Abbot Ælfwine -1077

Chronicle of the Abbey of Evesham. For this reason, acting on prudent counsel, he chose one of his monks for this office, a man of highly esteemed character, distinguished both by nobility of birth and by his knowledge of divine law and worldly affairs, named Ælfwine. Long before this, Ælfwine had commendably administered the bishopric of Worcester under Archbishop Ealdred¹, and now, under Mannius, he was responsible for the care of the whole abbey in the capacity of provost. Mannius also sent him, together with certain of the brethren and honourable laymen, to King Edward, explaining that he himself was afflicted by serious illnesses, and earnestly begging and imploring the king to entrust the abbey entirely to Ælfwine and appoint him abbot in his place.

Qua de re prudenti usus consilio quendam de suis monachum elegit ad id officium honestis moribus valde probatum, tam generis nobilitate quam divina lege ac sæculari prudentia plurimum valentem, nomine Ageluuinum, qui multo antea tempore episcopatum Wigornensis ecclesiæ sub Aldredo archiepiscopo laudabiliter rexerat, et nunc sub eo jure præpositi totius abbatiæ hujus curam agebat. Misit quoque eum cum quibusdam fratribus et honorabilibus sæcularibus personis ad regem Æduuardum gravibus morbis demonstrans se esse oppressum, orans et multum supplicans ut huic viro abbatiam istam ex toto traderet et abbatem pro eo faceret.

Note 1. Ealdred, bishop of Worcester, was elected to the archbishopric of York 25th December 1060, but retained also his former see [Worcester] until 1062. If, therefore, the text means that Ælfwine acted as Ealdred's commissary while the latter, as archbishop, held Worcester 'in commendam', it could only have been after his appointment to the abbacy, not "long before this." The date usually assigned to Ælfwine's appointment is that of 1058, but the passage below which mentions that he held his office for seven years during the reign of Edward the Confessor carries it on one year later.

Chronicle of the Abbey of Evesham. A certain matron named Algitha, who during the time of the aforesaid King Edward frequently visited the church of St Ecgwin [Map], conceived the idea, out of love for the saint, of trying by every means to obtain something of his relics. She therefore began cunningly to consider how she might most easily accomplish her desire. Secretly summoning some boys of the place and, as is said, giving them gifts and promising them greater ones, she asked them to obtain for her in secret even some small part of the relics of St Ecgwin, so that they might thereby receive a greater reward from her. For she knew that people of that age had less understanding and could more easily be deceived. The boys agreed and began to look for a time and hour when they might fulfil their promise without anyone else knowing. But what will burning greed not dare? Avarice accomplished its purpose through their immature age. By night the boys went to the shrine of St Ecgwin and, quickly opening the casket, stole away a great treasure, more precious than any pearl. Alas! With irreverent and reckless hands they handled the saint's limbs and, taking away part of an arm together with one tooth, endeavoured secretly to carry them to the matron. But divine vengeance did not long delay in taking punishment for such incredible audacity, as what followed made clear. For the aforesaid matron, receiving the treasure she had so long desired, returned joyfully home. Having honourably placed the relics of St Ecgwin, as well as she could, in a very clean little reliquary, she believed that she would enjoy the fruits of her theft for a long time. But behold, St Ecgwin, the man of God, appeared to the matron in a vision by night and ordered her to carry him back to his proper place, saying that he had been unjustly taken from there by her. She disregarded the command, and a second time she was warned by a similar vision. But when she did not obey even then, and because of her excessive desire to possess the relics dismissed the visions as mere phantoms, St Ecgwin finally appeared to her in a third vision and, greatly angered, ordered her to take him back. When she refused, the saint said, "Before tomorrow's sun shines forth as usual, you will wish that you had obeyed my commands." Why prolong the story? At daybreak the matron arose blind, though her eyes were open, and for as long as she remained alive she continued in perpetual blindness, despite having most beautiful eyes. Afterwards, however, though too late, she sent to Mannius, who at that time was abbot of the monastery of St Ecgwin, asking permission to keep the relics and promising that she would make a shrine adorned with gold and silver in honour of them. She also promised that, when she died, she would without fail give the shrine itself with the relics, and in addition her own estate, which the inhabitants call Suella, to St Ecgwin and his servants. Although she was prevented by the sin of her son from fulfilling this promise herself, Almighty God afterwards brought it to fulfilment through the lord and most prudent Abbot Ælfwine¹, successor of the lord and most skilful Abbot Mannius. For that same abbot obtained by judgement the aforesaid estate, which had been given to him as a pledge, because of the difficulty in repaying the money. He also, after identifying the shrine at Worcester, with God's help brought it into his own possession, and it is preserved to the present day in the monastery of St Ecgwin. So much for the matron. The boys mentioned above, who had been responsible for the aforesaid theft, eventually fell grievously under the judgement of God. One of them was drowned in water, while another, for as long as he lived, was continually afflicted without respite by a very severe bodily illness.

