Ethelred (Archbishop of Canterbury)

Ethelred was Archbishop of Canterbury between 870 and 889.

Infobox Archbishop of Canterbury
Full name = Ethelred


began=unknown
birth_name =
consecration = 870
term_end = 30 June 888
predecessor = Ceolnoth
successor = Plegmund
birth_date =
death_date = 30 June 888
tomb =

Biography

Some sources, including the Anglo Saxon Chronicle in the F version state that Ethelred was transferred in 870 from the Bishopric of Wiltshire to the see of Canterbury, however the transfer has now been proven to be taken from the life of Ælfric of Abingdon, who was archbishop from 995 to 1005. Ethelred, however, was consecrated in 870 as archbishop.Wareham "Æthelred (d. 888)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography"] Why he was elected is unknown, as there is no contemporary information on his election.Brooks "Early History of the Church of Canterbury" p. 149-152]

Most of his time as archbishop was spent dealing with the effects of Viking raids, but he also had a conflict with King Alfred the Great over ecclesiatical matters. It was during Ethelred's archbishopric that the Golden Gospels were ransomed from a raiding army and donated to Canterbury. He also was urged, along with Archbishop Wulfhere of York, by Pope John VIII to reform the dress of the English clergy. The Anglo-Saxon clergy wore the short tunic that was the normal costume of the laypeople of Britain. The Roman custom, however, was to wear long clerical robes or habits, and the Anglo-Saxon custom was opposed by the popes and other continental clergy. Whether Ethelred and Wulfred took steps to try to change the dress of their clergy is unknown, but the clothing customs of the Anglo-Saxon clergy did not change.

Around 877, Ethelred wrote to Pope John VIII to complain about King Alfred the Great's conduct towards Canterbury. The exact nature of the dispute is not clear, but the reply from the pope to the archbishop still exists. The pope told the archbishop that Canterbury had papal support and that the pope had written to the king urging the king to respect the rights of the archbishop.Abels "Alfred the Great" p. 244]

The biggest concern of Ethelred would have been the Viking raids on England. Canterbury had been sacked by the Vikings around 850, and there were raids in Kent in 855 and 865 also. Ethelred also reached an agreement with Ealdorman Ælfred where Ælfred was granted the life use of a Canterbury estate in return for bequeathing one of the Ealdorman's estates to Canterbury after Ælfred's death. The document that records this agreement is not datesd, however, so it is unknown when exactly during Ethelred's episcopate the document was drawn up. Another problem for the archbishop was a decline in the abilities of the scribes at Canterbury, which are dramatically illustrated by the document, which has a number of errors and duplications. Other documents of the period show that some at least of the scribes had little knowledge of Latin.Brooks "Early History of the Church of Canterbury" p. 172-173]

He died 30 June 888.Fryde, et. al. "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 214]

Notes

References

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*
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* Wareham, A. F. "Æthelred (d. 888)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8914 Online Edition] accessed 7 November 2007

External links

* [http://www.pase.ac.uk/pase/apps/persons/CreatePersonFrames.jsp?personKey=2129 Prosopography of Anglo Saxon England: Æthelred]

Persondata
NAME= Ethelred
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Archbishop of Canterbury
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH= 30 June, 888
PLACE OF DEATH=