Oda the Good

Lately the name Oda has come up as the Archbishop of Canterbury during the time of Dunstan, Æthelwold, and Oswald. 

According to Oswald's biographer, Byrhferth of Ramsey (writing years later), Oda's father was a Dane who arrived in 865 with a Viking army and settled in East Anglia. Byrhtferth writes that Oda was a member of a nobleman's household, and accompanied the man on a pilgrimage to Rome, during which Oda cured the man's illness. We don't know his date of birth, but he was old enough to become Bishop of Ramsbury by 928. 

William of Malmesbury (c.1095 - c.1143) tells a different story, about Oda as a soldier under the Saxon king Edward the Elder and becoming a priest later. Biographers erroneously call him Bishop of Wilton, but evidence doesn't exist for that appointment.

It was likely King Æthelstan who appointed Oda Bishop of Ramsbury, and made him a royal advisor. Oda's name is on a lot of royal charters as witness. Another historian, Richer of Rheims, tells us that Æthelstan sent Oda to France to help King Louis IV (whose queen was Æthelstan's granddaughter through Edward the Elder) to return to the throne. (This story has no contemporary evidence.) Oda was also said to be with Æthelstan at the Battle of Brunanburh, but there is no contemporary evidence of this. These later accounts that ascribe so much to his life tell you that there was a desire to increase his standing because he was considered important to history.

What did happen for certain is that he was made Archbishop of Canterbury after the death of Wulfhelm in 941. In either 945 or 946, at Easter, new law codes were proclaimed by King Edmund that included new ecclesiastical laws developed by Oda and Edmund. Oda also established his own set of rules for clergy, in a work called Constitutions. In it, he dropped any references to dealing with pagans.

As archbishop he supported Dunstan's monastic reforms, and would have been helpful to Oswald, who was Oda's nephew and became Archbishop of York.

Other actions by Oda: renovating Canterbury Cathedral by raising the walls and installing a new roof, building several churches, translating the relics of St. Wilfrid. He also acquired relics of 7th-century Frankish bishop St. Ouen. He was nicknamed both "the Good" and also "the Severe."

He is venerated in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches with a feast day on 4 July. That's him in the illustration holding a chalice.

Let's make a change away from religious figures for a bit and take a look at the invasion that brought Oda's father to England, the Viking army of Ubba and Ivar. See you tomorrow.

Oswald of Worcester

We now come to Oswald of Worcester who, along with the recently explored Æthelwold and Dunstan, was considered one of the "Three English Holy Hierarchs."

Oswald was actually Danish, and a nephew of Archbishop of Canterbury Oda (mentioned during the clash between Dunstan and Eadwig). Oswald was taught by the Frankish scholar Frithegod, a clergyman who served Oda, then was sent to an abbey at Fleury in France to become a monk. Oda called Oswald back to England, but died (2 June 958) before Oswald arrived.

Oswald looked for a mentor, and found it in the Archbishop of York, Oskytel. Oswald worked at York until he was made Bishop of Worcester in 961, succeeding Dunstan. One of his acts as bishop was to invite to England a monk he knew at Fleury, Germanus of Winchester. He wanted Germanus to be prior of a new monastic community at Westbury-on-Trym.

The continent had experienced a revival of Benedictine Rule that was much more strict than what was going on in England's monasteries. Oswald (along with the efforts of Æthelwold and Dunstan) wanted to bring that stricter lifestyle to the island. He also wanted to expunge the secularism he saw in the English Church, where indulgences were sold and positions were given to lay people for the monetary advantage instead of to clergy.

There were married clergy at the time, and one tradition states that Oswald expelled any priests who would not give up their wives and replaced them with monks. An alternate story is that he established monasteries near the cathedrals, allowing the secular priests to maintain their duties until he had enough properly trained monks to take over the cathedral duties, pushing out the priests.

He founded Ramsey Abbey, and in 985 invited Abbo of Fleury to run its school. Abbo taught computus, the method used to calculate the dates of Easter.

Oswald was named Archbishop of York in 972 but stayed Bishop of Worcester, an unusual arrangement that applied to the Archbishops of York for the next 50 years. It aided York financially to have a very wealthy diocese added to its holdings.

Oswald's daily custom during Lent was to wash the feet of the poor. On 29 February 992, while doing so at Worcester, he died. He was buried at the Church of St. Mary at Worcester. Miracles were reported at his funeral and tomb. Ten years later, his remains were translated to a spot at Worcester Cathedral. 

