Leaders of the Anglo-Saxon Church

Essays bring out the important and complex roles played by Anglo-Saxon churchmen, including Bede and lesser-known figures.

Essays bring out the important and complex roles played by Anglo-Saxon churchmen, including Bede and lesser-known figures.

Both episcopal and abbatial authority were of fundamental importance to the development of the Christian church in Anglo-Saxon England. Bishops and heads of monastic houses were invested with a variety of types of power and influence. Their actions, decisions, and writings could change not only their own institutions, but also the national church, while their interaction with the king and his court affected wider contemporary society. Theories of ecclesiastical leadership were expounded in contemporary texts and documents. But how far did image or ideal reflect reality? How much room was there for individuals to use their office to promote new ideas?
The papers in this volumeillustrate the important roles played by individual leading ecclesiastics in England, both within the church and in the wider political sphere, from the late seventh to the mid eleventh century. The undeniable authority of Bede and Bishop Æthelwold is demonstrated but also the influence of less-familiar figures such as Bishop Wulfsige of Sherborne, Archbishop Ecgberht of York and St Leoba. The book draws on both textual and material evidence to show the influence (by both deed and reputation) of powerful personalities not only on the developing institutions of the English church but also on the secular politics of their time.

Contributors: Alexander R. Rumble, Nicholas J.Higham, Martyn J. Ryan, Cassandra Rhodes, Allan Scott McKinley, Dominik Wassenhoven, Gale R. Owen-Crocker, Debby Banham, Joyce Hill.

Introduction: Church Leadership and the Anglo-Saxons - Alexander R. Rumble
Bede and the Early English Church - Nicholas Higham
Archbishop Ecgberht and hisDialogus - Martin Ryan
Abbatial Responsibility as Spiritual Labour: Suckling from the Male Breast - Cassandra Rhodes
Understanding the Earliest Bishops of Worcesterc. 660-860 - Allan Scott McKinley
The Role of Bishops in Anglo-Saxon Succession Struggles, 955 x 978 - Dominik Wassenhoven
Image-Making: Portraits of Anglo-Saxon Church Leaders - Gale R. Owen-Crocker
'To Keep Silence Following the Rule's Command': Bishop Æthelwold, Reforming Ideology and Communication by Signs - Debby Banham
Wulfsige of Sherborne's Reforming Text - Joyce Hill
From Winchester to Canterbury: Ælfheah and Stigand - Bishops, Archbishops and Victims - Alexander R. Rumble