St Alfege Church, Greenwich, stained glass, St Alfege
Saint Elphège
Évêque martyr (+ 1012)
Confesseur.
Évêque de Winchester, puis archevêque de Cantorbéry succédant à saint Dunstan.
Au moment des invasions des Vikings, il secourut les populations et tenta
d'apaiser les envahisseurs.
Selon la tradition, il fut martyrisé à Greenwich.
Sur la côte près de Greenwich en Angleterre, la passion de saint Elphège,
évêque de Cantorbéry et martyr. Il s’offrit pour son troupeau aux Danois qui
ravageaient la ville par le fer et le feu, et comme il refusait d’être racheté
à prix d’argent, il fut frappé, le samedi après Pâques, à coups de pierres et
enfin décapité.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1001/Saint-Elphege.html
Médaillon représentant saint Alphège (ou Elphège) de Cantorbéry. Façade
de la cathédrale de Westminster.
Archevêque de Cantorbéry,
martyr
(954-1012)
Saint Elphège sortait d'une famille distinguée d'Angleterre. Il reçut une
excellente éducation et ne tarda pas, malgré la voix de la chair et du sang, à
quitter le monde pour la solitude, puis ensuite pour le cloître, à la demande
de bons religieux qui voulurent se mettre sous sa direction. Le saint abbé
exigea que la règle fût observée à la lettre, et Dieu vint à son aide par un
miracle, pour soumettre à la ferme conduite plusieurs moines d'abord
récalcitrants.
Son mérite le fit placer bientôt, malgré les réclamations de son humilité, sur
le siège épiscopal de Winchester, et plus tard sur le siège archiépiscopal de
Cantorbéry, où il succéda à saint Dunstan.
Sa vie resta celle d'un moine. Il se levait régulièrement à minuit et priait
longtemps pieds nus. Ses grandes austérités n'enlevaient rien à la douceur de
son caractère; ses aumônes étaient abondantes, sa charité sans bornes.
Elphège, pendant une irruption des Danois en Angleterre, se dévoua pour le
salut de son peuple. Il alla trouver les barbares, et, après avoir traité avec
eux du rachat des captifs, il leur annonça l'Évangile. Un bon nombre se
convertirent à sa parole; mais les autres, plus furieux, s'avancèrent jusqu'à
Cantorbéry pour l'assiéger.
Le saint Pontife voulut être à son poste. Durant le siège, il ne cessa
d'exhorter ses brebis à s'armer de courage contre tous les événements et à
défendre leur foi jusqu'à la mort. Dieu permit que la ville cédât à la force;
les assiégés furent passés en masse au fil de l'épée. Elphège courut sur le
théâtre du massacre, espérant apaiser les vainqueurs: "Épargnez ces innocents,
s'écria-t-il. Quelle gloire y a-t-il à répandre leur sang? Tournez contre moi
toute votre indignation; je me la suis méritée en rachetant vos
prisonniers."
Les Danois farouches, irrités de cette sainte liberté, se saisissent de lui,
l'accablent de mauvais traitements, incendient devant lui sa cathédrale,
égorgent ses moines et le jettent en prison. Frappé à coups de hache et lapidé,
pendant son supplice, il priait pour ses bourreaux.
Abbé L. Jaud, Vie
des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950.
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/saint_elphege.html
Saint Elphège Évêque
martyr (+ 1012)
Confesseur. Évêque de Winchester, puis archevêque de Cantorbéry succédant à
saint Dunstan.
Au moment des invasions des Vikings, il secourut les populations et tenta
d’apaiser les envahisseurs.
Selon la tradition, il fut martyrisé à Greenwich.
Fils d’une illustre famille anglaise, il reçoit une excellente éducation puis
décide de se retirer du monde et entre au monastère de Derherst. Il passe là
plusieurs années puis part s’installer comme ermite près de Bath, dans le
Sommerset, et est bientôt rejoint par de nombreux disciples qui souhaitent se placer
sous sa direction. Sa renommée s’étant répandue jusqu’à Saint-Dunstan,
l’archevêque de Cantorbéry, ce dernier le choisit comme évêque de Winchester.
Un peu plus de quatre ans plus tard, les Danois envahissent la contrée et
mettent le siège devant Cantorbéry. Notre Saint résiste courageusement, tentant
même d’évangéliser ces guerriers barbares, mais sans succès. Capturé, il subit
de mauvais traitements puis est emprisonné. Refusant de payer la rançon fixée
pour sa libération, il est traîné devant le commandant de la flotte danoise,
qui le menace de mort s’il persiste à refuser. L’évêque refuse encore de céder
et est finalement exécuté, frappé mortellement d’un coup de hache (+ 1012)
SOURCE : http://lazarhumeurshistoire.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/ephemeride-du-19-avril/
_series_(1897)_(14803955993).jpg)
Martyrdom
of Saint Apheqe. The saints and missionaries of the Anglo-Saxon era, First (and
second) series, 1897, page 323.
Elphege
954-1012
Elphege (ou Alphege)
s’appelait aussi Godwine : né en 954, il suivit l’appel de Dieu et quitta sa
mère toute jeune veuve.
Après un séjour au
monastère de Deerhurst (comté de Gloucester), il s’orienta vers une vie plus
solitaire et se construisit une cabane près de Bath, où le rejoignirent
d’autres compagnons. Ainsi naquit un monastère, dont Elphege devint abbé, en
970 : il avait seize ans !
Un de ses avis aux moines
était d’éviter le “mensonge d’action”, en prenant l’habit religieux sans en
garder le véritable esprit.
En 984, l’archevêque de
Cantorbury, saint Dunstan, eut révélation de choisir Elphege pour succéder à
Ethelwold comme évêque de Winchester ; ayant fini par céder, il fut consacré le
19 octobre.
Ce fut un évêque très
austère pour lui-même, rempli de charité pour les pauvres, au point qu’on ne
rencontrait plus de mendiant dans Winchester. Il concentra tous ses efforts
pour amener à la conversion les païens du nord de l’Angleterre. Il reçut le roi
norvégien Olaf et lui administra la Confirmation.
