Earconwald

Earconwald or Erkenwald[lower-alpha 1] (died 693) was Bishop of London between 675 and 693.

Earconwald
Bishop of London
Earconwald teaching monks in a historiated initial from the Chertsey Breviary (c.1300)
Province	Canterbury
Installed	675
Term ended	693
Predecessor	Wine
Successor	Waldhere
Other posts	Abbot of Chertsey
Orders
Consecration	c. 675
Personal details
Born	circa 630 Kingdom of Lindsey
Died	693 Barking Abbey
Buried	Old St Paul's Cathedral, London
Denomination	Christianity
Sainthood
Feast day	13 May 24 April 30 April 14 November in England
Attributes	bishop in a small chariot, which he used for travelling his diocese; with Saint Ethelburga of Barking
Patronage	against gout, London
Shrines	St. Paul's, London

Life

Earconwald was born at Lindsey in Lincolnshire,[1] and was supposedly of royal ancestry.[2] Earconwald gave up his share of family money to help establish two Benedictine abbeys, Chertsey Abbey in Surrey[3] in 666 for men, and Barking Abbey for women.[1][4] His sister, Æthelburg, was Abbess of Barking,[1][5] while he served as Abbot of Chertsey.[6]

In 675, Earconwald became the Bishop of London, after Wine.[7] He was the choice of Archbishop Theodore of Canterbury.[6] While bishop, he contributed to King Ine of Wessex's law code, and is mentioned specifically in the code as a contributor.[8] He is also reputed to have converted Sebba, King of the East Saxons to Christianity in 677. Current historical scholarship credits Earconwald with a large role in the evolution of Anglo-Saxon charters, and it is possible that he drafted the charter of Caedwalla to Farnham.[5] King Ine of Wessex named Earconwald as an advisor on his laws.[9]

Earconwald died in 693[7] and his remains were buried at Old St Paul's Cathedral. His grave was a popular place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, and was destroyed together with a number of other tombs in the cathedral during the Reformation.[10]

Earconwald's feast day is 30 April, with translations being celebrated on 1 February and 13 May.[2] He is a patron saint of London.[11]

See also

• St. Erkenwald (poem)

Notes

1. Also Ercenwald, Eorcenwald or Erconwald

Citations

1. Walsh A New Dictionary of Saints p. 182
2. Farmer Oxford Dictionary of Saints p. 175
3. Kirby Earliest English Kings p. 83
4. Yorke "Adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon Royal Courts" Cross Goes North pp. 250–251
5. Kirby Earliest English Kings p. 102
6. Kirby Earliest English Kings pp. 95–96
7. Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 219
8. Yorke Conversion of Britain p. 235
9. Kirby Earliest English Kings p. 103
10. Thornbury Old and New London: Volume 1 p. 248
11. Farmer Oxford Dictionary of Saints p. 494

References

• Farmer, David Hugh (2004). Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Fifth ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-860949-0.
• Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
• Kirby, D. P. (2000). The Earliest English Kings. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-24211-8.
• Thornbury, Walter (1887). Old and New London. Volume 1. London: Cassell.
• Walsh, Michael J. (2007). A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West. London: Burns & Oats. ISBN 0-86012-438-X.
• Yorke, Barbara (2003). Martin Carver (ed.). The Adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon Royal Courts to Christianity. The Cross Goes North: Processes of Conversion in Northern Europe AD 300–1300. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press. pp. 244–257. ISBN 1-84383-125-2.
• Yorke, Barbara (2006). The Conversion of Britain: Religion, Politics and Society in Britain c. 600–800. London: Pearson/Longman. ISBN 0-582-77292-3.

External links

• Eorcenwald 1 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England

Christian titles
Preceded by Wine	Bishop of London 675–693	Succeeded by Waldhere