10. SAINT AETHELWOLD, BISHOP OF WINCHESTER

and those with him

Our holy Father Aethelwold was born in Winchester in about the year 912. When he was still in his mother's womb, as Abbot Aelfric relates, «it seemed to her that she was sitting in front of the door of her house and that she saw a lofty banner whose top seemed to touch the sky. Bowing reverently, it surrounded the pregnant woman with its fringes. Similarly, while she was sleeping that same night, she saw as it were a golden eagle come out of her mouth and fly away. It was so big that the whole city seemed to be overshadowed by its gilded wings.»

The child was baptized and called Aethelwold. Once, on a certain feast day, his mother was at home holding the child in her lap. She wanted to go to church, but a wind arose that was so strong that she was unable to fulfil her intention. Then she set about praying earnestly. And suddenly she found herself sitting with the child in church during the Divine Liturgy.

As a boy, he was introduced into the court of King Athelstan, where he learned many useful things. But his mind was set on heavenly things. And so he was at length ordained to the priesthood together with St. Dunstan by St. Aelfheah, Bishop of Winchester.

After a period of instruction under St. Aelfheah, Aethelwold submitted himself in obedience to St. Dunstan at Glastonbury. As Wulfstan writes, Aethelwold «profited greatly from Dunstan's teaching, and eventually received the habit of the monastic order from him, devoting himself humbly to his rule. At Glastonbury, he learned skill in the liberal art of grammar and the honey-sweet system of metrics. He was eager to read the best-known Christian writers, and was in addition constant in his vigils and prayer, taming himself by fasting and never ceasing to exhort his fellow monks to strive for the heights. He remained in obedience to St. Dunstan until his death.

It was while Aethelwold was prior of the monastery at Glastonbury that St. Dunstan had a prophetic dream about him. Wulfstan, a pupil of Aethelwold's at Winchester, relates that Dunstan was sitting outside the monastery dormitory when he saw «a certain tree as if it were of wondrous height. It seemed to spread its branches east, west, north, and south, over the entire region of Britain, astonishingly extensive in its length and breadth. The branches of this tree were laden with countless cones, large and small, while the tree itself bore at the very top a huge cone which, rising above, protected the others with the covering of its scales, and surpassing them all together with its great height, touched the very sky. But the man of the Lord, Dunstan, very astonished by such a vision from above, questioned the elder adorned with white angelic hair, who was pointing this tree out to him, and said: «I beseech you, venerable elder, what is this strong and lofty tree whose branches spreading out far and wide seem to support so many countless cones?» The elder answered him: »This tree which you see, Abbot Dunstan, represents the site of this island; moreover, the great cone which rises on the pinnacle of this tree represents your monk Aethelwold who serves Christ devoutly in this monastery. Now the other cones with which these branches appear laden represent the multitude of monks who are to be instructed by his learning and who are to be gathered together in this area from all regions for the service of Almighty God. Under his leadership they will reach the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven and the fellowship of the blessed spirits who reign with Christ.» Having received this reply, the holy man awoke and reflected silently upon the vision, and afterwards made it known to the faithful by a true account. The report of the vision, spreading with the passage of time, became known to many and at length came also to my humble notice.

