Aelfric Puttoc

Infobox Archbishop of York
name = Aelfric Puttoc


birth_name = Aelfric
consecration = 1023
restored 1042
began = unknown
term_end = 1041 and 1051
predecessor = Wulfstan II
successor = Cynesige
birth_date =
birthplace =
death_date = 22 January 1051
deathplace = Southwell, Nottinghamshire
tomb = Peterborough Cathedral

Aelfric Puttoc (died 22 January 1051) was a medieval Archbishop of York and Bishop of Worcester.

Life

Aelfric first appears in the historical record as the provost of New Minster, Winchester.Hunt "Ælfric (d. 1051)" "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/191 Online Edition] accessed 10 November 2007] He became Archbishop of York in 1023,Fryde "Handbook of British Chronology" p. 224] but did not hold the see of Worcester at the same time, which had been traditional for a number of years. He was consecrated by Æthelnoth Archbishop of Canterbury. He lost the Bishopric of Worcester to Lyfing, Abbot of Tavistock, Canute's counselor.

Aelfric traveled to Rome in 1026 to receive his pallium from Pope John XIX. During King Canute of England's reign, Alefric received the manor of Patrington in Holderness from the king and his wife Emma of Normandy.Fletcher "Bloodfeud" p. 104] In 1036 he may have been the bishop who crowned Harold Harefoot king of England, since the Archbishop of Canterbury of the time was Aethelnoth, who supported Harold's rival Harthacanute.Fact|date=November 2007 However, when Harthacanute became king, Aelfric became a supporter of Harthacanute.Barlow "English Church 1000-1066" pp. 72-74] During Harthacanute's reign, Aelfric was sent with others to disinter Harold's body and throw it away. In 1040, Lyfing was accused of being implicated in the murder of the Prince Alfred Atheling and the Aelfric took the opportunity to seize the see of Worcester. In fact, it the chronicler John of Worcester relates the story that it was Aelfric himself who accused Lyfing of being involved in Alfred's murder, although whether to curry favor with the new king Harthacanute or in order to acquire Worcester is unclear.Walker "Harold" p. 16] He resigned Worcester in the following year, however, and permitted Lyfing (who was Bishop of Crediton as well as Worcester) to return. Aelfric was deprived of both his sees in 1041.

Aelfric translated the relics of Saint John of Beverley into a new shrine at Beverley in 1037, and worked to foster the cult of that saint, by providing new buildings and giving endowments to the church. An oddity of his time as archbishop was that instead of the normal descriptor "archiepiscopus" on charters, Aelfric used "archipraesul" instead.Barlow "English Church 1000-1066" p. 234]

In 1042, Aethelric, who had succeeded to the see of York, was deprived of York and Aelfric was returned to York. Aelfric officiated with Archbishop Edsige of Canterbury at the coronation of Edward the Confessor at Winchester on 3 April 1043.Barlow, Frank, "Edward the Confessor" p. 61] Aelfric died at Southwell on 22 January 1051Barlow "Edward the Confessor" p. 104] and is buried in Peterborough Cathedral.Knowles "The Monastic Order in England" p. 73] While the later medieval chronicler William of Malmesbury felt that Aelfric deserved rebuke, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle called him "very venerable and wise".Quoted in Barlow "English Church 1000-1066" p. 73] Aelfric left his vestments and altar to Peterborough Abbey.

His nickname "Puttoc" probably means "kite", a type of bird, and may have been an invention by the monks of Worcester in order to belittle Aelfric. It may have meant "buzzard" also.Fletcher "Bloodfeud" p. 113-114] The "Northumbrian Priests' Law" which is usually attributed to Alefric's predecessor Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York, might have been authored instead by Aelfric, or possibly Aelfric's successor Cynesige.Fletcher "Bloodfeud" p. 128]

Notes

References

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* Hunt, William "Ælfric (d. 1051)" rev. Marios Costambeys, "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/191 Online Edition] accessed 10 November 2007
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External links

* [http://www.britannia.com/bios/abofy/aelfricp.html Aelfric Puttoc at Britannia Biographies]

Persondata
NAME=Aelfric Puttoc
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Archbishop of York; Bishop of Worcester
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH= 22 January 1051
PLACE OF DEATH=Southwell, Nottinghamshire