Ælfheah of Canterbury

Ælfheah
Archbishop of Canterbury
A 15th-century illuminated manuscript showing Ælfheah being asked for advice
Appointed	1006
Term ended	19 April 1012
Predecessor	Ælfric of Abingdon
Successor	Lyfing
Other posts	Abbot of Bath Abbey Bishop of Winchester
Orders
Consecration	19 October 984
Personal details
Born	c. 953 Weston, Somerset, England
Died	19 April 1012 Greenwich, Kent, England
Buried	Canterbury Cathedral
Sainthood
Feast day	19 April
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church;Anglican Communion;Eastern Orthodox Church
Canonized	1078 Rome by Pope Gregory VII
Attributes	Archbishop holding an axe
Patronage	Greenwich; Solihull; kidnap victims
Shrines	Canterbury Cathedral

Ælfheah (c. 953 – 19 April 1012) was an Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester, later Archbishop of Canterbury. He became an anchorite before being elected abbot of Bath Abbey. His reputation for piety and sanctity led to his promotion to the episcopate, and eventually, to his becoming archbishop. Ælfheah furthered the cult of Dunstan and also encouraged learning. He was captured by Viking raiders in 1011 and killed by them the following year after refusing to allow himself to be ransomed. Ælfheah was canonised as a saint in 1078. Thomas Becket, a later Archbishop of Canterbury, prayed to him just before his own murder in Canterbury Cathedral.

Purportedly born in Weston on the outskirts of Bath, Ælfheah became a monk early in life. His birth took place around 953. He first entered the monastery of Deerhurst, but then moved to Bath, where he became an anchorite. He was noted for his piety and austerity, and rose to become abbot of Bath Abbey. The 12th century chronicler William of Malmesbury recorded that Ælfheah was a monk and prior at Glastonbury Abbey, but this is not accepted by all historians. Indications are that Ælfheah became abbot at Bath by 982, perhaps as early as around 977. He perhaps shared authority with his predecessor Æscwig after 968.

Probably due to the influence of Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury (959–988), Ælfheah was elected Bishop of Winchester in 984, and was consecrated on 19 October that year. While bishop he was largely responsible for the construction of a large organ in the cathedral, audible from over a mile (1600 m) away and said to require more than 24 men to operate. He also built and enlarged the city's churches, and promoted the cult of Swithun and his own predecessor, Æthelwold of Winchester. One act promoting Æthelwold's cult was the translation of Æthelwold's body to a new tomb in the cathedral at Winchester, which Ælfheah presided over on 10 September 996.