The man who started him on his rise to fame, Archbishop Oda, has been named a few times in recent days, and we'll see what else he did, tomorrow.

Dunstan post-Edgar

Unfortunately, St. Dunstan could never stop himself from speaking truth to power, even when power was more, um powerful than he. (I suppose that was the point.) He only survived after his clash with Eadwig thanks to the accession to the throne of Edgar the Peaceable.

Dunstan as Archbishop of Canterbury and Edgar as King of England made a terrific pair for 16 years, but Edgar's death in 975 led to a dispute over succession. Edgar had more than one son by more than one wife, and the most recent wife, Ælfthryth, wanted her son Æthelred to succeed. Dunstan (and others) supported the candidacy of the older son Edward. Both boys were in their minority, but Edward won.

This turned out to be a bad move by Dunstan, since Edward's reign was characterized by anti-monastic and anti-reform views. The link on Ælfrthryth above will give you a taste of what happened. Edward was assassinated a few years later (some say Ælfthryth was involved), and Æthelred became king.

This is where speaking truth to power again shows how risky it is for the speaker. As Archbishop of Canterbury, Dunstan was the chief celebrant at the coronation, during which he lectured Æthelred about the evils about to visit themselves upon the kingdom because of the evil act that led to Æthelred's succession.

Dunstan then wisely went back to Canterbury and stayed there, teaching at the school. His name rarely appears in any official records. In 980, Dunstan was part of the "translation" of the relics of Edward. His remains were moved from their original burial place to a shrine at Shaftesbury Abbey. (Edward's death had gained him the nickname "the Martyr"; the moving of the relics was a step toward declaring him a saint.)

Dunstan apparently persuaded Æthelred to appoint Ælfheah of Mercia as Bishop of Winchester, and bribed the king with 100 pounds (lbs., not £) of silver to stop persecuting the See of Rochester. (Æthelred was taking land from the diocese to give grants to a retainer.)

Dunstan led a quiet retirement, saying Mass, visiting shrines, teaching. On 19 May 988 he assembled the clergy and had Mass said. He knew he was dying, and asked for Extreme Unction (Last Rites). He died right after. He was considered a saint, and formally canonized in 1029. He was England's favorite Archbishop-turned-saint until Thomas Becket overshadowed him.

His feast day is 19 May. He is patron saint of goldsmiths and silversmiths because of how he occupied himself at Glastonbury. The monks of Glastonbury used to say that his relics were taken there for safekeeping from Canterbury during a 1012 Danish invasion, but a 16th-century Archbishop of Canterbury opened Dunstan's tomb and proved the monks wrong.

Tomorrow we'll get to the third of the Three Holy Hierarchs of English Reform, Oswald of Worcester. 

Dunstan's Comeback

Now brought back to England by Edgar the Peaceable after the demise of Eadwig, Dunstan was made Bishop of Worcester and Bishop of London. Just before Eadwig died he had named a new Archbishop of Canterbury, Byrhthelm. Edgar reversed that appointment, claiming incompetence, and conferred the position on Dunstan.

To be confirmed as Archbishop of Canterbury, Dunstan had to go to Rome to receive the pallium from the pope, in this case John XII. His biographer tells us that he was so generous to others during the trip the he ran out of money for himself and his retinue.

Back in England he started making changes. His friend Æthelwold became Bishop of Winchester, and Oswald became Bishop of Worcester. (Oswald, Æthelwold, and Dunstan are referred to as the "Three English Holy Hierarchs" because of their religiou reforms. We'll be getting to Oswald soon.)

Dunstan enforced a spirit of self-sacrifice in the monasteries, and enforced (where he could) celibacy. He forbade selling clergy positions for money, and stopped clergy from appointing relatives to positions under their jurisdiction.

He started a program of building monasteries and cathedrals. The cathedral communities he created were monks instead of secular priests, and in those that existed already with secular priests he insisted they live according to monastic discipline. Priests were encouraged to be educated, and to teach parishioners not only about their religion but also useful knowledge of trades.

For the coronation of King Edgar, Dunstan himself designed the service which became the basis for modern British coronations. Edgar's strong rule and his partnership with Dunstan was considered by contemporary chroniclers as a "Golden Age" for England. The only problem mentioned in chronicles was by William of Malmesbury who wrote that the sailors tasked with patrolling the North Sea shores to guard against Viking invasions were not happy with their post.

