Eddius
Encyclopedia
Stephen of Ripon is the author of the eighth-century Vita Sancti Wilfrithi
("Life of Saint Wilfrid
"). Another name which has been traditionally attributed to him is Eddius Stephanus or Æddi Stephanus, but since his identification with the bearer of this name is no longer accepted by historians today, modern usage tends to favour Stephen.
identifies himself as “Stephen, a priest”. Bede
mentions that Wilfrid brought a singing master from Kent, Ædde Stephanus, to Ripon in 669 to teach chant, and he has traditionally been thought to be the same person as the “Stephen” mentioned. However, there is no more solid evidence that the two names describe the same person. If the two were in fact the same, Stephen would have been at least twenty years old when he came north, placing him in his sixties or older at Wilfrid’s death in 709.
Regardless of whether or not Stephen the priest was Wilfrid’s singing master from Kent, he appears to have been a follower of Wilfrid and was able to consult individuals who had known Wilfrid closely as sources for the Life of Wilfrid. He wrote for the monks in Ripon, many of whom had known Wilfrid.
Stephen’s Life of Saint Wilfrid is our only source on Saint Wilfrid aside from Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica. It was written shortly after Wilfrid's death in 709. Stephen was asked to write the Life by Acca
, one of Wilfrid’s followers who later became a bishop and succeeded Wilfrid in the See of Hexham. Although Stephen knew Wilfrid personally and had access to others who had known him, he recounts several extraordinary events and makes use of source materials in places. He even copies two lines directly from the Anonymous Life of Cuthbert
, among other borrowings. However, unlike many early medieval hagiographies which consisted of strings of miracles attributed to saints, Stephen’s Life takes the form of a chronological narrative and includes specific names and events.
It is unknown exactly what Stephen hoped to accomplish in writing the Life of Saint Wilfrid. Scholars have come up with several theories. It has been argued that Stephen’s use of lines from the Anonymous Life of Cuthbert was a way of outdoing the cult based around Cuthbert and replacing him with Wilfrid. However, Stephen’s borrowings only make up a tiny percentage of the whole and are entirely located in the early part of the work, making this theory appear unlikely.
The work is highly biased in favour of Wilfrid and includes explicit comparisons of Wilfrid to Old Testament figures and the Apostle Paul. Early on, Stephen explains that the community urged him to write the Life. Stephen’s goal in writing could simply have been to describe the community’s feelings on the holiness and goodness of the life of Wilfrid, who they had known personally.
The Life of Saint Wilfrid is also significant in that it provides a contemporary perspective on events which transpired during Wilfrid’s lifetime. For instance, the Life gives an account of the Synod of Whitby
which differs from Bede’s. While Stephen's writing has come under more criticism than Bede’s, the account found in the Life of Wilfrid reveals political factors that may have affected the Synod alongside the religious controversies described by Bede.
Vita Sancti Wilfrithi
The Vita Sancti Wilfrithi or Life of St Wilfrid is an early 8th-century hagiographic text recounting the life of the Northumbrian bishop, Wilfrid. Although a hagiography, it has few miracles, while its main concerns are with the politics of the Northumbrian church and the history of the...
("Life of Saint Wilfrid
Wilfrid
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...
"). Another name which has been traditionally attributed to him is Eddius Stephanus or Æddi Stephanus, but since his identification with the bearer of this name is no longer accepted by historians today, modern usage tends to favour Stephen.
Life
Very little is known about his life. The author of the Vita Sancti WilfrithiVita Sancti Wilfrithi
The Vita Sancti Wilfrithi or Life of St Wilfrid is an early 8th-century hagiographic text recounting the life of the Northumbrian bishop, Wilfrid. Although a hagiography, it has few miracles, while its main concerns are with the politics of the Northumbrian church and the history of the...
identifies himself as “Stephen, a priest”. Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
mentions that Wilfrid brought a singing master from Kent, Ædde Stephanus, to Ripon in 669 to teach chant, and he has traditionally been thought to be the same person as the “Stephen” mentioned. However, there is no more solid evidence that the two names describe the same person. If the two were in fact the same, Stephen would have been at least twenty years old when he came north, placing him in his sixties or older at Wilfrid’s death in 709.
