Wilfrid

During Wilfrid's lifetime Britain and Ireland consisted of a number of small kingdoms. Traditionally the English people were thought to have been divided into seven kingdoms, but modern historiography has shown that this is a simplification of a much more confused situation. A late 7th-century source, the Tribal Hidage, lists the peoples south of the Humber river; among the largest groups of peoples are the West Saxons (later Wessex), the East Angles and Mercians (later the Kingdom of Mercia), and the Kingdom of Kent. Smaller groups who at that time had their own royalty but were later absorbed into larger kingdoms include the peoples of Magonsæte, Lindsey, Hwicce, the East Saxons, the South Saxons, Other even smaller groups had their own rulers, but their size means that they do not often appear in the histories. There were also native Britons in the west, in modern-day Wales and Cornwall, who formed kingdoms including those of Dumnonia, Dyfed, and Gwynedd. Between the Humber and Forth the English had formed into two main kingdoms, Deira and Bernicia, often united as the Kingdom of Northumbria. A number of Celtic kingdoms also existed in this region, including Craven, Elmet, Rheged, and Gododdin. A native British kingdom, later called the Kingdom of Strathclyde, survived as an independent power into the 10th century in the area which became modern-day Dunbartonshire and Clydesdale. To the north-west of Strathclyde lay the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata, and to the north-east a small number of Pictish kingdoms. Further north still lay the great Pictish kingdom of Fortriu, which after the Battle of Dun Nechtain in 685 came to be the strongest power in the northern half of Britain. The Irish had always had contacts with the rest of the British Isles, and during the early 6th century they emigrated from the island of Ireland to form the kingdom of Dál Riata, although exactly how much conquest took place is a matter of dispute with historians. It also appears likely that the Irish settled in parts of Wales, and even after the period of Irish settlement, Irish missionaries were active in Britain. Christianity had only recently arrived in some of these kingdoms. Some had been converted by the Gregorian mission, a group of Roman missionaries who arrived in Kent in 597 and who mainly influenced southern Britain. Others had been converted by the Hiberno-Scottish mission, chiefly Irish missionaries working in Northumbria and neighbouring kingdoms. A few kingdoms, such as Dál Riata, became Christian but how they did so is unknown. The native Picts, according to the medieval writer Bede, were converted in two stages, initially by native Britons under Ninian, and subsequently by Irish missionaries. Sources The main sources for knowledge of Wilfrid are the medieval Vita Sancti Wilfrithi, written by Stephen of Ripon soon after Wilfrid's death, and the works of the medieval historian Bede, who knew Wilfrid during the bishop's lifetime. Stephen's Vita is a hagiography, intended to show Wilfrid as a saintly man, and to buttress claims that he was a saint. The Vita is selective in its coverage, and gives short shrift to Wilfrid's activities outside of Northumbria. Two-thirds of the work deals with Wilfrid's attempts to return to Northumbria, and is a defence and vindication of his Northumbrian career. Another concern is that hagiographies were usually full of conventional material, often repeated from earlier saints' lives, as was the case with Stephen's work. It appears that the Vita Sancti Wilfrithi was not well known in the Middle Ages, as only two manuscripts of the work survive. Bede also covers Wilfrid's life in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, but this account is more measured and restrained than the Vita. In the Historia, Bede used Stephen's Vita as a source, reworking the information and adding new material when possible. Other, more minor, sources for Wilfrid's life include a mention of Wilfrid in one of Bede's letters. A poetical Vita Sancti Wilfrithi by Frithegod written in the 10th century is essentially a rewrite of Stephen's Vita, produced in celebration of the movement of Wilfrid's relics to Canterbury. but as the Chronicle was probably a 9th-century compilation, the material on Wilfrid may ultimately have derived either from Stephen's Vita or from Bede. Another, later, source is the Vita Sancti Wilfrithi written by Eadmer, a 12th-century Anglo-Norman writer and monk from Canterbury. This source is highly influenced by the contemporary concerns of its writer, but does attempt to provide some new material besides reworking Bede. == Early life ==