Once again, however, Dunstan would clash with the king and lose his standing. Edgar was not the adversary. It was "two kings later" that brought about the end of Dunstan's public career. One more post on Dunstan, and then we will get to the third of the "Holy Hierarchs."

P.S. The illustration is from the anecdote found in the Dunstan link in the first paragraph above, of Dunstan grabbing the devil with red-hot tongs.

Dunstan vs. Eadwig

When King Eadred died, Dunstan was ready to serve his successor, the teenaged Eadwig (pictured to the left). Eadwig, however, was not interested in comporting himself in proper courtly style. Eadwig was under the influence of a woman (who may have been his foster mother), Æthelgifu, who wanted Eadwig to marry her daughter Ælfgifu.

On the day of Earwig's coronation in 956, Eadwig abandoned the banquet to be with the two women. The nobles were unhappy with this behavior. Archbishop Oda suggested Eadwig be brought back, but no one dared interrupt the new king, who was known to be headstrong and had no interest in court etiquette.

Only Dunstan was brave enough to deal with the situation. Along with his kinsman, the Bishop of Lichfield Cynesige, he found the king with the two women, the crown on the floor. In the words of Dunstan's biographer:

...they went in and found the royal crown, brilliant with the wonderful gold and silver and variously sparkling jewels that made it up, tossed carelessly on the ground some distance from the king's head, while he was disporting himself disgracefully between the two women as though they were wallowing in some revolting pigsty. They said to the king: "Our nobles have sent us to ask you to come with all speed to take your proper place in the hall, and not to refuse to show yourself at this happy occasion with your great men." Dunstan first told off the foolish women. As for the king, since he would not get up, Dunstan put out his hand and removed him from the couch where he had been fornicating with the harlots, put his diadem on him, and marched him off to the royal company, parted from his women if only by main force.

Æthelgifu is given the credit for turning people against Dunstan out of revenge. Eadwig confiscated all his property. Dunstan stayed with friends, but because they would also feel the king's disfavor, he fled to Flanders.

In Flanders he did not know the country or the language, but its ruler Count Arnulf I received him with honor and put him in the Abbey of Mont Blandin, where Dunstan was able to see firsthand the fruits of the Benedictine Revival that had been flourishing on the continent but had not reached England.

Fortunately, back in England people were getting fed up with the excesses of Eadwig, and he was driven out in October 959 to be replaced with Edgar the Peaceable. Edgar had been taught by Dunstan's friend, Æthelwold of Winchester, who persuaded Edgar to bring Dunstan back.

After several turns of fortune, Dunstan was now back in England. One of the first acts of the new king was to name Dunstan Archbishop of Canterbury. Now Dunstan could really start making changes he saw necessary, and now he had knowledge of the Benedictine Revival and could bring real change and discipline to the monasteries of England. Not that there weren't other problems for monks in the future, but that's a story for tomorrow.

Promoted by a Miracle

St. Dunstan's life had its ups and downs, as the Wheel of Fortune predicts. Driven from one king's court because of the jealousy of others, returned to a later king's court, and then driven away by the jealousy of others—his life was developing a dismal pattern.

The second king was Edmund, and he was becoming increasingly disillusioned with Dunstan as a minister because of the lies of others. Dunstan was prepared to leave, even asking representatives of the kingdom of East Anglia to let him go with them when they left Edmund's court.

Before that event, however, Edmund went out hunting in the Mendip Forest. I'll let someone else take it from here:

He became separated from his attendants and followed a stag at great speed in the direction of the Cheddar cliffs. The stag rushed blindly over the precipice and was followed by the hounds. Eadmund endeavoured vainly to stop his horse; then, seeing death to be imminent, he remembered his harsh treatment of St. Dunstan and promised to make amends if his life was spared. At that moment his horse was stopped on the very edge of the cliff. Giving thanks to God, he returned forthwith to his palace, called for St. Dunstan and bade him follow, then rode straight to Glastonbury. Entering the church, the king first knelt in prayer before the altar, then, taking St. Dunstan by the hand, he gave him the kiss of peace, led him to the abbot's throne and, seating him thereon, promised him all assistance in restoring Divine worship and regular observance. [link]

Dunstan's childhood dream of restoring Glastonbury Abbey to its former glory was in his grasp. Edmund also sent Æthelwold to help. The two began to rebuild the abbey (see illustration for how it might have looked before Henry VIII) and established Benedictine Rule, although probably not as strictly as it was being reformed on the continent. Unlike Æthelwold, Dunstan was not opposed to the presence of secular priests.

