This oil painting is of the Anglo Saxon queen, Aethelflaed, bringing the remains of St Oswald to Gloucester.
As this was once a local event I decided to include local people; the men on the left (who are members of the Philomusica, a local Gloucester choir), and the children who are members of Gloucester Cathedral choir.
The building in the background is all that is left of St Oswald's priory, which can be found on the grass adjacent to the cathedral; it is the place where both Aethelflaed and St Oswald's remains are buried.
I originally filled in the panels between the arches to reproduce the original priory, but then realised that the remains that are left are medieval and built after Aethaelflaed’s time, so I decided to paint it as it is today.
The embroidery on the priest's sleeves is based on a surviving maniple found in the tomb of St Cuthbert. On the reverse it says: 'AELFFLAED FIERI PRECEPIT.'
Pete Davies Art
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