Wilfrid

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Saint Wilfrid
Bishop of York
Wilfrid depicted in stained glass
Enthroned 664
Ended 678
Predecessor Chad of Mercia
Successor Bosa of York
Consecration 664
Born c. 634
Northumbria
Died April 24, 709
Oundle, Northamptonshire
Christianity Portal

Wilfrid (c. 634 - April 24, 709) was an English bishop and saint. His life coincided with the lives of Cuthbert and Benedict Biscop, all of whom helped to convert the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England to Christianity.

Contents

[edit] Early life

He was born of good parentage in Northumbria about 633.[1] At about age fourteen, he left home over a conflict with his stepmother, probably without his father's consent.[2] When serving in King Oswiu's court, he attracted the notice of the queen, Eanfled who, fostering his inclination for a religious life,[2] placed him under the care of an old noble, Cudda, now a monk at Lindisfarne.[3] Wilfrid studied at Lindisfarne for a brief time before going to Canterbury and the king's court there, where he stayed with friends of the queen for three years.[2]

Later on Eanfled enabled him to visit Rome in the company of Benedict Biscop.[4] According to Wilfrid's later biographer, at Lyon Wilfrid's pleasing features and quick intelligence made Aunemund, the archbishop, desire to adopt him and marry him to his niece. Resisting his offers, the youth went on to Rome, received the papal benediction, and then, in accordance with his promise, returned to Lyon, where he stayed for three years, till the murder of his patron, whose fate the executioners would not let him share. However, the archbishop was not murdered until 660, but Wilfrid returned to England in 658, so there are some chronological issues with this story.[3] On his return home in 658, Oswiu's son Alchfrith gave him a monastery at Ripon,[4] and, before long, Agilbert, bishop of the Gewissæ, or West Saxons, ordained him priest.[2]

[edit] Whitby and York

The Northumbrian bishoprics about 680
The Northumbrian bishoprics about 680

Wilfrid attended the council of Whitby, and his speech in favor of adopting Roman church practices determined the overthrow of the Celtic party in 664.[5][1] About a year later he was consecrated to the see of York,[6] not, however, in Northumbria, since he refused consecration at the hands of the Anglo-Saxon bishops, but at Compiègne by Agilbert who was now bishop of Paris.[7] He delayed his return, and when he finally did return he found Ceadda (St Chad) installed in his see of York.[4] For three years from 665 to 668 he ruled his monastery at Ripon in peace, though acting as bishop in Mercia and Kent during vacancies in sees there. On the arrival of Theodore in 669, newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, Wilfrid was installed finally in his see,[6] and there spent nine years of ceaseless activity, especially in building churches, including the monastery at Hexham.[3] Wilfrid did not attend in person the Council of Hertford in September of 672, but sent representatives. Among the councils decisions was one that postponed a decision on the creation of new dioceses, which would affect Wilfrid later.[8]

Wilfrid was a proponent of a liturgy that included music, and sent to Kent for a singing master to instruct his clergy in the Roman manner of church music. He also introduced the Rule of St Benedict into the monasteries he founded. He also was one of the first Anglo-Saxon bishops to record the gifts of land and property to his church at Ripon. Easter tables, used to calculate the correct date to celebrate Easter, were brought in from Rome which used the Dionysiac Easter tables recently introduced.[3] He set up schools and became the religious advisor of the Northumbrian queen Æthelthryth, first wife of Egfrid, who Wilfrid encouraged in her desire to be a nun. Æthelfrith was the donor of the land at Hexham where Wilfrid founded a monastery.[9]

[edit] Expulsion

In 677[10] in the words of Bede:

a dissension broke out between King Egfrid and the most reverend prelate, Wilfrid, who was driven from his see, and two bishops substituted in his stead, to preside over the nation of the Northumbrians, namely, Bosa, to preside over the nation of the Deiri, with his seat in York; and Eata over that of the Bernicians, with his see in the church of Hexham, or else Lindisfarne; both of them promoted to the episcopal dignity from a society of monks. With them also was Edhed ordained bishop in the province of Lindsey, which King Egfrid had only just conquered, having overcome and vanquished Wulfhere; and this was the first bishop of its own which that province had.... Before Edhed, Sexwulf was bishop as well of that province as of the Mercians and Midland Angles; so that, when expelled from Lindsey, he continued in the government of those provinces. Edhed, Bosa, and Eata, were ordained at York by Archbishop Theodore; who also, three years after the departure of Wilfrid, added two bishops to their number; Tumbert, in the church of Hexham, Eata still continuing in that of Lindisfarne; and Trumwine in the province of the Picts which at that time was subject to the English. Edhed returning from Lindsey, because Ethelred had recovered that province, was placed by him over the church of Ripon.[11]

Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the late 7th century
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the late 7th century

