Aethelnoth

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Aethelnoth the Good

Archbishop of Canterbury

Birth name Aethelnoth
Enthroned 1020
Ended October 29, 1038
Predecessor Lyfing
Successor Edsige
Died October 29, 1038
Buried Canterbury Cathedral

Sainthood


Commemorated no formal cultus
Saints Portal

Aethelnoth (known also as Egelnodus or Ednodus) (died October 29, 1038) was an Archbishop of Canterbury.

Contents

He was a son of the ealdorman Æthelmær and the grandson of Æthelweard the historian, and a member of the royal family of Wessex. Some historians state that he was the uncle of Godwin of Wessex.[1] He was baptised by Saint Dunstan, and a story was told at Glastonbury Abbey that as the infant was baptised, his hand made a motion much like that an archbisop makes when blessing. From this motion, Dunstan is said to have prophesized that Aethelnoth would become an archbishop.[2]

He became a monk at Glastonbury, then dean of the monastery of Christ Church Priory, Canterbury,[3] and chaplain to King Canute, and on November 13, 1020 was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury.[4][5] The selection of Aethelnoth may have signaled a reconciliation between the new archbishop's family and the king, for Canute had executed Aethelnoth's brother Æthelweard in 1017 and then banished a brother-in-law named Æthelweard in 1020.[2]

In 1022 he went to Rome to obtain the pallium,[6] and was received with great respect by Pope Benedict VIII. While returning from Rome he purchased at Pavia a relic said to be an arm of St Augustine of Hippo, for the sum of one hundred silver talents and one gold talent.[2] He also presided over the translation of Saint Alphege's relics.[4] In 1022 Aethelnoth consecrated Gerbrand as bishop of Roskilde.[7]

He appears to have exercised considerable influence over Canute, largely by whose aid he restored his cathedral at Canterbury, obtained important benefactions for Glastonbury and also helped finance the rebuilding of Chartres Cathedral. William of Malmesbury is known to have praised his wisdom and guidance. A story of doubtful authenticity tells how he refused to crown King Harold I,[8] as he had promised Canute to crown none but a son of the king by his wife, Emma.[2]

Aethelnoth, who was called the "Good," died on October 29, 1038,[4][5] or possibly on either the day before or the day after that date. He was buried in Canterbury Cathedral.[2] His name appears in the lists of saints in both Mabillon and the Bollandists. Even so, no calendar reveals evidence of a formal cultus.

  1. ^ Barlow, Frank The Godwins: The Rise and Fall of a Noble Dynasty London: Pearson Longman 2002 ISBN 0-582-78440-9 p. 21
  2. ^ a b c d e Mason, Emma "Æthelnoth (d. 1038)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press, 2004 Online Edition accessed November 7, 2007
  3. ^ Knowles, David; Brooke C. N. L.; and London, Vera C. M. The Heads of Religious Houses: England and Wales 940-1216 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1972 ISBN 0-521-08367-2 p. 33
  4. ^ a b c Walsh, Michael A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West London: Burns & Oats 2007 ISBN 0-8601-2438-X p. 184
  5. ^ a b Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde Handbook of British Chronology 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961' p. 210
  6. ^ Ortenberg, Veronica "The Anglo-Saxon Church and the Papacy" in Lawrence, C. H. ed. The English Church and the Papacy in the Middle Ages Stroud:Sutton Publishing reprint 1999 ISBN 0-7509-1947-7 p. 49
  7. ^ Stenton, F. M. Anglo-Saxon England Third Edition Oxford:Oxford University Press 1971 ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5 p. 463
  8. ^ O'Brien, Harriet Queen Emma and the Vikings: A History of Power, Love and Greed in Eleventh-Century England New York:Bloomsbury ISBN 1-58234-596-1 p. 167-168

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Lyfing
Archbishop of Canterbury
1020–1038
Succeeded by
Edsige

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.


Persondata
NAME Aethelnoth
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ethelnoth; Ethelnot; Egelnodus; Ednodus
SHORT DESCRIPTION Archbishop of Canterbury
DATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH October 29, 1038
PLACE OF DEATH
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