Eadnothus
Encyclopedia
Eadnoth the Younger or Eadnoth I was a medieval monk
and prelate
, successively Abbot of Ramsey and Bishop of Dorchester. From a prominent family of priests in the Fens
, he was related to Oswald
, Bishop of Worcester
, Archbishop of York
and founder of Ramsey Abbey
. Following in the footsteps of his illustrious kinsman, he initially became a monk at Worcester
. He is found at Ramsey supervising construction works in the 980s, and around 992 actually became Abbot of Ramsey. As abbot, he founded two daughter houses in what is now Cambridgeshire
, namely, a monastery at St Ives
and a nunnery at Chatteris
. At some point between 1007 and 1009, he became Bishop of Dorchester, a see
that encompassed much of the eastern Danelaw
. He died at the Battle of Assandun in 1016, fighting Cnut the Great.
by a kinswoman of Oswald, Bishop of Worcester and Archbishop of York. His father came from family of hereditary Fenland priests from in or around the Isle of Ely
. Æthelstan had lands in Cambridgeshire
, Huntingdonshire
and Bedfordshire
, with "outlying" [Hart] estates in Norfolk
and Lincolnshire
. Eadnoth is styled "the Younger", Iunior, to distinguish him from Eadnoth "the Elder", Senior, the follower of Oswald who served as prior
of the monastery of Ramsey
in the years before Eadnoth the Younger became abbot.
Eadnoth the Younger had one brother, Godric (died 1013), and at least two sisters, Ælfwaru
(died 1007) and Ælfwyn, all of whom inherited estates (in addition to a fishery
) from their father. Eadnoth, by contrast, became a monk at Worcester Abbey, where his mother's kinsman Oswald was bishop, and thus could not inherit anything. Eadnoth appears for the first time in the 980s when, according to the Liber Benefactorum Ecclesiae Ramesiensis, he supervised the repair of the western tower of Ramsey Abbey. Eadnoth became Abbot of Ramsey in 992, having probably already taken over Eadnoth the Elder's duties as prior from at least 991, if not earlier.
had given Germanus enough money to found a new monastery at Cholsey
. Ramsey had had two communities of monks, those who had been moved by Oswald there from Westbury on Trym in the 960s, and those who had fled there in the 980s from Winchcombe
because of the anti-monastic reaction in Mercia; until 992, Oswald, who died in 992, had been titular abbot of the former with Eadnoth the Elder as his prior, while the Winchcombe monks had Germanus as their abbot.
According to historian Cyril Hart, "there is no shred of doubt" that Eadnoth the Younger obtained this office through the influence of Oswald. Although such nepotism
contradicted the usual spirit of the Benedictine revival in England at the time, Oswald himself had similarly advanced because of family connections. As abbot Eadnoth founded a nunnery on his family lands at Chatteris, and his younger sister Ælfwyn became its first abbess
. In 1007 Chatteris nunnery received the lands of Over
and Barley
, following the death of their sister Ælfwaru.
Eadnoth also founded a monastery at St Ives, Cambridgeshire. Established as a daughter-house of Ramsey (like Chaterris), the monastery's entire endowment consisted of Slepe (what became St Ives) as well as part of Elsworth
and Knapworth. All of these lands (including their churches) had been the property of Eadnoth's father Æthelstan. Elsworth had been left to Ramsey in the will of Eadnoth's sister Ælfwaru. On 24 April 1002, soon after founding St Ives, he translated its eponymous saintly resident—discovered by a ploughing peasant a year before— to Ramsey Abbey.
, and after Eadnoth's episcopate came to include the Diocese of Lindsey too. In the Norman era the bishopric's seat returned north, and became the well-known bishopric of Lincoln.
Little is known of Eadnoth's episcopate. His first appearance as bishop is as a witness to a charter of 1009, issued by King Æthelred to a thegn named Morcar; the last notice of Eadnoth's predecessor as bishop, Ælfhelm, occurs in a similar document of 1007. Eadnoth subsequently subscribes at least another eight royal charter before his death, all between 1011 and 1013, with a possible further subscription in 1016. On 18 October 1016, Bishop Eadnoth fought and was martyr
ed at the battle of Assandun in Essex
, alongside Wulfsifge, his successor as abbot of Ramsey, and Æthelweard son of Ealdorman Æthelwine
[of East Anglia]. He was fighting on behalf of Edmund Ironside
against Cnut, the Danish invader who was claiming the English crown.
Eadnoth's body was taken north into the Fenlands, heading back to Ramsey. According to the Liber Eliensis
, the guards of the body stopped at Ely Abbey and got drunk, during which the Ely monks seized and hid the body. The plot was led by Ælfgar
, formerly Bishop of Elmham. Thereafter the body remained at Ely, where Eadnoth the Martyr was venerated as a saint.