Matrona quædam, Algitha nomine, dum sæpius tempore prædicti regis Eadwardi ecclesiam sancti Ecgwini frequentaret, venit ei in mentem ob amorem sancti omnimodis tentare si quicquam de reliquiis ejus valeret acquirere. Cœpit igitur callide volutare qualiter desiderium suum posset facilius perpetrare. Accitis itaque secreto pueris loci, eisque, ut fertur, dona tribuens et ampliora promittens, rogavit quatenus sibi de reliquiis sancti Ecgwini vel modicum quid clam perquirerent, ut per hoc majorem mercedem ab ea perciperent. Sciebat enim illam ætatem minus habilem intelligentiæ leviusque posse decipi. Præbent assensum pueri, et cœpere quærere tempus et horam qua sine notitia aliorum implerent promissum. Verum quid non audet ardens cupiditas? Per infirmam ætatem perficit avaritia suum officium. Pergunt nocte pueri ad sancti Ecgwini feretrum, apertoque velociter scrinio, furto auferunt magnum thesaurum, omni margarita preciosiorem. Proh dolor! Temerariis manibus irreverenter tractant membra sancti, et, sublatas parte brachii cum uno dente, matronæ studuere clanculum deportare. Verum enimvero super tam incredibili audacia non diu distulit, ut in sequenti patuit, vindictam sumere ultio divina. Nam sumens prædicta matrona diu desideratum thesaurum, læta repedavit ad propria. Locatis igitur honorifice secundum suum posse reliquiis sancti Ecgwini in mundissimo locello, credebat se diutius gavisuram de furto. Quum ecce! sanctus Domini Ecgwinus per visionem matronæ noctu apparens, jubet eam se ipsum proprium reportare ad locum, dicens se injuste ab ipsa inde fuisse sublatum. Negligit illa imperata, et identidem secunda admonita est ejusmodi visione. Sed quum nec sic obtemperaret, verum ob nimiam cupiditatem habendi visiones phantasiæ deputasset, tertia demum visione venit sanctus Ecgwinus, [et,] valde commotus, jubet ut se reduceret. Qua negante, "Prius," inquit sanctus, "quam crastinus Titan solito refulserit, velles meis obtempe rasse præceptis." Quid moras nectimus? Matrona diluculo surgit apertis oculis cæca, sicque dum præsenti usa est vita, pulcherrimos habens oculos, permansit in perpetua crecitate. Misit tamen postea, licet sero, ad Mannium, ea tempestate abbatem monasterii sancti Ecgwini, quærens licentiam habendi reliquias, et promittens se feretrum ex auro et argento adornatum ob honorem reliquiarum facturam. Spopondit etiam ipsum scrinium cum reliquiis, et insuper terram propriam quæ Suella ab incolis vocitatur, quum vita decederet proculdubio sancto Ecgwino ejusque servis datuQuam sponsionem, licet peccato filii sui præpedita per se implere nequiret, implevit tamen postea Omnipotens per dominum ac prudentissimum Agelwinum abbatem, successorem videlicet domini et artificiosissimi Mannii abbatis. Nam idem abbas et prædictam villam, quæ sibi in vadimonium tradita fuerat, ob difficultatem reddendæ pecunise judicio obtinuit, et etiam scrinium quum apud Wigorniam recognovisset per Dei adjutorium suo dominio mancipavit, quod usque inpræsentiarum in monasterio sancti Ecgwini servatur. Hactenus de matrona. Pueri vero supra commemorati qui præfati furti auctores exstiterunt, judicio Dei demum graviter subjacuerunt. Nempe quidam ex eis in aqua necatus est, quidam vero quoad vixit molestia corporali pane sine intercapedine gravissime detentus est.

Note 1. Abbot Ælfwine was consecrated on 23rd April 1058 succeeding Mannius who had resigned as consequence of being stricken by paralysis. Mannius died on 5th January 1065.