«And it was also no less fitting,» continues Wulfstan, «that another dream be fulfilled which Aethelwold, the holy man of God, once related to me concerning himself, saying: "I thought that I was standing by the sea shore where it seemed to me that there appeared a certain great ship, in which there was contained a plentiful number of fish, especially eels, heaped up from the bottom to the top. And when I silently considered the meaning of this vision which I saw, I suddenly heard a voice calling me by my own name, and saying to me: «Aethelwold, Aethelwold, this command has been sent to you by God from heaven: Call forth those fish, with which the ship that you perceive is filled, and bring it about by your prayers that they may be men, just as they were before.» Thereupon, complying with this command I stood before them to pray and overcome with a shower of tears, I said sighing: «Lord Jesus, for Whom nothing is impossible, look favourably upon these souls deceived by diabolical trickery, who have been alienated from the slimy mud of this world. I beseech Thee, Good Jesus, do not allow the enemy of the human race to glory in his triumph over them, but grant that, through the almighty power of Thy Name, they may be restored to life, so that, escaping the sleep of eternal death, they may acknowledge Thee as the true and only Saviour of the world, and thereafter, always fleeing towards the peaceful gate of salvation, may be rescued from all dangers of the world and remain secure under Thy governance. For it is Thine, O Christ, to make the dead live, and to restore to its former glory Thine own image which Thou hast created. Thou camest into this world to save sinners and having suffered the dreadful punishment of death on the Cross, Thou didst deign to pour forth Thy precious Blood for the salvation of us all.» When I uttered these and similar words of prayer with a remorseful heart and spirit of humility, behold the fish which I had seen before covered in the filthy mud and in the waters of misery, I suddenly saw made into men and revived from death. There arose from the ship and proceeded hastily to land a great multitude of men, many of whom I had known personally. One man among them who fell behind was transformed again into an eel. Without doubt he was that Athelstan, who had long ago been ordained priest with me, and whom thereafter I had been unable to rouse by any means or to bring it about that he might become a man. Indeed, all the others with one accord raised their voices to heaven, clapping their hands and offering thanks to Almighty God because through His ineffable mercy and my insignificant coming, they were worthy to be recalled from death to life and to be restored to human reasoning which they had lost. But I, rejoicing in God and wishing them joy, awoke, and thus I recall this vision for you, my children, so that with the labour of good works you may persevere in the holy purpose; whereby, through the grace of God, you are able to be counted in the number of those who have been entrusted to me, although I am unworthy, so that they may be freed from the unclean abyss of this world and be saved in eternal blessedness without end.«»

After some time, the saint wished to go overseas to Cluny to learn more about the monastic life. However, the Dowager-Queen Aelgifu, King Edred's mother, was against this (Aethelwold later sent the monk Osgar to Fleury instead of himself); and she persuaded here son to give Aethelwold the derelict monastery at Abingdon, together with a large area of land to support it. And so, with St. Dunstan's blessing, the saint went to Abingdon, and set about rebuilding the monastery. He was ordained as abbot at the king's request.

«Under Aethelwold,» writes Andrew Prescott, «Abingdon grew into a »glorious minster». One of his first actions was to establish a school, and the future King Edgar studied there. Aethelwold's reputation for sanctity and strict observance attracted men from all over the country to follow the monastic life at Abingdon. He established contact with reformers on the Continent, and sought to ensure that observance at Abingdon was in line with the most up-to-date Continental practice. Monks from the reformed monasteries at Fleury and Corbie came to Abingdon to instruct their English counterparts in the forms of chanting. The monastery's endowments were substantially increased, particularly by gifts of royal land. A magnificent new church was built, furnished in the most sumptuous fashion. A twelfth-century description of the church states that "the chancel was round, the church itself was also round, having twice the length of the chancel. The tower also was found.» It has been suggested that this means that the church was an aisled rotunda, recalling the royal symbolism of the palatine chapel at Aachen. Aethelwold himself is said to have built the altar table, which was made of gold and silver, decorated with the sculpted figures of the twelve apostles. It cost the enormous sum of three hundred pounds. Also attributed to Aethelwold was a gold-plated wheel which supported twelve lamps and from which were suspended little bells. Other treasures of the church included three crosses of gold and silver, each four feet in length, and texts to adorn the church made of silver and precious stones. Most of these treasures were destroyed or dispersed after the Norman Conquest [in 1066]...»

Once, as Abbot Aelfric relates, «the king came to the monastery to plan himself the structure of the buildings, and he measured out all the foundations of the monastery with his own hand, exactly as he had determined to erect the walls. Then the abbot invited him to dine in the refectory with his men. The king agreed immediately; and since there were several Northumbrians with him at the time, they all came with the king to the feast. The king was merry, and ordered mead to be supplied in abundance to the guests, having closed the doors so that no one could hurry away and leave the drinking at the royal banquet. The whole day the servers drew drink for the revellers in full measure, and yet a span's depth remained until the Northumbrians were swinishly drunk and withdrew in the evening.»

