The Council of Austerfield was an ecclesiastical

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

held at

Austerfield Austerfield is a village and civil parish in the City of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It is to the north-east of the market town of Bawtry on the A614 road, and adjacent to the hamlet of Newington in Nottinghamshire, close to the Ri ...

, in southern

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

in 702 or 703. The council was called by King

Aldfrith of Northumbria Aldfrith (Early Modern Irish: ''Flann Fína mac Ossu''; Latin: ''Aldfrid'', ''Aldfridus''; died 14 December 704 or 705) was king of Northumbria from 685 until his death. He is described by early writers such as Bede, Alcuin and Stephen of Ripon ...

to discuss whether

Wilfrid Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and beca ...

should be returned to the see of York from which he had been expelled in 686. Wilfrid had appealed to the papacy around 700, and Pope Sergius I had sent the matter back to Britain to be decided locally. This resulted in Aldfrith convening the council in either 702Stenton ''Anglo-Saxon England'' pp. 143–144 or 703 according to different sources.Farmer "Saint Wilfrid" ''Saint Wilfrid at Hexham'' pp. 52–53 The date of the council has been calculated from two pieces of information: that it took place 22 years after the decision to expel Wilfrid from York, around 679–680, and that Wilfrid had held episcopal office for almost 40 years when Austerfield was convened. This would make the date of the council sometime before 704.Cubitt ''Anglo-Saxon Church Councils'' p. 259 The council was called at a place described as ''in campo qui Eostrefeld dicitur'' and ''in campo qui dicitur Oustraefelda'', which has led to the site of the council being identified with Austerfield near Bawtry in

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

(formerly in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

). Another possible location is Nosterfield near

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

in the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

. The main determining factor in favouring Austerfield over Nosterfield is that Nosterfield is not attested as a location before the 13th century.Cubitt ''Anglo-Saxon Church Councils'' pp. 302–303 The council was presided over by Berhtwald, the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

.Kirby ''Earliest English Kings'' p. 121 It was attended by bishops from the entirety of the Anglo-Saxon church, both from Northumbria and from the southern part of Britain.Cubitt ''Anglo-Saxon Church Councils'' p. 13 Besides the bishops, abbots from monasteries in Britain are recorded as attending at Austerfield, and Wilfrid's biographer records that Wilfrid was accompanied by a number of priests and deacons.Cubitt ''Anglo-Saxon Church Councils'' p. 42 Laymen were also present, including King Aldfrith,Cubitt ''Anglo-Saxon Church Councils'' pp. 45, 48 as well as some of Aldfrith's

thegn In later Anglo-Saxon England, a thegn or thane (Latin minister) was an aristocrat who ranked at the third level in lay society, below the king and ealdormen. He had to be a substantial landowner. Thanage refers to the tenure by which lands were ...

s. One account of the council survives, that of Wilfrid's biographer,

Stephen of Ripon Stephen of Ripon was the author of the eighth-century Hagiography, hagiographic text ''Vita Sancti Wilfrithi'' ("Life of Wilfrid, Saint Wilfrid"). Other names once traditionally attributed to him are Eddius Stephanus or Æddi Stephanus, but these ...

in the ''

Vita Sancti Wilfrithi The ''Vita Sancti Wilfrithi'' or ''Life of St Wilfrid'' (spelled "Wilfrid" in the modern era) is an early 8th-century hagiographic text recounting the life of the Northumbrian bishop, Wilfrid. Although a hagiography, it has few miracles, while i ...

''. Aldfrith and Berhtwald opposed Wilfrid's desire to return to York, but Wilfrid was supported by King

Æthelred of Mercia Æthelred (; died after 704) was king of Mercia from 675 until 704. He was the son of Penda of Mercia and came to the throne in 675, when his brother, Wulfhere of Mercia, died from an illness. Within a year of his accession he invaded Kent, ...

, who had given Wilfrid shelter while he was in exile.Kirby ''Earliest English Kings'' p. 108 Most of the bishops attending as well as some abbots appear to have opposed Wilfrid.Cubitt ''Anglo-Saxon Church Councils'' pp. 50–52 According to Stephen, Wilfrid's opponents wanted to seize all Wilfrid's properties and offices, but Berhtwald offered a compromise that would have allowed Wilfrid to retain some monasteries but would have prevented him from performing the office of bishop. In response, Wilfrid gave a long speech that described all his career as a churchman. The main difficulty lay in Wilfrid's refusal to obey Berhtwald, who had archiepiscopal authority over him. The decision of the council was that Wilfrid should remain exiled from York and return to the monastery of Ripon and not leave and no longer be a bishop. Wilfrid disagreed with this decision and appealed to the papacy again. Wilfrid was eventually reconciled to the archbishop, bishops and laymen at the Council of Nidd in 705.

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* * * * {{short description, 8th-century church council in Anglo-Saxon England

Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England Christianity in Yorkshire History of Catholicism in England Northumbria 700s 8th century in England