Beornstan | |
---|---|
Bishop of Winchester | |
Appointed | May 931 |
Term ended | 1 November 934 |
Predecessor | Frithestan |
Successor | Ælfheah I |
Orders | |
Consecration | May 931 |
Personal details | |
Died | 1 November 934 |
Denomination | Christian |
Sainthood | |
Feast day | 4 November |
Venerated in | Catholic Church |
Canonized | Pre-Congregation |
Beornstan (or Byrnstan) was an English Bishop of Winchester. He was consecrated in May 931. He died on 1 November 934. [1] After his death, he was revered as a saint.
At the start of the reign of King Æthelstan in 924, Beornstan was a member of his household, one of his mass priests, who were probably responsible for looking after his relics. Early in Æthelstan's reign, Beornstan witnessed his manumission of a slave called Ealdred. Æthelstan followed a policy of appointing members of his own circle to vacant bishoprics in Wessex. Winchester was a centre of opposition to the king under its bishop, Frithestan, and when he resigned in 931 Æthelstan took the chance to appoint Beornstan to the position. He frequently attested the king's charters, though in a lower position than his successor, Ælfheah. [2]
Beornstan died at Old Minster, Winchester, where he was probably buried. He was remembered for his humility, but his cult as a saint was said to have been due to the support of a later bishop of Winchester, Æthelwold, to whom he is supposed to have angrily complained that in heaven he was honoured equally with Birinus and Swithun, but he was neglected in Winchester. His cult never became popular. [3]
Æthelstan or Athelstan was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to 939 when he died. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife, Ecgwynn. Modern historians regard him as the first King of England and one of the greatest Anglo-Saxon kings. He never married and had no children. He was succeeded by his half-brother, Edmund.
Athelm was an English churchman, who was the first Bishop of Wells, and later Archbishop of Canterbury. His translation, or moving from one bishopric to another, was a precedent for later translations of ecclesiastics, because prior to this time period such movements were considered illegal. While archbishop, Athelm crowned King Æthelstan, and perhaps wrote the coronation service for the event. An older relative of Dunstan, a later Archbishop of Canterbury, Athelm helped promote Dunstan's early career. After Athelm's death, he was considered a saint.
Oda, called the Good or the Severe, was a 10th-century Archbishop of Canterbury in England. The son of a Danish invader, Oda became Bishop of Ramsbury before 928. A number of stories were told about his actions both prior to becoming and while a bishop, but few of these incidents are recorded in contemporary accounts. After being named to Canterbury in 941, Oda was instrumental in crafting royal legislation as well as involved in providing rules for his clergy. Oda was also involved in the efforts to reform religious life in England. He died in 958 and legendary tales afterwards were ascribed to him. Later he came to be regarded as a saint, and a hagiography was written in the late 11th or early 12th century.
William of Wykeham was Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England. He founded New College, Oxford, and New College School in 1379, and founded Winchester College in 1382. He was also the clerk of works when much of Windsor Castle was built.
Ælfsige was Bishop of Winchester before he became Archbishop of Canterbury in 959.
Richard Poore or Poor was a medieval English Bishop best known for his role in the establishment of Salisbury Cathedral and the City of Salisbury, moved from the nearby fortress of Old Sarum. He served as Bishop of Chichester, Bishop of Salisbury and Bishop of Durham.
William Giffard, was the Lord Chancellor of England of William II and Henry I, from 1093 to 1101, and Bishop of Winchester (1100–1129).
Æthelwold of Winchester was Bishop of Winchester from 963 to 984 and one of the leaders of the tenth-century monastic reform movement in Anglo-Saxon England.
Ælfric Puttoc was a medieval Archbishop of York and Bishop of Worcester.
Æthelhard was a Bishop of Winchester then an Archbishop of Canterbury in medieval England. Appointed by King Offa of Mercia, Æthelhard had difficulties with both the Kentish monarchs and with a rival archiepiscopate in southern England, and was deposed around 796 by King Eadberht III Præn of Kent. By 803, Æthelhard, along with the Mercian King Coenwulf, had secured the demotion of the rival archbishopric, once more making Canterbury the only archbishopric south of the Humber in Britain. Æthelhard died in 805, and was considered a saint until his cult was suppressed after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
Plegmund was a medieval English Archbishop of Canterbury. He may have been a hermit before he became archbishop in 890. As archbishop, he reorganised the Diocese of Winchester, creating four new sees, and worked with other scholars in translating religious works. He was canonised after his death.
Wulfhelm was Bishop of Wells before being promoted to the Archbishopric of Canterbury about 926. Nothing is known about his time at Wells, but as archbishop he helped codify royal law codes and gave lands to monasteries. He went to Rome soon after his selection as archbishop. Two religious books that he gave to his cathedral are still extant.
Wigred was appointed Bishop of Chester-le-Street around 925. He was also known as the Bishop of the Church of St Cuthbert. He attested charters of King Æthelstan between 928 and 934, and the bishopric in his time was probably the greatest landholder between the Tees and the Tyne.
Ælfheah the Bald is the commonly used name for Ælfheah, the first English Bishop of Winchester of that name. He is sometimes known as Alphege, an older translation of his Old English name.
Edward the Elder was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin Æthelwold, who had a strong claim to the throne as the son of Alfred's elder brother and predecessor, Æthelred.
Hædde was a medieval monk and Bishop of Winchester.
Alphege was the third Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Wells. He was consecrated in January 926, and died around 937.
Frithestan was the Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester from 909 until his resignation in 931.
Ælfwine was Bishop of Winchester from 1032 until his death. He was one of King Cnut's priests prior to his appointment as bishop, and became a powerful and influential figure at Cnut's court.
Ælfwine or Ælle was a medieval Bishop of Lichfield. He was consecrated between 903 and 915 and died between 935 and 941.
Christian titles | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Frithestan | Bishop of Winchester 931–934 | Succeeded by Ælfheah I |