A scholar who has studied a 15th-century manuscript suggests that a former Archbishop of York, Thurstan (1114-40), was more highly venerated than historians have generally thought him to have been: in fact, a saint’s day would have been observed for him by monks in the first week of February.
The senior properties historian for English Heritage, Dr Michael Carter, made the discovery in the archives of King’s College, Cambridge. In a reference in a manuscript from Pontefract Priory, St Thurstan appears in a calendar of saints’ days observed at the monastery (King’s College MS 31 fol 3v).
The entry for 6 February, translated from Latin, reads: “Death of Saint Thurstan, archbishop of York, year of grace, 1140” It has also been written in red ink — a sign of its significance to the monks at that time.
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🔴 Britain’s lost saint discovered in ancient manuscript.
Thurstan, 12th century Archbishop of York, shown to have been honoured at saints’ feast days proving for first time he had been canonised https://t.co/FIO4J1rkzk
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) February 4, 2024