Ealdred (archbishop of York)
Ealdred | |
---|---|
Gloucester Abbey | |
Elected | 25 December 1060 |
Term ended | 11 September 1069 |
Predecessor | Cynesige |
Successor | Thomas of Bayeux |
Other post(s) | Abbot of Tavistock Bishop of Worcester |
Orders | |
Consecration | 1046 |
Personal details | |
Died | 11 September 1069 York |
Buried | York Minster |
Ealdred (or Aldred;[1] died 11 September 1069) was Abbot of Tavistock, Bishop of Worcester, and Archbishop of York in early medieval England. He was related to a number of other ecclesiastics of the period. After becoming a monk at the monastery at Winchester, he was appointed Abbot of Tavistock Abbey in around 1027. In 1046 he was named to the Bishopric of Worcester. Ealdred, besides his episcopal duties, served Edward the Confessor, the King of England, as a diplomat and as a military leader. He worked to bring one of the king's relatives, Edward the Exile, back to England from Hungary to secure an heir for the childless king.
In 1058 he undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the first bishop from England to do so.[2] As administrator of the Diocese of Hereford, he was involved in fighting against the Welsh, suffering two defeats at the hands of raiders before securing a settlement with Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, a Welsh ruler.
In 1060, Ealdred was elected to the archbishopric of York but had difficulty in obtaining papal approval for his appointment, managing to do so only when he promised not to hold the bishoprics of York and Worcester simultaneously. He helped secure the election of
Some sources say that following King Edward the Confessor's death in 1066, it was Ealdred who crowned
Early life
Ealdred was probably born in the west of England, and could be related to Lyfing, his predecessor as bishop of Worcester.[1] His family, from Devonshire, may have been well-to-do.[4] Another relative was Wilstan or Wulfstan, who under Ealdred's influence became Abbot of Gloucester.[1] Ealdred was a monk in the cathedral chapter at Winchester Cathedral before becoming abbot of Tavistock Abbey about 1027, an office he held until about 1043.[5] Even after leaving the abbacy of Tavistock, he continued to hold two properties from the abbey until his death.[4] No contemporary documents relating to Ealdred's time as abbot have been discovered.[6]
Ealdred was made bishop of Worcester in 1046, a position he held until his resignation in 1062.[7] He may have acted as suffragan, or subordinate bishop, to his predecessor Lyfing before formally assuming the bishopric,[1][8] as from about 1043 Ealdred witnessed as an episcopus, or bishop, and a charter from 1045 or early 1046 names Sihtric as abbot of Tavistock.[6] Lyfing died on 26 March 1046, and Ealdred became bishop of Worcester shortly after. However, Ealdred did not receive the other two dioceses Lyfing had held, Crediton and Cornwall; King Edward the Confessor (reigned 1043–1066) granted these to Leofric, who combined the two sees at Crediton in 1050.[6]
Bishop and royal advisor
Ealdred was an advisor to King Edward the Confessor, and was often involved in the royal government.[9] He was also a military leader, and in 1046 he led an unsuccessful expedition against the Welsh.[9] This was in retaliation for a raid led by the Welsh rulers Gruffydd ap Rhydderch, Rhys ap Rhydderch, and Gruffydd ap Llywelyn. Ealdred's expedition was betrayed by some Welsh soldiers who were serving with the English, and Ealdred was defeated.[10]
In 1050, Ealdred went to Rome "on the king's errand",
Diplomatic travels
Earl Godwin's rebellion against the king in 1051 came as a blow to Ealdred, who was a supporter of the earl and his family. Ealdred was present at the royal council at London that banished Godwin's family.[18] Later in 1051, when he was sent to intercept Harold Godwinson and his brothers as they fled England after their father's outlawing, Ealdred "could not, or would not" capture the brothers.[19][20] The banishment of Ealdred's patron came shortly after the death of Ælfric Puttoc, the Archbishop of York. York and Worcester had long had close ties, and the two sees had often been held in plurality, or at the same time. Ealdred probably wanted to become Archbishop of York after Ælfric's death, but his patron's eclipse led to the king appointing Cynesige, a royal chaplain, instead.[18] In September 1052, though, Godwin returned from exile and his family was restored to power.[21] By late 1053 Ealdred was once more in royal favour.[18] At some point, he was alleged to have accompanied Swein on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but proof is lacking.[22][a]
In 1054 King Edward sent Ealdred to Germany to obtain Emperor
Ealdred had returned to England by 1055, and brought with him a copy of the
After Ealdred's return to England he took charge of the sees of Hereford
