Uthred or Uhtred of Boldon (also spelled Owtred; – 28 January 1397) was an English

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 ...

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

and writer, born at Boldon, North Durham; he died at Finchale Abbey.

Life

Uhtred joined the Benedictine community of Durham Abbey about 1332 and was sent to London in 1337. Three years later he entered

Durham College, Oxford Durham College, also known as Durham Hall until 1381, was a college of the University of Oxford, founded by the monks of Durham Priory in the late 13th century and endowed by Bishop Thomas Hatfield in 1381. The college was closed in 1545 fo ...

, a house which the Durham Benedictines had established at Oxford for those of their members who pursued their studies at the University of Oxford. He was graduated there as licentiate in 1352 and as doctor in 1357. During the succeeding ten years, and even previously, he took part in numerous disputations at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, many of which were directed against members of the

mendicant orders Mendicant orders are primarily certain Catholic Church, Catholic religious orders that have vowed for their male members a lifestyle of vow of poverty, poverty, traveling, and living in urban areas for purposes of preacher, preaching, Evangelis ...

. It is on this account that

John Bale John Bale (21 November 1495 – November 1563) was an English churchman, historian controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English (on the subject of King John), and developed and ...

wrongly designates him as a supporter of

John Wycliffe John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, Christianity, Christian reformer, Catholic priest, and a theology professor at the University of Oxfor ...

. In 1367 Uhtred became

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

of Finchale Abbey, a position to which he was appointed three other times, in 1379, 1386, and 1392. In 1368 and in 1381 he served as subprior at Durham Abbey. Along with Wycliffe he was one of the delegates sent by King

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

to the papal representatives at

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in 1374, with the purpose of reaching an agreement concerning the vexed question of

canonical provision In the canon law of the Catholic Church, canonical provision is the regular induction into a benefice. Analysis It comprises three distinct acts - the designation of the person, canonical institution, and installation. In various ways a person ...

in England. According to the , Uthred represented Durham Abbey at a 1374 council in Westminster held by

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

, Prince of Wales. Historians including James Tait and

Aubrey Gwynn Aubrey Osborn Gwynn (17 February 1892 – 18 May 1983) was an Irish Jesuit historian. Life Aubrey Gwynn was born in Dublin on 17 February 1892. His father was the author and sometime Member of Parliament Stephen Gwynn; his paternal grandfathe ...

have questioned whether such a council actually took place, although

Jeremy Catto Robert Jeremy Adam Inch Catto (27 July 1939 – 17 August 2018) was a British historian who was a Rhodes fellow and tutor in Modern History at Oriel College, Oxford between 1970 and 2006. His research interests lay in the politics and religion ...

argues for its plausibility. As described in the , the council was held for the purpose of determining whether the king was obliged to recognize the papal

suzerainty A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...

which had been granted to

Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

by King John. Uthred is depicted as initially defending the pope's right of overlordship, but changing his vote on the next day to follow that of the council.

Works

Uhtred's writings included: *''De substantialibus regulae monachalis,'' preserved in the Durham Cathedral Library; *''Contra querelas Fratrum,'' written about 1390, extant in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

; and *a Latin translation of the ''

Ecclesiastical History Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of the ...

'' of

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

, also preserved in the British Library.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Uhtred 1315 births 1396 deaths British theologians English Benedictines Benedictine theologians Benedictine scholars Durham College, Oxford English Christian monks English Roman Catholic theologians