Wulfsige of Sherborne

This article is about the 9th-century Bishop of Sherborne. For other uses, see Wulfsige.
Wulfsige
Bishop of Sherborne
Appointedbetween 879 and 889
Term endedfrom between 890 and 896 to 900
PredecessorÆthelheah
SuccessorAsser
Orders
Consecrationbetween 879 and 889
Personal details
Diedfrom between 890 and 896 to 900
DenominationChristian

Wulfsige was a ninth-century Bishop of Sherborne.

Dates

The exact dates of Wulfsige's bishopric and of his demise are uncertain. The editors of The Handbook of British Chronology have placed his date of accession between 879 and 889 and his death between 890 and 896 with a terminal end date of 900.[1] This date is confirmed by the fact that Asser, Wulfsige's successor, was signing charters as bishop of Sherborne in 900.[2] However, it has recently been suggested that Wulfsige of Sherborne might have been the same Wulfsige who succeeded Heahstan as bishop of London around 900, making 900 the approximate year of Wulfsige's transfer rather than his death.[3]

Educational reform under Alfred the Great

Wulfsige was a contemporary of King Alfred the Great, who had undertaken an effort of educational reform in his realm, personally translating into English what he considered the works “most necessary for all men to know.” When Alfred translated the Pastorale of Pope Gregory the Great, he sent a copy to each of his bishops, including Wulfsige, and added a prefatory letter explaining his educational aims and requesting the bishops to educate young men so that they could read these great works, originally composed in Latin. The copy sent to Wulfsige, which includes his name in the preface, survives as MS Ii.2.4 at Cambridge University Library. It is one of only five which are extant today and was the original from which copies were made in the eleventh century.[4]

When Werferth, bishop of Worcester, translated Gregory's Dialogues into English, Alfred sent an exemplar to Wulfsige, who composed a poem that was included as a preface to the work. In this preface, Wulfsige asked his readers to pray for him and for King Alfred, whom he referred to as the "greatest treasure-giver of all time."[5][6]

Citations

  1. ^ Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 222
  2. ^ "Asser". Dictionary of National Biography. 2: 198. 1885. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  3. ^ Kato, Takako. "Cambridge, University Library, Ii. 2. 4: King Alfred's Translation of Gregory the Great, The Pastoral Care". The Production and Use of English Manuscripts 1066 to 1220. University of Leicester. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Alfred the Great's Old English Translation of Gregory the Great's Pastoral Care (MS Ii.2.4)". Cambridge Digital Library. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  5. ^ Keynes, Simon; Lapidge, Michael (1983). Asser's Life of King Alfred. London: Penguin. p. 187. ISBN 9780141909424. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  6. ^ Searing, Maureen Elizabeth. "Alfred the Great: A Study in Accidental Greatness". SJSU Scholar Works. San Jose State University. Retrieved 24 January 2019.

References

  • Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
Christian titles
Preceded by Bishop of Sherborne
c. 885–c. 896 		Succeeded by