Æthelric II

Infobox bishopbiog
name = Æthelric II


religion =Catholic
See =Diocese of Selsey
Title = Bishop of Selsey
Period = 1058–1070
Predecessor = Heca
Successor =Stigand
ordination =
bishops =
post =
date of birth =
place of birth =
date of death =circa 1076
place of death =

Æthelric II (d.c.1076) was the second to last Bishop of Selsey before the see was moved to Chichester. His name is also spelled Ethelric.

Life

Æthelric II was a monk at Christ Church Priory CanterburyBarlow, Frank, "Edward the Confessor" p. 198] until 1058 when he was consecrated bishop by Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury. ["Anglo-Saxon Chronicle", version E] [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=34293 British History Online Bishops of Chichester] accessed on 20 October 2007] Several historians opine that he might have been the same as the Æthelric who was a monk of Canterbury and a relative of Godwin of Wessex. That Æthelric was elected by the monks of Canterbury to be Archbishop of Canterbury in 1050, but who was not confirmed by King Edward the Confessor who instead insisted on Robert of Jumièges becoming archbishop instead.Barlow "The Godwins" p. 56] Mason "The House of Godwine" p. 93] The evidence is not merely that they shared the same name, because the name was a relatively common one in Anglo-Saxon England. Other evidence pointing to the possibility of them being the same person includes the fact that he was felt to have been unfairly deposed in 1070 as well as the bishop's great age in 1076.Walker "Harold" p. 203] Æthelric was consecrated by Stigand, unlike most of the English bishops of the time period, because at that point, Stigand held a valid pallium.Walker "Harold" p. 137-138]

Æthelric was deposed by the Council of Windsor on 24 May 1070 and imprisoned at Marlborough, being replaced by Stigand (not the same as the Archbishop), who moved the see. It is possible, that his deposition was tied to the fact that about that time, King Harold of England's mother and sister took refuge with the count of Flanders. If Æthelric was related to the Godwin's, King William I of England may have feared that the bishop would use his diocese to launch a rebellion. Walker "Harold" p. 193] Other reasons put forward include the fact that Æthelric had been consecrated by Stigand, but the other bishop that Stigand had consecrated, Siward, Bishop of Rochester was not deposed. Æthelric was a monk, and while not having a great reputation for sanctity, he was not held to be immoral either.Stafford "Unification and Conquest" p. 105] The pope did not feel that his deposition had been handled correctly,Stenton "Anglo-Saxon England" p. 661] so his deposition was confirmed at the Council of Winchester on 1 April 1076. He was carted from imprisonment to Penenden Heath for the trial of Odo of Bayeux, earl of Kent. Evidently, he was, at that time, the most prominent legalist in England.Hindley "A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons" p. 347] Stafford "Unification and Conquest" p. 107] Eadmer also consulted Æthelric for information on Eadmer's "Life of St Dunstan".Walker "Harold" p. 95]

Notes

References

* Barlow, Frank "Edward the Confessor" Berkeley: University of California Press 1970 ISBN 0-520-01671-8
* Barlow, Frank "The Godwins: The Rise and Fall of a Noble Dynasty" London: Pearson Longman 2002 ISBN 0-582-78440-9
* [http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=34293 British History Online Bishops of Chichester] accessed on 20 October 2007
* Garmonsway, G. N. 1953. "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle"
* 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
* Hynde, Thomas (ed). "The Domesday Book: England's History Then and Now." 1995
* Kelly, S. E. 1998. Charters of Selsey. "Anglo-Saxon Charters" 6
* Mason, Emma "The House of Godwine: The History of a Dynasty" London: Hambledon and London 2004 ISBN 1-85285-389-1
* Stafford, Pauline "Unification and Conquest: A Political and Social History of England in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries" London: Edward Arnold 1989 ISBN 0-7131-6532-4
* Stenton, F. M. "Anglo-Saxon England" Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5
* Walker, Ian "Harold: The Last Anglo-Saxon King" Wrens Park Publishing 2000 ISBN 0-905-778-464

Further reading

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Persondata
NAME= Æthelric
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Æthelric II; Ethelric
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Bishop of Selsey
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=about 1076
PLACE OF DEATH=