Cedd ( la, Cedda, Ceddus; 620 – 26 October 664) was an
Anglo-Saxon monk and bishop from the
Kingdom 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 ...
. He was an
evangelist of the
Middle Angles
The Middle Angles were an important ethnic or cultural group within the larger kingdom of Mercia in England in the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon period.
Origins and territory
It is likely that Angles broke into the English Midlands, Midlands from ...
and
East Saxons
la, Regnum Orientalium Saxonum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the East Saxons
, common_name = Essex
, era = Heptarchy
, status =
, status_text =
, government_type = Monarch ...
in
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 ...
and a significant participant in the
Synod of Whitby
In the Synod of Whitby in 664, King Oswiu of Northumbria ruled that his kingdom would calculate Easter and observe the monastic tonsure according to the customs of Rome rather than the customs practiced by Irish monks at Iona and its satellite ins ...
, a meeting which resolved important differences within the Church in England. He is
venerated
Veneration ( la, veneratio; el, τιμάω ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Etym ...
in the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
Anglicanism, and the
Orthodox Church
Orthodox Church may refer to:
* Eastern Orthodox Church
* Oriental Orthodox Churches
* Orthodox Presbyterian Church
* Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand
* State church of the Roman Empire
* True Orthodox church
See also
* Orthodox (di ...
.
Background
The little that is known about Cedd comes to us mainly from the writing of
Bede in his ''
Ecclesiastical History of the English People
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 b ...
''. The following account is based entirely on Book 3 of Bede's History.
Cedd was born in the kingdom of Northumbria and brought up on the island of
Lindisfarne by
Aidan of
the Irish Church. He had three brothers:
Chad of Mercia
Chad of Mercia (died 2 March 672) was a prominent 7th-century Anglo-Saxon Catholic monk who became abbot of several monasteries, Bishop of the Northumbrians and subsequently Bishop of the Mercians and Lindsey People. He was later canonised ...
(transcribed into Bede's Latin text as Ceadda),
Cynibil
Cynibil was one of four Northumbrian brothers named by Bede as prominent in the early Anglo-Saxon Church. The others were Chad of Mercia
Chad of Mercia (died 2 March 672) was a prominent 7th-century Anglo-Saxon Catholic monk who became abb ...
and
Cælin
Cælin was one of four brothers named by Bede as active in the early Anglo-Saxon Church. The others were Cedd, Chad, and Cynibil.
The name Caelin is a spelling variant of the name of a West Saxon king Ceawlin, and is of Celtic rather than Anglo- ...
).
All four were priests and both Cedd and Chad became bishops. Despite being of apparent Northumbrian birth, the names of all four brothers are
British Celtic in origin, rather than Anglo-Saxon. The first datable reference to Cedd by Bede makes clear that he was a priest by the year 653.
This probably pushes his birth date back to the early 620s. It is likely that Cedd was oldest of the brothers and was acknowledged the head of the family. He seems to have taken the lead, while Chad was his chosen successor.
Aidan had come to Northumbria from
Iona, bringing with him a set of practices that are known as the
Celtic Rite
The term "Celtic Rite" is applied to the various liturgical rites used in Celtic Christianity in Britain, Ireland and Brittany and the monasteries founded by St. Columbanus and Saint Catald in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy during the ...
. As well as superficial differences over the
Computus (calculation of the date of
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
), and the cut of the
tonsure
Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice i ...
, these involved a pattern of Church organization fundamentally different from the
diocesan structure that was evolving on the continent of Europe. Activity was based in monasteries, which supported peripatetic missionary bishops. There was a strong emphasis on personal
asceticism, on Biblical
exegesis
Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
, and on
eschatology
Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...
. Aidan was well known for his personal austerity and disregard for the trappings of wealth and power. Bede several times stresses that Cedd and Chad absorbed his example and traditions. Bede tells us that Chad and many other Northumbrians went to study with the Irish after the death of Aidan (651).
Cedd is not mentioned as one of the wandering scholars. He is portrayed by Bede as very close to Aidan's successor, Finan. So it is highly likely that he owed his entire formation as a priest and scholar to Aidan and to
Lindisfarne.
Mission to Mercia
In 653, Cedd was sent by
Oswiu
Oswiu, also known as Oswy or Oswig ( ang, Ōswīg; c. 612 – 15 February 670), was King of Bernicia from 642 and of Northumbria from 654 until his death. He is notable for his role at the Synod of Whitby in 664, which ultimately brought the chu ...
of Northumberland with three other priests to evangelise the
Middle Angles
The Middle Angles were an important ethnic or cultural group within the larger kingdom of Mercia in England in the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon period.
Origins and territory
It is likely that Angles broke into the English Midlands, Midlands from ...
,
who were one of the core ethnic groups 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=
, ...
, based on the mid-
Trent Valley
The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...
