[MR] Wikipedia: Saint Dunstan

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

On this date in 988, Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury died after a long
life of service to the Church and to a number of Anglo-Saxon kings. He was
a noted scholar, artist/illuminator, diplomat, administrator, and a fine
worker in silver and other metals.

Dunstan held many religious and secular offices during his long life. Most
notable of those before Canterbury was as Abbot of Glastonbury, a ruinous
church which under his hand began to grow into the second richest religious
foundation in England, exceeded only by Canterbury in power and wealth.

Upon his death, Dunstan was acclaimed a saint, and was soon one of the
most popular saints in England. His formal canonization took place in 1029,
and his tomb in Canterbury became a shrine and pilgrimage destination.
Curiously, the Abbots of Glastonbury, who were always hungry for a saint of
their own, claimed they had his relics (they also made a dodgy, but
widely-believed, claim to the bodies of Arthur and Guinevere). This tussle
went on for several centuries until 1508 when Saint Dunstan's tomb at
Canterbury was opened to reveal his body was indeed there. Sadly, his tomb
and relics were destroyed during Henry VIII's destruction of the
monasteries. Henry was also particularly hard on Glastonbury, but the
outline of Dunstan's tiny cell and study is still marked on the ground
there.

As a Catholic saint, Dunstan had to have a *vita*, or life. Actually, he
had several, and they made what today seem some pretty wild claims. Among
them is the legend that the Devil came to disturb Dunstan during his
prayers. Dunstan caught the demon's nose with his metalworking tongs and
held on until the Evil One cried for mercy. For you Dickens fans, this is
mentioned in relation to the bitter cold during the first chapter of A
CHRISTMAS CAROL, a metaphor most Victorian English would have understood
but is a head-scratcher for modern American readers.

By the way, today is Saint Dunstan's feast day in both the Catholic and
Anglican traditions.

Here is the whole Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunstan .

More on the saint is at
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-dunstan-of-canterbury/ .

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