Byrhtferth
Encyclopedia
Byrhtferth was a priest and monk
who lived at Ramsey Abbey
. He had a deep impact on the intellectual life of later Anglo-Saxon England and wrote many computistic
, hagiographic, and historical works. He was a leading man of science and best known as the author of many different works (although he may not have written many of them). His Manual (Enchiridion), a scientific textbook, is Byrhtferth's best known work.
He studied with Abbo of Fleury
, who was invited to Ramsey Abbey
by Oswald of Worcester
to help teach. Abbo was there during the period 985-987, and became a large influence on Byhrtferth who was interested in the same studies, such as history, logic, astronomy, and mathematics. We do not have contemporary biographies of Byrhtferth, and the only information we have is the one in his Manual and his Preface.
, compiled a chronicle of Northumbrian history in the 990's, wrote a Latin life of Oswald of Worcester
(the Vita Oswaldi) about the year 1000, and it is suggested that he is responsible for the early sections of the Historia regum, or History of the Kings, attributed to Simeon of Durham. This last attribution is based on the similarity of the style between Simeon and Byrhtferth. The last of Byrhtferth's works is an unsigned fragment of Old English text on computus in the Manuscript BL Cotton Caligula A.xv, fols. MS 142v-143r. It is attributed to him because of the stylistic similarity to the Old English that he wrote in Manual.
Byrhtferth has also been credited with Latin commentaries on Bede's De natura rerum and De temporum ratione (first attributed to him by John Herwagen) and a Vita S. Dunstani signed "B" (first attributed to him by Jean Mabillon). However, many scholars argue that these works were not written by Byrhtferth, but instead were a compilation of material by several writers in the late ninth and early tenth centuries. This is argued because of the smooth, polished style of these works in comparison with the styles of the only signed works Manual and Preface.
and Helperic, and a computus
which includes the Latin Epilogus, or Preface, by Byrhtferth. He also constructed a full-page diagram showing the harmony of the universe, and suggesting correspondences among cosmological, numerological, and physiological aspects of the world. Other items in the manuscript
may in fact be Byrhtferth, but it cannot be proved. Also, he may have compiled most of these things from works that Abbo of Fleury
left behind at Ramsey Abbey
after his death.
similar to the one in Preface. It touches on the belief that the divine order of the universe can be perceived through the study of numbers and can be of great reference for the study of medieval number symbolism. It also contains treatises on rhetorical and grammatical subjects, a table of weights and measures and three theological tracts on the ages of the world, the loosing of Satan and the eight capital sins.
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
who lived at Ramsey Abbey
Ramsey Abbey
Ramsey Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey located in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, England, southeast of Peterborough and north of Huntingdon, UK.-History:...
. He had a deep impact on the intellectual life of later Anglo-Saxon England and wrote many computistic
Computus
Computus is the calculation of the date of Easter in the Christian calendar. The name has been used for this procedure since the early Middle Ages, as it was one of the most important computations of the age....
, hagiographic, and historical works. He was a leading man of science and best known as the author of many different works (although he may not have written many of them). His Manual (Enchiridion), a scientific textbook, is Byrhtferth's best known work.
He studied with Abbo of Fleury
Abbo of Fleury
Abbo of Fleury , also known as Abbon or Saint Abbo was a monk, and later abbot, of the Benedictine monastery of Fleury sur Loire near Orléans, France....
, who was invited to Ramsey Abbey
Ramsey Abbey
Ramsey Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey located in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, England, southeast of Peterborough and north of Huntingdon, UK.-History:...
by Oswald of Worcester
Oswald of Worcester
Oswald of Worcester was Archbishop of York from 972 to his death in 992. He was of Danish ancestry, but brought up by his uncle, Oda, who sent him to France to the abbey of Fleury to become a monk. After a number of years at Fleury, Oswald returned to England at the request of his uncle, who died...
to help teach. Abbo was there during the period 985-987, and became a large influence on Byhrtferth who was interested in the same studies, such as history, logic, astronomy, and mathematics. We do not have contemporary biographies of Byrhtferth, and the only information we have is the one in his Manual and his Preface.
Works
Byrhtferth's signature appears on only two unpublished works, his Latin and Old English Manual, and Latin Preface. He also composed a Latin life of St. EgwinEgwin
Egcwine was the third Bishop of Worcester in England.-Life:He was the founder of the Evesham Abbey. His biographers say that king, clergy, and commonalty all united in demanding his elevation as bishop; but the popularity which led him to the episcopal office dissipated in response to his...
, compiled a chronicle of Northumbrian history in the 990's, wrote a Latin life of Oswald of Worcester
Oswald of Worcester
Oswald of Worcester was Archbishop of York from 972 to his death in 992. He was of Danish ancestry, but brought up by his uncle, Oda, who sent him to France to the abbey of Fleury to become a monk. After a number of years at Fleury, Oswald returned to England at the request of his uncle, who died...
(the Vita Oswaldi) about the year 1000, and it is suggested that he is responsible for the early sections of the Historia regum, or History of the Kings, attributed to Simeon of Durham. This last attribution is based on the similarity of the style between Simeon and Byrhtferth. The last of Byrhtferth's works is an unsigned fragment of Old English text on computus in the Manuscript BL Cotton Caligula A.xv, fols. MS 142v-143r. It is attributed to him because of the stylistic similarity to the Old English that he wrote in Manual.
Byrhtferth has also been credited with Latin commentaries on Bede's De natura rerum and De temporum ratione (first attributed to him by John Herwagen) and a Vita S. Dunstani signed "B" (first attributed to him by Jean Mabillon). However, many scholars argue that these works were not written by Byrhtferth, but instead were a compilation of material by several writers in the late ninth and early tenth centuries. This is argued because of the smooth, polished style of these works in comparison with the styles of the only signed works Manual and Preface.
Preface
Oxford, St. John's College MS 17 http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/ms-17/index.htm contains several computistical works by BedeBede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
and Helperic, and a computus
Computus
Computus is the calculation of the date of Easter in the Christian calendar. The name has been used for this procedure since the early Middle Ages, as it was one of the most important computations of the age....
which includes the Latin Epilogus, or Preface, by Byrhtferth. He also constructed a full-page diagram showing the harmony of the universe, and suggesting correspondences among cosmological, numerological, and physiological aspects of the world. Other items in the manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
may in fact be Byrhtferth, but it cannot be proved. Also, he may have compiled most of these things from works that Abbo of Fleury
Abbo of Fleury
Abbo of Fleury , also known as Abbon or Saint Abbo was a monk, and later abbot, of the Benedictine monastery of Fleury sur Loire near Orléans, France....
left behind at Ramsey Abbey
Ramsey Abbey
Ramsey Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey located in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, England, southeast of Peterborough and north of Huntingdon, UK.-History:...
after his death.
Manual
Bodl. Ashmole MS 328 preserves Byrhtferth's Latin Enchiridion, or Manual. It is written in Latin and Old English and the largest part is that of a computusComputus
Computus is the calculation of the date of Easter in the Christian calendar. The name has been used for this procedure since the early Middle Ages, as it was one of the most important computations of the age....
similar to the one in Preface. It touches on the belief that the divine order of the universe can be perceived through the study of numbers and can be of great reference for the study of medieval number symbolism. It also contains treatises on rhetorical and grammatical subjects, a table of weights and measures and three theological tracts on the ages of the world, the loosing of Satan and the eight capital sins.