Born in Winchester, England, c. 908-912; died at Beddington, 984; feast
at Abingdon is August 2; feast of his translation is
September 10; Ely used to keep a "commemoratio" on October 8 in his
honour, while Deeping and Thorney Abbeys observed an "exceptio" on
October 23.
Together with
Saint Dunstan (f.d. May 19)
and
Saint Oswald of York (f.d. February 28),
Aehelwold was a leader in the revival of English
monasticism in the 10th century following its near eradication by the
Danes during their raids. He served at the court of King Athelstan
(924-39), but left to seek priestly ordination at the hands of
Saint Alphege the Bald (f.d. April 19)
on the same day as his friend Saint
Dunstan. When Dunstan became abbot of Glastonbury in 943 and restore
Benedictine observance there, the priest Aethelwold joined the community
and became one of its deans and prior.
Not entirely satisfied with the reformation at Glastonbury, he asked to
be allowed to go to France to study the reforms initiated at Cluny.
Instead, in 955, King Edred made him abbot of the derelict Abingdon
Abbey in Berkshire and entrusted to Aethelwold its restoration. He added
to the community monks from Glastonbury and priests from elsewhere, and
built a new church that incorporated elements of the old. He sent his
disciple Osgar to study at Fleury in his place.
When Dunstan was exiled by King Edwy about 956, Aethelwold became the
most important figure in the monastic reformation. He also came near
secular power in his role as tutor to the future king,
Saint Edgar the Peaceful (f.d. July 8).
In 963, he was consecrated bishop of Winchester in Wessex. The
following year King Edgar and Aethelwold replaced secular canons with
Benedictines from Abingdon. In this way he founded the first monastic
cathedral, a specifically English institution that lasted until the
Reformation. The next year, Aethelwold replaced the priests with monks
at Newminster. From this point the monastic reform became closely
associated with the king, whose palace was very near the cathedral. He
also founded or restored many abbeys, including those of Newminster and
Nunnaminster in Winchester in 965, Milton Abbas (Dorset) in 964,
Chertsey, Peterborough (966), Thorney (972), and Ely (970).
Aethelwold sometimes spent the entirety of Lent in seclusion at Thorney
Abbey, where he built a church with an apse at both ends. His charter
survives for the endowment of Peterborough with land, serfs, cattle,
church plate, and 20 manuscripts.
This austere, able, and dynamic priest was given the nickname,
The
Father of Monks.
The scribe of his "Benedictional" called him a
"Boanerges" (son of thunder). When he was prior of Glastonbury, he
would urge his brothers to greater effort in their monastic observance;
he never slept after Matins (about 3:00 a.m.) and would eat meat only
once in three months--and then only at Dunstan's express command.
He was also gifted as an artist, yet was very practical. At Glastonbury
he had been cook; at Abingdon he laboured as a builder until he broke
his ribs in a fall from a scaffold; at Winchester he set the monks to
working with the masons in the cathedral and built the most powerful
organ of its time in England. This pipe organ was played by two monks.
It had 400 pipes and 36 bellows. The bells and crown of metal for
candles in Abingdon's sanctuary are also attributed to his
craftsmanship.
More importantly, Aethelwold introduced the Winchester style of
manuscript illumination into his monasteries. The style soon
surpassed the products of many scriptoria of the Continent. He is also
responsible for the establishment at Winchester of the most important
school of vernacular writing of the period, of which Aelfric is the most
famous example. Its linguistically
significant, accurate translations were designed to meet the needs of
bishops and clergy who were not themselves monks. Aethelwold's
Winchester is also distinguished for its production of the first English
polyphonic music, recorded in the "Winchester Troper." His rebuilt
cathedral at Winchester was the setting for a wonderfully rich and
varied liturgy.
The saint also looked after material well-being the laity of his flock,
as well as the monks. He built an aqueduct for the town.
Aethelwold's episcopacy was marked by three important events. First, the
congress of about 970, during which the "Regularis Concordia," the
characteristic statement about the observance of reformed monasticism,
was promulgated as the norm of the 30 reformed abbeys in southern
England. Based on the practices of Ghent, Fleury, and Glastonbury, it
was probably compiled by Aethelwold himself, who was also responsible for
an important vernacular account of the aims of the reformation and an
Old English version of the Rule of Saint Benedict translated for the
benefit of nun who had no Latin.
The second event was the translation of the relics of
Saint Swithun of Winchester (f.d. July 15)
in 971. The final outstanding event of
Aethelwold's tenure was the consecration of Winchester Cathedral in 980.
Each occasion was marked by a large concourse of clergy and laity and
was a sign of the success of the monastic reform movement pioneered by
Dunstan and Ethelwold. Their monasteries provided about three-quarters
of the bishops of England until the Norman Conquest in 1066, as well as
many of the missionaries sent to Scandinavia. Their abbeys were the
centres of Old English art and literature for many years to come.
Aethelwold had tireless energy to implement reforms regardless of the
opposition. He was merciless to the slack, full of sympathy for the
good-willed and the unfortunate. He is also described by contemporaries
as an outstanding counsellor of the king and as the benevolent bishop.
These characteristics need to be recalled as well as his ability and
intransigence, for any final assessment of his personality. In all
events, he work had a lasting effect
(
Attwater,
Benedictines,
Delaney,
Farmer).
Service to Our Father among the Saints Aethelwold,
Bishop of Winchester
http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/servethe.htm