Once a brother named Aelfstan (the future Bishop Aelfstan I of Ramsbury, who was martyred by the Danes in 1016) was ordered by the saint to provide food for the builders of the monastery. He very zealously prepared meat every day for the workmen, and personally served them, kindling the fire, fetching water and cleaning the vessels, while the abbot thought that he did all this with the help of a servant. One day, while the abbot was wandering around the monastery as was his custom, he was Aelfstan standing by a boiling cauldron, preparing food for the workmen. Then, entering the kitchen, he saw all the vessels spotless and the floor swept. Going up to Aelfstan, he said joyfully: "My brother, you have robbed me of this obedience which you practise without my knowledge. But if you are as much of a soldier of Christ as you seem, put your hand in the boiling water and draw out a bit of food for me from the bottom.» Without hesitating, Aelfstan put his hand to the bottom of the cauldron and drew out a hot morsel, feeling no heat from the boiling water. When the saint saw this, he ordered Aelfstan to put down the food and reveal the miracle to no one.

Another time, the saint was working on the building when a huge post fell on him and threw him into a pit, breaking nearly all his ribs on one side. If the pit had not received him, he would have been completely crushed. However, with the help of God he recovered.

On November 29, 963, before the building at Abingdon was completed, Aethelwold was consecrated Bishop of Winchester by St. Dunstan at the king's request.

On arriving at his see, Aethelwold found the Old Minster occupied by secular clergy, who, as Wulfstan writes, «were involved in wicked and scandalous behaviour, victims of pride, insolence and riotous living to such a degree that some of them did not think fit to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in due order. They married wives illicitly, divorced them, and took others; they were constantly given to gourmandising and drunkenness.» With King Edgar's permission, he expelled these clerics, and replaced them with monks from Abingdon. «Now it happened,» writes Abbot Aelfric, «that while the monks who had come from Abingdon were standing at the entrance to the church, the clerics inside were finishing the Divine Liturgy and singing the communion hymn: «Serve ye the Lord with fear, and rejoice in Him with trembling. Lay hold of instruction, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and ye perish from the righteous way.» As if they were saying: »We could not serve God, nor observe His discipline; you at least act so that you not perish like us.» And the monks, hearing the singing, said to each other: «Why are we waiting outside? Look, we are exhorted to enter.»»

St. Aethelwold also came, together with a thegn of King Edgar's called Wulfstan of Dalham. Wulfstan gave the clerics the royal ultimatum: either give place to the monks or become monks yourselves. The clerics, no lovers of the monastic life, decided to leave, although three of them, Edsige, Wulfsige and Wilstan, later accepted the monastic tonsure.

«Such ruthless action,» writes Prescott, «in pursuit of introducing new standards of religious life earned Aethelwold enemies, and there was afterwards at least one attempt to murder him. According to Wulfstan, the expelled canons plotted to poison Aethelwold and recover their old places. They poisoned Aethelwold while he was entertaining guests in his own hall. He managed to stagger to his bed, but became completely paralysed. [However,]. by bringing to mind declarations of Christ, such as that «if believers drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them», Aethelwold found that the pain and paralysis caused by the poison gradually disappeared. He returned to the hall showing no signs of his terrible experience. The canons, recognising that they could not defeat Aethelwold, fled.»

However, they had not yet given up the fight. They appealed to the king, who in turn referred the matter to St. Dunstan, who then asked the king to convene a Council in Winchester. This took place in about the year 970 in the presence of the king and queen, nobles and clergy. The final decision was announced by St. Dunstan: »This Old Minster was founded as a habitation for monks. Let those who benefit from its revenues live henceforth as true monks.» It is said that during the Council, when the possibility of restoring the secular clergy to the Old Minster was being discussed, a cross spoke from the wall: "Far be it from you! You have done well; to change again would be wrong.» Besides this, the Council decided on the establishment of a slightly modified form of the Rule of St. Benedict, the Regularis Concordia (Agreement of the Rules), for all the monastics of England. Up to that time, there had been different versions of the rule in different parts of the country. But now a single Rule was agreed on to ensure that «all be of one mind as regards monastic usage. lest differing ways of observing the customs of one rule and one country should bring their holy conversation into disreputé. The monks were to be under the patronage of the king, and the nuns – of the queen.

