Editing Bath Abbey (section)

===Early history===

In 675 AD, [[Osric, king of the Hwicce|Osric]], King of the [[Hwicce]], granted the Abbess Berta or Bertana<ref>"Houses of Benedictine monks: The cathedral priory of Bath", in ''A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 2'', ed. William Page (London, 1911), Victoria County History, p.&nbsp;69 [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/som/vol2/pp69-81 British History Online (accessed 23 December 2023)]</ref> 100 [[Hide (unit)|hides]] near Bath for the establishment of a [[convent]].{{sfn|Davenport|2002|pp=31–34}} This religious house became a [[monastery]] under the patronage of the [[Bishop of Worcester]]. King [[Offa of Mercia]] successfully wrested "that most famous monastery at Bath"<ref name="Poliquin" /> from the [[bishop]] in 781. [[William of Malmesbury]] tells that Offa rebuilt the monastic church, which may have occupied the site of an earlier [[Pagan religions|pagan]] temple, to such a standard that King [[Eadwig]] was moved to describe it as being "marvellously built".<ref name="Poliquin">{{cite web| title=Bath Abbey| url=http://www.musiqueorguequebec.ca/orgues/angleterre/batha.html#English| work=Robert Poliquin's Music and Musicians| publisher=[[Université du Québec]]| access-date=11 January 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111155457/http://www.musiqueorguequebec.ca/orgues/angleterre/batha.html#English| archive-date=11 January 2014| url-status=live}}</ref> In 944 [[Folcwin]] reformed the [[Abbey of Saint Bertin]] in France along [[Benedictine]] lines and monks who opposed the reform fled to England. King [[Edmund I]] gave them the church at Bath, which was then in royal hands.{{sfn|Dumville|1992|p=176}} Little is known about the architecture of this first building on the site. [[Monasticism]] in England had declined by that time, but Eadwig's brother [[Edgar, King of England|Edgar]] (who was [[Coronation of the British monarch|crowned]] "King of the English" at the abbey in 973)<ref name="Edgar">{{cite web |url=http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/saxon_12.htm |title=Edgar the Peaceful |access-date=18 December 2007 |publisher=English Monarchs – Kings and Queens of England |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701165135/http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/saxon_12.htm |archive-date=1 July 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> began its revival on his accession to the throne in 959. He encouraged monks to adopt the [[Rule of Saint Benedict]], which was introduced at Bath under Abbot Ælfheah ([[Ælfheah of Canterbury|St. Alphege]]), who also repaired the church.<ref>Hasted, Edward. "The archbishops: From 988 to 1161." ''The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 12.'' Canterbury: W Bristow, 1801. 298-326. [https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol12/pp298-326 British History Online website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301234059/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol12/pp298-326 |date=1 March 2021 }} Retrieved 19 April 2020.</ref> Sometime in the 10th century, as a result of the monastic reforms of [[Oswald of Worcester|Oswald]] and [[Dunstan]], the monastic community of the site was re-established as a Benedictine monastery, which it remained until the [[Dissolution of the monasteries|Dissolution of the Monasteries]] in the 16th century.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Davenport |first=Peter |date=1988 |title=Bath History Volume II: Bath Abbey |url=https://historyofbath.org/images/BathHistory/Vol%2002%20-%2001.%20Davenport%20-%20Bath%20Abbey.pdf |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=historyofbath.org |pages=5, 20, 25–26}}</ref>