Wulfstan the Cantor

Wulfstan the Cantor (c. 960 – early 11th century), also known as Wulfstan of Winchester, was an Anglo-Saxon monk of the Old Minster, Winchester. He was also a writer, musician, composer and scribe. Wulfstan is most famous for his hagiographic work Vita S. Aethelwoldi.

Very little is known about Wulfstan’s life. The date of his birth is unknown, but personal references within his poem Narratio metrica de S. Swithuno suggest he was a child at the time of St. Swithun’s canonization in 971. These references have led scholars to believe that Wulfstan was born in about 960 and was given as a child to the Old Minster, where he spent his mature life. At the Old Minster, Wulfstan studied under Æthelwold of Winchester, about whom he wrote write his Vita S. Aethelwoldi. Wulfstan became a monk and a priest; he then rose to become a precentor, and hence is often referred to in contemporary sources as Wulfstan Cantor. As precentor, Wulfstan would have been responsible for leading chants, recruiting and training the choir, and composing poems and hymns, among other things. In addition to theses musical responsibilities, Wulfstan worked as a scribe and as a hagiographic author. The day of his death, 22 July, is recorded in a New Minster calendar, but not the year. His latest datable writing is his Vita S. Aethelwoldi, which was composed no earlier than 996. He presumably died some time in the early 11th century.

Wulfstan’s most famous work, Vita S. Aethelwoldi, tells of the life and miracles of St. Aethelwold, Bishop of Winchester. The work is 46 chapters long, elaborately composed using complex sentences and displays a familiarity with many earlier hagiographic writings. The Vita was written very soon after Aethelwold was canonized, which took place on 10 September 996. Some scholars believe the Vita was written to coincide with this event.

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