Elphege fut ensuite
choisi pour succéder à saint Dunstan à Cantorbury. Parti à Rome pour recevoir
le pallium, il fut dépouillé et renvoyé par les habitants d’une petite localité
de l’Italie du nord : comme un incendie se déclara juste après, les habitants
coururent chercher Elphege pour lui demander pardon, et sur sa prière
l’incendie épargna la ville (mais on ne connaît pas le nom de cette localité).
Dans son diocèse, Elphege
réprima les abus et restaura la discipline ; il fit établir le jeûne du
vendredi (concile d’Enham en 1009).
Les Danois vinrent
ravager le royaume et Elphege s’employa à secourir les populations éprouvées,
mais aussi à convertir les envahisseurs. Ce fut le signal de son sacrifice.
Les barbares massacrèrent
sans pitié les habitants, assaillirent la cathédrale où s’étaient réfugiés
Elphege et ses moines, y mirent le feu, firent périr une partie des moines et
capturèrent l’archevêque, espérant en tirer une bonne rançon. Sur ces
entrefaites, une grave épidémie ravagea les rangs danois, qui recoururent aux
prières du prélat et recouvrèrent la santé, le jeudi saint 1012.
Mais les chefs danois ne
renonçaient pas à la rançon qu’ils avaient exigée ; à quoi le pauvre Elphege
fit remarquer qu’après la destruction de la ville, il ne restait rien à leur
donner. Aussi les barbares se jetèrent sur lui, le frappèrent avec leurs
haches, le lapidèrent avec tout ce qu’ils trouvaient sous la main, tandis
qu’Elphege, comme autrefois saint Etienne, priait : “Jésus, bon et incomparable
pasteur, aie compassion des enfants de ton Église, que je te recommande en
mourant”. Un Danois, d’ailleurs confirmé la veille par le même Elphege,
l’acheva en lui fendant la tête avec sa hache.
Le martyre d’Elphege eut
donc lieu il y a mille ans, le samedi de Pâques, 19 avril 1012.
Son corps fut plus tard
transporté à Londres, puis à Cantorbury. Dès 1078, il fut reconnu comme martyr,
et vénéré comme saint. Le Martyrologe le mentionne effectivement au 19 avril.
SOURCE : http://www.samuelephrem.eu/article-04-19-116073703.html
An 1868 statue on the West Front of Salisbury Cathedral by James Redfern, showing Ælfheah holding the stones used in his martyrdom.
Also
known as
Alphege the Martyr
Alphege of Canterbury
Alfege…
Alphage…
Alphege…
Alphegus…
Elphege…
Godwine…
Ælfheah…
Aelfheah…
Elfego…
Elfege…
8 June (translation
of his relics)
16
November (his ordination)
Profile
Born to the nobility but
gave it up to become a young monk at Deerhurst
Abbey in Gloucestershire, England. Monk, anchorite,
and then abbot at Bath
Abbey; known for his personal piety and austerity. Bishop of Winchester, England in 984.
Built several churches, installed a cathedral organ
so large that it could be heard a mile away, and his charity was
so great that there were reported to be no beggars in
his diocese.
May have helped negotiate a peace treaty in 994 which
ended some Viking raids.
Archbishop of Canterbury, England in 1006.
Encouraged devotion to Saint Dunstan
of Canterbury. Translated the relics of Saint Swithun to Canterbury.
In 1011 Danes began
raiding again, laid seige to Canterbury,
sacked the town, and captured Alphege along with several other Church officials,
all of whom were held for ransom. Reported to have healed many
of sick Danes by praying over
them and feeding them blessed bread.
Alphege refused to approve the payment of ransom for himself, and after several
months was murdered by
angry drunken Vikings, the first archbishop of Canterbury to die
violently. Saint Thomas
Becket was praying for Saint Alphege’s
intercession just before he was murdered.
Born
954 in
Weston, Somerset, England
Anglo-Saxon
beaten with stones and ox
bones, then struck on
the head with the blunt edge of an axe on 19
April 1012 in Greenwich,
Kent (part of modern London), England
interred in Saint
Paul’s Cathedral
re-interred in Canterbury by King Canute
in 1023
his shrine was
re-built and expanded in the early 12th
century by Saint Anselm
of Canterbury
remains found incorrupt
in 1105
after a fire in the cathedral in 1174,
Alphege’s relics were
re-interred by the high altar
1078 by Pope Saint Gregory
VII
in England
Canterbury,
city of
bishop with
an axe in
his head
carrying stones in
his chasuble
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Catholic
Encyclopedia, by P W F Ryan
Dictionary
of National Biography
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Saints
and Their Symbols, by E A Greene
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Saints
and Their Attributes, by Helen Roeder
other
sites in english
images
videos
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
Martirologio Romano, 2005 edition
MLA
Citation
“Saint Alphege of
Winchester“. CatholicSaints.Info. 3 April 2024. Web. 12 September 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-alphege-of-winchester/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-alphege-of-winchester/
Sant'Elfego di Canterbury
St. Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, is asked for advice. Vincent of
Beauvais, Le Miroir Historial (Vol. IV)
Place
of origin, date: Paris, Master of the Cité des Dames (illuminator); c. 1400-
1410
Material:
Vellum, ff. 401, 425x320 (254x196) mm, 2 columns, 43 lines, littera cursiva.
French. Binding: 18th-century brown leather, gilt, with coat of arms of
Stadtholder William V
Decoration:
1 two-column miniature (185x200 mm with border decoration), 19 column
miniatures (110/70x90/85 mm) with border decoration, 1 illustration in the
margin (coat of arms); decorated initials with border decoration (ff. 3r, 10r,
15r, 19r, 20r, etc.)
