The Literary Encyclopedia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Saint Dunstan
(910 (?)-988)

Active: 930-988 in England, Britain, Europe

(Dunstan)

By Stewart Brookes (King’s College)

Indexing Data:

  • Active In: England, Britain, Europe
  • Born In: England, Britain, Europe
  • Activity: Bishop, Reformer, Archbishop, Monk, Teacher, Poet, Painter, Oral Story Teller

Life, Works and Times

Reader Actions

One of the key proponents, with Ęthelwold and Oswald, of the late tenth-century Benedictine reform movement in England. Born into a well-connected West Saxon family, Dunstan soon rose to prominence at the royal court with the assistance of relatives in the ecclesiastical hierarchy. His early political career was a chequered one, dogged by court intrigue: he served as counsellor to successive Anglo-Saxon kings (Athelstan, Edmund, Eadred), and was at one point in charge of part of the treasury, but as a result of rivalries and resentments he fell out of favour several times. He was appointed Abbot of Glastonbury in the 940s, and it was during this period that he, and his pupil Ęthelwold, studied the Rule of St Benedict and the wri

This article in full comprises 539 words but only the first 150 or so words are available to non-members.

All our articles have been written recently by experts in their field, more than 95% of them university professors. To read about membership, please click here.

First published 20 November 2002

Citation: Brookes, Stewart. "Saint Dunstan". The Literary Encyclopedia. 20 November 2002.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1355, accessed 20 November 2009.]

This article is copyright to ©The Literary Encyclopedia. For information on making internet links to this page and electronic or print reproduction, please click here.