Wulfstan, St

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Wulfstan, St (c.1009–95). Bishop of Worcester. Born near Warwick and educated at the monasteries of Evesham and Peterborough, he took vows at Worcester where he became prior. Renowned for his sanctity and care for the poor, he reluctantly accepted the bishopric after Archbishop Aldred of York's tenure of the see in plurality had ended (1062). Politically useful, he was Harold's emissary to win loyalty in the north, but after the Norman Conquest he swore allegiance to William I. He supported William II against the Welsh (1088). Though from 1080 Wulfstan was the last surviving English member of the episcopate, he was stricter in enforcing Hildebrandine decrees on celibacy even than Lanfranc, requiring married clergy to put away their wives. By his preaching he helped William I suppress the Irish slave trade at Bristol. He was canonized in 1203.

Revd Dr William M. Marshall

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