King Edgar supported Aethelwold's reforms in Winchester, not only in the Old Minster, but also in the New Minster, as well as in the women's Nunnaminster. «The three abbeys,» writes Eleanor Duckett, «stood on adjoining lands, the New Minster a little to the north of the Old, and the Nuns» Minster a little on the east. Trouble was constant among them. They were jealous of possessions; they disputed the lines of their boundaries; they declared respectively that they could not sing their office in the proper manner because of the noise of chanting from their monastic neighbours. King Edgar at Aethelwold's petition issued an order for an exact division among them and even tore down the houses of private citizens nearby in order that space might be given for the monks of Winchester «for living more peacefully in God's service, removed from the clamour of townspeoplé. Such action was hard for the townspeople, yet Aethelwold in the end also did them untold good. With extraordinary imagination and practical skill he made his engineers and their workmen conduct a sorely needed supply of water by channels through the streets of Winchester to cloisters and to private homes alike.»

The influence of the holy bishop extended far beyond the bounds of the see of Winchester. Through his efforts, and with the help of King Edgar, three great monasteries of Eastern England, Peterborough, Ely and Thorney were revived; he placed his monk Godeman as abbot in Thorney. Land was bought and cleared, abbots of stricter discipline imported, and the veneration of forgotten local saints revived.

Duckett has described the re-founding of Thorney thus: «This »Isle of Thorns» in the midst of the waters of the great marsh had once been, it was said, the home of three hermits, Tancred and Torhtred, and their sister, Tova, who settled to her prayer a little distance from them, in the heart of the thickets. They were following, we may think, in the line of a few adventurers in religion who had come in the seventh century from Medeshamstede [Peterborough], having gained permission from their abbot, Saxulf, to retreat into this deeper solitude. In the time of these brothers and their sister the Danes arrived to destroy. The tradition of Aethelwold relates that he bought the ruins the Danes had left from their owner, Aethelflaed [Ethelfleda], that he installed some monks – and the number is given as twelve – and built for them in 972–3 an abbey with its church, dedicating the altar at the east end to our Lady, the west end to Saint Peter, and a chapel in the north transept to Saint Benedict. This account points to an altar at either end, after Carolingian fashion.»

To Ely, which Edgar and Aethelwold refounded as a monastery for men, another Abingdon monk Brihtnoth, was brought as abbot. Ely was the home of the incorrupt body of St. Aethelthryth. However, not content with having the relics of St. Aethelthryth and her holy sisters Sexburga and Ermenhilda, Brihtnoth also desired the relics of the fourth sister, the hermitess St. Withburga. So, after fasting and prayer, he and some of his monks travelled to the little monastery of East Dereham in Norfolk, where St. Withburga had struggled. Then he carried off the holy relics, to the displeasure of the monks and citizens of Dereham.

St. Aethelwold probably also helped in the reform of monasteries at Milton (Dorset), St. Neot's (Cambridgeshire) and Chertsey (Surrey).

But he never allowed church-building to get in the way of almsgiving. Thus during a famine he ordered the treasures of the Church to be broken down to make money for the poor, saying: «What is lifeless metal compared with bodies and souls created and redeemed by God?»

The saint was a great patron of the arts. He built, according to David Hugh Farmer, «the most powerful organ of its time in England. It was played by two monks and had 400 pipes and 36 bellows. Even more important was the appearance in St. Aethelwold's monasteries of the new influential Winchester style of illumination, which soon surpassed in excellence the products of the many scriptoria of continental monasteries. His school of vernacular writing at Winchester, of which Aelfric is the most famous example, was the most important of its time; its accurate translations, linguistically significant, were designed to meet the needs of bishops and clergy who were not themselves monks. In music Aethelwold's Winchester had the distinction of producing the first English polyphony in the Winchester Troper.»

