The Church of Worcester and St Oswald

Abstract St Oswald’s part in the revival of monasticism known as the Tenth-Century Reformation was the subject of an important study by Dean Armitage Robinson. He was mainly concerned with the part Oswald played in the transformation of the cathedral community at Worcester into a fully Benedictine monastery. This transformation has since been the subject of varying interpretations. The present enquiry reconsiders the question in a broad chronological framework, continuing across the Norman conquest. The outcome will, I hope, be a clearer view of the history of the mensa, extending from Oswald’s pontificate to the twelfth century.