Editing Pershore Abbey (section)

==History==

===Foundation===
The foundation of the minster at Pershore is alluded to in a spurious charter of King [[Æthelred of Mercia]] (r. 675–704). It purports to be the charter by which Æthelred granted 300 [[Hide (unit)|hides]] (about 36,000 acres) at Gloucester to King [[Osric, king of the Hwicce|Osric of the Hwicce]], and another 300 at Pershore to Osric's brother Oswald.<ref name=Sims94-6>Sims-Williams, ''Religion and literature'', pp. 94-6.</ref><ref>[http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+70 S 70]</ref> It is preserved only as a copy in a 14th-century register of Gloucester, where it is followed by two charters listing the endowments made to the abbey until the reign of King [[Burgred of Mercia| Burgred]] (852-874).<ref>[http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+209 S 209]</ref><ref name=S1782>[http://www.esawyer.org.uk/content/charter/1782.html S 1782]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The 300 hides mentioned here are unlikely to be a contemporary detail, as they were intended to represent the triple [[hundred (county subdivision)|hundred]] which later made up the area of Worcestershire.<ref name=Sims94-6 /> Historian [[H. P. R. Finberg]] suggests that the foundation charter may have been drafted in the 9th century, based on some authentic material.<ref>Finberg, ''Early charters'', pp. 153-66.</ref> Oswald's foundation of a monastery at Pershore is not stated explicitly in the charter, but the Worcester chronicle ''[[Cronica de Anglia]]'', written ''c''. 1150, reports it under the annal for 683, and [[John Leland (antiquary)|John Leland]], consulting the now lost ''Annals of Pershore'', places the event around 689.<ref name=Sims94-6 /><ref>John Leland, ''Collectanea'', ed. Hearne, pp. 240-1.</ref> [[Patrick Sims-Williams]] suggests that the foundation by Oswald may also represent an oral tradition at Pershore, as its archives were probably destroyed in fires of 1002 and again in 1223.<ref name=Sims94-6 />

In the 9th century, Pershore comes to light again as a minster under the patronage of [[List of monarchs of Mercia|Mercian kings]]. In other charters contained in the Gloucester register, [[Coenwulf of Mercia|Coenwulf]] (r. 796–821) and Burgred are recorded as having been patrons of Pershore.<ref name=S1782 /> A charter of [[Edgar the Peaceful|King Edgar]] refers back to a grant of privileges by Coenwulf at the request of his [[ealdorman]] (''[[dux]]'') Beornnoth.<ref name=Sims94-6 /><ref name=S786>[http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+786 S 786]</ref>

===Refoundation===
In the reign of King Edgar (959-975), Pershore reappears as one of the abbeys to be re-established (or restored) under the programme of [[Benedictine]] reform. Writing ''c''. 1000, the Ramsey monk [[Byrhtferth]] relates that under the auspices of [[Oswald of Worcester|Oswald, bishop of Worcester]], seven monasteries were founded in his diocese, notably including Pershore.<ref>Byrhtferth, ''Life of Oswald'', p. 494 (ch. 8).</ref> The first abbot was one Foldbriht,<ref>Byrhtferth, ''Life of Oswald'', pp. 494-5 (ch. 9).</ref> whose name is sufficiently rare to suggest that he may be the same Foldbriht whom Bishop [[Æthelwold]] previously installed at [[Abingdon Abbey|Abingdon]] and used to be a monk of [[Glastonbury Abbey|Glastonbury]] before that time.<ref>Hudson, ''Historia Ecclesie Abbendonensis'', p. cciii.</ref>

The refoundation is what lies behind an exceptionally elaborate charter for Pershore, dated 972, in which King Edgar is presented as granting new lands and privileges as well as confirming old ones, such as the one granted by Coenwulf.<ref name=S786 /> The authenticity of this document, however, has been questioned. [[Simon Keynes]] in 1980 showed that it belongs to the so-called ''Orthodoxorum'' group of charters, so named after the initial word of their [[Preface|proem]], which he concluded were forgeries based on a charter of [[Æthelred the Unready|Æthelred II]]'s reign.<ref>Keynes, ''The diplomas of King Æthelred 'the Unready' 978-1016'', pp. 98-100</ref> Since then, Susan Kelly and John Hudson have vindicated the status of some of these charters, including the one for Pershore, which is written in square minuscule characteristic of some of Edgar's charters.<ref>Hudson, ''Historia Ecclesie Abbendonensis'', pp. cxcix-cciv</ref> More recently, Peter Stokes has brought to light a variant copy of the charter and suggests that two different versions may have been produced around the same time, somewhere between 972 and 1066. A possible scenario is that they were produced to make up for the loss of the original charter(s), perhaps shortly after the fire which is reported to have destroyed the abbey in ''c''. 1002 (see below).<ref name=Stokes72-3>Stokes, "King Edgar's charter for Pershore, 972", pp. 72-3.</ref>

