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Jænberht | |
---|---|
Archbishop of Canterbury | |
Appointed | before February 765 |
Term ended | 12 August 792 |
Predecessor | Bregowine |
Successor | Æthelhard |
Orders | |
Consecration | 2 February 765 |
Personal details | |
Died | 12 August 792 |
Sainthood | |
Feast day | 12 August |
Venerated in | |
Canonized | Pre-Congregation |
Jænberht [lower-alpha 1] (died 12 August 792) was a medieval monk, and later the abbot, of St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury, who was named Archbishop of Canterbury in 765. As archbishop, he had a difficult relationship with King Offa of Mercia, who at one point confiscated lands from the archbishopric. By 787, some of the bishoprics under Canterbury's supervision were transferred to the control of the newly created Archbishopric of Lichfield, although it is not clear if Jænberht ever recognised its legitimacy. Besides the issue with Lichfield, Jænberht also presided over church councils in England. He died in 792 and was considered a saint after his death.
Jænberht was a monk at St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury before being selected as abbot of that monastic house. [3] He came from a prominent family in the kingdom of Kent, and a kinsman of his, Eadhun, was the reeve of King Egbert II of Kent. Jænberht himself was on good terms with Egbert. [4]
Jænberht was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury on 2 February 765, [5] at the court of King Offa of Mercia; this location implies that his election was acceptable to the king. [6] In 766, he received a pallium, the symbol of an archbishop's authority given by the papacy. At this time, Kent had been subjected by Offa; in 776, perhaps at the urging of Jænberht, Kent rebelled and secured its freedom. [7] In 780 and 781, Jænberht attended church councils at Brentford that were led by King Offa. Although initially on good terms with Offa, Jænberht's ties to Egbert were also strong: after the Battle of Otford, Egbert granted a number of estates to Christ Church. When Offa reasserted control over Kent, which occurred by 785 at the latest, he confiscated these lands and regranted to some of his thegns. [6]
During Jænberht's term of office, a dispute arose between the see of Canterbury and Offa which led in 787 to the creation of the rival Archdiocese of Lichfield under Hygberht. [8] Originally, Offa attempted to bring the southern archbishopric of Canterbury to London, but when the papacy refused permission, Offa secured the creation of a third archbishopric in the British Isles. Lichfield was the main Mercian bishopric, and thus the new archbishopric was under Offa's control. [9] There were several reasons for the conflict between Jænberht and Offa. Jænberht opposed Offa's deposition of the Kentish dynasty. They conflicted over land which they both claimed as theirs, and Jænberht refused to crown Offa's son Ecgfrith. [8] Problems were also caused by the archbishop minting his own coins at Canterbury. [10] Matthew Paris, writing in the thirteenth century, stated that Jænberht conspired to admit Charlemagne to Canterbury if he invaded Britain. This story may reflect a genuine tradition recorded at St Albans Abbey, where Paris was based, or it may be a fabrication to fill in details of Jænberht's life where Paris had no other information. [6] A rumour during Jænberht's reign also falsely claimed that Offa was plotting with Charlemagne to depose Pope Hadrian I; at least one modern historian, Simon Keynes, believes it possible Jænberht was behind the rumour. [7] Offa's eventual successor later admitted to the papacy that Offa's actions had been motivated by hatred of Jænberht and the Kentish people. [11]
In 787, Pope Hadrian sent a pallium to Hygberht of Lichfield, elevating Lichfield to an archbishopric, and Ecgfrith was crowned. There is no extant contemporary evidence, however, that Jænberht ever recognised Hygberht as an archbishop. [6] [lower-alpha 2] Canterbury retained as suffragans the bishops of Winchester, Sherborne, Selsey, Rochester, and London. The dioceses of Worcester, Hereford, Leicester, Lindsey, Dommoc and Elmham were transferred to Lichfield. [12]
Jænberht presided at a council held at London, sometime after the elevation of Lichfield, attended by most of the bishops from southern Britain. [13] He died on 12 August 792, [3] [5] [7] and was buried in the abbey church of St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury. [3] [7] He has since been revered as a saint, with a feast day of 12 August. [1]
Mercia was one of the three main Anglic kingdoms founded after Sub-Roman Britain was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlands of England.
Offa was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of Æthelbald. Offa defeated the other claimant, Beornred. In the early years of Offa's reign, it is likely that he consolidated his control of Midland peoples such as the Hwicce and the Magonsæte. Taking advantage of instability in the kingdom of Kent to establish himself as overlord, Offa also controlled Sussex by 771, though his authority did not remain unchallenged in either territory. In the 780s he extended Mercian Supremacy over most of southern England, allying with Beorhtric of Wessex, who married Offa's daughter Eadburh, and regained complete control of the southeast. He also became the overlord of East Anglia and had King Æthelberht II of East Anglia beheaded in 794, perhaps for rebelling against him.
Ecgberht, also spelled Egbert, Ecgbert, Ecgbriht, Ecgbeorht, and Ecbert, was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was King Ealhmund of Kent. In the 780s, Ecgberht was forced into exile to Charlemagne's court in the Frankish Empire by the kings Offa of Mercia and Beorhtric of Wessex, but on Beorhtric's death in 802, Ecgberht returned and took the throne.
Æthelbald was the King of Mercia, in what is now the English Midlands from 716 until he was killed in 757. Æthelbald was the son of Alweo and thus a grandson of King Eowa. Æthelbald came to the throne after the death of his cousin, King Ceolred, who had driven him into exile. During his long reign, Mercia became the dominant kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons, and recovered the position of pre-eminence it had enjoyed during the strong reigns of Mercian kings Penda and Wulfhere between about 628 and 675.
Æthelred was king of Mercia from 675 until 704. He was the son of Penda of Mercia and came to the throne in 675, when his brother, Wulfhere of Mercia, died from an illness. Within a year of his accession he invaded Kent, where his armies destroyed the city of Rochester. In 679 he defeated his brother-in-law, Ecgfrith of Northumbria, at the Battle of the Trent: the battle was a major setback for the Northumbrians, and effectively ended their military involvement in English affairs south of the Humber. It also permanently returned the Kingdom of Lindsey to Mercia's possession. However, Æthelred was unable to re-establish his predecessors' domination of southern Britain.
Wulfhere or Wulfar was King of Mercia from 658 until 675 AD. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he converted from Anglo-Saxon paganism. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of Northumbria's overlordship of southern England, and Wulfhere extended his influence over much of that region. His campaigns against the West Saxons led to Mercian control of much of the Thames valley. He conquered the Isle of Wight and the Meon valley and gave them to King Æthelwealh of the South Saxons. He also had influence in Surrey, Essex, and Kent. He married Eormenhild, the daughter of King Eorcenberht of Kent.
Coenwulf was the king of Mercia from December 796 until his death in 821. He was a descendant of King Pybba, who ruled Mercia in the early 7th century. He succeeded Ecgfrith, the son of Offa; Ecgfrith only reigned for five months, and Coenwulf ascended the throne in the same year that Offa died. In the early years of Coenwulf's reign he had to deal with a revolt in Kent, which had been under Offa's control. Eadberht Præn returned from exile in Francia to claim the Kentish throne, and Coenwulf was forced to wait for papal support before he could intervene. When Pope Leo III agreed to anathematise Eadberht, Coenwulf invaded and retook the kingdom; Eadberht was taken prisoner, was blinded, and had his hands cut off. Coenwulf also appears to have lost control of the kingdom of East Anglia during the early part of his reign, as an independent coinage appears under King Eadwald. Coenwulf's coinage reappears in 805, indicating that the kingdom was again under Mercian control. Several campaigns of Coenwulf's against the Welsh are recorded, but only one conflict with Northumbria, in 801, though it is likely that Coenwulf continued to support the opponents of the Northumbrian king Eardwulf.