Childhood and early education Wilfrid was born in Northumbria around 633. James Fraser argues that Wilfrid's family were aristocrats from Deira, pointing out that most of Wilfrid's early contacts were from that area. A conflict with his stepmother when he was about 14 years old drove Wilfrid to leave home, probably without his father's consent. Wilfrid's background is never explicitly described as noble, but the king's retainers were frequent guests at his father's house, and on leaving home Wilfrid equipped his party with horses and clothes fit for a royal court. The monastery on the island had recently been founded by Aidan, who had been instrumental in converting Northumbria to Christianity. Wilfrid studied at Lindisfarne for a few years before going to the Kentish king's court at Canterbury in 652, where he stayed with relatives of Queen Eanflæd. The Kentish court included a number of visiting clergymen at that time, including Benedict Biscop, a noted missionary. Wilfrid appears to have spent about a year in Kent, but the exact chronology is uncertain. Time at Rome and Lyon at Hexham monastery, where Wilfrid may have deposited any relics he brought back from the continent|alt=An underground stone lined crypt. Wilfrid left Kent for Rome in the company of Benedict Biscop, another of Eanflæd's contacts. and took place some time between 653 and 658. He developed a close friendship with Boniface Consiliarius during his time in Rome. After an audience with the pope, Wilfrid returned to Lyon. although Wilfrid probably became a monk during his time in Rome, or afterwards while he was in Gaul. Some historians, however, believe that Wilfrid was never a monk. Wilfrid would also have learned of the Rule of Saint Benedict in Gaul, as Columbanus' monasteries followed that monastic rule. Abbot of Ripon After Wilfrid's return to Northumbria in about 658, Cenwalh, King of Wessex, recommended Wilfrid to Alhfrith, Oswiu's son, as a cleric well-versed in Roman customs and liturgy. Wilfrid ejected the abbot, Eata, because he would not follow the Roman customs; but this claim rests on the Vita Sancti Wilfrithi and does not say where Wilfrid became knowledgeable about the Rule, nor exactly what form of the Rule was being referred to. Shortly afterwards Wilfrid was ordained a priest by Agilbert, Bishop of Dorchester in the kingdom of the Gewisse, part of Wessex. The monk Ceolfrith was attracted to Ripon from Gilling Abbey, which had recently been depopulated as a result of the plague. Ceolfrith later became Abbot of Wearmouth-Jarrow during the time the medieval chronicler and writer Bede was a monk there. Bede hardly mentions the relationship between Ceolfrith and Wilfrid, but it was Wilfrid who consecrated Ceolfrith a priest and who gave permission for him to transfer to Wearmouth-Jarrow. == Whitby ==

Background to Whitby The Roman churches and those in Britain and Ireland (often called "Celtic" churches) used different methods to calculate the date of Easter. The church in Northumbria had traditionally used the Celtic method, and that was the date observed by King Oswiu. His wife Eanflæd and a son, Alhfrith, celebrated Easter on the Roman date, Oswiu called a church council held at Whitby Abbey in 664 in an attempt to resolve this controversy. Although Oswiu himself had been brought up in the "Celtic" tradition, political pressures may have influenced his decision to call a council, as well as fears that if dissent over the date of Easter continued in the Northumbrian church it could lead to internal strife. The historian Richard Abels speculates that the expulsion of Eata from Ripon may have been the spark that led to the king's decision to call the council. Regional tensions within Northumbria between the two traditional divisions, Bernicia and Deira, appear to have played a part, as churchmen in Bernicia favoured the Celtic method of dating and those in Deira may have leaned towards the Roman method. Abels identifies several conflicts contributing to both the calling of the council and its outcome, including a generational conflict between Oswiu and Alhfrith and the death of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Deusdedit. Political concerns unrelated to the dating problem, such as the decline of Oswiu's preeminence among the other English kingdoms and the challenge to that position by Mercia, were also factors. Synod Wilfrid attended the synod, or council, of Whitby, as a member of the party favouring the continental practice of dating Easter, along with James the Deacon, Agilbert, and Alhfrith. Those supporting the "Celtic" viewpoint were King Oswiu, Hilda, the Abbess of Whitby, Cedd, a bishop, and Colmán of Lindisfarne, the Bishop of Lindisfarne. he also acted as Agilbert's interpreter, as the latter did not speak the local language. Bede describes Wilfrid as saying that those who did not calculate the date of Easter according to the Roman system were committing a sin. Wilfrid's speech in favour of adopting Roman church practices helped secure the eclipse of the "Celtic" party in 664, although most Irish churches did not adopt the Roman date of Easter until 704, and Iona held out until 716. Many of the Irish monasteries did not observe the Roman Easter, but they were not isolated from the continent; by the time of Whitby the southern Irish were already observing the Roman Easter date, and Irish clergy were in contact with their continental counterparts. Those monks and clergy unable to accept the Whitby decision left Northumbria, some going to Ireland == York ==

