Ælfwold II (bishop of Sherborne)

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Ælfwold II[a] (died 1058) was a Bishop of Sherborne in Dorset. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.

Ælfwold II
Bishop of Sherborne
Appointed1045
Term ended1058
PredecessorBrithwine II
SuccessorHerman
Orders
Consecration1045
Personal details
Bornunknown
Died1058
DenominationChristian
Sainthood
Feast day25 March
Venerated inCatholic Church
Anglican Communion
Eastern Orthodox Church
ShrinesSherborne Abbey, Dorset (destroyed)

Life

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Little is known of Ælfwold apart from the information given by William of Malmesbury. He was at first a monk of Winchester,[1] then was consecrated Bishop of Sherborne in 1045,[2] succeeding his own brother Brithwine. His frugality of life served as a powerful contrast to the contemporary custom of riotous banqueting after the example of the Danish monarchs.

Ælfwold showed great devotion to Saint Swithun, his old patron of Winchester, and also to Saint Cuthbert, to whose shrine at Durham he made a pilgrimage. He died while singing the antiphon of Saint Cuthbert. He was in a sense the last Bishop of Sherborne, as after his death the see of Sherborne was united to that of Ramsbury in Wiltshire.

Ælfwold died in 1058.[2] He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and by some Anglicans.

Notes

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  1. ^ Latin: Ælfwoldus, Ælfvoldus, or Alfvoldus

Citations

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References

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  • 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.
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Christian titles
Preceded by Bishop of Sherborne
1045–1058
Succeeded by

  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainThurston, Herbert (1907). "St. Alfwold". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company.