Paulinus was a Roman missionary and the first Bishop of York. A member of the Gregorian mission sent in 601 by Pope Gregory I to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their native Anglo-Saxon paganism, Paulinus arrived in England by 604 with the second missionary group. Little is known of Paulinus's activities in the following two decades.
The Kingdom of the Kentish, today referred to as the Kingdom of Kent, was an early medieval kingdom in what is now South East England. It existed from either the fifth or the sixth century AD until it was fully absorbed into the Kingdom of Wessex in the mid-9th century and later into the Kingdom of England in the early 10th century.
Wiglaf was King of Mercia from 827 to 829 and again from 830 until his death in 839. His ancestry is uncertain: the 820s were a period of dynastic conflict within Mercia and the genealogy of several of the kings of this time is unknown. Wigstan, his grandson, was later recorded as a descendant of Penda of Mercia, so it is possible that Wiglaf was descended from Penda, one of the most powerful seventh-century kings of Mercia.
Nothhelm was a medieval Anglo-Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury. A correspondent of both Bede and Boniface, it was Nothhelm who gathered materials from Canterbury for Bede's historical works. After his appointment to the archbishopric in 735, he attended to ecclesiastical matters, including holding church councils. Although later antiquaries felt that Nothhelm was the author of a number of works, later research has shown them to be authored by others. After his death he was considered a saint.
Cuthbert was a medieval Anglo-Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury in England. Prior to his elevation to Canterbury, he was abbot of a monastic house, and perhaps may have been Bishop of Hereford also, but evidence for his holding Hereford mainly dates from after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. While Archbishop, he held church councils and built a new church in Canterbury. It was during Cuthbert's archbishopric that the Diocese of York was raised to an archbishopric. Cuthbert died in 760 and was later regarded as a saint.
Ceolnoth or Ceolnoþ was a medieval English Archbishop of Canterbury. Although later chroniclers stated he had previously held ecclesiastical office in Canterbury, there is no contemporary evidence of this, and his first appearance in history is when he became archbishop in 833. Ceolnoth faced two problems as archbishop – raids and invasions by the Vikings and a new political situation resulting from a change in overlordship from one kingdom to another during the early part of his archiepiscopate. Ceolnoth attempted to solve both problems by coming to an agreement with his new overlords for protection in 838. Ceolnoth's later years in office were marked by more Viking raids and a decline in monastic life in his archbishopric.
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.
Wulfred was an Anglo-Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury in medieval England. Nothing is known of his life prior to 803, when he attended a church council, but he was probably a nobleman from Middlesex. He was elected archbishop in 805 and spent his time in office reforming the clergy of his cathedral. He also quarrelled with two consecutive Mercian kings – Coenwulf and Ceolwulf – over whether laymen or clergy should control monasteries. At one point, Wulfred travelled to Rome to consult with the papacy and was deposed from office for a number of years over the issue. After Coenwulf's death, relations were somewhat better with the new king Ceolwulf, but improved much more after Ceolwulf's subsequent deposition. The dispute about control of the monasteries was not fully settled until 838, after Wulfred's death. Wulfred was the first archbishop to place his portrait on the coinage he struck.
Feologild was a medieval English clergyman. He was probably elected Archbishop of Canterbury, although controversy surrounds his election. Some modern historians argue that instead of being elected, he was merely an unsuccessful candidate for the office. He died soon after his consecration, if indeed he was consecrated.
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.
Cynethryth was a Queen of Mercia, wife of King Offa of Mercia and mother of King Ecgfrith of Mercia. Cynethryth is the only Anglo-Saxon queen consort in whose name coinage was definitely issued.
There were a number of Synods of Chelsea held in Anglo-Saxon England. They were held at Cealchythe, in Kent, generally identified with modern Chelsea, London.
Events from the 8th century in England.