Elevation to the episcopate After the supporters of the Celtic dating had withdrawn following the Council of Whitby, Wilfrid became the most prominent Northumbrian cleric. As a result, and because of his performance at Whitby, Wilfrid was elected to a bishopric in Northumbria about a year after the council. It is unclear where his diocese was located, although he was considered to be Alhfrith's bishop. and that Oswiu subsequently proposed an alternative candidate, "imitating the actions of his son". Several theories have been suggested to explain the discrepancies between the two sources. One is that Alhfrith wished the seat to be at York, Wilfrid refused to be consecrated in Northumbria at the hands of Anglo-Saxon bishops. Deusdedit had died shortly after Whitby, and as there were no other bishops in Britain whom Wilfrid considered to have been validly consecrated During his time in Gaul Wilfrid was exposed to a higher level of ceremony than that practised in Northumbria, one example of which is that he was carried to his consecration ceremony on a throne supported by nine bishops. Delays and difficulties Wilfrid delayed his return from Gaul, only to find on his arrival back in Northumbria that Ceadda had been installed as bishop in his place. That Ceadda was supported by Oswiu, and Wilfrid had been a supporter of Oswiu's son, lends further credence to the theory that Alhfrith's rebellion took place while Wilfrid was in Gaul. Stephen of Ripon reported that Wilfrid was expelled by "Quartodecimans", or those who supported the celebration of Easter on the 14th day of the Jewish month Nisan, whether or not this was a Sunday. However, as the Irish church had never been Quartodecimans, Stephen in this instance was constructing a narrative to put Wilfrid in the best light. During his return to Northumbria Wilfrid's ship was blown ashore on the Sussex coast, the inhabitants of which were at that time pagan. On being attacked by the locals, Wilfrid's party killed the head priest before refloating their ship and making their escape. Favourable outcome Denied episcopal office, Wilfrid spent the three years from 665 to 668 as abbot of the monastery at Ripon. He occasionally performed episcopal functions in Mercia and Kent, but never did so north of the river Humber. as King Wulfhere of Mercia gave him large grants of land in Mercia. When Theodore, the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, arrived in England in 669 it was clear that something had to be done about the situation in Northumbria. Ceadda's election to York was improper, Consequently, Theodore deposed Ceadda, leaving the way open for Wilfrid, Wilfrid spent the next nine years building churches, including at the monastery at Hexham, and attending to diocesan business. While at York, Wilfrid was considered the "bishop of the Northumbrian peoples"; Bede records that Wilfrid's diocese was contiguous with the area ruled by Oswiu. The diocese was restricted to north of the Humber, however. Wilfrid may also have sought to exercise some ecclesiastical functions in the Pictish kingdom, as he is accorded the title "bishop of the Northumbrians and the Picts" in 669. Further proof of attempted Northumbrian influence in the Pictish regions is provided by the establishment for the Picts in 681 of a diocese centred on Abercorn, in the old territory of the British kingdom of Gododdin. The grants of land to Wilfrid west of the Pennines testify to Northumbrian expansion in that area. The Vita Sancti Wilfrithi claims that Wilfrid had ecclesiastical rule over Britons and Gaels. In 679, while Wilfrid was in Rome, he claimed authority over "all the northern part of Britain, Ireland and the islands, which are inhabited by English and British peoples, as well as by Gaelic and Pictish peoples". Diocesan affairs Wilfrid did not attend the Council of Hertford held in September 672, but he did send representatives. Among the council's resolutions was one postponing a decision on the creation of new dioceses, which affected Wilfrid later. Another ruling confirmed that the Roman calculation for the date of Easter should be adopted, and that bishops should act only in their own dioceses. During the middle 670s Wilfrid acted as middleman in the negotiations to return a Merovingian prince, Dagobert II, from his exile in Ireland to Gaul. Wilfrid was one of the first churchmen in Northumbria to use written charters as records of gifts to his churches. He ordered the creation of a listing of all benefactions received by Ripon, which was recited at the dedication ceremony. Wilfrid introduced the Rule of Saint Benedict into the monasteries he founded. When Wilfrid arrived in York as bishop the cathedral's roof was on the point of collapse; he had it repaired and covered in lead, and had glass set in the windows. The historian Barbara Yorke says of Wilfrid at this time that he "seems to have continued a campaign against any survival of 'Irish errors' and distrusted