Ealdred became involved with the see of Ramsbury after its bishop Herman got into a dispute with King Edward over the movement of the seat of his bishopric to Malmesbury Abbey. Herman wished to move the seat of his see, but Edward refused permission for the move. Ealdred was a close associate of Herman's,[27] and the historian H. R. Loyn called Herman "something of an alter ego" to Ealdred.[37] According to the medieval chronicler John of Worcester, Ealdred was given the see of Ramsbury to administer while Herman remained outside England. Herman returned in 1058, and resumed his bishopric. There is no contemporary documentary evidence of Ealdred's administration of Ramsbury.[27]
Welsh affairs, Jerusalem, and Worcester
The king again employed Ealdred as a diplomat in 1056, when he assisted Earls Harold and Leofric in negotiations with the Welsh.[38] Edward sent Ealdred after the death in battle of Bishop Leofgar of Hereford, who had attacked Gruffydd ap Llywelyn after encouragement from the king. However, Leofgar lost the battle and his life, and Edward had to sue for peace.[39] Although details of the negotiations are lacking, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn swore loyalty to King Edward,[38] but the oath may not have had any obligations on Gruffydd's part to Edward. The exact terms of the submission are not known in total, but Gruffydd was not required to assist Edward in war nor attend Edward's court.[39] Ealdred was rewarded with the administration of the see of Hereford, which he held until 1061, and was appointed Archbishop of York.[38] The diocese had suffered a serious raid from the Welsh in 1055, and during his administration, Ealdred continued the rebuilding of the cathedral church as well as securing the cathedral chapter's rights.[38] Ealdred was granted the administration so that the area might have someone with experience with the Welsh in charge.[40]
In 1058 Ealdred made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the first English bishop to make the journey.[2] He travelled through Hungary, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle said that "he went to Jerusalem in such state as no-one had done before him."[41] While in Jerusalem he made a gift of a gold chalice to the church of the Holy Sepulchre.[42] It is possible that the reason Ealdred travelled through Hungary was to arrange the travel of Edward the Exile's family to England. Another possibility is that he wished to search for other possible heirs to King Edward in Hungary.[43] It is not known exactly when Edward the Exile's family returned to England, whether they returned with Edward in 1057, or sometime later, so it is only a possibility that they returned with Ealdred in 1058.[44]
Very little documentary evidence is available from Ealdred's time as Bishop of Worcester. Only five leases that he signed survive, and all date from 1051 to 1053. Two further leases exist in
Archbishop of York
Cynesige, the archbishop of York, died on 22 December 1060, and Ealdred was elected Archbishop of York on Christmas Day, 1060. Although a bishop was promptly appointed to Hereford, none was named to Worcester, and it appears Ealdred intended to retain Worcester along with York, which several of his predecessors had done.[43] There were a few reasons for this, one of which was political, as the kings of England preferred to appoint bishops from the south to the northern bishoprics, hoping to counter the northern tendency towards separatism. Another reason was that York was not a wealthy see, and Worcester was. Holding Worcester along with York allowed the archbishop sufficient revenue to support himself.[46]
In 1061 Ealdred
For whatever reason, Ealdred gave up the see of Worcester in 1062, when papal legates arrived in England to hold a council and make sure Ealdred relinquished Worcester.[51] This happened at Easter in 1062.[40] Ealdred was succeeded by Wulfstan, chosen by Ealdred, but John of Worcester relates that Ealdred had a hard time deciding between Wulfstan and Æthelwig.[52] The legates had urged the selection of Wulfstan because of his saintliness.[53] Because the position of Stigand, the archbishop of Canterbury, was irregular, Wulfstan sought and received consecration as a bishop from Ealdred. Normally, Wulfstan would have gone to the archbishop of Canterbury, as the see of Worcester was within Canterbury's province.[54] Although Ealdred gave up the bishopric, the appointment of Wulfstan was one that allowed Ealdred to continue his considerable influence on the see of Worcester. Ealdred retained a number of estates belonging to Worcester. Even after the Norman Conquest, Ealdred still controlled some events in Worcester, and it was Ealdred, not Wulfstan, who opposed Urse d'Abetot's attempt to extend the castle of Worcester into the cathedral after the Norman Conquest.[55]
While archbishop, Ealdred built at Beverley, expanding on the building projects begun by his predecessor Cynesige,[56] as well as repairing and expanding other churches in his diocese.[33] He also built refectories for the canons at York and Southwell.[57] He also was the one bishop who published ecclesiastical legislation during Edward the Confessor's reign, attempting to discipline and reform the clergy.[58] He held a synod of his clergy shortly before 1066.[59]
After the death of Edward the Confessor