It is thought that Abbot Eadnoth is the abbot depicted alongside a bishop (his kinsman Bishop Oswald) in one of the miniatures in the 14th-century Ramsey Psalter (not to be confused with British Museum MS Harley 2904
). Below Bishop Oswald is a ram, after the first element of the place-name Ramsey, and below Eadnoth a bull, in reference to the foundation legend of the abbey.
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...
and prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
, successively Abbot of Ramsey and Bishop of Dorchester. From a prominent family of priests in the Fens
The Fens
The Fens, also known as the , are a naturally marshy region in eastern England. Most of the fens were drained several centuries ago, resulting in a flat, damp, low-lying agricultural region....
, he was related to Oswald
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...
, Bishop of Worcester
Bishop of Worcester
The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. He is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury...
, Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
and founder of 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:...
. Following in the footsteps of his illustrious kinsman, he initially became a monk at Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
. He is found at Ramsey supervising construction works in the 980s, and around 992 actually became Abbot of Ramsey. As abbot, he founded two daughter houses in what is now Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, namely, a monastery at St Ives
St Ives, Cambridgeshire
St Ives is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England, around north-west of the city of Cambridge and north of London. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Huntingdonshire.-History:...
and a nunnery at Chatteris
Chatteris
Chatteris is a civil parish and one of four market towns in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England, situated in The Fens between Huntingdon, March and Ely...
. At some point between 1007 and 1009, he became Bishop of Dorchester, a see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
that encompassed much of the eastern Danelaw
Danelaw
The Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the "Danes" held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. It is contrasted with "West Saxon law" and "Mercian law". The term has been extended by modern historians to...
. He died at the Battle of Assandun in 1016, fighting Cnut the Great.
Family
Eadnoth the Younger was the son of Æthelstan MannessuneÆthelstan Mannessune
Æthelstan Mannessune was a landowner and monastic patron in late 10th-century Anglo-Saxon England, coming from a family of secularised priests. Remembered by Ely Abbey as an enemy, he and his family endowed Ramsey Abbey and allegedly provided it with a piece of the True Cross...
by a kinswoman of Oswald, Bishop of Worcester and Archbishop of York. His father came from family of hereditary Fenland priests from in or around the Isle of Ely
Isle of Ely
The Isle of Ely is a historic region around the city of Ely now in Cambridgeshire, England but previously a county in its own right.-Etymology:...
. Æthelstan had lands in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
and Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, with "outlying" [Hart] estates in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
and Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
. Eadnoth is styled "the Younger", Iunior, to distinguish him from Eadnoth "the Elder", Senior, the follower of Oswald who served as prior
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
of the monastery of Ramsey
Ramsey Abbey
Ramsey Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey located in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, England, southeast of Peterborough and north of Huntingdon, UK.-History:...
in the years before Eadnoth the Younger became abbot.
Eadnoth the Younger had one brother, Godric (died 1013), and at least two sisters, Ælfwaru
Ælfwaru
Ælfwaru was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman, who bequeathed her lands to churches such as Ely, and Ramsey. Chroniclers, writing in the 12th century, transcribed such bequests, from the original cyrographs. Ælfwaru's cyrograph has not survived...
(died 1007) and Ælfwyn, all of whom inherited estates (in addition to a fishery
Fishery
Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
) from their father. Eadnoth, by contrast, became a monk at Worcester Abbey, where his mother's kinsman Oswald was bishop, and thus could not inherit anything. Eadnoth appears for the first time in the 980s when, according to the Liber Benefactorum Ecclesiae Ramesiensis, he supervised the repair of the western tower of Ramsey Abbey. Eadnoth became Abbot of Ramsey in 992, having probably already taken over Eadnoth the Elder's duties as prior from at least 991, if not earlier.
Abbot of Ramsey
The Liber Benefactorum calls Eadnoth the Younger the "first abbot of Ramsey". It says that he was elected according to the Benedictine Rule by the monks of Ramsey, after Ealdorman ÆthelwineÆthelwine, Ealdorman of East Anglia
Æthelwine was ealdorman of East Anglia and one of the leading noblemen in the kingdom of England in the later 10th century. As with his kinsmen, the principal source for his life is Byrhtferth's life of Oswald of Worcester...
had given Germanus enough money to found a new monastery at Cholsey
Cholsey
Cholsey is a village and civil parish south of Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire. In 1974 it was transferred from Berkshire to the county of Oxfordshire, and from Wallingford Rural District to the district of South Oxfordshire....
. Ramsey had had two communities of monks, those who had been moved by Oswald there from Westbury on Trym in the 960s, and those who had fled there in the 980s from Winchcombe
Winchcombe
Winchcombe is a Cotswold town in the local authority district of Tewkesbury, in Gloucestershire, England. Its population according to the 2001 census was 4,379.-Early history:...
because of the anti-monastic reaction in Mercia; until 992, Oswald, who died in 992, had been titular abbot of the former with Eadnoth the Elder as his prior, while the Winchcombe monks had Germanus as their abbot.
