Osbern
Encyclopedia
Osbern was a Benedctine monk, hagiographer and musician, precentor of Christ Church, Canterbury. He is sometimes confused with Osbert de Clare, alias Osbern de Westminster. He is known as "the monk Osbern" or just "Monk Osbern".
and brought up by Godric
, who was dean from 1058-1080. He became a monk, and later prior of Christ Church, and was ordained by Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury (d. 1089). He died probably between 1088 and 1093.
He was very skilful in music and is said to have written two treatises De re musica and De vocum consonantiis.
But he is known best as translator of saints' lives from the Anglo-Saxon and as an original writer. William of Malmesbury
praises the elegance of his style.
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Biography
He was born at CanterburyCanterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
and brought up by Godric
Godric
Godric may refer to:*Godric of Finchale, an Anglo-Saxon saint*Godric the Sheriff, an 11th century sheriff of Buckinghamshire and Berkshire*Godric, a fictional character in the television series True Blood...
, who was dean from 1058-1080. He became a monk, and later prior of Christ Church, and was ordained by Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury (d. 1089). He died probably between 1088 and 1093.
He was very skilful in music and is said to have written two treatises De re musica and De vocum consonantiis.
But he is known best as translator of saints' lives from the Anglo-Saxon and as an original writer. William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
praises the elegance of his style.
Writings
- Vita S. Alphegi et de translatione S. Alphegi ("Life and Translation of St Ælfheah"), in prose. It was written at Lanfranc's request, about 1080 when there arose some dispute concerning Ælfheah's sanctity. See the remarks in William of Malmesbury's Gesta Pontificum.
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- Patrologia LatinaPatrologia LatinaThe Patrologia Latina is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1844 and 1855, with indices published between 1862 and 1865....
149. 371-393. Available from Documenta Catholica Omnia - Wharton, Henry (ed.), "Osberno, ‘Vita s. Alphegi archiepiscopi Cantuariensis’." Anglia Sacra 2 (1691): 122–48.
- Acta SanctorumActa SanctorumActa Sanctorum is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, which is organised according to each saint's feast day. It begins with two January volumes, published in 1643, and ended with the Propylaeum to...
, April 2. 631. - Mabillon, "Acta Sanctorum. O.S. B", saec. Vi, 104;
- Patrologia Latina
- Vita S. Dunstani (Life of DunstanDunstanDunstan was an Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, a Bishop of Worcester, a Bishop of London, and an Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restored monastic life in England and reformed the English Church...
) and Liber Miraculorum Sancti Dunstani, written in 1070 or after Lanfranc's death. Based on earlier Life by author 'B'.- Stubbs, W. (ed.). Memorials of St Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury. Rolls Series 63. London, 1874. 68–164.
- Mabillon op. cit., saec. V, 644-84; in "Acta SS.", May 4, 359; in Patrologia LatinaPatrologia LatinaThe Patrologia Latina is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1844 and 1855, with indices published between 1862 and 1865....
137. 407. The life given in Mabillon, op. cit. (p. 684), is probably the work of Eadmer.
- Vita S. Odonis archiepiscopi Cantuariensis. From William of Malmesbury's Gesta Pontificum we learn that Osbern wrote a life of OdoOdoOdo , played by René Auberjonois, is a major character on the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is a member of a fictional shapeshifting race called Changelings and serves as the head of security for the space station Deep Space Nine on which the show is...
, but the work has now perished. - (Henry WhartonHenry WhartonHenry Wharton was an English writer and librarian.-Life:He was descended from Thomas, 2nd Baron Wharton , being a son of the Rev. Edmund Wharton, vicar of Worstead, Norfolk. Born at Worstead, Wharton was educated by his father, and then at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge...
, in his Anglia Sacra (London, 1691), 75-87, published a life of St. Bregwin which was wrongly attributed to Osbern).
- In addition, two letters which he wrote to AnselmAnselm of CanterburyAnselm of Canterbury , also called of Aosta for his birthplace, and of Bec for his home monastery, was a Benedictine monk, a philosopher, and a prelate of the church who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109...
abbot of Becc, probably about 1093, are preserved.- Schmitt, F.S. (ed). S. Anselmi Cantuariensis archiepiscopi opera omnia. 6 vols. 1938–61.
Source
- Rubenstein, J.C. "The life and writings of Osbern of Canterbury." In Canterbury and the Norman conquest: churches, saints and scholars, 1066–1109, ed. R. Eales and R. Sharpe. 1995. 27–40.
- Vaughn, Sally N. "Among These Authors are the Men of Bec: Historical Writing among the Monks of Bec." Essays in Medieval Studies 17 (2000). Online puiblication