Oswald was a Christian king of Northumbria who died in battle in 642. He was soon venerated as a saint and by the early 11th century the most famous relic associated with him, his incorrupt right arm, was in the possession of the monks at Peterborough Abbey. The arm was kept in a shrine in the chapel dedicated to Oswald in the south transept of the Abbey church. It was of paramount importance to the religious life of the monastic community. Whilst the relic is long gone, the chapel still stands.

Find out more about the King Oswald's Raven project.

You can view the videos on this page, or directly on YouTube: King Oswald's Raven Playlist 

Animation and Introduction

King Oswald’s Raven animation

Follow this link for the King Oswald’s Raven animation with subtitles.

Introduction

Activity Videos

In addition to the activities suggested below, there are also two colouring sheets to download: download the colouring sheets

Creating with Words - download the Words activity sheets

Creating Drama - download the Drama activity sheets

Creating a Quill - download the Creating a Quill activity sheets

Children could win a soft toy raven

There are six soft toy ravens to give away to the best creations by children so please share your poems, stories and pictures via Twitter @Oswalds_Raven or by email to Dr Johanna Dale oswaldfest2021@gmail.com. Details are at https://oswaldusrex.co.uk/sharing-your-creations/ and the closing date for entries is Sunday 29th November 2020.

Research Videos

King Oswald’s Arm and the Monks of Peterborough

Legends of St Oswald in Medieval Germany

The Peterborough Bestiary

Find out more about the King Oswald's Raven project.

Follow @Oswalds_Raven and #OswaldsRaven on Twitter.

This event was selected to be part of Being Human by the festival organisers, the School of Advanced Study, the University of London, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy.