Bishop of Ramsbury (ancient)

Last updated

The Bishop of Ramsbury was an episcopal title used by medieval English-Catholic diocesan bishops in the Anglo-Saxon English church. The title takes its name from the village of Ramsbury in Wiltshire, and was first used in the 10th and 11th centuries by the Anglo-Saxon Bishops of Ramsbury. In Saxon times, Ramsbury was an important location for the Church, and several of the early bishops went on to become Archbishops of Canterbury.

Contents

The ancient bishopric of Ramsbury was created in 909 by Plegmund, Archbishop of Canterbury, as part of a division of the two West Saxon bishoprics into five smaller ones. Wiltshire and Berkshire were taken from the bishopric of Winchester to form the new diocese of Ramsbury. [1] It was occasionally referred to as the bishopric of Ramsbury and Sonning. In 1058 it was joined with the bishopric of Sherborne to form the diocese of Sarum (Salisbury), and the see was translated to Old Sarum in 1075.

Medieval bishops diocesan

Bishops of Ramsbury
FromUntilIncumbentNotes
909927 Aethelstan
927942Saint Oda of Canterbury Translated to Canterbury in 942.
942949 Ælfric
952970 Oswulf
970981 Ælfstan
981985 Wulfgar
985990 Sigeric the Serious Translated to Canterbury in 990.
9901005Saint Ælfric of Abingdon Translated to Canterbury in 995, he continued to hold Ramsbury along with Canterbury until his death.
9951045Saint Bertwald Also spelled Britwold, Beorhtwald, Birthwald, Brithwald, Berhtwald, Birthwold, Brihtwald, and Britwaldus and variously known as '... of Ramsbury', '... of Glastonbury' and '... of Sarum' [2]

Sometimes confused with Berhtwald of Canterbury [3]

10451075 Herman In exile from 1055 to 1058 (when the see was administered by Ealdred, Bishop of Worcester.) Also Bishop of Sherborne from 1058.
Herman removed both of his sees to Old Sarum in 1075; for later bishops of that merged diocese, see Bishop of Salisbury.

Modern titles

Since 1974 the Bishop of Ramsbury is a suffragan see of the Diocese of Salisbury. There is also a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church, namely Bishop of Ramsbiria, the Latin term for Ramsbury. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ealdred (archbishop of York)</span> 11th-century abbot and Archbishop of York

Ealdred was Abbot of Tavistock, Bishop of Worcester, and Archbishop of York in early medieval England. He was related to a number of other ecclesiastics of the period. After becoming a monk at the monastery at Winchester, he was appointed Abbot of Tavistock Abbey in around 1027. In 1046 he was named to the Bishopric of Worcester. Ealdred, besides his episcopal duties, served Edward the Confessor, the King of England, as a diplomat and as a military leader. He worked to bring one of the king's relatives, Edward the Exile, back to England from Hungary to secure an heir for the childless king.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Osmund</span> 11th-century Bishop of Salisbury and saint

Osmund, Count of Sées, was a Norman noble and clergyman. Following the Norman conquest of England, he served as Lord Chancellor and as the second bishop of Salisbury, or Old Sarum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historical development of Church of England dioceses</span>

This article traces the historical development of the dioceses and cathedrals of the Church of England. It is customary in England to name each diocese after the city where its cathedral is located. Occasionally, when the bishop's seat has been moved from one city to another, the diocese may retain both names, for example Bath and Wells. More recently, where a cathedral is in a small or little-known city, the diocesan name has been changed to include the name of a nearby larger city: thus the cathedral in Southwell now serves the diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, and Ripon Cathedral was in Ripon and Leeds from 1999 until 2014. Cathedrals, like other churches, are dedicated to a particular saint or holy object, or Christ himself, but are commonly referred to by the name of the city where they stand. A cathedral is, simply, the church where the bishop has his chair or "cathedra".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramsbury</span> Human settlement in England

Ramsbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. The village is in the Kennet Valley near the Berkshire boundary. The nearest towns are Hungerford about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) east and Marlborough about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) west. The much larger town of Swindon is about 12 miles (19 km) to the north.

