Sunnivalegenden och den benediktinska reformen i England

The Benedictine Reform in England in the tenth century is surveyed. The question is then raised whether the earliest version of the legend about St. Sunniva might have been influenced by that reform movement. We cannot know anything for certain about any version of the legend earlier than the extant Latin text from the late twelfth century, but it is argued that the story of Sunniva and her associates dates back at least to the mid-eleventh century and that it has a sober, truthful character which is consonant with the learned ideals of the English Benedictines.