Peterborough Cathedral and Saint Oswald’s Right Arm

Dr Johanna Dale, of University College London, will explain - via Zoom on May 20 - why he was significant to a community of Fenland monks and will trace the history of the monks’ most prized possession: the king’s right arm, which defied decomposition.

The Abbey acquired this relic in highly dubious circumstances, yet it became a focus for the community and the shrine containing it attracted numerous pilgrims, including kings of England. The arm disappeared during the great upheavals of the Reformation but the chapel of St Oswald remains as one of the highlights of a tour of Peterborough Cathedral

Dr Dale will draw on her research into Oswald’s cult in the Middle Ages, demonstrating both the centrality of Oswald to the Peterborough community and also how their veneration of the Northumbrian king made them pivotal to cultural networks that stretched from northern England all the way to Switzerland.

“King Oswald was a very popular saint in medieval England and he was especially important at Peterborough”, said Dr Dale. “The history of his arm relic is, in some ways, a tale of intrigue but also one that sheds light on many aspects of medieval society.”

Tickets are £7 via www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk/