of Dunstan (d.988) and Æthelwold (d.984). This article uses the surviving source-material to re-examine how far Oswald was genuinely connected with his contemporaries’ reforming ideology and how this differed from Æthelwold’s specifically. Ultimately two distinct movements emerge from this re-evaluation, one centred on Winchester and the other on Worcester (and its associated houses), both based on distinct ideologies of monastic reform.
Credits –
Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening
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