Æthelwig
Encyclopedia
Æthelwig was an Abbot of Evesham
before and during the Norman Conquest of England
. Born sometime around 1010 or 1015, he was elected abbot in 1058. Known for his legal expertise, he administered estates for Ealdred, the Bishop of Worcester
prior to his election as abbot. After his election, he appears to have acted as Ealdred's deputy, and was considered as a possible successor when Ealdred was elected Archbishop of York
. Æthelwig worked during his abbacy to recover estates that had been lost to Evesham, as well as acquiring more estates.
After the Norman Conquest, in 1066, Æthelwig was one of the few Englishmen trusted by the new King William the Conqueror
, and was given authority over parts of western England. As part of his duties, he was a royal judge and held important prisoners. During the Harrying of the North
in 1069–1070, Æthelwig gave aid to refugees from the north of England. He also helped the king in the rebellion of 1075
, preventing one of the rebels from joining the others. Æthelwig died on 16 February in either 1077 or 1078, and was memorialized in a work on his life that was later incorporated in the Chronicon Abbatiae de Evesham
, a 13th-century history of the abbey and its abbots.
. Æthelwig was also known as a legal expert. He was elected abbot in 1058, and was blessed on 23 April 1058, by Ealdred, who was the diocesan bishop for Evesham. He replaced the previous abbot, Mannig, who had become paralyzed. One story has it that Ealdred asked King Edward the Confessor
to give the abbacy to Æthelwig, another, in the Chronicon de Abbatiae Evesham, a history of Evesham Abbey, states that it was Mannig who asked the king to make the appointment. The Chronicon also states that the blessing took place at Gloucester, and that Ealdred was Archbishop at the time, although Ealdred did not become Archbishop of York until 1060.
During Æthelwig's abbacy, he appears to have acted as the deputy for Ealdred, as bishop of Worcester. In 1062, he was one of the candidates to succeed Ealdred as bishop, when Ealdred was promoted to Archbishop of York
, but Wulfstan was chosen instead. Æthelwig also served as a judge for King Edward the Confessor, at one point hearing a case at the royal court along with Wulfstan and Regenbald
, the chancellor. The abbot also led military forces in battle, and served King Edward as an advisor.
Æthelwig's relationship with Wulfstan, when Wulfstan was acting as the abbot's diocesan bishop, appears to have been tense, for on the only recorded visitation by Wulfstan to Evesham during Æthelwig's abbacy, Æthelwig was not there. Although in legal matters Wulfstan and Æthelwig were in conflict, personally, Æthelwig is said to have regarded Wulfstan as a father figure, and as the abbot's confessor. The fact that the Evesham's house chronicle appears to have been reworked after 1100 in order to gloss over embarrassing incidents of the abbots submitting to the bishops of Worcester makes evaluation of Æthelwig's relations with his episcopal superiors more difficult.
During Edward's reign, Æthelwig worked to recover some of the abbey's estates that had been granted to others in the past but had not been returned to the abbey's custody. He managed to restore the abbey's possession of a number of these lost estates. A large section of the description of the abbot's life in the Chronicon is concerned with a listing of estates that Æthelwig acquired or recovered. The estates listed were in the counties of Worcestershire
, Warwickshire
, and Gloucestershire
.
. After the deposition of Godric, the abbot of Winchcombe Abbey
in 1070, Æthelwig served as his jailor. In 1072, Æthelwig was acting as a royal judge in the western part of England. During the rebellion of 1075, Æthelwig kept Roger de Breteuil, the Earl of Hereford
, one of the rebels, from joining up with the other rebels. In this action, Æthelwig was assisted by Wulfstan, as well as the sheriff of Worcestershire, Urse d'Abetot
. Æthelwig also took the opportunity after the Norman Conquest to acquire more lands, obtaining 36 estates by redeeming loans. Æthelwig used his knowledge of English law not only on his own account, but to aid the new Norman ecclesiasitcs, such as Lanfranc
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
, and Serlo, the Abbot of Gloucester
. A number of English landowners commended themselves into Æthelwig's care after the Conquest, and this led to conflicts over who owned the lands after Æthelwig's death.