The Bishop of Ramsbury is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Salisbury, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name from the village of Ramsbury in Wiltshire, and was first used between the 10th and 11th centuries by the Anglo-Saxon Bishops of Ramsbury; the modern See was erected under the Suffragans Nomination Act 1888 by Order in Council dated 24 October 1973. From the establishment of the Salisbury area scheme in 1981 until its abolition in 2009, the bishops suffragan of Ramsbury were area bishops. The bishop oversees the Wiltshire parts of the diocese, i.e. the Archdeaconries of Sarum and Wiltshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Wiltshire</span>

Wiltshire is a historic county located in the South West England region. Wiltshire is landlocked and is in the east of the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diocese of Salisbury</span> Diocese of the Church of England

The Bishop of Sherborne is an episcopal title which takes its name from the market town of Sherborne in Dorset, England. The see of Sherborne was established in around 705 by St Aldhelm, the Abbot of Malmesbury. This see was the mother diocese of the greater part of southwestern England in Saxon times, but after the Norman Conquest was incorporated into the new Diocese of Salisbury. The title Bishop of Sherborne is now used by the Church of England for a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Salisbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop of Hexham</span>

The Bishop of Hexham was an episcopal title which took its name after the market town of Hexham in Northumberland, England. The title was first used by the Anglo-Saxons in the 7th and 9th centuries, and then by the Roman Catholic Church since the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plegmund</span> 9th and 10th-century Anglo-Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury and saint

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.

Hygeberht was the bishop of Lichfield from 779 and archbishop of Lichfield after the elevation of Lichfield to an archdiocese some time after 787, during the reign of the powerful Mercian king Offa. Little is known of Hygeberht's background, although he was probably a native of Mercia.

Ælfric of Abingdon was a late 10th-century Archbishop of Canterbury. He previously held the offices of abbot of St Albans Abbey and Bishop of Ramsbury, as well as likely being the abbot of Abingdon Abbey. After his election to Canterbury, he continued to hold the bishopric of Ramsbury along with the archbishopric of Canterbury until his death in 1005. Ælfric may have altered the composition of Canterbury's cathedral chapter by changing the clergy serving in the cathedral from secular clergy to monks. In his will he left a ship to King Æthelred II of England as well as more ships to other legatees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop of Durham</span> Diocesan bishop in the Church of England

The bishop of Durham is responsible for the diocese of Durham in the province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the bishop of Durham since his election was confirmed at York Minster on 20 January 2014. The previous bishop was Justin Welby, now archbishop of Canterbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop of Salisbury</span> Ordinary of the Church of Englands Diocese of Salisbury

The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat is in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The current bishop is Stephen Lake.

Herman (died 1078) was a medieval cleric who served as the Bishop of Ramsbury and of Sherborne before and after the Norman conquest of England. In 1075, he oversaw their unification and translation to Salisbury. He died before the completion of the new cathedral.

Events from the 1070s in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Sarum Cathedral</span> Grade I listed cathedral in old Salisbury in United Kingdom

Old Sarum Cathedral was a Catholic and Norman cathedral at old Salisbury, now known as Old Sarum, between 1092 and 1220. Only its foundations remain, in the north-west quadrant of the circular outer bailey of the site, about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the centre of modern Salisbury, Wiltshire, in the United Kingdom. The cathedral was the seat of the bishops of Salisbury during the early Norman period and the original source of the Sarum Rite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Condry</span>

Edward Francis Condry is a retired bishop of the Church of England. He was the suffragan Bishop of Ramsbury in the Diocese of Salisbury, 2012–2018, and Canon Treasurer of Canterbury Cathedral, 2002–2012.

Andrew Paul Rumsey is a British Anglican bishop. Since January 2019, he has served as the Bishop of Ramsbury in the Church of England.

References

  1. Barbara Yorke, Frithestan, Oxford Online Dictionary of National Biography, 2004
  2. "Catholic Saints" . Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  3. "Ramsbury Raven". 21 January 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  4. "Rt Rev. Stephen Wright". Catholic Bishops' Conference. Retrieved 31 August 2023.

Further reading