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King Oswald’s Raven is a new animation bringing the medieval German legend of Oswald’s talking raven to life using imagery from the , an illustrated manuscript book containing descriptions of animals dating from the early fourteenth century.  

Oswald was a Christian king of Northumbria who died in battle in 642, slain by the Mercian king Penda, he was soon venerated as a saint.  By the time of the Norman Conquest the most famous relic associated with this saint-king, his incorrupt right arm, was in the possession of the monks of Peterborough.  The arm was kept in a shrine in the chapel dedicated to Oswald in the south transept and was of paramount importance to the religious life of the monastic community.

Raven from the Peterborough Bestiary

Soon after his death, Oswald’s fame had spread overseas and through the centuries strengthened his cult on the continent. He became a particularly popular saint in southern Germany where, at some point in the high Middle Ages, his legend underwent a surprising metamorphosis: Oswald was transformed from a pious and austere martyr king into a rather comic figure, overshadowed by his sassy talking raven.

The development of King Oswald’s Raven has been supported by Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø Culture, Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø History, King’s German, the British Academy, Peterborough Cathedral and the Parker Library at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, which is home to the Peterborough Bestiary. It draws on the research of Dr Johanna Dale (Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø History) and (King’s German) and is part of an established collaboration with creative practitioners Sinéad O Neill, Hazel Gould and Hannah Saunders. Animator has expertly visualised our collective project.

South transept of Peterborough Cathedral

The animation will launch as part of the , the UK’s only national festival of the humanities, which runs 12-22 November. To complement the animation there will be a number of accompanying short videos, some explaining the research background and others encouraging people to respond to the animation and Oswald’s legend in creative ways.  For more information please see the , visit or follow on Twitter!