Aldhelm ( ang, Ealdhelm, la, Aldhelmus Malmesberiensis) (c. 63925 May 709),
Abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
of
Malmesbury Abbey
Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, is a religious house dedicated to Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul. It was one of the few English houses with a continuous history from the 7th century through to the dissolution ...
,
Bishop of Sherborne
The Bishop of Sherborne is an episcopal title which takes its name from the market town of Sherborne in Dorset, England. The see of Sherborne was established in around 705 by St Aldhelm, the Abbot of Malmesbury. This see was the mother diocese o ...
, and a writer and scholar of
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
poetry, was born before the middle of the 7th century. He is said to have been the son of Kenten, who was of the royal house of
Wessex
la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons
, common_name = Wessex
, image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg
, map_caption = S ...
.
[Walsh ''A New Dictionary of Saints'' pp. 21–22] He was certainly not, as his early biographer
Faritius
Faritius (also known as Faricius) (died 1117) was an Italian Benedictine Abbot of Abingdon and physician.
Life
Faricius was born in Arezzo, Tuscany, a Benedictine monk who became known as a skilful physician and man of letters. He was in England i ...
asserts, the brother of King
Ine
INE, Ine or ine may refer to:
Institutions
* Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center
* Instituto Nacional de Estadística (disambiguation)
* Instituto Nacional de Estatística (disambiguation)
* Instituto Nacional Elec ...
.
After his death he was venerated as a saint, his feast day being the day of his death, 25 May.
Life
Early life and education
Aldhelm received his first education in the school of the Irish scholar and monk
Máeldub (also ''Maildubh'', ''Maildulf'' or ''Meldun'') (died ),
["St. Aldhelm (709)", Athelstan Museum, Malmesbury]
/ref> who had settled in the British stronghold of Bladon (or ''Bladow'') on the site of the town called Mailduberi, Maldubesburg, Meldunesburg, etc., and finally Malmesbury
Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the up ...
, after him.
In 668, Pope Vitalian
Pope Vitalian ( la, Vitalianus; died 27 January 672) was the bishop of Rome from 30 July 657 to his death. His pontificate was marked by the dispute between the papacy and the imperial government in Constantinople over Monothelitism, which Rome ...
sent Theodore of Tarsus
Theodore of Tarsus ( gr, Θεόδωρος Ταρσοῦ; 60219 September 690) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 668 to 690. Theodore grew up in Tarsus, but fled to Constantinople after the Persian Empire conquered Tarsus and other cities. After ...
to be 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 ...
. At the same time the North African scholar Hadrian
Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
became abbot of St Augustine's at Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
. Aldhelm was one of his disciples,[ for he addresses him as the 'venerable preceptor of my rude childhood.' He must, nevertheless, have been thirty years of age when he began to study with Hadrian. His studies included ]Roman law
Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...
, astronomy, astrology, the art of reckoning and the difficulties of the calendar. He learned, according to the doubtful statements of the early lives, both Greek and Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
. He certainly introduces many Latinized Greek words into his works.
Ill health compelled Aldhelm to leave Canterbury and he returned to Malmesbury Abbey, where he was a monk under Máeldub for fourteen years, dating probably from 661 and including the period of his studies with Hadrian.
Abbot of Malmesbury
When Máeldub died, Aldhelm was appointed in 675,[ according to a charter of doubtful authenticity cited by ]William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a ...
, by Leuthere __NOTOC__
Leuthere (or Leutherius) was an Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester.
Leuthere was consecrated in 670. He died before 676.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 223 Bede records that he attended the Council of Hertford The ...
, Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...
(671–676), to succeed to the direction of the monastery, of which he became the first abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
.[
Aldhelm introduced the ]Benedictine rule
The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot.
The spirit of Saint Benedict's Ru ...
and secured the right of the election of the abbot by the monks themselves. The community at Malmesbury increased, and Aldhelm was able to found two other monasteries as centres of learning, at Frome
Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in eastern Somerset, England. The town is built on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, and centres on the River Frome. The town, about south of Bath, is the largest in the Mendip d ...
, Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
and at Bradford-on-Avon
Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon or Bradford upon Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset, which had a population of 9,402 at the 2011 census. The town's canal, historic buildings, s ...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
. Following a pilgrimage to Rome, he was given permission by Pope Sergius I
Pope Sergius I (8 September 701) was the bishop of Rome from 15 December 687 to his death, and is revered as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. He was elected at a time when two rivals, Paschal and Theodore, were locked in dispute about wh ...
in a Papal Bull of 701 to establish the monastery at Frome, where he had already built a church circa 685. The Anglo-Saxon building of St Laurence's Church, Bradford-on-Avon
St Laurence's Church, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, is one of very few surviving Anglo-Saxon churches in England that does not show later medieval alteration or rebuilding.
The church is dedicated to St Laurence and documentary sources suggest ...
dates back to his time, and may safely be regarded as his. At Malmesbury he built a new church to replace Máeldub's modest building,[ and obtained considerable grants of land for the monastery.] Aldhelm held this post until circa 705 when he became Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...
.
Easter controversy
Aldhelm was deputed by a synod of the church in Wessex to remonstrate with the Britons
British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mo ...
of Dumnonia
Dumnonia is the Latinised name for a Brythonic kingdom that existed in Sub-Roman Britain between the late 4th and late 8th centuries CE in the more westerly parts of present-day South West England. It was centred in the area of modern Devon, ...
(Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
and Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
) on the Easter controversy
The controversy over the correct date for Easter began in Early Christianity as early as the 2nd century AD. Discussion and disagreement over the best method of reform of the date of Easter, computing the date of Easter Sunday has been ongoing eve ...
. British Christians followed a unique system of calculation for the date of Easter and also bore a distinctive tonsure; these customs are generally associated with the practice known as Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity ( kw, Kristoneth; cy, Cristnogaeth; gd, Crìosdaidheachd; gv, Credjue Creestee/Creestiaght; ga, Críostaíocht/Críostúlacht; br, Kristeniezh; gl, Cristianismo celta) is a form of Christianity that was common, or held ...
. Aldhelm wrote a long and rather acrimonious letter to king Geraint of Dumnonia
Geraint (; died 710), known in Latin as Gerontius, was a King of Dumnonia who ruled in the early 8th century. During his reign, it is believed that Dumnonia came repeatedly into conflict with the neighbouring Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Wessex. Gerain ...
(Geruntius) achieving ultimate agreement with Rome.
Bishop of Sherborne
In 705, or perhaps earlier, Hædde
Hædde (died 705) was a medieval monk and Bishop of Winchester.
Life
Hædde is believed to have been born in Headingley, Leeds, and became a monk of Whitby Abbey.Benedictine Monks of Ramsgate. ''The Book of Saints'' p.254Hunt. ''Dictionary of N ...
, Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...
, died, and the diocese was divided into two parts. Sherborne
Sherborne is a market town and civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish includes the hamlets of Nether Coombe and Lower Clatcombe. T ...
was the new see, of which Aldhelm became the first bishop around 705.[Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 222] He wished to resign the abbey of Malmesbury which he had governed for thirty years, but yielding to the remonstrances of the monks he continued to direct it until his death. He was now an old man, but he showed great activity in his new functions. The cathedral church which he built at Sherborne, though replaced later by a Norman church, is described by William of Malmesbury. In his capacity as bishop, he displayed a great deal of energy. This included going into public places where he would sing hymns and passages from the gospels interspersed with bits of clowning to draw attention to his message.
Death and veneration
Aldhelm was on his rounds in his diocese when he died at the church in Doulting
Doulting is a village and civil parish east of Shepton Mallet, on the A361, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England.
History
The parish of Doulting was part of the Whitstone Hundred.
The parish includes the village of Bodden, which was ...
village in 709, the Church of St Aldhelm and St Aldhelm's Well
St Aldhelm's Well in Doulting, Somerset, England, is an ancient spring which is the source of the River Sheppey. The site is a Grade II listed building, although it is a medieval site, most of what remains has been rebuilt.
The well was named af ...
in the village are dedicated to him.[ The body was taken to Malmesbury, and crosses were set up by his friend, ]Egwin
Saint Egwin of Evesham, OSB (died 30 December 717) was a Benedictine monk and, later, the third Bishop of Worcester in England.
Life
Egwin was born in Worcester of a noble family, and was a descendant of Mercian kings. He may possibly have been ...
, Bishop of Worcester
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, at the various stopping-places. He was buried in the church of St Michael at Malmesbury Abbey
Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, is a religious house dedicated to Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul. It was one of the few English houses with a continuous history from the 7th century through to the dissolution ...
