ETHELBKRT
554
ETHELDREDA
Stubbs in Diet. Chrisl. Biogr., s. v.; Hunt in Hid. Nat.
Biogr.. s. v.; Bede, Hist. EccL. I. II; Gregory of Tours. Hi.s-
toria Francorum. IV, IX; Acta SS.; IJutler, Lives of the iSaints,
24 Feb.
E. Macpherson.
Ethelbert, Archbishop of York, England, date of birth uncertain; d. 8 Nov., 781 or 782. The name also appears as Albert, Adalberht, jElberht, Aldberht, Aluberht, Eadberht and Elchbert. He was the teacher and intimate friend of Alcuin, whose poem on the saints and prelates of the Church of York, "De Sanctis et Pontificibus Ecclesiae Eboracen- sis", is the principal source of information concerning Ethelbert's life. He was a kinsman of his predecessor Archbishop Egbert (brother to Eadberht, King of Northumbria) and a pupil in the school which Egbert founded at York. When he reached man's estate, Egbert ordained him priest and made him master of the school. Among his pupils was .-Mcuin, who has left us an affectionate description of him, from which we learn how varied his erudition was — grammar, rhetoric, law, poetr}-, astronomy, natural historj', and Sacred Scripture being all mentioned as subjects in which he instructed his pupils. He is described as severe to the stubborn, gentle to the docile, while of those who were scholars after his own heart it is said " Hos sibi conjunxit, docuit, nutrivit, amavit". His ready sympathy won the affection of his students, while his strenuous energy urged them on to further progress. Even after Egbert became archbishop, he reserved to himself the duty of lecturing on the New Testament, while he entrusted the work of explaininj; the Old Testament to Ethelbert. As a keen scholar he lovetl books ardently and spared no pains in form- ing a library at York, which was probably the largest collection of books to be found outside Rome. Al- cuin, in enumerating many of these, mentions several Latin and Greek classical authors, as well as the Fathers and other Christian writers. Ethelbert, in his search for books, travelled far, and we know that he ^^sited Rome among other places. Everj'where his leaniing and power of sympathy won for him friends, so that his influence for good was widespread and he ranks as one of the foremost among the promo- ters of education in the eighth century.
In 76(3 Archbishop Egbert died, and Ethelbert was unanimously chosen to succeed him. He was conse- crated 2-1 April, 767, and received the pallium from Adrian I in 773. As archbishop he continued his simple and laborious life, working with such success that he is regarded as one of the founders of the Church of York. He set himself to rebuild the minster which had been destroyed by fire in 741. It is impossible to obtain certain information as to the extent of his work, but Alcuin speaks as though he began, finished, and consecrated it: —
Ast nova basilica; mirce structura diebus
Prjesulis hujus erat jam csepta, peracta, sacrata. He speaks of its magnificence, the columns and crypts, bright windows and ceilings, the tall crucifix of precious metals, the thirty altars it contained, and the gold, silver, and jewels employed in the decoration of sacred vessels and altars. Eanbald and .\lcuin were employed by the archbishop to superintend its con- struction. From York Ethelbert developed both missionary work and educational effort. He sent out from liis school both preachers and teachers, the latter of whom founded new schools while the former spread the truths of Cliristianity among the heathen. Thus we fin<l Ethelbert hokling a council in Northumbria at which it was decided to send Willehad as a missionary to the Frisians antl Saxons. From the York school, too, came Alubert and Liudger, the Apostles of North Germany.
In 780 Ethelbert, desiring to prepare for death, con- secrated Eanbald as his coadjutor bishop and com- mitted to Alcuin the care of the school and library.
He then retired to a cell where he spent some time in
devotion. Shortly before his death, in the autumn of
781 or 782, he appeared once more in public that he
might consecrate the cathedral which was now com-
plete. Ten days later he died and was buried in his
church at York. Alcuin mourned his loss as that of a
father, and compo.sed in his honour the splendid
panegyric (fines 139-1-1595) which is the gem of the
poem on the Church of York. To him Ethelbert. — or
^Elbert, as he calls him — was both pontiff and saint,
"Jam cui Christus amor, potus, cibus, omnia Chris-
tus".
.\lcuix. PocTTui de Pontificibus et Sanctis EcclesifF Ebo
in P. L.. CI.S14 sqq.. also in The Hiilorians of the Church of
York and i7.5 .irehbishops (Rolls Scries. London. 1879). I. In
Vol. II of the same publication there are short notices from
three medieval chroniclers. See also Raine in Diet. Christ.
Biog., II. 217. Ethelbert is referred to in the Diet. Nat. Biog. as
-Ethelberht, s. v. Eanbald 1, but has no separate notice.
Edwin Burton.
Etheldreda, Saint, Queen of Northumbria, b. (probably) about 630 ; d. at Ely, 23 June, 679. While still very young she was given in marriage by her father, Anna, King of East Anglia, to a certain Ton- bert, a subordinate prince, from whom she received as morning gift a tract of land locally known as the Isle of Ely. .She never lived in wedlock with Tonbert, however, and for five years after his early death was left to foster her vocation to religion. Her father then arranged for her a marriage of political conven- ience with Egfrid, son and heir to Oswy, King of Northmiibria. From this second bridegroom, who is said to have been only fourteen years of age, she received certain lands at Hexham ; through St. Wilfrid of York she gave these lands to found the minster of St. Andrew. St. Wilfrid was her friend and spiritual guide, but it was to him that Egfrid, on succeeding his father, appealed for the enforcement of his marital rights as against Etheldreda's religious vocation. The bishop succeeded at first in persuading Egfrid to consent that Etheldreda should live for some time in peace as a sister of the Coldingham nunnery, founded by her aimt, St. Ebba, in what is now Berwickshire. But at last the imminent danger of being forcibly carried off by the king drove her to wander southwards, with only two women in attendance. They made their way to Etheldreda's own estate of Ely, not, tradition said, without the interposition of miracles, and, on a spot hemmed in by morasses and the waters of the Ouse, the foundation of Ely Minster was begun. This region was Etheldreda's native home, and her royal East Anglian relatives gave her the material means necessary for the execution of her holy design. St. Wilfrid had not yet returned from Rome, where he had obtained extraordinary privileges for her foun- dation from Benedict II, when she died of a plague which she herself, it is said, had circumstantially fore- told. Her body was, throughout many succeeding centuries, an object of devout veneration in the fa- mous church which grew up on her foundation. (See Ely, Ancient Diocese of.) One hand of the saint is now venerated in the church of St. Etheldreda, Ely Place, London, which enjoys the distinction of being the first — and at present (1909) the only-- pre-Reformation church in Great Britain restored to Catholic worship. Built in the thirteenth century as a private chapel attached to the town residence of the Bishop of Ely, the .structure of St. Etheldreda's passed through many vicissitudes during the centuries follow- ing its desecration, until, in 1S73-74. it was purchased by Father William Lockhart and occupied by the Institute of Charity, of who,se English mission Father Lockhart was then superior.
Doiin. fhiinh 1/i.tloni of England; ScHRODL in A'iVf/irn(cx., s. V. Eddthrwt,: l)Ei)E,' Hist. Ecrl.. IV— with the liistorian's Latin poem in her honour; Mabilix)n, .Ada SS. Ord. Brned.; Lockhart, iS. Etheldreda's and Old London {2nd ed., London 1890).
E. Macpherson.
