Editing Wilfrid (section)

=== Sources ===
The main sources for knowledge of Wilfrid are the medieval ''Vita Sancti Wilfrithi'', written by Stephen of Ripon soon after Wilfrid's death, and the works of the medieval historian Bede, who knew Wilfrid during the bishop's lifetime.<ref name=DNB /><ref name=World151>Blair ''World of Bede'' p. 151</ref> Stephen's ''Vita'' is a hagiography, intended to show Wilfrid as a saintly man, and to buttress claims that he was a saint.<ref name=Goffart285>Goffart ''Narrators of Barbarian History'' pp. 285–286</ref><ref name=Dict146>Coredon ''Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases'' p. 146</ref> The ''Vita'' is selective in its coverage, and gives short shrift to Wilfrid's activities outside of Northumbria. Two-thirds of the work deals with Wilfrid's attempts to return to Northumbria, and is a defence and vindication of his Northumbrian career.<ref name=Goffart285 /> Stephen's work is flattering and highly favourable to Wilfrid, making its use as a source problematic;<ref name=Brown28 /> despite its shortcomings however, the ''Vita'' is the main source of information on Wilfrid's life.<ref name=Laynes163>Laynesmith "Stephen of Ripon" ''Early Medieval Europe'' p. 163</ref><ref name=Barbarian175 /> It views the events in Northumbria in the light of Wilfrid's reputation and from his point of view, and is highly partisan.<ref name=Fraser266>Fraser ''From Caledonia to Pictland'' pp. 266–267</ref> Another concern is that hagiographies were usually full of conventional material, often repeated from earlier saints' lives,<ref name=Intro322>Blair ''Introduction to Anglo-Saxon England'' p. 322</ref> as was the case with Stephen's work.<ref name=Saints137>Heffernan ''Sacred Biography'' pp. 137–142</ref> It appears that the ''Vita Sancti Wilfrithi'' was not well known in the Middle Ages, as only two manuscripts of the work survive.<ref name=Reread96>Higham ''(Re-)reading Bede'' pp. 98 and 237 footnote 200</ref>

Bede also covers Wilfrid's life in his ''[[Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum]]'', but this account is more measured and restrained than the ''Vita''.<ref name=Brown28>Brown "Royal and Ecclesiastical" ''Renascence'' p. 28</ref> In the ''Historia'', Bede used Stephen's ''Vita'' as a source, reworking the information and adding new material when possible. Other, more minor, sources for Wilfrid's life include a mention of Wilfrid in one of Bede's letters.<ref name=Goffart322>Goffart ''Narrators of Barbarian History'' p. 322</ref> A poetical ''Vita Sancti Wilfrithi'' by [[Frithegod]] written in the 10th century is essentially a rewrite of Stephen's ''Vita'', produced in celebration of the movement of Wilfrid's [[relic]]s to Canterbury.<ref name=DNB /> Wilfrid is also mentioned in the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'',<ref name=ASC>Under the years 656, 661, 664, 675, 678, 685, 709, and 710. See the index to [[Michael Swanton]]'s ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''</ref> but as the ''Chronicle'' was probably a 9th-century compilation, the material on Wilfrid may ultimately have derived either from Stephen's ''Vita'' or from Bede.<ref name=ASCxviii>Swanton "Introduction" ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' pp. xviii–xix</ref> Another, later, source is the ''Vita Sancti Wilfrithi'' written by [[Eadmer]], a 12th-century Anglo-Norman writer and monk from Canterbury. This source is highly influenced by the contemporary concerns of its writer, but does attempt to provide some new material besides reworking Bede.<ref name=Philpott101 />

Many historians, including the editor of Bede's works, [[Charles Plummer (historian)|Charles Plummer]], have seen in Bede's writings a dislike of Wilfrid. The historian Walter Goffart goes further, suggesting that Bede wrote his ''Historia'' as a reaction to Stephen's ''Vita Sancti Wilfrithi'', and that Stephen's work was written as part of a propaganda campaign to defend a "Wilfridian" party in Northumbrian politics.<ref name=Reread58 /> Some historians, including [[James E. Fraser (historian)|James Fraser]], find that a credible view,<ref name=Fraser266 /> but others such as Nick Higham are less convinced of Bede's hostility to Wilfrid.<ref name=Reread58>Higham ''(Re-)reading Bede'' pp. 58–63</ref>