Chronicle of the Abbey of Evesham. When the wise king learned of this and granted his pious request, he had Ælfwine honourably consecrated by Archbishop Aldred at Gloucester, where he was then holding his court, in the presence of many of the leading men of this country, during the Easter festival, on the feast day of St George the Martyr [23rd April 1058]. From that time onwards he was dear both to the king and to all his barons, and was regarded as one of his foremost and trusted counsellors. When he returned home, accompanied by many nobles on the king's behalf, he was received with great honour and affection both by the brethren and by all the people of this holy church. For as long as his abbot Mannius remained alive, Ælfwine took the greatest care of him, appointing two of the more worthy members of the community, together with certain servants, to attend him humbly day and night. Ælfwine himself visited him frequently and, with humble devotion, carried out whatever Mannius wished. As long as Mannius lived, Ælfwine would never, out of humility, consent to stand in the abbot's place. Mannius departed this life, as is said, on the same night and at the same hour as the glorious King Edward [the Confessor], namely on the feast of the Holy Epiphany¹ of the Lord [5th January 1065]. Their souls, we believe, were received by angels and brought into the joy of their Lord. While that worshipper of God, King Edward, was still alive, Abbot Ælfwine governed this place for seven years and obtained many lands both from him and from other good men, whose names we shall set out below. After the death of that king, when Harold received the kingdom, Ælfwine obtained from him whatever he wished.

Quod rex prudens cognoscens ejusque piæ petitioni annuens, fecit eum apud Glocestre (ubi tunc curiam suam tenebat) coram multis principibus hujus patriæ ab Aldredo archiepiscopo honorabiliter in Paschali solemnitate die festivitatis sancti Georgii martyris consecrari, et ab illo tempore tam sibi quam cunctis baronibus suis carus, et inter primos necessarios consiliarius habebatur. Reversus namque domum cum multis optimatibus ex parte regis grandi honore atque amore suscipitur tam a fratribus quam ab omnibus hujus sanctæ ecclesiæ populis. Quam diu vero abbas suus Mannius supervixit maximam ei curam gerebat, constituens duos de melioribus personis cum quibusdam servientibus qui die noctuque ei humiliter deservirent. Ipse autem frequenter eum visitans, quæ volebat humili devotione obediendo perficiebat, nec unquam quamdiu supererat in loco abbatis causa humilitatis stare volebat. Transiit quoque vir ille Mannius eadem nocte et hora, ut fertur, qua rex gloriosus Æduuardus, festivitate videlicet sanctæ Epiphaniæ Domini, quorum animas, ut credimus, angeli suscipientes deduxerunt in gaudium Domini sui. Vivente autem isto Dei cultore rege Æduuardo septem annis abbas Ageluuius huic loco præerat, pluresque terras tam ab eo quam ab aliis bonis hominibus obtinebat quarum nomina inferius demonstrabimus. Defuncto nempe rege isto et Haraldo regnum accipiente, quicquid volebat ab eo impetravit.

Note 1. The Feast of the Holy Epiphany is the 6th of January. Mannius and King Edward the Confessor died the day before, the 5th of January.

Chronicle of the Abbey of Evesham. Throughout his [Ælfwine's] life he suffered, not continuously but frequently, from a most severe pain in his feet, which the Greeks call podagra. Having been afflicted by this illness for a very long time before his end, at last, in the year of the Lord's Incarnation 1077, full of days, having made a true confession and received the holy viaticum of the Body and Blood of the Lord, in the presence of the brethren and his sons, who mourned him with great sorrow and whom he had loved with a father's affection, on the fourteenth Kalends of March [16th February 1077] he departed from this life and sent forth his spirit whither Divine mercy willed. May the supreme goodness of God aid and have mercy upon his soul. Amen. For when he was first made abbot, there were only twelve brethren here. But when he died he left thirty-six, to whom he bequeathed an abbey greater and richer in lands and possessions than it had ever been before, and filled with every good thing. He also left five chests full of silver for the construction of the new church which he had intended to build.

Omni tempore vitæ suæ non continue sed frequenter dolorem pedum gravissimum quem Græci podragra appellant, patiebatur. Et hac infirmitate ante finem suum diutissime fatigatus, tandem anno Dominicæ Incarnationis millesimo septuagesimo septimo plenus dierum, in vera confessione sanctoque viatico Corporis et Sanguinis Domini percepto, coram fratribus et filiis eum nimio dolore plangentibus, quos paterno amore dilexerat, quartodecimo Kalendas Martii hominem exivit et quo Divine clementiæ placuit spiritum transmisit. Cujus animæ succurrat et misereatur summa pietas Dei: Amen. Quando enim ipse primitus abbas effectus est, non erant hic nisi duodecim fratres; tunc vero quum obiit triginta sex dimisit, quibus abbatiam majorem et abundantiorem terris et possessionibus quam unquam antea fuit, omnibus bonis plenissimam, dereliquit, et quinque archas plenas argento ad novam ecclesiam construendam quam facere disposuerat, reliquit.

