Saint Aldate (;

Old Welsh Old Welsh () is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic around 550, ha ...

, Eldad; died 577) was a bishop of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

, venerated as a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

with the

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 ...

of 4 February, and the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

. Aldate's life is not detailed historically, but he was probably a

Briton British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, w ...

killed by the

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

at Deorham. He is reported to have roused the countryside to resist

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

invasion forces, but nothing seems to be known of him: it was even suggested that his name was a corruption of "old gate".

Veneration

Aldate is mentioned in the Sarum and other martyrologies; his feast occurs in a Gloucester calendar (14th-century addition); churches were dedicated to him at Gloucester and

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, as well as a famous Oxford street:

St Aldate's, Oxford St Aldate's (, like "all dates") is a street in central Oxford, England, named after Saint Aldate, but formerly known as Fish Street. Museum and Church The street runs south from the generally acknowledged centre of Oxford at Carfax, Oxford ...

and a minor street in Gloucester. There is also a St Aldate's Tavern, a bed-and-breakfast, as a annex to Christ Church, and a room at the Oxford Town Hall. He is also venerated as a saint in the

.February 17 / February 4. https://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/htc/orthodox-calendar/

References

* Baring-Gould and Fisher, ii. 426–8; Early British Kingdoms after 1100, ii. 40 {{DEFAULTSORT:Aldate Southwestern Brythonic saints 577 deaths Year of birth unknown