Dunstan had a brother, Wulfric, who was given responsibility for the material upkeep of the abbey, so that the cloistered monks did not have to "break enclosure." The first project was to rebuild the church of St. Peter.

Things were looking up for Dunstan and Glastonbury. When Edmund was assassinated in 946, his successor's policies looked to make things even better for Dunstan. Eadred promoted unification of all parts of the kingdom, both Saxon and Danish, along with moral reform and rebuilding of churches. Dunstan's position grew in authority. But Eadred died in 955, and Eadwig was a very different kind of king.

The 45-year-old Dunstan clashed with the 15-year-old Eadwig on the very day of the coronation, setting up another turn of the wheel. I'll tell that awkward story next time.

Saint Dunstan

There were three men in the 10th century in England who were called the "Three English Holy Hierarchs" for their work in reviving English Orthodox monasticism. Æthelwold of Winchester was one, Oswald of Worcester another, and Dunstan.

From Dunstan's biographer "B" (who claimed to be a member of Dunstan's household) we can estimate that he was born c.910 to a couple named Heorstan and Cynethryth near Glastonbury, and that he was related to Bishop of Winchester Alfheah the Bald and to Bishop of Lichfield Cynesige. He studied under the Irish monks who had occupied Glastonbury Abbey, at that time in a state of disrepair. Supposedly he dreamed of restoring the Abbey to its former glory. He would get his chance as its abbot, but that was a long time coming.

Known for his religious devotion and his learning, he was sent to the court of King Æthelstan, where he became such a favorite of the king that he aroused jealousy among others. They accused him of witchcraft and black magic, which caused the king to send him from the court. On his way out, his enemies attacked him, beating him so severely that he could barely crawl out of the cesspool into which they finally threw him. He hid with a friend until he was well enough to travel to Winchester and join the household of Alfheah.

Alfheah thought Dunstan should become a monk, but Dunstan wasn't sure he was made for a celibate life. He was so ill, however (possibly from the beating and the cesspool), that he decided to try the monastic life. He took Holy Orders in 943 and went to live at Glastonbury. He built a 5 by 2.5 foot cell to stay in; he studied, played the harp, and practiced art like silversmithing and illuminating manuscripts. A later legend says the devil tempted him during this time and Dunstan held the devil's face in a pair of tongs.

He worked in the scriptorium. An illustration of a monk kneeling next to Christ (see the illustration) is thought to have been drawn by Dunstan.

Despite his reputation at Æthelstan's court, the king's niece Lady Æthelflæd made him her advisor and left him a considerable sum of money at her death. Around that time Dunstan also had a large inheritance after the death of his father. Suddenly he had secular power through his fortune. Æthelstan died in 940, and his brother Edmund became king. Edmund summoned Dunstan to court as an advisor.

Once again, the jealousy of others at court threatened Dunstan's position and even his life, but he was saved by a miracle. I'll tell you about it tomorrow.

Establishing Monasteries

When Æthelwold was made Bishop of Winchester in 963, the discipline of the priests there had suffered. Records say that priests there did not perform the services properly, that they were lazy, too many had wives, and they were given to gluttony and drink.

In 964, therefore, Æthelwold called on military support from King Edgar the Peaceable to expel all those clerics and bring in disciplined monks from Abingdon Abbey to re-establish proper Benedictine Rule. Although other monastic leaders of his time (including his friend Dunstan) allowed a mix of monks and secular clergy, Æthelwold clearly did not trust priests, whom he saw as undisciplined. In his writings he often referred to clergy as "filthy."

Edgar and his queen, Ælfthryth, offered their support, and Æthelwold wanted them to be involved in the restoration and expansion of monastic foundations. He wanted Edgar's help to restore monasteries, since the king was considered a representative of Christ on Earth. He wanted Ælfthryth to become a supervisor of Benedictine nunneries.

Æthelwold was nicknamed "father of monks" and "benevolent bishop" by others. Under his guidance, the monks of Winchester and elsewhere were better educated than the secular clergy. One modern scholar even claims that Æthelwold's vernacular writings were significant in the development of Standard Old English. [link]

Later, when Æthelred (the Unready) became king, Æthelwold was an advisor during the new king's minority. When Æthelwold died on 1 August 984, Æthelred wrote that the country had lost "one whose industry and pastoral care ministered not only to my interest but also to that of all the inhabitants of the country."