The abbess Hilda of Whitby was a leader of a faction in the Northumbrian church that disliked Wilfrid, and her close ties with Theodore helped to undermine Wilfrid's position in Northumbria.[4] Another contributing factor in the king's expulsion of Wilfrid was Wilfrid's encouragement of Æthelthryth entry into a nunnery.[9] Wilfrid went to Rome in 677 to appeal Theodore's decision.[12][10] On the way he sojourned at the court of Aldgisl, the Frisian king in Utrecht for most of 678.[10] Pope Agatho held a synod in October of 679 where the pope ordered Wilfrid's restoration, but that the new dioceses should be retained.[10] Wilfrid must have been in Austrasia at this time, because according to his biographer Eddius Stephanus, Wilfrid left Austrasia after the death of Dagobert II, in mortal danger from the supporters of Duke Ebroin. In 680, Wilfrid appeared before a Witenagemot and produced his papal bull ordering his restoration, but he was briefly imprisoned and then exiled.[13][14] After this, he took refuge in Sussex with King Æthelwealh of Sussex.[15] He spent the next five years preaching, converting, and founding Selsey Abbey.[4]

Stephanus tells us that, as Bishop of Selsey, Wilfrid helped alleviate the starvation of the natives of Sussex by his men teaching the natives how to fish. Previously they are said to have killed themselves by wading into the sea arm in arm and dedicating themselves to their gods. It was during this time that he met with Caedwalla. He was a Wessex (aka "Gewisse") noble from the line of Ceawlin, then living as a bandit ravaging Sussex and Kent. Wilfrid and Caedwalla entered into a pact whereby each would further the others interests. Soon after this Caedwalla killed Wilfrid's previous benefactor Aethelweah of Sussex and Caedwalla took over his kingdom and conquered Kent. Then the King of Wessex Centwine abdicated to become a monk and Caedwalla promised Wilfrid a quarter of the Isle of Wight.These events give circumstantial evidence as to the operation of the pact between the two men. The Isle of Wight presented Wilfrid with a different challenge. The population of the Jutish kingdom had been forcibly converted by King Wulfhere of Mercia a generation before, but had returned to their heathen beliefs- making then not only the last pagan kingdom in England, but also apostates. Wulfhere had left behind Eoppa the mass priest who also reported to Wilfrid. Caedwalla landed at Bembridge and killed the Isle of Wight king, Arwald. According to St Bede he then endeavoured to destroy the whole population and gave the land of 300 families to Wilfrid. This represented 300 hides of land from 1200 hides. Bede does not mention the conversion of any Islanders, except the nephews of Arwald, minutes before their execution, although later Christian tradition is that Wilfrid converted 300 families, this is not borne out by any evidence. Bede reports that the Island was Christianised by Caedwalla replacing the now-dead population with his own followers. Cædwalla of Wessex, was in 686, still unbaptised and dying of wounds sustained in the conquest of the Isle of Wight. Two years after he abdicated and travelled to Rome, accompanied by St. Aldhelm where he died six days after being baptised by the Pope on 22 April 688CE.[16]

Saint Wilfrid
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion
Major shrine Ripon, Sompting (Sussex), and Frisia (Roeder).
Feast October 12April 24
Attributes (1) baptizing;
(2) preaching;
(3) landing from a ship and received by the king; or
(4) engaged in theological disputation with his crozier near him and a lectern before him
Patronage Diocese of Middlesbrough; Ripon[17]
Saints Portal

However in 686, Wilfrid was finally recalled to York after the death of Egfrid in battle with the Picts.[18][6] He appears to have resided at Ripon and for a time he acted as administrator of the see of Lindisfarne after Saint Cuthbert's death in 687.[18] In 691, the subdivision issue arose once more, along with quarrels with the new king Aldfrith over lands,[3] and Wilfrid left the area for the midlands.[6] While he was there, Wilfrid became involved in the missionary efforts to the Frisians, which he had started in 678 when he was forced by politics to take a different route to Rome that led him through Frisia. While passing through Frisia, he tried to convert the ruler of the kingdom to Christianity, but his successes were shortlived. However, in 690 Wilfrid helped the missionary journey of Willibrord, which was more successful.[19] While Wilfrid was in exile, he resided in Mercia, and acted as bishop there with the consent of King Æthelred of Mercia. He is generally held to have been bishop of Leicester up to about 706 when he is held to have been transferred to Hexham.[20] In around 700, Wilfrid appealed once more to Pope Sergius I over his expulsion from York, with the pope referring the issue back to a council in England. In 702 King Aldfrith held a council at Austerfield that upheld Wilfrid's expulsion from York, and once more Wilfrid traveled to Rome to appeal to the pope. The pope held a council, which declared that the king of Northumbria should follow the earlier papal decrees restoring Wilfrid to his see. With the death of Aldfrith in December of 704, Wilfrid was allowed to return to Northumbria, although not as bishop.[21]

