Edward the Confessor century until the destruction of the regalia by Oliver Cromwell in 1649. 13 October is an optional feast day for Edward the Confessor in the Catholic Church of England and Wales, and the Church of England's calendar of saints designates it as a Lesser Festival. Edward is regarded as a patron saint of difficult marriages. The "Vita Ædwardi Regis" states "[H]e was a very proper figure of a man—of outstanding height, and distinguished by his milky white hair and beard, full face and rosy cheeks, thin white hands, and long translucent fingers; in all the rest of his body he
Handbook for a Confessor Handbook for a Confessor The title Handbook for a Confessor (also Old English Handbook, or in full, Late Old English Handbook for the Use of a Confessor), refers to a compilation of Old English and Latin penitential texts associated with – and possibly authored or adapted by – Wulfstan (II), Archbishop of York (d. 1023). The handbook was intended for the use of parish priests in hearing confession and determining penances. Its transmission in the manuscripts (see below) seems to bear witness to Wulfstan's profound concern with these sacraments and their regulation, an impression which is similarly borne out by