Twelve years after his death, a man claimed to have his blindness cured because he visited the tomb of Æthelwold, which started the process of his canonization. St. Æthelwold's feast day is 1 August.

I said a couple posts ago that I wanted to explore the two men who made St. Swithin famous. Æthelwold was one; the other was Dunstan. We'll explore his life and works tomorrow.

Æthelwold of Winchester

It was a Bishop of Winchester who made a former Bishop of Winchester so prominent. Æthelwold of Winchester decided to rededicate the church at Winchester to St. Swithin instead of Saints Peter and Paul. What was Æthelwold's background?

He was born into a 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 travel 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 established Benedictine Rule at 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!

St. Swithin

I mentioned yesterday that the Winchester Bible was made at the Priory of St. Swithin in Winchester, and I thought it would be interesting to know more about this early medieval saint...of which we know very little, to be fair.

Like Henry of Blois (who likely commissioned the Winchester Bible), Swithin (or Swithun) was an early bishop of Winchester. We know hardly anything contemporary about his life. He was probably born c.800 in Wessex, and one of the first public mentions of him is when he was consecrated a bishop on 30 October 852. His name is recorded as witness to nine charters, the earliest in 854. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mentions his death in the year 861.

It is only much later that his name was attached to the restored church at Winchester that had been dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The place was being rebuilt by Æthelwold, Bishop of Winchester (904 - 984), who maybe wanted to promote veneration of local saints over biblical ones. He was aided in this by Dunstan (909 - 988). Swithin's remains were moved to Winchester on 15 July 971 (15 July is his feast day in England), and that's when things got interesting.

Suddenly this obscure bishop had a prominent place in London, and people reported miracles attributed to him. The sick were healed, the blind could see. His shrine became a major pilgrimage site. Æthelwold decreed that the monks should all drop what they were doing at any time a miracle was announced and come to the shrine to worship. Supposedly this took place so frequently, even at night when the monks were in their beds, that they became too frustrated and stopped coming. Swithin then appeared in a dream to one or more of the monks, telling them that the miracles would stop if the monks did not deliver their praise. The story was spread, and the monks decided that they had to continue as before, no matter the time of day or night.

It was much later that other stories (with no known contemporary source) were told. He is often depicted as standing over eggs, because when some workmen maliciously broke the eggs of an old woman, Swithin found the eggs and made them whole.

There is another bit of lore ascribed to him:

St Swithun's day if thou dost rain
For forty days it will remain
St Swithun's day if thou be fair
For forty days 'twill rain nae mare

If it rains on 15 July, rain will persist for 40 days more. Buckinghamshire has simplified this:

If on St Swithun's day it really pours
You're better off to stay indoors

Swithin has made a mark on popular culture. Jane Austen's last poem had Saint Swithin antagonizing race runners in Winchester. St. Swithin's Day is referred to in the TV show Sopranos and in an episode of The Simpsons.

So what about the men who "brought Swithin back" to prominence, Æthelwold and Dunstan? Let's take a look at them next

The Largest Bible Ever Made

Because Henry of Blois was Bishop of Winchester, the richest cathedral in England, and because he was known to be a patron of the arts and a donor of many valuable items to Winchester, it is assumed that it was he who ordered the creation of what is called the Winchester Bible. It was made by monks at the Winchester priory of St. Swithin.

The Winchester Bible is an enormous book (see the illustration with hands for scale) of 936 pages whose parchment was made from the hides of approximately 250 calves. The leaves are 23" by 16", making it the largest hand-made Bible. Its size demanded that it be made in two volumes, but it was re-bound in 1820 into three volumes, then again in the 21st century by the Bodleian Library in Oxford into four volumes for easier handling during research.

It contains the entire Vulgate (Old and New Testaments), two versions of Psalms, and the Apocrypha (several books that did not get included in the official Bible due to their doubtful origin and relevance). Perhaps because the book was so large and the materials so expensive, space was saved by starting each book of the Bible immediately following the ending of the previous book, not getting its own starting page as chapters usually do. Space was also saved by the use of many abbreviations and shorter spellings of words.

Many projects of this size and complexity would employ multiple scribes for different sections, and it is possible to detect the different "hand" of different scribes. The style of penmanship of the Winchester, however, is so consistent that the conclusion is that it was the work of a single scribe. If that is the case, it would have taken about four years to write the text.

