Goscelin
Encyclopedia
Goscelin of Saint-Bertin (or Goscelin of Canterbury) was a Benedictine
hagiographical
writer
, born between 1020–1035 and who died shortly after 1107. He was a Fleming or Brabantian
by birth and became a monk of St Bertin's
at Saint-Omer
.
Goscelin stayed at many monasteries and cathedrals throughout England and collected, wherever he went, materials for his numerous biographies of English saints.
, Goscelin was a monk of St Bertin's
. On the other hand, as the author of the Vita Amalbergae virginis, he appears to be very well informed about the hagiographic tradition in Flanders
and Brabant
, more especially related to Saint Peter's Abbey of Ghent
. He probably stayed there for a number of years.
, Goscelin arrived in England with Herman, bishop of Sherborne
, which makes most historians believe he arrived in 1058. According to Goscelin's own testimony in his Liber Confortatorius however, he passed the village of Potterne
or Bishops Cannings
on the way to his bishop, which seems to date his arrival between 1048 and 1055, when Herman's see was still located at Ramsbury
.
Goscelin's patron and companion was Herman, Bishop of Sherborne
. He functioned as secretary to the bishop and as chaplain to the nuns of Wilton
. His fortunes took a turn for the worse when Bishop Herman died in 1078 and was succeeded by Osmund of Sées, whom Goscelin in his Liber confortatorius describes as a "king who knew not Joseph".
about 1082, where he wrote a life of St Æthelthryth
. Between 1087 and 1092 he was at Ramsey
, and compiled there a life of St Ivo, or Ives. In 1098 he went to Canterbury
, where he wrote his account of the translation of the relics of St Augustine and his companions, which had taken place in 1091. This he dedicated to St Anselm
, and it was probably his last work.
The Canterbury Obituary
, quoted by Wharton, gives 15 May as the day of his death but does not name the year. He was still alive in 1107, when he was asked to review a hagiography.
His works consist of the lives of many English saint
s, chiefly of those connected with Canterbury, where he spent his last years. Some of them have been printed by the Bollandists, by Jean Mabillon
, and by Jacques-Paul Migne. Others are contained in manuscripts in the British Museum
(London
) and at Cambridge
. A full list of his known writings is given in the eighth volume of the "Histoire littéraire de France". His chief work was a life of St Augustine of Canterbury
, professing to be based on older records and divided into two parts, -- an "Historia major" (Mabillon, Acta SS. O.S.B., I) and an "Historia minor" (in Wharton, Anglia Sacra, I). His method seems to have been usually to take some older writer as his basis and to reproduce his work, in his own style.
The Liber Confortatorius dedicated to Eve of Wilton, a former pupil who went to Angers to live as a recluse, is some kind of a "letter of consolation", remembering Eve about her vocation and to utter Goscelin's feelings about her sudden departure. The close relation between Eve and Gosceling has been compared with the love story between Abelard and Heloise.
According to William of Malmesbury, Goscelin was also a skilled musician
.
In addition, many other Lives have been ascribed to Goscelin, e.g. those of St Swithin, St Grimbald and St Mildburg, but many such cases now prove unlikely or unsatisfactory.
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
hagiographical
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, born between 1020–1035 and who died shortly after 1107. He was a Fleming or Brabantian
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
by birth and became a monk of St Bertin's
Abbey of Saint Bertin
The Abbey of St. Bertin was a Benedictine abbey in Saint-Omer, France, now in ruins and open to the public...
at Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....
.
Goscelin stayed at many monasteries and cathedrals throughout England and collected, wherever he went, materials for his numerous biographies of English saints.
Flanders
According to William of MalmesburyWilliam 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,...
, Goscelin was a monk of St Bertin's
Abbey of Saint Bertin
The Abbey of St. Bertin was a Benedictine abbey in Saint-Omer, France, now in ruins and open to the public...
. On the other hand, as the author of the Vita Amalbergae virginis, he appears to be very well informed about the hagiographic tradition in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
and Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
, more especially related to Saint Peter's Abbey of Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
. He probably stayed there for a number of years.
