Ælfric of Abingdon
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| Ælfric | |
| Archbishop of Canterbury | |
| Enthroned | {{{began}}} |
|---|---|
| Ended | November 16, 1005 |
| Predecessor | Sigeric the Serious |
| Successor | Alphege |
| Consecration | 995 |
| Died | November 16, 1005 |
| Buried | Canterbury Cathedral |
Ælfric (also known as Aelfric of Abingdon or Aelfric of Wessex) (d. 16 November 1005) was a late 10th century Archbishop of Canterbury, as well as previously holding the offices of abbot of St Albans and Bishop of Ramsbury, all of which are in England. He is often confused with famed Anglo-Saxon author Ælfric of Eynsham.
[edit] Life
He was a monk of Abingdon Abbey in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire) as well as probably Abbot of Abingdon[1] before becoming Abbot of St Albans Abbey around 975.[2] His brother, Leofric, became Abbot of St Albans in succession to him when he became bishop.[3] Between 991 and 993, he was raised to the bishopric of Ramsbury and Sonning[4] and in 995 to the see of Canterbury. He was translated to Canterbury on April 21, 995[5] at a witenagemot held at Amesbury.[6] Ælfric continued to hold Ramsbury along with Canterbury until his death.[7] The story that his brother first was chosen for Canterbury but refused, stems from confusion on the part of Matthew of Paris and is generally held by historians to be untrue.[1]
He went to Rome to receive his pallium from Pope Gregory V in 997.[8] He also witnessed some miracles at the gravesite of Edward the Martyr at Shaftesbury Abbey, helping to lead to Edward's sainthood.[9]
A story was told that he introduced monks into the cathedral church of Christ Church, Canterbury, replacing the secular clerks that had taken over the foundation during the ninth century.[10] Ælfric is said to have done this on the command of the pope. This story originally dates to soon after the Norman Conquest and the monastic historians of Canterbury, and its veracity is unclear.[11] He probably performed the marriage ceremony of King Ethelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy in 1002.[12]
Ælfric died on 16 November 1005[5] and was buried in Abingdon Abbey, later being translated to Canterbury Cathedral. His will survives and is a most interesting document. He left ships to the people of Wiltshire and Kent, with his best one, equipped for sixty men, going to King Ethelred.[1][13]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Mason, Emma "Ælfric (d. 1005)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press, 2004 Online Edition accessed November 7, 2007
- ^ Knowles, David; London, Vera C. M.; Brooke, Christopher (2001). The Heads of Religious Houses, England and Wales, 940-1216, Second Edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 65. ISBN 0-521-80452-3.
- ^ Stafford, Pauline Unification and Conquest: A Political and Social History of England in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries London: Edward Arnold 1989 ISBN 0-7131-6532-4 p. 169
- ^ Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology, Third Edition, revised, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 220. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
- ^ a b Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology, Third Edition, revised, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 214. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
- ^ Williams, Ann Æthelred the Unready: The Ill-Counselled King London: Hambledon and London 2003 ISBN1-85285-382-4 p. 20
- ^ Williams, Ann Æthelred the Unready: The Ill-Counselled King London: Hambledon and London 2003 ISBN1-85285-382-4 p. 36
- ^ Ortenberg, Veronica "The Anglo-Saxon Church and the Papacy" in Lawrence, C. H. ed. The English Church and the Papacy in the Middle Ages Stroud:Sutton Publishing reprint 1999 ISBN 0-7509-1947-7 p. 49
- ^ O'Brien, Harriet Queen Emma and the Vikings: A History of Power, Love and Greed in Eleventh-Century England New York:Bloomsbury ISBN 1-58234-596-1 p. 52-53
- ^ Stenton, F. M. Anglo-Saxon England Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5 p. 453
- ^ Knowles, David The Monastic Order in England: A History of Its Development from the Times of St Dunstan to the Fourth Lateran Council 940-1216 Second Edition Cambridge:Cambridge University Press 1963 ISBN 0-521-05479-6 p. 50
- ^ O'Brien, Harriet Queen Emma and the Vikings: A History of Power, Love and Greed in Eleventh-Century England New York:Bloomsbury ISBN 1-58234-596-1 p. 31
- ^ Williams, Ann Æthelred the Unready: The Ill-Counselled King London: Hambledon and London 2003 ISBN1-85285-382-4 p. 81-82
[edit] External links
| Roman Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sigeric the Serious |
Bishop of Ramsbury 990–995 |
Succeeded by Bertwald |
| Preceded by Sigeric the Serious |
Archbishop of Canterbury 995–1005 |
Succeeded by Alphege |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ælfric |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ælfric of Abingdon; Aelfric of Wessex |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Archbishop of Canterbury |
| DATE OF BIRTH | |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 16, 1005 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
