Plegmund
Encyclopedia
Plegmund after spending time as a hermit
, became Archbishop of Canterbury
in England from 890 to 914. He reorganised the Diocese of Winchester
, creating four new see
s, and worked with other scholars in translating religious works. He was canonised
after his death and a holy well
in Cheshire
is dedicated to him.
n descent and is believed to have lived as a hermit on the Isle of Chester within the marshes of the River Gowy
at Plemstall
in Cheshire. Plegmund may have been affiliated to a monastic community
at nearby Chester
or to an order at the site of the current church of St Peter, Plemstall
. His reputation as a scholar attracted the attention of King Alfred the Great
who was trying to revive scholarship. Some time before 887, he summoned Plegmund to his court with three other scholars, Wærferth, Bishop of Worcester
, Æthelstan and Wærwulf to assist in the effort. After he became Archbishop of Canterbury, the Isle of Chester also became known as "Plegmundeshamm".
of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
"Here Archbishop Plegmund was elected by God and all the people." Fulk, Archbishop of Reims
, praised the election of Plegmund, stating that he would help root out the last remnants of paganism in the people. There is a gap in time between the death of the previous Archbishop of Canterbury, Ethelred
and the consecration of Plegmund which may have been because the see
had been offered to Grimbald
, a Flemish
monk and scholar, who refused it. Plegmund was granted his pallium
by Pope Formosus
.
During the 9th century the see of Canterbury
was at a low point and one of Plegmund's responsibilities was to re-establish its authority. Between 909 and 918 he created new sees within the existing Diocese of Winchester in Crediton
, Ramsbury
, Sherborne
and Wells
. This meant that each future shire
of Wessex
had its own bishop; Crediton for Devon
and Cornwall
, Ramsbury for Wiltshire
, Sherborne for Dorset
and Wells for Somerset
as well as the diocese of Winchester for Hampshire
. In order to do this Plegmund had to gain the approval of Pope Sergius III
, who had annulled all the acts of Pope Formosus, and in 908 he travelled to Rome to be regranted his pallium. He was the first archbishop of Canterbury to visit Rome for nearly a century and he returned with the relic
s of Saint Blaise
.
As a member of King Alfred's court Plegmund worked with three other scholars to translate Gregory the Great's
Cura Pastoralis
(Pastoral Care) from Latin into English. The king then sent copies of it to all the bishops of his realm. Under Plegmund's archbishopric, the quality of the Latin used by his scribes improves over the poor quality of the previous two archbishops. When Alfred died in 899, Plegmund crowned his son Edward
king.
In addition to his religious duties, Plegmund was involved in matters of state and he attended the formal councils held by Edward the Elder in 901, 903, 904 and 909. He dedicated the tall tower of the New Minster
at Winchester in 909. He went to Rome after 908, when he took alms from the king to Rome. Plegmund died on 2 August 914 or 2 August 923, and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral
.
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
, became Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
in England from 890 to 914. He reorganised the Diocese of Winchester
Diocese of Winchester
The Diocese of Winchester forms part of the Province of Canterbury of the Church of England.Founded in 676, it is one of the oldest and largest of the dioceses in England.The area of the diocese incorporates:...
, creating four new see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
s, and worked with other scholars in translating religious works. He was canonised
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
after his death and a holy well
Holy well
A holy well, or sacred spring, is a small body of water emerging from underground and revered either in a Pagan or Christian context, often both. Holy wells were frequently pagan sacred sites that later became Christianized. The term 'holy well' is commonly employed to refer to any water source of...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
is dedicated to him.
Early life
Little is known of the early life of Plegmund except that he was of MerciaMercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
n descent and is believed to have lived as a hermit on the Isle of Chester within the marshes of the River Gowy
River Gowy
The River Gowy is a river in Cheshire, England and a tributary of the River Mersey.It rises in western Cheshire in the hills near Peckforton Castle, very close to the source of the River Weaver. While the Weaver flows south initially, the Gowy flows north and for several miles provides the valley...
at Plemstall
Plemstall
Plemstall is an area in the civil parish of Mickle Trafford, the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester, and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies northeast of the village of Mickle Trafford....
in Cheshire. Plegmund may have been affiliated to a monastic community
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
at nearby Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
or to an order at the site of the current church of St Peter, Plemstall
St Peter's Church, Plemstall
St Peter's Church, Plemstall stands in an isolated position at the end of a country lane near the village of Mickle Trafford, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the...
. His reputation as a scholar attracted the attention of King Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
who was trying to revive scholarship. Some time before 887, he summoned Plegmund to his court with three other scholars, Wærferth, Bishop of Worcester
Bishop of Worcester
The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. He is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury...
, Æthelstan and Wærwulf to assist in the effort. After he became Archbishop of Canterbury, the Isle of Chester also became known as "Plegmundeshamm".
