HOLY MARTYR-KING OSWALD OF NORTHUMBRIA The holy Martyr-King Oswald was born in the year 604, being the

son of the pagan King Aethelfrith of Bernicia. n 6!6, following on the death of his father, he was forced to flee with his si" brothers and sister #t. $bba to e"ile in #cotland, where they were recei%ed with hono&r by King 'onald Brecc. There he recei%ed the faith of (hrist and was bapti)ed on the holy island of ona. n 6**, shortly after the death of King $dwin at the hands of Kings (adwallon of +wyneth and ,enda of Mercia, and the apostasy of al-ost all the .orth&-brians fro- the (hristian /aith, Oswald ad%anced so&th with a s-all force into $nglish territory. 0e was -et by a %astly larger ar-y &nder King (adwallon at 0ea%enfield near (hollerford on 0adrian1s 2all. On the e%e of the battle, as #t. (ol&-ba1s biographer, #t. Ado-nan, writes3 4while King Oswald, after pitching his ca-p in readiness for the battle, was sleeping on a pillow in his tent, he saw #t. (ol&-ba in a %ision, bea-ing with angelic brightness, and of a fig&re so -a5estic that his head see-ed to to&ch the clo&ds. The blessed -an, ha%ing anno&nced his na-e to the 6ing, stood in the -idst of the ca-p, and co%ered it all with his brilliant gar-ent, e"cept at one s-all distant point7 and at the sa-e ti-e he &ttered those words which the 8ord spa6e to 9osh&a the son of .&n before the passage of the 9ordan, after Moses1 death, saying3 1Be strong and of good co&rage7 behold, shall be with thee.1 Then #t. (ol&-ba, ha%ing said these words to the 6ing in the %ision, added. 1March o&t this following night fro- yo&r ca-p to battle, for on this occasion the 8ord has granted to -e that yo&r foes shall be p&t to flight, hat yo&r ene-y (atwallon shall be deli%ered into yo&r hands, and that after the battle yo& shall ret&rn in tri&-ph.1 The 6ing, awa6ing at these words, asse-bled his co&ncil and related the %ision, at which they were all enco&raged7 and so the whole people pro-ised that, after their ret&rn fro- the war, they wo&ld belie%e and be bapti)ed, for &p to that ti-e all that #a"on land had been wrapped in the dar6ness of paganis- and ignorance, with the e"ception of King Oswald and the twel%e -en who had been bapti)ed with hi- d&ring his e"ile a-ong the #cots. 4 , Ada-nan, had this narrati%e fro- the lips of -y predecessor, the Abbot /ailbe, who sole-nly declared that he hi-self had heard King Oswald relating this sa-e %ision to #egine the abbot.4 The :enerable Bede contin&es the story3 4On approaching the battle Oswald set &p the sign of the holy cross and on bended 6nees beso&ght +od to send hea%enly aid to 0is worshippers in the ho&r of their need7 and the place is pointed o&t to this day and held in great re%erence. ndeed it is said that when the cross had been ;&ic6ly

-ade and a hole -ade ready for it to stand in, Oswald hi-self, fired by his faith, sei)ed it and placed it in its hole and held it &pright with both hands, &ntil the soldiers heaped &p the soil and -ade it fast in the gro&nd. There&pon he raised his %oice and cried alo&d to the whole ar-y3 18et &s all 6neel, and together pray the al-ighty, tr&e and e%er-li%ing +od to defend &s by 0is -ercy fro- a pro&d and cr&el ene-y7 for 0e 6nows that the war we ha%e engaged in for the deli%erance of o&r people is a 5&st war.1 They all did as he had ordered and, ad%ancing th&s against the ene-y as dawn appeared, won the %ictory as the reward for their faith. At the place where they prayed co&ntless -iracles of healing are 6nown to ha%e been wro&ght, a s&re proof and -e-orial of the 6ing1s faith.4 Altho&gh the re-nants of the #t. ,a&lin&s1 -ission to .orth&-bria still e"isted &nder the leadership of 'eacon 9a-es, #t. Oswald preferred to send to ona for -issionaries to recon%ert his newly-won 6ingdo-. 2hen the rish bishop #t. Aidan arri%ed, contin&es Bede, 4the 6ing granted hi- the island of 8indisfarne, as he re;&ested, to be his episcopal see. 2ith the ebb and flow of the tide, this is a place that is twice a day encircled by the wa%es of the sea, li6e and island, and twice re5oined to the -ainland when its shore beco-es e"posed again. n all -atters Oswald listened h&-bly and 5oyf&lly to the bishop1s ad%ice, and showed great concern to b&ild &p and e"tend the (h&rch of (hrist within his 6ingdo-. The bishop was not f&lly con%ersant with the $nglish lang&age, and on -any occasions it was delightf&l to watch while he preached the +ospel and the 6ing hi-self, ha%ing ac;&ired a perfect 6nowledge of rish d&ring his long e"ile, acted as interpreter of hea%en1s word for his alder-en and thanes. 