Old Minster (Winchester)

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Modern paving to outline the Old Minster next to Winchester Cathedral

The Old Minster was the Anglo-Saxon cathedral of the Diocese of Winchester from 660 to 1093. It stood immediately north and partly on the same ground as its successor, Winchester Cathedral .

The minster was built in 648 for King Cenwalh of Wessex . It became the cathedral of the West Saxon bishopric when it was moved here from Dorchester in the 660s . The church was expanded and decorated over the years, and Bishop Swithin was buried outside in 862. In the 10th century the minster was the church of St. Swithin's Priory , a Benedictine monastic community.

In 901 New Minster was built so close to the old church that the monks' chants were said to be hopelessly mixed up. Bishop Æthelwold and his successors Ælfheah (Alphege) had the church completely rebuilt on a large scale during their monastic reforms in the 970s, making it the largest church in Europe. Swithin's body was reburied inside. Nevertheless, after the Norman conquest of England , Bishop Walkelin had a new cathedral built parallel to the old one, and Old Minster was demolished in 1093. Many kings of Wessex and kings of England (including Egbert of Wessex († 839)) and many bishops of Winchester were buried in the Old Minster. Their bodies were exhumed and reburied in the new cathedral.

Old Minster was uncovered in the 1960s. The outline of the building can now be seen as paving in the churchyard next to Winchester Cathedral. Swithin's first grave is clearly marked. The bones of the monarchs who were reburied in the cathedral have found a new resting place in the choir . More finds from the dig are now in the Winchester City Museum .

Known events

Burials

literature

  • John Crook (2014). Winchester , in: Michael Lapidge, John Blair, Simon Keynes, Donald Scragg (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England (2nd edition). Chichester, UK: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-0-470-65632-7 .


Remarks

  1. ↑ Crook, pp. 501-502
  2. ^ Our History, Winchester Cathedral
  3. ^ Winchester Cathedral, City of Winchester
  4. ↑ Some Notes on the Religious Foundations in Winchester, Church Monuments Society

Coordinates: 51 ° 3 ′ 39.6 "  N , 1 ° 18 ′ 50.4"  W.