- Higbert
Infobox bishopbiog
name =Higbert
religion =Catholic
See =Diocese of Lichfield
Title =Archbishop of Lichfield
Period = 779–799
Predecessor = Berhthun
Successor =Adulf
ordination =
bishops =
post =
date of birth =
place of birth =
date of death =803
place of death =Higbert (also spelled Hygberht or Hygeberht) (d.803) was the bishop (779–787) and
archbishop (787–799) ofLichfield during the reign of the powerfulOffa ,king of Mercia , in the late eighth century.Life
Perhaps as early as 786, the creation of a Mercian archbishopric was being discussed at Offa's court. Offa had no love for the
Kingdom of Kent and thearchbishop of Canterbury ,Jaenberht . At thecouncil of Chelsea held in 787, he secured the creation of an archbishopric for his province centred on thediocese of Lichfield (in modernStaffordshire ).Stenton "Anglo-Saxon England" Third Edition p. 218] In 788, the bishop of Lichfield, Higbert, received apallium fromPope Adrian I atRome .Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 218] Throughout his episcopate,Jaenberht of Canterbury was his senior and enjoyed precedence, though upon his death, Higbert became the foremost prelate in England. He consecrated Jaenberht's successorÆthelhard after Offa consulted the learnedAlcuin of York about procedure.Stenton "Anglo-Saxon England" Third Edition p. 225 footnote 1]It seems that
Cenwulf , Offa's successor, seriously considered removing both archdioceses and replacing them with one atLondon .Stenton "Anglo-Saxon England" Third Edition p. 226] This was avoided when a Kentish rebellion was put down and finally, in 802,Pope Leo III granted that the decision of Hadrian I was invalid because the English clergy told him it had been achieved by Offa's misrepresentation. Leo returned all jurisdiction to Canterbury, Æthelhard announcing the decision at the Fifth Council of Clovesho in 803.Stenton "Anglo-Saxon England" Third Edition p. 227-228]Higbert remained well above the fray involving the archdiocese, and stepped down before its dissolution. Higbert was the senior cleric in England by 803, the year of his death, and he had resigned his see sometime before that and after 799. He ended his days as an
abbot at the head of the Mercian clergy.There has been some minor talk in the present age of recreating the archdiocese of Lichfield, to no avail. [ [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200001/cmhansrd/vo010326/debtext/10326-04.htm Hansard, 26 March 2001] ]
Notes
References
*
* Stenton, F. M. "Anglo-Saxon England" Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5External links
* [http://www.pase.ac.uk/pase/apps/persons/CreatePersonFrames.jsp?personKey=2514 Prosopography of Anglo Saxon England entry for Hygeberht]
Persondata
NAME=Higbert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Hygberht; Hygeberht; Hygebeorght
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Bishop of Lichfield; Archbishop of Lichfield
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=about 803
PLACE OF DEATH=
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