The most famous of the works of his school of illumination was The Benedictional of St. Aethelwold, which exists to this day. At the beginning of the book, the writer, Godeman, calls his master «Boanerges», «son of thunder». And he could indeed be very strict to the disobedient. But to the gentle and humble, says Abbot Aelfric, he was «gentler than a dove. He was a father of the monks and nuns, a comforter of widows and a restorer of the poor, a defender of churches, a corrector of those going astray, for he performed more by his work than we can relate in words.»

«He was often afflicted with illness in his bowels and legs, spending sleepless nights from pain, and nevertheless going about by day as if well, though pale. Yet he did not indulge in the flesh of animals and birds except once every three months, when forced by great infirmity – and this, moreover, he did at the command of Archbishop Dunstan – and again during the sickness from which he died. It was always a pleasure to him to teach young men and boys, and to explain books to them in English, and with kindly exhortations to encourage them to better things. From this it came about that several of his pupils were made abbots and bishops in the English people.

«It happened once that his clerk, who had been appointed to carry his ampulla took less oil than was required, and even this he lost on the way. When the bishop came to their destination, and wished to have the chrism, he had none. Very troubled, the clerk then retraced the road he had come, and discovered the ampulla, which before had not been half full, lying full of oil.

«A monk serving him, Edwin by name, stole the purse of a guest, by the instigation of the devil. The bishop spoke to the whole congregation in chapter about this matter, saying that if anyone had taken it he should return it with his blessing, or throw it down in a place where it could be found. When three days had passed without the money being discovered, the bishop spoke again to all the brethren, saying: «Our thief would not return the stolen goods with our blessing, as we ordered; let him now return it with our curse; and let him be bound, not only in soul, but also in body, by our authority.» What more need be said? The brethren said »Amen», and, behold, the thief sitting there was bound wretchedly with his arms stuck to him beneath his cope, and remained thus bound until the third hour, pondering what he ought to do. Yet he had the power to move all his limbs except his arms, which the bishop had rendered useless by the power conferred on him by God. However, the wretched man arose thus bound, and going after the bishop, was constrained to confess that he had the thing secretly, saying nothing about his binding. Then the bishop said to him gently, as was his habit: "At least you have done well in confessing your crime now, although late; have then our blessing.» And immediately his arms were loosed without the bishop knowing. But he went away gladdened by this and told everything about his binding and his release to a certain brother, Wulfgar by name, who advised that this should rather be kept hidden in silence.

«When the bishop wished to restore the old church with great effort, and ordered the brethren frequently to work alongside the workmen, it happened one day that while the monks were standing with the masons on the top of the roof of the church a monk named Goda fell from the top to the bottom. And immediately he touched the ground he got up without having suffered any injury from such a fall, and mounted to the work where he had stood before and seizing a trowel completed what he had begun. To whom therefore ought this miracle to be ascribed unless to him by whose order he went out to this work.

«Also a certain monk, Theodoric by name, went to the bishop in the nocturnal interval wishing to inform him by signs about a certain necessary matter, and discovered him reading with a candle, and sharpening his aged eyes by unremittingly blinking his eyelids; and he stood a long time marvelling at how diligently he kept his eyes fixed to the page. Then the bishop rose from his reading and that brother took the candle and began to read, trying to sharpen his sound eyes to the reading as diligently as the bishop had done his failing eyes. But that temerity did not go unpunished, for the following night, when he had given himself to sleep, there appeared to him someone of unknown countenance, saying to him with terrible threatening: "How dared you reproach the bishop in his reading last night?» And, saying this, he struck him a blow in the eyes with his finger, and there immediately followed a violent pain in the eyes which afflicted him greatly for many days, until he obliterated by amends the fault which he had needlessly committed against the holy man.

