Ealdwulf (died 6 May 1002) was a medieval

Abbot of Peterborough A list of the abbots of the abbey of Peterborough, known until the late 10th century as " Medeshamstede". Abbots Sources *'Houses of Benedictine monks: The abbey of Peterborough', ''A History of the County of Northampton: Volume 2'' (1906), pp. ...

Bishop of Worcester The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary (officer), head of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Worcester, Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title can be traced back to the foundation of the diocese in the ...

, and

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

Life

Traditional stories state that Ealdwulf was a layman and chancellor to King

Edgar of England Edgar (or Eadgar; 8 July 975), known sometimes as Edgar the Peacemaker or the Peaceable, was King of the English from 959 until his death in 975. He became king of all England on his brother Eadwig's death. He was the younger son of King Ed ...

when one night he accidentally smothered his son while sharing a bed with the child. Rather than go to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to seek absolution for this sin, which had been his original plan, Ealdwulf refounded the monastery at

Medeshamstede Medeshamstede () was the name of Peterborough in the Anglo-Saxon period. It was the site of a monastery founded around the middle of the 7th century, which was an important feature in the kingdom of Mercia from the outset. Little is known of i ...

, which later became known as

Peterborough Abbey Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew, and formerly known as Peterborough Abbey or St Peter's Abbey, is a cathedral in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, in the United Kingdom. The seat of the Anglic ...

, on the advice of

Æthelwold Æthelwold was a common Anglo Saxon name. It may refer to: Royalty and nobility *King Æthelwold of Deira, King of Deira, d. 655 *King Æthelwold of East Anglia, King of East Anglia, d. 664 *King Æthelwold Moll of Northumbria, King of Northumbria, ...

bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

. Ealdwulf then joined his new foundation as a monkHunt "Ealdwulf" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' before becoming

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of Peterborough from about 966 to 992.Knowles, et al. ''Heads of Religious Houses'' p. 59Fletcher ''Bloodfeud'' p. 70 Ealdwulf was bishop of Worcester as well as archbishop of York from 995Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 224 to his death on 6 May 1002. While archbishop, he held a synod at Worcester around 1000 to consider moving the relics of Saint

Oswald of Worcester Oswald of Worcester (died 29 February 992) was Archbishop of York from 972 to his death in 992. He was of Danish ancestry, but brought up by his uncle, Oda of Canterbury, who sent him to France to the abbey of Fleury to become a monk. After a ...

.Barlow ''English Church 1000–1066'' p. 246 Ealdwulf's reputation was one of extreme piety.Brooke "York Minster" ''Churches and Churchmen'' p. 40

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 ...

compared him to his successor Wulfstan as follows "Ealdwulf can be pardoned for holding the two sees contrary to canon law because of his sanctity, and because he did it not through ambition but by necessity."Quoted in Barlow ''English Church 1000–1066'' p. 25

Citations

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ealdwulf 1002 deaths Abbots of Peterborough Archbishops of York Bishops of Worcester 10th-century English archbishops Year of birth unknown 10th-century Christian abbots