Æthelred (archbishop)
Æthelred | |
---|---|
Archbishop of Canterbury | |
Elected | 870 |
Term ended | 30 June 888 |
Predecessor | Ceolnoth |
Successor | Plegmund |
Orders | |
Consecration | 870 |
Personal details | |
Died | 30 June 888 |
Æthelred (or Ethelred; died 30 June 888) was an
Biography
Some sources, including the
Most of Æthelred's time as archbishop was spent dealing with the effects of Viking raids, but he also had a conflict with King Alfred the Great over royal control of ecclesiastical affairs. It was during Æthelred's archbishopric that the
Around 877, Æthelred wrote to Pope John VIII to complain about King Alfred's conduct towards Canterbury. The exact nature of the dispute is not clear, but the reply from the pope to the archbishop still exists. The pope told the archbishop that Canterbury had papal support and that the pope had written to the king urging the king to respect the rights of the archbishop.[3] The writer Justin Pollard sees this letter as evidence of papal support for the deposition of Alfred, which Pollard alleges occurred at Christmas 878 and that the deposition was supported by Æthelred.[4] Other historians, however, do not agree that there was a deposition of the king supported by the archbishop at this time.[5][6]
Æthelred also reached an agreement with Ælfred, an ealdorman, where Ælfred was granted the life use of a Canterbury estate in return for bequeathing one of his estates to Canterbury after his death. The document that records this agreement is not dated, however, so it is unknown when exactly during Æthelred's episcopate the document was drawn up.[2] Another problem for the archbishop was a decline in the abilities of the scribes at Canterbury, which is dramatically illustrated by the document, which has a number of errors and duplications. Other documents of the period show that some of the scribes had little knowledge of Latin.[7]
Æthelred died 30 June 888.[8]
In popular culture
In the novel Abomination by Gary Whitta, Æthelred is a key antagonist. The archbishop discovers an ancient magic that transforms humans and animals into violent monstrosities, and attempts to raise an army of them to attack the Danelaw, betraying the wishes of King Ælfred.
Citations
- ^ a b Wareham "Æthelred" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ a b c Brooks Early History of the Church of Canterbury pp. 149–152
- ^ Abels Alfred the Great p. 244
- ^ Pollard Alfred the Great pp. 160–166
- ^ Wormald "Alfred" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ Abels Alfred the Great pp. 150–155
- ^ Brooks Early History of the Church of Canterbury pp. 172–173
- ^ Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 214
References
- Abels, Richard Philip (1998). Alfred the Great: War, Kingship, and Culture in Anglo-Saxon England. New York: Longman. ISBN 0-582-04047-7.
- ISBN 0-7185-0041-5.
- Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
- Pollard, Justin (2005). Alfred the Great: The Man Who Made England. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-6666-0.
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External links