John Whethamstede (died 20 January 1465) was an English

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

and one of the leading literary figures in fifteenth-century

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Life

He was a son of Hugh and Margaret Bostock, and was born at

Wheathampstead Wheathampstead is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, north of St Albans. The population of the ward at the 2001 census was 6,058. Included within the parish is the small hamlet of Amwell. History Settlements in this area were ...

in Hertfordshire, owing his name, the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

form of which is Frumentarius, to this circumstance. After early schooling at the Abbey School (now St Albans School) he entered St Albans Abbey when only sixteen. He was chosen

of this

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

in 1420. In 1423, Whethamstede attended the

Council of Siena In the Catholic Church, the Council of Siena (1423–1424) marked a somewhat inconclusive stage in the Conciliar movement that was attempting reforms in the Church. If it had continued, it would have qualified as an ecumenical council. In the of ...

. In the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, ...

, his time was mainly occupied with lawsuits, several of which he carried on to defend the property and enforce the rights of the abbey. In 1440, he resigned his post but, in 1451, on the death of his successor John Stoke, he became abbot for the second time. He died on 20 January 1465, and his tomb was recently discovered during archaeological excavations prior to the construction of the new Welcome Centre at St Albans Abbey. Whethamstede was an energetic and successful abbot. He greatly improved the buildings at St Albans. He was an eyewitness of the

First Battle of St Albans The First Battle of St Albans, fought on 22 May 1455 at St Albans, 22 miles (35 km) north of London, traditionally marks the beginning of the Wars of the Roses in England. Richard, Duke of York, and his allies, the Neville earls of Salisb ...

in 1455, the first open conflict of the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

. It is also likely that he was in attendance when Richard, Duke of York made his claim for the throne in October 1460, which resulted in the Act of Accord. He also did some building at Gloucester College, Oxford. He was also closely, if clumsily, associated with the humanistic activities of

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...

's youngest brother,

Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester Humphrey of Lancaster, Duke of Gloucester (3 October 139023 February 1447) was an English prince, soldier, and literary patron. He was (as he styled himself) "son, brother and uncle of kings", being the fourth and youngest son of Henry IV of E ...

, who died in 1447 and was buried in St Albans Abbey, where he was honoured as a benefactor.

Writings

Whethamstede was 'shy and bashful in public, yet egotistical and boastful in his writings'.Hicks, p. 264. He read widely - as well as commonplace medieval texts, works in Latin, Greek and Italian were in his library.

References

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External links

British Library: a picture of John Whethamstede from the ''Golden Book of St Albans''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whethamstede, John 1465 deaths Abbots of St Albans People from Wheathampstead People from St Albans Burials at St Albans Cathedral 15th-century English clergy People educated at St Albans School, Hertfordshire English Benedictines Year of birth unknown