.[Blair "Handlist of Anglo-Saxon Saints" ''Local Saints and Local Churches'' p. 512] His biographers relate miracles due to his sanctity worked during his lifetime and at his shrine. The cape in Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
commonly known as St Alban's Head
St Alban's Head (corruption of St Aldhelms Head) is a headland located southwest of Swanage, on the coast of Dorset, England. It is the most southerly part of the Isle of Purbeck, Purbeck peninsula, and comprises an outcrop of Portland Stone fr ...
is more properly called St. Aldhelm's Head in his honour.
Aldhelm was revered as a 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 ...
after his death, with his feast day being celebrated on 25 May.[ His ]relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
s were translated in 980 by Dunstan
Saint Dunstan (c. 909 – 19 May 988) was an English bishop. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury, Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restor ...
, 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 ...
.[ He is commemorated by a statue in niche 124 of the West Front of ]Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury.
The buildi ...
. There is also a statue in Sherborne Abbey
Sherborne Abbey, otherwise the Abbey Church of St. Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England church in Sherborne in the English county of Dorset. It has been a Saxon cathedral (705–1075), a Benedictine abbey church (998–1539), and since 1539, ...
of Aldhelm, created in 2004 by Marzia Colonna.
Aldhelm's flag may be flown in his celebration. The flag, a white cross on a red background, is a colour reversed version of England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
's St. George flag.
Aldhelm is remembered
Recall in memory refers to the mental process of retrieval of information from the past. Along with encoding (memory), encoding and storage (memory), storage, it is one of the three core processes of memory. There are three main types of recall: ...
in the Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
with a commemoration
Commemoration may refer to:
*Commemoration (Anglicanism), a religious observance in Churches of the Anglican Communion
*Commemoration (liturgy), insertion in one liturgy of portions of another
*Memorialization
*"Commemoration", a song by the 3rd a ...
on 25 May.
Writings
Aldhelm's collected works were edited by Rudolf Ehwald, ''Aldhelmi opera'' (Berlin, 1919). An earlier edition by J. A. Giles
John Allen Giles (1808–1884) was an English historian. He was primarily known as a scholar of Anglo-Saxon language and history. He revised Stevens' translation of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' and Bede's ''Ecclesiastical History of the English ...
, ''Patres eccl. Angl.'' (Oxford, 1844) was reprinted by J. P. Migne
Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a u ...
in his '' Patrologiae Cursus,'' vol. 89 (1850).
Contemporary reputation
Aldhelm's fame as a scholar spread to other countries. Artwil, the son of an Irish king, submitted his writings for Aldhelm's approval, and Cellanus, an Irish monk from Peronne, was one of his correspondents. Aldhelm was the first Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
, so far as we know, to write in Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
verse, and his letter to Acircius (Aldfrith
Aldfrith (Early Modern Irish: ''Flann Fína mac Ossu''; Latin: ''Aldfrid'', ''Aldfridus''; died 14 December 704 or 705) was king of Northumbria from 685 until his death. He is described by early writers such as Bede, Alcuin and Stephen of Ripon ...
or Eadfrith, king of 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 ...
) is a treatise on Latin prosody for the use of his countrymen. In this work he included his most famous productions, one hundred and one riddles in Latin hexameters. Each of them is a complete picture, and one of them, ''De creatura
''De creatura'' ('On Creation') is an 83-line Latin polystichic poem by the seventh- to eighth-century Anglo-Saxon poet Aldhelm and an important text among Anglo-Saxon riddles. The poem seeks to express the wondrous diversity of creation, usually ...
'', runs to 83 lines.
That Aldhelm's merits as a scholar were early recognised in his own country is shown by the encomium of Bede
Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...
(''Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' ( la, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict be ...
'' 5.18), who speaks of him as a wonder of erudition. His fame reached Italy, and at the request of Pope Sergius I
Pope Sergius I (8 September 701) was the bishop of Rome from 15 December 687 to his death, and is revered as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. He was elected at a time when two rivals, Paschal and Theodore, were locked in dispute about wh ...
he paid a visit to Rome, of which, however, there is no notice in his extant writings. On his return, bringing with him privileges for his monastery and a magnificent altar, he received a popular ovation.
Aldhelm wrote in elaborate, grandiloquent and very difficult Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, known as hermeneutic style
The hermeneutic style is a style of Latin in the later Roman and early Medieval periods characterised by the extensive use of unusual and arcane words, especially derived from Greek. The style is first found in the work of Apuleius in the secon ...