Provenance:
Acquired by Philip of Cleves (d. 1528) before 1492 (coat of arms with label);
purchased in 1531 from his estate by Henri III, Count of Nassau (d. 1538); by
inheritance to the Princes of Orange-Nassau, the later Stadtholders at The
Hague; taken in 1795 to Paris by the French occupying forces and restituted in
1816 to the KB
Article
ELPHEGE (ALPHAGE) (Saint)
Bishop, Martyr (April 19) (11th century) Born A.D. 954, of a noble Saxon
family, he became a monk, and afterwards Abbot of the monastery he had founded
near Bath. In the year 984 he was chosen Bishop of Winchester, and in 1000 Archbishop
of Canterbury. The following year the Danes sacked Canterbury, carrying off the
holy Archbishop, for whom they expected a large ransom; but he refused to allow
his Church to put itself to such expense for him. He was therefore kept in
prison at Greenwich for seven months, and, because he still refused to charge
his Church with his ransom, was stoned and finally done to death by a
swordstroke (A.D. 1002). He fell asleep in Christ, truly a Martyr, with his
last breath praying for his murderers.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Elphege”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 27
November 2012.
Web. 12 September 2025.
<http://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-elphege/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-elphege/
Sculpture of St Alphage (1m tall) on outer wall of St Alphage Infant School, Solihull, West Midlands, England by local sculptor William Bloye, 1959.
St. Alphege
Feastday: April 19
Patron: of Greenwich; Solihull; kidnap victims
Birth: 953
Death: 1012
Archbishop and "the
First Martyr of
Canterbury." He was born in 953 and became a monk in
the Deerhurst Monastery in Gloucester, England, asking after a few years to
become a hermit. He received permission for this vocation and retired to a
small hut near Somerset, England. In 984 Alphege assumed the role of abbot of
the abbey of
Bath, founded by St. Dunstan and
by his own efforts. Many of his disciples from Somerset joined him at Bath. In that
same year, Alphege succeeded Ethelwold as bishop of
Winchester. He served there for two decades, famed for his care of the poor and
for his own austere life. King Aethelred the Unready used his abilities in 994,
sending him to mediate with invading Danes. The Danish chieftain Anlaf
converted to Christianity as
a result of his meetings with Alphege, although he and the other chief, Swein,
demanded tribute from the Anglo-Saxons of the region. Anlaf vowed never to lead
his troops against Britain again. In 1005 Alphege became the successor to
Aleric as the archbishop of
Canterbury, receiving the pallium in Rome from
Pope John XVIII.
He returned to England in time to
be captured by the Danes pillaging the southern regions. The Danes
besieged Canterbury and
took Alphege captive. The ransom for his release was about three thousand
pounds and went unpaid. Alphege refused to give the Danes that much, an act
which infuriated them. He was hit with an ax and then beaten to death. Revered
as a martyr, Alphege's remains were placed in St. Paul's Church in London. The
body, moved to Canterbury in
1023, was discovered to be incorrupt in 1105. Relics of St. Alphege are
also in Bath, Glastonbury, Ramsey, Reading, Durham, Yorkminster and in
Westminster Abbey. His emblem is an ax, and he is depicted in his
pontifical vestments or
as a shepherd defending his flock.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=1278
Martyrdom
of St Alphege, St Alphege's Church, Solihull
St. Alphege of Canterbury
Feastday: April 19
Patron: of Greenwich; Solihull; kidnap victims
Birth: 954
Death: 1012
Canonized: 1078 Rome by Pope Gregory VII
Alphege began his
religious life in
the English monastery of Deerhurst, but subsequently withdrew to live as a
hermit near Bath. Thereafter he resumed community life, entering the Bath
monastery and becoming its abbot. At the early age of thirty, he was
consecrated bishop of
Winchester. So great was his generosity to the poor that beggars were nowhere
to be found in his diocese. Subsequently he was elevated to England’s primatial
see of Canterbury. When in 1011 Canterbury was
overrun by Danish invaders, who began to slaughter the townspeople, the archbishop presented
himself to the Danes, declaring, “Spare those poor innocent victims. Turn your
fury rather against me.” Alphege was thereupon consigned to a dungeon.
Afterward, an epidemic among the Danes frightened them into releasing him.
Newly freed, Alphege obtained the healing of many victims of the epidemic by
his prayers and by
distributing to them blessed bread. Despite this, the Danes later stoned and
axed him to death in Greenwich. But eleven years later, it was to be a Danish king,
Canute, who would honorably transfer Alphege’s body to Canterbury.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=5759
Former parish church of St Alphege with St Margaret, Canterbury, Kent, seen from the northwest from St Alphege's Lane. In the background is the main tower of Canterbury Cathedral.
Former parish church of St Alphege with St Margaret, Canterbury, Kent, seen from the east from Palace Street
Elphege the Martyr, OSB
BM (RM)
(also known as Alphege,
Aelfheah)
Born c. 954; died in Greenwich, England, in 1012. In the old Saxon Chronicle is
the story of Elphege and of his martyrdom at the hands of the Danes. He came of
a noble Saxon family, and against his mother's wish became a monk. He served
first at Deerhurst Abbey in Gloucestershire, England, but left as a young man
to become a hermit in Bath.
Elphege was made an abbot in Bath, and, over his objections, appointed as
bishop of Winchester in 984, in which office he served rendered great public
service for 22 years. He eliminated poverty in his diocese through his aid to
the poor, and continued to live the life of great austerity.
Olaf, King of Norway, after attacking London without success, harried the
southern coast and occupied Southampton, whereupon King Ethelred commissioned
Elphege to act as his envoy to Olaf in the interests of peace. The mission of
Elphege was successful, and he brought Olaf to the king at Andover, where a
satisfactory peace was concluded, and where Olaf, already a Christian, was
confirmed. The Norwegian King then withdrew his ships and never again invaded
England.
In 1006, Elphege was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, and received the
pallium from Pope John XVIII in Rome. Then came a series of Danish raids which
lasted no less than five years and which caused widespread suffering and
disorder. Canterbury itself was captured in 1011 by the invaders and besieged
by Earl Edric; the cathedral was burned, the city plundered, and many of its
citizens were taken as slaves, including the archbishop who had refused to
leave. "The Danes went to their ships and led the archbishop with them. He
was then captive who was erewhile the head of the English and of
Christendom."
