Here Edward king,
of Angles lord,
sent his stedfast
soul to Christ.
In the kingdom of God
a holy spirit!
-
Entry in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 1065, Whitelock,
Dorothy, David, Douglas C., Tucker, Susie, I. (eds.), The Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle: A Revised Translation, Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1962
On this day, the eve
of the Epiphany, in 1066 Edward king of England died in sickbed only
a few days after he had witnessed the consecration of Westminster
Abbey. Edward died childless and was succeeded by Harold Godwinson,
and he was revered by the new Norman overlords as a good and pious
king. In 1161 he was canonised by Pope Alexander III and became known
as Edward the Confessor. The cult was centred at Westminster and was
initially embraced by King Henry II, who orchestrated the moving of
his relics to a new tomb on October 13 1163. On this occasion, Henry
was presented with a new vita of the Confessor, written by
Aelred of Rievaulx, and this became the primary source for all
subsequent renditions of Edward's life. In this blogpost, I aim to
present an overview of this feast in liturgical sources from the High
Middle Ages.
Edward the Confessor carrying book and sceptre
MS. Royal 20 A II, historical miscellany from England, c.1307-27
Courtesy of British library
When Edward's cult
was established in 1161, there was only one celebration for the
ministrants of Westminster Abbey, namely his dies natalis,
January 5. The dies natalis meant the heavenly birthday of the
saint, the day when, through dying, he or she entered the registers
of the saint and was born into holiness. In the beginning of any
cult, this day is the most important feast day, and so it was for
Edward the Confessor up until the mid-13th century.
Despite
Henry II's initial enthusiasm for Edward the Confessor's cult, it
appears he never achieved any widespread popularity in England, and
when Thomas Becket was canonised in 1173 the late archbishop's cult
gained an overshadowing prominence in the realm. Becket's feastday
was December 29 and thus his octave fell on the eve of Epihany,
January 5, and in churches where Becket was the more important saint
of the two, it is probable that Edward the Confessor was not
celebrated with a complete office, but rather included in a minor
memorial service.
Shrine of Edward the Confessor at Westminster
MS. Egerton 3028, Roman de Brut with continuation, England, 2nd quarter of 14th century
Courtesy of British Library
We
have today very little liturgical material left from the repertoire
of Edward the Confessor. In my MA work I have been able to date one
text snippet to the timeframe 1161-66, and this text is a part of an
office material that most likely was performed on January 5 at
Westminster. The text in question is a responsory referred to by
Aelred of Rievaulx in a sermon for January 5, held sometime in the
aforementioned timeframe. Today, this responsory survives only in MS.
Rawlinson liturg. g. 10 (c.1400), and its only translation into
English can be found in my MA thesis and below. A responsory is a
liturgical item that follows a reading, such as a lection in an
office, and responds to the theme of the preceding text.
Responsum: Edwardus domino se vidit esse ditatum.
repetenda: A primis annis studuit vitare reatum.
Verse: Omnia contemnens que carni dant famulatum.
repetenda: A primis annis studuit vitare reatum.
Responsum: Edwardus domino se vidit esse ditatum.
repetenda: A primis annis studuit vitare reatum.
Verse: Omnia contemnens que carni dant famulatum.
repetenda: A primis annis studuit vitare reatum.
R.
Edward saw himself enriched by the Lord.
[r.] And from his earliest years on strove to avoid sin.
V. Avoiding all that could subject him to the flesh.
[r.] And from his earliest years on strove to avoid sin.
[r.] And from his earliest years on strove to avoid sin.
V. Avoiding all that could subject him to the flesh.
[r.] And from his earliest years on strove to avoid sin.
Material
for Edward's dies
natalis
can also be found in a few liturgical books that do not follow the
Westminster Use, i.e. liturgical formulae of Westminster and its
related houses. Two of these antiphonaries are from the early 13th
century (one from the Sarum Use, one from the Worcester Use), and
what is more interesting is that they both only have material for
October 13, not January 5. I don't know why this is, but I allow
myself to speculate that this might be a consequence of the
veneration of Thomas Becket's octave. Edward's lack of popularity
around 1220, when these books were put together, can be seen in by
Archbishop Stephen Langton's plea to Pope Gregory IX that he must
command the English clergy to improve their veneration of the
Confessor. The pope issued a bull to this effect in 1227.
Another interesting detail, however, is that a 14th-century antiphoner from Aberystwyth, following the Sarum Use, does indeed contain material for January 5. Why this is, I don't know, but it is interesting to note that a Westminster Missal finished prior to 1386 under the auspices of Abbot Lytlyngton, where January 5 is the most important feast, holding the same rank as Christmas.
Another interesting detail, however, is that a 14th-century antiphoner from Aberystwyth, following the Sarum Use, does indeed contain material for January 5. Why this is, I don't know, but it is interesting to note that a Westminster Missal finished prior to 1386 under the auspices of Abbot Lytlyngton, where January 5 is the most important feast, holding the same rank as Christmas.
The translation of Edward the Confessor
MS. Ee.3.59, La estoire de seint aedward le rei, 13th century
Courtesy of Cambridge Digital Library
By
the middle of the 13th century Edward's long-suffering popularity
received a boost from Henry III who embraced Edward as his particular
saint, and who refurbished Westminster in his honour and had his
corpse translated once more on October 13 1169. It is possible that
Henry III saw a greater royal symbolism in the translatio,
owing perhaps to the fact that it was Henry II who had overseen the
translation of 1163, and this became now the most important feast,
replacing January 5, the aforementioned importance of this date in
the Lytlyngton Missal notwithstanding.
The final result of Henry III's initiated refurbishment of Westminster
Bibliography
Carpenter,
D. A., "King Henry III and Saint Edward the Confessor: the
Origins of the Cult", printed in English Historical Review, Vol.
CXXII, No. 498, Oxford University Press, 2007
Hope,
Steffen, The
King's Three Images - the representation of Edward the Confessor in
historiography, hagiography and liturgy,
Trondheim, 2012
Legg,
John Wickham, Missale
ad usum Ecclesie Westmonasteriensis,
Henry Bradshaw Society, London, 1891 (Vol. I), 1893 (Vol. II) and
1897 (Vol. III)
Luard,
Henry Richard (ed.), Flores
Historiarum,
London, 1890
Raciti,
Gaetano, Aelredi
Rievallensis Sermones LXXXV-CLXXXII,
Corpus Christianorum Continu-atio Medievalis IIC, Brepols Publishers,
2012 Vol. 4
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