Wulfstan I, Archbishop of York
Encyclopedia
Wulfstan was 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...

 between 931 and 952. He is often known as Wulfstan I, to separate him from Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York
Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York
Wulfstan was an English Bishop of London, Bishop of Worcester, and Archbishop of York. He should not be confused with Wulfstan I, Archbishop of York or Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester. He is thought to have begun his ecclesiastical career as a Benedictine monk. He became the Bishop of London in 996...

.

Life

Wulfstan was consecrated in 931.

In 939, King Olaf Guthfrithson
Olaf III Guthfrithson
Amlaíb mac Gofraid , a member of the Norse-Gael Uí Ímair dynasty, was King of Dublin from 934 to 941...

 of Dublin invaded Northumbria and occupied York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

. King Edmund of England marched north to remove Olaf from York, but in 940 Wulfstan and Archbishop Wulfhelm
Wulfhelm
Wulfhelm was Bishop of Wells before being promoted to the Archbishopric of Canterbury about 926.-Biography:Wulfhelm was elected and consecrated Bishop of Wells between 923 and September 925. Wulfhelm was translated from the Bishopric of Wells to be Archbishop of Canterbury in about 926...

 of Canterbury arranged a treaty that ceded the area between Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...

 and the border of Northumbria to Olaf. But Olaf died in late 940, and his rule in York was inherited by his cousin, Olaf Sitricson
Olaf Cuaran
Amlaíb mac Sitric , commonly called Amlaíb Cuarán, in Old Norse: Óláfr kváran, was a 10th century Norse-Gael who was king of Northumbria and king of Dublin. His byname, cuarán, is usually translated as "sandal"...

 who became King of Jórvík
Jórvík
Scandinavian York is a term, like the terms Kingdom of Jórvík or Kingdom of York, used by historians for the kingdom of Northumbria in the late 9th century and first half of the 10th century, when it was dominated by Norse warrior-kings; in particular, it is used to refer to the city controlled by...

. Wulstan's career is characterized by frequent swapping of allegiances, both among Viking leaders from Dublin and the Wessex kings. Perhaps Wulfstan played the part of 'king-maker' in Northumbrian politics in the mid-10th century, or perhaps he was guided by self-preservation and the interests of the Church in Northumbria. Later in 947 Wulfstan invited Erik Bloodaxe, the King of Orkney to become King of Jórvík. Eadred of Wessex brutally ravaged Northumbria in 948, forcing Eric to leave Northumbria. Olaf Cuaran then resumed his second reign at York. By 951, Wulfstan appears to have supported Erik's claim to the kingdom of York over Olaf as he ceased to witness charters at the English court. In 952, Olaf was driven out by the Northumbrians in favor of Eric. Eadred then re-invaded and imprisoned Wulfstan. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle version D says that Eadred arrested Wulfstan, but if this actually happened, the king and archbishop must have reconciled at some point before Eadred's death in 955, as Wulfstan was archbishop when Eadred died. He attested some charters in 953, so he was not imprisoned then.

Wulfstan died at Oundle
Oundle
Oundle is an ancient market town on the River Nene in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 5,345 or 5,674 . It lies some north of London and south-west of Peterborough...

, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

 on 26 December 956 or 16 December 956, and was buried at Oundle.

External links

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