When an epidemic broke out, Elphege was allowed to minister to the ill;
otherwise, for two years he remained their prisoner and was only released by
death. The chief Witan, clergy and laity, had been detained in London until the
Danes had extracted from them 48,000 gold crowns, an exorbitant sum in the
money values of that age. A further sum of 3,000 gold crowns was demanded for
the permanent release of the archbishop, but he refused to allow this added
imposition; there was already widespread calamity and distress and he would
allow no further burden. He was given a week in which to find the money and
stubbornly refused.
Then the Danes, incensed with anger and inflamed with drink, led him to the
scaffold, pelting him with bones and stones and subjecting him to every indignity,
although one of them, Thorkell the Tall, tried to save him. Finally, Elphege
sank down in weakness, and, out of pity, a Dane called Thrum, who had been
converted and baptized in prison, killed him with an axe to put an end to his
sufferings. It cannot be said that Elphege died for the faith; but Saint Anselm
vindicated his public veneration as a martyr, and his feast is still observed.
According to tradition, Elphege's murder took place at Greenwich, where a
church still stands in his name. The following day his body was received in
London with great reverence, and buried in Saint Paul's. Ten years later,
Danish King Canute, moved by the entreaties of his pious wife, made reparation
by removing the body of Elphege to Canterbury, where over his grave by the high
altar he built a costly shrine (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Gill).
In art, Saint Elphege is portrayed as a bishop with an axe, carrying loaves of
bread in his chasuble. He might also be shown (1) keeping a wolf from sheep or
(2) struck with the axe by the Danes (Roeder). Elphege is venerated at
Greenwich and Winchester (Roeder).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0419.shtml
Saint
Andrew, Bethune Road, London Borough of Hackney - Stained glass window
St. Elphege
(Or ALPHEGE).
Born 954; died 1012; also called Godwine, martyred Archbishop of Canterbury,
left his widowed mother
and patrimony for the monastery of
Deerhurst (Gloucestershire). After some years as an anchorite at Bath,
he there became abbot,
and (19 Oct., 984) was made Bishop of Winchester.
In 994 Elphege administered confirmation to Olaf of Norway at
Andover, and it is suggested that his patriotic spirit inspired the decrees of
the Council of Enham. In 1006, on becoming Archbishop of Canterbury,
he went to Rome for
the pallium.
At this period England was
much harassed by the Danes, who, towards the end of September, 1011, having
sacked and burned Canterbury, made Elphege a prisoner.
On 19 April, 1012, at Greenwich, his captors, drunk with wine, and enraged at
ransom being refused, pelted Elphege with bones of oxen and stones, till one
Thurm dispatched him with an axe. Elphege's body, after resting eleven years in
St. Paul's (London), was translated by King Canute to Canterbury. His principal
feast is kept on the 19th of April; that of his translation on the 8th of June.
He is sometimes represented with an axe cleaving his skull
Sources
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,
ed. PLUMMER (Oxford, 1892-99); THIETMAR, Chronicle, in P.L., CXXXIX, 1384;
OSBERN, Vita S. Elphegi in WHARTON, Anglia Sacra, II, 122 sqq.; Acta
SS., April, II, 630; Bibl. Hag. Lat., 377; CHEVALIER, Répertoire, I,
1313; FREEMAN, Norman Conquest, I, v; BUTLER, Lives of the Saints, 18
April; STANTON, Menology, 19 April; HUNT in Dict. Nat. Biogr., s.v.
Ælfheah.
Ryan, Patrick W.F. "St. Elphege." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1909. 18 Apr.
2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05394a.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Thomas M. Barrett. Dedicated to
St. Elphege.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil
Obstat. May 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M.
Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2023 by Kevin Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05394a.htm
St
Alphege, Hertford Road, Edmonton, London N9, near to Ponders End, Enfield,
Great Britain. Statue of St Alphege
St Alphege, Hertford Road, Edmonton, London N9, near to Ponders End, Enfield, Great Britain. South porch
St
Alphege, Hertford Road, London N9 Built 1957-1958 by Edward Maufe
St. Elphege, Archbishop
of Canterbury, Martyr
From his genuine life,
written by Osbern, a monk of Canterbury, in 1070, but finished by Eadmer, as
Mr. Wharton discovered, who has given us a more ample and correct edition of it
than either the Bollandists or Mabillon had been able to furnish. See a short
history of his martyrdom in a chronicle written in the reign of Henry I. in the
Cottonian library. Vitellius, c. v. viii. Leland, Collect. t. 1, p. 22, and the
history of the translation of his body from London to Canterbury among the MSS.
in the Harleian library, Cod. 624, fol. 136, in the British Museum.
A.D. 1012.
ST. ELPHEGE was born
of noble and virtuous parents, who gave him a good education. Fearing the
snares of riches he renounced the world whilst he was yet very young; and
though most dutiful to his parents in all other things, he in this courageously
overcame the tears of his tender mother. He served God first in the monastery
of Derherste in Gloucestershire. His desire of greater perfection taught him
always to think that he had not yet begun to live to God. After some years he
left Derherste, and built himself a cell in a desert place of the abbey of
Bath, where he shut himself up, unknown to men, but well known to God, for
whose love he made himself a voluntary martyr of penance. His virtue, after
some time, shone to men the brighter through the veils of his humility, and
many noblemen and others addressed themselves to him for instructions in the
paths of perfection, and he was at length obliged to take upon himself the
direction of the great abbey of Bath. Perfection is more difficultly maintained
in numerous houses. St. Elphege lamented bitterly the irregularities of the
tepid among the brethren, especially little junketings, from which he in a
short time reclaimed them; and God, by the sudden death of one, opened the eyes
of all the rest. The good abbot would not tolerate the least relaxation in his
community, being sensible how small a breach may totally destroy the regularity
of a house. He used to say, that it would have been much better for a man to
have staid in the world, than to be an imperfect monk; and that to wear the
habit of a saint, without having the spirit, was a perpetual lie, and an
hypocrisy which insults, but can never impose upon Almighty God. St. Ethelwold,
bishop of Winchester, dying in 984, St. Dunstan being admonished by St. Andrew,
in a vision, obliged our holy abbot to quit his solitude, and accept of
episcopal consecration. The virtues of Elphege became more conspicuous in this
high station, though he was no more than thirty years of age when he was first
placed in it. In winter, how cold soever it was, he always rose at midnight,
went out, and prayed a long time barefoot, and without his upper garment. He
never ate flesh unless on extraordinary occasions. He was no less remarkable
for charity to his neighbour, than severity to himself. He accordingly provided
so liberally for the indigences of the poor, that during his time there were no
beggars in the whole diocess of Winchester. The holy prelate had governed the see
of Winchester twenty-two years with great edification, when, after the death of
Archbishop Alfric, in 1006, he was translated to that of Canterbury, being
fifty-two years of age. He who trembled under his former burden, was much more
terrified at the thought of the latter: but was compelled to acquiesce. Having
been at Rome to receive his pall, he held at his return a great national
council at Oenham, in 1009, in which thirty-two canons were published for the
reformation of errors and abuses, and the establishment of discipline; and,
among other things, the then ancient law, commanding the fast on Friday, was
confirmed. 1
The Danes at that time made the most dreadful havoc in England. They landed
where they pleased, and not only plundered the country, but committed excessive
barbarities on the native, with little or no opposition from the weak King
Ethelred. Their army being joined by the traitorous Earl Edric, they marched
out of the West into Kent, and sat down before Canterbury. But before it was
invested, the English nobility, perceiving the danger the place was in, desired
the archbishop, then in the city, to provide for his security by flight, which
he refused to do, saying, that it was the part only of a hireling to abandon
his flock in the time of danger. During the siege, he often sent out to the
enemies to desire them to spare his innocent sheep, whom he endeavoured to
animate against the worst that could happen. And having prepared them, by his
zealous exhortations, rather to suffer the utmost than renounce their faith, he
gave them the blessed eucharist, and recommended them to the divine protection.