John of Worcester, a medieval chronicler, said Ealdred crowned King Harold II in 1066, although the Norman chroniclers mention Stigand as the officiating prelate.[3] Given Ealdred's known support of Godwin's family, John of Worcester is probably correct.[1] Stigand's position as archbishop was canonically suspect, and as earl Harold had not allowed Stigand to consecrate one of the earl's churches, it is unlikely Harold would have allowed Stigand to perform the much more important royal coronation.[60] Arguments for Stigand having performed the coronation, however, rely on the fact that no other English source names the ecclesiastic who performed the ceremony; all Norman sources name Stigand as the presider.[61] In all events, Ealdred and Harold were close, and Ealdred supported Harold's bid to become king.[19][62] Ealdred perhaps accompanied Harold when the new king went to York and secured the support of the northern magnates shortly after Harold's consecration.[63]
According to the medieval chronicler
Ealdred crowned William king on Christmas Day 1066.[70] An innovation in William's coronation ceremony was that before the actual crowning, Ealdred asked the assembled crowd, in English, if it was their wish that William be crowned king. The Bishop of Coutances then did the same, but in Norman French.[70] In March 1067, William took Ealdred with him when William returned to Normandy, along with the other English leaders Earl Edwin of Mercia, Earl Morcar, Edgar the Ætheling, and Archbishop Stigand.[71] Ealdred at Whitsun 1068 performed the coronation of Matilda, William's wife.[48] The Laudes Regiae, or song commending a ruler, that was performed at Matilda's coronation may have been composed by Ealdred himself for the occasion.[72] In 1069, when the northern thegns rebelled against William and attempted to install Edgar the Ætheling as king, Ealdred continued to support William.[67] He was the only northern leader to support William, however.[73] Ealdred was back at York by 1069. He died there on 11 September 1069,[7] and his body was buried in his episcopal cathedral. He may have taken an active part in trying to calm the rebellions in the north in 1068 and 1069.[48] The medieval chronicler William of Malmesbury records a story that when the new sheriff of Worcester, Urse d'Abetot, encroached on the cemetery of the cathedral chapter for Worcester Cathedral, Ealdred pronounced a rhyming curse on him, saying "Thou are called Urse. May you have God's curse."[74][c]
Legacy
After Ealdred's death, one of the restraints on William's treatment of the English was removed.[75] Ealdred was one of a few native Englishmen who William appears to have trusted, and his death led to fewer attempts to integrate Englishmen into the administration, although such efforts did not entirely stop.[76] In 1070, a church council was held at Westminster and a number of bishops were deposed. By 1073 there were only two Englishmen in episcopal sees, and by the time of William's death in 1087 there was only one, Wulfstan II of Worcester.[75]
Ealdred did much to restore discipline in the monasteries and churches under his authority,
Ealdred encouraged Folcard, a monk of
Historians have seen Ealdred as an "old-fashioned prince-bishop".[83] Others say he "raised the see of York from its former rustic state".[84] He was known for his generosity and for his diplomatic and administrative abilities.[83] After the Conquest, Ealdred provided a degree of continuity between the pre- and post-Conquest worlds.[85] One modern historian feels it was Ealdred who was behind the compilation of the D version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and gives a date in the 1050s as its composition.[86] Certainly, Ealdred is one of the leading figures in the work, and it is likely one of his clerks compiled the version.[87]
Notes
- ^ If he did accompany Swein, the historian Frank Barlow argues that it was probably in 1058.[23]
- ^ Edward eventually returned to England in 1057, but died shortly thereafter.[30]
- ^ The exact sentence in Bates is "Urse's refusal to move it drew a poetic Old English curse from the archbishop, which began "Thou are called Urse. May you have God's curse.""[74]
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g Lawson "Ealdred" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ a b Barlow Edward the Confessor pp. 208–209
- ^ a b Hindley Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons p. 335
- ^ a b King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII p. 124
- ^ Knowles Monastic Order in England p. 72
- ^ a b c King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII p. 125
- ^ a b Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 224
- ^ Barlow Edward the Confessor p. 86
- ^ a b Huscroft Ruling England p. 49
- ^ Maund Welsh Kings pp. 89–90
- ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 50
- ^ Smith, et al. "Court and Piety" Catholic Historical Review p. 574
- ^ Barlow Godwins p. 55
- ^ Rex Harold II p. 37
- ^ Barlow Edward the Confessor p. 103
- ^ Mason House of Godwine pp. 57–58
