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Ælfheah (954 – 19 April 1012), sometimes called Alphege (also spelt "Alfege"), was an Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons

Anglo-Saxons is the term usually used to describe the invading tribes in the south and east of Great Britain starting from the early 5th century AD, and their creation of the English nation, lasting until the Norman conquest of England of 1066....
 Bishop of Winchester
Bishop of Winchester

The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be a Lord Spiritual regardless of their length of service....
, later Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, the Episcopal see that churches must be in communion with in order to be a part of the Anglican Communion....
. He became an anchorite
Anchorite

Anchorite /anchoress , , denotes someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic and, circumstances permitting, Eucharist-focused life....
 before being elected abbot of Bath Abbey
Bath Abbey

The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Bath, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is an Anglican parish church and a former Benedictine monastery in Bath, Somerset, Somerset, England....
. His piety and sanctity led to his promotion to the episcopate, and eventually to his becoming archbishop. Ælfheah furthered the cult of St Dunstan
Dunstan

Dunstan was an abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, a bishop of Worcester, a bishop of London, and an archbishop of Canterbury who was later canonization as a saint....
 and also encouraged learning. He was captured by Viking
Viking

A Viking is one of the Norsemen explorers, warriors, merchants, and Piracy who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the late eighth to the early eleventh century....
 raiders in 1011 and killed by them the following year, after refusing to allow himself to be ransomed.






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Ælfheah (954 – 19 April 1012), sometimes called Alphege (also spelt "Alfege"), was an Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons

Anglo-Saxons is the term usually used to describe the invading tribes in the south and east of Great Britain starting from the early 5th century AD, and their creation of the English nation, lasting until the Norman conquest of England of 1066....
 Bishop of Winchester
Bishop of Winchester

The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be a Lord Spiritual regardless of their length of service....
, later Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, the Episcopal see that churches must be in communion with in order to be a part of the Anglican Communion....
. He became an anchorite
Anchorite

Anchorite /anchoress , , denotes someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic and, circumstances permitting, Eucharist-focused life....
 before being elected abbot of Bath Abbey
Bath Abbey

The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Bath, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is an Anglican parish church and a former Benedictine monastery in Bath, Somerset, Somerset, England....
. His piety and sanctity led to his promotion to the episcopate, and eventually to his becoming archbishop. Ælfheah furthered the cult of St Dunstan
Dunstan

Dunstan was an abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, a bishop of Worcester, a bishop of London, and an archbishop of Canterbury who was later canonization as a saint....
 and also encouraged learning. He was captured by Viking
Viking

A Viking is one of the Norsemen explorers, warriors, merchants, and Piracy who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the late eighth to the early eleventh century....
 raiders in 1011 and killed by them the following year, after refusing to allow himself to be ransomed. Ælfheah was canonized as a saint in 1078. Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket

Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to his death. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion....
, a later Archbishop of Canterbury (and himself canonized), prayed to him just before his own slaying in Canterbury Cathedral.

Veneration

Pope Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII

Pope Saint Gregory VII , born Hildebrand of Soana , was papacy from April 22, 1073, until his death. One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor affirming the primacy of the papal authority and the new canon law governing...
 canonized
Canonization

Canonization is the act by which a particular Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint and is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints....
 St Ælfheah in 1078, with a feast day
Calendar of saints

The calendar of saints is a traditional Christianity method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as that saint's feast day....
 of 19 April. Lanfranc
Lanfranc

Lanfranc was Archbishop of Canterbury, and a Lombards by extraction....
, the first post-conquest
Norman conquest of England

The Norman conquest of England began in 1066 AD with the invasion of the Kingdom of England by the troops of William I of England, Duke of Normandy , and his victory at the Battle of Hastings....
 Norman archbishop, was dubious about some of the saints venerated at Canterbury. He was persuaded of Ælfheah's sanctity, but Ælfheah and Augustine of Canterbury were the only pre-conquest Anglo-Saxon archbishops kept on Canterbury's calendar of saints. Ælfheah's shrine, which had become neglected, was rebuilt and expanded under St Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury

Saint Anselm of Canterbury was an Italian medieval philosopher, theology, and church official who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109....
 in the early twelfth century. After the 1174 fire in Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christianity structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
, Ælfheah's remains together with those of Saint Dunstan
Dunstan

Dunstan was an abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, a bishop of Worcester, a bishop of London, and an archbishop of Canterbury who was later canonization as a saint....
 were placed around the High Altar, at which Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket

Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to his death. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion....
 is said to have commended his life into Ælfheah's care shortly before his martyrdom. An incised paving slab to the north of the present High Altar marks the spot where the medieval
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 shrine
Shrine

A shrine, from the Latin scrinium is a holy or sacred place which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor veneration, hero, martyr, saint or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are veneration or worshipped....
 is believed to have stood. A Life of St. Alphege in prose and verse was written by a Canterbury monk named Osbern
Osbern

Osbern was a Benedctine monk, hagiographer and musician, precentor of Christ Church, Canterbury. He is sometimes confused with Osbert de Clare, alias Osbern de Westminster....
, at Lanfranc's request. The prose version has survived, but the Life is very much a hagiography: many of the stories it contains have obvious Biblical parallels, making them suspect as a historical record.

Citations


Further reading


External links