Pehthelm
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Pehthelm or Pecthelm ("Defender", literally, "Helmet of the Picts") was an English (perhaps Northumbrian) monk and bishop, known as the first bishop of the see of Whithorn.
Bede related that Pehthelm was "for a long time deacon and monk with Hædde's successor Aldhelm", referring to Hædde's position of Bishop of the West Saxons, which was divided in Hædde's time between the new diocese of Winchester and the diocese of Sherborne, of which Sherbourne was evidently regarded as the principal successor.[1] It is likely that Pehthelm's time as "deacon and monk" was spent at Malmesbury Abbey, where Aldhelm was abbot.[2]
Pehthelm became notable as the first historical Bishop of Whithorn; Bede noted that in his own day, in 731, Pehthelm was bishop "in the place called Whithorn, where the number of believers has so increased that it has lately become an episcopal see with Pehthelm as its first bishop.[3] The version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the Worcester Chronicle says that Pehthelm died in 735, and was succeeded by Frithwald.[4]
Bede explicitly used Pehthelm as a source for various stories in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum.[5] Saint Boniface requested Pehthelm's advice on ecclesiastical law, and sent him presents, including a corporal pallium.[6] It has been suggested that his name may have been adopted when he became Bishop.[7]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Bede, HE, v. 18, in Colgrave, McClure & Collines (eds.), Ecclesiastical History, p. 266; Bateson & Costambeys, "Pehthelm (d. 735)"; York, "Hædde (d. 705/6)".
- ^ Bateson & Costambeys, "Pehthelm (d. 735)"; Cosgrave, McClure & Collines (eds.), Ecclesiastical History, p. 415.
- ^ Bede, HE, v. 23, translation Colgrave, McClure & Collines (eds.), Ecclesiastical History, p. 289.
- ^ Anderson, Scottish Annals, p. 55.
- ^ E.g., Bede, HE, v. 13, v. 18; Colgrave, McClure & Collines (eds.), Ecclesiastical History, pp. 258-60, 266.
- ^ Bateson & Costambeys, "Pehthelm (d. 735)".
- ^ Suggestion is discussed sceptically in MacQueen, St Nynia, pp. 39-40.
[edit] References
- Anderson, Alan Orr (ed.), Scottish Annals from English Chroniclers: AD 500–1286, (London, 1908), republished, Marjorie Anderson (ed.) (Stamford, 1991)
- Bateson, Mary, "Pehthelm (d. 735)", rev. Marios Costambeys, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 , accessed 1 Oct 2007
- Colgrave, Bertram (tr.), The Ecclesiastical History of the English people: the Greater Chronicle; Bede’s Letter to Egbert, edited with an introduction by Judith McClure and Roger Collins, (Oxford, 1994)
- MacQueen, John, St Nynia: With a Translation of the Miracula Nynie Episcopi and teh Vita Niniani by Winnfred MacQueen, rev. ed., (Edinburgh, 2005)
- Yorke, Barbara, "Hædde (d. 705/6)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 , accessed 1 Oct 2007
| Religious titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by None |
Bishop of Whithorn x731–735 |
Succeeded by Frithwald |
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