Editing Lichfield (section)

=== Middle Ages ===
[[File:The West Front, Lichfield Cathedral - Anon - circa 1830.jpg|thumb|The three-spired [[Lichfield Cathedral]] was built between 1195 and 1249]]
[[File:St Michael's Churchyard 1840.jpg|thumb|St Michael's Churchyard 1840]]
The early history of Lichfield is obscure. The first authentic record of Lichfield occurs in [[Bede|Bede's]] history, where it is called ''Licidfelth'' and mentioned as the place where [[Chad of Mercia|St Chad]] fixed the [[episcopal see]] of the Mercians in 669. The first [[Christians|Christian]] king of [[Mercia]], [[Wulfhere of Mercia|Wulfhere]], donated land at Lichfield for St Chad to build a monastery. It was because of this that the ecclesiastical centre of Mercia became settled as the [[Diocese of Lichfield]], which was approximately {{convert|7|mi|km|0}} northwest of the seat of the Mercian kings at [[Tamworth, Staffordshire|Tamworth]].

In July 2009, the [[Staffordshire Hoard]], the largest collection of [[Anglo-Saxon]] gold ever found, was discovered in a field in the parish of [[Hammerwich]], {{convert|4|mi|km|1|abbr=on}} south-west of Lichfield; it was probably deposited in the 7th century.

The first cathedral was built on the present site in 700 when Bishop [[Hædde]] built a new church to house the bones of St Chad, which had become the centre of a sacred shrine to many pilgrims when he died in 672. The burial in the cathedral of the kings of Mercia, Wulfhere in 674 and [[Ceolred of Mercia|Ceolred]] in 716, further increased the city's prestige.<ref name="british-history.ac.uk">From: 'Lichfield: History to c.1500', A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 14: Lichfield (1990), pp. 4–14. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42336 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021214211/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42336 |date=21 October 2012 }} Date accessed: 24 July 2009.</ref> In 786 King [[Offa of Mercia|Offa]] made the city an archbishopric with authority over all the bishops from the [[Humber]] to the [[River Thames]]; his appointee was Archbishop [[Hygeberht]]. This may have been motivated by Offa's desire to have an archbishop consecrate his son [[Ecgfrith of Mercia|Ecgfrith]] as king, since it is possible [[Jænberht]] refused to perform the ceremony, which took place in 787. After King Offa's death in 796, Lichfield's power waned; in 803 the primacy was restored to Canterbury by [[Pope Leo III]] after only 16 years.

The ''[[Historia Brittonum]]'' lists the city as one of the 28 cities of Britain around AD 833.

During the 9th century, Mercia was devastated by Danish [[Vikings]]. Lichfield itself was unwalled and the cathedral was despoiled, so [[Peter of Lichfield|Bishop Peter]] moved the see to the fortified and wealthier [[Chester]] in 1075. At the time of the [[Domesday Book]] survey (1086), Lichfield was held by the [[bishop of Chester]]; Lichfield was listed as a small village. The lord of the manor was the Bishop of Chester until the reign of [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]].[[File:Staffordshire hoard annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Staffordshire Hoard]] was discovered in a field near Lichfield]] In 1102 Bishop Peter's successor, [[Robert de Limesey]], transferred the see from Chester to Coventry. The Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield had seats in both locations; work on the present Gothic cathedral at Lichfield began in 1195. (In 1837 the see of Lichfield acquired independent status, and the style 'Bishop of Lichfield' was adopted.)

In 1153 a markets charter was granted by King Stephen and, ever since, weekly markets have been held in the Market Square.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Markets - Lichfield City Council |url=https://www.lichfield.gov.uk/Markets_702.aspx#:~:text=Lichfield%20Markets&text=In%20the%201550%27s,%20during%20the,so%20to%20die%20in%20England. |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=www.lichfield.gov.uk}}</ref>

[[File:Lichfield Cathedral 2010-10-13.jpg|thumb|Lichfield Cathedral in modern times.]]

Bishop [[Roger de Clinton]] was responsible for transforming the scattered settlements to the south of Minster Pool into the ladder-plan streets existing today. Market Street, Wade Street, Bore Street and Frog Lane linked Dam Street, Conduit Street and Bakers Lane on one side with Bird Street and St John Street on the other. Bishop de Clinton also fortified the cathedral close and enclosed the town with a bank and ditch, and gates were set up where roads into the town crossed the ditch.<ref name="british-history.ac.uk"/> In 1291 Lichfield was severely damaged by a fire which destroyed most of the town; however the Cathedral and Close survived unscathed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.localhistories.org/lichfield.html|title=Brief History of Lichfield|publisher=Local Histories|access-date=20 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229164653/http://www.localhistories.org/lichfield.html|archive-date=29 December 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1387 [[Richard II of England|Richard II]] gave a charter for the foundation of the guild of St Mary and St John the Baptist; this guild functioned as the local government, until its dissolution by [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]], who incorporated the town in 1548.