Sigeric the Serious

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Sigeric
Archbishop of Canterbury
Enthroned {{{began}}}
Ended October 28, 994
Predecessor Æthelgar
Successor Ælfric of Abingdon
Consecration 990
Died October 28, 994
Buried Christ Church, Canterbury
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Sigeric (950? – October 28, 994) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 990–994.

It is unclear whether the epithet "The Serious" originated from his learning, or if it derived from transliteration of his name into Latin as Serio.

[edit] Biography

Sigeric was educated at Glastonbury Abbey, where he took holy orders. He was elected Abbot of St Augustine's in about 975 to 990,[1] and consecrated by Archbishop Dunstan to the See of Ramsbury and Sonning in 985 or 986.[2] He was transferred to the see of Canterbury in 990.[3] He may have been a disciple of Dunstan's.[4]

Sigeric made the pilgrimage to Rome following the Via Francigena to receive his pallium circa 990,[5] and contemporary records of this journey still exist.[6]

It was Sigeric who advised King Æthelred to pay a tribute to the invading Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard in 991. Æthelred presented Sweyn with 10,000 pounds of silver, in response to which Sweyn temporarily ceased his destructive advance into England, though he later returned for further tribute. Sweyn's ever-increasing demands in the following years resulted in a debilitating tax known as the Danegeld, payable by the inhabitants of Æthelred's territories.[7]

In 994, Sigeric paid tribute to the Danes to protect Canterbury Cathedral from being burned.[6][8]

While Sigeric was an abbot, Ælfric dedicated a book of translated homilies to him.[9] He also advised King Æthelred to found Cholsey Abbey in Berkshire in honor of King Edward the Martyr, as well as having Edward memorialized at Shaftesbury Abbey.[10][11]

Sigeric died on October 28, 994.[3] He was buried in Christ Church, Canterbury.[10] His will left wall hangings to Glastonbury[6] as well as a valuable collection of books to his church at Sonning.

[edit] References

  1. ^ 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, p. 35, 243. ISBN 0-521-80452-3. 
  2. ^ Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology, Third Edition, revised, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 220. ISBN 0-521-56350-X. 
  3. ^ a b Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology, Third Edition, revised, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 214. ISBN 0-521-56350-X. 
  4. ^ Knowles, David The Monastic Order in England: A History of Its Development from the Times of St Dunstan to the Fourth Lateran Council 940-1216 Second Edition Cambridge:Cambridge University Press 1963 ISBN 0-521-05479-6 p. 50
  5. ^ Ortenberg, Veronica "The Anglo-Saxon Church and the Papacy" in Lawrence, C. H. ed. The English Church and the Papacy in the Middle Ages Stroud:Sutton Publishing reprint 1999 ISBN 0-7509-1947-7 p. 49
  6. ^ a b c Hindley, Geoffrey A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons: The beginnings of the English nation New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers 2006 ISBN 978-0-78671738-5 p. 294-295
  7. ^ Brooks, Nicholas (1984). The Early History of the Church of Canterbury: Christ Church from 597 to 1066. London: Leicester University Press, p. 282. ISBN 0-7185-0041-5. 
  8. ^ Williams, Ann Æthelred the Unready: The Ill-Counselled King London: Hambledon and London 2003 ISBN1-85285-382-4 p. 52
  9. ^ Knowles, David The Monastic Order in England: A History of Its Development from the Times of St Dunstan to the Fourth Lateran Council 940-1216 Second Edition Cambridge:Cambridge University Press 1963 ISBN 0-521-05479-6 p. 62
  10. ^ a b Mason, Emma "Sigeric (d. 994)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press, 2004 Online Edition accessed November 7, 2007
  11. ^ Williams, Ann Æthelred the Unready: The Ill-Counselled King London: Hambledon and London 2003 ISBN1-85285-382-4 p. 36

[edit] External links

Roman Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Wulfgar		 Bishop of Ramsbury
c985–990		 Succeeded by
Ælfric of Abingdon
Preceded by
Æthelgar		 Archbishop of Canterbury
990–994		 Succeeded by
Ælfric of Abingdon
v • d • e
List of Archbishops of Canterbury
Catholic

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Anglican
Persondata
NAME Sigeric
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sigeric Serio; Sigeric the Serious
SHORT DESCRIPTION Archbishop of Canterbury
DATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH October 28, 994
PLACE OF DEATH


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