Germanus | |
---|---|
Abbot of Winchcombe Abbey | |
Church | Winchcombe Abbey |
Appointed | c. 970 |
Term ended | 975 |
Personal details | |
Birth name | Germanus |
Died | c. 1013 |
Nationality | English |
Germanus (sometimes Germanus of Winchester, died circa 1013) was a medieval English abbot and Benedictine monk. He travelled to Rome in about 957 and became a monk at Fleury Abbey in France. Back in England by 964 he served as a monastic official before being named abbot of Winchcombe Abbey in about 970, a position he was removed from in 975. Germanus may have become abbot of Cholsey Abbey in 992.
Although Germanus's name is not Anglo-Saxon, Byrhtferth, a contemporary who wrote the Vita Oswaldi , which contains much information on Germanus, states that he was a native of Winchester. Germanus accompanied Oscytel, the Archbishop of York, and Oswald of Worcester, on their trip to Rome in about 957, [1] purportedly to collect Oscytel's pallium, the symbol of an archbishop's authority. This journey, however, has been challenged by the historian Donald A. Bullough, who argues that no previous archbishops of York had collected their palliums in person. He also points out that this story is only related in the Chronicon Abbatiae Rameseiensis , the chronicle of the Ramsey Abbey. [2] According to the Ramsey story, Oscytel and Oswald returned to England, but Germanus remained on the continent and became a monk at Fleury Abbey in France. [1] [3] Another story has Oswald journeying to Fleury on his own, with Germanus arriving at Fleury after Oswald had been resident at Fleury for a number of years prior to 958. [4]
In 963 or 964 Germanus was recalled to England by Oswald, who had recently founded a small monastic priory at Westbury-on-Trym. [1] Germanus was named prior of that community [3] and helped with teaching the novice monks. [5] He was also prior of Ramsey Abbey, [3] or perhaps dean, [6] before becoming abbot of Winchcombe Abbey in about 970. [3] Ramsey was founded by moving the monks of Westbury to Ramsey, but Germanus was not named abbot of Ramsey when this move was completed, being named abbot of Winchcombe instead. The reasons for this transfer are unrecorded. [1] He was the first abbot of Winchcombe, but was removed from office in 975, [3] as a result of political instability following the death of King Edgar of England in 975, when the monks at Winchcombe were exiled to Ramsey. [1] The Chronicon Abbatiae Rameseiensis states that he became abbot of Cholsey Abbey in 992, [7] and the Vita Oswaldi concurs with this statement. The Vita relates that when Oswald and the lay patron of Ramsey were near to death in 992 they urged the monks to elect Germanus as the next abbot of Ramsey when that office might become vacant. Instead, the monks elected another monk, and the Vita states that King Æthelred II of England appointed Germanus to Cholsey instead. [8] Some historians have challenged Germanus' appointment to Cholsey, owing to the extreme length of ecclesiastical career this would necessitate. [7]
Germanus took part in the translation, or moving, of the relics of St Ivo to Ramsey in 1001 or the following year. He and Eadnoth, the abbot of Ramsey, carried the remains of the saint and his recently discovered companions from where they were found to Ramsey. [9]
The "Ramsey Psalter" or "Psalter of Oswald", [10] sometimes known as the "Harley Psalter", (now British Library manuscript (MS) Harley 2904) and the "Cambridge Psalter" (now Cambridge University Library MS Ff.1.23) as well as the "Sacramentary of Winchcombe" (now in Orléans, MS BM 127 (105)) have been connected with his abbacy. [1]
Germanus died some time around 1013. [1] The Vita Oswaldi describes him as an expert in monastic affairs; a forged charter later described him as abbot of Fleury, although he never held that office. [11]
Ealdred was Abbot of Tavistock, Bishop of Worcester, and Archbishop of York in Anglo-Saxon 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.
Wilfrid was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Gaul, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and became the abbot of a newly founded monastery at Ripon. In 664 Wilfrid acted as spokesman for the Roman position at the Synod of Whitby, and became famous for his speech advocating that the Roman method for calculating the date of Easter should be adopted. His success prompted the king's son, Alhfrith, to appoint him Bishop of Northumbria. Wilfrid chose to be consecrated in Gaul because of the lack of what he considered to be validly consecrated bishops in England at that time. During Wilfrid's absence Alhfrith seems to have led an unsuccessful revolt against his father, Oswiu, leaving a question mark over Wilfrid's appointment as bishop. Before Wilfrid's return Oswiu had appointed Ceadda in his place, resulting in Wilfrid's retirement to Ripon for a few years following his arrival back in Northumbria.
Ramsey Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in Ramsey, Huntingdonshire, England. It was founded about AD 969 and dissolved on 22 November 1539.
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.