4/ro- that ti-e -any -issionaries fro- rish territory began to arri%e in Britain as the days went by, who preached the word of the faith with great )eal to the $nglish 6ingdo-s r&led by Oswald7 and to those who belie%ed, s&ch of the- as held the ran6 of priest ad-inistered the grace of baptis-. (h&rches were b&ilt in %ario&s places, and the people gladly floc6ed together the hear the 2ord. By the gift of the 6ing estates and lands were granted for the establish-ent of -onasteries, and $nglish boys together with their elders were gi%en syste-atic instr&ction by rish teachers and ta&ght to obser%e the discipline of a <&le.4 /ro- 8indisfarne -any -onasteries were b&ilt in %ario&s parts of the north. Th&s there was Melrose, where the great #t. (&thbert beca-e a -on6, 0artlepool, where the first abbess was 0ei& 4the first wo-an in the 6ingdo- of the .orth&-brians to ta6e the %ows and habit of the religio&s life4, (oldingha-, where Oswald1s sister #t. $bba was the first abbess, and 2hitby, where #t. 0ilda was the first abbess. Oswald also strengthened the faith in 2esse", where

he beca-e godfather of the first (hristian 6ing (ynigils and -arried his da&ghter. #t. Oswald, writes Bede, 4was always h&-ble, 6ind and genero&s towards the poor and towards strangers. /or e"a-ple, it is said that once at ,ascha, when he was sitting at dinner with the bishop, and a sil%er dish was placed before hi- on the table f&ll of royal fare, they were abo&t to raise their hands to as6 a blessing on the bread when one of his officers, whose d&ty it was to bring relief to the needy, s&ddenly ca-e in and told the 6ing that a large crowd of poor people fro- e%ery district was sitting in the precincts, as6ing for al-s fro- the 6ing. 0e at once ordered the -eal that had been ser%ed to hi- to be ta6en o&t to the poor, and the dish to be bro6en in pieces and di%ided a-ong the-. 2hen he saw it, the bishop who sat with hi- was delighted by the act of -ercy, and too6 his right hand and said3 1May this hand ne%er wither with age.1 And his prayer and blessing were f&lfilled, for when Oswald was 6illed in battle his hand and ar- were se%ered fro- his body, and they re-ain &ndecayed to this day. They are preser%ed in the royal town na-ed after Bebba, a for-er ;&een, stored in a sil%er cas6et in the ch&rch of #t. ,eter, and are %enerated with d&e hono&r by e%eryone.4 Bede also records that #t. Oswald was a great )ealot of prayer. Th&s 4it is said, for e"a-ple, that he often re-ained at his prayers fro- the ti-e of the office of Mattins &ntil daybrea6, and beca&se of his fre;&ent habit of prayer and gi%ing than6s to +od, where%er he sat he &sed to ha%e his hands on his 6ness with the pal-s &pward.4 #t. Oswald s&bd&ed the 6ingdo- of the Mercians and dro%e the pagan King ,enda into e"ile in 2ales. 0owe%er, in 64= ,enda gathered a large heathen ar-y and, allying hi-self with the 2elsh r&ler of the -id-#e%ern %alley (ynddylan, he &ne"pectedly attac6ed Oswald near Oswestry. 4B&t the -an of +od,4 writes <eginald of '&rha-, 4hitherto renowned for his hono&r as a soldier, ref&sed to consider flight, in case he sho&ld see- a -an &ns6illed in the cond&ct of battle. 0e considered it dishono&rable to be fo&nd %an;&ished and disgraced at the end, when hitherto he had appeared to all to be a %igoro&s and %ictorio&s warrior. And so he s&--oned a s-all force of soldiers and proceeded to co--it hi-self to (hrist, gladly choosing to die for the hono&r of the 8ord and the faith of the (ross, and for the sal%ation and freedo- of his (hristian people... 0e therefore ad%anced to battle with great confidence, seeing that he was s&--oned by the 8ord1s -ercy to a -artyr1s crown. ,enda had gathered a large force of the heathen, and s&ddenly ad%anced to the field of battle, where he sla&ghtered a great n&-ber of the (hristian people together with their holy and -ost (hristian 6ing.4

