Biographia Britannica Literaria Author:Thomas Wright Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: OSMUND BISHOP OF SALISBURY. Osmund was by birth a Norman, a kinsman of William the Conqueror, and was in his own country count of Sees, in England earl of Dor... more »set. He was also chancellor of England. In 1077 he was chosen to succeed Hereman as bishop of Salisbury, and he completed the cathedral which Hereman had begun. As a bishop, Osmund appears to have retired much from the world, and to have lived chiefly in the society of the learned canons whom he had drawn together by his liberality. He collected for his church a noble library; and it is stated, as a proof of his humility, that he not only copied books himself, but that he even bound them with his own hands.f He died on the third or fourth of December, 1099; authorities differ as to the day. Osmund is said to have written a life of Aldhelm, which is not now extant. He also compiled a ritual for the use of hi church, of which Bale has evidently made two titles of different works, Canones Officiorum Eccletia, and Consue- tudinarium Ecclesiee. This became afterwards the cele brated liturgy ad usum Sarum, which was followed by a large portion of the English clergy .J See Sir R. C. Hoare'i History of Wiltshire, Cily of Salisbury, pp. 8, 9. f Librorum copia conquisita, cum episcopal ipie nee icribere nee scriptoi ligare fastidiret. W. Malmsb. de Geit. Pontif. p. 230. t Higden, Polychron. lib. Til. fol. 201, r. (M.S. Arund. No. 86.) Hie quoque eomposuit ordinalem eccleninstici offieii quern ConsuetuJinarium vocant, quo fere nunc tola Anglia, Wallia utitur et Hibernia. Dictavit etiam Vitam Sancti Aldelmi. The Ordinale of bishop Osmund i itill preserved in the library of Salisbury Cathedral. See Wiluhire, City of Stliibury, p. 715. THOMAS ARCHBISHOP OF YORK. Thomas of York was considered one of the most learned prel...« less