Saint Aldhelm

Helen Foxhall Forbes (University of Durham)

Ed. by 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. 639
Died c. 709
Activity 659-c. 709

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Bishop
Poet
Religious writer

Resources

Aldhelm's Works

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Aldhelm was one of the earliest Anglo-Saxon writers of Latin prose and poetry. He died in 709 or 710, but his year of birth is unknown; Aldhelm offers little information about himself in his own writings, and most of the reliable information from other sources relates to his later ecclesiastical career. Aldhelm’s birth-place is also unknown, but was almost certainly in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, since he became abbot of Malmesbury and later bishop of Sherborne, and he seems to have had connections to the West Saxon royal court. The kingdom of Wessex (or at least its royal house) was converted to Christianity by an Italian missionary, Birinus, who baptised the West Saxon king Cynegils (611-42) in 635; it is likely therefore that Aldhelm was born and grew up in a newly…

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2096 words

Citation: Foxhall Forbes, Helen. "Saint Aldhelm". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 August 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=64, accessed 21 November 2024.]