Chronicle of the Abbey of Evesham. When the most reverend abbot, Lord Ælfwine, the most prudent ruler of the community of Evesham, came to the end of his life [on 16th February 1077], a man than whom, after St Ecgwin, none more useful or distinguished had ever presided over that church in the eyes of the world, Lord Walter undertook the government of Evesham Abbey in the time of William the Great [the Conqueror], King of the English and Duke of the Normans. Since he was a man of learning, greatly distinguished, and endowed with every refinement, he turned his mind, as often happens, to new works. Delighting in new building, he began a new church and gradually demolished the old structure, which at that time had been among the most beautiful in England. You might have seen, wondrous to relate, so great a work of antiquity reduced altogether to the crypt alone. But when the means for carrying on the work failed, the overseer of the building found himself in great difficulty. For the place was beset by shortages of materials, of stone, of timber, and above all of money, which is of the greatest assistance in human necessities. Driven by this need, Abbot Walter summoned two of the brethren of the house and, after providing them honourably and sufficiently with everything necessary, sent them throughout England with the relics of our holy father Ecgwin. Obedient to the command of their spiritual father, they travelled through England on several occasions and, aided by the merits of so great a patron, obtained a large amount of money for their church. They also handed down to us, to be recorded faithfully in writing, accounts of the salvation and healing of many people which Almighty God granted through His saint. Let us therefore bring forward a few examples from among the many, to make known the power of this man of virtue.

Reverendissimo abbate domino Ægelwino Eoveshamensium rectore prudentissimo hujus vitæ modum faciente, viro quo post sanctum Ecgwinum coram sæculo nullus utilior et insignior ipsa in ecclesia exstitit, tempore magni Willelmi regis Anglorum et ducis Normannorum, dominus Walterus Eoveshamensem abbatiam regendam suscepit. Is quum esset vir peritiæ multoque decore et omni facetia condecoratus, novis rebus, ut fieri solet, animum tradidit. Ecclesiam namque recenti opere delectatus incepit, et antiquum opus quod tum temporis ex pulcherrimis in Anglia exstitit, paulatim destruxit. Cerneres, mirum dictu! tam magnum antiquitatis opus in solam cryptam insimul congestum. Cæterum, deficiente copia operandi, in magna angustia Procuratorem operis fore. Difficultate namque rerum idem locus cingebatur, tum petrarum, tum lignorum, tum, quod maxime in humanis necessitatem juvat pecuniarum. Qua necessitate compulsus, dominus abbas Walterus, convocatis ad se binis fratribus loci, honorifice omnibus necessariis sufficienter dispositis, cum reliquiis sancti patris nostri Ecgwini illos per Angliam direxit. Qui præcepto spiritualis patris obedientes, quum aliquotiens Angliam peragrassent, tanti patroni meritis adjuti, pecuniam plurimam suæ ecclesiæ acquisiverunt, et etiam multorum salvationis ac sanitatis emolumentum per sanctum Dei ab Omnipotente concessum nobis veraci stylo transcribendum tradiderunt. Proferamus ergo in medium pauca de multis, ad declarandum virum virtutis.

Chronicle of the Abbey of Evesham. It happened during the reign of King William that Thomas, Archbishop of York, a prudent man, wished to subject the bishopric of Worcester to his own church. To defend it in this matter, the abbot lent Wulfstan two marks of gold and gave him one mark outright. Thus, with God's help and with the abbot providing counsel and assistance in both word and deed, Wulfstan preserved the liberty of his church. Because the bishop was a good man and Ælfwine was his confessor, Wulfstan gave him certain lands, whose names are Bishop's Down and Chadwick, while Ælfwine in return granted him the manor called Milcote. Ælfwine was eager to bestow the benefit of his assistance not only upon this church but upon all those for whom he acted as advocate, wherever he might be. On one occasion, having been summoned by Archbishop Lanfranc, he acted as both judge and witness in recovering for Christ Church, Canterbury, certain lands which had long been taken from it. For this reason, down to the present day, the anniversary of his death is observed there in that church.

Contigit autem eo tempore Willielmi regis ut Thomas archiepiscopus Eboraci prudens homo episcopatum Wigornensis ecclesiæ vellet subjicere suæ ecclesiæ. Ad hanc rem defendendam duas marcas auri abbas sibi accomodavit et unam dedit, et ita, Deo opitulante et abbate verbo et opere consilium et opem ferente, libertatem ecclesia suæ servavit. Et quoniam episcopus erat vir bonus et pater suarum confessionum, quasdam terras sibi dedit quarum nomina ista sunt, videlicet, Bisepesdunne et Cagecote, et ipse sibi mutuo concessit villam quae vocatur Milecote. Non solum autem huic ecclesiæ sed et omnibus ubicunque fuerat advocatus beneficiorum suorum suffragia gratanter impendere studuit, Nam quadam vice vocatus ab archiepiscopo Lanfranco, quasdam terras diu ablatas Cantuariensi ecclesiæ Christi ipse judex et testis acquisivit. Pro qua re usque in hodiernum diem anniversarius depositionis ejus dies ibi in ecclesia illa observatur.