Wulfhelm
Encyclopedia
Wulfhelm was Bishop of Wells before being promoted to the Archbishopric of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

 about 926.

Biography

Wulfhelm was elected and consecrated Bishop of Wells between 923 and September 925. Wulfhelm was translated from the Bishopric of Wells to be Archbishop of Canterbury in about 926. While he was archbishop, he was a frequent attendee of the royal court, and King Athelstan of England
Athelstan of England
Athelstan , called the Glorious, was the King of England from 924 or 925 to 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder, grandson of Alfred the Great and nephew of Æthelflæd of Mercia...

 says in his law code that Wulfhelm was consulted on the drafting of the laws.

Wulfhelm also went to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 to receive his pallium
Pallium
The pallium is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Roman Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the Pope, but for many centuries bestowed by him on metropolitans and primates as a symbol of the jurisdiction delegated to them by the Holy See. In that context it has always remained unambiguously...

 in person from Pope John X
Pope John X
Pope John X, Pope from March 914 to May 928, was deacon at Bologna when he attracted the attention of Theodora, the wife of Theophylact, Count of Tusculum, the most powerful noble in Rome, through whose influence he was elevated first to the see of Bologna and then to the archbishopric of...

. Why he chose to go to Rome in person for his pallium rather than having it sent to him like most of his predecessors is unknown. One suggestion has been that because he had been translated from another see, Wulfhelm felt the need to have papal approval of his translation made explicit. Given the low status of the papacy at the time, it is unlikely that the impetus for the change in tradition came from the pope.

Wulfhelm died while archbishop on 12 February 941. During his time as archbishop, he received as gifts two gospels that are still extant, as Wulfhelm gave them to Christ Church. He may also have given land to the church, although the record is a bit unclear as to exactly what was given.

External links

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