The 12th-century historian [[William of Malmesbury]], who seems unaware of any pre-existing minster, claims that one Æthelweard (''Egelwardus''), whom he describes as "ealdorman of Dorset", had founded the abbey of Pershore in the time of King Edgar.<ref name=Gesta-iv.162>William of Malmesbury, ''Gesta pontificum'' IV, ch. 162, ed. and tr, Winterbottom and Thomson</ref> Similarly, [[Osbert de Clare|Osbert]]'s ''Life'' of [[Eadburh of Winchester]] alleges that one ''Alwardus'', who is styled ''comes'' and ''consul'', was responsible for the refoundation. Both authors also attribute to him a role in the translation of some of the saint's relics to Pershore. Osbert writes that an abbess of [[St Mary's Abbey, Winchester|Nunnaminster]] had sold some relics to Æthelweard (''Alwardus''), who in turn handed them over for the refoundation of Pershore.<ref name="ReferenceA">Ridyard, ''The royal saints of Anglo-Saxon England''</ref> Some scholars have identified him with [[Æthelweard (historian)|Æthelweard]], the well-known chronicler and ealdorman of the western shires.<ref name=World11-3>Williams, ''World before Domesday'', pp. 11-3.</ref> {{#tag:ref|A tradition at [[Tewkesbury Abbey]], only 10&nbsp;miles from Pershore, also remembers a royal kinsman called Æthelweard (''Haylwardus'') as its patron as well as that of [[Cranborne Abbey]] (Dorset), of which Tewkesbury was a dependency.<ref name=World11-3 /><ref name=reform347>Jayakumar, "Reform and retribution", p. 347.</ref> The account, which places his floruit in the time of King Æthelred and Dunstan, is recorded in a late chronicle of that house, written in the 15th century, but may very well be based on older sources.<ref name=World11-3 /><ref name=reform347 /> This Æthelweard is to be identified with the Æthelweard ''Mæw'' whose activities, including the foundation of Cranborne, are attested in sources closer to his day.<ref name=World11-3 /> Historian Jayakumar suggests that he may be the chronicler [[Æthelweard (historian)|Æthelweard]], ealdorman of the western shires, as both were royal kinsmen and in the Tewkesbury Chronicle, Cranborne is said to have been founded ''in suo dominio''.<ref name=reform347 /> Ann Williams, however, prefers to see them as separate persons.<ref name=World11-3 />|group=note}}