Although Æthelwig was known for his loyalty to King William, he had an uncle who held land at Witton who died fighting for King Harold Godwinson, probably at the Battle of Stamford Bridge
. While abbot, even after the Conquest, Æthelwig continued to build and ornament his abbey in the Anglo-Saxon style
, not the Norman Romanesque
which was being used in many of the other churches and abbeys. Besides his administrative and legal duties, Æthelwig was known for his care for the sick and the poor, as well as lepers. After the Harrying of the North
by King William in 1069–1070, Æthelwig offered shelter to refugees from the ravaged areas. The Chronicon states that Æthelwig offered aid to the refugees because of his charitable nature, but it is possible that it was also part of his royal duties in western England.
Æthelwig also administered Winchcombe Abbey for a number of years, at first from 1066 to 1069 when a Norman monk was appointed abbot, and then again from 1075 until Æthelwig's death. Hemming
, a medieval monastic writer from Worcester Priory, wrote of Æthelwig that he "surpassed everyone by his intelligence, his shrewdness and his knowledge of worldly law". The Chronicon reports that Æthelwig suffered from gout
, and states that it was the cause of his death.
Æthelwig died in either 1077 or 1078. The Chronicon gives his death date as 16 February 1077, but it is unclear if the Chronicon began its years on 1 January or in March, so the date could be 1077 or 1078.
The historian R. R. Darlington argued that the Vita was written right after Æthelwig's death, but another historian, David Knowles, wrote that it probably was written about 1110, possibly by the prior of Evesham, Dominic
. Antonia Gransden
, another historian, agrees with Darlington, and finds it more likely to have been written shortly after Æthelwig's death. The work itself is not a hagiography
, in that it doesn't attribute any miracles to Æthelwig, and instead is a mix of charters and narratives. Nor does it give any details on Æthelwig's early life or his selection as abbot. A large portion of the work is a detailed list of lands acquired by Æthelwig for the abbey, and concludes with a short description of the abbott's death.
Abbot of Evesham
The Abbot of Evesham was the head of Evesham Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in Worcestershire founded in the Anglo-Saxon era of English history. The succession continued until dissolution of the monastery in 1540:-List:...
before and during the Norman Conquest of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
. Born sometime around 1010 or 1015, he was elected abbot in 1058. Known for his legal expertise, he administered estates for Ealdred, the Bishop of Worcester
Bishop of Worcester
The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. He is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury...
prior to his election as abbot. After his election, he appears to have acted as Ealdred's deputy, and was considered as a possible successor when Ealdred was elected Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
. Æthelwig worked during his abbacy to recover estates that had been lost to Evesham, as well as acquiring more estates.
After the Norman Conquest, in 1066, Æthelwig was one of the few Englishmen trusted by the new King William the Conqueror
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
, and was given authority over parts of western England. As part of his duties, he was a royal judge and held important prisoners. During the Harrying of the North
Harrying of the North
The Harrying of the North was a series of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate Northern England, and is part of the Norman conquest of England...
in 1069–1070, Æthelwig gave aid to refugees from the north of England. He also helped the king in the rebellion of 1075
Revolt of the Earls
The Revolt of the Earls in 1075 was a rebellion of three earls against William I of England . It was the last serious act of resistance against William in the Norman Conquest.-Course:...
, preventing one of the rebels from joining the others. Æthelwig died on 16 February in either 1077 or 1078, and was memorialized in a work on his life that was later incorporated in the Chronicon Abbatiae de Evesham
Chronicon Abbatiae de Evesham
The Chronicon Abbatiae de Evesham or Chronicle of the Abbey of Evesham, sometimes the Evesham Chronicle, is a medieval chronicle written at and about Evesham Abbey in England.-Contents and authorship:...
, a 13th-century history of the abbey and its abbots.
Early life and election as abbot
Æthelwig was probably born about 1010 to 1015, and inherited a large amount of land from his family. He served as an administrator of the estates of Ealdred, the Bishop of Worcester, as well as those of Evesham AbbeyEvesham Abbey
Evesham Abbey was founded by Saint Egwin at Evesham in England between 700 and 710 A.D. following a vision of the Virgin Mary by Eof.According to the monastic history, Evesham came through the Norman Conquest unusually well, because of a quick approach by Abbot Æthelwig to William the Conqueror...
