Æthelwold

William Smith

Ed. by Hugh Magennis, Queen's University Belfast, Richard William Dance, University of Cambridge
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.01: English Writing and Culture: Old English, 500-1066.
Vol. editors: Richard William Dance (University of Cambridge), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast)

Dates

Born c. 909
Died 984
Activity c. 955-984

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Religious writer

Resources

Æthelwold's Works

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Few men had a greater or more lasting influence on the Anglo-Saxon church or on Anglo-Saxon literature than St Æ;thelwold, Bishop of Winchester (963-984) and one of the key proponents of the English Benedictine Reform movement of the tenth century. Though little is known of his background, the circumstances of his later life suggest that his family may have been wealthy and of some social prominence. As a young boy, he was a member of the court of King Athelstan and was later sent into the household of Bishop Æ;lfheah of Winchester, who ordained Æ;thelwold as a priest on the same day as St Dunstan, later Archbishop of Canterbury (959-988). Æ;thelwold studied for a brief time under Dunstan at the monastery at Glastonbury, but was soon appointed abbot of his own monastery at Abingdon,…

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1061 words

Citation: Smith, William. "Æthelwold". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 June 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=42, accessed 21 November 2024.]