Ecgbert, Archbishop of York
| Ecgbert | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of York | |
| Appointed | 732 |
| Term ended | 19 November 766 |
| Predecessor | Wilfrid II |
| Successor | Æthelbert |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | about 734 |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 19 November 766 |
| Buried | York Minster |
| Parents | Eata |
Ecgbert (died November 766) was an 8th-century cleric who established the archdiocese of York in 735. In 737, Ecgbert's brother became king of Northumbria and the two siblings worked together on ecclesiastical issues. Ecgbert was a correspondent of Bede and Boniface and the author of a legal code for his clergy. Other works have been ascribed to him, although the attribution is doubted by modern scholars.
Ecgbert was the son of Eata, who was descended from the founder of the kingdom of Bernicia. His brother Eadberht was king of Northumbria from 737 to 758. Ecgbert went to Rome with another brother, and was ordained deacon while still there. Ecgbert has been claimed to have been a student of Bede, who much later visited with Ecgbert in 733 at York, but this statement may simply mean that Ecgbert was a student of Bede's writings, and not that he was formally taught by him.
Ecgbert was named to the see of York around 732 (other sources date the appointment to 734) by his cousin Ceolwulf, the king of Northumbria. Pope Gregory III gave him a pallium, the symbol of an archbishop's authority, in 735. After Eadberht became king, the brothers worked together, and were forbidden by the papacy to transfer church lands to secular control. They also worked together to deal with problems that had developed in the relationship between the church and royal government. An example of the brothers' cooperation is the fact that some of Eadberht's coins feature Ecbert's image on the opposite face.
Ecgbert's problems with the monasteries in his diocese came from the secular practice of families setting up monasteries that were totally under their control as a way of making the family lands book-land and free from secular service. Book-land was at first an exclusive right of ecclesiastical property. By transferring land to a family-controlled monastery, the family would retain the use of the land without having to perform any services to the king for the land.
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