.
Peada of Mercia
Peada (died 656), a son of Penda, was briefly King of southern Mercia after his father's death in November 655The year could be pushed back to 654 if a revised interpretation of Bede's dates is used. and until his own death in the spring of the n ...
, son of
Penda
Penda (died 15 November 655)Manuscript A of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' gives the year as 655. Bede also gives the year as 655 and specifies a date, 15 November. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology and History'', 1934) put forward the theor ...
, was sub-king of the Middle Angles. Peada had agreed to become a
Christian in return for the hand of Oswiu's daughter, Alchflaed (c.635-c.714) in marriage. This was a time of growing Northumbrian power, as Oswiu reunited and consolidated the Northumbrian kingdom after its earlier (641/2) defeat by Penda. Peada travelled to Northumbria to negotiate his marriage and baptism.
Cedd, together with the priests, Adda, Betti and
Diuma __NOTOC__
Diuma (or Dwyna or Duma) was the first Bishop of Mercia in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercia, during the Early Middle Ages.
All that is known of Diuma's life is contained in a short account in Bede's ''Ecclesiastical History of the Eng ...
, accompanied Peada back to Middle Anglia, where they won numerous converts of all classes. Bede relates that the pagan Penda did not obstruct preaching even among his subjects in Mercia proper, and portrays him as generally sympathetic to Christianity at this point – a very different view from the general estimate of Penda as a devoted pagan. But, the mission apparently made little headway in the wider Mercian polity. Bede credits Cedd's brother Chad with the effective evangelization of Mercia more than a decade later. To make progress among the general population, Christianity appeared to need positive royal backing, including grants of land for monasteries, rather than a benign attitude from leaders.
Bishop of the East Saxons
Cedd was soon recalled from the mission to Mercia by Oswiu, who sent him on a mission with one other priest to the
East Saxon kingdom. The priests had been requested by
Sigeberht the Good
Sigeberht II, nicknamed the Good (''Bonus'') or the Blessed (''Sanctus''), was King of the East Saxons (r. ''c''. 653 to ? 660 x 661), in succession to his relative Sigeberht I the Little. Although a bishopric in Essex had been created under Mel ...
to reconvert his people.
The East Saxon kingdom was originally converted by missionaries from
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a 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.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
, where
Augustine of Canterbury had established a Roman mission in 597. The first bishop of the
Roman Rite was
Mellitus
Saint Mellitus (died 24 April 624) was the first bishop of London in the Saxon period, the third Archbishop of Canterbury, and a member of the Gregorian mission sent to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism to Chris ...
, who arrived in Essex in 604. After a decade, he was driven out of the area. The religious destiny of the kingdom was constantly in the balance, with the royal family itself divided among Christians, pagans, and some wanting to tolerate both.
Bede tells us that Sigeberht's decision to be baptized and to reconvert his kingdom was at the initiative of Oswiu. Sigeberht travelled to Northumbria to accept
baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
from Bishop
Finan of Lindisfarne
Finan of Lindisfarne (died 10 or 17 February 661), also known as Saint Finan, was an Irish monk, trained at Iona Abbey in Scotland, who became the second bishop of Lindisfarne from 651 until 661.
Life
Finan was appointed to Lindisfarne in 651 ...
. Cedd went to the East Saxons partly as an emissary of the Northumbrian monarchy. Certainly his prospects were helped by the continuing military and political success of Northumbria, especially the final defeat of Penda in 655. Practically, Northumbria gained hegemony among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
After making some conversions, Cedd returned to Lindisfarne to report to Finan. In recognition of his success, Finan ordained him bishop, calling in two other Irish bishops to assist at the rite. Cedd was appointed
bishop
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 c ...
of the East Saxons. As a result, he is generally listed among the bishops of London, a part of the East Saxon kingdom. Bede, however, generally uses ethnic descriptions for episcopal responsibilities when dealing with the generation of Cedd and Chad.
Bede's record makes clear that Cedd demanded personal commitment and that he was unafraid to confront the powerful. He
excommunicated
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
a
thegn
In Anglo-Saxon England, thegns were aristocratic landowners of the second rank, below the ealdormen who governed large areas of England. The term was also used in early medieval Scandinavia for a class of retainers. In medieval Scotland, there ...
who was in an unlawful marriage and forbade Christians to accept the man's hospitality. According to Bede, when Sigeberht continued to visit the man's home, Cedd went to the house to denounce the king, foretelling that he would die in that house. Bede asserts that the King's subsequent murder (660) was his penance for defying Cedd's injunction.
After the death of Sigeberht, there were signs that Cedd had a more precarious position. The new king,
Swithhelm of Essex, who had assassinated Sigeberht, was a pagan. He had long been a client of
Æthelwold of East Anglia
Æthelwold, also known as Æthelwald or Æþelwald (Old English: ''Æþelwald'' "noble ruler"; reigned c. 654 – 664), was a 7th-century king of East Anglia, the long-lived Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfo ...