England
According to William of MalmesburyWilliam 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,...
, Goscelin arrived in England with Herman, bishop of Sherborne
Herman (bishop)
Herman was a medieval Bishop of Ramsbury and Bishop of Sherborne.-Life:Herman was a native of Flanders. As chaplain of Edward the Confessor he was named to the see of Ramsbury shortly after 22 April 1045. He visited Rome in 1050, where he attended a papal council, along with his fellow English...
, which makes most historians believe he arrived in 1058. According to Goscelin's own testimony in his Liber Confortatorius however, he passed the village of Potterne
Potterne
Potterne is a village in the English county of Wiltshire. The civil parish of Potterne includes the hamlet of Potterne Wick. In the census of 2001, the village had a population of 1,570. It is located slightly to the south of Devizes and lies on the A360 which passes from Devizes to Salisbury...
or Bishops Cannings
Bishops Cannings
Bishops Cannings is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the settlements of Coate, Horton, Bourton and Easton, as well as the village of Bishops Cannings itself.-History:...
on the way to his bishop, which seems to date his arrival between 1048 and 1055, when Herman's see was still located at Ramsbury
Ramsbury
Ramsbury is a village in Ramsbury and Axford civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. The village is in the Kennet Valley near the Berkshire boundary. The nearest towns are Hungerford about east and Marlborough about west. The much larger town of Swindon is about to the north.The civil...
.
Goscelin's patron and companion was Herman, Bishop of Sherborne
Herman (bishop)
Herman was a medieval Bishop of Ramsbury and Bishop of Sherborne.-Life:Herman was a native of Flanders. As chaplain of Edward the Confessor he was named to the see of Ramsbury shortly after 22 April 1045. He visited Rome in 1050, where he attended a papal council, along with his fellow English...
. He functioned as secretary to the bishop and as chaplain to the nuns of Wilton
Wilton
- England :*Wilton, Cumbria, a place in the county of Cumbria*Wilton, Herefordshire, a village in south Herefordshire*Wilton, North Yorkshire, a place in the county of North Yorkshire*Wilton, Redcar and Cleveland, a place in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland...
. His fortunes took a turn for the worse when Bishop Herman died in 1078 and was succeeded by Osmund of Sées, whom Goscelin in his Liber confortatorius describes as a "king who knew not Joseph".
Writing
William of Malmesbury praises his industry in the highest terms. He was at ElyEly, Cambridgeshire
Ely is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about by road from London. It is built on a Lower Greensand island, which at a maximum elevation of is the highest land in the Fens...
about 1082, where he wrote a life of St Æthelthryth
Æthelthryth
Æthelthryth is the proper name for the popular Anglo-Saxon saint often known, particularly in a religious context, as Etheldreda or by the pet form of Audrey...
. Between 1087 and 1092 he was at Ramsey
Ramsey
Ramsey may refer to:In places in the United Kingdom:* Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, small market town in England* Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England* Ramsey Abbey, historic ecclesiastical centre near Ramsey, Cambridgeshire...
, and compiled there a life of St Ivo, or Ives. In 1098 he went to Canterbury
Canterbury
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....
, where he wrote his account of the translation of the relics of St Augustine and his companions, which had taken place in 1091. This he dedicated to St Anselm
Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm 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...
, and it was probably his last work.
The Canterbury Obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
, quoted by Wharton, gives 15 May as the day of his death but does not name the year. He was still alive in 1107, when he was asked to review a hagiography.
His works consist of the lives of many English saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
s, chiefly of those connected with Canterbury, where he spent his last years. Some of them have been printed by the Bollandists, by Jean Mabillon
Jean Mabillon
Jean Mabillon was a French Benedictine monk and scholar, considered the founder of palaeography and diplomatics.-Early career:...
, and by Jacques-Paul Migne. Others are contained in manuscripts in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
(London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) and at Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
. A full list of his known writings is given in the eighth volume of the "Histoire littéraire de France". His chief work was a life of St Augustine of Canterbury
Augustine of Canterbury
Augustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597...
