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63 9743 /:2 B<>8? ?52 8632 .91 A;=7> ;3 ;>/2=? ;3 08.=2 /=6.9 /=644> . ?IFRJR >TCMJSSFE GOQ SIF 1FHQFF OG <I1 BS SIF @NJUFQRJSX OG >S .NEQFVR &$$( 3TLL MFSBEBSB GOQ SIJR JSFM JR BUBJLBCLF JN =FRFBQDI->S.NEQFVR,3TLL?FWS BS, ISSP,##QFRFBQDI!QFPORJSOQX"RS!BNEQFVR"BD"TK# <LFBRF TRF SIJR JEFNSJGJFQ SO DJSF OQ LJNK SO SIJR JSFM, ISSP,##IEL"IBNELF"NFS#%$$&'#()+* ?IJR JSFM JR PQOSFDSFE CX OQJHJNBL DOPXQJHIS ?IJR JSFM JR LJDFNRFE TNEFQ B 0QFBSJUF 0OMMONR 8JDFNRF The Life and Works of Osbert of Clare Brian Briggs Department of Mediaeval History University of St Andrews Submitted for the Degree of Ph.D. 31 March, 2004 Thesis Abstract Osbert of Clare was an English monastic writer, whose works extended from the mid-1120s to the mid-1150s. His Latin hagiography reflects a deep admiration for Anglo-Saxon saints and spirituality, while his letters provide a personal perspective on his turbulent career. As prior of Westminster Abbey, Osbert of Clare worked to strengthen the rights and prestige of his monastery. His production of forged or altered charters makes him one of England's most prolific medieval forgers. At times his passion for reform put him at odds with his abbots, and he was sent into exile under both Abbot Herbert (Il21-c.Il36) and Abbot Gervase (1l38-c.Il57). Also Osbert, as one of the first proponents of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, wrote about the feast, worked to legitimize its celebration, and provided us with the only significant narration of its introduction to England. This thesis is divided into two sections. The first section is principally historical and the second is principally literary. In the first section, I provide an overview of Osbert of Clare's career and examine in greater detail two of his most significant undertaking: his promotion of Westminster Abbey and his attempted canonization of Edward the Confessor. In the second section, I give a philological study of Osbert Latin style and examine themes that nm throughout his writings, such as virginity, exile and kingship. Osbert's promotion of the feast of the Immaculate Conception is included in the second section of the thesis because of its ties to the themes of virginity and femininity within his writings. There are also two appendices: the first is a survey of the extant manuscripts of Osbert's writings, and the second is an edition of Osbert's unpublished Life ofSt Ethelbert from Gotha, Forschungsbibliothek MS Memb. i. 8l. Declarations (i) I, Brian Joseph Briggs, hereby certifY that this thesis, which is approximately 87,250 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not b( for a higher degree. date .Y(Y.!P.? signature of candi (ii) I was admitted as a research student in September, 1999 and as a candidate for the degree of Ph.D. in May, 2000; the carried out in the University of St And: signature of candi (iii) I hereby certifY that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of Ph.D. in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. \2.. M~ . date .. ~)... SIgnature of supe In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews I tmderstand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bonafide library or research worker. date H/Y .(OS signature of candidat Contents List of Tables Acknowledgements II Abbreviated References 111 Part I: Life 1) Career of Osbert of Clare 1 2) Osbert of Clare and Westminster Abbey 37 3) The Canonization of Edward the Confessor 62 Part II: Writings 4) Osbert of Clare's Latin Style 98 5) The Immaculate Conception of Mary and the Theme of Virginity 122 6) Kings and Kingship 153 7) Exile and Friendship 174 Conclusion 192 Appendix 1- The Extant Manuscripts of the Writings of Osbert of Clare 194 Appendix II- Osbert of Clare's Vita S. Aethelberti 205 Bibliography 249 List of Tables Table 3:1. The Sources of Osbert of Clare's Vita S. Eadwardi 75 Table 4:1. Cursus Cadences from Osbert of Clare's Vita S. Eadwardi 107 Table 4:2. Comparison of Cadences and Cursus Types 108 Acknowledgements Over the four years that it took me to produce this thesis I was helped by many people in the excellent academic enviromnent provided in the Department of Mediaeval History at the University of St Andrews. Special thanks needs to go to Prof. Robert Bartlett, who was always available ifI ran into a problem and who read over most of this thesis multiple times, and to my wife Candace, who was the first person to proofread most of the chapters and who pushed me when despair set in. April Harper, Kris Towson and Sally Crumplin, aU of the Department of Medieval History, and my father, Burwell Briggs, each read and gave me