Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 42.djvu/338

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Oswen
332
Oswin

'Declaration of the Masse,' 'An Inuectiue against Drunkennes,' and a poem by Peter Moone, entitled

A short treatyse of certayn thioges abused In the Popysh Church, long vsed:
But now abolyshed, to our consolation
And Gods word auaunced, the lyght of our saluation.

Oswen left Ipswich probably about Christmas 1548, and no other well-authenticated record of printing in that town occurs during the sixteenth century.

After his settlement at Worcester, one of the earliest books which were issued from his press was 'A Consultorie for all Christians . . . Written by H. H.,' dated 30 Jan. 1549, of which the only known copy is in the library of Mr. Alfred H. Huth. Prefixed to this work is the king's license of 6 Jan. 1548-9 to Oswen to print all sorts of service or prayer books, and 'al maner of bokes conteinyng any storye or exposition of Gods holy scripture . . . within our Principalitie of Wales, and marches of the same.' He accordingly printed, on 24 May 1549, the Book of Common Prayer in quarto, and on 30 July 1549 an edition of the same in folio, and these were followed on 1 Sept. by 'The Psalter or Psalmes of Dauid after the translation of the great Bible,' and on 8 Oct. by 'Certayne Sermons,' or homilies, both in quarto. All these are in the British Museum. In 1549 also, on 5 Aug., he printed 'A message from King Edward the 6th at Richmond, concerning obedience to Religion.' Next year, on 12 Jan. 1550, Oswen issued his edition of the New Testament, Cranmer's version, a copy of which is in the British Museum, and in this year printed also Matteo Gribaldi's 'Notable epistle concerning the terrible iudgement of God vpon hym that for feare of men denyeth Christ and the knowen veritie,' Zwingli's 'Short pathwaye to the ryghte and true vnderstanaing of the holye Scriptures,' and Veron's ' Godly saiyngs of the old auncient faithful fathers vpon the Sacrament of the bodye and bloude of Chryste. , In 1551 he printed Bullinger's 'Dialogue betwene the seditious Libertin or rebel Anabaptist and the true obedient christian,' and Bishop Hooper's 'Annotations in ye xiii. chapyter too the Romaynes,' No book of the year 1552 is on record, but in 1553 Oswen closed his career with the Issue of Bishop Hooper's 'Homelye to be read in the tyme of pestylence,' and the Statutes of 7 Edward VI. Both Maunsell and Herbert mention other books as having been printed by Oswen at Worcester, but some cannot now be traced. All are exceedingly rare, and to several is added the notification, 'They be also to sell at Shrewsbury.'

The Worcester press appears to have ceased with the end of the reign of Edward VI, and not to have revived until the middle of the seventeenth century.

[Ames's Typogr. Autiq. ed. Herberr, 1790, iii. 1454-62; Maunsell's Catalogue of English Printed Books, 1595; Cotton's Typographical Gazetteer, 1831-66; Catalogue of the Huth Library, 1880, ii. 638; books printed by Oswen in the British Museum, Bodleian, and Britwell Libraries.]

R. E. G.


OSWESTRY, Lord of. [See Fitzalan, John II, 1223–1267.]


OSWIN or OSWINI (d. 651), king of Deira and saint, was son of Osric (d. 634) [q. v.], the son of Ælfric, a brother of Ælla (d. 588) [q. v.] When his father died Oswini was very young, and was taken for refuge to Wessex. On the death of his cousin Oswald (605?–642) [q. v.] in 642, the people of Deira recalled him to be their king, but he seems to have ruled only as an under-king of the Mercian Penda [q. v.] Unlike his father, Oswini was a sincere Christian, and a great friend of St. Aidan; his goodness made the saint prophesy that he would soon be taken from this life, for 'the nation is not worthy of such a ruler' [see more fully under Aidan]. Oswini governed Deira in great prosperity for seven years, while Bernicia was under Oswy or Oswiu [q. v.] At last Oswiu made war on his rival. Oswini, feeling unable to meet his enemy, disbanded the army which he had assembled at Wilfares-dun, ten miles north-west of Caterick, and took refuge with an ealdorman called Hunvald. Hunvald, however, betrayed him to Oswy, who had him murdered at Ingetlingum,now Gilling, near Richmond, on 20 Aug. 651. Baeda describes Oswini as a man of graceful bearing, tall of stature, affable in discourse, and courteous in behaviour; he was very pious and devout, and was beloved by all men. Oswini was the last king of Deira, which, after his death, was permanently united with Bernicia to form the kingdom of Northumbria. A little later, on the persuasion of Oswini's kinswoman Eanfled, the wife of Oswy, the latter founded a monastery at Gilling. Trumhere, a cousin of hers and of Oswini, was made abbot, and prayers were offered for the murdered king and his murderer. Some remains of this monastery survive in the present church of Gilling. In the twelfth century, during the reign of Stephen, an anonymous monk of St. Albans, who was resident in the cell of his monastery at Tynemouth, wrote a life of Oswini. According to this account the king was buried at Tyne-