any communities that remained in contact with Iona or other Irish religious houses which did not follow the Roman Easter". He also worked to combat pagan practices, building a church at Melrose on a pagan site. Contemporaries said of him that he was the first native bishop to "introduce the Catholic way of life to the churches of the English". He did not neglect his pastoral duties in his diocese, Some of the monasteries in his diocese were put under his protection by their abbots or abbesses, who were seeking someone to help protect their endowments. In ruling over such monasteries, Wilfrid may have been influenced by the Irish model of a group of monasteries all ruled by one person, sometimes while holding episcopal office. Wilfrid was criticised for dressing his household and servants in clothing fit for royalty. He was accompanied on his travels by a retinue of warriors, one of whom, while at York, Wilfrid sent to abduct a young boy who had been promised to the church but whose family had changed their mind. Wilfrid also educated young men, both for clerical and secular careers. == Expulsion ==

Dispute with the king In 677 or 678, Wilfrid and Ecgfrith quarrelled, and Wilfrid was expelled from his see. The historian Eric John feels that Wilfrid's close ties with the Mercian kingdom also contributed to his troubles with Egfrith, although John points out that these ties were necessary for Wilfrid's monastic foundations, some of which were in Mercia. The bishops chosen for these sees, Eata at Hexham, Eadhæd at Lindsey, and Bosa at York, had all either been supporters of the "Celtic" party at Whitby, or been trained by those who were. Wilfrid's deposition became tangled up in a dispute over whether or not the Gregorian plan for Britain, with two metropolitan sees, the northern one set at York, would be followed through or abandoned. Wilfrid seems to have felt that he had metropolitan authority over the northern part of England, but Theodore never acknowledged that claim, instead claiming authority over the whole of the island of Britain. Appeal to Rome Wilfrid went to Rome after his expulsion to appeal against Theodore and Ecgfrith's decisions, the first Englishman to challenge a royal or ecclesiastical decision by petitioning the papacy. Others state that he intended to journey via Frisia to avoid Neustria, whose Mayor of the Palace, Ebroin, disliked Wilfrid. but the success was short-lived. Pope Agatho held a synod in October 679, which although it ordered Wilfrid's restoration and the return of the monasteries to his control, also directed that the new dioceses should be retained. Although Wilfrid did not win a complete victory, he did secure a papal decree limiting the number of dioceses in England to 12. Wilfrid also secured the right for his monasteries of Ripon and Hexham to be directly supervised by the pope, preventing any further interference in their affairs by the diocesan bishops. Wilfrid returned to England after the council via Gaul. According to Stephen of Ripon, after the death of Dagobert II, Ebroin wished to imprison Wilfrid, but Wilfrid miraculously escaped. In 680 Wilfrid returned to Northumbria and appeared before a royal council. He produced the papal decree ordering his restoration, but was instead briefly imprisoned and then exiled by the king. Wilfrid stayed for a short time in the kingdom of the Middle Angles and at Wessex, == Missions in Sussex ==

Wilfrid spent the next five years preaching to, and converting the pagan inhabitants of Sussex, the South Saxons. He also founded Selsey Abbey, Bede attributes Wilfrid's ability to convert the South Saxons to his teaching them how to fish, and contrasts it with the lack of success of the Irish monk Dicuill. Bede also says that the Sussex area had been experiencing a drought for three years before Wilfrid's arrival, but miraculously when Wilfrid arrived, and started baptising converts, rain began to fall. Wilfrid worked with Bishop Erkenwald of London, helping to set up the church in Sussex. Erkenwald also helped reconcile Wilfrid and Theodore before Theodore's death in 690. The mission was jeopardised when King Æthelwealh died during an invasion of his kingdom by Cædwalla of Wessex. Cædwalla sent Wilfrid to the Isle of Wight, which was still pagan, with the aim of converting the inhabitants. In 688, the king relinquished his throne and went on a pilgrimage to Rome to be baptised, but died shortly after the ceremony. Wilfrid was probably influential in Cædwalla's decision to be baptised in Rome. Wilfrid may have been involved in founding monasteries near Bath as well as in other parts of Sussex, but the evidence backing this is based on the wording used in the founding charters resembling wording used by Wilfrid in other charters, not on any concrete statements that Wilfrid was involved. == Return to Northumbria and exile ==

