[MR] Feast Day of St. Alphege

[Garth G. Groff]

Noble friends,

Today is the feast day (and martyrdom date) of St. Ælfheah of Canterbury 
(later known as St. Alphege of Winchester, not to be confused with 
Aelfheah/Alphege the Bald, also known as Aelfheah of Winchester). He was 
the first Archbishop of Canterbury to die by violence, killed by a 
drunken mob of Vikings when he refused to be ransomed in 1012. You can 
read a brief story about his life and fate on Wikipedia at: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86lfheah_of_Canterbury . An interesting 
image of St. Alphege from a stained glass window and another brief bio 
can be seen at: http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-alphege-of-winchester/ .

Neither bio mentions what became of St. Alphege's relics. Presumably the 
Canterbury relics were destroyed by Henry VIII's agents during the great 
confiscation of church circa 1537-39. However, according to another 
source, relics of St. Alphege are said to survive in Bath, Glastonbury, 
Ramsey, Reading, Durham, Yorkminster and in Westminster Abbey. Seems he 
got around quite a bit.

Kind regards,


Lord Mungo Napier, That Crazy Scot