Saint Guthlac of Crowland ( ang, Gūðlāc; la, Guthlacus; 674 – 3 April 714 CE) was a Christian
hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
and
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
from
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
in England. He is particularly venerated in
the Fens
The Fens, also known as the , in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a ...
of eastern England.
Life
![Vita-Guthlaci-Parker-Library-Corpus-Christi-Cambridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Vita-Guthlaci-Parker-Library-Corpus-Christi-Cambridge.png)
Guthlac was the son of Penwalh or Penwald, a noble of the English kingdom of
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era=Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, ye ...
, and his wife Tette. His sister is also venerated as St
Pega
Pega (c. 673 – c. 719) is a Christian saint who was an anchoress in the ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, and the sister of St Guthlac.
Life
The earliest source of information about Pega is in Felix's 8th-century Latin ''Life of Guthlac ...
. As a young man, Guthlac fought in the army of
Æthelred of Mercia
Æthelred (; died after 704) was king of Mercia from 675 until 704. He was the son of Penda of Mercia and came to the throne in 675, when his brother, Wulfhere of Mercia, died from an illness. Within a year of his accession he invaded Kent, wh ...
. He subsequently became a monk at
Repton Monastery in
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
at the age of 24, under the abbess there, Repton being a double monastery. Two years later he sought to live the life of a
hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
, and moved out to the island of
Croyland, now called Crowland, on
St Bartholomew's Day
Bartholomew (Aramaic: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماو ...
, 699. His early biographer Felix asserts that Guthlac could understand the ''strimulentes loquelas'' ("sibilant speech") of British-speaking demons who haunted him there, only because Guthlac had spent some time in exile among
Celtic Britons
The Britons ( *''Pritanī'', la, Britanni), also known as Celtic Britons or Ancient Britons, were people of Celtic language and culture who inhabited Great Britain from at least the British Iron Age and into the Middle Ages, at which point th ...
.
Guthlac built a small
oratory and
cells in the side of a plundered
barrow on the island. There he lived until his death on 11 April 714. Felix, writing within living memory of Guthlac, described his hermit's life:
Guthlac suffered from
ague and
marsh fever
The history of malaria extendes from its prehistoric origin as a zoonotic disease in the primates of Africa through to the 21st century. A widespread and potentially lethal human infectious disease, at its peak malaria infested every continent e ...
.
Guthlac's pious and holy ascetic life became the talk of the land, and many people visited Guthlac during his life to seek spiritual guidance from him. He gave sanctuary to
Æthelbald, future king of
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era=Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, ye ...
, who was fleeing from his cousin
Ceolred
Ceolred (died 716) was King of Mercia from 709 to 716.
Mercia at the end of the 7th century
By the end of the 7th century, England was almost entirely divided into kingdoms ruled by the Anglo-Saxons, who had come to Britain two hundred years ...
. Guthlac predicted that Æthelbald would become king, and Æthelbald promised to build him an
abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The conce ...
if his prophecy became true. Æthelbald indeed became king, and even though Guthlac had died two years before, he kept his word and started to build
Crowland Abbey
Crowland Abbey (also spelled Croyland Abbey, Latin: ''Croilandia'') is a Church of England parish church, formerly part of a Benedictine abbey church, in Crowland in the English county of Lincolnshire. It is a Grade I listed building.
History
A ...
on St Bartholomew's Day, 716. Guthlac's feast day is celebrated on 11 April.
![St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/St.Guthlac%27s_Cross_-_geograph.org.uk_-_593623.jpg)
The 8th-century Latin ''Vita sancti Guthlaci'', written by Felix, describes the entry of the demons into Guthlac's cell:
Felix records Guthlac's foreknowledge of his own death, conversing with angels in his last days. At the moment of death a sweet nectar-like odour emanated from his mouth, as his soul departed from his body in a beam of light while the angels sang. Guthlac had requested a lead coffin and linen winding sheet from Ecgburh, Abbess of
Repton Abbey
Repton Abbey was an Anglo-Saxon Benedictine abbey in Derbyshire, England. Founded in the 7th century, the abbey was a double monastery, a community of both monks and nuns. The abbey is noted for its connections to various saints and Mercian roya ...
, so that his funeral rites could be performed by his sister
Pega
Pega (c. 673 – c. 719) is a Christian saint who was an anchoress in the ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, and the sister of St Guthlac.