«Again, it happened that when the bishop was reading he fell asleep from too many vigils, and the burning candle fell on the page and continued to burn on the leaf until a brother arrived and took the flaming candle from the book, and saw the glowing pieces of the candle lying on many lines inside, and when he blew them out he found the page undamaged.»

The dedication, in 980, of the reconstructed Old Minster, was the occasion for a reconciliation between Saints Dunstan and Aethelwold and the other monastic reformers, on the one side, and the leaders of the anti-monastic reaction of the reign of King Edward, on the other. Thus Wulfstan writes that «it was dedicated solemnly and with great glory by nine bishops, of whom the first and most important, Dustan the Archbishop, and Aethelwold himself, the holy bishop, took precedence. From the 20^th day of October in the presence of King Aethelred and in the assembly of almost all the earls, abbots, aldermen and foremost nobles of the entire English nation, they celebrated for two days that same dedication with universal joy. Thereafter, his heavenly piety brought so much esteem to the holy bishop that those men, distinguished by secular power, princes, dukes, mighty lords, and judges, and all who until now were opposed to him and seemed to stand in the way of God, were suddenly changed as if from wolves into sheep and venerated him with wonderful affection. Bending their necks to their knees and kissing his right hand, they commended themselves in all things to the prayers of the man of God.»

Now the time came for St. Aethelwold to depart from this earthly life. Having arrived in a village called Beddington, some sixty miles from Winchester, he fell severely ill, and received the sacraments of Holy Unction and the Body and Blood of the Lord, Then, having said farewell to his spiritual children and blessed them, he reposed on August 1, 984.

And «those who were there,» writes Wulfstan, «have testified to me that the dead body of the holy man was altered by a sudden change: it was covered with a milky- white radiance and was made beautiful with a rose-coloured glow. Thus, in a certain way, the countenance of a boy seven years old seemed to manifest itself, and then on this countenance a kind of glory of the resurrection appeared through the manifestation of his changed body.»

An enormous multitude from all classes of society came from the neighbouring villages and towns to say farewell to their beloved pastor. And when, on the following day, the funeral bier, surrounded by the Gospels, crosses and lighted candles, and accompanied by the chanting of psalms and hymns, entered Winchester, the whole city came out to meet the procession. The body of the saint was brought to his own Episcopal chair in the cathedral church of SS. Peter and Paul, where a vigil service and Divine Liturgy were celebrated; after which, writes Wulfstan, «he was buried in the crypt on the south side of the holy altar, where long ago it was shown to him from on high that he must rest, as he himself told me.»

«Twelve years after the saint's repose,» continues Wulfstan, «it pleased God that Aethelwold should be revealed by heavenly signs and his bones taken up from the enclosure of the tomb so that the light which lay hidden under a bushel might be placed on a lampstand to shine for all those who are in the house of god. For there is a certain small city bustling with commerce that is usually called Wallingford, in which there lived a certain energetic man whose name was Elfhelm. Having lost his sight by accident, he patiently endured blindness for many years. The holy Bishop Aethelwold appeared to this man in his sleep at early dawn and urged him to go quickly to Winchester and to approach his tomb in order to receive the grace of sight, saying: «Therefore I visit you, lying in your bed, and I foretell the things that will happen to you so that by the sign of your cure it will be clear that I should be raised up from the tomb in which I lie.» When he had heard this and had recognized the voice of the one who was speaking to him, he thanked the holy father because he deigned to visit him. And because Elfhelm was completely ignorant of where Aethelwold was buried, he diligently inquired how he would be able to recognize his tomb and approach it. The man of God immediately revealed to him the name of his former pupil and monk whom the blind man until now did not know, and said to him: »When you arrive in haste at Winchester and enter the church of the old monastery, summon a certain monk, Wulfstan, surnamed the Precentor. When he hears from your mouth the words of my message, he will then without hesitation lead you to my tomb and there you will receive your sight.» What more is there to tell? Believing the words and promises of the holy bishop, that man went quickly to Winchester, entered the church, and summoned the aforesaid brother and asked him to grant the request of the holy father and tell him and all present the details of the vision. For it was the evening on which the birth of the most holy Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary is celebrated solemnly and most fittingly throughout the world. In truth, that brother was astonished and, wavering between hope and fear, he humbly submitted to the commands of the holy bishop with obedient steps and led the blind man to the chamber of the tomb. The blind man stayed there through the night in prayer, and when morning came, no longer needing a guide, he returned homewards with joy, having his sight and blessing the Lord with heart and soul.