, who was increasingly dependent on
Wulfhere of Mercia
Wulfhere or Wulfar (died 675) was King of Mercia from 658 until 675 AD. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he converted from Anglo-Saxon paganism. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of Nort ...
, the Christian king of a newly resurgent Mercia. After some persuasion from Ethelwald, Swithelm accepted baptism from Cedd. The bishop traveled into East Anglia to baptize the king at Ethelwald's home. For a time, the East Saxon kingdom remained Christian.
Bede presents Cedd's work as decisive in the conversion of the East Saxons, although it was preceded by other missionaries, and eventually followed by a revival of paganism. Despite the substantial work, the future suggested that all could be undone.
Monastic foundations
Cedd founded many churches. He also founded monasteries at Tilaburg (probably
East Tilbury
East Tilbury is a village and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock borough, Essex, England, and one of the traditional Church of England parishes in Thurrock. In 1931 the parish had a population of 353.
History
In Saxon ti ...
, but possibly
West Tilbury
West Tilbury is a village and former civil parish on the top of and on the sides of a tall river terrace overlooking the River Thames. Part of the modern town of Tilbury (including part of Tilbury Fort) is within the traditional parish of We ...
) and Ithancester (almost certainly
Bradwell-on-Sea
Bradwell-on-Sea is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. The village is on the Dengie peninsula. It is located about north-northeast of Southminster and is east from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the District of Mal ...
).
Cedd was appointed as abbot of the monastery of
Lastingham
Lastingham is a village and civil parish which lies in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is on the southern fringe of the North York Moors, north-east of Kirkbymoorside, and to the east of Hutton-le-Hole. It was home to th ...
in his native Northumbria at the request of the sub-king
Œthelwald of Deira
Œthelwald was a King of Deira (651–c. 655). He was the son of King Oswald of Northumbria, who was killed at the Battle of Maserfield in 642.
After Oswine of Deira was killed by Oswiu of Bernicia in 651, Œthelwald became king; it is uncerta ...
. Bede records the foundation of this monastery in some detail,
showing that Ethelwald was put in contact with Cedd through Caelin, one of the bishop's brothers, who was on the king's staff. Cedd undertook a 40-day fast to purify the site, although urgent royal business took him away after 30 days, and Cynibil took over the fast for him.
Cedd occupied the position of abbot of Lastingham to the end of his life, while maintaining his position as missionary bishop and diplomat. He often traveled far from the monastery in fulfillment of these other duties. His brother Chad, who succeeded him as abbot, did the same. Cedd and his brothers regarded Lastingham as a monastic base,
providing intellectual and spiritual support, and a place of
retreat. Cedd delegated daily care of Lastingham to other priests, and it is likely that Chad operated similarly.
Final years
Cedd had been brought up in the
Celtic Rite
The term "Celtic Rite" is applied to the various liturgical rites used in Celtic Christianity in Britain, Ireland and Brittany and the monasteries founded by St. Columbanus and Saint Catald in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy during the ...
, which differed from the
Roman Rite in the dating of the religious calendar and other practices, including the
tonsure
Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice i ...
of monks. Supporters of each rite met at a council within the Northumbrian kingdom known as the
Synod of Whitby
In the Synod of Whitby in 664, King Oswiu of Northumbria ruled that his kingdom would calculate Easter and observe the monastic tonsure according to the customs of Rome rather than the customs practiced by Irish monks at Iona and its satellite ins ...
. The proceedings of the council were hampered by the participants' mutual incomprehension of each other's languages, which probably included
Old Irish
Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...
,
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 settlers in the mid-5th c ...
,
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
and
Old Welsh, as well as
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 ...
. Bede recounted that Cedd interpreted for both sides. Cedd's facility with the languages, together with his status as a trusted royal emissary, likely made him a key figure in the negotiations. His skills were seen as an eschatological sign of the presence of the
Holy Spirit, in contrast to the Biblical account of the
Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel ( he, , ''Mīgdal Bāḇel'') narrative in Genesis 11:1–9 is an origin myth meant to explain why the world's peoples speak different languages.
According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language and mi ...
. When the council ended, Cedd returned to Essex.
According to Bede, Cedd accepted the Roman dating of the observance of Easter. He returned to his work as bishop, abandoning the practices of the Irish of
Dál Riata
Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is n ...
.
A short time later, he returned to Northumbria and the monastery at Lastingham. He fell ill with the
plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
and died on 26 October 664.
[Powicke ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 238] Bede records that immediately after Cedd's death a party of thirty monks travelled up from Essex to Lastingham to do homage. All but one small boy died there, also of the plague. Cedd was initially buried at Lastingham in a grave. Later, when a stone church was built, his body was moved and re-interred in a shrine inside the church of the monastery. Chad succeeded his brother as abbot at Lastingham.
