Bertwald

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The Holy Bert Forest (also: Birhtwald, Brihtwald, Beorhtweald, Berthwald, Beorhtwald or Beretuald; † 13 January 731 ) was from 693 until his death Archbishop of Canterbury .

Life

Bertwald was born around 650 and was of royal descent. Little is known about its exact origin.

Abbot of Glastonbury and Reculver

From Cenwalh of Wessex , king of Wessex , he became the first Anglo-Saxon 667 abbot of the monastery Glastonbury appointed, which was later fitted four years by King with extensive land holdings in the area of Meare. Around 676 Bertwald became abbot of Reculver Monastery in Kent (north of Canterbury ). In 679, King Hlothhere of Kent donated lands near Westanae ( Isle of Thanet ) and Sturry (near Canterbury) to Abbot Bertwald and the Abbey of Reculver.

Archbishop of Canterbury

In 690 he was elected the ninth Archbishop of Canterbury to succeed the late Theodore of Tarsus and went to the Frankish Empire , where he was ordained in 693 by Godwin , Archbishop of Lyon . Bertwald built new bishops and promoted the Christianization of Sussex , the last pagan kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons.

The new Archbishop Bertwald of Canterbury asked Wilfrid , Archbishop of York , to confirm the division of his diocese. Wilfrid refused and was exiled; he found refuge with Æthelred of Mercia .

Under the influence of Archbishop Bertwald, King Wihtred of Kent reformed the law in 695. In Berghamstyde, the new laws were passed at a meeting of many important men (Archbishop Bertwald of Canterbury; Gybmund, Bishop of Rochester; among others). Now unlawful marriages, pagan rites and disregard of religious holidays were punished: the churches were exempt from taxes, and the oaths of the bishops and the king were unreservedly valid.

In 702 he chaired the Council of Easterfield, where Wilfrid was deposed and excommunicated. Wilfrid was born in 703 by Pope John VI. fully rehabilitated after 70 sessions. Bertwald was reconciled with Wilfrid at a synod in 706. Despite the Pope's decision, Wilfrid renounced the Diocese of York in favor of John of Beverley and accepted the newly created Diocese of Hexham, whereby he also got his monastery back in Ripon.

Bertwald died in Canterbury on January 13, 731, and was succeeded by Tatwin .

729, 731 and also 732 were handed down as the year of death, but today 731 is generally believed to be correct.

swell

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Bertwald von Canterbury at heiligenlexikon.de
  2. ↑ S8
  3. ^ The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 690, 693
  4. ↑ Oliver J. Thatcher (Ed.): The Laws of King Wihtræd. The Library of Original Sources (Milwaukee: University Research Extension Co., 1901), Vol. IV: The Early Medieval World
  5. ^ The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 729
  6. ^ Beda Venerabilis , Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum for the year 731
  7. ^ Symeon of Durham , Historia regum Anglorum et Dacorum
predecessor Office successor
Theodore of Tarsus Archbishop of Canterbury
693–731 		Tatwin
personal data
SURNAME Bertwald
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Birhtwald; Brihtwald; Beorhtweald; Berthwald; Beorhtwald; Beretuald
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Archbishop of Canterbury
DATE OF BIRTH around 650
DATE OF DEATH January 13, 731
Place of death Canterbury