«This revelation, which had been confirmed by so clear a miracle, was made known far and wide. Thereafter, the servant of Christ appeared clearly to the same brother Wulfstan and to many others in visions by night. Through these and other signs, he revealed himself to them because it was in accordance with the Divine will that he be transferred from his tomb and worthily placed in the church. Therefore, the venerable Bishop Aelfheah [the future hieromartyr archbishop of Canterbury], Aethelwold's successor, privately studying these matters with keen understanding, rendered humble thanks with a fervent heart to Christ the Almighty because in his own time, He deigned to glorify His saint through His heavenly signs. Without delay, he honourably transferred the remains of the holy Bishop Aethelwold on Septembe 11^th and placed them in the choir of the church. There they have been held in great veneration until the present day and there heavenly miracles have been performed even while we behold them. From these I have briefly related two as an indication of his power.

«At that time, there was in the city of Winchester a certain little girl, the daughter of one Ethelworth, who was exceedingly ill and who was tormented almost to death. Led by her mother to the tomb of the man of God, the child went to sleep for a little while and immediately on awakening she rose sound in body, and returned home rejoicing with her mother.

«And likewise a certain little boy, son of one Elfsinus, a quiet and modest man, had been deprived of his sight in his infancy and was brought in his mother's arms to the tomb of the venerable father Aethelwold. It is wonderful to say that the affliction of his blindness thereupon disappeared, and the brightness of light coming forth opened the boy's eyes. All the people rejoiced and in complete devotion gave thanks to Christ.

«Nor must it be passed over in silence that the aforementioned successor of the saint, Bishop Aelfheah, had ordered a certain thief to be flogged with whips on account of his many offences and to be sent to the stocks to suffer severe punishment. And when the condemned one had for some time lain thus in torment, on a certain night the holy bishop of God, Aethelwold, came to him in a vision and said to him: “Wretched one, why do you lie thus stretched out in the stocks for so long a time?” But he recognized the holy man whom he had often seen in his mortal life, and replied: “My lord, I endure a fitting punishment and am tormented thus by the just sentence of the bishop, because I have often been caught stealing and have not ceased from this, but again and again I have repeated the crimes which I committed”. Then the saint said: “Stop even now, wretched one, stop thieving and be released from the bonds of these fetters”. The wretched man, liberated, immediately arose and departing he went away and fell down before the feet of Bishop Aelfheah. He told him in order what had happened to him, and for the sake of the honour of so great a father, the bishop allowed him to leave unharmed. Therefore it is certain that this saint, joined to eternal life, is able, by virtue of his merits, to free us from the bonds of our sins and to lead us to the Kingdom of heaven. For while he was still in the body, the power of binding and setting free had been granted to him from heaven by the gift of our Lord Jesus Christ».

St. Aethelwold is commemorated on August 1 and September 10.

Holy Father Aethelwold, pray to God for us!

(Sources: Abbot Aelfric, Vita Aethelwoldi, in Dorothy Whitelock, English Historical Documents, London: Eyre & Spottiswood, 1955; Denis Brearley and Marianne Goodfellow, «Wulfstan's Life of Saint Aethelwold: A Translation with Notes,» Revue de l'Universite d'Ottawa/University of Ottawa Quarterly, vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 397–407; Osbert, Vita Dunstani, in W. Stubbs, Memorials of St. Dunstan, Rolls series, 1874, p. 113; The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 1016; Eleanor Duckett, Saint Dunstan of Canterbury, London: Collins, 1955; David Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1978, p. 140–142; Andrew Prescott, The Benedictional of St. Aethelwold, London: The British Library, 2002, pp. 2–8)