The Council of Austerfield was an ecclesiastical
synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
held at
Austerfield
Austerfield is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It is to the north-east of the market town of Bawtry on the A614 road, and adjacent to the hamlet of Newington in Nottinghamshire, ...
, in southern
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
in 702 or 703.
The council was called by King
Aldfrith of Northumbria to discuss whether
Wilfrid
Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and ...
should be returned to the
see of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...
from which he had been expelled in 686. Wilfrid had appealed to the papacy around 700, and Pope
Sergius I had sent the matter back to Britain to be decided locally. This resulted in Aldfrith convening the council in either 702
[Stenton ''Anglo-Saxon England'' pp. 143–144] or 703 according to different sources.
[Farmer "Saint Wilfrid" ''Saint Wilfrid at Hexham'' pp. 52–53] The date of the council has been calculated from two pieces of information: that it took place 22 years after the decision to expel Wilfrid from York, around 679–680, and that Wilfrid had held episcopal office for almost 40 years when Austerfield was convened. This would make the date of the council sometime before 704.
[Cubitt ''Anglo-Saxon Church Councils'' p. 259]
The council was called at a place described as ''in campo qui Eostrefeld dicitur'' and ''in campo qui dicitur Oustraefelda'', which has led to the site of the council being identified with Austerfield near
Bawtry
Bawtry is a market town and civil parish in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It lies between Doncaster, Gainsborough and Retford, on the border with Nottinghamshire and close to Lincolnshire. The town is historically part of ...
in
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham.
In N ...
(formerly in the
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
). Another possible location is
Nosterfield
Nosterfield is a hamlet (place), hamlet within the civil parish of West Tanfield in the Hambleton District, Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England formerly used for quarrying.
Several of the buildings in the village including the public ...
near
Ripon
Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...
in the
North Riding of Yorkshire
The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres).
From the Restoration it was used as ...
. The main determining factor in favouring Austerfield over Nosterfield is that Nosterfield is not attested as a location before the 13th century.
[Cubitt ''Anglo-Saxon Church Councils'' pp. 302–303]
The council was presided over by
Berhtwald
Berhtwald (died 731) was the ninth Archbishop of Canterbury in England. Documentary evidence names Berhtwald as abbot at Reculver before his election as archbishop. Berhtwald begins the first continuous series of native-born Archbishops of Ca ...
, the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
.
[Kirby ''Earliest English Kings'' p. 121] It was attended by bishops from the entirety of the Anglo-Saxon church, both from Northumbria and from the southern part of Britain.
[Cubitt ''Anglo-Saxon Church Councils'' p. 13] Besides the bishops, abbots from monasteries in Britain are recorded as attending at Austerfield, and Wilfrid's biographer records that Wilfrid was accompanied by a number of priests and deacons.
[Cubitt ''Anglo-Saxon Church Councils'' p. 42] Laymen were also present, including King Aldfrith,
[Cubitt ''Anglo-Saxon Church Councils'' pp. 45, 48] as well as some of Aldfrith's
thegns.
[
One account of the council survives,][ that of Wilfrid's biographer, ]Stephen of Ripon
Stephen of Ripon was the author of the eighth-century hagiographic text ''Vita Sancti Wilfrithi'' ("Life of Saint Wilfrid"). Other names once traditionally attributed to him are Eddius Stephanus or Æddi Stephanus, but these names are no longer p ...
in the ''Vita Sancti Wilfrithi
The ''Vita Sancti Wilfrithi'' or ''Life of St Wilfrid'' (spelled "Wilfrid" in the modern era) is an early 8th-century hagiographic text recounting the life of the Northumbrian bishop, Wilfrid. Although a hagiography, it has few miracles, while i ...
''.[ Aldfrith and Berhtwald opposed Wilfrid's desire to return to York, but Wilfrid was supported by King Æthelred of Mercia, who had given Wilfrid shelter while he was in exile.][Kirby ''Earliest English Kings'' p. 108] Most of the bishops attending as well as some abbots appear to have opposed Wilfrid.[Cubitt ''Anglo-Saxon Church Councils'' pp. 50–52] According to Stephen, Wilfrid's opponents wanted to seize all Wilfrid's properties and offices, but Berhtwald offered a compromise that would have allowed Wilfrid to retain some monasteries but would have prevented him from performing the office of bishop. In response, Wilfrid gave a long speech that described all his career as a churchman.[ The main difficulty lay in Wilfrid's refusal to obey Berhtwald, who had archiepiscopal authority over him.][ The decision of the council was that Wilfrid should remain exiled from York and return to the monastery of Ripon and not leave and no longer be a bishop. Wilfrid disagreed with this decision and appealed to the papacy again.][
Wilfrid was eventually reconciled to the archbishop, bishops and laymen at the ]Council of Nidd
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
in 705.[
]
Citations
References
*
*
*
*
{{short description, 8th-century church council in Anglo-Saxon England
Austerfield
Austerfield is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It is to the north-east of the market town of Bawtry on the A614 road, and adjacent to the hamlet of Newington in Nottinghamshire, ...
Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England
Christianity in Yorkshire
History of Catholicism in England
Northumbria
700s
8th century in England
Austerfield
Austerfield is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It is to the north-east of the market town of Bawtry on the A614 road, and adjacent to the hamlet of Newington in Nottinghamshire, ...