This abbot of Glastonbury and archbishop of Canterbury was influential in politics as well as the church. He fled at least twice from enemies in the English court, spending time in Monastic solitude. As abbot he instituted the Benedictine rule at Glastonbury and acted as a trusted advisor to King Edmund of Wessex. Dunstan’s influence spread beyond monastic and court circles after he became archbishop. He insisted on the observance of marriage laws as well as those of fasting and abstinence.