Whilst he was thus employed in assisting and encouraging his people, Canterbury
was taken by storm. The infidels on entering the city made a dreadful slaughter
of all that came in their way, without distinction of sex or age. The holy
prelate was no sooner apprised of the barbarity of the enemy, but breaking from
the monks, who would have detained him in the church, where they thought he
might be safe, he pressed through the Danish troops, and made his way to the
place of slaughter. Then, turning to the enemy, he desired them to forbear the
massacre of his people, and rather discharge their fury upon him, crying out to
the murderers: “Spare these innocent persons. There is no glory in spilling
their blood. Turn your indignation rather against me. I have reproached you for
your cruelties: I have fed, clothed, and ransomed these your captives.” The
archbishop, talking with this freedom, was immediately seized, and used by the
Danes with all manner of barbarity. Not content with making him the spectator
of the burning of his cathedral, and the decimation of his monks, and of the
citizens, having torn his face, beat and kicked him unmercifully, they laid him
in irons, and confined him several months in a filthy dungeon. But being
afflicted with an epidemical mortal colic in their army, and attributing this
scourge to their cruel usage of the saint, they drew him out of prison. He
prayed for them, and gave to their sick bread which he had blessed; by eating
this their sick recovered, and the calamity ceased. Their chiefs returned
thanks to the servant of God, and deliberated about setting him at liberty, but
covetousness prevailed in their council, they exacted for his ransom three
thousand marks of gold. He said that the country was all laid waste; moreover,
that the patrimony of the poor was not to be squandered away. He therefore was
bound again, and on Easter Sunday was brought before the commanders of their
fleet, which then lay at Greenwich, and threatened with torments and death
unless he payed the ransom demanded. He answered that he had no other gold to
offer them than that of true wisdom, which consists in the knowledge and
worship of the living God: which if they refused to listen to, they would one
day fare worse than Sodom; adding, that their empire would not long subsist in
England. The barbarians, enraged at this answer, knocked him down with the
backs of their battle-axes, and then stoned him. The saint like St. Stephen,
prayed our Lord to forgive them, and to receive his soul. In the end raising
himself up a little, he said, “O good Shepherd! O incomparable Shepherd! look
with compassion on the children of thy church, which I, dying, recommend to
thee.” And here a Dane, that had been lately baptized by the saint, perceiving
him agonizing and under torture, grieved to see him suffer in so slow and
painful a manner, to put an end to his pain, clove his head with his
battle-axe, and gave the finishing stroke to his martyrdom. Thus died St.
Elphage, on the 19th of April, 1012, in the fifty-ninth year of his age. He was
solemnly interred in the cathedral of St. Paul’s in London. In 1023, his body
was found entire, and translated with honour to Canterbury: Knut, the Danish
king, and Agelnoth, the archbishop, went with it from St. Paul’s to the river:
it was carried by monks down a narrow street to the water side, and put on
board a vessel; the king held the stern. Queen Emma also attended with great
presents, and an incredible multitude of people followed the procession from
London. The church of Canterbury, on the occasion, was most magnificently
adorned. This translation was made on the 8th of June, on which it was annually
commemorated. His relics lay near the high altar till the dispersion of relics
under Henry VIII. Hacon, Turkill, and the other Danish commanders, perished
miserably soon after, and their numerous fleet of above two hundred sail was
almost all lost in violent storms. St. Elphege is named in the Roman
Martyrology.
Our English Martyrology commemorates on the 1st of September another St.
Elphege, surnamed the Bald, bishop of Winchester, which see he governed from
the death of St. Brynstan, in 935 to 953. He is celebrated for his sanctity,
and a singular spirit of prophecy, of which Malmesbury gives some instances.
Note 1. Spelman, Conc. Brit. t. 1, p. 510. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume IV: April. The Lives
of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/4/192.html
The
painted carving of Saint Alphege in Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, England,
United-Kingdom.
Les
sculptures peintes de Saint Alphège dans la Cathédrale de Cantorbéry, dans le Kent,
en Angleterre, Royaume-Uni.
Article
The Life of Saint Alphage
Bishop and martyr.