Archbishop of Canterbury
Plegmund was selected for the see of Canterbury in 890 by King Alfred. Plegmund's election to the Archbishopric of Canterbury is recorded in Manuscript EPeterborough Chronicle
The Peterborough Chronicle , one of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, contains unique information about the history of England after the Norman Conquest. According to philologist J.A.W...
of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
"Here Archbishop Plegmund was elected by God and all the people." Fulk, Archbishop of Reims
Fulk, Archbishop of Reims
Fulk the Venerable was the Archbishop of Reims from 882 until his death. He was the chief opponent of the non-Carolingian king of France, Odo, in the last quarter of the 9th century...
, praised the election of Plegmund, stating that he would help root out the last remnants of paganism in the people. There is a gap in time between the death of the previous Archbishop of Canterbury, Ethelred
Ethelred, Archbishop of Canterbury
Æthelred was an Anglo-Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury in medieval England.-Biography:Some sources, including the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the F version, state that Æthelred was transferred in 870 from the Bishopric of Wiltshire to the see of Canterbury, however the transfer has now been proven to...
and the consecration of Plegmund which may have been because the see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
had been offered to Grimbald
Grimbald
Saint Grimbald was a Benedictine, invited to England by King Alfred the Great in 885. King Alfred met Grimbald while journeying to Rome at the French abbey of Saint-Bertin . Grimbald arrived in England and declined the see of Canterbury, preferring to remain a monk...
, a Flemish
Flemish people
The Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...
monk and scholar, who refused it. Plegmund was granted his pallium
Pallium
The pallium is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Roman Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the Pope, but for many centuries bestowed by him on metropolitans and primates as a symbol of the jurisdiction delegated to them by the Holy See. In that context it has always remained unambiguously...
by Pope Formosus
Pope Formosus
Pope Formosus was Pope of the Catholic Church from 891 to 896. His brief reign as Pope was troubled, and his remains were exhumed and put on trial in the notorious Cadaver Synod.-Biography:...
.
During the 9th century the see of Canterbury
Diocese of Canterbury
The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering eastern Kent, founded by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. It is centred on Canterbury Cathedral, and is the oldest see of the Church of England....
was at a low point and one of Plegmund's responsibilities was to re-establish its authority. Between 909 and 918 he created new sees within the existing Diocese of Winchester in Crediton
Crediton
Crediton is a town and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon in England. It stands on the A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, about north west of Exeter. It has a population of 6,837...
, Ramsbury
Ramsbury
Ramsbury is a village in Ramsbury and Axford civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. The village is in the Kennet Valley near the Berkshire boundary. The nearest towns are Hungerford about east and Marlborough about west. The much larger town of Swindon is about to the north.The civil...
, Sherborne
Sherborne
Sherborne is a market town in northwest Dorset, England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The A30 road, which connects London to Penzance, runs through the town. The population of the town is 9,350 . 27.1% of the population is aged 65 or...
and Wells
Wells
Wells is a cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. Although the population recorded in the 2001 census is 10,406, it has had city status since 1205...
. This meant that each future shire
Shire
A shire is a traditional term for a division of land, found in the United Kingdom and in Australia. In parts of Australia, a shire is an administrative unit, but it is not synonymous with "county" there, which is a land registration unit. Individually, or as a suffix in Scotland and in the far...
of Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
had its own bishop; Crediton for Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, Ramsbury for Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, Sherborne for Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
and Wells for Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
as well as the diocese of Winchester for Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. In order to do this Plegmund had to gain the approval of Pope Sergius III
Pope Sergius III
Pope Sergius III was a pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 29 January 904 to 14 April 911. Because Sergius III was possibly the only pope known to have ordered the murder of another pope and the only pope to have fathered an illegitimate son who later became pope , his reign has been described...
, who had annulled all the acts of Pope Formosus, and in 908 he travelled to Rome to be regranted his pallium. He was the first archbishop of Canterbury to visit Rome for nearly a century and he returned with the relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s of Saint Blaise
Saint Blaise
Saint Blaise was a physician, and bishop of Sebastea . According to his Acta Sanctorum, he was martyred by being beaten, attacked with iron carding combs, and beheaded...
.
As a member of King Alfred's court Plegmund worked with three other scholars to translate Gregory the Great's
Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I , better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death...
Cura Pastoralis
Pastoral Care
Liber Regulae Pastoralis or Regula Pastoralis is a treatise on the responsibilities of the clergy written by Pope Gregory I around the year 590, shortly after his papal inauguration...
(Pastoral Care) from Latin into English. The king then sent copies of it to all the bishops of his realm. Under Plegmund's archbishopric, the quality of the Latin used by his scribes improves over the poor quality of the previous two archbishops. When Alfred died in 899, Plegmund crowned his son Edward
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder was an English king. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex...
king.
In addition to his religious duties, Plegmund was involved in matters of state and he attended the formal councils held by Edward the Elder in 901, 903, 904 and 909. He dedicated the tall tower of the New Minster
New Minster, Winchester
The New Minster, Winchester was a royal Benedictine abbey founded in 901 in Winchester in the English county of Hampshire.Alfred the Great had intended to build the monastery, but only got around to buying the land. His son, Edward the Elder, finished the project according to Alfred's wishes, with...
at Winchester in 909. He went to Rome after 908, when he took alms from the king to Rome. Plegmund died on 2 August 914 or 2 August 923, and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
.