Walkelin | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Winchester | |
 Statue of Walkelin, in Winchester | |
| Appointed | 23 May 1070 |
| Term ended | 3 January 1098 |
| Predecessor | Stigand |
| Successor | William Giffard |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 30 May 1070 |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 3 January 1098 Winchester |
| Denomination | Catholic |
Walkelin [lower-alpha 1] (died 1098) was the first Norman bishop of Winchester.
Walkelin was of noble birth and related to William the Conqueror, whom he served as a royal chaplain. [1] Before the Norman Conquest he had probably been a canon at Rouen Cathedral. [2] He took up office at Winchester in 1070, having been nominated on 23 May and consecrated on 30 May. [3] A year later, in 1071, Abbot Ealdred of Abingdon, who was being held for support of insurrection, died in Walkelin's custody, and the following year he signed the Accord of Winchester, formulated in the city.
Walkelin made his brother Simeon the Prior of Winchester and then influenced Simeon being made Abbot of Ely in 1082, [4] where he began the new Ely Abbey in 1093 (the same year that Walkelin completed his cathedral at Winchester) before dying the following year. Walkelin also advanced his nephew Gerard, Archbishop of York. [5]
Walkelin began work on a new cathedral church, the current Winchester Cathedral, in 1079. His transepts and crypt, though little else, are retained in the present building. King William II granted Walkelin half a hide in the Isle of Wight with license to search for and excavate stone for his new cathedral "throughout the plain and the forest: if the forest is sufficiently small that the horns of a deer may be seen passing through it". [6] [ citation needed ]
William I also granted Walkelin as much timber for the building and its scaffolding from the Forest of Hempage Wood (on the Old Alresford Road in Hampshire) as his carpenters could take in four days and nights. However, in the words of the Winchester annalist:[ citation needed ]
The new cathedral was completed in 1093. Walkelin had
On 8 April that year, in the presence of nearly all of the bishops and abbots of England, the monks removed from the Old Minster to the new one, "with great rejoicing and glory".[ citation needed ] On the feast-day of Saint Swithun (15 July), they processed from the new church to the old, and processed the feretrum of St. Swithun from it to the new church "with all honour". The next day, the bishop's men began demolishing the old church. Demolition work was complete within the year, except for one porticus and the great altar. The following year more relics "of St. Swithun and of many other saints" were found under that altar and transferred to the new church.[ citation needed ]
Walkelin also reformed the monastic community there, as did all Norman bishops in their new dioceses.[ citation needed ] In the words of the annalist of Winchester:
Walkelin died 3 January 1098, [3] at Winchester, and was buried in the nave of his cathedral, "before the steps under the rood-loft (pulpitum), in which stands the silver cross of Stigand, with the two great silver images; and he lies at the feet of William Giffard [his successor], having over him a marble stone" under the following inscription:
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.
Year 1093 (MXCIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winchester Cathedral, is the cathedral of the city of Winchester, England, and is among the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and is the mother church for the ancient Diocese of Winchester. It is run by a dean and chapter, under the Dean of Winchester.
Stigand was an Anglo-Saxon churchman in pre-Norman Conquest England who became Archbishop of Canterbury. His birth date is unknown, but by 1020 he was serving as a royal chaplain and advisor. He was named Bishop of Elmham in 1043, and was later Bishop of Winchester and Archbishop of Canterbury. Stigand was an advisor to several members of the Anglo-Saxon and Norman English royal dynasties, serving six successive kings. Excommunicated by several popes for his pluralism in holding the two sees, or bishoprics, of Winchester and Canterbury concurrently, he was finally deposed in 1070, and his estates and personal wealth were confiscated by William the Conqueror. Stigand was imprisoned at Winchester, where he died.
Swithun was an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester and subsequently patron saint of Winchester Cathedral. His historical importance as bishop is overshadowed by his reputation for posthumous miracle-working. According to tradition, if it rains on Saint Swithun's bridge (Winchester) on his feast day it will continue for forty days.
Wulfstan was Bishop of Worcester from 1062 to 1095. He was the last surviving pre-Conquest bishop. Wulfstan is a saint in the Western Christian churches.
William Giffard, was the Lord Chancellor of England of William II and Henry I, from 1093 to 1101, and Bishop of Winchester (1100–1129).
Godfrey Giffard was Chancellor of the Exchequer of England, Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Worcester.
Henry of Blois, often known as Henry of Winchester, was Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey from 1126, and Bishop of Winchester from 1129 to his death. He was a younger son of Stephen Henry, Count of Blois by Adela of Normandy, daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. Thus, he was a younger brother of Stephen, King of England, and a grandchild of William the Conqueror. Henry was also a major patron of the arts.
Gisa was Bishop of Wells from 1060 to 1088. A native of Lorraine, Gisa came to England as a chaplain to King Edward the Confessor. After his appointment to Wells, he travelled to Rome rather than be consecrated by Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury. As bishop, Gisa added buildings to his cathedral, introduced new saints to his diocese, and instituted the office of archdeacon in his diocese. After the Norman Conquest, Gisa took part in the consecration of Lanfranc, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, and attended Lanfranc's church councils. His tomb in Wells Cathedral was opened in the 20th century and a cross was discovered in his tomb.
The Accord of Winchester is the 11th-century document that establishes the primacy of the archbishop of Canterbury over the archbishop of York.
The Old Minster was the Anglo-Saxon cathedral for the diocese of Wessex and then Winchester from 660 to 1093. It stood on a site immediately north of and partially beneath its successor, Winchester Cathedral.
The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (cathedra) is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ex officio the office of Prelate of the Most Noble Order of the Garter since its foundation in 1348, and Bishops of Winchester often held the positions of Lord Treasurer and Lord Chancellor ex officio. During the Middle Ages, it was one of the wealthiest English sees, and its bishops have included a number of politically prominent Englishmen, notably the 9th century Saint Swithun and medieval magnates including William of Wykeham and Henry of Blois.
Simeon was a relative of King William I of England and the brother of Walkelin, Bishop of Winchester. It was through his brother's influence that Simeon was made prior of Winchester, then in 1082 Abbot of Ely, where he began work on the present Ely Cathedral. He recovered for the monastery of Ely the lands which had been allotted to the Normans during their siege of the island of Ely when it was held by Hereward the Wake.
Gundulf was a Norman monk who went to England following the Norman Conquest. He was appointed Bishop of Rochester and Prior of the Cathedral Priory there. He built several castles, including Rochester, Colchester and the White Tower of the Tower of London, and the Priory and Cathedral Church of Rochester.
Herbert de Losinga was the first Bishop of Norwich. He founded Norwich Cathedral in 1096 when he was Bishop of Thetford.
Ralph de Luffa (or Ralph Luffa was an English bishop of Chichester, from 1091 to 1123. He built extensively on his cathedral as well as being praised by contemporary writers as an exemplary bishop. He took little part in the Investiture Crisis which took place in England during his episcopate. Although at one point he refused to allow his diocese to be taxed by King Henry I of England, Luffa remained on good terms with the two kings of England he served.
Henry Woodlock was a Roman Catholic Bishop of Winchester. He is sometimes referred to as Henry de Merewell, from the place of his birth, a manor near Winchester belonging to the bishop.
Events from the 1090s in England.
Events from the 1070s in England.
