Aldred of Lindisfarne

Infobox Bishop
name =Aldred


religion =Catholic
see =Diocese of Lindisfarne
bishop_of = Bishop of Lindisfarne
enthroned = 947
ended = 968
province =
predecessor = Sexhelm
successor =Elfdig
ordination =
other_post =
birth_name =
birth_date =
birthplace =
death_date = 968
deathplace =

Aldred of Lindisfarne (died 968) was Bishop of Lindisfarne from 947 to 968.Powicke "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 216]

Aldred of Lindisfarne was a provots of the St. Cuthbert community at Chester-le-Street in 970. [The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England, ed. Michael Lapidge, 1991. p. 280.] He is best known for his gloss of the Lindisfarne Gospels in the late tenth century. His word for word translation of the Latin texts into the vernacular of Old English made the gospels more accessible to his Old English speaking community. The translation was not just a mechanical transcription, but translated difficult Latin concepts into a clearer Old English context. [Pons Sanz, Sara Maria. Aldred's Glosses to Numismatic Terms in the Lindisfarne Gospels. Department de Filologia Inglesa y Alemana.] Aldred also added a colophone to the text that indicates many important details about the gospels. A colophone is a Greek term for "finishing touch." Scribes added colophones to indicate the circumstances of their work; including the place, date, price of the manuscript, and client for whom it was copied. [Dictionary of Middle Ages, ed. Joseph R. Strayer. p. 283.] Aldred's colophone indicates that the Gospels were written by Eadfrith, a bishop of Lindisfarne in 698, the original binding was supplied by Ethelwald, Eadfrith's successor in 921, and the outside ornamentation was done by Billfrith, and anchorite of Lindisfarne. He also includes that the Gospels were created for God and St. Cuthbert. [Medieval England: An Encyclopedia, ed. Paul E. Szarmach, M. Teresa Tavormina, Joel T. Rosenthal, New York, Garland Pub., 1998. p. 424.]

Notes

References

* Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/tyne/features/gospels/gospels_tense_past.shtml History of the Lindisfarne Gospels]
* [http://www.pase.ac.uk/pase/apps/persons/CreatePersonFrames.jsp?personKey=10119 Prosopography of Anglo Saxon England entry for Ealdred]

Persondata
NAME=Aldred
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Bishop of Lindisfarne
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=968
PLACE OF DEATH=