Ceolwulf (Northumbria)

Northumbria in the time of Ceolwulf

Ceolwulf (also Ceolwulfus, Ceolulf, Ceoluulf, Ceolf, Ciolwulf ; * around 700; † January 15, 764 in Lindisfarne ) was king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria from 729 to 737 . He is considered a saint .

Life

family

Ceolwulf was the son of Cuthwine. He traced his origins back to Ocga, a son of the dynasty founder Ida (547–559 / 560), and thus belonged to a branch line of the Northumbrian ruling house. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes Ceolwulf as the son of a Cutha and grandson of Cuthwines.

Domination

To 716 descendants had Æthelrics ruled in Northumbria (568-572). After the death of Osred I (706-716), the kingship passed to Ceolwulf's older brother Cenred (716-718) from the House of Ocga. After his death, Osric (718–729) succeeded the throne, who was probably a younger brother of Osred I. Ceolwulf may have lived in exile during Osric's reign. Shortly before his violent death on May 9, 729, Osric appointed Ceolwulf, the brother of his predecessor Cenred from the House of Occa (Ocga), which thus finally inherited the previous dynasty, as his successor. The changeable balance of power within the dynasty suggests political instability during Ceolwulf's rule. Beda Venerabilis mentioned that Ceolwulf's inauguration and the early course of his government were marked by grave adversity and setbacks, but without giving details. These problems were domestic in nature, as an apparently stable peace had been made with the Picts, the Irish remained calm, and the British were severely weakened. Bede dedicated his history of the English Church, the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum , to him in 731 .

Around 731 Ceolwulf was taken into monastery custody by his opponents, without the background being clear. A little later he was released and came back to power. Since shortly afterwards the bishops Acca of Hexham and Wilfrid II of York resigned their office or were deposed by Ceolwulf, it can be assumed that they were involved in the conspiracy against the king. In York, Ceolwulf's cousin Ecgberht was installed as the new bishop in 732 and raised to archbishop in 735. Presumably Ecgberht and his brother Eadberht , who was to become Ceolwulf's successor, played a major role in Ceolwulf's renewed takeover. Ceolwulf is often referred to as a great patron of churches, monasteries, and education. However, it is questionable whether he could read and write himself. The erudition he is said to have can not be taken safely from contemporary sources and is only used in writings of the 11th / 12th centuries. Century postulated.

monastery

In 737 Ceolwulf decided to renounce his royal rule. He appointed his cousin Eadberht to succeed him as king . He entered the monastery of Lindisfarne and transferred land to the monastery at Warkworth (Northumberland) . Chroniclers of the 11th and 12th centuries recorded that he should have allowed the monks to drink wine and beer. He himself spent the last 27 years of his life in Lindisfarne, where he died and was buried on January 15, 764.

Adoration

Several miracles are said to have occurred at Ceolwulf's grave. The veneration of Ceolwulf remained regionally limited. He did not develop an independent cult, but was tied to the veneration of Saint Cuthbert . Bishop Ecgred (830-845) moved the bishopric, at least temporarily, to Norham-upon-Tweed and transferred the body of Ceolwulf there. Bishop Ealdhun (990-1018) finally moved the bishopric from Lindisfarne to Durham in 995 and transferred Ceolwulf's head to the church there.

swell

• anonymous: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Online in Project Gutenberg (English)
• Beda Venerabilis : Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum , Online in the Medieval Sourcebook (English)
• Æthelweard : Chronica
• Anglian collection

literature

• Nicholas J. Higham: (Re-) reading Bede: the ecclesiastical history in context , Routledge, 2006, ISBN 978-0-415-35368-7 .
• Barbara Yorke : Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England . Routledge, London-New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 .
• Ekkart Sauser:  Ceolwulf. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 17, Bautz, Herzberg 2000, ISBN 3-88309-080-8 , Sp. 233-234.
• DP Kirby: The Earliest English Kings , Routledge, London-New York 2000, ISBN 978-0-415-24211-0 .
• NJ Higham: The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350-1100. Stroud: Sutton, 1993. ISBN 978-0-86299-730-4 .
• David W. Rollason: Northumbria, 500-1100: Creation and Destruction of a Kingdom . Cambridge University Press, 2003, ISBN 978-0-521-81335-8 .

Web links

• David W. Rollason: Ceolwulf (paid registration required). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved November 13, 2011
• Ceolwulf in Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
• William Hunt:  Ceolwulf . In: Leslie Stephen (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 09:  Canute - Chaloner. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1887, p. 427 (English ,, (partly outdated state of research)).
• Ceolwulf in Catholic Encyclopedia
• St. Ceolwulf of Northumbria at catholic.org

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Ekkart Sauser:  Ceolwulf. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 17, Bautz, Herzberg 2000, ISBN 3-88309-080-8 , Sp. 233-234.
2. ↑ Simon Keynes: Kings of Northumbria . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1 , pp. 502-505.
3. ↑ David W. Rollason: Osred I  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   (paid registration required). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved November 13, 2011
4. ^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 729
5. Jump up ↑ DP Kirby: The Earliest English Kings , Routledge, London-New York 2000, ISBN 978-0-415-24211-0 , p. 123.
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e} David W. Rollason: Ceolwulf  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   (paid registration required). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved November 13, 2011
7. ^ Nicholas J. Higham: (Re-) reading Bede: the ecclesiastical history in context , Routledge, 2006, ISBN 978-0-415-35368-7 , p. 203.
8. ^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 729
9. ↑ Beda: HE 5, 23
10. ^ Barbara Yorke : Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England . Routledge, London-New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 , p. 88.
11. ^ Beda: HE Continuatio
12. ↑ Michael Lapidge: Ecgberht . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1 , p. 157.
13. ↑ Nicholas J. Higham: (Re-) reading Bede: the ecclesiastical history in context , Routledge, 2006, ISBN 978-0-415-35368-7 , p. 200.
14. ^ Nicholas J. Higham: (Re-) reading Bede: the ecclesiastical history in context , Routledge, 2006, ISBN 978-0-415-35368-7 , p. 42.
15. ↑ Symeon of Durham : Historia regum Anglorum et Dacorum for the year 854
16. ^ Robert B. Patterson: The Haskins Society Journal. Studies in Medieval History Vol 6 . Boydell & Brewer, 1994, ISBN 978-0-85115-604-0 , pp. 18-27

predecessor	Office	successor
Osric	King of Northumbria 729-737	Eadberht