Eadmer was an English monk and the friend and biographer of St Anselm. In 1120 he was chosen Bishop of St Andrews; but as the Scottish king refused to recognize the right of the Archbishop of Canterbury to consecrate him, he returned to England and died a simple monk about 1124. Besides the life of St Anselm, Eadmer wrote biographies of St Wilfrid, St Dunstan, St Odo, and other English saints, as well as a valuable history (Historia Novorum) of events in England and the English Church from 1066 to 1122. Research Eadmer
St Dunstan was an English monk, abbot and royal advisor. He was born in 924 near Glastonbury and died in 988. Becoming a monk at Winchester, he settled at Glastonbury, of which he was appointed abbot by King Edmund in 945, and soon made the monastery famous as a centre of learning. On the death of Edmund he became chief adviser to the queen-mother, Eadgifu, and the young king, Edred; and through his policy the West Saxons ultimately conquered Northumbria from the Danes. With the death of Edred in 955 and the succession of Edwy, Dunstan's influence ceased and he moved to Flanders and studied the Benedictine rule. Being recalled to England by Edgar, who had become king of the country north of the Thames, Dunstan was made Bishop of Worcester and afterwards Bishop of London. With the death of Edwy in 959 Edgar became king of all England and appointed Dunstan Archbishop of Canterbury in the same year. Being famed for his skill in working with gold he became the patron saint of goldsmiths. Research St Dunstan
The Aeolian Harp is a sounding-board on which are strung several gut strings of different thickness; these are tuned to the same note and give its various harmonics when made to vibrate by the wind. Its invention is ascribed to St Dunstan, but in its present form it is not thought to have existed before the 17th century. Research Aeolian Harp
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Abbreviations
Research Eadmer
