Osbern of Canterbury or Monk Osbern (c. 1050 – c. 1095) was a Benedictine monk, hagiographer and musician, precentor of Christ Church, Canterbury.

Biography

Osbern was born at Canterbury and brought up by Godric, who was dean from 1058–1080, his term living through the Norman Invasion. He became a monk, and later precentor of Christ Church, and was ordained by Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury (d. 1089). He died probably between 1088 and 1093. He was acquaintances, and probably close friends, with Eadmer of Canterbury, a fellow monk and historian of Canterbury a few years his junior. Eadmer related a story in which the two, in the late 1080s, searched for the relics of Saint Audoen in the crypts of Christ Church, Canterbury. Upon finding the relics, they were delighted, but the same night, were haunted by "dreadful apparitions". Eadmer was greatly influenced by the writing style and memories of Osbern, who could better recall late Anglo-Saxon England, and he would later rewrite and improve Osbern's hagiography of Saint Dunstan. Osbern was very skillful in music, and is said to have written two treatises: De re musica and De vocum consonantiis. But he is known best as translator of saints' lives from the Anglo-Saxon and as an original writer. William of Malmesbury praises the elegance of Osbern's style, but criticises his frequent historical inaccuracies.

Writings

Sources