Whatever high-level patronage the foundation may have received, it was not enough to sustain its fortunes for very long. Precisely what happened to Pershore in the later 10th century is poorly documented, but some sources seem to hint that it went into decline during the succession crisis which emerged in the wake of King Edgar's death.<ref name=Williams167-8>Williams, "''Princeps Merciorum gentis''", pp. 167-8</ref> William of Malmesbury says that "it, too, like the others, decayed to a pitiful extent, and was reduced by more than a half".<ref name=Gesta-iv.162 /> According to Leland, the ''Annals of Pershore'' hold an earl called ''Delfer'' responsible for depriving the abbey of several of its lands. This ''Delfer'' has been interpreted as a misreading for [[Ælfhere, Ealdorman of Mercia|Ælfhere]] (d. 983), ealdorman of Mercia<ref name=Williams167-8 /> (whom Leland mentions elsewhere).<ref name=LelandIter>"Oswaldus ''primum instituit Canonicos seculares apud'' Persore.{{Clear}} ''Postea fuit ibidem chorus monachorum''.{{Clear}}''Rursus Canonici inducti''.{{Clear}}''Postea monachi per'' Edgarum.{{Clear}} Elferus ''abstulit prædia monachis''.{{Clear}}Odda ''comes ejus filius restituit''.{{Clear}}''Monasterium conflagravit & à monachis desertum est''.{{Clear}}''Monachi'' Westmonasterienses ''prædia usurpabant''.{{Clear}}Wada ''comes attulit reliqias S.'' Eadburgae, & ''per'' Oswaldum ''episcopum'' Fulbrightus ''abbas inductus''.{{Clear}}''Olney'', alias ''Alney'', about ''Deorhirst'' in ''Glocester-shire. Deorhurst'' yet remainith in ''Glocestre-shire'' as a Celle to ''Twekesbiri''." John Leland, ''Itinerarium'', ed. Hearne, vol. 5, p. 2.</ref> While himself a patron of Ely and Abingdon, Ælfhere was also charged with despoiling reformed monasteries during [[Edward the Martyr]]'s brief reign (975-978). The targets included houses refounded by Bishop Oswald or Bishop Æthelwold and considerably enriched under the patronage of Æthelstan Half-King's sons, notably [[Æthelwine, Ealdorman of East Anglia|Æthelwine, ealdorman of East Anglia]]. [[Evesham Abbey]], for instance, as later reported by [[Chronicon Abbatiae de Evesham|its own chronicle]], also claimed to have lost several of its lands in this way, and [[Winchcombe]] was disbanded altogether. Æthelwine, in his turn, was remembered at Ely as a despoiler of its lands. Tensions between Ælfhere and Bishop Oswald, whose authorities overlapped, and between Ælfhere and Æthelwine, with whom Oswald maintained a close relationship, are therefore likely to have been the principal cause of the upheaval.<ref name=Williams167-8 /> Whether a liberty similar to that of [[Oswaldslow (hundred)|Oswaldslow]] was an extra cause for concern, compromising Ælfhere's authority as ealdorman, cannot be ascertained from the sources.<ref name=Williams167-8 />

==="Second" refoundation===
[[File:Pershore Abbey Nave.JPG|thumb|250px|right|The chancel]]
Pershore suffered worse misfortune when, according to Leland, it was destroyed by fire and subsequently deserted by the monks,<ref name=LelandIter /><ref name=Victoria /> probably in the year 1002.<ref name=ODNBOdda>Williams, "Odda, earl (''d''. 1056)"</ref> The monastic archives were largely lost in the event, as no original record from before that date survives today.<ref name=ODNBOdda /> Pershore, however, found a generous patron in the wealthy nobleman [[Odda of Deerhurst]] (d. 1056), who restored many of its lands and granted new ones. It has been suggested{{who|date=April 2019}} that he was a kinsman of the ealdorman Æthelweard. The earliest extant record from the archive of Pershore, a charter of 1014 by which King Æthelred granted Mathon (Herefordshire) to ealdorman Leofwine, may testify to Odda's restorations of lands to the house.<ref name=ODNBOdda /><ref>[http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+932 S 932].</ref> The monastery was active again by the 1020s, as its abbot Brihtheah was promoted bishop of Worcester in 1033.<ref name=ODNBOdda /> Odda's brother Ælfric was buried at Pershore in 1053, joined three years later by Odda himself.<ref name=ODNBOdda />

In Odda's lifetime the total landed assets of Pershore grew to 300 hides, but after the loss of its benefactor in 1056 about two-thirds were seized and given to [[Edward the Confessor]]'s new foundation at Westminster.<ref name=ODNBOdda /> The original single sheet which preserves the fullest version of King Edgar's refoundation charter (though it need not be authentic) is marked by a number of textual alterations and erasures. Some of these changes may suggest a response to the abbey's proprietary struggles.<ref name=Stokes72-3 />

From the early 12th century there is evidence that Pershore Abbey claimed possession of some of the relics of Saint [[Eadburh of Winchester]], the [[saint]]ed daughter of King [[Edward the Elder]]. Her body was initially buried at [[Nunnaminster]] (Winchester), but it was translated in the 960s to a more central spot in [[Winchester]], and again to a shrine in the 970s. Among several possibilities, Susan Ridyard has suggested that the Eadburh whose relics were preserved at Pershore may have been a Mercian saint of that name whose identity had become obscure.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

