Who was St. Dunstan?
St. Dunstan was the Archbishop of Canterbury at the tail end of the Viking age (d. 988). He was not only a bishop, but also a teacher, a skilled harpist, a blacksmith, and a bellmaker.
An Excerpt from The Saint Dunstan’s Psalter
“He is well known for his considerable musical abilities, well versed in chant and hymnody, as well as the manufacture of church bells and organs. In a time of great social, moral, and spiritual decline, Saint Dunstan arose as a restorer of the spiritual life – especially the monastic way of life in England, a life centered on the chanting of the holy Psalmody, hymnody, and prayers of the Divine Office. Dunstan encouraged the integration of this monastic way into the everyday life of the laity. His reforms restored not only the monasteries, but also the general piety of the entire English nation. Although he was an advisor to kings and nobles, the humble man found no greater joy than in instructing the youth in theology and chant in his cathedral school.”