Cynesige

For other uses, see Cynesige of Lichfield.

Cynesige
Archbishop of York
Province	York
Diocese	Diocese of York
See	Archbishop of York
Appointed	1051
Reign ended	20 January 1060
Predecessor	Ælfric Puttoc
Successor	Ealdred
Orders
Consecration	1051
Personal details
Birth name	Cynesige
Died	20 January 1060
Buried	Peterborough Cathedral

Cynesige (or Kynsige;^[1] died 1060) was a medieval Archbishop of York for nine years between 1051 and 1060.

Life

Cynesige perhaps came from Rutland, as he owned the manor of Tinwell there later in life.^[1] The Liber Eliensis claimed that he had been born by Caesarian section, but this is most likely a later accretion to his lifestory, added after his death because of efforts to have him declared a saint. The belief was that for an infant to survive a caesarian section was a miracle, and thus a fitting beginning for a future saint.^[2]

Cynesige had been a royal clerk prior to his appointment to York in 1051,^[3][4] although the monks of Peterborough Abbey maintained that he had been a monk in their house.^[1] It is possible he was both a monk and a royal clerk.^[2] He delayed his visit to Rome to receive his pallium until 1055, when he was given it by Pope Victor II.^[5] During his time as archbishop he consecrated both John and Michael as Bishops of Glasgow sometime after 1055,^[6] although the two bishops probably never lived in their diocese.^[1] In fact, John may have ended up as the bishop of Mecklenburg in modern day Germany.^[7] Cynesige dedicated the church of the Abbey of Waltham Holy Cross in the presence of King Edward the Confessor around 3 May 1060.^[6][8] He also expanded and embellished York Minster and other churches in his archdiocese,^[9] and built the tower at Beverley,^[10] as well as giving books and other items to the church there.^[11]

Cynesige consecrated Herewald as Bishop of Llandaff at a council held at London in 1056,^[1] although this information is only attested in the Book of Llandaff, a sometimes unreliable source.^[12] In 1059 he, along with Earl Tostig and Æthelwine Bishop of Durham, escorted Malcolm III of Scotland to King Edward's court at Gloucester when Malcolm came south, probably to thank Edward for his help in restoring Malcolm to the Scottish throne, and perhaps to acknowledge the English king as Malcolm's lord.^[13][14]

Cynesige died on 20 January 1060.^[4] and was buried at Peterborough, in what is now Peterborough Cathedral.^[15] After his death, he was honored as a saint by the monks at Peterborough,^[16] although the cult does not seem to have spread far. His bones, along with those of his predecessor Aelfric Puttoc, were found in 1643.^[1] His reputation for sanctity and poverty was based on his actions, as he often traveled on foot, and spent much time preaching and giving alms.^[11] The Northumbrian Priests' Law which is usually attributed to Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York, might have been authored instead by Cynesige, or possibly Cynesige's predecessor Aelfric Puttoc.^[17] He gave gifts to Peterborough in his will, but the gifts were taken by Queen Edith of Wessex instead.^[11]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Cooper "Cynesige (d. 1060)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
2. ^ ^{a b} Cooper Last Four Anglo-Saxon Archbishops p. 19
3. ^ Barlow, Frank, Edward the Confessor p. 105
4. ^ ^{a b} Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 224
5. ^ Barlow English Church 1000–1066 p. 300
6. ^ ^{a b} Walker Harold p. 87
7. ^ Fletcher Bloodfeud p. 151-152
8. ^ Mason The House of Godwine p. 86
9. ^ Barlow Edward the Confessor p. 199
10. ^ Huscroft Ruling England 1042–1217 p. 46
11. ^ ^{a b c} Barlow English Church 1000–1066 p. 81
12. ^ Cooper Last Four Anglo-Saxon Archbishops p. 21
13. ^ Barlow Edward the Confessor p. 203
14. ^ Mason The House of Godwine p. 125
15. ^ Knowles The Monastic Order in England p. 73
16. ^ Huscroft Ruling England 1042–1217 p. 49
17. ^ Fletcher Bloodfeud p. 128

References

• Barlow, Frank (1970). Edward the Confessor. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-01671-8. 
• Barlow, Frank (1979). The English Church 1000–1066: A History of the Later Anglo-Saxon Church (Second ed.). New York: Longman. ISBN 0-582-49049-9. 
• Cooper, Janet (2004). "Cynesige (d. 1060)" (Subscription or UK public library membership required). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/15828. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/15828. Retrieved 10 November 2007. 
• Cooper, Janet M. (1970). The Last Four Anglo-Saxon Archbishops of York. Borthwick Papers Number 38. York, UK: St Anthony's Press. OCLC 656290. 
• Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X. 
• Huscroft, Huscroft (2005). Ruling England 1042–1217. London: Pearson/Longman. ISBN 0-582-84882-2. 
• Knowles, David (1976). The Monastic Order in England: A History of its Development from the Times of St. Dunstan to the Fourth Lateran Council, 940–1216 (Second reprint ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-05479-6. 
• Mason, Emma (2004). House of Godwine: The History of Dynasty. London: Hambledon & London. ISBN 1-85285-389-1. 
• Walker, Ian (2000). Harold the Last Anglo-Saxon King. Gloucestershire, UK: Wrens Park. ISBN 0-905-778-464. 

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Ælfric Puttoc	Archbishop of York 1051–1060	Succeeded by Ealdred

Persondata
Name	Cynesige
Alternative names	Kynsige
Short description	Archbishop of York
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death	20 January 1060
Place of death