Bede records that when the saint 4saw that he was s&rro&nded by ene-y forces and abo&t to be slain, he prayed for the so&ls of his ar-y7 and this is the origin of the pro%erb, 1+od ha%e -ercy on their so&ls, said Oswald falling to the gro&nd1.4 ,enda too6 the saint1s head and hands and fi"ed the- on sta6es for a whole year, to be an ob5ect of derision and scorn. B&t his head was later retrie%ed by his brother Oswy, and was placed in #t. (&thbert1s coffin, where it still re-ains. And his right hand - the one #t. Aidan had blessed - was placed in a sil%er cas6et at Ba-bro&gh, where it re-ained co-pletely incorr&pt &ntil at least the twelfth cent&ry, as both Abbot Aelfric and #i-eon of '&rha- attest. At the place where he died - praying, with ar-s o&tstretched, for the so&ls of his -en - -any -iracles were wro&ght. ,eople too6 d&st fro- the place and, -i"ing it with water, applied it with wonderf&l effect to sic6 -en and ani-als. Once a ho&se ca&ght fire and b&rned down, and only the post on which so-e of the holy d&st had been placed re-ained co-pletely &nto&ched. n the year 6>? @&een Ostrythe of Mercia, who was the saint1s niece, and was later -&rdered herself, decided with her h&sband King $thelred to translate the relics of the saint to the -onastery of Bardney in 8indsey A8incolnshireB. B&t the -on6s of that -onastery, entertaining a gr&dge against Oswald beca&se he had once been 6ing o%er that region, ref&sed to allow the relics thro&gh the -onastery gates. #o they re-ained on a waggon co%ered by a tent thro&gho&t the night. 0owe%er, d&ring the night a great col&-n of light was seen stretching fro- the waggon &p to hea%en, which was %isible thro&gho&t 8indsey. (hastened, the -on6s bro&ght the holy relics inside the gates, washed the- with re%erence, and placed the- in a specially constr&cted shrine in the ch&rch with a gold and p&rple banner o%er it. The water &sed in the washing was po&red away in a corner7 b&t the earth which had recei%ed it was fo&nd to ha%e the power of e"pelling de-ons. <eginald describes the appearance of the head in the twelfth cent&ry as follows3 4The ro&ndness of the head, co-pletely spherical, is e"traordinary, and gi%es off a wonderf&lly sweet fragrance7 it has a glassy colo&r, glowing a deep yellow all o%er which s&rpasses the yellowness of wa" and is closer, in its great bea&ty and lo%eliness and in its glea-ing brightness, to the appearance of gold. t is a sphere of large di-ensions, in width, in length, and fro- front to bac67 and a s-ooth line, li6e the circle of a hel-et, rises and falls aro&nd the -iddle of its c&r%at&re. ts b&l6 is considerable, b&t... when held in the hands it see-s ;&ite light, altho&gh to the eyes obser%ors, 5&dging by its si)e, it loo6s a hea%y

weight. The forehead is broad and pro-inent, the nose of -oderate proportions. The length of the face and chee6s lend the face a certain nobility, clear testi-ony to his -anly glory.4 0is fa-e ;&ic6ly spread thro&gho&t the British sles and into continental $&rope, where relics of his body, incl&ding frag-ents of the wooden cross he erected at 0ea%enfield and earth ta6en frohis gra%e, wor6ed -any -iracles, se%eral of which are recorded by the :enerable Bede. One of these too6 place at a -onastery fo&nded by #t. 2ilfrid in #&sse" in the second half of the se%enth cent&ry3 4Abo&t the ti-e that this pro%ince accepted the /aith of (hrist, a dangero&s epide-ic str&c6 -any pro%inces of Britain. 2hen, by +od1s dispensation, it reached the -onastery, r&led at the ti-e by the -ost religio&s priest of (hrist, $appa, it swept fro- this life -any of the brethren, so-e of who- had co-e with the bishop, while others were #o&th #a"ons recently con%erted to the /aith. The brethren therefore decided to obser%e a three-day fast and i-plore +od in 0is -ercy to show pity on the-, that 0e wo&ld preser%e those who were in danger of death by disease, and deli%er the so&ls of those already departed this life fro- eternal da-nation. 