King Swithhelm of Essex died at about the same time as Cedd. He was succeeded by the joint kings
Sighere and
Sæbbi. Some people reverted to paganism, which Bede said was due to the effects of the plague. Mercia under King
Wulfhere
Wulfhere or Wulfar (died 675) was King of Mercia from 658 until 675 AD. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he converted from Anglo-Saxon paganism. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of Nort ...
was the dominant force south of the Humber, so it fell to Wulfhere to take prompt action. He dispatched Bishop
Jaruman __NOTOC__
Jaruman (or Jarumann; died 669) was the fourth Bishop of Mercia.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 220 He fought against apostasy outside his diocese.Stenton ''Anglo-Saxon England'' p. 130 He served as bishop in the time ...
to take over Cedd's work among the East Saxons. Jaruman, working (according to Bede) with great discretion, toured Essex, negotiated with local magnates, and soon restored Christianity.
Commemorations
Cedd is
remembered 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 Britai ...
with a
commemoration
Commemoration may refer to:
*Commemoration (Anglicanism), a religious observance in Churches of the Anglican Communion
*Commemoration (liturgy)
In the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church, a commemoration is the recital, within the Li ...
on
26 October
Events Pre-1600
*1185 – The Uprising of Asen and Peter begins on the feast day of St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki and ends with the creation of the Second Bulgarian Empire.
* 1341 – The Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347 formally be ...
, the anniversary of his death. ''St Cedd's Day'' is also known as ''Essex Day''.
The
Diocese of Chelmsford
The Diocese of Chelmsford is a Church of England diocese, part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers Essex and the five East London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest (most of which wer ...
celebrated 1954, the 13th centenary of Cedd's mission to Essex, as ''St Cedd's Year''. In that year,
Chelmsford Cathedral, already dedicated to
St Mary the Virgin was additionally dedicated to St Cedd and St Peter (to whom
Cedd's chapel at Bradwell is dedicated) while events in his honour included a rally at
West Ham United's Boleyn Ground
The Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium located in Upton Park, east London. It was the home of West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic in the early 1990s during their years ...
.
[The Sphere magazine, April 24, 1954, p152]
The site of an ancient tree in
Polstead
Polstead is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England. The village lies northeast of Nayland, southwest of Hadleigh and north of Colchester. It is situated on a small tributary stream of the River Stour.
Histor ...
,
Suffolk, known as the
Gospel Oak
Gospel Oak is an inner urban area of north west London in the London Borough of Camden at the very south of Hampstead Heath. The neighbourhood is positioned between Hampstead to the north-west, Dartmouth Park to the north-east, Kentish Town to t ...
, is one of a number of sites where Cedd is traditionally supposed to have preached. The original tree collapsed in 1953, but its remains can still be seen among its successor trees, and a church service is held there on the first Sunday of every August.
Citations
References
*
Wikisource: Bede's History, Book 3 Easily searched for references to Cedd.
Fordham Medieval Sourcebook: Bede's History, Book 3 Alternative translation.
Historiam Ecclesiasticam Gentis Anglorum, Liber Tertius Latin Library version of original Latin text.
HISTORIAM ECCLESIASTICAM GENTIS ANGLORUM LIBRI III, IV Internet Archive download of Latin text of Books 3 and 4 in PDF, TXT and other formats.
*
*
Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde ''Handbook of British Chronology'' 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961
Background Reading
* Bassett, Steven, Ed. ''The Origins of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms''. Leicester University Press, 1989. . Studies on state formation that provide important political background to the conversion.
* Fletcher, Richard. ''The Conversion of Europe: From Paganism to Christianity 371-1386''. . HarperCollins, 1997. . Places the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons in the widest possible context, and places Cedd's family incidentally but tellingly within the author's overall interpretation.
*
Mayr-Harting, Henry.
The Coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England'. 1991.
Pennsylvania State University Press
The Penn State University Press, also known as The Pennsylvania State University Press, was established in 1956 and is a non-profit publisher of scholarly books and journals. It is the independent publishing branch of the Pennsylvania State Un ...
. . Cedd and Chad are strongly featured in this widely recommended narrative account of the conversion, much revised since its first publication in 1972, and giving a clear picture of the political and cultural context.
* Cave, Diana . ''St Cedd: Seventh-century Celtic saint''. The first biography of this priest. PublishNation, London 2015.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cedd, Saint
620s births
664 deaths
Northumbrian saints
Bishops of London
7th-century English bishops
People from Essex
Christian missionaries in the United Kingdom
7th-century Christian saints
7th-century deaths from plague (disease)
East Anglian saints
Mercian saints
Year of birth uncertain
Burials at Lastingham Priory
Anglican saints