Eadwold of Cerne ( – 29 August ), also known as Eadwold of East Anglia, was a 9th-century

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

East Anglian East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

and

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of Cerne,

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, who lived as a

on a hill about four

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

s from Cerne. His

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is 29 August.

Life

Eadwold was born , the son of Æthelweard of East Anglia and reputed brother of Edmund, king of East Anglia. He left his

homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...

possibly due to a Viking Invasion, to live as a

on a hill about four

s from Cerne, Dorset.

William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury (; ) 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 "a gifted historical scholar and a ...

said he lived on

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

and

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

, and worked many miracles. He is known from the writing of

and the '' Hagiographies of St Eadwold of Cerne'', by Goscelin of Saint-BertinLicence, Tom. "Goscelin of St. Bertin and the Life of St. Eadwold of Cerne", ''The Journal of Medieval Latin'', vol. 16, 2006, pp. 182–207, JSTOR
/ref> and also the '' Secgan''.

Veneration

Eadwold died on 29 August , at Cerne and is said to have been buried in his cell, and was later moved to a nearby

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

, dedicated to St Peter. His

veneration Veneration (; ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, ...

is credited with making

Cerne Abbey Cerne Abbey was a Benedictine monastery founded in 987 in the town now called Cerne Abbas, Dorset, by Æthelmær the Stout. History The abbey was founded in 987 by Æthelmær the Stout. Ælfric of Eynsham, the most prolific writer in Old Engl ...

the third richest in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

during the 11th century. A 2024 study proposed that the Cerne Abbas Giant was created CE, depicting

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

, as a muster station for West Saxon armies to gather but that by the 11th-century, the figure was being reinterpreted as portraying Eadwold, by the monks at the Abbey. Archaeologist Martin Papworth says the image, likely originally clothed, was probably of Eadwold pointing the way to Cerne Abbey.Brown, Marley. "Man of the Moment", ''Archaeology'', September/October 2021
/ref>

References

External links

* {{authority control 9th-century Christian monks 9th-century Christian saints 9th-century English people East Anglian saints English Christian monks English hermits Medieval English saints