Waltheof of Melrose

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Drawing from the 19th century for Waltheof's grave monument from the 12th century

Waltheof von Melrose (also called Waldef and Waldeve , † August 3, 1159 in Melrose Abbey ) was an English abbot and saint .

He is the son of Simon I de Senlis , Earl of Northampton , and Maud, Countess of Huntingdon, thus a stepson of King David I of Scotland and grandson of Waltheof II, Earl of Northumbria .

As a younger son - according to Norman law - he could not count on being considered in the line of succession, he turned to an ecclesiastical career. Between 1128 and 1131 he joined the Nostell Priory in order Augustinians - Canons to become. His connections to the nobility enabled him to rise quickly. Within a few years he became prior of Kirkham in North Yorkshire . After Thurstan's death in 1140, Waltheof was elected as the new Archbishop of York , and his candidacy was supported by William le Gros, Earl of York . Stephan von Blois , King of England since 1135, refused his appointment, however, because Waltheof's ties to David of Scotland and thus Empress Matilda , his opponent, were too strong for him. The Earl of York withdrew his support after Waltheof refused to promise Sherburn ecclesiastical mansion at Elmet in the West Riding of Yorkshire for his help . King Stephen decided in 1141 for William Fitzherbert as the new archbishop. Waltheof was among the opponents who opposed Williams' appointment, but had given up the resistance in 1143 and became a Cistercian monk at Rievaulx Abbey . In 1148 he was elected abbot of Melrose Abbey in Roxburghshire , a daughter monastery of Rievaulx. Waltheof stayed here for the rest of his life, although the Scottish King Wilhelm I , son of Waltehof's stepbrother Henry , offered him the office of bishop of the rich diocese of St Andrews in 1159 . Waltheof refused the office and died a few months later.

After Waltheof's death, his successor at Melrose Abbey, Abbot William, refused to promote the rumors about Waltheof's holiness. He tried to silence these rumors and prevented pilgrims from entering the monastery. However, William was unable to suppress the emerging cult around Waltheof, and his actions alienated him from his brothers. As a result, William resigned in April 1170. In his place, Jocelin of Glasgow , previously Prior of Melrose, became abbot: he did not share Williams' concerns, but instead promoted the cult without hesitation. In the year he took office, the Chronicle of Melrose Abbey reported:

The grave of our pious father, Sir Waltheof, second abbot of Melrose, was opened by Enguerrand , fondly remembered Bishop of Glasgow , and by four abbots called for this purpose; and his body was found complete, and his garments intact, in the twelfth year after his death, on the eleventh day before the calendar of June. May]. And after the holy mass celebrations, the same bishop and the abbots, the number of whom we have mentioned above, laid a new stone of polished marble over the remains of his most sacred body. And there was great joy; those who were present called out together saying that this was really a man of God ...

The promotion of saints was something Jocelyn repeated as Bishop of Glasgow, where he commissioned a hagiography of Saint Kentigern , the most venerated saint by the Celts of the Diocese of Glasgow. It is no accident that Jocelin von Furness , who wrote the Vita of St. Waltheof, was the same man who was later commissioned to write the life of St. Kentigern. Jocelin's work posthumously secured Waltheof's de facto holiness; and the need for Melrose Abbey to have its own cult of saints ensured the longevity of the cult.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Barlow, pp. 208-210
  2. ^ Barlow, p. 96
  3. ^ Dalton, pp. 162-163
  4. ^ British History Online
  5. ^ Dalton, pp. 162-163
  6. ↑ Appleby, p. 120
  7. ↑ Barlow, pp. 208-210
  8. ^ Archibald AM Duncan: Scotland. The Making of the Kingdom (The Edinburgh History of Scotland; Vol. I ). Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh 1975. ISBN 0-05-00203-7-4 , p. 261.
  9. ↑ Fawcetts / Oram, p. 23 f.
  10. ↑ Chronicle of Melrose , p. a. 1171, translated by AO Anderson, in: Early Sources of Scottish History. AD 500-1286. Volume 2, Edinburgh 1922, pp. 274f; modernized translation in Fawcetts / Oram, p. 23; this entry was written some time after the death of Bishop Enguerrand on February 22, 1174 to the year following the event.
personal data
SURNAME Waltheof of Melrose
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Waldef, Waldeve
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English abbot and saint
DATE OF BIRTH 11th century or 12th century
DATE OF DEATH August 3, 1159
Place of death Melrose Abbey