Æthelbert of York
| Æthelbert | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of York | |
| Appointed | 766 |
| Term ended | 8 November 780 |
| Predecessor | Ecgbert |
| Successor | Eanbald I |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 24 April 767 |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 8 November 780 |
Æthelbert (sometimes Æthelberht,Albert,Ælberht,Aethelberht, or Ælbert; died 8 November 780) was an eighth century scholar, teacher, and Archbishop of York. Related to his predecessor at York, he became a monk at an early age and was in charge of the cathedral's library and school before becoming archbishop. He taught a number of missionaries and scholars, including Alcuin, at the school. While archbishop Æthelbert rebuilt the cathedral and sent missionaries to the Continent. Æthelbert retired before his death, and during his retirement built another church in York.
Æthelbert, was the teacher and intimate friend of Alcuin, whose poem on the saints and prelates of the Church of York, Versus de Patribus Regibus et de Sanctis et Pontificibus Ecclesiæ Eboracensis, is the principal source of information concerning Æthelbert's life. He was a kinsman of his predecessor Ecgbert, who was brother to Eadberht, King of Northumbria. Æthelbert's family placed him in a monastery as a young child, where he was a pupil in the school founded at York by Ecgbert. Ecgbert ordained Æthelbert as a priest put him in charge of the school.
Æthelbert was instrumental in forming a library at York, which was probably the largest contemporary collection of books to be found in Europe outside of Rome. Alcuin mentions several Latin and Greek classical authors, as well as the Fathers and other Christian writers that formed the 8th century canon. Æthelbert, in his search for books, travelled far, and we know that he visited Rome among other places. Alcuin's poem Versus lists 41 different authors, including some who wrote in Hebrew. He taught both the trivium as well as the quadrivium, plus how to figure the dates of church festivals and natural science.
In 766 Æthelbert succeeded Ecgbert as archbishop; he was consecrated 24 April 767, the feast day of his predecessor Wilfrid. This may have been deliberate and a sign that Æthelbert wished to revive Wilfrid's ambitions for the archiepiscopal see. Æthelbert received his pallium from Pope Adrian I in 773. Alcuin was appointed head of the cathedral school after Æthelbert became archbishop. Much of Alcuin's description of Æthelbert's time as archbishop has the flavour of a panegyric, as Alcuin praised Æthelbert as a model bishop suitable for other bishops to use as a role model.
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