suggestions on different parts of the thesis. Prof. Mark Riley of Cali fomi a State University, Sacramento proofread my edition of the Vita S. Aethelbrichti and advised me on Latin philology. Further thanks goes to Dr. Haki Atonsson, Dr. Michael Staunton, Dr. lona McCleery and Dr. Angus Steward, each of whom helped me on many occasions with a variety of topics in my research, usually over a pint or two. I also received a wann welcome from the staff at the libraries where I found myself examining manuscripts, including the Gotha Forschungsbibliothek, the Piermont Morgan Library in New York, the Bodliean Library in Oxford, the British Library, and the Trinity College Library and Corpus Christi College Library, both in Cambridge. Finally, thanks needs to go to the department secretary Berta Wales, without whom the department would have been a much more chaotic place. Abbreviated References Letters Osbert of Clare, The Letters ofOsbert ofClare , ed. E.W. Williamson (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1929). Miracula S. Aedmundi Osbert of Clare, Miracula regis et martyris Aedmundi, extant in Samson, Opus de miraculis sancti A edm undi, Memorials of St Edmund's Abbey, i, ed. Thomas Arnold, Rolls Series 96 (1890), pp. 107-208. St Anne Osbert of Clare, "Les compositions d'Osbert de Clare en l'honneur de sainte Anne", ed. A. Wilmart, Annales de Bretagne 37 (1925-6), pp. 261-286. VUa S. Aethelbrichti Osbert of Clare, Vita Aethelbrichti, regis et martyris, Gotha, Forschllilgsbibliothek MS Memb. 181, fols. 30r-39r. Edited below, pp. 208-242. Vita S. Eadburgae Osbert of Clare, Vita beatae virginis Eadburgae, in S.J. Ridyard, The Royal Saints ofAnglo-Saxon England (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1988), pp. 253- 308. Vita S. Eadwardi Osbert of Clare, La vie de S Edouard Ie Confesseur, ed. M. Bloch,Analecta Bollandiana 41 (1923), pp. 4-131. AASS Acta sanctorum AB Analecta Bollandiana BL British Library CCCM Corpus Christianorum, continuatio medievalis CCSG COlpUS Christianorum, series Graeca CCSL Corpus Christianonlll1, series Latina DB Domesday Book EHR English Historical Review HBS Henry Bradshaw Society JEH Journal ofEcclesiastical History LHS London Record Society PL Patrologia cursus completus, sen·es Latina, ed. J.-P. Migne (221 vols.; Paris, 1844-1864) PRS Pipe Roll Society RHS Royal Historical Society RS Rerum britannicarum medii aevi scriptores (,Rolls Series') (251 vols.; London, 1858-1896) 1 Chapter One The Career of Osbert of Clare In the first decade of the twentieth century, 1. Armitage Robinson wrote a description of Osbert of Clare, the English hagiographer and sometime prior of Westminster Abbey. Robinson noted that: "He is a forgotten worthy of the English Church of twelfth century... , But he did his work, and left a deeper mark upon his time than others whose names are better known today."l Despite nearly a century's passing since Robinson traced the career of Osbert of Clare, a century that has produced extensive research in all facets of Anglo-Norman history, Osbert of Clare remains a somewhat elusive figure. Certain aspects of Osbert's career have been looked at more extensively, particularly his involvement in the canonization of Edward the Confesso? and in the early promotion of the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. 3 Other aspects of his hagiography have been examined in reference to specific saints' cults.4 Perhaps the most significant research done regarding Osbert of Clare in the last century has been his identification as a prolific I Armitage Robinson's article was originally published as, "Westminster in the Twelfth Century: Osbert of Clare", The Church Quarterly Review (July, 1909). It was then reprinted, with a few changes, as the introduction to Williamson's edition of Osbert of Clare's letters. Letters, pp. 1-20. 2 Bernhard Scholz, "The Canonization of Edward the Confessor", Speculum 36 (1961), pp. 38-60; Frank Barlow, Edward the Confessor (University of California Press, Berkeley, 1970). 3 Edmund Bishop, "On the Origins of the Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary", in Liturigica Historica (Clarendon, Oxford, 1918), pp. 238-259; P. Van Dijk, "The Origin of the Latin Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary", Dublin Review 223 (1954), pp. 251-267,428- 442; H Francis Davis, "Origins of the Devotion to our Lady's Immaculate Conception", Dublin Review 223 (1954), pp. 375-392. 4 Most notably, Susan Ridyard's examination of Osbert's Vita S Eadburgae in The Royal Saints of Anglo-Saxon England (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1988).
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