SH A CADEMY ; SUP P L EMENTA L PAPERS I V " The A ' ‘ S aXOn BiéhQ S ‘ j o f We lls ” P AiHistori pal Study in / the TenthL C eIiisurx B y . J A i D . Im ta e RobinsoIi D g , Z ' Fellow of the A éademy Oxford Un s P ress , iver i ° P rice 'Fzife Shillings net THE BRI TI SH A CA DEMY SUPPL EM ENTA L PA PERS I V The S ax o n Bi s ho ps o f We lls A Histori cal Study in the Tenth C entury By A in n D D . J . rmita e Rob so g , . Fellow of the A cad emy Dean of Wells L ondon Published for the British Acad emy B hr M fo fo d s s y Hump ey il rd, Ox r Univer ity Pres o E C Amen C rner, . C ONTENTS 1 RS WEL L S . THE FI T BISHOP OF THE SUBDIV ISION OF THE Wmsm: DIOCES ES Note on the Winchester Charters of 909 THE P L EGM UND NARRATIV E Note On the In troduction of the Name of Formosus Note on the Letter Of Archbish op Dunstan t o Ki ng JEthelred TH E ORO ATI F I G T L STA BY RC BIS OP ATHEL M A ND T C N ON O K N A HE N A H H , HE ’ AT F S D NSTA N S BIRT D E O T. U H TH E SUCC SSORS OF IS OP A TH EL M 923— 4 E B H , 7 THE AT R SAX O IS OP S 9 4-1 033 L E N B H , 7 ADDITIONAL NOTES a En f S Of A . The E rly dowmen t O the ee Wells w Th e Name j Ethelhelm or i Ethelm ’ p The D ate Of Athelm s Translation to Canterbury u o s Of A thelm Wulfhelm and L fin at an The T mb , y g C terbury m The Perils Of the Road t o Rome fi S s s on a n o f Three wi C fr ter ity Bo ks m Archbishop Wulfhelm and the Laws Of King Athelstan fi L Bishop Brihthelm and his Namesakes —I The First Abbots of Westminster F Th e Various Bish ops Brihtwine TH E SA X ON BI SH OPS OF WEL L S A HISTORICAL STUDY IN THE TENTH CENTURY TH E FIRST BIS H O P o r WE L L S TH E o c Of o n o u n a a o in bish pri Wells was f u ded a th sa d ye rs g , the reign of Edward the Elder ; but a reasonable tradition takes back c c of n no two n . n I n the hur h St . A drew a ther hu dred years Ki g a had c axon on on of o n arried the S C quest bey d the limits S merset, drivi g far n o the British before him as as Exeter . The ki gd m of Wessex had become too large a diocese to be ruled by a single bishop with his seat at Winchester ; so the western portion w as now cut OE and n on of con o n placed u der the supervisi a se d bish p sitti g at Sherborne . was in 705 and n ew o n o of This , the bish p was the lear ed Abb t a r who in 709 in oo n M lmesbu y, St . Aldhelm, died the little w de c c of o n in co of one of co o hur h D ulti g, the urse his epis pal t urs on l of o . o Of am g the vi lages S merset Brief as was the peri d his rule, oo for o o c Aldhelm wrought great g d his pe ple . Bef re he be ame bishop his learnin g an d his gentleness had done much to persuade the British folk to j oin with their Saxon fellow Christians in keeping on a d a an d to an on c r n c o in Easter the s me y, ab d e tai ust ms, trivial m ch o n c n to as o of o . themselves, but is iev us whe lu g symb ls separati n ’ At the same time King I na s generous legislation was treating the con a o on of con o an d two quered as lm st the level their quer rs, the c oon n to co l c I na l new c c of on for ra es s bega a es e . bui t a hur h st e on G on of c c of the British m astery at last bury, east the wattled hur h immemorial antiquity ; an d we may readily accept the tradition that ’ n who n nc it was the same ki g , u der St . Aldhelm s guida e, built the c c of n first hur h by the Wells St . A drew . The creation of a separate bishopric for the county of Somerset not an o a act w as of o c c if n ot formu was is l ted . It part a p li y whi h, n was na o o f o c b e lated by Ki g Alfred, the tural utc me o the w rk whi h A 2 4 THE SAXON BISHOPS OF WELL S for n n . n c to on in 87 1 did E gla d Whe Alfred ame the thr e , the an o an d for of D ish terr r was at its height, the first seven years his reign pra ctically the whole of E ngland was at the mercy (if we may o f n n s say) o these merciless i vaders . A last sta d was made at 1 n and on o u o Athel ey, the hill that rises ab ve B rr w Bridge . It is the ro d o n of o of o a n p u est m me t the hist ry S merset. Here was the r llyi g poin t of the heroic ban d which was to restore the fortunes of Wessex and for n ew n n of n c n prepare the way the E gla d the te th e tury . nc n o o to o n o and He e we t the S mersets f rth, be j i ed by the D rsets the and to n c c on foe o for Wilts, i fli t su h a defeat the as sh uld shatter the first time the legen d Of their invincibility . n o n who on a These heathe N rseme , had l g h rried the land with c and o on o n n o for c a ruel widespread des lati , had Sh w regard sa red c or on had c and n c c and on pla es pers s, but sa ked bur ed hur hes m as teries and n on k and n un c on c n , had slai priest, m , su h ly es api g as could pick up the bones of their patron saints and flee into desert and n n n n n places . Religion lear i g alike were threate ed with exti ctio . n c to on of not Alfred tells us that, whe he ame the thr e Wessex, a scholar coul d he find south of the Thames ; few men south of the and not n n o of n n n n of Humber, ma y rth it, k ew the E glish mea i g n v c - oo or co n n c their Lati ser i e b ks, uld tra slate a Lati letter . Su h was the plight Of the Church which had sent out the learned Boniface to con n an d n c n Of o to c vert the Germa s, had give Al ui Y rk the servi e of o the Emper r Charlemagne . n t on n o n Alfred o ly thrashed the Da es , but he als made Christia s Of n the to n c o them , thus leadi g way a lasti g pea e with s me at least n o o b e co to o amo g them . M re ver mpelled them withdraw fr m the o of and o c of on on co n wh le Wessex fr m the ity L d , and nfi e their settlements to the north ‘ of the Thames ; and he made a compact an d o o n c E n n and n with them, pr p u ded laws by whi h glishme Da es i n on c a should live side by side reas able se urity . Thus he l id the o n on of new n n c son and f u dati s the E gla d, whi h his Edward his n on n n and d to gra ds s Athelsta , Edmu d, E red were build up stage by n f n n c n r a o stage i the first half o the Sple did te th e tu y .