Province Canterbury Consecration c. 675 Installed 675 Successor Waldhere Name Earconwald Earconwald | Term ended 693 Predecessor Wine Other posts Abbot of Chertsey Siblings AEthelburh of Barking | |
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Buried Old St Paul's Cathedral, London Died 693 AD, Barking Abbey, Barking, United Kingdom Place of burial Old St Paul's Cathedral, London, United Kingdom Similar People John of Gaunt, Blanche of Lancaster, Nicholas Bacon, Anthony van Dyck, Philip Sidney | ||
Earconwald
Erkenwald (died 693) was Bishop of London in the Anglo-Saxon Christian church between 675 and 693.
Contents
Life
Erkenwald was born at Lindsey in Lincolnshire, and was supposedly of royal ancestry. Erkenwald gave up his share of family money to help establish two Benedictine abbeys, Chertsey Abbey in Surrey in 661 for men, and Barking Abbey for women. His sister, Æthelburg, was Abbess of Barking, while he served as Abbot of Chertsey.
In 675, Erkenwald became the Bishop of London, after Wine. He was the choice of Archbishop Theodore of Canterbury. While bishop, he contributed to King Ine of Wessex's law code, and is mentioned specifically in the code as a contributor. He is also reputed to have converted Sebba, King of the East Saxons to Christianity in 677. Current historical scholarship credits Erkenwald with a large role in the evolution of Anglo-Saxon charters, and it is possible that he drafted the charter of Caedwalla to Farnham. King Ine of Wessex named Erkenwald as an advisor on his laws.
Erkenwald died in 693 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.
Erkenwald's feast day is 30 April, with translations being celebrated on 1 February and 13 May.