Editing Oda of Canterbury (section)

==Archbishop of Canterbury==
Oda was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury following [[Wulfhelm]]'s death on 12 February 941.<ref name=Handbook214>Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 214</ref> It is not known whether he went to Rome to receive his [[pallium]] or when he received it, but it was before he issued his ''Constitutions''.<ref>Brooks, ''Early History of the Church of Canterbury'', p. 371, n. 46</ref> During his time as archbishop, he helped King Edmund with the new royal law-code,<ref name=DNB/> which had a number of laws concerned with ecclesiastical affairs.<ref name=ASE/> The archbishop was present, along with Archbishop [[Wulfstan I|Wulfstan]] of York, at council that proclaimed the first of these law codes and which was held by Edmund<ref name=Wormald310>Wormald ''Making of English Law'' p. 310</ref> at London, over Easter around 945 or 946.<ref name=Wormald440>Wormald ''Making of English Law'' pp. 440–441</ref> Oda also settled a dispute over the [[Five Burghs|Five Boroughs]] with Wulfstan.<ref name=ASE/>

Oda also issued ''Constitutions'', or rules, for his clergy. His ''Constitutions of Oda'' are the first surviving constitutions of a 10th-century English ecclesiastical reformer.<ref name=Stafford9>Stafford ''Unification and Conquest'' p. 9–10</ref> Oda reworked some statutes from 786 to form his updated code, and one item that was dropped were any clauses dealing with paganism.<ref name=Blair>Blair ''Church in Anglo-Saxon Society'' p. 481 footnote 252</ref> Other items covered were relations between laymen and the clergy, the duties of bishops, the need for the laity to make canonical marriages, how to observe fasts, and the need for tithes to be given by the laity.<ref name=Darlington386/> The work is extant in just one surviving manuscript, [[British Library]] [[Cotton library|Cotton MS]] Vespasian A XIV, folios 175v to 177v. This is an 11th-century copy done for [[Wulfstan II]], Archbishop of York.<ref name=Schoebe>Schoebe "Chapters of Archbishop Oda" ''Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research'' pp. 75–83</ref>

At the death of King [[Eadred of England]] in 955, Oda was one of the recipients of a bequest from the king, in his case a large amount of gold.<ref name=Fletcher24>Fletcher ''Bloodfeud'' p. 24</ref> He was probably behind the reestablishment of a bishopric at [[Bishop of Elmham|Elmham]], as the line of bishops in that see starts with [[Eadwulf of Elmham]] in 956.<ref name=ASE437>Stenton ''Anglo-Saxon England'' p. 437</ref> Oda crowned King [[Eadwig of England|Eadwig]] in 956, but in late 957 the archbishop joined Eadwig's rival and brother [[Edgar of England|Edgar]] who had been proclaimed king of the [[Mercia]]ns in 957, while Eadwig continued to rule [[Wessex]].<ref name=Stafford48/> The exact cause of the rupture between the two brothers that led to the division of the previously united kingdom is unknown, but may have resulted from Eadwig's efforts to promote close kinsmen and his wife. The division was peaceful, and Eadwig continued to call himself "King of the English" in contrast to Edgar's title of "King of the Mercians".<ref name=BASE151>Miller "Eadwig" ''Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England'' pp. 151–152</ref> In early 958 Oda annulled the marriage of Eadwig and his wife [[Ælfgifu, wife of Eadwig|Ælfgifu]], who were too closely related.<ref name=Stafford48>Stafford ''Unification and Conquest'' p. 48–49</ref> This act was likely a political move connected to the division between Eadwig and Edgar, as it is unlikely that the close kinship between Eadwig and Ælfgifu had not been known before their marriage.<ref name=BASE151/>

Oda was a supporter of [[Dunstan]]'s monastic reforms,<ref name=Darlington387>Darlington "Ecclesiastical Reform" ''English Historical Review'' p. 387</ref> and was a reforming agent in the church along with [[Koenwald|Cenwald]] the [[Bishop of Worcester]] and [[Alphege the Bald|Ælfheah]] the [[Bishop of Winchester]]. He also built extensively, and re-roofed [[Canterbury Cathedral]]. after raising the walls higher.<ref name=DNB/> In 948, Oda took Saint [[Wilfrid]]'s relics from Ripon.<ref name=Blair314>Blair ''Church in Anglo-Saxon Society'' p. 314</ref> [[Frithegod]]'s verse ''Life of Wilfrid'' has a preface that was written by Oda, in which the archbishop claimed that he rescued the relics from Ripon, which he described as "decayed" and "thorn-covered".<ref name=Brooks53>Brooks ''Early History of the Church of Canterbury'' p. 53</ref> He also acquired the relics of [[Audoin (bishop)|St Ouen]], and Frithegod also wrote, at Oda's behest, a verse life of that saint, which has been lost.<ref name=ASE/> He was also active in reorganizing the diocesan structure of his province, as the sees of Elmham and Lindsey were reformed during his archbishopric.<ref name=Darlington386>Darlington "Ecclesiastical Reform" ''English Historical Review'' p. 386</ref>

The archbishop died on 2 June 958<ref name=Handbook214/> and is regarded as a saint, with a [[feast day]] of 4 July.<ref name=Saints>Walsh ''New Dictionary of Saints'' p. 454–455</ref> Other dates were also commemorated, including 2 June or 29 May. After his death, legendary tales ascribed miracles to him, including one where the Eucharist dripped with blood. Another was the miraculous repair of a sword.<ref name=ODS393>Farmer ''Oxford Dictionary of Saints'' p. 393</ref> There is no contemporary evidence for veneration being made to Oda, with the first indication of cult coming in the hagiography written by Byrhtferth about Oswald, but no hagiography specifically about Oda was written until [[Eadmer]] wrote the ''Vita sancti Odonis'' sometime between 1093 and 1125.<ref name=DNB/> Oda was known by contemporaries as "The Good"<ref name=ASE/> and also became known as ''Severus'' "The Severe".{{efn|In [[Michael Drayton]]'s poem ''[[Poly-Olbion]]'' (Song 24), he is described as "Odo the Severe".}}