__NOTOC__ Æthelric (or Brihtmær) was a medieval

Bishop of Dorchester The modern Bishop Suffragan of Dorchester in the Diocese of Oxford, usually contracted to Bishop of Dorchester, is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The ...

, when the town was seat of the united dioceses of

Lindsey Lindsey may refer to : Places Canada * Lindsey Lake, Nova Scotia England * Parts of Lindsey, one of the historic Parts of Lincolnshire and an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 ** East Lindsey, an administrative district in Lincolnshire, ...

and Dorchester. Æthelric was consecrated in 1016 and died on 8 December 1034.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 215 When Æthelric was young, he was educated at

Abingdon Abbey Abingdon Abbey ( '' " St Mary's Abbey " '' ) was a Benedictine monastery located in the centre of Abingdon-on-Thames beside the River Thames. The abbey was founded c.675 AD in honour of The Virgin Mary. The Domesday Book of 1086 informs ...

. A story about him claims that one day he and three other boys caused trouble by ringing the bell very hard. The bell cracked, and it was very expensive to replace. When the abbot learned what happened, he decided to pardon them because they were young aristocrats and when they were older, they were likely to pay far more than the value of this bell in gifts to the monastery. In another story, when Æthelric was bishop during the time of King

Cnut Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norwa ...

, one day he was travelling with Cnut and stayed the night in the house of a rich Dane. The Dane got drunk and offered to sell an estate for 50 marks. Æthelric, perhaps wishing to clinch the deal before the man became sober, then quickly sent a messenger to Cnut to ask for help. The king was playing a game of chess, but he offered the money to Æthelric, who then finalized the purchase. Studies in the Early History of Shaftesbury Abbey, Dorset County Council, 1999

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* Bishops of Dorchester (Mercia) 1034 deaths Year of birth unknown {{England-bishop-stub