, professing to be based on older records and divided into two parts, -- an "Historia major" (Mabillon, Acta SS. O.S.B., I) and an "Historia minor" (in Wharton, Anglia Sacra, I). His method seems to have been usually to take some older writer as his basis and to reproduce his work, in his own style.
The Liber Confortatorius dedicated to Eve of Wilton, a former pupil who went to Angers to live as a recluse, is some kind of a "letter of consolation", remembering Eve about her vocation and to utter Goscelin's feelings about her sudden departure. The close relation between Eve and Gosceling has been compared with the love story between Abelard and Heloise.
According to William of Malmesbury, Goscelin was also a skilled musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
.
Flanders (Ghent)
- Vita S. AmalbergaeAmalberga of TemseAmalberga of Temse was a Lotharingian woman celebrated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. She is especially venerated in Temse, Ghent, Munsterbilzen and other parts of Flanders. Many miracles, such as crossing a river on a giant fish, are attributed to her.Her vita is connected to Charles...
virginis (ed. J.B. Sollerius, Acta Sanctorum mensis Julii III (1723) 90-102).
Sherborne and Wilton (Wessex)
- Shortly after 1078: Life of St Wulfsige (of Sherborne)Wulfsige of SherborneWulfsige was a medieval Bishop of Sherborne.He was consecrated between 881 and 889. He died between 892 and 901.-References:*Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde Handbook of British Chronology 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961...
, ed. C.H. Talbot, "The life of Saint Wulsin of Sherborne by Goscelin." Revue Bénédictine 69 (1959): 68–85; tr. - Between 1080-1082: Liber confortatorius, ed. Stephanie Hollis, Writing the Wilton Women: Goscelin's Legend of Edith and Liber Confortatorius. Medieval Women Texts and Contexts 9. Turnhout: Brepols, 2004; ed. C.H. Talbot, The Liber confortatorius of Goscelin of Saint Bertin. 1955. 1–117; tr. Monika Otter, Goscelin of St Bertin. Book of Encouragement and Consolation (Liber Confortatorius). Library of Medieval Women. Cambridge, 2004.
- Life of St EdithEdith of WiltonSaint Edith of Wilton was an English nun, a daughter of the 10th century King Edgar of England, born at Kemsing, Kent, in 961...
(of Wilton), ed. Stephanie Hollis, Writing the Wilton Women: Goscelin’s Legend of Edith and Liber Confortatorius. Medieval Women Texts and Contexts 9. Turnhout: Brepols, 2004.
East Anglia
- "Life and Miracles of St IvoIvo of HuntingdonshireSaint Ivo was a Cornish bishop and hermit, and became the eponymous saint of St Ives, Huntingdonshire. He appears in the historical sources in 1001/2 when a peasant allegedly found his coffin while ploughing at Slepe...
", ed. W.D. Macray, Chronicon Abbatiae Rameseiensis. London, 1886. lix-lxxxiv. - Lives of female saints of ElyEly, CambridgeshireEly is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about by road from London. It is built on a Lower Greensand island, which at a maximum elevation of is the highest land in the Fens...
, ed. and tr. Rosalind C. Love, Goscelin of Saint-Bertin. The Hagiography of the Female Saints of Ely. OMT. Oxford, 2004.- "Life of St ÆthelthrythÆthelthrythÆthelthryth is the proper name for the popular Anglo-Saxon saint often known, particularly in a religious context, as Etheldreda or by the pet form of Audrey...
", lost (one may compare the Miracula S. Ætheldrethe and Vita S. Ætheldrethe in Love's edition). - Vita S. Wihtburge "Life of St Wihtburh"
- Lectiones in festivitate S. Sexburge, "The Lesson on the Feast of St SeaxburhSeaxburh of ElySeaxburh ; also Saint Sexburga of Ely, was the queen of King Eorcenberht of Kent, as well as an abbess and a saint of the Christian Church....
. Compare Vita S. Sexburge in Love's edition. - Lectiones in natalis S. Eormenhilde "Lessons on the anniversary feast of St Eormenhild" (daughter of Seaxburh).
