Edsige

St. Edsige, also Eadsige, Eadsimus, or Eadsin (died 1050), was Archbishop of Canterbury, and crowned St. Edward the Confessor.

Infobox Archbishop of Canterbury
Full name = Edsige


began=unknown
birth_name =
consecration = 1038
term_end = 29 October 1050
predecessor = Aethelnoth
successor = Robert of Jumieges
birth_date =
death_date = 29 October 1050
tomb =

Infobox Saint
name=Edsige
birth_date=
death_date=
feast_day=28 October
venerated_in=


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Biography

Edsige was a royal priest for King Canute before Canute arranged for him to become a monk at Christ Church, Canterbury about 1030. About 1035, he served as a suffragan or coadjutor bishop to Archbishop Aethelnoth of Canterbury, with his see located at the church of St. Martin in Canterbury.Hunt, William "Eadsige (d. 1050)" rev. Mary Frances Smith, "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8385 Online Edition] accessed 7 November 2007] He was translated to the Archbishopric of Canterbury in 1038 after Aethelnoth's death.cite book |author=Fryde, E. B. |coauthors=Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. |title=Handbook of British Chronology|edition=Third Edition, revised |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |year=1996 |isbn=0-521-56350-X |pages=214] In 1040, he journeyed to Rome to receive his pallium from Pope Benedict IX.

He may have crowned Harthacanute in 1040, but he definitely crowned Edward the Confessor on 3 April 1043 along with Archbishop Aelfric of York.Barlow, Frank, "Edward the Confessor" Berkeley: University of California Press 1970 ISBN 0-520-01671-8 p. 61] In 1044, Edsige, wishing to withdraw from his see because of ill-health, appears to have approached King Edward and Godwin, Earl of Wessex, about temporarily consecrating Siward, abbot of Abingdon in Edsige's place.Barlow, Frank "Edward the Confessor" Berkeley: University of California Press 1970 ISBN 0-520-01671-8 p. 78] This retirement lasted until 1048,Barlow, Frank "Edward the Confessor" Berkeley: University of California Press 1970 ISBN 0-520-01671-8 p. 104] when Siward became ill and returned to Abingdon to die within eight weeks. While he was archbishop, he also was sheriff of Kent.Barlow, Frank "Edward the Confessor" Berkeley: University of California Press 1970 ISBN 0-520-01671-8 p. 115] William of Malmesbury relates a story that Siward deprived Edsige of food during Edsige's illness and because of this Siward was not allowed to succeed Edsige, but had to settle for the see of Rochester instead. However this probably is a fabrication to account for the fact that Siward did not become archbishop after Edsige, for William had confused Siward, the abbot, with a different Siward, this one Siward of Rochester, who was Bishop of Rochester from 1058 to 1075. The see of Worcester preserved a tradition that in about 1047 it was Edsige, along with Lyfing Bishop of Worcester, who forced Sweyn Godwinson to give up his wife who had been the abbess of Leominster Abbey before Sweyn abducted her.Barlow, Frank "The Godwins: The Rise and Fall of a Noble Dynasty" London: Pearson Longman 2002 ISBN 0-582-78440-9 p. 53]

He died on 29 October 1050 or possibly just sometime in October of 1050.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 p. 324] During his occupation of the see, many of the lands of the see were either leased, sold or given to Godwin, Earl of Wessex, an action that angered the monks of the cathedral, and may have contributed to William of Malmesbury's dislike of the archbishop and willingness to fabricate a story about him being mistreated.

He is considered a saint, with his feast day on 28 October. [ [http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=3025 Catholic Online Entry for Edsige] accessed on 4 November 2007]

References

External links

* [http://www.pase.ac.uk/pase/apps/persons/CreatePersonFrames.jsp?personKey=10504 Prosopography of Anglo Saxon England]

Persondata
NAME= Edsige
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Eadsige; Eadsimus; Eadsin
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Archbishop of Canterbury
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH= 29 October 1038
PLACE OF DEATH=