He was born into a n noble family somewhere between 904 and 909 CE, and from the time he was at least a teenager he served in the court of King Æthelstan, supposedly as his very close companion according to Æthelwold's biographer, Wulfstan the Cantor. The king had Æthelwold ordained a priest on the same day as his friend Dunstan by another Bishop of Winchester, Ælfheah the Bald.
Dunstan became Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, and in the late 930s Æthelwold moved there where he studied grammar and other topics, eventually being made dean of the school there. When Æthelwold wanted to ravel the continent and study more, the current king, Eadred, refused to give permission for him to abandon his post. Eadred then put him in charge of Abingdon Abbey, which had fallen into the hands of secular priests. Æthelwold restored Benedictine Rule to Abingdon.
When Eadred died, Eadwig (reigned 955 - 959) became king, and drove Æthelwold's friend Dunstan into exile. Æthelwold served Eadwig during his short reign, and when Eadwig was succeeded by Edgar the Peaceable, who as a youth had been taught by Æthelwold, Dunstan was brought back and made a bishop.
Æthelwold's interest was in monasteries, not in secular clergy. Æthelwold was named Bishop of Winchester on 29 November 963, and one of his first steps was to, with the help of King Edgar and a military force, drive the priests out of Winchester and establish it as a monastery with monks from Abingdon Abbey.
Tomorrow we'll look more at his work with monasteries and at the role he envisaged for the king and queen.
P.S. Happy New Year!
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