Æthelnoth (archbishop of Canterbury)

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ÆthelnothTemplate:Efn (died 1038) was the archbishop of Canterbury from 1020 until his death. Descended from an earlier English king, Æthelnoth became a monk prior to becoming archbishop. While archbishop, he travelled to Rome and brought back saint's relics. He consecrated a number of other bishops who came from outside his archdiocese, leading to some friction with other archbishops. Although he was regarded as a saint after his death, there is little evidence of his veneration or of a cult in Canterbury or elsewhere.

Early life

Æthelnoth was a son of the Æthelmær the Stout and a grandson of Æthelweard the Historian,<ref name=DNB/> who was a great-great-grandson of King Æthelred of Wessex. In the view of the historian Frank Barlow, Æthelnoth was probably the uncle of Godwin of Wessex.<ref name=Godwins21>Barlow Godwins p. 21</ref> He was baptised by Dunstan, and a story was told at Glastonbury Abbey that as the infant was baptised, his hand made a motion much like that an archbishop makes when blessing. From this motion, Dunstan is said to have prophesied that Æthelnoth would become an archbishop.<ref name=DNB>Mason "Æthelnoth" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography</ref>

Æthelnoth became a monk at Glastonbury, then was made dean of the monastery of Christ Church Priory, at Canterbury, the cathedral chapter for the diocese of Canterbury.<ref name=Knowles33>Knowles, et al. Heads of Religious Houses p. 33</ref> He was also a chaplain to King Cnut of England and Denmark as well as Dean of Canterbury when on 13 November 1020 Æthelnoth was consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.<ref name=Handbook214>Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 214</ref> Æthelnoth's elevation probably was a gesture of appeasement, as Æthelnoth's brother Æthelweard had been executed in 1017 by Cnut, who also banished a brother-in-law named Æthelweard in 1020. A later story stated that Cnut favoured Æthelnoth because Æthelnoth had bestowed chrism on the king. This may be a garbled account of Æthelnoth's participation in Cnut's confirmation as a Christian in 1016 or his coronation in 1017.<ref name=DNB/> There are some indications that he was a student of Ælfric of Eynsham, the homilist.<ref name=1000Church72>Barlow English Church 1000–1066 pp. 72–73</ref>

Archbishop of Canterbury

In 1022, Æthelnoth went to Rome to obtain the pallium,<ref name=Ortenberg49>Ortenberg "Anglo-Saxon Church and the Papacy" English Church and the Papacy p. 49</ref> and was received by Pope Benedict VIII. On his return trip, he bought a relic of St Augustine of Hippo for 100 silver talents and one gold talent.<ref name=DNB/> He gave the relic to Coventry Abbey.<ref name=Smith575>Smith, et al. "Court and Piety" Catholic Historical Review p. 575</ref> He also presided over the translation of the relics of Ælfheah, his predecessor at Canterbury who was regarded as a martyr and saint.<ref name=Brooks290>Brooks Early History of the Church of Canterbury pp. 290–298</ref> In 1022, Æthelnoth consecrated Gerbrand as bishop for the Diocese of Roskilde,<ref name=ASE463>Stenton Anglo-Saxon England p. 463</ref> which was in Scandinavia. The archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen was the metropolitan of Roskilde, and the fact that Gerbrand was consecrated by an English archbishop later caused friction between the bishop and his metropolitan.<ref name=Brooks290/> Cnut was forced to concede that in the future he would not appoint bishops in Bremen's archdiocese without the metropolitan's advice.<ref name=1000Church232/> A later tradition held that Æthelnoth consecrated two Welsh bishops, one at Llandaff and one at St. David's.<ref name=1000Church232>Barlow English Church 1000–1066 pp. 232–234</ref> He also consecrated Dúnán, the first bishop of Dublin, and other Scandinavian bishops.<ref>Cooper, Monk-Bishops and the English Benedictine Reform Movement, pp. 100, 160</ref>

The medieval chronicler William of Malmesbury praised Æthelnoth's wisdom. A story of doubtful authenticity tells how he refused to crown King Harold Harefoot,<ref name=Emma167>O'Brien Queen Emma and the Vikings pp. 167–168</ref> as he had promised Cnut to crown none but a son of the king by his wife, Emma.<ref name=DNB/> He was a leading figure in the third generation of the English Benedictine Reform.<ref>Cooper, Monk-Bishops and the English Benedictine Reform Movement, p. 88</ref>

Death and legacy

Æthelnoth died in 1038, on either 28 October,<ref name=DNB/><ref name=Handbook214/> 29 October,<ref name=Handbook214/><ref name=Saints>Walsh New Dictionary of Saints p. 184</ref> 30 October,<ref name=ODS181/> or 1 November.<ref name=DNB/><ref name=Handbook214/> Prior to his death, some of his episcopal functions were performed by a royal priest, Eadsige. He was buried in Canterbury Cathedral.<ref name=DNB/> He is considered a saint,<ref name=Saints/> with a feast day of 30 October. While he is listed in Jean Mabillon's Lives of the Benedictine Saints and in the Acta Sanctorum, there is no contemporary or later evidence of a cult being paid to him at Canterbury or elsewhere.<ref name=ODS181>Farmer Oxford Dictionary of Saints p. 181</ref>