__NOTOC__ Æthelric (or Brihtmær) was a medieval Bishop of Dorchester, 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 (formally Abbey of Saint Mary) was a Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Abingdon-on-Thames in the modern county of Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. Situated near to the River Thames, it was founded in 675 AD and was ...

. 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 ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...

, 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