Return from exile In 686 Wilfrid was recalled to Northumbria after the death of Ecgfrith in battle with the Picts. During the 680s Theodore had created two more dioceses in Northumbria, at Ripon, and at Abercorn in the Pictish kingdom, but both were short-lived. Neither William nor the citation itself gives a date, but the letter has been assigned to Wilfrid's exile under Aldfrith in the 690s. Mercia During his stay in Mercia Wilfrid acted as bishop with the consent of King Æthelred. Information on Wilfrid's life at this time is meagre, as the Vita Sancti Wilfrithi says little of this period. He is generally considered to have been Bishop of Leicester until about 706, when he is held to have been transferred to Hexham. Wilfrid became involved in the missionary efforts to the Frisians, which he had started in 678 during his stay in Frisia. Wilfrid helped the missionary efforts of Willibrord, which were more successful than his own earlier attempts. Willibrord was a monk of Ripon who was also a native of Northumbria. Wilfrid was present at the exhumation of the body of Queen Æthelthryth at Ely Abbey in 695. He had been her spiritual adviser in the 670s, and had helped the queen become a nun against the wishes of her husband King Ecgfrith of Northumbria. The queen had joined Ely Abbey, where she died in 679. The ceremony in 695 found that her body had not decayed, which led to her being declared a saint. Wilfrid's testimony as to the character and virginity of Æthelthryth was recorded by Bede. In about 700, Wilfrid appealed once more to Pope Sergius I over his expulsion from York, and the pope referred the issue back to a council in England. In 702 King Aldfrith held a council at Austerfield that upheld Wilfrid's expulsion, and once more Wilfrid travelled to Rome to appeal to the pope. The council was presided over by Berhtwald, the new archbishop of Canterbury, and the decision of the council was that Wilfrid should be deprived of all his monasteries but Ripon, and that he should cease to perform episcopal functions. When Wilfrid continued his appeal to the papacy, his opponents had him and his supporters excommunicated. Wilfrid was disconcerted to find that the papal court spoke Greek, and his biographer noted that Wilfrid was displeased when the pope discussed the appeal with advisers in a language Wilfrid could not understand. and the nobleman Beornhæth. Once Osred was secure on the throne Wilfrid was restored to Ripon and Hexham in 706. When Bosa of York died, Wilfrid did not contest the decision to appoint John of Beverley to York. This appointment meant John's transfer from Hexham, leaving Wilfrid free to perform episcopal functions at Hexham, == Other aspects ==

Cult of St Oswald Sometime after the translation of the relics of Oswald of Northumbria to Bardney Abbey by Osthryth between 675 and 679, Wilfrid, along with Hexham Abbey, began to encourage and promote the cult of the dead king. Barbara Yorke sees this advocacy as a major factor in the prominence given to Oswald in Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum. Historian D. P. Kirby regards Wilfrid's championing of Oswald as being a contributing factor in Wilfrid's expulsion from York in 678. Kirby believes that Ecgfrith felt Wilfrid was promoting Oswald's branch of the Northumbrian royal family over his own. Monastic network Wilfrid's network of monasteries extended across at least three of the kingdoms of England in his day. They included Hexham, Ripon, Selsey, and Oundle, At his monasteries and dioceses he built churches in a style akin to that of the continent and Rome, travelling between them with a large entourage of up to 120 followers. His contacts extended to the Lombard kingdom in Italy, where they included King Perctarit and his son Cunipert. He was also noted for his ability to attract support from powerful women, especially queens. Queen Eanflæd, his first patron, introduced him to a number of helpful contacts, and he later attracted the support of Queen Æthelthryth, who gave the endowment for Hexham Abbey. Ælfflæd, sister of King Aldfrith of Northumbria and daughter of Wilfrid's old patron Queen Eanflæd, helped to persuade the Northumbrians to allow Wilfrid to return from his last exile. Builder and artistic patron Wilfrid built a church capable of accommodating a congregation of 2,000 at Hexham, using stone from Hadrian's Wall. It appears that the churches at Hexham and Ripon (which Wilfrid also built) were aisled basilicas, of the type that was common on the continent. Ripon was the first church in Northumbria to incorporate a porticus, similar to those of churches in Kent. 12th-century pilgrims' accounts declared that the church at Hexham rivalled those of Rome. As well as his building projects Wilfrid also commissioned works to embellish the churches, including altar cloths made of silk woven with gold threads, and a gospel book written on parchment dyed purple, with gold lettering. The gospels were then enclosed in a gold book cover set with gems. When the church he had built at Ripon was consecrated, a three-day feast was held to accompany the ceremony. == Resignation and death ==

