Editing Ælfheah of Canterbury (section)

==Life==
Ælfheah was born around 953,<ref name=Rumble165>Rumble "From Winchester to Canterbury" ''Leaders of the Anglo-Saxon Church'' p. 165</ref> supposedly in [[Weston, Bath|Weston]] on the outskirts of [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saintalphege.org.uk/4saint.html |title=Alphege, Saint and Martyr |publisher=St. Alphege's Church, Bath |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110131051/http://www.saintalphege.org.uk/4saint.html |archive-date=10 January 2011 }} Accessed 14 August 2009</ref> and became a monk early in life.<ref name=Knowles/> He first entered the monastery of [[Deerhurst]], but then moved to Bath, where he became an [[anchorite]].<ref name=DNB/> He was noted for his piety and austerity and rose to become [[abbot]] of [[Bath Abbey]].<ref name=Knowles>Knowles, et al. ''Heads of Religious Houses, England and Wales'' pp. 28, 241</ref> The 12th-century chronicler, [[William of Malmesbury]] recorded that Ælfheah was a monk and prior at [[Glastonbury Abbey]],<ref name=Rumble166>Rumble "From Winchester to Canterbury" ''Leaders of the Anglo-Saxon Church'' p. 166</ref> but this is not accepted by all historians.<ref name=Knowles/> Indications are that Ælfheah became abbot at Bath by 982, perhaps as early as around 977. He perhaps shared authority with his predecessor Æscwig after 968.<ref name=Rumble166/>

Probably due to the influence of Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury (959–988), Ælfheah was elected Bishop of Winchester in 984,<ref name=Handbook223>Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 223</ref><ref name=1000Church109>Barlow ''English Church 1000–1066'' p. 109 footnote 5</ref> and was consecrated on 19 October that year.<ref name=DNB/> While bishop, he was largely responsible for the construction of a large [[Pipe organ|organ]] in the [[Old Minster, Winchester|cathedral]], audible from over a mile (1600&nbsp;m) away and said to require more than 24&nbsp;men to operate. He also built and enlarged the city's churches,<ref name=Hindley304>Hindley ''A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons'' pp. 304–305</ref> and promoted the cult of [[Swithun]] and his predecessor, [[Æthelwold of Winchester]].<ref name=DNB/> One act promoting Æthelwold's cult was the [[translation (relic)|translation]] of Æthelwold's body to a new tomb in the cathedral at Winchester, which Ælfheah presided over on 10 September 996.<ref name=Rumble167>Rumble "From Winchester to Canterbury" ''Leaders of the Anglo-Saxon Church'' p. 167</ref>

Following a Viking raid in 994, a peace treaty was agreed with one of the raiders, [[Olaf Tryggvason]]. Besides receiving [[danegeld]], Olaf converted to Christianity<ref name=ASE378>Stenton ''Anglo-Saxon England'' p. 378</ref> and undertook never to raid or fight the English again.<ref name=Williams47>Williams ''Æthelred the Unready'' p. 47</ref> Ælfheah may have played a part in the treaty negotiations, and it is certain that he confirmed Olaf in his new faith.<ref name=DNB>Leyser "Ælfheah" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''</ref>

In 1006, Ælfheah succeeded [[Ælfric of Abingdon|Ælfric]] as Archbishop of Canterbury,<ref name=Saints>Walsh ''New Dictionary of Saints'' p. 28</ref><ref name=Handbook214>Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 214</ref> taking Swithun's head with him as a [[relic]] for the new location.<ref name=DNB/> He went to Rome in 1007 to receive his [[pallium]]—symbol of his status as an archbishop—from Pope [[John XVIII]], but was robbed during his journey.<ref name=1000Church299>Barlow ''English Church 1000–1066'' pp. 298–299 footnote 7</ref> While at Canterbury, he promoted the cult of Dunstan,<ref name=DNB/> ordering the writing of the second ''Life of Dunstan'', which [[Adelard of Ghent]] composed between 1006 and 1011.<ref name=1000Church62>Barlow ''English Church 1000–1066'' p. 62</ref> He also introduced new practices into the liturgy, and was instrumental in the [[Witenagemot]]'s recognition of [[Wulfsige III|Wulfsige of Sherborne]] as a saint in about 1012.<ref name=1000Church223>Barlow ''English Church 1000–1066'' p. 223</ref>

Ælfheah sent [[Ælfric of Eynsham]] to [[Cerne Abbey]] to take charge of its monastic school.<ref name=ASE458>Stenton ''Anglo-Saxon England'' p. 458</ref> He was present at the council of May 1008 at which [[Wulfstan II]], Archbishop of York, preached his ''[[Sermo Lupi ad Anglos]]'' (''The Sermon of the Wolf to the English''), castigating the English for their moral failings and blaming the latter for the tribulations afflicting the country.<ref name=Fletcher94>Fletcher ''Bloodfeud'' p. 94</ref>

In 1011, the [[Viking|Danes]] again raided England, and from 8–29 September they laid siege to Canterbury. Aided by the treachery of Ælfmaer, whose life Ælfheah had once saved, the raiders succeeded in sacking the city.<ref name=Williams106>Williams ''Æthelred the Unready'' pp. 106–107</ref>{{efn|How exactly Ælfheah had saved Ælfmaer's life is not recorded in any source.<ref name=DNB/>}} Ælfheah was taken prisoner and held captive for seven months.<ref name=Hindley301>Hindley ''Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons'' p. 301</ref> [[Godwine I|Godwine]] ([[Bishop of Rochester]]), [[Leofrun]] (abbess of St Mildrith's), and the king's [[Reeve (England)|reeve]], Ælfweard were captured also, but the abbot of [[St Augustine's Abbey]], [[Ælfmær (Bishop of Sherborne)|Ælfmær]], managed to escape.<ref name=Williams106/> Canterbury Cathedral was plundered and burned by the Danes following Ælfheah's capture.<ref name=1000Church209>Barlow ''English Church 1000–1066'' pp. 209–210</ref>