. This ''verborum garrulitas'' shows the influence of Irish models and became England's dominant Latin style for centuries, though eventually it came to be regarded as barbarous. His works became standard school texts in monastic schools, until his influence declined around the time of the Norman Conquest.
Modern reputation
Modern historians have contrasting views of his writings. Peter Hunter Blair
Peter Hunter Blair (22 March 1912 – 9 September 1982) was an English academic and historian specializing in the Anglo-Saxon period. In 1969 he married his third wife, the children's author Pauline Clarke. She edited his ''Anglo-Saxon Northumbri ...
compares him unfavourably to Bede: "In the mind of his older contemporary, Aldhelm, learning of equal depth produced little more than an extravagant form of intellectual curiosity...Like Bede he drank deeply from the streams of Irish and Mediterranean scholarship, but their waters produced in him a state of intellectual intoxication which delighted its beholders, but which left little to posterity." However, Michael Lapidge Michael Lapidge, FBA (born 8 February 1942) is a scholar in the field of Medieval Latin literature, particularly that composed in Anglo-Saxon England during the period 600–1100 AD; he is an emeritus Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, a Fellow of ...
praises his immense learning, observing that his knowledge of Latin texts is greater than any other pre-Conquest Anglo-Saxon writer, and that "the originality and importance of his corpus of Latin writings well justifies his status as the first English man of letters".
Prose
*''De Laude Virginitatis'' (the prose ''De Virginitate''), a Latin treatise on virginity addressed to the nuns of the double monastery at Barking
Barking may refer to:
Places
* Barking, London, a town in East London, England
** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking
** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...
, is Aldhelm's best-known work. After a long preface extolling the merits of virginity, he commemorates a great number of male and female saints. Aldhelm later wrote a shorter, poetic version (see below).
*''Epistola ad Acircium
The ''Epistola ad Acircium, sive Liber de septenario, et de metris, aenigmatibus ac pedum regulis'' ('letter to Acircius, or the book on sevens, and on metres, riddles, and the regulation of poetic feet') is a Latin treatise by the West-Saxon sch ...
'', a Latin treatise dedicated to one Acircius, understood to be King Aldfrith of Northumbria
Aldfrith (Early Modern Irish: ''Flann Fína mac Ossu''; Latin: ''Aldfrid'', ''Aldfridus''; died 14 December 704 or 705) was king of Northumbria from 685 until his death. He is described by early writers such as Bede, Alcuin and Stephen of Ripon ...
(r. 685-704/5). The chief source of his ''Epistola ad Acircium'' (ed. A. Mai, ''Class. Auct.'' vol. V) is Priscian
Priscianus Caesariensis (), commonly known as Priscian ( or ), was a Latin grammarian and the author of the ''Institutes of Grammar'', which was the standard textbook for the study of Latin during the Middle Ages. It also provided the raw materia ...
. The acrostic introduction gives the sentence, 'Aldhelmus cecinit millenis versibus odas,' whether read from the initial or final letters of the lines. After an address to King Aldfrith, the letter consists of three treatises:
**''De septenario'', treatise on the number seven in arithmology
**''De metris'', treatise on metre, including the ''Enigmata'' (see below).
**''De pedum regulis'', didactive treatise on metrical feet
The foot is the basic repeating metre (poetry), rhythmic unit that forms part of a line of poetry, verse in most Indo-European languages, Indo-European traditions of poetry, including English accentual-syllabic verse and the quantitative meter of ...
, such as iambs and spondees.
*Other Letters. Correspondents include Bishop Leuthere __NOTOC__
Leuthere (or Leutherius) was an Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester.
Leuthere was consecrated in 670. He died before 676.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 223 Bede records that he attended the Council of Hertford The ...
, Hadrian
Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
, King Geraint of Dumnonia
Geraint (; died 710), known in Latin as Gerontius, was a King of Dumnonia who ruled in the early 8th century. During his reign, it is believed that Dumnonia came repeatedly into conflict with the neighbouring Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Wessex. Gerain ...
, Eahfrid, Cellanus, Sergius and Aldhelm's pupils Wihtfrith and Æthelwald who was responsible for part of the ''Carmen rhythmicum''.
**The letter to King Geraint of Dumnonia
Geraint (; died 710), known in Latin as Gerontius, was a King of Dumnonia who ruled in the early 8th century. During his reign, it is believed that Dumnonia came repeatedly into conflict with the neighbouring Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Wessex. Gerain ...
was supposed to have been destroyed by the Britons (William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a ...