Saint Alphage the holy
bishop and martyr was
born in England in the shire of Gloucester, and he came of a noble kin, and was
his father’s heir, but he forsook all for God’s love, and became a monk at
Deerhurst, five miles from Gloucester; but afterward good King Edward gave that
house of Deerhurst to the house of Saint Denis in France. And when Saint
Alphage had been monk there long time, living a full holy life, then he went
from thence to the Abbey of Bath, to be there in more contemplation and rest of
soul. And he builded there that fair abbey and established therein black monks
and endowed it, and was himself therein the first abbot and founder. And he led
there a full holy life, and much well he guided the monks in holy and virtuous
living. And that time was Saint Dunstan, bishop of Canterbury, and Saint
Ethelwold, bishop of Winchester. But within short time after Saint Ethelwold
died, and then Saint Andrew appeared to Saint Dunstan in a night and bade him
arise anon and make Alphage, abbot of Bath, bishop of Winchester, and so it was
done with great solemnity, like as our Lord by his holy apostle Saint Andrew
had commanded, and he was bishop there twenty-two years in full holy living.
And after that he was made archbishop of Canterbury, after Saint Dunstan, and
thereto he was chosen by the pope, and by all the clergy of England, in the
year of our Lord one thousand and six years, and six years he was bishop of
Canterbury. And in the seventh year came a wicked tyrant out of Denmark into
this land of England, whose name was Erdrithe, with a great multitude of Danes.
And they burnt and robbed in every place where they came, and slew many lords
of the land, and many of the common people. And that time was Ethelred king of
England, and Saint Edward the martyr was
his brother, and Saint Edward the confessor his son, the which lieth at
Westminster.
And in this time the
Danes did do much harm in this land. The chief prince of them hight Thurkill
and his brother Erdrithe was leader of the host. They did full great
persecution, for there was none that might resist ne withstand them, for King
Ethelred was a meek man and took none heed to help his people. And Erdrithe,
with the Danes went to Canterbury, and there he did much wickedness to the
people, and burnt and destroyed all that he might find, but at the last he was
slain by men of Canterbury. And when the Prince Thurkill wist that he was
slain, he was much angry, and in great haste he came to Canterbury and besieged
the town and anon he gat it, and burnt and destroyed all that he might. And
this holy bishop Saint Alphage came to the prince of the Danes, and prayed him
to take his body and spare the poor people of the town, but for all that he
slew monks, priests
and all that he might find. And he tithed the monks, he slew nine monks and
saved the tenth, and yet he thought there were over many alive, and began to
tithe them again, and then Saint Alphage reproved them for their cursed doings.
And then anon they took Saint Alphage, the holy man, and bound his hands behind
him, and they led him with them from thence unto the town of Greenwich beside
London, and there they put him in prison half a year and more.
And the Friday in the
Easter week the devil appeared to this holy man in the prison, in likeness of
an angel, and said unto him that it was our Lord’s will that he should go out
of prison and follow him. And this holy man believed him and went out, and
followed the wicked angel by night, and he brought this holy man into a dark
valley, and there he waded over waters and ditches, mires and hedges, and ever
this holy man followed him as he might for weariness, till at the last he had
brought him into a foul mire that was set about with great waters, and there
the devil left him, and vanished away. And then this holy man wist well that he
was deceived by his enemy the fiend, and then he cried God mercy and prayed him
of help. And then our Lord sent to him his holy angel, and aided him out of the
mire and water, and said it was the will of God that he should return again to
prison that he came from, for tomorrow shalt thou suffer martyrdom for our
Lord’s sake. And as he went again towards the prison at Greenwich, early by the
morrow, his keepers that had sought him all the night met him, and anon they
cast him down to the ground and there they wounded him full piteously. And then
they brought him again to prison, and they made therein a great smouldering of
smoke for to disease him. And then Saint Dunstan appeared to him and bade him
be of good comfort, for our Lord hath ordained for thee a glorious crown. And
as they spake together his bonds brake, and all his wounds were made whole again
through the mercy of our Lord Jesu Christ, and when his keepers saw this they
dreaded full sore. And anon this miracle was known to the people and they went
then fast to see him. And the judges doubted the great people that came
thither, and they took him out of prison and led him to that place where he
should be martyred, but the poor people made great lamentation for him. But
anon the wicked tormentors stoned him to death like as the Jews did Saint
Stephen. And when he was almost dead, one there was that was his godson, which
with an axe smote him on the head that he fell to the ground, and then rendered
up his spirit to our Lord Jesu Christ. And then these wicked tyrants threw the
holy body into a deep water that good men should not find it, but by the
providence of our Lord, within short time after he was found of the true
christian men, and they reproved greatly these wicked tyrants. And they began
then to scorn the holy body and one of them took an old rotten stake or tree,
and pight it in the earth and said: If this stake bear flowers by to-morrow we
will repent us and believe that he is an holy man, or else we will never
believe it. And on the morrow they found the stake green and bare leaves. And
when they saw this great miracle they believed in God, and kissed the feet of
this holy Saint, and repented them full sore of their wicked deeds, and cried
full meekly God mercy, and this holy Saint Alphage. And after, he was brought
to London with great worship and buried in the church of Saint Paul with great
reverence, and there his body lay buried many years; and afterwards it was
taken up and translated to Canterbury, and his bones there laid in a worshipful
feretory or shrine, where our Lord showed daily many fair miracles for his
holy martyr Saint
Alphage. And the tormentors that repented them not, died anon affer in great
misery in divers wises, for to be punished as it pleased our Lord. Then let us
pray to this Blessed martyr and
archbishop, Saint Alphage, that he be moyen unto our Lord Jesu Christ that we
may come to his everlasting bliss in heaven. Amen.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/golden-legend-saint-alphage/
Pictorial
Lives of the Saints – Saint Elphege, Archbishop
Article
Saint Elphege was born in
the year 954 of a noble Saxon family. He first became a monk in the monastery
of Deerhurst, near Tewkesbury, England, and afterwards lived as a hermit near
Bath, where he founded a community under the rule of Saint Benedict, and became
its first abbot. At thirty years of age he was chosen Bishop of Winchester, and
twenty-two years later he became Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1011, when the
Danes landed in Kent, and took the city of Canterbury, putting all to fire and
sword, Saint Elphege was captured and carried off in the expectation of a large
ransom. He was unwilling that his ruined church and people should be put to
such expense, and was kept in a loathsome prison at Greenwich for seven months.
