Bardney Abbey

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Remains of the nave of Bardney Abbey
Remnants of a column base
Abbot Richard Horncastle's grave in the nearby St Lawrence Church in Bardney

Bardney Abbey, in Lincolnshire , England , was a Benedictine abbey founded in 697 by King Æthelred of Mercia , who also became the first abbot. The monastery was allegedly destroyed during a Danish raid in 869. In 1087 it was re-established as a priory by Gilbert de Gant, Lord of Folkingham , and in 1115 Bardney gained the status of an abbey.

In 1537, six Bardney monks were executed for their role in the Lincolnshire Rising as part of the Pilgrimage of Grace . The following year (1538) the abbey was dissolved , its property confiscated and then given to Sir Robert Tirwhit. Tirwhit kept the abbot's quarters as a house and converted the cloister into a garden. In later years, the quarter and garden, along with the rest of the former abbey, became ruins.

Excavations from 1909 to 1914 revealed the floor plan of Bardney Abbey. This can still be seen, although nothing remained above the foundation walls. Further excavations took place in 2009 and 2011. Some tombstones and hewn stones can be seen in Bardney Parish Church .

Saint Oswald's bones

Beda Venerabilis reports that Queen Osthryth of Mercia had a special relationship with Bardney (whom he calls Beardaneu ) and that she tried to transfer the bones of her uncle Oswald of Northumbria there around 679 . When the body was brought to the monastery, however, the monks refused it because the monastery was located in the Kingdom of Lindsey , which Oswald had once conquered as King of Northumbria. The relics had to stay outside, but in the night a light appeared and shone from his bier into the sky. The monks declared this to be a miracle, accepted the body and hung the king's purple and gold flag over the grave. They are also said to have removed the large doors to the monastery so that such a mistake could not happen again.

Besides the light, other events have been linked to the remains of King Oswald.

  • The bones were washed before the burial and the soil on which the water was poured was said to have great healing powers.
  • In another story by Bede, a boy with a fever kept vigil at the grave and was healed.
  • The king's head and hands had been buried separately because he had been dismembered in battle - part of the stake on which his head was impaled was later used to heal a man in Ireland.

In 909 Oswald's bones were brought to St Oswald's Priory in Gloucester in response to impending Viking raids .

Burials

literature

  • Beda Venerabilis: Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum , iii. 11, 12
  • George Beech, Robert B. Patterson (Eds.): Antiquarians and Flemings in the refoundation of Bardney Abbey (Lincolnshire) in the later 11th century , Haskins Society Journal. 1, 1989, pp. 73-90
  • Paul Cope-Faulkener: Archaeological evaluation at Bardney Abbey (BASM09 12/09), Heckington, Archaeological Project Services (including detailed floor plan), December 2009 ( online PDF online, accessed April 27, 2019 )
  • Charles Edward Laing: Some notes on Bardney Abbey , 1913
  • Anthony New: A guide to the abbeys of England and Wales , 1985, pp. 44-45. ISBN 0-09-463520-X , OCLC 246863338.
  • Browne Willis: An history of the Mitred Parliamentary Abbies, and Conventual Cathedral Churches , 1718 ( online, accessed April 27, 2019 )

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ The year of foundation comes from the National Monument Record, but according to Beda Venerabilis the abbey already existed when Oswald was buried there in 679.
  2. ^ Historic England; Houses of Benedictine monks; Willis
  3. ^ Historic England; Houses of Benedictine monks
  4. ^ Historic England
  5. ↑ Cope Faulkener
  6. ↑ Bardney Abbey Revealled
  7. ↑ Bede; Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Oswald ( wikisource )
  8. ↑ Beda
  9. ↑ Literally: if someone asks "Are you from Bardney?", It means that the person asked has left the door open ( [1] )
  10. ↑ Beda

Coordinates: 53 ° 13 ′ 13.4 ″  N , 0 ° 20 ′ 1 ″  W.