- "Life of St Waerburh" daughter of Eormenhild; edited also by Carl Hostmann and translated by Henry Bradshaw, The Life of Saint Werburge of Chester. EETSEarly English Text SocietyThe Early English Text Society is an organization to reprint early English texts, especially those only available in manuscript. Most of its volumes are in Middle English and Old English...
. London, 1887.
- "Life of St Æthelthryth
Barking Abbey (Essex)
- Lives of the female saints of Barking AbbeyBarking AbbeyThe ruined remains of Barking Abbey are situated in Barking in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in east London, England, and now form a public open space.- History :...
, ed. M.L. Colker, "Texts of Jocelyn of Canterbury which relate to the history of Barking Abbey." Studia Monastica 7.2 (1965). 383-460.- "Life and Miracles of St WulfhildWulfhildWulfhild , Old West Norse: Úlfhildr Ólafsdóttir, Swedish: Ulfhild Olofsdotter, was a Norwegian princess and a duchess of Saxony, wife of Ordulf, Duke of Saxony....
" (pp. 418–34) - "Life of St ÆthelburhÆthelburg of BarkingSaint Æthelburh or Ethelburga, founder and first Abbess of the dual monastery of Barking, was the sister of Eorcenwald, Bishop of London....
" - "Life of St Hildelith"
- "Life and Miracles of St Wulfhild
St Augustine's, Canterbury
- Historia maior
- Historia minor
- Liber de miraculis S. Augustini and Historia translationis S. Augustini, ed. 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....
80 (1850). 43–94, 485–520. On a miracle which occurred in relation to the translation of the relics of St Augustine of CanterburyAugustine of CanterburyAugustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597...
, and the monastic goldsmith SpearhafocSpearhafocSpearhafoc, a name meaning "sparrowhawk" in Old English , was an eleventh century Anglo-Saxon artist and Benedictine monk, whose artistic talent was apparently the cause of his rapid elevation to Abbot of Abingdon in 1047–48 and Bishop-Elect of London in 1051...
. - Vita S. Laurentii (Laurence of CanterburyLaurence of CanterburyLaurence was the second Archbishop of Canterbury from about 604 to 619. He was a member of the Gregorian mission sent from Italy to England to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their native Anglo-Saxon paganism, although the date of his arrival is disputed...
) - Vita et miracula S. Melliti
- Vita S. Iusti
- Vita S. Honorii
- Vita S. Deusdedit
- Vita S. Theodori
- Vita, translatio et miraculi Adriani
- Vita et miraculi S. Letardi
Kentish Lives
- "Life of St MildrithMildrithSaint Mildthryth , also Mildrith, Mildryth or Mildred, was an Anglo-Saxon abbess.Mildthryth was the daughter of King Merewalh of Magonsaete, a sub-kingdom of Mercia, and Eormenburh , herself the daughter of King Æthelberht of Kent. Her sisters Milburh and Mildgytha were considered to be saints...
(of Minster-in-ThanetMinster-in-ThanetMinster-in-Thanet, also known as Minster, is a village and civil parish in the Thanet District of Kent, England. The village is situated to the west of Ramsgate and to the north east of Canterbury; it lies just south west of Kent International Airport and just north of the River Stour...
)", ed. D.W. Rollason, "Goscelin of Canterbury's account of the translation and miracles of St Mildrith (BHL 5961/4). An edition with notes." Mediaeval Studies 48 (1986): 139–210; ed. Rollason, The Mildrith Legend. A Study of Early Medieval Hagiography in England. Leicester, 1982. 105-43 (based on MS BHL 5960).
In addition, many other Lives have been ascribed to Goscelin, e.g. those of St Swithin, St Grimbald and St Mildburg, but many such cases now prove unlikely or unsatisfactory.
Further reading
- Talbot, C. H., ‘The Liber confortatorius of Goscelin of Saint Bertin’, Studia Anselmiana, fasc. 37 (Analecta monastica, 3rd series 1955) 1–117.