There were a number of Synods of Chelsea held in Anglo-Saxon England. They were held at Cealchythe, in
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, generally identified with modern
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...
.
Offa's councils
787
King
Offa of Mercia
Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of ...
presided over a church council held at Chelsea in the 787. Although it has often been claimed that the council was attended by
papal legate
300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate.
A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...
s, this stems from a conflation of the visit by papal legates to Offa's court and Northumbria in 786. The two legates did attend a council held at Offa's court, but this was not necessarily held at Chelsea.
[Cubitt ''Anglo-Saxon Church Councils'' p. 270]
Two different versions of the ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons.
The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...
'' record the proceedings of the council. The
Peterborough Manuscript (Version E) of the ''Chronicle'' records the council under the year 785, although the events took place in 787, and states that "here there was a contentious synod at Chelsea and Archbishop
Jænberht
Jænberht (died 12 August 792) was a medieval monk, and later the abbot, of St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury, who was named Archbishop of Canterbury in 765. As archbishop, he had a difficult relationship with King Offa of Mercia, who at one p ...
relinquished some part of his bishopric, and
Hygeberht
Hygeberht (died after 803) was the bishop of Lichfield from 779 and archbishop of Lichfield after the elevation of Lichfield to an archdiocese some time after 787, during the reign of the powerful Mercian king Offa. Little is known of Hygeberht ...
was chosen by King Offa, and Ecgfrith consecrated as king."
[Swanton (trans. and ed.) ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' pp. 53, 55] The
Canterbury Manuscript (Version F) has the council under 785 also, and describes the council as "a full synod sat at Chelsey" but otherwise relates much the same events.
[Swanton (trans. and ed.) ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' p. 52] The historian
Nicholas Brooks sees the coupling of the elevation of Lichfield with the consecration of Ecgfrith, who was Offa's son, as significant. He argues that Offa desired to have Ecgfrith consecrated as his successor during Offa's lifetime, but was unable to get Jænberht to agree, and this was another factor in the creation of Lichfield as an archbishopric.
[Brooks ''Early History of the Church of Canterbury'' pp. 118–119] Hygeberht consecrated Ecgfrith after Hygeberht's elevation to archiepiscopal status.
[Williams ''Kingship and Government'' p. 28]
Offa vowed at the council to donate 365
mancus
Mancus (sometimes spelt ''mancosus'' or similar, from Arabic ''manqūsh'' منقوش) was a term used in early medieval Europe to denote either a gold coin, a weight of gold of 4.25g (equivalent to the Islamic gold dinar, and thus lighter than ...
es each year to the papacy, to provide for poor people in Rome and to provide lights for
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...
, stated to be a thanks-offering for his victories. C. J. Godfrey has argued that the donation was really in return for the papal approval of Offa's scheme to elevate the diocese of Lichfield to an archdiocese. Whatever Offa's motivation, historians have generally seen the gift as the beginning of
Peter's Pence
Peter's Pence (or ''Denarii Sancti Petri'' and "Alms of St Peter") are donations or payments made directly to the Holy See of the Catholic Church. The practice began under the Saxons in Kingdom of England, England and spread through Europe. Both ...
, an annual "tax" paid to Rome by the English Church.
[Godfrey "Archbishopric" ''Studies in Church History'' p. 147]
Although it appears that the 787 council approved Lichfield's elevation to an archdiocese, Hygeberht, who was present, remained a bishop at its conclusion; he signed the council's report still as a bishop. There is no indication that he played any significant part in the council nor in the actions that led to him becoming an archbishop.
[
]
789
Another council was held at Chelsea in 789, and a surviving charter records some of the attending bishops. These included both the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of Lichfield, as well as the Bishops of Dunwich, Leicester, Lindsey, and Winchester.[Cubitt ''Anglo-Saxon Church Councils'' pp. 273-274]
793
Although a charter exists claiming that there was a council at Chelsea in 793, the charter itself (Sawyer 136) is a forgery, and likely put together from a list of bishops alive at that date.[
]
801
A council appears to have been held at Chelsea in 801, as an extant charter (Sawyer 158) records a confirmation of a land grant by Coenwulf
Coenwulf (; also spelled Cenwulf, Kenulf, or Kenwulph; ) was the king of Mercia from December 796 until his death in 821. He was a descendant of King Pybba, who ruled Mercia in the early 7th century. He succeeded Ecgfrith, the son of Offa; Ecg ...
, the king of Mercia that was part of the council's proceedings.[Cubitt ''Anglo-Saxon Church Councils'' p. 279]
816
There was a further synod in Chelsea in 816. Called by Coenwulf of Mercia
Coenwulf (; also spelled Cenwulf, Kenulf, or Kenwulph; ) was the List of monarchs of Mercia, king of Mercia from December 796 until his death in 821. He was a descendant of King Pybba of Mercia, Pybba, who ruled Mercia in the early 7th century. ...
, it limited the power of Archbishop Wulfred
Wulfred (died 24 March 832) was an Anglo-Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury in medieval England. Nothing is known of his life prior to 803, when he attended a church council, but he was probably a nobleman from Middlesex. He was elected archbishop ...
. It also ruled on baptism
Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
, relics
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...
. and church property.[ p.235.]
The canons of this council are still extant, as British Library manuscript Cotton Vespasian A xiv.[Cubitt ''Anglo-Saxon Church Councils'' p. 285]
Notes
Citations
References
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External links
* {{cite web, url=http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=757-796, title= Timeline: 757-796 , publisher=Anglo-Saxons.net, accessdate=2011-01-03
787
789
801
816
8th century in England
9th century in England
Chelsea
Chelsea
History of Kent
Social history of London