[MR] Wikipedia: Martyrdom of Ælfheah of Canterbury

[Garth Groff via Atlantia]

Noble Friends,

I meant to post this yesterday, but got tied up in real-world stuff. I'm 
also dubious that the joined "AE" in Aelfheah's name (see subject line) 
will work on most computers, so I will split the letters just in case.

That said, 19 April is the anniversary of the martyrdom of Saint 
Aelfheah in 1011. Aelfheah was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1006 until 
his death. He was captured by Vikings when they attacked Canterbury and 
burned the town, and refused to allow himself to be ransomed. After 
seven unprofitable months, the Vikings got tired of holding onto 
Aelfheah, and he was beaten by a drunken mob. The story that he was put 
out of his misery by a sympathetic Christianized Viking with an axe is . 
. . uh . . . strikingly similar to the martyrdom of Saint/King Edmund of 
East Anglia. It might be true, but it also might show either laziness or 
a formulaic pattern by the monks who later wrote is biography.

A couple of interesting facts about Aelfheah. He promoted the cult of 
St. Dunstan. Dunstan was formerly abbot of Glastonbury, and later 
Archbishop of Canterbury. His relics were claimed by both churches. The 
monks of Glastonbury avowed the bones had been moved to their church 
during the Viking attack that eventually resulted in Aelfheah's death. 
This was disproved in 1508 when Dunstan's tomb at Canterbury was opened 
and his skeleton was found complete. The other interesting factoid is 
that Archbishop Thomas Beckett prayed to Aelfheah just minutes before he 
was martyred.

You can read about Aelfheah at 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ælfheah_of_Canterbury

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, That Crazy Scot