Feast Day : May 19

Patronage: armorers; blacksmiths; goldsmiths; jewelers; lighthouse keepers; locksmiths; musicians; silversmiths; swordsmiths

Dunstan was born to a noble family in Glastonbury, England, probably around 910; some sources place his birth date as late as 925–26. According to lore, his mother, Cynethryth, received a sign of his sanctity while he was still in the womb. While in the church of St. Mary on Candleday (Candlemas), all of the candles suddenly went out. The candle she held relit, and everyone relit their candles from hers. This was taken as a sign that her child would be a “minister of eternal light” to the Church of England. Dunstan was educated by Irish scholars who frequented the monastery at Glastonbury. He received a tonsure and minor orders, and served in the church of St. Mary. He devoted himself to prayer, study, the copying of illuminated manuscripts and the making of bells and other things for the church. So great was his devotion that his uncle Athelm, archbishop of Canterbury, summoned him into service. At court, Dunstan was favored by King Aethelstan, which earned him enemies who accused him of pagan interests. Dunstan left court and went to Winchester, where St. Alphege the Bald, his uncle and also the bishop of Winchester, tried to convince him to become a monk. Dunstan demurred, but changed his mind after a near-fatal illness he believed to be leprosy (but may have been blood poisoning). He returned to Glastonbury and built himself a cell against the outside of the church that measured five feet long by two-and-ahalf feet wide. Here he took up the life of a hermit, played his harp and endured temptation by the devil. According to lore, he seized the devil’s nose with a pair of blacksmith’s tongs. In 940 King Aethelstan’s successor, King Eadmund, summoned him to court at Cheddar, but Dunstan once again was tarnished by jealous lies, and Eadmund threw him out. One day, while the king was out hunting a stag, his prey rushed over a cliff and Eadmund saw he was powerless to stop his galloping horse from doing the same. He prayed that he would make amends to Dunstan if his life was spared. Miraculously, the horse stopped at the edge of the cliff. Eadmund took Dunstan to Glastonbury and made him abbot. Thus began a revival of monastic life in England. Dunstan established Benedictine monasticism and worked to rebuild the Glastonbury abbey. He founded a school for youth. Two years later, Eadmund’s successor, Eadred, invested Dunstan with more power, and for the next nine years the saint wielded tremendous influence in court and in monasteries throughout England. After Eadred died in 955, Dunstan was once more the victim of court politics, and he was exiled to Flanders. He was recalled in 957 and appointed to the see of Worcester, and then to the see of London in 958. He became archbishop of Canterbury in 960, a position that restored his influence. In 975, he was instrumental in the selection of King Eadward. Civil war erupted, and Eadward was assassinated in 978. Under the next king, Aethelred the Redeless, Dunstan lost his influence. He retired to Canterbury and emerged only three times, in 980, 984 and 986. On the vigil of Ascension Day in 988, he had a vision of angels warning him that he had three days to live. On the feast day, he said mass and preached three times, telling people of his impending death. He chose the location for his tomb and went to bed to die. On May 19 Mass was celebrated in his presence, he was given the last rites and he died. Dunstan was buried in Canterbury Cathedral. It burnt down in 1074, and his relics were translated to a tomb in the new church on the south side of the high altar. The tomb was opened in 1508. The shrine was destroyed during the Reformation. Dunstan’s notable work is Regularis Concordia, about the monastic life. In art he often is shown with a dove near him, with a band of angels, or holding a pair of blacksmith’s tongs.