Plegmund

Infobox Archbishop of Canterbury
Full name = Plegmund


birth_name =
began=unknown
consecration = 890
term_end = 2 August 923
predecessor = Ethelred
successor = Athelm
birth_date =
death_date = 2 August 923
tomb = Infobox Saint Archbishop of Canterbury
feast_day= 2 August
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 Plegmund (or Plegemund) (d. 2 August 923), after spending time as a hermit, became Archbishop of Canterbury in England from 890 to 914. He reorganised the Diocese of Winchester, creating four new sees, and worked with other scholars in translating religious works. He was canonised after his death and a holy well in Cheshire is dedicated to him.

Early life

Little is known of the early life of Plegmund. He was of Mercian descentWareham ‘Plegemund (d. 914)’ "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" ] and is believed to have lived as a hermit on what was at that time an island which became known as "Plegmundeshamm" or "The Isle of Chester" at Plemstall in Cheshire.Richards "Old Cheshire Churches p. 274] Duckett "Alfred the Great" p.113] Brooks "Early History of the Church of Canterbury" p. 152-154] He would have been affiliated to a monastic community either at nearby Chester or near the site of the current church of St Peter, Plemstall. His reputation as a scholarHindley "A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons" p. 215-217] attracted the attention of King Alfred who, some time before 887, summoned him to court with three other scholars, Wærferth, Bishop of Worcester, Æthelstan and Wærwulf.

Archbishop of Canterbury

Plegmund was selected for the see of Canterbury in 890 by King Alfred.Stenton "Anglo-Saxon England" p. 270-271] Plegmund's election to the Archbishopric of Canterbury is recorded in Manuscript E of the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" in the Latin sentence, "Hic Plegemundus archiepiscopus a Deo et omni populo electus est" (In this year Plegmund was chosen as Archbishop by God and all the people).Fact|date=November 2007 Fulk, Archbishop of Reims, praised the election of Plegmund, stating that he would help root out the last remnants of paganism in the people. There is a gap in time between the death of the previous Archbishop of Canterbury, Ethelred and the consecration of Plegmund which may have been because the see had been offered to Grimbald, a Flemish monk and scholar, who refused it.Abels "Alfred the Great" p. 224] Plegmund was granted his pallium by Pope Formosus.

During the 9th century the see of Canterbury was at a low point and one of Plegmund's responsibilities was to re-establish its authority. Between 909 and 918 he created new sees within the existing Diocese of Winchester in Crediton, Ramsbury, Sherborne and Wells. This meant that each future shire of Wessex had its own bishop; Crediton for Devon and Cornwall, Ramsbury for Wiltshire, Sherborne for Dorset and Wells for Somerset as well as the diocese of Winchester for Hampshire.Stafford "Unification and Conquest" p. 182] In order to do this Plegmund had to gain the approval of Pope Sergius III, who had annulled all the acts of Pope Formosus, and in 908 he travelled to Rome to be regranted his pallium. He was the first archbishop of Canterbury to visit Rome for nearly a century and he returned with the relics of Saint Blaise.

As a member of King Alfred's court Plegmund worked with three other scholars to translate Gregory the Great's "Cura Pastoralis" (Pastoral Care) from Latin into English.Abels "Alfred the Great: War" p. 11] The king then sent copies of it to all the bishops of his realm.Duckett "Alfred the Great" p. 147] When Alfred died in 899, Plegmund crowned his son Edward the Elder king.Fact|date=January 2008

In addition to his religious duties, Plegmund was involved in matters of state and he attended the formal councils held by Edward the Elder in 901, 903, 904 and 909. He dedicated the tall tower of the New Minster at Winchester in 909. Plegmund died on 2 August 914 and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral.Fact|date=October 2007

Legacy

After his death he was canonized, his feast day being the day of his death, 2 August. [Urdang, et. al. "Holidays and Anniversaries of the World" needs page number] A holy well dedicated to St Plegmund is sited about convert|220|yd|m|0 from St Peter's Church, Plemstall, near the village of Mickle Trafford, Cheshire. [cite web |url=http://archaeology.kmatthews.net/cheshire/st_plegmund/index.php |title=St Plegmund’s Well, Mickle Trafford, Cheshire |accessdate=2007-10-11 |last=Fitzpatrick-Matthews |first=Keith |date=2006-03-08 |publisher=Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews]

Notes

References

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*
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* 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
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* Stafford, Pauline (1989) "Unification and Conquest: A Political and Social History of England in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries" London: Edward Arnold ISBN 0-7131-6532-4
* Stenton, F. M. "Anglo-Saxon England" Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5
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* Wareham, A. F. ‘Plegemund (d. 914)’, "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/22378, accessed 9 Oct 2007]

ee also

*St Plegmund's well

External links

*cite web |url=http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=5525 |title=Saints and Angels: St Plegmund |accessdate=2007-10-11 |publisher=Catholic Online
*cite web |url=http://www.pase.ac.uk/pase/apps/persons/CreatePersonFrames.jsp?personKey=312 |title=Plegmund 1 (Male) |accessdate=2007-10-11 |publisher=The Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE)
*cite web |url=http://www.mickletrafford.org.uk/history.html |title=Local History |accessdate=2007-10-11 |publisher=Mickle Trafford & District
*CathEncy|wstitle=Plegmund

Persondata
NAME= Plegmund
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Archbishop of Canterbury
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH= 2 August 923
PLACE OF DEATH=