Æthelhard

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.^[1] He was consecrated Bishop of Winchester sometime after 759 and before 778.^[2]

He was translated from the see of Winchester to the see of Canterbury in 792 and was enthroned archbishop on 21 July 793.^[3] 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.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.^[6]

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.^[7]

Because Lichfield had been established by the papacy, any change in its status required papal assent.^[5] 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.^[8] 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.^[5] There are indications that the cathedral clergy of Canterbury never recognized the elevation of Lichfield.^[6]

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.^[5] Æthelhard resolved to go to Rome and consult with Pope Leo III about the decline in power of the see of Canterbury.^[4] Leo sided with Canterbury and demoted Lichfield back down to a bishopric.^[1]

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.^[5] At that same council, Æthelhard also presented a papal decision that asserted the freedom of churches from secular authority.^[9] While at the council, Æthelhard once more proclaimed that the papacy had been deceived into elevating Lichfield, and that it was a "tyranical power" that had been behind the effort.^[6] Æthelhard presided over at least eleven synods, and possibly one more.^[1]

Æthelhard died on 12 May 805 and was buried in Canterbury.^[1] He was later revered as a saint, with a feast day of 12 May.^[10]

Notes

References

• Brooks, Nicholas (1984). The Early History of the Church of Canterbury: Christ Church from 597 to 1066. London: Leicester University Press. 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. 
• 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. 
• Kirby, D. P. (2000). The Earliest English Kings. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-24211-8. 
• Stenton, F. M. (1971). Anglo-Saxon England (Third ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5. 
• Williams, Ann (2004). "Æthelheard (d. 805)" (fee required). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (October 2006 revised ed.). Oxford University Press. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8910.  Accessed 7 November 2007

Further reading

• Cubitt, Catherine (1999). "Finding the Forger: An Alleged Decree of the 679 Council of Hatfield". The English Historical Review 114 (459): 1217–1248. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266(199911)114%3A459%3C1217%3AFTFAAD%3E2.0.CO%3B2-X. 

External links

• Aethelheard at Patron Saints Index
• Prosopography of Anglo Saxon England: Æthelheard