Life
The earliest source of information about Pega is in Felix's 8th-century Latin ''Life of Guthlac ...
. Arriving the day after his death, she found the island of Crowland filled with the scent of ambrosia. She buried the body on the mound after three days of prayer. A year later Pega had a divine calling to move the tomb and relics to a nearby chapel: Guthlac's body is said to have been discovered uncorrupted, his shroud shining with light. Subsequently Guthlac appeared in a miraculous vision to
Æthelbald, prophesying he would be future
King of Mercia
The Kingdom of Mercia was a state in the English Midlands from the 6th century to the 10th century. For some two hundred years from the mid-7th century onwards it was the dominant member of the Heptarchy and consequently the most powerful of the ...
. The cult of Guthlac continued amongst a monastic community at Crowland, with the eventual foundation of
Crowland Abbey
Crowland Abbey (also spelled Croyland Abbey, Latin: ''Croilandia'') is a Church of England parish church, formerly part of a Benedictine abbey church, in Crowland in the English county of Lincolnshire. It is a Grade I listed building.
History
A ...
as a
Benedictine Order
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
in 971. A series of fires at the abbey mean that few records survive from before the 12th century. It is known that in 1136 the remains of Guthlac were moved once more, and that finally in 1196 his shrine was placed above the main altar.
Other accounts
A short Old English sermon (
Vercelli
Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, ...
XXIII) and a longer prose translation into Old English are both based on Felix's ''Vita''. There are also two poems in Old English known as ''
Guthlac A'' and ''
Guthlac B
''Guthlac A'' and ''Guthlac B'' are a pair of Old English poems written in celebration of the deeds and death of Saint Guthlac of Croyland, a popular Mercian saint. The two poems are presented consecutively in the important Exeter Book miscellany o ...
'', part of the tenth century
Exeter Book
The Exeter Book, also known as the Codex Exoniensis or Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3501, is a large codex of Old English poetry, believed to have been produced in the late tenth century AD. It is one of the four major manuscripts of Old Engli ...
, the oldest surviving collection of English poetry. The relationship of ''Guthlac A'' to Felix's ''Vita'' is debated, but ''Guthlac B'' is based on Felix's account of the saint's death.
The story of Guthlac is told pictorially in the ''Guthlac Roll'', a set of detailed illustrations of the early 13th century. This is held in the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
, with copies on display in Crowland Abbey.
Another account, also dating from after the
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
, was included in the ''Ecclesiastical History'' of
Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis ( la, Ordericus Vitalis; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. Modern historia ...
, which like the ''Guthlac Roll'' was commissioned by the Abbot of Crowland Abbey. At a time when it was being challenged by the crown, the Abbey relied significantly on the cult of Guthlac, which made it a place of pilgrimage and healing. That is reflected in a shift in the emphasis from the earlier accounts of Felix and others. The post-conquest accounts portray him as a defender of the church rather than a saintly ascetic; instead of dwelling in an ancient burial mound, they depict Guthlac overseeing the building of a brick and stone chapel on the site of the abbey.
The Yorkshire village of
Golcar
Golcar (pronounced 'Go Car' or 'Golker') is a village on a hillside crest above the Colne Valley in West Yorkshire, England, west of Huddersfield, and just north of the River Colne and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.
The 2021 population censu ...
on the outskirts of Huddersfield is named after St Guthlac, who preached in the area during the 8th century. The name of the village is recorded in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
as Goullakarres.
It has been proposed that Shakespeare drew on a lost play based on St Guthlac when writing ''
The Tempest''.
For a discussion of the name “Guthlac” see Paul Cavill's essay "The naming of Guthlac".
St Guthlac Fellowship
![Quatrefoil, St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Quatrefoil%2C_St._Guthlac%2C_Croyland_Abbey.JPG)
Formed in 1987, St Guthlac Fellowship is a group of churches sharing a dedication to St Guthlac. Its fellows are these:
St Guthlac Fellowship
*Crowland Abbey
Crowland Abbey (also spelled Croyland Abbey, Latin: ''Croilandia'') is a Church of England parish church, formerly part of a Benedictine abbey church, in Crowland in the English county of Lincolnshire. It is a Grade I listed building.
History
A ...
, Crowland
Crowland (modern usage) or Croyland (medieval era name and the one still in ecclesiastical use; cf. la, Croilandia) is a town in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated between Peterborough and Spalding. Crowland c ...