- ^ King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII pp. 126–127
- ^ a b c King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII p. 127
- ^ a b c Walker Harold pp. 132–133
- ^ Barlow Edward the Confessor p. 114
- ^ Huscroft Ruling England pp. 6–7
- ^ Fleming Kings & Lords in Conquest England pp. 79–80
- ^ Barlow English Church 1000–1066 p. 88
- ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 8
- ^ Walker Harold p. 76
- ^ Barlow Edward the Confessor pp. 215–218
- ^ a b c d e King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII p. 128
- ^ Mason House of Godwine p. 88
- ^ Rex Harold II p. 126
- ^ Rex Harold II p. 127
- ^ Rex Harold II p. 77
- ^ Mason House of Godwine p. 94
- ^ a b c Barlow Edward the Confessor pp. 197–199
- ^ Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 217
- ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 45
- ^ Greenway "Archbishops" Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 6: York
- ^ Loyn English Church p. 61
- ^ a b c d King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII pp. 128–129
- ^ a b Maund Welsh Kings pp. 94–95
- ^ a b Darlington "Ecclesiastical Reform" English Historical Review pp. 399–400
- ^ Quoted in King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII p. 130
- ^ Barlow English Church 1000–1066 p. 89
- ^ a b King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII p. 130
- ^ Rex Harold II p. 129
- ^ King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII pp. 134–137
- ^ Loyn Governance p. 158
- ^ Hindley Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons p. 330
- ^ a b c d Powell and Wallis House of Lords pp. 13–14
- ^ a b King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII p. 131
- ^ King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII pp. 131–132
- ^ Walker Harold p. 50
- ^ Knowles Monastic Order p. 76
- ^ Barlow English Church 1000–1066 pp. 106–107
- ^ Brooks Early History of the Church of Canterbury p. 306
- ^ King "Ealdred" Anglo-Norman Studies XVIII pp. 132–133
- ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 46
- ^ Darlington "Ecclesiastical Reform" English Historical Review p. 404
- ^ a b Barlow English Church, 1066–1154 p. 122
- ^ Barlow English Church 1000–1066 p. 246
- ^ Rex Harold pp. 199–200
- ^ Barlow English Church 1000–1066 p. 60 footnote 4
- ^ Walker Harold p. 117
- ^ Douglas William the Conqueror p. 183
- ^ Lawson Battle of Hastings p. 42 footnote 93
- ^ Lawson Battle of Hastings p. 75
- ^ Huscroft Ruling England p. 19
- ^ a b Williams English and the Norman Conquest p. 32
- ^ Rex Harold II p. 130
- ^ Douglas William the Conqueror p. 206
- ^ a b Powell and Wallis House of Lords p. 1
- ^ Walker Harold pp. 185–187
- ^ Stafford Queen Emma & Queen Edith p. 183
- ^ Kapelle Norman Conquest of the North p. 109
- ^ a b Quoted in Bates William the Conqueror p. 153
- ^ a b Barlow English Church, 1066–1154 p. 57
- ^ Bates William the Conqueror p. 156
- ^ Dodwell Anglo-Saxon Art p. 93, quoting the Chronica Ecclesiae Eboracensis (York chronicle). None of these works remain.
- ^ Dodwell Anglo-Saxon Art p. 65 and note 151 on pp. 264–265
- ^ Palliser "John of Beverley (St John of Beverley) (d. 721)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ Blair Church in Anglo-Saxon Society p. 314
- ^ Lapidge "Ealdred" Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England p. 153
- ^ Lapidge "Ealdred of York" Yorkshire Archaeological Journal pp. 16–18
- ^ a b Loyn English Church p. 62
- ^ Harper-Bill "Anglo-Norman Church" Companion to the Anglo-Norman World p. 158
- ^ Loyn English Church p. 67
- ^ Lawson Battle of Hastings p. 62 footnote 34
- ^ Wormald Making of English Law pp. 130–131
References
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- Lawson, M. K. (2004). "Ealdred (d. 1069)". In King, Vanessa (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/37382. (subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
- ISBN 0-582-30303-6.
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- Mason, Emma (2004). House of Godwine: The History of Dynasty. London: Hambledon & London. ISBN 1-85285-389-1.
- Maund, Kari L. (2006). The Welsh Kings: Warriors, Warlords and Princes. Stroud, UK: Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-2973-6.
- Palliser, D. M. (2004). "John of Beverley (St John of Beverley) (d. 721)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/14845. (subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
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- Rex, Peter (2005). Harold II: The Doomed Saxon King. Stroud, UK: Tempus. ISBN 978-0-7394-7185-2.
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Further reading
- Nelson, Janet L. (1981). "The Rites of the Conqueror". In R. Allen Brown (ed.). Anglo-Norman Studies IV: Proceedings of the Battle Conference on Anglo-Norman Studies. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press. pp. 117–132, 210–221. ISBN 0-85115-161-2.
- Tinti, Francesca (2019). "The Pallium Privilege of Pope Nicholas II for Archbishop Ealdred of York". The Journal of Ecclesiastical History. 70 (4): 708–730. S2CID 197855361.
External links