Although all the text is complete, the illustrations are not. Many illustrations are mere sketches missing their color, or incompletely colored. The illustrations show the work of several different artists. A 20th-century medievalist examined the manuscript and found consistencies among certain illustrations that he claims allowed him to identify the artists. He referred to them as the Master of the Leaping Figures, the Master of the Apocrypha Drawings, the Master of the Genesis Initial, the Master of the Amalekite, the Master of the Morgan Leaf, and the Master of the Gothic Majesty. Some of these employed styles that show Byzantine influence.

Other "foreign influence" comes from the use of the very expensive ultramarine color that could only come from lapis lazuli from Afghanistan. The management clearly spared no expense.

I mentioned the source as the priory of St. Swithin at Winchester. Let's jump back in time a little to learn about Swithun.

Henry's Choice

Life was good for Henry of Blois. His brother Stephen was the king of England, Henry was not only Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey and Bishop of Winchester, but also was the papal legate which gave him additional authority over even the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Then the Anarchy happened.

You see, King Stephen had seized the throne after the death of Henry I, even though Stephen had promised support to Henry's daughter Matilda. She was known as Empress Matilda by virtue of marriage to Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. She decided she was owed the throne of England, so she challenged Stephen.

Civil War ensued, and people chose sides. On 2 February 1141, the first clash between the two armies took place at the Battle of Lincoln. Stephen was captured and imprisoned, and Matilda assumed the throne.

Maybe it was because Stephen had not supported Henry in his idea to create a third archbishopric for himself, or simply because Matilda now had control, but Henry chose to support Matilda. But Matilda was not a kind ruler, and Henry changed his mind (especially after Matilda besieged Winchester Castle) bringing the force of the Church in support of the deposed king. Along with Stephen's wife (also named Matilda), forces loyal to Stephen turned the tide and deposed Empress Matilda.

Henry's papal legate position had come from Pope Innocent II, but hen Innocent died on 23 September 1143, the commission ended and Henry lost status. He even went to Rome to try to get it reinstated. He failed, but did manage to get some favors for Glastonbury.

After Stephen's death and the rise of King Henry II, Henry of Blois retired to Cluny and lived with his friend and mentor Peter the Venerable. In January 1164, King Henry II tried to formalize royal authority over the Church in the Constitutions of Clarendon, and Henry was one of the bishops forced to sign it. This later led to the problem with and trial of Thomas Becket, over which Henry presided.

Henry died on 8 August 1171. His exact burial site is disputed.

In his time he supported many art and architectural projects (the illustration was made by an artist from Belgium during Henry's time, depicting him as a patron of arts). One of his projects (we believe) was the Winchester Bible, the largest Bible ever made by hand (although incomplete). Let's take a look at that tomorrow.

Henry of Blois

Count of Blois Stephen II and Adela of Normandy had several children who have appeared in this blog. One of them, Stephen of Blois, became King of England in 1135 after the demise of Henry I. Another, Henry (c.1096 - 1171) also did very well for himself. (For himself, not by himself; when your brother is king, you don't really have to go looking for work.)

The youngest of five sons, Henry was educated at Cluny, and brought to England by his uncle King Henry I to be Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey. (Henry and Adela were siblings; their father was William the Conqueror.) In 1129 he was made Bishop of Winchester as well, even though that location and the duties of a bishop were a far cry from those of the Abbot of Glastonbury.

Abbot Henry—like King Henry and, indeed, most of the kings of England—disliked being subjected to the ecclesiastical authority of the Archbishops of Canterbury. His idea was to create a third archbishopric in the southwest of England with himself at the head. (The second archbishopric was York.)

His brother the king was not keen on this idea, but Henry gained more prominence than the archbishop when, in March 1139, Henry was named papal legate. This position placed him above Canterbury in the parochial pecking order. If the king was away from England, Henry was the most powerful man in England.

Henry did wonders for the area, commanding hundreds of works projects. He built churches, abbeys, and canals. He also started construction projects at Winchester Cathedral, additions to manors and castles, Winchester Palace in London as the home for bishops of Winchester, and the Hospital of St. Cross at Winchester (which still exists).

He wrote books and was a patron of authors and bookmakers. William of Malmesbury was a close friend, and Henry sponsored On the Antiquity of the Glastonbury Church by Malmesbury. The largest Bible ever produced, the three-foot-tall Winchester Bible, was sponsored by Henry, as was the Winchester Psalter.

