On Wednesday 21st May the German Department hosted a collaborative event with academics from King’s College London’s German department.
Dr Sarah Bowden and her colleagues from KCL and also UCL have been researching the history of the Northumbrian medieval Saint St Oswald, whose incorrupt right arm was once a relic in Peterborough Cathedral. Their project explores how and why an early-medieval English king came to be so important in the medieval German Empire that his very name came to be inscribed into the landscape; why he is associated with a raven in vernacular legends and how this is manifested in liturgical settings. They will aim to uncover how Oswald’s presence in the German-speaking alps shaped the cultural landscape of alpine regions.
Dr Bowden and her team are creating some German teaching resources for use with younger learners and several of our Third Form were joined by Year 9 pupils from King’s School (Peterborough), Hampton Gardens (Peterborough) and Oakham School to test out these new resources. Activities in mixed school groups included acting the story out, learning some key vocabulary and taking part in a running dictation. The writing of a love letter in German from the princess to St Oswald proved particularly popular.
This event follows a teacher workshop held last term for German teachers in the area. A showcase pupil event at Peterborough Cathedral next month will conclude the project.