While so confined, some friends came and urged him to lay a tax upon his
tenants to raise the sum demanded for his ransom. “What reward can I hope for,”
said he, “if I spend upon myself what belongs to the poor? Better give up to
the poor what is ours, than take from them the little which is their own.” As
he still refused to give ransom, the enraged Danes fell upon him in a fury,
beat him with the blunt sides of their weapons, and bruised him with stones
until one, whom the Saint had baptized shortly before, put an end to his
sufferings by the blow of an axe. He died on Easter Saturday, April 19th, 1012,
his last words being a prayer for his murderers. His body was first buried in
Saint Paul’s, London, but was afterwards translated to Canterbury by King
Canute. A church dedicated to Saint Elphege still stands upon the place of his
martyrdom at Greenwich.
Reflection – Those who
are in high positions should consider themselves as stewards rather than
masters of the wealth or power intrusted to them for the benefit of the poor
and weak. Saint Elphege died rather than extort his ransom from the poor
tenants of the Church lands.
MLA
Citation
John Dawson Gilmary Shea.
“Saint Elphege, Archbishop”. Pictorial Lives of
the Saints, 1889. CatholicSaints.Info.
7 March 2014. Web. 12 September 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-elphege-archbishop/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-elphege-archbishop/
William Henry Margetson (1861–1940), Alphege brought before the Danes, The Church of England: a History for the People, Volume 1 by Henry Donald Maurice Spence-Jones. Cassel & Comp., London, 1898. Onlineː https://archive.org/details/churchofenglandh01spen/page/n8/mode/1up
Dictionary
of National Biography – AElfheah
Article
AElfheah (954–1012),
Archbishop (Saint Alphege), also called Godwine, was born of noble parents.
Against the wishes of his widowed mother, he left her and his father’s estate,
and entered the monastery of Deerhurst in Gloucestershire, and there made himself
the servant of all. After a while he longed for a stricter life. He left
Deerhurst, and, building himself a hut at Bath, lived there as an anchorite.
Many great people came to him for advice; some of them became monks and lived
under his rule, and others gave him the means of supporting the new
brotherhood. Florence of Worcester says that he became abbot of Bath. If it is
true that Eadgar in 970 refounded the church of Bath as a convent of regulars,
the new society probably owed to Ælfheah a considerable increase in its
numbers. In 984 Ælfheah was made bishop of Winchester. His predecessor
Æthelwold had violently driven out the canons from his church, and had put in
monks in their stead. When Æthelwold died, the dispossessed clergy and the
monks each tried to get a bishop appointed from their own order. Considerable
difficulty arose, which was solved by a dream of Archbishop Dunstan, and by his
influence Ælfheah was appointed to the bishopric. His sanctity and
self-devotion as bishop are celebrated by his biographer Osbern. Dunstan seems
to have had a warm regard for him.
Some of the efforts of
Ælfheah for the conversion of the heathen Northmen, recorded by Osbern as made
during his archiepiscopate, may be assigned to this period of his life. In 994,
the Northmen, under Olaf Tryggwesson of Norway and Swend of Denmark, wintered
at Southampton. While they were there, King Æthelred sent Ælfheah, the bishop
of the diocese, and the ealdorman Æthelward as ambassadors to Olaf. The
Norwegian king had, it seems, already received baptism in his own land from
English missionaries. He went with the ambassadors to meet the English king at
Andover, and there he received the rite of confirmation from Bishop Ælfheah.
Another and less trustworthy account says that Olaf first embraced Christianity
in England. Ælfheah may at least be said to have caused this famous convert to
make a decided choice, and it is certain that the result of the embassy was a
promise, which the Norwegian kept, that he would never invade England again.
Osbern is therefore probably right in speaking of the hatred which the
preaching of Ælfheah stirred up against him among the heathen Northmen, and
this religious animosity may have been to some extent the cause of his death.
In 1006 he was made
archbishop of Canterbury, and at once journeyed to Rome and obtained the pall.
The one act of his primacy of which we have evidence, besides the circumstances
of his death, shows that he probably had something of the statesmanlike spirit
of Dunstan. The undated council of Enham was, to some extent at least, his
work. It was held at a time when the Danish invasion had brought the people
very low. A desire of grappling with the spiritual and material evils of the
time is evident in the decrees of this council, which the two archbishops are
said to have persuaded the king to hold. Its provisions against heathenism,
lawlessness, and the sale of slaves, especially to heathen men, and the solemn
pledge of loyalty with which the record ends, mark the ways in which the demoralisation
of society was making itself felt. A kindred spirit to that of Dunstan appears
in the ecclesiastical legislation of the council. Men were to live according to
their profession; the stricter life was recommended, but not enforced. With
these provisions are directions for the organisation and meeting of a fleet,
and of the national land force. While, however, Dunstan had Eadgar to follow
his counsels, Ælfheah had Æthelred for his king, and so the decrees of Enham
were fruitless, and the state of the country grew ever worse.
In 1011 the large sum of
48,000 pounds was promised to the Danes to buy them off. They did not cease
their ravages while the money was being raised. On 8 Sept. they appeared before
Canterbury, and on the twentieth day of the siege the city was betrayed by an
ecclesiastic, was taken, and burnt. The archbishop with many others was made
captive, and was bound, half-starved, and otherwise ill-used. In the hope of
gaining a large ransom the Danes took Ælfheah to their ships and kept him
prisoner for seven months. Meanwhile the great men of the kingdom remained
inactive in London, fearing, as it seems, to come forth until the promised
bribe was collected and paid to the invaders. At first Ælfheah agreed to ransom
himself; but he remembered the people who would have to suffer to raise the
money. He repented and determined that no one should have to pay anything for
his life. During his captivity he evidently spoke often on religious matters to
his captors, and his words had good effect. At length, on 19 April, 1012, the
day had come on which the archbishop had promised to pay his ransom. The fleet
lay off Greenwich. On that day the Danes held a great feast, drinking
themselves drunk with wine which they had obtained from the South. They demanded
the promised ransom. Ælfheah took back his word; he was ready to die, and he
would not make others pay for him. The Danes in wrath dragged him into their
husting, and gathered round him ready to slay him. Thurkill, their famous
leader, saw what was about to happen. He was probably one of those who had
heard the archbishop speak of the christian faith and who had believed his
words, for soon after this he became a christian and joined himself to the
English. He hastened to the spot, and offered to give gold and silver and all
that he had, save his ship, if they would spare the life of the archbishop.