. Æthelwig was also known as a legal expert. He was elected abbot in 1058, and was blessed on 23 April 1058, by Ealdred, who was the diocesan bishop for Evesham. He replaced the previous abbot, Mannig, who had become paralyzed. One story has it that Ealdred asked King Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
to give the abbacy to Æthelwig, another, in the Chronicon de Abbatiae Evesham, a history of Evesham Abbey, states that it was Mannig who asked the king to make the appointment. The Chronicon also states that the blessing took place at Gloucester, and that Ealdred was Archbishop at the time, although Ealdred did not become Archbishop of York until 1060.
During Æthelwig's abbacy, he appears to have acted as the deputy for Ealdred, as bishop of Worcester. In 1062, he was one of the candidates to succeed Ealdred as bishop, when Ealdred was promoted to Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
, but Wulfstan was chosen instead. Æthelwig also served as a judge for King Edward the Confessor, at one point hearing a case at the royal court along with Wulfstan and Regenbald
Regenbald
Regenbald was a priest and royal official in Anglo-Saxon England under King Edward the Confessor. His name suggests that he was not a native Englishman, and perhaps was German or Norman...
, the chancellor. The abbot also led military forces in battle, and served King Edward as an advisor.
Æthelwig's relationship with Wulfstan, when Wulfstan was acting as the abbot's diocesan bishop, appears to have been tense, for on the only recorded visitation by Wulfstan to Evesham during Æthelwig's abbacy, Æthelwig was not there. Although in legal matters Wulfstan and Æthelwig were in conflict, personally, Æthelwig is said to have regarded Wulfstan as a father figure, and as the abbot's confessor. The fact that the Evesham's house chronicle appears to have been reworked after 1100 in order to gloss over embarrassing incidents of the abbots submitting to the bishops of Worcester makes evaluation of Æthelwig's relations with his episcopal superiors more difficult.
During Edward's reign, Æthelwig worked to recover some of the abbey's estates that had been granted to others in the past but had not been returned to the abbey's custody. He managed to restore the abbey's possession of a number of these lost estates. A large section of the description of the abbot's life in the Chronicon is concerned with a listing of estates that Æthelwig acquired or recovered. The estates listed were in the counties of Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, and Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
.
After the Conquest
After the Norman Conquest, Æthelwig was trusted by the new king, William the Conqueror, and given some administrative duties. Æthelwig was one of a very small number of native Englishmen trusted by the king, which group included Ealdred and Wulfstan. Probably in 1069, Æthelwig was given authority in the former lands of the Mercian kingdomMercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
. After the deposition of Godric, the abbot of Winchcombe Abbey
Winchcombe Abbey
Winchcombe Abbey is a now-vanished Benedictine abbey in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, this abbey was once the capital of Mercia, an Anglo Saxon kingdom at the time of the Heptarchy in England. The Abbey was founded c. 798 for three hundred Benedictine monks, by King Offa of Mercia or King Kenulf. In...
in 1070, Æthelwig served as his jailor. In 1072, Æthelwig was acting as a royal judge in the western part of England. During the rebellion of 1075, Æthelwig kept Roger de Breteuil, the Earl of Hereford
Earl of Hereford
The title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. See also Duke of Hereford, Viscount Hereford. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for.-Earls of Hereford, First Creation :*Swegen Godwinson...
, one of the rebels, from joining up with the other rebels. In this action, Æthelwig was assisted by Wulfstan, as well as the sheriff of Worcestershire, Urse d'Abetot
Urse d'Abetot
Urse d'Abetot was a Norman as well as a medieval Sheriff of Worcestershire and royal official under Kings William I, William II and Henry I...
. Æthelwig also took the opportunity after the Norman Conquest to acquire more lands, obtaining 36 estates by redeeming loans. Æthelwig used his knowledge of English law not only on his own account, but to aid the new Norman ecclesiasitcs, such as Lanfranc
Lanfranc
Lanfranc was Archbishop of Canterbury, and a Lombard by birth.-Early life:Lanfranc was born in the early years of the 11th century at Pavia, where later tradition held that his father, Hanbald, held a rank broadly equivalent to magistrate...
, the Archbishop 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...
, and Serlo, the Abbot of Gloucester
Abbot of Gloucester
Abbot of Gloucester was the title of the head of Gloucester Abbey in Gloucester, England. The following table lists some of the abbots, and is taken from Heads of Religious Houses: England and Wales 940 to 1216....