England experienced a period of civil war during this time called the Anarchy. There was a rival who claimed to have a better right to the throne than Stephen. Henry had a choice: support his brother, or the other claimant. We'll explore his choice tomorrow.

The Last Abbot of Glastonbury

This is the story of Richard Whiting, a faithful steward of Glastonbury Abbey, chosen by Henry VIII's most faithful servant (Cardinal Wolsey), who agreed that Henry was the head of the Church of England, and who believed that his abbey was safe from Henry's intention to close down all monasteries.

In September 1539, Glastonbury was the last abbey in southwest England. In September, Thomas Cromwell (Lord of the Privy Seal) sent a small delegation whose purpose seemed to be to find reasons to close the place down.

One of the purposes of shutting down monasteries was so the king could assume their property. Glastonbury was a wealthy abbey, and the delegation expected to find treasure, but it was not readily apparent. They then made a more determined search and found money and valuable items hidden away in vaults, and assumed there might have been other valuables sent to other locations to hide them from the king.

Whiting was sent to the Tower of London to be examined by Cromwell himself, who wrote:

Item, Certayn persons to be sent to the Tower for the further examenacyon of the Abbot, of Glaston... Item. The Abbot, of Glaston to (be) tryed at Glaston and also executyd there with his complycys... Item. Councillors to give evidence against the Abbot of Glaston, Rich. Pollard, Lewis Forstew (Forstell), Thos. Moyle.

From Whiting's entry in the online Catholic Encyclopedia we can learn that the French ambassador at the time wrote:

The Abbot of Glastonbury. . . has lately, been put in the Tower, because, in taking the Abbey treasures, valued at 200,000 crowns, they found a written book of arguments in behalf of Queen Katherine. [link]

Whiting was sent from the Tower to Wells where he was tried and convicted of robbing Glastonbury. He and his treasurer and sacristan were taken to Glastonbury on the following day, dragged by horses to the top of Glastonbury Tor, then hanged, drawn, and quartered.

Whiting is considered a martyr for the Church and was beatified in 1895 (immortalized in the stained glass window above).

There was an earlier abbot of Glastonbury who also fell afoul of a king, which was even more interesting because the king was his brother. I'll tell you about him next time.

Richard Whiting

Richard Whiting (1461 - 15 November 1539) was educated as a young man at Glastonbury Abbey, then furthered his education in Cambridge at the Monk's Hostel. (Monk's Hostel was founded as a Benedictine hostel for those studying at Cambridge, it was later named Buckingham College and eventually refounded as St. Mary Magdalen).

Whiting earned his MA at Cambridge and was ordained a deacon in 1500 and a priest in 1501, then returned to Cambridge to study for a doctorate in 1505. Once back at Glastonbury he was put in charge of the physical plant essentially as a chamberlain, managing dormitories, lavatories, and the wardrobe.

In 1525, when Whiting was 64 years old, Abbot Richard Beere died. (Beere may have been Whiting's uncle.) The monks of Glastonbury asked Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (by this time Lord High Chancellor under King Henry VIII) to choose their new abbot. Wolsey, with Henry's permission, chose Richard Whiting. Whiting was abbot for a decade, and was well-liked according to contemporary accounts.

When the Act of Supremacy came about, appointing the rulers of England as the heads of the Church of England, Whiting signed it in 1534.

Not everyone was willing to submit to this Act. History has made much of the executions of Thomas More and Bishop of Rochester St. John Fisher (also a Cambridge graduate) for denying the king this title. Was Whiting truly accepting of the king's new title as head of the church, or was he being politic in an attempt to keep the king's favor? Either way, his position was precarious. Richard Layton, a churchman and diplomat under Henry and Wolsey, came to Glastonbury to examine its administration, giving Whiting some injunctions for changes to be made, and removing the abbot's jurisdiction over the town of Glastonbury.

In 1535, the Suppression of Religious Houses Act dissolved several smaller monasteries, but Whiting was always told that Glastonbury was safe. By the beginning of 1539, Glastonbury was the only abbey left in Somerset.

One of the effects of the Dissolution was that the king assumed control of property and material goods, of which Glastonbury had much. In September of 1539, a delegation from London arrived to "take stock" of Glastonbury's possessions. This is where things went very poorly for Richard Whiting, as I'll explain tomorrow.