, Lincolnshire
*St Guthlac's Church, Astwick
Astwick is a hamlet and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England about south-east of the county town of Bedford. Its population is included within Stotfold civil parish.
Geography
Astwick is by t ...
, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...
*All Saints' Parish Church, Branston, Lincolnshire
*Our Lady and St Guthlac Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
church, Deeping St James
Deeping St James is a large village in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish (including Frognall) was reported as 7,051 at the 2011 census.
History
Based around a now lost 12th-century Bened ...
, Lincolnshire
*St Guthlac's Church, Little Cowarne
Little Cowarne is a village and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England, and is north-east from the city and county town of Hereford. The closest town is the market town of Bromyard, to the north-east.
History
Cowarne is from the ...
, Herefordshire
Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...
* St Guthlac's Church, Market Deeping, Lincolnshire
*St Guthlac's Church, Fishtoft
Fishtoft is one of eighteen civil parishes which, together with Boston, form the Borough of Boston in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Local government has been arranged in this way since the reorganization of 1 April 1974, which resulted ...
, Lincolnshire
*St Guthlac's Church, Knighton, Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
*St Guthlac's Church, Little Ponton
Little Ponton is a village in the South Kesteven Non-metropolitan district, district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies south of Grantham, about above sea level. Its population is included in that of the civil parish of Little Ponton and Stroxt ...
, Lincolnshire
*St Guthlac's Church, Passenham
Passenham is a small village in the civil parish of Old Stratford in south-west Northamptonshire, England. It is just north of the River Great Ouse, which forms the boundary with Buckinghamshire, and close to (but separated by the river from) ...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
*St Guthlac's Church, Stathern, Leicestershire
*St Guthlac's Church, Branston
St Guthlac's Church is a church in Branston, Leicestershire. It is a Grade II* listed building.
History
The church dates from the 13th century but has 15th century additions. The nave roofs and the chancel were added in 1895-96 by Thomas Garner ...
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
Gallery
File:Guthlac-Contemplation-BL.jpg, Roundel from ''Guthlac Roll'', 1210: Guthlac in contemplation
File:Guthlac-Chapel-BL.jpg, Roundel from ''Guthlac Roll'', 1210: Guthlac builds a chapel at Crowland
File:Croyland Abbey & Parish Church of Crowland.JPG, Crowland Abbey
File:Croyland Abbey Coat of Arms.JPG, Coat of Arms at Crowland Abbey show scourges and the flaying knives of St Bartholomew
File:Guthlac-Stained-Glass-Crowland-Abbey.jpg, St Guthlac, stained glass, Crowland Abbey
File:Little Cowarne church and graveyard - geograph.org.uk - 1005928.jpg, St Guthlac's Church (12C), Little Cowarne, Herefordshire
Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...
File:St. Guthlac, the parish church of Astwick - geograph.org.uk - 1281480.jpg, St Guthlac's Church, Astwick
Astwick is a hamlet and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England about south-east of the county town of Bedford. Its population is included within Stotfold civil parish.
Geography
Astwick is by t ...
, Bedfordshire
Image:St Guthlac's Church, Stathern.jpg, St Guthlac's Church, Stathern, Leicestershire
Image:St Guthlacs church.jpg, St Guthlac's Church, Market Deeping
Market Deeping is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, on the north bank of the River Welland and the A15 road. The population of the town at the 2011 census was 6,008.
History
The town's mar ...
, Lincolnshire
File:St.Guthlac's church, Little Ponton, Lincs. - geograph.org.uk - 144537.jpg, St Guthlac's Church, Little Ponton
Little Ponton is a village in the South Kesteven Non-metropolitan district, district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies south of Grantham, about above sea level. Its population is included in that of the civil parish of Little Ponton and Stroxt ...
, Lincolnshire
File:St.Guthlac's church, Fishtoft - geograph.org.uk - 147445.jpg, St Guthlac's Church, Fishtoft
Fishtoft is one of eighteen civil parishes which, together with Boston, form the Borough of Boston in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Local government has been arranged in this way since the reorganization of 1 April 1974, which resulted ...
, Lincolnshire
File:Church of St Guthlac, Branston - geograph.org.uk - 1745446.jpg, All Saints' Church, Branston, Lincolnshire
File:St. Guthlac's, Passenham - geograph.org.uk - 1011237.jpg, St Guthlac's Church, Passenham
Passenham is a small village in the civil parish of Old Stratford in south-west Northamptonshire, England. It is just north of the River Great Ouse, which forms the boundary with Buckinghamshire, and close to (but separated by the river from) ...
