Richard Beere (or Bere) (born before 1493; died 20 January 1524) was an English Benedictine abbot of Glastonbury, known as a builder for his abbey, as a diplomat and scholar, and a friend of Erasmus.
He was installed as abbot in 1493, the election of Thomas Wasyn having been quashed by the Bishop of Bath and Wells. [1]
In 1503 the king sent Bere, with two other ambassadors, to Rome to congratulate Pope Pius III on his elevation; [1] but the pope died a few weeks after his election. In this year also he supplicated the congregation of the university of Oxford for a degree in divinity.
In 1508 he was engaged in a controversy with William Warham, archbishop of Canterbury, concerning the genuineness of the relics of St Dunstan at Glastonbury. Finding that the worshippers at the shrine of the saint picked off its ornaments, the abbot had caused it to be raised out of reach. The monks of Canterbury saw in this change in the position of the shrine an attempt to increase popular veneration. By order of the archbishop a search for the relics was made at Canterbury on 20 April, and Warham wrote to Abbot Beere telling him of the coffin and the bones which had been found, and bidding him attend on the feast of St. Thomas of Canterbury, and show cause why the Glastonbury monks should claim to have the genuine relics. Beere replied, upholding the claim of his convent, and asserting that if the Canterbury monks had such relics they belonged of right to Glastonbury. In this letter he describes the veneration displayed towards St. Dunstan by the Somerset folk. The archbishop replied in peremptory terms.
Abbot Beere died, on 20 January 1524, and was buried under a plain slab of marble in the south aisle of the body of his church, near the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre which he built. A letter addressed to him ('R. Bero Glasconiensi Abbati') by Erasmus, 4 September 1524, shows that he was a scholar of eminence. Writing to him about his edition of St Jerome, Erasmus expresses his agreement in the abbot's opinion of his work. He speaks of his love of learning, and of the liberality he has shown to scholars, naming his own friend, Zacharias Frisius.
He was a great builder. On his return from Italy the abbot built chapels of Our Lady of Loretto and of the Holy Sepulchre in his church. [1] John Leland tells us that he built the greater part of King Edgar's chapel at the east end of his abbey church, that he arched on both sides the east end of the nave, and made the vault of the steeple in the transept and under it two arches. Beere also built a new set of chambers, in which he entertained Henry VII on his march into the west during the rebellion of Perkin Warbeck in the autumn of 1497; these rooms were called the king's lodgings. He also added new lodgings for secular priests to the various buildings of the abbey. Almshouses for ten old women were built at the north end of the abbey. [2] A stone in the chapel exhibits his initials, surmounted by his cognisance, a cross between two beer-jugs. His initials and cognisance were also on St. Benedict's church in Glastonbury, [1] and his initials, surmounted by a mitre, on the Lepers' Hospital at Monkton, near Taunton; both these buildings were repaired by him. Among his various works Beere built the manor-house at Sharpham, where Fielding was born.
He appears as a character in Monk and Knight (1891) by Frank W. Gunsaulus.
Ælfheah, more commonly known today as Alphege, was an Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester, later Archbishop of Canterbury. He became an anchorite before being elected abbot of Bath Abbey. His reputation for piety and sanctity led to his promotion to the episcopate and, eventually, to his becoming archbishop. Ælfheah furthered the cult of Dunstan and also encouraged learning. He was captured by Viking raiders in 1011 during the siege of Canterbury and killed by them the following year after refusing to allow himself to be ransomed. Ælfheah was canonised as a saint in 1078. Thomas Becket, a later Archbishop of Canterbury, prayed to him just before his own murder in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170.
Saint Dunstan, OSB was an English bishop. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised. His work restored monastic life in England and reformed the English Church. His 11th-century biographer Osbern, himself an artist and scribe, states that Dunstan was skilled in "making a picture and forming letters", as were other clergy of his age who reached senior rank. Dunstan served as an important minister of state to several English kings. He was the most popular saint in England for nearly two centuries, having gained fame for the many stories of his greatness, not least among which were those concerning his famed cunning in defeating the Devil.
Æthelnoth was the archbishop of Canterbury from 1020 until his death. Descended from an earlier English king, Æthelnoth became a monk prior to becoming archbishop. While archbishop, he travelled to Rome and brought back saint's relics. He consecrated a number of other bishops who came from outside his archdiocese, leading to some friction with other archbishops. Although he was regarded as a saint after his death, there is little evidence of his veneration or of a cult in Canterbury or elsewhere.
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.
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction.
Sigeric was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 990 to 994. Educated at Glastonbury Abbey, he became a monk there before becoming an abbot and then Bishop of Ramsbury before his elevation to the archbishopric. An account of his pilgrimage to Rome in 990 survives and is an important source for historians studying Rome during his lifetime.
Æthelgar was Archbishop of Canterbury, and previously Bishop of Selsey.
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.
The Sacra di San Michele, sometimes known as Saint Michael's Abbey, is a religious complex on Mount Pirchiriano, situated on the south side of the Val di Susa in the territory of the municipality of Sant'Ambrogio di Torino, in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. The abbey, which for much of its history was under Benedictine rule, is now entrusted to the Rosminians.
Seffrid I, sometimes known as Seffrid Pelochin, was a medieval Bishop of Chichester.
John Islip (1464–1532) was abbot of the monastery of Westminster, London, in Tudor times.
Wulfsige III was a medieval Bishop of Sherborne and is considered a saint.
The Church of St Nicholas in West Pennard, Somerset, England, dates from the 15th century and is a Grade I listed building.
Indract or Indracht was an Irish saint who, along with his companions, was venerated at Glastonbury Abbey, a monastery in the county of Somerset in south-western England. In the High Middle Ages Glastonbury tradition held that he had been an Irish pilgrim — a king's son – on his way back from Rome who was molested and killed by a local thegn after he had stopped off to visit the shrine of St Patrick. This tradition synchronised his life with that of King Ine (688–726), though historian Michael Lapidge has argued that he is most likely to represent a 9th-century abbot of Iona named Indrechtach ua Fínnachta.
St Augustine's Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Canterbury, Kent, England. The abbey was founded in 598 and functioned as a monastery until its dissolution in 1538 during the English Reformation. After the abbey's dissolution, it underwent dismantlement until 1848.
St Augustine's Church or the Shrine of St Augustine of Canterbury is a Roman Catholic church in Ramsgate, Kent. It was the personal church of Augustus Pugin, the renowned nineteenth-century architect, designer, and reformer. The church is an example of Pugin's design ideas, and forms a central part of Pugin's collection of buildings in Ramsgate. Having built his home, Pugin began work on St Augustine's in 1846 and worked on it until his death in 1852. His sons completed many of the designs. This is the site where Pugin is buried, in a vault beneath the chantry chapel he designed, alongside several members of his family.
The Anglican Church of St Benedict at Glastonbury within the English county of Somerset was built as a Norman chapel in the 11th century with substantial additions in the 15th and 19th centuries. It is a Grade I listed building.
Scolland of Canterbury also known as Scotland was the abbot of St Augustine's Abbey during the Norman conquest of England.
Beckery is an area within Glastonbury. It was once the main industrial area of the town. The area is said to have been visited by Saint Brigid of Kildare in the 4th or 5th century.
The Church of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury in Glastonbury, Somerset, England, is a Roman Catholic church that was completed in 1940.