Saint Wilfrid

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Wilfrid, St (c.634–c.709). Bishop of Northumbria. Noble, Northumbrian, sent by Queen Eanflæd to study at Lindisfarne, Wilfrid then travelled to Kent, to Lyons, and to Rome. Back home, he introduced Roman ways in the monastery of Ripon, given to him by Alhfrith of Deira, was ordained by Agilbert, Frankish bishop of Wessex, for whom he spoke at the Synod of Whitby (664) in favour of the Roman Easter, and was sent for consecration in Paris as bishop for the Northumbrians.

His subsequent career was stormy, involving deprivation (664–9, 678–86, 691–706) and divisions of his see, appropriation of assets of his monasteries, disagreements with the Northumbrian kings Ecgfrith and Aldfrith and with the archbishops of Canterbury Theodore and Berhtwald, visits to the pope to appeal (he put in some missionary work in Frisia in 678–9 en route), imprisonment, exile, and Northumbrian councils (Austerfield in 703 and Nidd 706). While not at home, he worked amongst the South Saxons, the West Saxons in the Isle of Wight, and in Mercia. He died as bishop of Hexham at Oundle in 709 or 710 and was buried at Ripon. His relics were moved to Canterbury, probably in 948, by Archbishop Oda.

The Wilfridian view, expressed in the partisan life attributed to Eddius Stephanus, was apparently that the good in the Northumbrian church was Roman, that it had been introduced by Wilfrid, and that, like a latter-day Old Testament prophet, he was persecuted by persons with ignoble motives. The historical perception of the opposition, strong at Whitby (under Hilda), Lindisfarne, and perhaps Jarrow, possibly enunciated in Bede's measured account, differed, giving Wilfrid less prominence. Wilfrid's episcopal style and ideals resembled those in Gaul, where bishops had large sees, huge estates, and a high political profile, combining personal asceticism with public grandeur. Theodore implicitly favoured smaller sees, as more manageable and less corrupting, while Irish bishops tended to be glorified priests, inferior in most ways to abbots. There were questions of which monastery could establish precedent for supplying bishops to a see, Whitby having designs on York. Wilfrid may have wanted archiepiscopal status for York.

Wilfrid was in many respects—his ferocity, retinue, the loyalty of his followers, and his death-bed distribution of treasure—an ecclesiastical version of a traditional aristocratic warlord. His wealth was, however, not out of line, which suggests that other considerations irritated his kings. He refused to persuade Queen Æthelthryth to consummate her marriage to Ecgfrith, and if, as is possible, the estates which she had given Wilfrid at Hexham would have reverted to Ecgfrith when she retired, had she not alienated them, Ecgfrith's irritation must have been compounded. Wilfrid's promotion of Æthelthryth's cult was perhaps in part to emphasize his own sanctity. His promotion of King Oswald's cult makes it plausible that he supported claims of Oswald's offspring to the Northumbrian kingship, against those of Oswiu's family. Wilfrid's activities in Mercia and his friendship with Mercian kings, notably Wulfhere and Æthelred, might also have rendered him suspect.

The intensity of feeling Wilfrid aroused is testimony to his importance. Conversion (of Frisians and Anglo-Saxons), foundation of monasteries (including Oundle in Mercia and Selsey in Sussex), and building (his crypts at Ripon and Hexham survive) were grist to his mill. His churches were in Gallic style, proclaiming his allegiances. He also brought from Gaul esteem for the rule of St Benedict, to whose English diffusion he contributed. He was a channel for Roman influence, promoting the cult of the Virgin, but he did not dramatically enhance papal authority.

A. E. Redgate

Wilfrid, St (c.634–c.709). Bishop of Northumbria. Noble, Northumbrian, sent by Queen Eanflæd to study at Lindisfarne, Wilfrid then travelled to Kent, to Lyons, and to Rome. Back home, he introduced Roman ways in the monastery of Ripon, given to him by Alchfrith of Deira, was ordained by Agilbert, Frankish bishop of Wessex, for whom he spoke at the Synod of Whitby (664) in favour of the Roman Easter, which won the day, and was sent for consecration in Paris as bishop for the Northumbrians.

His subsequent career was very stormy, involving deprivation (664–9, 678–86, 691–706) and divisions of his see, appropriation of assets of his monasteries, disagreements with the Northumbrian kings Ecgfrith and Aldfrith and with the archbishops of Canterbury Theodore and Berhtwald. While not at home, he worked amongst the South Saxons, the West Saxons in the Isle of Wight, and in Mercia. He died as bishop of Hexham at Oundle in 709 or 710 and was buried at Ripon. His relics were moved to Canterbury, probably in 948, by Archbishop Oda.

Wilfrid was in many respects—his ferocity, retinue, the loyalty of his followers, and his death‐bed distribution of treasure—an ecclesiastical version of a traditional aristocratic warlord. The intensity of feeling Wilfrid aroused is testimony to his importance.

Wilfrid, St (634–709), Bp. of York. He was educated at Lindisfarne, but he became dissatisfied with the Celtic way of religious life and as Abbot of Ripon he introduced the Benedictine Rule. At the Synod of Whitby (664) he was largely responsible for the victory of the Roman party. Soon afterwards he was consecrated Bp. of York at Compiègne. On his return he found his see occupied by St Chad, but he was put in possession of it by Theodore, Abp. of Canterbury, in 669. When Theodore divided the diocese of York in 678, Wilfrid went to Rome to appeal. He was eventually reinstated in his see, which he held from 686 to 691. Disputes with the king forced him to flee from York and a synod held in 703 called upon him to resign; after a further successful appeal to Rome, he resigned in favour of St John of Beverley. He brought England into closer touch with the Papacy and succeeded in replacing Celtic usages in the north of England by the Roman liturgy. Feast day, 12 Oct.

Saint Wilfrid 634–709?, English churchman, b. Northumbria, of noble parentage. He was educated at Lindisfarne and Canterbury. With Benedict Biscop he traveled to Lyons and Rome in 654; Wilfrid remained to study in each city. In 661 he returned to England and became abbot of Ripon. Moved by Wilfrid's eloquence, King Oswy at the Synod of Whitby (663; see Whitby, Synod of ) rejected Celtic usages, including the reckoning of Easter, and established instead the Roman custom. That year Wilfrid was consecrated bishop of Ripon; in 669 his diocese was extended to include all of Northumbria with its see of York. There ensued a long controversy with the archbishop of Canterbury over division of dioceses in England. It was compromised with the aid of the pope, and Wilfrid ended as bishop of Ripon and Hexham. He made many converts and was responsible for the vigorous growth of Roman ecclesiastical practices in England. Feast: Oct. 12.

Wilfrid, St (634–709). English bishop. As abbot of Ripon, he introduced the Benedictine rule, and at the Synod of Whitby (664) he helped to secure the Roman (against the Celtic) dating of Easter (see also HILDA). He is remembered as a cosmopolitan churchman and proponent of closer relations between the English Church and Rome. Feast day, 12 Oct.

Wilfrid, St (c.633–709), Northumbrian-born bishop of York and afterwards of Hexham, who at the Synod of Whitby in 664 was a chief proponent of the case for calculating the date of Easter by the Roman rather than the Celtic method. His feast day is 12 October.