Tuesday, August 5, 2025

It is the 5th of August 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Imagine my trepidation when, perhaps the most interesting thing about today’s fascinating character in church history is that he served as the inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien’s King Aragorn. I have on more than one occasion misspoken when it comes to those movies (which I hear, were originally books!) - I have much love and respect for Lord of the Rings folk but they seem to have overtaken the Star Trek nerd as the fan base not to be trifled with-  and so I’ll do my best.

Aragorn (that’s the Viggo Mortensen character) was the last chieftain of the Dúnedain and a direct descendant of Isildur- he comes back from exile to lead the Men of the West against Sauron’s forces, helps destroy the One Ring, and reunites the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor (thanks to Tolkien Gateway). And Tolkien’s great king was modeled on one of the great Medieval Christian kings: Oswald of Northumbria, who is recognized today, on the anniversary of his death in 642.

Oswald was the son of King Aethelfrith, the king of two adjacent Kingdoms in Early medieval England and Scotland- Bernicia and Deira (this is roughly North England and southern Scotland)- these would become the Kingdom of Northumbria (and later, York after the Danish invasion).

When Aethelfrith’s brother-in-law, Edwin, killed Aethelfrith and his sons, including Oswald, they were exiled to the island of Iona off the West Coast of Scotland. There, Oswald was converted to Christianity- the Venerable Bede tells his story in his Ecclesiastical History. Bede tells the story of Oswald coming back from exile- his uncle had also converted to Christianity but was killed by a Welsh king, and Northumbria was under siege.

And thus, “The Return of the King” from his exile brought hope to the people. And they were rewarded with the stunning victory at the Battle of Heavensfield, and Oswald would be the king of the united kingdoms now called Northumbria.

Having converted to Christianity under Irish monks, he brought them into his Kingdom and established a monastery and ecclesiastical headquarters on the island of Lindisfarne.

Oswald is thus not only known for his political prowess but for establishing the famous monastery at Lindisfarne, which would be run by Aidan, a missionary in the British Isles whose name is in the pantheon with the likes of St. Patrick and St. Columba. Aidan, however, could not initially preach in the tongue of the Northumbrians, and so Oswald would be his companion, translating Aidan’s Irish (which he learned in exile) to his people.

One story is told that as Oswald was preparing to sit down to feast, he was told that a large number of people had come looking for alms. Moved by pity, Oswald had the food taken to the people outside and ordered the dinnerware to be given away as well. SO moved by this, as Bede tells us, Aidan raised the hand of the king and proclaimed “may this arm never wither”- as you might expect, the “uncorrupted arm” of the King would be a favorite relic in Northumbria- it would move around until, like so many relics, they were destroyed during the Reformation.

Oswald, like many Anglo-Saxon kings, would live by the sword and die by it, too… the king Penda of the neighboring kingdom of Mercia would face Oswald and the Northumbrians at the battle of Maserfield in 642. Penda would be victorious, and having slain Oswald, he had his head and limbs put on spikes. One legend has an eagle retrieving the blessed arm, dropping it in a field where a spring of water is said to have bubbled up. Or his brother retrieved his body, and the head was placed in a church in Durham while his famous arm made the pre-Reformation rounds.

He is perhaps, of all the medieval European kings, only rivaled by King Clovis of the Franks for introducing missionaries and the church and bringing Christianity to a pagan people. Oswald, the exiled king who would return and bring hope to his people, was born in 604. He died on this, the 5th of August in 642- he was 38 years old.

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Colossians 4:

2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray for us as well, that God will open to us a door for the word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, 4 so that I may reveal it clearly, as I should.

5 Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 5th of August 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man whose favorite Oswalds include the lucky rabbit, Von Wolkenstein, the Medieval poet, but not that other one… You know, grassy knoll, acted alone and all that… he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who has some ideas about the events of November 1963… more accidents than conspiracies… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.