, Northamptonshire
See also
* St Guthlac's Priory, Hereford
References
Further reading
Primary sources
*Felix, ''Vita Sancti Guthlaci'', early 8th-century Latin prose ''Life of St Guthlac'':
**Colgrave, Bertram (ed. and tr.). ''Felix's Life of Saint Guthlac''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1956
*Old English prose translation/adaptation (late 9th or early 10th century) of the ''Life of St Guthlac'' by Felix:
**Gonser, P. (ed.). ''Das angelsächsische Prosa-Leben des heiligen Guthlac''. Anglistische Forschungen 27. Heidelberg, 1909
**Goodwin, Charles Wycliffe (ed. and tr.) ''The Anglo-Saxon Version of the Life of St. Guthlac, Hermit of Crowland''. London, 1848
*Two chapters from the Old English prose adaptation as incorporated into Vercelli Homily 23
**Scragg, D. G. (ed.) ''The Vercelli Homilies and Related Texts''. EETS 300. Oxford: University Press, 1992
*'' Guthlac A'' and ''Guthlac B
''Guthlac A'' and ''Guthlac B'' are a pair of Old English poems written in celebration of the deeds and death of Saint Guthlac of Croyland, a popular Mercian saint. The two poems are presented consecutively in the important Exeter Book miscellany o ...
'' (Old English poems):
**Roberts, Jane (ed.) ''The Guthlac Poems of the Exeter Book''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1979
**Krapp, G. and E. V. K. Dobbie (eds.). ''The Exeter Book''. Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records 3. 1936. 49–88
**Bradley, S. A. J. (tr.) ''Anglo-Saxon Poetry''. London: Everyman, 1982
**
*''Harley Roll'' or ''Guthlac Roll'' (BL, Harleian Roll Y.6)
**Warner, G. F. (ed.). ''The Guthlac Roll''. Roxburghe Club, 1928. 25 plates in facsimile
Secondary sources
*
*Cubitt, Catherine. "Memory and narrative in the cult of early Anglo-Saxon saints" ''The Uses of the Past in the Early Middle Ages'', ed. Matthew Innes
*Olsen, Alexandra. ''Guthlac of Croyland: a Study of Heroic Hagiography''. Washington, 1981
*Powell, Stephen D. "The Journey Forth: Elegiac Consolation in ''Guthlac B''." ''English Studies'' 79 (1998), pp. 489–500
*Roberts, Jane. "The Old English Prose Translation of Felix’s ''Vita Sancti Guthlaci''" ''Studies in Earlier Old English Prose: Sixteen Original Contributions'', ed. Paul E. Szarmach. Albany, 1986, pp. 363–379
*Roberts, Jane. "An inventory of early Guthlac materials" ''Mediaeval Studies'' 32 (1970), pp. 193–233
*Sharma, Manish. "A Reconsideration of ''Guthlac A'': The Extremes of Saintliness". ''Journal of English and Germanic Philology'' 101 (2002), pp. 185–200
*Shook, Laurence K. "The Burial Mound in 'Guthlac A'". ''Modern Philology
''Modern Philology'' is a literary journal that was established in 1903. It publishes scholarly articles on literature, literary scholarship, history, and criticism in all modern world languages and book reviews of recent books as well as review ...
'' 58, 1 (August 1960), pp. 1–10
*Soon Ai, Low. "Mental Culturation in ''Guthlac B''". ''Neophilologus
''Neophilologus: An International Journal of Modern and Mediaeval Language and Literature'', is an ongoing peer-reviewed journal devoted to the study of modern and mediaeval languages and literature, including general linguistics, literary theory ...
'' 81 (1997), pp. 625–636
*Roberts, Jane. "Guthlac of Crowland, a Saint for Middle England." Fursey Occasional Paper 3. Norwich: Fursey Pilgrims, 2009. 1–3
*
*
External links
*
The Guthlac Roll, British Library online exhibition
The Guthlac Roll, full online facsimile
St Guthlac's Cross
Grade II listed site, English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
CatholicSaints.Info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guthlac
673 births
714 deaths
7th-century English people
8th-century English people
English hermits
Eastern Orthodox monks
East Anglian saints
Miracle workers
8th-century Christian saints
Incorrupt saints
People from Lincolnshire
Angelic visionaries