Oswald of Worcester was Archbishop of York from 972 to his death in 992. He was of Danish ancestry, but brought up by his uncle, Oda, who sent him to France to the abbey of Fleury to become a monk. After a number of years at Fleury, Oswald returned to England at the request of his uncle, who died before Oswald returned. With his uncle's death, Oswald needed a patron and turned to another kinsman, Oskytel, who had recently become Archbishop of York. His activity for Oskytel attracted the notice of Archbishop Dunstan who had Oswald consecrated as Bishop of Worcester in 961. In 972, Oswald was promoted to the see of York, although he continued to hold Worcester also.
Oscytel was a medieval Bishop of Dorchester and Archbishop of York.
Byrhtferth was a priest and monk who lived at Ramsey Abbey in Huntingdonshire in England. He had a deep impact on the intellectual life of later Anglo-Saxon England and wrote many computistic, hagiographic, and historical works. He was a leading man of science and best known as the author of many different works. His Manual (Enchiridion), a scientific textbook, is Byrhtferth's best known work.
Saint Ivo was a Cornish bishop and hermit, and became the eponymous saint of St Ives, Huntingdonshire.
Holy Trinity Church is a Church of England parish church in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, England.
Thurcytel was abbot of Crowland and perhaps also of Bedford Abbey.
Eadnoth the Younger or Eadnoth I was a medieval monk and prelate, successively Abbot of Ramsey and Bishop of Dorchester. From a prominent family of priests in the Fens, he was related to Oswald, Bishop of Worcester, Archbishop of York and founder of Ramsey Abbey. Following in the footsteps of his illustrious kinsman, he initially became a monk at Worcester. He is found at Ramsey supervising construction works in the 980s, and around 992 actually became Abbot of Ramsey. As abbot, he founded two daughter houses in what is now Cambridgeshire, namely, a monastery at St Ives and a nunnery at Chatteris. At some point between 1007 and 1009, he became Bishop of Dorchester, a see that encompassed much of the eastern Danelaw. He died at the Battle of Assandun in 1016, fighting Cnut the Great.
Æthelwine was ealdorman of East Anglia and one of the leading noblemen in the kingdom of England in the later 10th century. As with his kinsmen, the principal source for his life is Byrhtferth's life of Oswald of Worcester. Æthelwine founded Ramsey Abbey in 969, and Byrhtferth and Ramsey Abbey remembered him as Dei amicus, but the monks of nearby Ely saw him as an enemy who had seized their lands.
The Psalter of Oswald also called the Ramsey Psalter is an Anglo-Saxon illuminated psalter of the last quarter of the tenth century. Its script and decoration suggest that it was made at Winchester, but certain liturgical features have suggested that it was intended for use at the Benedictine monastery of Ramsey Abbey, or for the personal use of Ramsey's founder St Oswald.
Kyneburga, Kyneswide and Tibba were female members of the Mercian royal family in 7th century England who were venerated as saints.
Botwine was a Northumbrian saint venerated at Ripon and Peterborough. He is well documented as a priest, and latter Abbot of Ripon. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recension E, recorded his death in the 780s in one of three Ripon abbatial obits derived from a chronicle of Northumbrian origin. Following the death of St Botwine in 786AD, his replacement, Ealdberht was elected and consecrated Abbot. Ealdberht died in 788AD, and was himself succeeded as Abbot by St. Sigered of Ripon.
Saint Egwin of Evesham was a Benedictine monk and, later, the third Bishop of Worcester in England.
Æthelstan Mannessune was a landowner and monastic patron in late 10th-century Anglo-Saxon England, coming from a family of secularised priests. Remembered by Ely Abbey as an enemy, he and his family endowed Ramsey Abbey and allegedly provided it with a piece of the True Cross. His children became important in their own right, one of them, Eadnoth, becoming Abbot of Ramsey and Bishop of Dorchester, and another becoming abbess of Chatteris nunnery.
Ælfwaru was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman, who bequeathed her lands to churches such as Ely, and Ramsey. Chroniclers, writing in the 12th century, transcribed such bequests, from the original cyrographs. Ælfwaru's cyrograph has not survived. Ælfwaru's father, Æthelstan Mannessune, had two sons: Eadnoth, and Godric; and two daughters: Ælfwaru, and Ælfwyn.
Neil Ripley Ker was a scholar of Anglo-Saxon literature. He was Reader in Palaeography at the University of Oxford and a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford until he retired in 1968. He is known especially for his Catalogue of Manuscripts Containing Anglo-Saxon, which is praised as a milestone in Anglo-Saxon manuscript study.
The English Benedictine Reform or Monastic Reform of the English church in the late tenth century was a religious and intellectual movement in the later Anglo-Saxon period. In the mid-tenth century almost all monasteries were staffed by secular clergy, who were often married. The reformers sought to replace them with celibate contemplative monks following the Rule of Saint Benedict. The movement was inspired by Continental monastic reforms, and the leading figures were Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, Æthelwold, Bishop of Winchester, and Oswald, Archbishop of York.