OSMONDO of SALISBURY, saint. - Died between 3 and 4 Dec. 1099. Of Norman origin, from the family of the counts of Séez, nephew of the Norman Guglielmo I of England, he held important administrative and political offices at the court of Normandy.
When in 1066 his uncle received the crown of England, O. followed him to the British Isles and from 1071 to 1077 was Chancellor of the King, taking part in the financial organization of the Domesday (book of surveys). He was then made bishop of the diocese of Sarum (Salisbury) and was consecrated in 1078 by Bishop Lanfranco of Bec, by the authority of Gregorio VII. His activity in the ecclesiastical sphere extended to concern for worship, to the construction of the Cathedral, consecrated in 1092, and to the reorganization of the Chapter according to Norman customs; but above all it is connected with the compilation of the book of ordinations for his diocese (Sarum-Use), widely disseminated in the following century in the dioceses of England, Wales, and, from 1250, also of Scotland. He was canonized by Callisto III in 1457. Feast day: 4 Dec.
