Page:St. Oswald and the Church of Worcester.djvu/52

 Omnes qui eis successerunt usque in praesens monachi, ut omnibus constaty extiterint. We have no satisfactory evidence that either Athelm or Wulfhelm was a monk. After Anselm's death an effort was made to obtain a secular as primate: e obiectum est nullum a beato Augustino nisi de monachico ordine unquam pontificatui Cantuariensi praesedisse, uno dumtaxat excepto' (who was deposed by the Pope): Eadmer, ''Hist. Nov.'' iv, p. 222. Accordingly, we see that here again the scruple of a later period has been introduced into the narrative, which thus becomes almost a controversial tract.

82. Nuncii ad abbatem coenobii sancti Benedicti Floriacensis. That Oda received the monastic habit from Fleury is stated by the biographer of Oswald, who happens to mention it, not in any connexion with his promotion to Canterbury, but as the reason why Oswald himself went to Fleury. But that the abbot of Fleury should have crossed to England to bring the habit to Oda is not very easy of credence.

In the Life of Oswald by Capgrave (or John of Tynemouth), which is largely drawn from Eadmer's Life of Oswald, Oda is made to become a monk at Fleury in his youth: 'idem vero sanctus Odo in iuventute constitutus mari transito habitum monasticum apud eundem Floriacum susceperat.' This is probably a conscious correction_, but of course no historical weight can be given to it.

Quidam clerici maligno err ore seducti. The original narrative introduced the story of the bleeding of the Host without any controversial reference: it was the repetition 'in our days' of an ancient miracle, and was granted as the reward of Oda's sanctity. Here, however, it is represented as an answer to Oda's prayers, in order that the monstrous error of certain secular clergy might be publicly refuted. The former account lays stress on its secrecy, this on its publicity. Once more, therefore, we find that current controversy has led to the recasting of the narrative.

83. Nulla aut infusio imbrium aut vis ventorum &hellip; in tribus annis. The story that no heavy rain fell while the church at Canterbury was roofless is here elaborated. No rain at all arid no storm of wind—such was the answer to Oda's special prayers; and this immunity lasted for three years: moreover, heavy rains fell immediately outside the city walls. It may be that this was the gradual growth of a Canterbury tradition, and not the invention of a particular writer.

Verens ne si illum, &c. The statement that Edwy was restrained at first by the fear that Oda might defer his coronation is peculiar to this