William of Malmesbury says--"The king devoted his
life to God, and to St. Dunstan, by whose admonition he bore with
patience his frequent bodily pains, prolonged his prayers, and made his
palace altogether the school of virtue." But although pious, he was by
no means wanting in manly energy, as was shown by his vigorous and
successful campaign in Northumbria, on the occasion of the attempt to
set Eric, son of Harold, on the throne of Northumbria. The angelic
apparition to St. Dunstan, mentioned in chapter VII, is told by nearly
all the early historians, but with varying details. According to many,
it occurred while Dunstan was hastening to the aid of Edred. The
exigencies of the tale required a slightly different treatment of the
legend.
x Confession in the Anglo-Saxon Church.
"On the week next before holy night shall every one go to his shrift
(i.e. confessor), and his shrift shall shrive him in such a manner as
his deeds which he hath done require and he shall charge all that belong
to his district that if any of them have discord with any, he make peace
with him; if any one will not be brought to this, then he shall not
shrive him; [but] then he shall inform the bishop, that he may convert
him to what is right, if he he willing to belong to God: then all
contentions and disputes shall cease, and if there be any one of them
that hath taken offence at another, then shall they be reconciled, that
they may the more freely say in the Lord's Prayer, 'Forgive us our
trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us,' etc.
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