Æthelhard

Infobox Archbishop of Canterbury
Full name = Æthelhard


birth_name =
consecration =792
began=unknown
term_end = 12 May 805
predecessor = Jaenbert
successor = Wulfred
birth_date =
death_date = 12 May 805
tomb =

Infobox Saint Archbishop of Canterbury
feast_day= 12 May
venerated_in= Roman Catholic Church
titles=
beatified_date=
beatified_place=
beatified_by=
canonized_date=
canonized_place=
canonized_by=
attributes=
patronage=
major_shrine=
suppressed_date=
issues=

Saint Æthelhard (also "Aethelheard" or "Ethelhard") was Bishop of Winchester then Archbishop of Canterbury from 793 to 12 May 805.

Biography

Æthelhard was an abbot of a monastery at Louth, Lincolnshire before being named to the diocese of Winchester.Williams "Æthelheard (d. 805)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography"] He was consecrated Bishop of Winchester sometime after 759 and before 778.Fryde, et. al. "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 223]

He was translated from the see of Winchester to the see of Canterbury in 792 and was enthroned archbishop on 21 July 793.Fryde, et. al. "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 214] This enthronement was presided over by the then-senior bishop of the land: Higbert, Archbishop of Lichfield. This enthronement required King Offa of Mercia to consult Alcuin of York over proper procedure, the archbishopric of Lichfield being new to the ecclesiastical landscape of England.Stenton "Anglo-Saxon England" p. 225] Around 796, Æthelhard was deposed by the Kentish king Eadbert II Praen because of Æthelhard had been appointed by King Offa of Mercia. Offa died in 796, and Eadberht had seized control of Kent, which forced Æthelhard to flee to the court of Offa's son Ecgfrith of Mercia. Ecgfrith himself died before 796 was out, and a distant relative Cenwulf took the throne. Alcuin encouraged Æthelhard to return to Canterbury, and suggested that a compromise over the new archbishopric of Lichfield, which had been established by Offa in rivalry to Canterbury. Alcuin's plan would have allowed Higbert to retain his status for his lifetime, but that Canterbury would regain its status as the only archbishopric south of the Humber. This plan required Æthelhard to return to Canterbury, which he was not going to do while Eadberht was still in power.Brooks "Early History of the Church of Canterbury" p. 120-132] Alcuin also stated that the Lichfield had been elevated because of a "lust for power", not through any consideration of the merits of the plan.Kirby "Earliest English Kings" p. 142]

Although Alcuin had scorn for Æthelhard for fleeing Canterbury, the papacy saw it differently. Pope Leo praised Æthelhard for fleeing and refusing to submit to Eadberht, whom Leo compared to Julian the Apostate. There are indications, though, that the Kentish community considered electing another archibishop while Æthelhard was in exile.Kirby "Earliest English Kings" p. 149]

Because Lichfield had been established by the papacy, any change in its status required papal assent. Cenwulf's first embassy to Pope Leo III in 797 did not succeed, mainly because Leo seems to have resented the implied criticism of his predecessor Hadrian.Kirby "Earliest English Kings" p. 143] The second one in 801, however, bore a letter to the pope that asked for the advice of the pope on how to resolve the problems surrounding Lichfield and Canterbury. The letter reminded the pope of Pope Gregory I's old scheme to have two metropolitans in Britain, one in the north and one in the south, with the southern one being based in London. It did not ask for the restoration of archepiscopal status to Canterbury, but seems to imply that Cenwulf was asking for Æthelhard's metropolitan see to be moved to London. The same embassy carried a letter from Æthelhard also, which has not survived. The pope, however, did not agree, and wrote in reply to Cenwulf that the southern archbishopric must remain at Canterbury, and excommunicated Eadberht and authorized his expulsion from Kent if he persisted in keeping Æthelhard from Canterbury. There are indications that the cathedral clergy of Canterbury never recognized the elevation of Lichfield.

In 798 Cenwulf invaded Kent and captured Eadberht, who he blinded and imprisoned. Æthelhard was restored to Canterbury, where he set about restoring the see's possessions. He also managed to secure professions of obedience from a number of southern bishops, including Eadwulf of Lindsey and Tidferth of Dummoc. Higbert was still being called archbishop in 799, but it was unclear what his eventual status would be. Leo was involved in disputes in Rome during 799 and 800, and was unable to spare attention for English affairs. Æthelhard resolved to go to Rome and consult with Pope Leo III about the decline in power of the see of Canterbury.Stenton "Anglo-Saxon England" p. 225-227] Leo sided with Canterbury and demoted Lichfield back down to a bishopric.

Æthelhard returned to England in 803, and convened the Councils of Clovesho which decreed that no archiepiscopal see besides Canterbury should ever been established in the southern province of Britain. Higbert attended the council, but is named as an abbot, which makes it apparent that he had resigned his see before the council met and been compensated with an abbey. At that same council, Æthelhard also presented a papal decision that asserted the freedom of churches from secular authority.Hindley "A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons" p. 106] While at the council, Æthelhard once more proclaimed that the papacy had been decieved into elevating Lichfield, and that it was a "tyranical power" that had been behind the effort. Æthelhard presided over at least eleven synods, and possibly one more.

Æthelhard died on 12 May 805 and was buried in Canterbury. He was later revered as a saint, with a feast day of 12 May. [ [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainte3r.htm Patron Saints Index: Ethelhard] accessed on 6 September 2007]

Notes

References

*
*
* Hindley, Geoffrey "A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons: The beginnings of the English nation" New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers 2006 ISBN 978-0-78671738-5
*
* Stenton, F. M. "Anglo-Saxon England" Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5
* Williams, Ann "Æthelheard (d. 805)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8910 Online Edition Oct 2006] accessed 7 November 2007

Further reading

*

External links

* [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainte3r.htm Aethelheard at Patron Saints Index]
* [http://www.pase.ac.uk/pase/apps/persons/CreatePersonFrames.jsp?personKey=2121 Prosopography of Anglo Saxon England: Æthelheard]

Persondata
NAME= Æthelhard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Aethelheard; Ethelhard
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Bishop of Winchester; Archbishop of Canterbury
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH= 12 May, 805
PLACE OF DEATH=