Regardless of whether or not Stephen the priest was Wilfrid’s singing master from Kent, he appears to have been a follower of Wilfrid and was able to consult individuals who had known Wilfrid closely as sources for the Life of Wilfrid. He wrote for the monks in Ripon, many of whom had known Wilfrid.
Life of Saint Wilfrid
- Manuscripts:
- 1.London, British Library, Cotton Vespasian D. vi. Provenance: probably transferred from Yorkshire before it was held in Canterbury and then acquired by the British Library.
- fos. 2-77: 9th century, with 11th-century additions;
- fos. 78-125: 11th century, with 12th-century additions on final page.
- 2. Oxford, Bodleian Library, Fell vol. III 34a-56b, originally vol. I. Written in late 11th or early 12th century.
- 1.London, British Library, Cotton Vespasian D. vi. Provenance: probably transferred from Yorkshire before it was held in Canterbury and then acquired by the British Library.
Stephen’s Life of Saint Wilfrid is our only source on Saint Wilfrid aside from Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica. It was written shortly after Wilfrid's death in 709. Stephen was asked to write the Life by Acca
Acca of Hexham
Acca , Bishop of Hexham.Born in Northumbria, Acca first served in the household of Bosa, the future Bishop of York, but later attached himself to Saint Wilfrid, possibly as early as 678, and accompanied him on his travels. On the return from their second journey to Rome in 692, Wilfrid was...
, one of Wilfrid’s followers who later became a bishop and succeeded Wilfrid in the See of Hexham. Although Stephen knew Wilfrid personally and had access to others who had known him, he recounts several extraordinary events and makes use of source materials in places. He even copies two lines directly from the Anonymous Life of Cuthbert
Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
Saint Cuthbert was an Anglo-Saxon monk, bishop and hermit associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Northumbria, at that time including, in modern terms, northern England as well as south-eastern Scotland as far as the Firth of Forth...
, among other borrowings. However, unlike many early medieval hagiographies which consisted of strings of miracles attributed to saints, Stephen’s Life takes the form of a chronological narrative and includes specific names and events.
It is unknown exactly what Stephen hoped to accomplish in writing the Life of Saint Wilfrid. Scholars have come up with several theories. It has been argued that Stephen’s use of lines from the Anonymous Life of Cuthbert was a way of outdoing the cult based around Cuthbert and replacing him with Wilfrid. However, Stephen’s borrowings only make up a tiny percentage of the whole and are entirely located in the early part of the work, making this theory appear unlikely.
The work is highly biased in favour of Wilfrid and includes explicit comparisons of Wilfrid to Old Testament figures and the Apostle Paul. Early on, Stephen explains that the community urged him to write the Life. Stephen’s goal in writing could simply have been to describe the community’s feelings on the holiness and goodness of the life of Wilfrid, who they had known personally.
Significance
Stephen’s Life of Saint Wilfrid was one of the first Anglo-Saxon histories, and the earliest to survive. Bede evidently used it as a source for sections of his Historia Ecclesiastica, although he did not acknowledge it.The Life of Saint Wilfrid is also significant in that it provides a contemporary perspective on events which transpired during Wilfrid’s lifetime. For instance, the Life gives an account of the Synod of Whitby
Synod of Whitby
The Synod of Whitby was a seventh century Northumbriansynod where King Oswiu of Northumbria ruled that his kingdom would calculate Easter and observe the monastic tonsure according to the customs of Rome, rather than the customs practised by Iona and its satellite institutions...
which differs from Bede’s. While Stephen's writing has come under more criticism than Bede’s, the account found in the Life of Wilfrid reveals political factors that may have affected the Synod alongside the religious controversies described by Bede.