January 675-693 A.D. Earconwald—21st Bishop of London; Former Abbot of Chertsey Abbey, a Benedictine Abbey in Surrey; Buried in Old St. Paul’s, London

January 675-693 A.D. Earconwald—21^st Bishop of London;  Former Abbot of Chertsey Abbey, a Benedictine Abbey in Surrey; Buried in Old St. Paul’s, London

 

Earconwald

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Erkenwald
Bishop of London
Erkenwald teaching monks in a historiated initial from the Chertsey Breviary (c.1300)
Province	Canterbury
Diocese	London
Installed	675
Term ended	693
Predecessor	Wine
Successor	Waldhere
Other posts	Abbot of Chertsey
Orders
Consecration	circa 675
Personal details
Born	circa 630 Kingdom of Lindsey
Died	693 Barking Abbey
Buried	Old St Paul's Cathedral, London
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church
Sainthood
Feast day	13 May 24 April 30 April 14 November in England
Attributes	bishop in a small chariot, which he used for travelling his diocese; with Saint Ethelburga of Barking
Patronage	against gout
Shrines	St. Paul's, London

 

Erkenwald (also Ercenwald, Earconwald, Erkenwald, Eorcenwald orErconwald; died 693) was Bishop of London in the Anglo-Saxon Christian church between 675 and 693.

Life

Erkenwald was born at Lindsey,^[1] and was supposedly of royal ancestry.^[2]Erkenwald gave up his share of family money^{[citation needed]} to help establish two Benedictine abbeys, Chertsey Abbey in Surrey^[3] in 661 for men, and Barking Abbey for women.^[1][4] His sister, Æthelburg, was Abbess of Barking,^[1][5] while he served as Abbot of Chertsey.^[6]

In 675, Erkenwald became the Bishop of London, after Wine.^[7] He was the choice of Archbishop Theodore of Canterbury.^[6] While bishop, he contributed to King Ine of Wessex's law code, and is mentioned specifically in the code as a contributor.^[8] He is also reputed to have converted Sebba, King of the East Saxons to Christianity in 677.^{[citation needed]} Current historical scholarship credits Erkenwald with a large role in the evolution of Anglo-Saxon charters, and it is possible that he drafted the charter of Caedwalla to Farnham.^[5] King Ine of Wessex named Erkenwald as an advisor on his laws.^[9]

Erkenwald died in 693^[7] and his remains were buried at Old St Paul's Cathedral. His grave was a popular place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, and was destroyed together with a number of other tombs in the cathedral during the Reformation.^{[10][page needed]}

Erkenwald's feast day is 30 April, with translations being celebrated on 1 February and 13 May.^[2]

See also

• St. Erkenwald (poem)

Notes

1.     ^ Jump up to:^a b c Walsh A New Dictionary of Saints p. 182

2.     ^ Jump up to:^a b Farmer Oxford Dictionary of Saints p. 175

3.     Jump up^ Kirby Earliest English Kings p. 83

4.     Jump up^ Yorke "Adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon Royal Courts" Cross Goes North pp. 250–251

5.     ^ Jump up to:^a b Kirby Earliest English Kings p. 102

6.     ^ Jump up to:^a b Kirby Earliest English Kings pp. 95–96

7.     ^ Jump up to:^a b Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 219

8.     Jump up^ Yorke Conversion of Britain p. 235

9.     Jump up^ Kirby Earliest English Kings p. 103

10.  Jump up^ Thornbury, Walter Old and New London: Volume 1, 1878.

Bibliography

• Farmer, David Hugh (2004). Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Fifth ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-860949-0.
• Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
• Kirby, D. P. (2000). The Earliest English Kings. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-24211-8.
• Walsh, Michael J. (2007). A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West. London: Burns & Oats. ISBN 0-86012-438-X.
• Yorke, Barbara (2003). Martin Carver, ed. "The Adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon Royal Courts to Christianity". The Cross Goes North: Processes of Conversion in Northern Europe AD 300–1300. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press. pp. 244–257. ISBN 1-84383-125-2.
• Yorke, Barbara (2006). The Conversion of Britain: Religion, Politics and Society in Britain c. 600–800. London: Pearson/Longman.ISBN 0-582-77292-3.

External links

• Prosopography of Anglo Saxon England entry for Eorcenwald

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Wine	Bishop of London 675–693	Succeeded by Waldhere