Wilfrid

Wilfrid

Wilfrid was Bishop of Northumbria from 668 to 710. He was a champion of Roman customs against the customs of the British and Irish churches. Claimed to be the first Englishman to introduce the Rule of Saint Benedict into English monasteries. Died in 709 or 710 and was venerated as a saint.

About Wilfrid in brief

Summary WilfridWilfrid was Bishop of Northumbria from 668 to 710. He was a champion of Roman customs against the customs of the British and Irish churches. He claimed to be the first Englishman to introduce the Rule of Saint Benedict into English monasteries. Wilfrid died in 709 or 710 and was venerated as a saint. His followers commissioned Stephen of Ripon to write a Vita Sancti Wilfrithi shortly after his death, and the medieval historian Bede also wrote extensively about him. He lived ostentatiously, and travelled with a large retinue. During his lifetime Britain and Ireland consisted of a number of small kingdoms, but modern historiography has shown this is a more confused situation that is a result of a much simplification of the situation. Among the largest groups of Britons are the West Saxons, the East Saxons and the Mercians. Smaller groups include the Magonste, Lindsey, Hwicce, Humber and the Isle of Wight. There were also smaller groups that did not appear in histories that do not often appear in the native histories of the native Britons, but their size means that they were also often included in the lists of their own rulers, but not their own kingdoms. The population of Britain at the time was thought to have been divided into seven kingdoms; among these were the Hidage, the Humberans, the Angles, the West Angles and the Kentish. There was also a smaller group of smaller groups who had their own royalty but were later absorbed into larger kingdoms, such as the Magonte, the Lindsey, the South Saxon and the East Angles.

The people of the Middle East were thought to be divided into several smaller groups, but this is also a more simplification that is due to the fact that they did not often seem to be native Britons at the same time as the rest of the world. The king’s son, Alhfrith, was the son of Oswiu, who was a Northumbrian noble. He is said to have led an unsuccessful revolt against his father, leaving a question mark over his appointment as bishop. In 664 he spoke at the Synod of Whitby advocating that the Roman method for calculating the date of Easter should be adopted. He became famous for his speech and his success prompted theKing’s son to appoint him Bishop ofNorthumbria. He chose to be consecrated in Gaul because of the lack of what he considered to be validly consecrated bishops in England at that time. After becoming Archbishop of Canterbury in 668, Theodore of Tarsus resolved the situation by deposing Ceadda and restoring him as the Bishop. For the next nine years he discharged his episcopal duties, founded monastery, built churches, and improved the liturgy. However his diocese was very large, and Theodore wished to reform the English Church, which included breaking up some of the larger dioceses into smaller ones.