. A number of English landowners commended themselves into Æthelwig's care after the Conquest, and this led to conflicts over who owned the lands after Æthelwig's death.
Although Æthelwig was known for his loyalty to King William, he had an uncle who held land at Witton who died fighting for King Harold Godwinson, probably at the Battle of Stamford Bridge
Battle of Stamford Bridge
The Battle of Stamford Bridge took place at the village of Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire in England on 25 September 1066, between an English army under King Harold Godwinson and an invading Norwegian force led by King Harald Hardrada of Norway and the English king's brother Tostig...
. While abbot, even after the Conquest, Æthelwig continued to build and ornament his abbey in the Anglo-Saxon style
Anglo-Saxon art
Anglo-Saxon art covers art produced within the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, beginning with the Migration period style that the Anglo-Saxons brought with them from the continent in the 5th century, and ending in 1066 with the Norman Conquest of a large Anglo-Saxon nation-state whose...
, not the Norman Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
which was being used in many of the other churches and abbeys. Besides his administrative and legal duties, Æthelwig was known for his care for the sick and the poor, as well as lepers. After the Harrying of the North
Harrying of the North
The Harrying of the North was a series of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate Northern England, and is part of the Norman conquest of England...
by King William in 1069–1070, Æthelwig offered shelter to refugees from the ravaged areas. The Chronicon states that Æthelwig offered aid to the refugees because of his charitable nature, but it is possible that it was also part of his royal duties in western England.
Æthelwig also administered Winchcombe Abbey for a number of years, at first from 1066 to 1069 when a Norman monk was appointed abbot, and then again from 1075 until Æthelwig's death. Hemming
Hemming (monk)
Hemming was a monk, author and compiler in medieval England from around the time of the Norman Conquest of England. He was a senior brother at Worcester Cathedral Priory, and his significance derives from the monastic cartulary attributed to him.Hemming's name is Scandinavian, which may mean...
, a medieval monastic writer from Worcester Priory, wrote of Æthelwig that he "surpassed everyone by his intelligence, his shrewdness and his knowledge of worldly law". The Chronicon reports that Æthelwig suffered from gout
Gout
Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...
, and states that it was the cause of his death.
Æthelwig died in either 1077 or 1078. The Chronicon gives his death date as 16 February 1077, but it is unclear if the Chronicon began its years on 1 January or in March, so the date could be 1077 or 1078.
Writing about Æthelwig
A near-contemporary account of Æthelwig's life, or Vita, is included in the Chronicon Abbatiae de Evesham, the monastic chronicle for Evesham Abbey. This was a 13th-century work by Thomas of Marlborough, which was written to bolster the Evesham's case for exemption from the jurisdiction of the Bishops of Worcester, in whose diocese Evensham was. In order to do this, Thomas incorporated earlier works dealing with Evesham's history, including the work on Æthelwig. However, because of Thomas' purpose in composing the Chronicon, he probably altered some of the texts he included, and it appears that the life of Æthelwig was first incorporated into a complete history of the abbey and then that composit work was adapted by Thomas into his Chronicon. The main evidence for this is internal stylistic evidence, where the Æthelwig material is stylistic uniform with other material dating to prior to 1077, with information after 1077 forming a separate writing style.The historian R. R. Darlington argued that the Vita was written right after Æthelwig's death, but another historian, David Knowles, wrote that it probably was written about 1110, possibly by the prior of Evesham, Dominic
Dominic of Evesham
Dominic was a medieval prior of Evesham Abbey in England and writer of histories.Little is known of his life. He was probably a native Englishman, and was probably born sometime before 1077, and was probably raised around the abbey. He may have entered Evesham before 1077, but certainly by 1104, he...
. Antonia Gransden
Antonia Gransden
Antonia Gransden, English historian and medievalist, is former Reader in Medieval History at the University of Nottingham. She is author of a number of works in medieval historiography, most notably the large two volume study Historical Writing in England....
, another historian, agrees with Darlington, and finds it more likely to have been written shortly after Æthelwig's death. The work itself is not a hagiography
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
, in that it doesn't attribute any miracles to Æthelwig, and instead is a mix of charters and narratives. Nor does it give any details on Æthelwig's early life or his selection as abbot. A large portion of the work is a detailed list of lands acquired by Æthelwig for the abbey, and concludes with a short description of the abbott's death.