Wigstan on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Wigstan (died c.840 AD), also known as Saint Wystan, was the son of Wigmund of Mercia and Ælfflæd, daughter of King
Like many Mercians of the period very little is known about Wigstan. He was the son of Wigmund and
/ref>Jennings "Writings" ''English Historical Review'' p. 298
Ceolwulf I of Mercia
Ceolwulf I was King of Mercia, East Anglia and Kent, from 821 to 823. He was the brother of Coenwulf, his predecessor, and was deposed by Beornwulf.
William of Malmesbury declared that, after Cœnwulf: "the kingdom of the Mercians declining, ...
.
History
Like many Mercians of the period very little is known about Wigstan. He was the son of Wigmund and Ælfflæd Ælfflæd is a name of Anglo-Saxon England meaning Ælf (Elf) and flæd (beauty). It may refer to:
* Saint Ælfflæd of Whitby (654–714)
* Ælfflæd of Mercia, daughter of Offa, wife of King Æthelred I of Northumbria
* Ælfflæd, wife of Edward ...
, both the offspring of Mercian kings, Wiglaf and Ceolwulf I respectively. Wigmund, according to the Croyland Chronicle
Crowland (modern usage) or Croyland (medieval era name and the one still in ecclesiastical use; cf. la, Croilandia) is a town in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated between Peterborough and Spalding. Crowland ...
, died of dysentery
Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
before his father King Wiglaf, making Wigstan heir to the kingdom of Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era=Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, y ...
. However, when Wiglaf died in 839, Wigstan declined the kingship preferring religious life and monastic orders instead. Beorhtwulf
Beorhtwulf (, meaning "bright wolf"; also spelled ''Berhtwulf''; died 852) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 839 or 840 to 852. His ancestry is unknown, though he may have been connected to Beornwulf, who ruled Mercia i ...
, possibly Wigstan's great-uncle, became king instead. William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as " ...
claims that Beorhtwulf's son, Beorhtfrith, wished to marry Wigstan's widowed mother, Ælfflæd, but Wigstan forbade the union as they were too closely related. As revenge Beorhtfrith went to visit the young King ostensibly in peace but, when the two greeted each other, he struck Wigstan on the head with the shaft of his dagger and his servant ran him through with his sword.
The site of Wigstan's martyrdom has been variously claimed to be Wistow, Leicestershire
Wistow is a deserted medieval village in the English county of Leicestershire, and lies seven miles south-east of the city of Leicester in the valley of the River Sence. Since 1936 it has included most of the former civil parish of Newton Harcou ...
, with Wigston
Wigston, or Wigston Magna, is a town in Leicestershire, England, just south of Leicester on the A5199. It had a population of 32,321 in 2011.
Geography
Wigston is south of the city of Leicester, at the centre of Leicestershire and the East ...
being the nearest town which happens to be derived from his name. Wigstan became a famous saint and Repton became a centre of pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
as a result, which led Cnut the Great
Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norw ...
to move Wigstan's relics to Evesham
Evesham () is a market town and parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon. It lies within the Vale of Eves ...
, where the was written by Dominic of Evesham
Dominic of Evesham was a medieval prior of Evesham Abbey in England and writer of religious texts. Probably a native Englishman, there is some confusion about when he became a monk, but by 1104 he was at Evesham and by 1125 he held the office of ...
, a medieval prior there."Timeline", Vale of Evesham Historical Society/ref>Jennings "Writings" ''English Historical Review'' p. 298
Hagiography
The saint's relics were relocated to the Abbey at Evesham. His ''vita'' (meaning "life", a history recording reputed acts of sanctity) has been attributed to the Benedictine chroniclerDominic of Evesham
Dominic of Evesham was a medieval prior of Evesham Abbey in England and writer of religious texts. Probably a native Englishman, there is some confusion about when he became a monk, but by 1104 he was at Evesham and by 1125 he held the office of ...
, an early 12th-century Prior at Evesham. The edifice of the abbey (including the tomb of the four saints and many monastic buildings) were demolished during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Noted Edwardian artist Margaret E.A. Rope was commissioned for the windows in the parish church of Wistanstow
Wistanstow is a village and parish in Shropshire, England. Wistanstow is located about south of Church Stretton and north of Ludlow. It is about north of Craven Arms. It is just off the main Shrewsbury-Hereford road, the A49. The large paris ...
in Shropshire dedicated to the miraculous pillar of light, leading to discovery of the earthly remains of the slain martyr.
See also
* Anglo-Saxon crypt tomb at Repton, Derbyshire * British poet W. H. Auden was named in honor of Saint Wystan, A family connection with both Repton School and Wistanstow church in Shropshire is noted by Auden's biographerHumphrey Carpenter
Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (29 April 1946 – 4 January 2005) was an English biographer, writer, and radio broadcaster. He is known especially for his biographies of J. R. R. Tolkien and other members of the literary society the Inkl ...
.http://liberalengland.blogspot.com/2007/03/martyrdom-of-st-wystan.html Liberal England blog
* Mick Sharp's book ''The Way and the Light: An Illustrated Guide to the Saints and Holy Places of Britain'' makes the case for Wistow as the likely location of St Wistan's martyrdom, attested to in the legend of the miraculous appearance of human hair on the anniversary of his death, 1 June.
Notes
Sources
* * Walker, Ian, ''Mercia and the Making of England.'' * Yorke, Barbara, ''Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England.'' London: Seaby, 1990. * Zaluckij, Sarah, ''Mercia: the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Central England.'' Logaston: Logaston Press, 2001.External links
* {{authority control 840 deaths Mercian monarchs Mercian saints Burials at St. Wystan's Church, Repton 9th-century Christian saints Roman Catholic royal saints Year of birth unknown Burials at Evesham Abbey