, '' Gesta pontificum Anglorum'' p. 361), but was discovered with others of Aldhelm's in the correspondence of St Boniface
Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...
, archbishop of Mainz
The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...
.
**A long letter to Eahfrid, a scholar just returned from Ireland (first printed in Usher, ''Veterum Epistt. Hiber. Sylloge,'' 1632), is of interest as casting light on the relations between English and Irish scholars.
Poetry
*''Carmen de virginitate'' (the poetic ''De Virginitate''). Aldhelm wrote a shorter, poetic version of ''De Laude Virginitatis'', which closes with a battle of the virtues against the vices, the ''De octo principalibus vitiis'' (first printed by Delrio, Mainz, 1601). The two works are what is sometimes called an ''opus geminatum'' or "twin work".
*''Carmen rhythmicum'', rhythmic poem which describes a travel through western England and the way a wooden church was affected by a storm.
*''Carmina ecclesiastica'' (modern title), i.e. a number of Latin ''tituli'' designed for inscription on a church or altar. They are: (1) ''In Basilica Sanctorum Petri et Pauli'', for a church dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, possibly the church which Aldhelm founded at Malmesbury, (2) ''In Basilica Beatae Mariae Semper Virginis'', St Mary's Church, possibly also at Malmesbury, (3) ''In Ecclesia Mariae a Bugge Extructa'', for the church built by Bugga, that is Eadburh of Minster-in-Thanet, a royal lady of the house of Wessex, (4) the twelve ''tituli'' known collectively as ''In Duodecim Apostolorum Aris'' and (5) ''In sancti Matthiae Apostoli Ecclesia''.
*''Aenigmata'', one hundred riddles included in the ''Epistola ad Acircium
The ''Epistola ad Acircium, sive Liber de septenario, et de metris, aenigmatibus ac pedum regulis'' ('letter to Acircius, or the book on sevens, and on metres, riddles, and the regulation of poetic feet') is a Latin treatise by the West-Saxon sch ...
''.
Lost works
According to William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a ...
, Aldhelm also wrote poetry in Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
and set his own compositions to music, but none of his songs, which were still popular in the time of Alfred
Alfred may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series
* ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne
* ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák
*"Alfred (Interlu ...
, have come down to us. Finding his people slow to come to church, he is said to have stood at the end of a bridge singing songs in the vernacular, thus collecting a crowd to listen to exhortations on sacred subjects.
Churches dedicated to St Aldhelm
File:Bristol St Aldhelm's Church, Chessels - geograph.org.uk - 68481.jpg, Bedminster, Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
File:Belchalwell CH.JPG, St Aldhelm's Church, Belchalwell
Belchalwell is a small village in the civil parish of Okeford Fitzpaine in the Blackmore Vale, North Dorset, England. It lies south of Sturminster Newton and northwest of Blandford Forum. Belchalwell Street is sited on Upper Greensand, with ...
, Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
File:St. Aldhelm's church - geograph.org.uk - 1734858.jpg, Bishopstrow
Bishopstrow is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, on the southeastern edge of the town of Warminster. The village is about from the town centre, south of the old Warminster to Salisbury road, formerly the A36, now the B3414. ...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
File:Boveridge, former church of St. Aldhelm - geograph.org.uk - 502281.jpg, St Aldhelm's Church, Boveridge, Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
File:St Adhelm and St Eadburga church Broadway.jpg, Church of St Aldhelm and St Eadburgha, Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
, Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
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, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
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File:Chilcompton St Aldhelm's Church - geograph.org.uk - 137562.jpg, Chilcompton
Chilcompton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated in the Mendip Hills two miles south of Midsomer Norton and 3.0 miles south-west of Westfield. It is situated on the B3139 road between Radstock and Wells, close to the A ...
, Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
File:St Aldhelms church Doulting.jpg, Church of St Aldhelm, Doulting
Doulting is a village and civil parish east of Shepton Mallet, on the A361, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England.
History
The parish of Doulting was part of the Whitstone Hundred.
The parish includes the village of Bodden, which was ...
, Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
File:St Aldhelm, Silver Street, Edmonton (geograph 2486882).jpg, Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
File:St Aldhelm's Chapel, Lytchett Heath - geograph.org.uk - 164231.jpg, St Aldhelm's Church, Lytchett Heath
Lytchett Heath is an area of woods and farmland on the Dorset Heaths between the villages of Lytchett Matravers, Lytchett Minster and the hamlet of Beacon Hill in the county of Dorset, England.Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 ''Landranger'' map series, N ...
, Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
File:St Aldhelm's Catholic Church Malmesbury.jpg, St Aldhelm's Church, Malmesbury
Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the up ...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
File:St Aldhelm, Branksome, Dorset (geograph 6336405).jpg, St Aldhelm's Church, Poole
St Aldhelm's Church is a Grade II* listed Gothic Revival Anglican church in the Branksome area of Poole, Dorset, England.
History
The church was built 1892-94 by George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner
Thomas Garner (1839–1906) w ...
File:St.Aldhelm's Church, Spa Lane, Radipole - geograph.org.uk - 509961.jpg, St Aldhelm's Church, Radipole, Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
File:St Aldhelm, Sandleheath - geograph.org.uk - 1508898.jpg, Sandleheath
Sandleheath is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish about west of Fordingbridge in the New Forest (district), New Forest District of Hampshire, England. It has a population of 663, increasing to 680 at the 2011 Census. It lie ...
, Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
File:St albans head chapel.jpg, St. Aldhelm's Chapel, Worth Matravers
Worth Matravers () is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the England, English county of Dorset. The village is situated on the cliffs west of Swanage. It comprises limestone cottages and farm houses and is built around a pon ...
, Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
Editions and translations
Complete works
*Ehwald, Rudolf (ed.). ''Aldhelmi Opera''. MGH Scriptores. Auctores antiquissimi 15. Berlin, 1919
Scans available from the Digital MGH
*''Aldhelm: The Prose Works.'' Trans. Michael Lapidge and Michael Herren. D. S. Brewer, 1979. .
*''Aldhelm: The Poetic Works.'' Trans. Michael Lapidge Michael Lapidge, FBA (born 8 February 1942) is a scholar in the field of Medieval Latin literature, particularly that composed in Anglo-Saxon England during the period 600–1100 AD; he is an emeritus Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, a Fellow of ...
and James L. Rosier. Boydell & Brewer, 1984. .
''Prosa de virginitate''
*Gwara, Scott (ed.), ''Aldhelmi Malmesbiriensis Prosa de virginitate: cum glosa latina atque anglosaxonica'', 2 vols, Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina, 124, 124a (Turnhout: Brepols, 2001).
The ''Enigmata''
* ''The Riddles of Aldhelm.'' Text and translation by James Hall Pittman. Yale University Press, 1925.
* ''Through a Gloss Darkly: Aldhelm’s Riddles in the British Library ms Royal 12.C.xxiii'', ed. and trans. by Nancy Porter Stork, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Studies and Texts, 98 (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1990).
* ''Saint Aldhelm's Riddles'' Translated by A.M. Juster, University of Toronto Press, 2015, .
See also
*Leiden Glossary
The ''Leiden Glossary'' is a glossary contained in a manuscript in Leiden University Library in the Netherlands, Voss. Lat. Q. 69. The Lemma (morphology), lemmata (headword, headwords) come from "a range of biblical, grammatical, and patristic text ...
Citations
Sources
*
*
* Holweck, F.G. ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co., 1924.
*
*
* Lapidge, Michael. "The Career of Aldhelm." ''Anglo-Saxon England'' 36 (2007): 15–69.
* Marenbon, John, "Les Sources du Vocabulaire d'Aldhelm" in ''Bulletin du Cange: Archivvm Latinitatis Medii Aevi'' MCMLXXVII- MCMLXXVIII. Tome XLI. E.J.Brill, Leiden. 1979.
* Orchard, Andy. ''The Poetic Art of Aldhelm.'' Cambridge University Press, 1994. .
* Walsh, Michael. ''A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West''. London: Burns & Oates, 2007.
* G.T. Dempsey. ''Aldhelm of Malmesbury and the Ending of Late Antiquity'' (= Studia Traditionis Theologiae 16), Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2015.
External links
*
Codex Lambethanus 200, f. 68b
Catholic Online Saints and Angels: St. Aldhelm
St Aldhelm's Obelisk dedicated in Poole, England
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldhelm
639 births
709 deaths
Abbots of Malmesbury
West Saxon saints
Anglo-Saxon Benedictines
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