They would not hearken, and threw at Ælfheah the skulls of oxen, the remnants
of their savage feast, and stones and wood, until he sank dying. Then one Thrum,
whom Ælfheah had confirmed the day before, seeing that he still lived, to put
him out of his agony struck him on the head with his axe and slew him. The deed
was done in drunken frenzy, and was probably quickly regretted. For this
reason, and because there were many in the host who were converts, the
archbishop’s body was allowed to be reverently taken to London, and was there
buried in Saint Paul’s. Eleven years after his death, Cnut caused his body to
be translated with great pomp to his church at Canterbury. This translation, in
which the king took part in person, was a national act, and is of some interest
as illustrating the policy of Cnut towards his new subjects. The circumstances
of the death of Ælfheah invested him with sanctity, and the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicler, writing before the translation, speaks of the mighty works done at
his tomb. His name was associated in later years with a great question
affecting the national church. When Anselm visited England in 1078, Archbishop
Lanfranc consulted him about those whom the English had set up for themselves
as saints, and took Ælfheah, who was looked upon by his countrymen as a saint
and a martyr, as an example. Lanfranc denied the right of Ælfheah to these
honours. Anselm, however, asserted that he was worthy of them, because he died
in the cause of justice. Lanfranc was convinced, and did devout honour to his
predecessor. At his command Osbern, a monk of Canterbury, wrote lives of
Ælfheah in prose and in verse. These compositions were used in the service on
the day of the martyrdom of Saint Alphege, the name by which the archbishop
appears in the Calendar. The prose life remains. It is a piece of hagiology
rather than an historical biography. Osbern also wrote an account of the
translation of the saint, which was read on the anniversary of that event. A
plain and trustworthy account of the death of Ælfheah is contained in the
contemporary chronicle of Thietmar, bishop of Merseburg, who states that he had
his information from an Englisman named Sewald. Osbern and Florence of
Worcester give many particulars of the death with the evident object of
heightening the effect and proving the voluntary character of the martyrdom.
They apparently depended on some common source.
MLA
Citation
William Hunt.
“AElfheah”. Dictionary of National Biography, 1885. CatholicSaints.Info.
6 April 2019. Web. 12 September 2025. <https://catholicsaints.info/dictionary-of-national-biography-aelfheah/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/dictionary-of-national-biography-aelfheah/
Plate
23 from Ecclesiae Anglicanae Trophae, 1584. A collection of engravings by
Giovanni Battista de'Cavalieri after murals by Niccolò Circignani (1520-1597), Il
Pomarancio,in the chapel of the Venerable English College, Rome. It shows the
murder of King Edward the Martyr and the death of Archbishop Alphege of
Canterbury.
https://archive.org/details/ecclesiaeanglica00cava
Sant' Elfego
(Elfege) di Canterbury Vescovo
Festa: 19 aprile
954 - 1011
Nacque in Inghilterra nel
954. Divenuto benedettino nell’abbazia di Deerhurst, nel Gloucestershire,
proseguì la carriera ecclesiastica come abate di un monastero a Bath e quindi,
nel 984, come vescovo di Winchester. Nel 1006 fu nominato arcivescovo di Canterbury.
Era molto amato dal popolo per la sua generosità ed umanità. Durante
l’invasione danese del 1011 si rifiutò di fuggire e fu preso prigioniero. Non
volle pagare il proprio riscatto con le elemosine raccolte per i poveri e per
questo motivo venne ucciso a Greenwich. Fu bastonato a morte con le pesanti
ossa di un bue che era servito ai pagani per un luculliano banchetto. Le sue
reliquie furono conservate nella chiesa di San Paolo a Canterbury, fino
all’avvento della riforma.
Martirologio
Romano: Sulla riva del Tamigi presso Greenwich in Inghilterra, passione di
sant’Elfégo, vescovo di Canterbury e martire, che, durante le cruente
devastazioni provocate in città dai Danesi, offrì se stesso per il suo gregge
e, avendo rifiutato di farsi riscattare con il denaro, il sabato dopo Pasqua fu
percosso con delle ossa di pecora e infine decapitato.
Le informazioni sulla nascita e la giovinezza di Elfego (o Elfege) sono frammentarie. Sappiamo che nacque intorno al 950 in una famiglia nobile del Wessex e che ricevette un'educazione eccellente, sia in ambito religioso che letterario. La sua formazione monastica presso l'abbazia di Glastonbury influenzò profondamente la sua spiritualità e il suo impegno per la Chiesa.
Nel 1006 Elfego fu consacrato vescovo di Winchester, carica che ricoprì con saggezza e zelo apostolico. La sua fama di uomo di Dio e di abile amministratore lo portò all'attenzione del re Ethelred II, che lo nominò consigliere e tutore del figlio Edmondo. In questo ruolo, Elfego si distinse per la sua integrità e per il suo impegno nella difesa dei diritti della Chiesa e del popolo.
L'invasione danese dell'Inghilterra nel 1011 sconvolse la vita di Elfego e del suo gregge. Durante un assedio a Canterbury, il vescovo fu catturato dai Danesi. Rifiutandosi di pagare il riscatto con le elemosine destinate ai poveri, egli si offrì come ostaggio per la salvezza del suo popolo. Dopo un lungo periodo di prigionia e torture, Elfego fu barbaramente lapidato e decapitato il 19 aprile 1012.
La morte di Elfego non fu vana. Il suo martirio rafforzò la fede del popolo inglese e lo elevò a simbolo di resistenza contro gli invasori. La sua fama di santo si diffuse rapidamente e la sua memoria fu venerata fin dai tempi immediatamente successivi alla sua morte. Nel 1023 il suo corpo fu traslato nella cattedrale di Canterbury, dove ancora oggi riposa.
Autore: Franco Dieghi
SOURCE : https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/91288