===Later Middle Ages===
The main building was begun in about 1100.  In the fourteenth century it benefited greatly from the generosity of [[Adam de Harvington]], [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] 1327–30, who was a cousin,  and eventually  the heir, of the Abbot, William of Harvington. The abbey was [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolved]] in 1539. A monk of Pershore, named Richard Beerly, was one of those who gave evidence to [[Thomas Cromwell]] in 1536 about the misbehaviour of some of his brothers, writing that "Monckes drynk an bowll after collacyon tell ten or xii of the clock, and cum to mattens as dronck as myss, and sume at cardes, sume at dyss."{{refn|{{cite book|editor-last=Wright|editor-first=Thomas|series=Camden Society Old Series: Volume XXVI|title=Three Chapters of Letters Relating to the Suppression of Monasteries|chapter=LX. Richard Beerly to Cromwell|date=September 1843 |volume=26|page=133|doi=10.1017/S2042169900009135|chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/camden-old-series/volume/three-chapters-of-letters-relating-to-the-suppression-of-monasteries/452A16E6B89E1ACD58DCB382F1D2BB68?sort=canonical.position%3Aasc&pageNum=4}} 
This is an 1843 edition of original MSS in the [[British Museum]] (see also [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/camden-old-series/article/rho-volume-26-front-matter/9C3034FAA76DB66932F3F1AFD58E6476 Front cover]). See also {{cite book |title=Oxford English Dictionary |volume=X |edition=online 2nd |year=1989 |chapter=Mouse, n. 2  |chapter-url=http://www.oed.com/oed2/00152513 |access-date=7 March 2019}}, which cites this passage as ''Lett. Suppress. Monast.'' (Camden) 133. }} (Monks drink a bowl after [[collation (meal)|collation]]{{refn|The term 'collation' in this context refers to the practice in [[Benedictine]] monasteries, such as Pershore, of reading extracts from [[John Cassian]]'s ''Collationes patrum in Scetica eremo''<ref>Lit. 'Conferences with the fathers of [[Wadi El Natrun|Scetis]] in the desert'), written in around 420, usually translated as ''Conferences with the [[Desert Fathers]]''.)</ref> in the hours between the evening meal following [[Vespers]], and before [[Compline]]. This was according to Chapter 42 of the [[Rule of Saint Benedict]] written in the 6th century. All meals were to be eaten in daylight.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Chapter XLII: That No One Speak after Compline |title=The Holy Rule of St. Benedict |year=1949 |orig-year=c540 |author1=St. Benedict |author-link=St Benedict |author2=Verheyen,Boniface (trans) |chapter-url=http://catholicfirst.com/thefaith/catholicclassics/benedict/benedict.html |access-date=8 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Addis|first1=William E.|last2=Press|first2=Aeterna|title=A Catholic Dictionary|year=1961|publisher=Aeterna Press|language=en|page=699|quote=St. Benedict in his rule requires his religious to assemble after supper and before Compline and listen to the 'Collations'—i.e. the ''Conferences'' (of [[John Cassian|Cassian]]), the [[Lives of the Fathers]], or other edifying books which were then read aloud by one of their number.}}</ref> By the 9th century the strict rules about [[fasting]] had become more relaxed, and the term 'collation' became more generally associated with the indulgence of a light meal, especially on fast days.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09152a.htm "Lent"], ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. Retrieved 9 March 2019</ref> }} until ten or twelve o'clock, and come to [[Matins]] as drunk as mice, some [playing] at cards, some at dice.){{refn|Since collation took place in the evening before [[Compline]], and [[Matins]] finished at dawn (see [[canonical hours#Daily cycle of services|Canonical hours]]), it appears the monks were drinking all night long.}}[[File:Pershore Abbey - geograph.org.uk - 1057540.jpg|right|300px]]Pershore Abbey church was partly demolished after the reformation when it was surrendered to the King's Commissioners in 1540; only the tower, choir, and south transept remain.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1057540|title=Geograph:: Pershore Abbey (C) Philip Halling|website=www.geograph.org.uk|language=en|access-date=2020-04-15}}</ref> The abbey church remained in use as a [[parish church]]. When the north [[transept]] collapsed in 1686, a wall was built in its place. Further alterations were carried out, including a [[Victorian restoration|restoration]] by [[George Gilbert Scott]] in 1862–64. Scott removed the [[Belfry (architecture)|belfry]] floor and opened up the [[lantern tower]], exposing the internal [[tracery]] which he thought the best in England after that at [[Lincoln Cathedral]]. The tower pinnacles were added in 1871.<ref name="Crawford">Wilson, Dr. M. and Crawford, Rev. K., ''Pershore Abbey'', Official Abbey Guide, 2008, {{ISBN|1-872-665-22-5}}, pp.11-13</ref> In 1913, two western [[flying buttress]]es were added to replace the support from the missing portion of the building.