Editing Aldhelm (section)

===Abbot of Malmesbury===
When Máeldub died, Aldhelm was appointed in 675,<ref name=Walsh21/> according to a charter of doubtful authenticity cited by [[William of Malmesbury]], by [[Leuthere]], [[Bishop of Winchester]] (671–676), to succeed to the direction of the monastery, of which he became the first [[abbot]].<ref name="EB1911"/><ref name=museum/>

Aldhelm introduced the [[Rule of St Benedict|Benedictine rule]] 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]], [[Somerset]] and at [[Bradford-on-Avon]], [[Wiltshire]]. Following a pilgrimage to Rome, he was given permission by [[Pope Sergius I]] in a Papal Bull of 701 to establish the monastery at Frome, where he had already built a church circa 685.<ref>Annette Burkitt, Flesh and Bones of Frome Selwood and Wessex, 2017, The Hobnob Press, p341 {{ISBN|978 1 906978 50 1}}</ref> The Anglo-Saxon building of [[St Laurence's Church, Bradford-on-Avon]] 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,<ref name=museum/> and obtained considerable grants of land for the monastery.<ref name="EB1911"/> Aldhelm held this post until circa 705 when he became [[Bishop of Salisbury#History|Bishop of Sherborne]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=St Aldhelm|url=https://www.athelstanmuseum.org.uk/malmesbury-history/people/st-aldhelm/|access-date=2021-01-10|website=Athelstan Museum|language=en-GB}}</ref>

[[Image:aldhelm.plaque.arp.jpg|thumb|left|Wall plaque at [[St Aldhelm's Catholic Church, Malmesbury]]. The inscription says 'St Aldhelm 639–709, Abbot of Malmesbury and Bishop of Sherborne, Latin Poet and Ecclesiastical Writer.']]