According to historian Cyril Hart, "there is no shred of doubt" that Eadnoth the Younger obtained this office through the influence of Oswald. Although such nepotism
Nepotism
Nepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos, nepotis , from which modern Romanian nepot and Italian nipote, "nephew" or "grandchild" are also descended....
contradicted the usual spirit of the Benedictine revival in England at the time, Oswald himself had similarly advanced because of family connections. As abbot Eadnoth founded a nunnery on his family lands at Chatteris, and his younger sister Ælfwyn became its first abbess
Abbess
An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....
. In 1007 Chatteris nunnery received the lands of Over
Over, Cambridgeshire
Over is a large village near the River Great Ouse in the English county of Cambridgeshire, just east of the Prime Meridian.The parish covers an area of approximately...
and Barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
, following the death of their sister Ælfwaru.
Eadnoth also founded a monastery at St Ives, Cambridgeshire. Established as a daughter-house of Ramsey (like Chaterris), the monastery's entire endowment consisted of Slepe (what became St Ives) as well as part of Elsworth
Elsworth
Elsworth is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, 9 miles west of Cambridge. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 657.-History:...
and Knapworth. All of these lands (including their churches) had been the property of Eadnoth's father Æthelstan. Elsworth had been left to Ramsey in the will of Eadnoth's sister Ælfwaru. On 24 April 1002, soon after founding St Ives, he translated its eponymous saintly resident—discovered by a ploughing peasant a year before— to Ramsey Abbey.
Bishop of Dorchester
At some point between 1007 and 1009, Eadnoth became Bishop of Dorchester. Dorchester was a sprawling diocese based far to the south of most of its territory in the eastern Danelaw, at Dorchester on Thames. It was roughly equivalent to the pre-Viking east Mercian diocese of LeicesterDiocese of Leicester
The Diocese of Leicester is a Church of England diocese based in Leicester and including the current county of Leicestershire. The cathedral is Leicester Cathedral, where the Bishop of Leicester has his seat....
, and after Eadnoth's episcopate came to include the Diocese of Lindsey too. In the Norman era the bishopric's seat returned north, and became the well-known bishopric of Lincoln.
Little is known of Eadnoth's episcopate. His first appearance as bishop is as a witness to a charter of 1009, issued by King Æthelred to a thegn named Morcar; the last notice of Eadnoth's predecessor as bishop, Ælfhelm, occurs in a similar document of 1007. Eadnoth subsequently subscribes at least another eight royal charter before his death, all between 1011 and 1013, with a possible further subscription in 1016. On 18 October 1016, Bishop Eadnoth fought and was martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
ed at the battle of Assandun in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, alongside Wulfsifge, his successor as abbot of Ramsey, and Æthelweard son of Ealdorman Æthelwine
Æthelwine, Ealdorman of East Anglia
Æthelwine was ealdorman of East Anglia and one of the leading noblemen in the kingdom of England in the later 10th century. As with his kinsmen, the principal source for his life is Byrhtferth's life of Oswald of Worcester...
[of East Anglia]. He was fighting on behalf of Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside or Edmund II was king of England from 23 April to 30 November 1016. His cognomen "Ironside" is not recorded until 1057, but may have been contemporary. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it was given to him "because of his valour" in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut...
against Cnut, the Danish invader who was claiming the English crown.
Eadnoth's body was taken north into the Fenlands, heading back to Ramsey. According to the Liber Eliensis
Liber Eliensis
The Liber Eliensis is a 12th-century English chronicle and history, written in Latin. Composed in three books, it was written at Ely Abbey on the island of Ely in the fenlands of eastern Cambridgeshire. Ely Abbey became the cathedral of a newly formed bishopric in 1109...
, the guards of the body stopped at Ely Abbey and got drunk, during which the Ely monks seized and hid the body. The plot was led by Ælfgar
Ælfgar of Elmham
Ælfgar was a medieval Bishop of Elmham.He was consecrated in 1001 and resigned the see between 1012 and 1016. He died on 24 or 25 December 1021.-External links:*...
, formerly Bishop of Elmham. Thereafter the body remained at Ely, where Eadnoth the Martyr was venerated as a saint.
It is thought that Abbot Eadnoth is the abbot depicted alongside a bishop (his kinsman Bishop Oswald) in one of the miniatures in the 14th-century Ramsey Psalter (not to be confused with British Museum MS Harley 2904
Ramsey Psalter
The Ramsey Psalter is an illuminated manuscript of the tenth century. Its script and decoration suggest that it was made at Winchester, but certain liturgical features have suggested that it was intended for use at the Benedictine monastery of Ramsey, or for the personal use of Ramsey's founder St...
). Below Bishop Oswald is a ram, after the first element of the place-name Ramsey, and below Eadnoth a bull, in reference to the foundation legend of the abbey.