Willehad was born in
Northumbria and probably received his education at
York under
Ecgbert. He was a friend of
Alcuin. He was ordained, and about the year 766, he went to
Frisia, to continue the missionary work of
Boniface who had been martyred by the Frisians in 754. At an assembly in
Paderborn in 777,
Saxony was divided into missionary zones. The zone between the
Weser and the
Elbe, called
Wigmodia, was given to Willehad. From 780 Willehad preached in the region of the lower
Weser River on commission from
Charlemagne. He barely escaped with his life when the Frisians wanted to kill him and he returned to the area around
Utrecht. Once again he and his fellow missionaries barely escaped with their lives when the local pagans wanted to kill them for destroying some temples. He also built a small church at Blexen. Willehad died in Blexen upon Weser, today a part of
Nordenham. He is buried in the
city's cathedral, which he consecrated shortly before his death on 8 November 789.
Anschar compiled a life of Willehad, and the preface which he wrote was considered a masterpiece for that age. In 860, a sick girl from Wege (
Weyhe) traveled to his grave. There, she was reportedly cured by a miracle. This was the first time the small village was mentioned in any historical documents. ==See also==