[edit] Resignation and death

In 704, Wilfrid retired to the monastery at Ripon, where he lived in prayer and penitence until his death at Oundle, Northamptonshire, in 709.[22] He was buried in Ripon.[3] Before his death, he also served as spiritual advisor to the young king Osred of Northumbria.[4] Soon after his death, a Vita Wilfredi was written by Stephanus, a monk of Ripon.[22]

He was one of the first bishops to bring relics of saints back from Rome, and his biographer Stephanus implied that Wilfrid was the first person to have legally obtained body parts as relics, as the papacy was trying to restrict the relics being removed from Rome to things that had come in contact with the bodily remains such as dust and cloth.[23] Commentators have said that Wilfrid "came into conflict with almost every prominent secular and ecclesiastical figure of the age."[24] Hindley, an historian of the Anglo-Saxons, states that "Wilfrid would not win his sainthood through the Christian virtue of humility."[2] His feast day is October 12[17] or on April 24.[25] He is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Mayr-Harting Coming of Christianity p. 107-112
  2. ^ a b c d e Hindley A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons p. 78-83
  3. ^ a b c d e f Thacker "Wilfrid [St Wilfrid] (c.634–709/10)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Online Edition accessed November 9, 2007
  4. ^ a b c d e f Thacker "St. Wilfrid" Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England p. 474-476
  5. ^ Stenton Anglo Saxon England 3rd ed. p. 123-125
  6. ^ a b c d Fryde Handbook of British Chronology p. 224
  7. ^ Mayr-Harting Coming of Christianity p. 129-147
  8. ^ Stenton Anglo Saxon England 3rd ed. p. 133-134
  9. ^ a b Stenton Anglo Saxon England 3rd ed. p. 135
  10. ^ a b c d Stenton Anglo Saxon England 3rd ed. p. 136
  11. ^ Bede A History of the English Church and People p. 226
  12. ^ Hindley A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons p. 48
  13. ^ Lyon A Constitutional and Legal History of Medieval England p. 49
  14. ^ Mayr-Harting Coming of Christianity p. 118
  15. ^ Stenton Anglo Saxon England 3rd ed. p. 138
  16. ^ Hindley A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons p. 50
  17. ^ a b Patron Saint Index entry on Saint Wilfrid accessed on September 12, 2007
  18. ^ a b Stenton Anglo Saxon England p. 139
  19. ^ Hindley A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons p. 121-122
  20. ^ Fryde Handbook of British Chronology p. 218
  21. ^ Stenton Anglo Saxon England 3rd ed. p. 143-145
  22. ^ a b Hindley A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons p. 62
  23. ^ Ortenberg "The Anglo-Saxon Church and the Papacy" in Lawrence (ed.) The English Church and the Papacy in the Middle Ages p. 45
  24. ^ quoted in Hindley A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons p. 62
  25. ^ Walsh A New Dictionary of Saints p. 623-624

[edit] References

  • Bede Venerablis; translated by Leo Sherley-Price (1988). A History of the English Church and People. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044042-9. 
  • Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology, Third Edition, revised, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X. 
  • Hindley, Geoffrey (2006). A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons: The Beginnings of the English Nation. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers. ISBN 978-0-78671-738-5. 
  • Thacker, Alan (2001). "St Wilfrid". The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Ed. Lapidge, Michael; Blair, John; Keynes, Simon; Scragg, Donald (Editors). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. 
  • Lyon, Bryce Dale (1980). A Constitutional and Legal History of Medieval England, Second Edition, New York: Norton. ISBN 0-393-95132-4. 
  • Mayr-Harting, Henry (1991). The Coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 0-271-00769-9. 
  • Ortenberg, Veronica (1965), “The Anglo-Saxon Church and the Papacy”, in Lawrence, C. H., The English Church and the Papacy in the Middle Ages (Reprint edition 1999 ed.), Stroud: Sutton Publishing, pp. p. 29-62, ISBN 0-7509-1947-7 
  • "Patron Saint Index entry on Saint Wilfrid" - at Catholic-Forum.com - accessed on September 12, 2007
  • Stenton, F. M. (1971). Anglo-Saxon England, Third Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5. 
  • Thacker, Alan "Wilfrid [St Wilfrid] (c.634–709/10)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press, 2004 Online Edition accessed November 9, 2007
  • Walsh, Michael J. (2001). Dictionary of Christian Biography. Collegville, MN: Liturgical Press. ISBN 0-8146-5921-7. 

[edit] External links

Roman Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Chad of Mercia		 Bishop of York
664–678		 Succeeded by
Bosa of York
Preceded by
Cuthwine of Leicester		 Bishop of Leicester
692–705		 Succeeded by
Headdi
Preceded by
John of Beverley		 Bishop of Hexham
705–709[1]		 Succeeded by
Acca

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Persondata
NAME Wilfrid
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Bishop of York; Saint; Bishop of Hexham; Bishop of Leicester
DATE OF BIRTH c634
PLACE OF BIRTH Northumbria
DATE OF DEATH April 24, 709
PLACE OF DEATH Oundle, Northamptonshire