James the Deacon

James the Deacon was an Italian deacon who accompanied Paulinus of York on his mission to Northumbria to the court of King Edwin of Deira in 625 with Edwin's bride Æthelburg, sister of King Eadbald of Kent.

After the death of Edwin in battle at Hatfield against Penda of Mercia and Caedwalla in 632, Paulinus fled to Kent, leaving James, "the one heroic figure in the Roman mission, [Stenton, p. 116] " in Northumbria. Bede writes that James lived in a village near Catterick, which "bears his name to this day". He reports that James undertook missionary work in the area and lived to a great age. [Bede, II, xx.]

James was present at the Synod of Whitby in Bede's account of events there. [Bede, III, xxv. Eddi's "Life of Wilfred", x, does not mention James.] Bede states that after this, and the return of Roman customs, James, as a trained singing master in the Roman and Kentish style, taught many people plainsong or Gregorian chant in the Roman manner. [Bede, II, xx and IV, ii.]

It has been suggested that James was Bede's informant for the life of Edwin, the works of Paulinus, and perhaps for the Synod of Whitby, which would place his death some time after the birth of Bede. [Higham, p. 107; Lapidge, "James the Deacon".]

Churches

Dedications to James the Deacon are not common. There is a church dedicated to him in Woodthorpe, York.

Notes

References

* Bede, "Ecclesiastical History of the English People," tr. Leo Sherley-Price, rev. R.E. Latham, ed. D.H. Farmer. Penguin, London, 1990. ISBN 0-14-044565-X
* Higham, N.J., "The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350-1100." Stroud: Sutton, 1993. ISBN 0-86299-730-5
* Lapidge, Michael, "James the Deacon" in M. Lapidge et al (eds), "The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England." Blackwell, London, 1999. ISBN 0-631-22492-0
* Stenton, Sir Frank, "Anglo-Saxon England." Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1971 (3rd edn) ISBN 0-19-280139-2