After his final return to Northumbria Wilfrid retired to the monastery at Ripon, where he lived until his death during a visit to Oundle, A little over a year before his death in either 709 or 710 Wilfrid suffered another stroke or seizure, which led him to make arrangements for the disposition of his monasteries and possessions. He was buried near the altar of his church in Ripon. Bede records the epitaph that was placed on the tomb. The monastery at Ripon celebrated the first anniversary of Wilfrid's death with a commemoration service attended by all the abbots of his monasteries and a spectacular white arc was said to have appeared in the sky starting from the gables of the basilica where his bones were laid to rest. Wilfrid left large sums of money to his monastic foundations, enabling them to purchase royal favour. It was commissioned by two of Wilfrid's followers, Acca of Hexham, and the Abbot of Ripon, Tatbert. Stephen's Vita is concerned with vindicating Wilfrid and making a case for his sainthood, and so is used with caution by historians, although it is nevertheless an invaluable source for Wilfrid's life and the history of the time. == Legacy ==

(centre) and Aidan (left), depicted in a stained-glass window in the church of St John Lee near Acomb in Northumberland; Hexham Abbey is nearby.|alt=Three stained glass windows, each depicting a mitred and robed figure. All three are carrying staves. Wilfrid's feast day is 12 October Both dates were celebrated in early medieval England, but the April date appeared first in the liturgical calendars. and held in Canterbury Cathedral. This account appears in a foreword written by Oda for Frithegod's later poem on Wilfrid's life. However, according to Byrhtferth's Vita Sancti Oswaldi, or Life of Saint Oswald, Oda's nephew, Oswald, Archbishop of York, preserved the relics at Ripon and restored the community there to care for them. The relics that were held at Canterbury were originally placed in the High Altar in 948, but after the fire at Canterbury Cathedral in 1067, Wilfrid's relics were placed in their own shrine. After the Norman Conquest of England, devotion continued to be paid to Wilfrid, with 48 churches dedicated to him and relics distributed between 11 sites. Wilfrid is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church He is usually depicted either as a bishop preaching and baptising or else as a robed bishop holding an episcopal staff. Wilfrid was one of the first bishops to bring relics of saints back from Rome. The papacy was trying to prevent the removal of actual body parts from Rome, restricting collectors to things that had come in contact with the bodily remains such as dust and cloth. Wilfrid was known as an advocate of Benedictine monasticism, He built at Ripon and Hexham, and lived a majestic lifestyle. These monastic foundations, especially Hexham, contributed to the blending of the Gaelic and Roman strains of Christianity in Northumbria, which inspired a great surge of learning and missionary activity; Bede and Alcuin were among the scholars who emerged from Northumbrian monasteries influenced by Wilfrid. Missionaries inspired by his example went from Northumbria to the continent, where they converted pagans in Germany and elsewhere. One commentator has said that Wilfrid "came into conflict with almost every prominent secular and ecclesiastical figure of the age". Hindley, a historian of the Anglo-Saxons, states that "Wilfrid would not win his sainthood through the Christian virtue of humility". The historian Eric John feels that it was Wilfrid's devotion to monasticism that led him to believe that the only way for the Church to be improved was through monasticism. John traces Wilfrid's many appeals to Rome to his motivation to hold together his monastic empire, rather than to self-interest. John also challenges the belief that Wilfrid was fond of pomp, pointing out that the comparison between the Irish missionaries who walked and Wilfrid who rode ignores the reality that the quickest method of travel in the Middle Ages was on horseback. The historian Peter Hunter Blair summarises Wilfrid's life as follows: "Wilfrid left a distinctive mark on the character of the English church in the seventh century. He was not a humble man, nor, so far as we can see, was he a man greatly interested in learning, and perhaps he would have been more at home as a member of the Gallo-Roman episcopate where the wealth which gave him enemies in England would have passed unnoticed and where his interference in matters of state would have been less likely to take him to prison." R. W. Southern, another modern historian, says that Wilfrid was "the greatest papal enthusiast of the century". James Campbell, a historian specialising in the Anglo-Saxon period, said of him "He was certainly one of the greatest ecclesiastics of his day. Ascetic, deemed a saint by some, the founder of several monasteries according to the rule of St Benedict, he established Christianity in Sussex and attempted to do so in Frisia. At the same time, his life and conduct were in some respects like those of a great Anglo-Saxon nobleman." == Notes ==