4 n the -onastery at this ti-e there li%ed a little #a"on boy, who had recently been con%erted to the /aith7 this child had ca&ght the disease, and for a long ti-e had been confined to bed. Abo&t the second ho&r on the second day of prayer and fasting, he was alone in the place where he lay sic6, when, by 'i%ine ,ro%idence, the -ost blessed ,rinces of the Apostles C,eter and ,a&lD deigned to appear to hi-7 for he was a boy of innocent and gentle disposition, who sincerely belie%ed the tr&ths of the /aith that had been accepted. The Apostles greeted hi- %ery lo%ingly, and said3 1#on, p&t aside the fear of death that is tro&bling yo&7 for today we are going to ta6e yo& with &s to the Kingdo- of hea%en. B&t first of all yo& -&st wait &ntil the 8it&rgies ha%e been celebrated, and yo& ha%e recei%ed the :iatic&- of the Body and Blood of o&r 8ord. Then yo& will be set free fro- sic6ness and death, and carried &p to the endless 5oys of hea%en. #o call the priest $appa, and tell hi- that o&r 8ord has heard the prayers of the brethren and regarded their fasting and de%otion with fa%o&r. .oone else in this -onastery and its possessions is to die of this disease, and all who are now s&ffering fro- it will reco%er and be restored to their for-er health. Eo& alone are to be set free by death today, and will be ta6en to hea%en to see the 8ord (hrist 2ho- yo& ha%e ser%ed so faithf&lly. +od in 0is -ercy has granted yo& this fa%o&r thro&gh the intercession of the de%o&t King Oswald, so belo%ed by +od, who once r&led the people of the .orth&-brians with o&tstanding de%otion as their early 6ing and whose (hristian piety has won hi- an e%erlasting 6ingdo-. /or today is the anni%ersary of the 6ing1s death in battle at the hands of the heathen, when he was ta6en &p to the 5oys of the so&ls in hea%en and enrolled a-ong the co-pany of the saints. f the

brethren cons&lt the annals that record the b&rials of the dead, they will find that this is the day on which he departed this life, as we ha%e said. #o let the- celebrated 8it&rgies in all the oratories of the -onastery, either in than6sgi%ing for +od1s answer to their prayers, or in co--e-oration of King Oswald the for-er r&ler of their nation, who has prayed for the- as newco-ers of his nation. 8et all the brethren asse-ble in ch&rch, and 5oin in offering the hea%enly #acrifice7 and let the- end their fast and ta6e food to restore their strength.1 42hen the boy had called $appa and told hi- all that the Apostles had said, the priest partic&larly as6ed hi- to describe the clothes and appearance of these -en who had appeared to hi-. 1They wore wonderf&l robes,1 the boy replied, 1and their faces were %ery 6indly and handso-e, s&ch as ha%e ne%er seen before. did not belie%e that there co&ld be -en so disting&ished and wonderf&l. One of the- was tons&red li6e a priest and the other had a long beard7 and they said that one of the- was ,eter and the other ,a&l, and that they were ser%ants of o&r 8ord and #a%io&r 9es&s (hrist, sent by 0i- to protect o&r -onastery.1 The priest then belie%ed the boy1s state-ent, and went off at once to cons&lt his annals, where he fo&nd that King Oswald had indeed been 6illed on that %ery day CA&g&st FD. #o he s&--oned the brethren, ordered a -eal to be prepared, 8it&rgies to be celebrated, and all the brethren to co--&nicate as &s&al. 0e also directed that a particle of the 8ord1s Offering sho&ld be ta6en to the sic6 boy at the ti-e of the holy #acrifice. 4A little while later the sa-e day the boy died, and his death pro%ed the tr&th of what (hrist1s Apostles had told hi-. n f&rther confir-ation of his state-ent, no-one e"cept hi-self died in the -onastery at that ti-e. Many who heard abo&t the %ision were wonderf&lly inspired to i-plore +od1s -ercy in e%ery tro&ble, and to adopt the wholeso-e re-edy of fasting. And fro- that ti-e the hea%enly birthday of (hrist1s warrior King Oswald was co--e-orated each year by the offering of 8it&rgies, not only in this -onastery b&t in -any other places as well.4 Holy Martyr-King Oswald, pray to God for us! A#o&rces3 The :enerable Bede, $cclesiastical 0istory7 #t. Ado-nan, 8ife of #t. (ol&-ba7 <eginald of '&rha-, 8ife of #t. Oswald7 'a%id /ar-er, The O"ford 'ictionary of #aints7 9ohn Marsden, .orthanhy-bre #aga, 8ondon3 Kyle (athie, !>>=B