John Whethamstede (died 20 January 1465) was an English

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 ...

and one of the leading literary figures in fifteenth-century

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 ...

Life

He was a son of Hugh and Margaret Bostock, and was born at Wheathampstead in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, owing his name, the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

form of which is Frumentarius, to this circumstance. After early schooling at the Abbey School (now St Albans School) he entered St Albans Abbey when only sixteen. He was chosen

of this

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

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 ...

in 1420. In 1423, Whethamstede attended the Council of Siena. In the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the late 9th century, when it was unified from various Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland to f ...

, his time was mainly occupied with lawsuits, several of which he carried on to defend the property and enforce the rights of the abbey. In 1440, he resigned his post but, in 1451, on the death of his successor John Stoke, he became abbot for the second time. He died on 20 January 1465, and his tomb was recently discovered during archaeological excavations prior to the construction of the new Welcome Centre at St Albans Abbey. Whethamstede was an energetic and successful abbot. He greatly improved the buildings at St Albans. He was an eyewitness of the First Battle of St Albans in 1455, the first open conflict of the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

. It is also likely that he was in attendance when Richard, Duke of York made his claim for the throne in October 1460, which resulted in the Act of Accord. He also did some building at Gloucester College, Oxford. He was also closely, if clumsily, associated with the

humanistic Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

activities of Henry V's youngest brother, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, who died in 1447 and was buried in St Albans Abbey, where he was honoured as a benefactor.

Writings

''Whethamstede's Chronicle'', or the , is a register compiled soon after the abbot's death, telling the events of his second abbacy. It was edited by H. T. Riley, and is in volume i. of the (London, 1872). The events of his first abbacy are narrated in the , also edited by Riley (London, 1870–1871). Whethamstede's works also includied ; , and . Whethamstede was "shy and bashful in public, yet egotistical and boastful in his writings". He read widely — as well as commonplace medieval texts, works in Latin, Greek and Italian were in his library.

References

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External links

British Library: a picture of John Whethamstede from the ''Golden Book of St Albans''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whethamstede, John 1465 deaths Abbots of St Albans People from Wheathampstead People from St Albans Burials at St Albans Cathedral 15th-century English clergy People educated at St Albans School, Hertfordshire English Benedictines Year of birth unknown 15th-century Christian abbots 15th-century English abbots