ALDRED

'Aldred', or 'Ealdred' (died 11 September,1069), English ecclesiastic, was Abbot of Tavistock, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of Hereford, and Archbishop of York.

Contents

Life

Return to England

Notes

References

See also

External links

Life

He was a monk at Winchester before becoming abbot of Tavistock about 1027, and held that office until about 1043.Knowles ''Heads of Religious Houses'' p. 72
He was named Bishop of Hereford in 1044, holding the see until 1060, when he resigned.Powicke ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 229
He was made bishop of Worcester in 1046, and held that office until 1062, when he resigned the see of Worcester. He held Worcester along with Hereford until 1060.Powicke ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 260
He was transferred in 1061 to the archbishopric of York, holding that see along with Worcester until 1062.Powicke ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 264
He had considerable influence over King Edward the Confessor, and as his interests were secular rather than religious he took a prominent part in affairs of state, and in 1046 led
an unsuccessful expedition against the Welsh. In 1050 he was largely instrumental in restoring Sweyn, the son of Earl Godwin, to his earldom, and about the same time went to Rome "on the king's errand."
In 1054 he was sent to the emperor Henry II to obtain that monarch's influence in securing the return to England of Edward, son of Edmund Ironside, who was in Hungary with King Andrew I. In this mission he was successful and obtained some insight into the working of the German church during a stay of a year with Hermann II, archbishop of Cologne.

Return to England

After his return to England he took charge of the sees of Hereford and Ramsbury, although not appointed to these bishoprics; and in 1058 made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, being the first English bishop to take this journey.
Having previously given up Hereford and Ramsbury, Aldred was elected archbishop of York in 1060, and in 1061 he proceeded to Rome to receive the pallium. On his arrival there, however, various charges were brought against him by a synod, and Pope Nicholas II not only refused his request but degraded him from the episcopate. The sentence was, however, subsequently reversed, and Aldred received the pallium and was restored to his former station.
It is stated by John of Worcester that Aldred crowned King Harold II in 1066, although the Norman authorities mention Stigand as the officiating prelate. After the battle of Hastings, Aldred joined the party who sought to bestow the throne upon Edgar the Ætheling, but when these efforts appeared hopeless he was among those who submitted to William the Conqueror at Berkhamsted.
Selected to crown the new king he performed the ceremony on Christmas Day 1066, and in 1068 performed the same office at the coronation of Matilda, the Conqueror's wife. But though often at court, he seems to have been no sympathiser with Norman oppression, and is even said to have
bearded the king himself. He died at York on the September 11 1069 and was buried in his own cathedral.
Aldred did much for the restoration of discipline in the monasteries and churches under his authority, and was liberal in his gifts for ecclesiastical purposes. He built the monastic
church of St Peter at Gloucester, and rebuilt a large part of that of St John at Beverley. At his instigation, Folcard, a monk of Canterbury, wrote the Life of St John of Beverley.

Notes

References

★

★ ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', edited by Charles Plummer (Oxford, 1892-1899)

★ Dixon, W. H. ''Fasti Eboracenses'', vol. i., edited by James Raine (London, 1863)

★ Florence of Worcester (sic.), ''Chronicon ex Chronicis'', edited by Benjamin Thorpe (London, 1848-1849)

★ Freeman, E. A., ''History of the Norman Conquest'', vols. ii., iii., iv. (Oxford, 1867-1879)

★ 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

★ Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde ''Handbook of British Chronology'' 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961

★ Stubbs, T. ''Chronica Pontificum Ecclesiae Eboracensis'', edited by James Raine (London, 1879-1894)

★ William of Malmesbury, ''De Gestis Pontificum Anglorum'', edited by N. E. S. A. Hamilton (London, 1870)

See also

★ List of the Bishops of the Diocese of Hereford, England and its precursor offices

★ List of Bishops of Worcester

★ List of Archbishops of York

External links

★ Ealdred at Britannia Biographies

★ 1066 at Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies