The Cult of Saint Dunstan and the English Benedictine Reform: Monastic Memory and Identity in England, 988-1100

Scholarship in recent times has challenged traditional notions of the concept of early medieval monastic reform, including the traditional narratives of the English Benedictine reform of the tenth century. In response to these revisions, this thesis explores the historical narratives constructed by hagiographical writings on Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury (959-88) produced between his death and c. 1100. There were three stages in the development of Dunstan’s image as a reformer. The first chapter explores how ‘B’, Wulfstan of Winchester and Byrhtferth of Ramsey portrayed Dunstan, associating Dunstan with Benedictine monasticism whilst also using the image of his authority for their own individual needs and purposes. In the second stage, Archbishop of Ælfheah of Canterbury (1005-12) centred Dunstan’s cult at Christ Church and developed him into a symbol of the authority of the archbishops of Canterbury. The first half of the eleventh century also saw interest in Dunstan’s association with the Regularis Concordia at Christ Church.

The third stage saw a monk at Christ Church Canterbury write a Life and Miracles of St Dunstan sometime between 1089 and 1093. Founded on interpretations of these hagiographies and the Christ Church copies of the Regularis Concordia, Osbern of Canterbury constructed his idea of Dunstan’s role in the English Benedictine Reform movement. His work depicted Dunstan as a monastic reformer who introduced monasticism in England, founded monasteries, wrote a rule and expelled secular clerics. This was also informed by contemporary contexts of post-Conquest Canterbury, including Lanfranc’s changes at the monastery and historical activity at the scriptorium. Osbern’s portrayal of Dunstan as a monastic reformer was partially modelled on Lanfranc. Through looking at the development of the memory of Dunstan, this thesis demonstrates the significance of hagiography as a historiographical genre and for expressions of monastic identity, and its relevance for scholars exploring narratives of early medieval monastic reform.