Athelwold

Athelwold († May 25, 1156 or May 10, 1157) was an English clergyman. From 1133 he was the first bishop of the Diocese of Carlisle .

Ascent to prior of Nostell

Athelwold probably came from an Anglo-Saxon family from Yorkshire . Nothing is known about his youth and education. He became a clergyman and confessor to King Henry I , who apparently gave him property near Pocklington in Yorkshire. Before 1122 he became prior of the Augustinian settlement of Nostell . Nostell had been founded by the king and replaced a community of hermits , the foundation was only confirmed by the Pope in 1120.

Prior of Nostell

Thanks to the support of local nobles, Archbishop Thurstan of York and the support of the king, the priory continued to grow. The crypt of the new monastery church was built under Athelwold . Nevertheless, he stayed at the royal court frequently. Allegedly, on his recommendation, William de Corbeil was elected the new Archbishop of Canterbury in 1123. In 1131 he was part of the English delegation that represented the king at the Council of Reims . As Prior of Nostell, Athelwold supported the Scottish kings Alexander I and David I in founding Scone Priory , in founding St Andrews and in establishing further Augustinian settlements in Scotland. The first prior of St Andrews after the reorganization had previously been a canon at Nostell, and Athelwold took part in his ordination in York in 1127 .

Bishop of Carlisle

In the service of the English and Scottish kings

According to the unchallenged tradition, Athelwold not only limited his activities in northern England to Nostell, but also became the first prior of the Augustinian priory of Carlisle, founded in 1122 or 1123 . Such an accumulation of offices was unlikely, but it appears that the Carlisle Priory was founded primarily in preparation for the formation of a diocese in Cumbria . Athelwold was apparently only supposed to take over this office temporarily, but the establishment of the diocese was delayed by more than a decade. When the diocese was finally established in 1133, Athelwold was appointed first bishop and consecrated on August 6, 1133. One of the main reasons for establishing the new diocese was to end the claims of the bishops of Glasgow on Cumbria, which had only fallen to England in 1092. Presumably King Henry I hoped that the Scottish King David I would accept Athelwold as an English bishop because of his contacts. Nevertheless, the Scots conquered the northern English counties including Cumbria in 1135. Whether Athelwold was already active in Carlisle at that time is controversial, because there is no doubt that he still stayed at the royal court frequently until 1135. After the Scottish occupation of Carlisle, Athelwold stayed at the court of Stephan , the successor to Henry I. He accompanied the king to Normandy in 1137 and witnessed several royal documents. After the victorious standard battle for England in 1138, however , the papal legate Alberic secured the return of Athelwold to Carlisle and ensured a reconciliation between him and David I. Athelwold continued to have close contacts with King Stephen until 1143, but he was obviously often in his new diocese active. In addition, he was often at the Scottish royal court, where he testified in Edinburgh and in Bamburgh , but also in Carlisle both for David I, his son Henry of Scotland and for David's grandson Malcolm IV . The Scottish kings granted Nostell Priory 40 shillings annually from the income from Bedford . When they lost their control of Bedford, Athelwold assured the priory corresponding income from the Carlisle silver mines.

Act as a bishop

As bishop Athelwold took care of the structure and organization of his diocese. He appointed an archdeacon as a representative and, whenever possible, ensured adequate income for the parish vicars who exercised pastoral care in the parishes. According to tradition, he founded the Hospital of St Nicholas and a cathedral school in Carlisle . Between 1141 and 1144 Athelwold supported William de Ste Barbe , when he prevailed against the Scottish candidate William Cumin as bishop of the Diocese of Durham . As a bishop he tried to push through spiritual reforms. His attempt to place the cathedral priory of Carlisle under the supervision of the strict Augustinian settlement Arrouaise in France failed, but he was one of the supporters of Henry Murdac in 1147 when he was elected Archbishop of York in place of the deposed William Fitzherbert . When Murdac, who belonged to the reformist Cistercian order , was expelled from York in 1148, Athelwold received him with due respect in Carlisle. Nevertheless, Athelwold as bishop mainly granted privileges to the traditional Benedict abbeys Whitby , Wetheral and St Mary's of York and not to the young Cistercian monasteries in Northern England.

Last years and death

From the beginning of the 1150s, Athelwold's health appeared to be deteriorating. 1150 a new prior of Carlisle is mentioned, who took over part of Athelwold's duties. Athelwold also confirmed to the canons of Carlisle Cathedral Priory that they had their own share of the diocese's income. This left the Bishops of Carlisle with very little income. 1153 resigned Athelwold his office as prior of Nostell. He cited his poor health as the reason, but perhaps just wanted to avoid a conflict with William Fitzherbert, who had become Archbishop of York again that year. On December 19, 1154, Athelwold attended the coronation of Henry II at Westminster Abbey and the next year he witnessed a charter from the king in York. He probably died on May 10, 1157, but possibly as early as May 25, 1156. According to later information, he was buried in the cathedral priory of Carlisle. It was not until 1200 that a new Bishop of Carlisle, Bernard , was appointed. The diocese that Athelwold had built up was so solid at his death that it survived the more than 40-year vacancy after his death.

literature

• Henry Summerson: Old and new bishoprics: Durham and Carlisle . In: Margaret Harvey, DW Rollason, Michael Prestwich: Anglo-Norman Durham , Boydell, Woodbridge 1998, ISBN 0-85115-654-1 , pp. 369-380
• Henry Summerson: Athelwold the bishop and Walter the priest . In: Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society , new ser., 95 (1995), pp. 85-91

Web links

• Henry Summerson: Athelwold (d. 1156/7). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004

predecessor	Office	successor
New diocese founded	Bishop of Carlisle 1133–1156 / 7	vacant