Lyfing of Winchester
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Denomination | Catholic |
|---|---|
| Senior posting | |
| See | Diocese of Crediton |
| Title | Bishop of Crediton |
| Period in office | 1027–1046 |
| Predecessor | Ednoth |
| Successor | Leofric |
| Religious career | |
| Previous bishoprics | Bishop of Worcester Bishop of Cornwall |
| Previous post | Abbot of Tavistock |
| Personal | |
| Date of death | 1046 |
Lyfing of Winchester (d. 1046) (also known as Livingus or Lifing) was an Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Crediton, Bishop of Cornwall and Worcester.
Contents |
[edit] Life
His uncle was Burhweald, bishop of Cornwall.[1] He was probably a monk at either Winchester[2] Glastonbury Abbey. In 1009, he became Abbot of Tavistock,[3] and that was always his favourite of the offices he held.[citation needed] In 1027, he became the 9th Bishop of Crediton, and about the same time he became Bishop of Cornwall when his uncle died, so he united those two sees, with the seat at Crediton.[4] His elevation probably was due both to his family and to his assistance to Cnut in Rome.[5] There is also some indication he may have been a protege of Godwin, Earl of Wessex.[2]
In 1038 or 1039 Lyfing also became Bishop of Worcester but was deprived of the see in 1040.[6] King Harold Harefoot gave Worcester to Lyfing because of Lyfing's support of Harold.[1] His deprivation was due to King Harthacnut's belief that Lyfing was involved in the death of Harthacnut's half brother Alfred Atheling.[7] Lyfing was accused by Aelfric Puttoc, the archbishop of York, who briefly replaced Lyfing at Worcester.[8] Lyfing seems to have claimed that he was merely following the orders of Harold Harefoot.[9] However, he was restored to Worcester in 1041 and held both sees until his death on either March 20, March 23 or March 25, 1046.[6]
Bishop Lyfing was a close friend and trusted counselor of King Canute the Dane[2] and accompanied him on a pilgrimage to Rome in 1027.[3] Florence of Worcester, the medieval chronicler, claims that Lyfing, along with Godwin, was instrumental in securing the succession of Edward the Confessor to the throne of England on Harthacnut's death.[10] A tradition at Worcester also recorded that it was Lyfing, along with Archbishop Eadsige of Canterbury, who forced Sweyn to release Eadgifu, the abbess of Leominster who Sweyn had kidnapped.[11]
Before Lyfing's death, Aldred, who succeeded him at Worcester, had probably been acting as his suffragan or co-bishop.[12] When Lyfing died, he chose to be buried at Tavistock Abbey.[2] Lyfing was a pluralist and never enjoyed a good reputation. However, the D version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes him as "the eloquent bishop", which may imply that he was noted as an important preacher.[13]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Lawson Cnut pp. 116-117
- ^ a b c d Barlow "Lyfing (d. 1046)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ a b Knowles Heads of Religious Houses pp. 72, 255
- ^ Fryde Handbook of British Chronology p. 215
- ^ Lawson Cnut p. 137
- ^ a b Fryde Handbook of British Chronology p. 224
- ^ Stenton Anglo-Saxon England p. 422-423
- ^ Stafford Unification and Conquest p. 80
- ^ Mason House of Godwine p. 41
- ^ Stafford Unification and Conquest p. 86
- ^ Barlow Godwins p. 53
- ^ Barlow Edward the Confessor p. 86
- ^ Lawson Cnut p. 66
[edit] References
- Barlow, Frank (1970). Edward the Confessor. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-01671-8.
- Barlow, Frank (2004). "Lyfing (d. 1046)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
- Barlow, Frank (2003). The Godwins: The Rise and Fall of a Noble Dynasty. London: Pearson/Longman. ISBN 0-582-78440-9.
- Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology, Third Edition, revised, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
- Knowles, David; London, Vera C. M.; Brooke, Christopher (2001). The Heads of Religious Houses, England and Wales, 940-1216, Second Edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-80452-3.
- Lawson, M. K. (2000). Cnut: England's Viking King. Stroud: Tempus Publishing, Limited. ISBN 0-7524-2964-7.
- Mason, Emma (2004). House of Godwine: The History of Dynasty. London: Hambledon & London. ISBN 1-85285-389-1.
- Stafford, Pauline (1989). Unification and Conquest: A Political and Social History of England in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries. London: Edward Arnold. ISBN 0-7131-6532-4.
- Stenton, F. M. (1971). Anglo-Saxon England, Third Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5.
[edit] Further reading
- Conner, P. W. Anglo-Saxon Exeter: A Tenth-century Cultural History (1993)
[edit] External links
| Roman Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ednoth |
Bishop of Crediton 1027–1046 |
Succeeded by Leofric |
| Preceded by Beorhtheah |
Bishop of Worcester held with Crediton, deprived 1039–1040 |
Succeeded by Aelfric Puttoc |
| Preceded by Aelfric Puttoc |
Bishop of Worcester held with Crediton, restored 1041–1047 |
Succeeded by Aelfric Puttoc |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Lyfing |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Livingus; Lifing |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Bishop of Credition; Bishop of Worcester; Bishop of Cornwall |
| DATE OF BIRTH | |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 1046 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
