Saint Eadwold of Cerne
Saint, Hermit
Bornc. 835 AD
Died29 August c. 900
Cerne Abbas, Dorset, England
Venerated inCatholicism, Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox Church
Major shrineCerne Abbey
Feast29 August
PatronageCerne

Eadwold of Cerne (c. 835 AD – 29 August c. 900), also known as Eadwold of East Anglia, was a 9th-century hermit, East Anglian prince and patron saint of Cerne, Dorset, who lived as a hermit on a hill about four miles from Cerne. His feast day is 29 August.

Life

Cerne Abbey ruins.

Eadwold was born c. 835 AD, the son of Æthelweard of East Anglia[1] and reputed brother of Edmund, king of East Anglia. He left his homeland possibly due to a Viking Invasion, to live as a hermit on a hill about four miles from Cerne, Dorset. William of Malmesbury said he lived on bread and water,[2] and worked many miracles.[3] He is known from the writing of William of Malmesbury and the Hagiographies of St Eadwold of Cerne, by Goscelin of Saint-Bertin and also Secgan.

Veneration

Eadwold died on 29 August c. 900, at Cerne and is said to have been buried in his cell,[4] and was later moved to a nearby monastery, dedicated to St Peter.[5] His veneration is credited with making Cerne Abbey the third richest in England during the 11th century.[6]

A 2024 study proposed that the Cerne Abbas Giant was created c. 900 CE, depicting Hercules, as a muster station for West Saxon armies to gather but that by the 11th-century, the figure was being reinterpreted as portraying Eadwold, by the monks at the Abbey.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Eadwold of Cerne
  2. ↑ Michael Winterbottom, Rodney Malcolm Thomson, William of Malmesbury: Gesta Pontificum Anglorum, The History of the English Bishops : Volume I: Text and Translation: Volume I: Text and Translation (Oxford University Press, 2007) page 291
  3. ↑ Edwold (Eadwold) of Cerne in The Oxford Dictionary of Saints
  4. ↑ Licence, Tom (2007) '‘Goscelin of Saint-Bertin and the hagiography of St Eadwold of Cerne’'. Journal of Medieval Latin, vol16
  5. ↑ Licence, Tom (2007) '‘Goscelin of Saint-Bertin and the hagiography of St Eadwold of Cerne’'. Journal of Medieval Latin, vol16
  6. ↑ Tom Licence, Goscelin of St Bertin and the Life of St. Eadwold of Cerne, Journal The Journal of Medieval Latin vol 16 Archived 2014-02-25 at archive.today
  7. ↑ Morcom, Thomas; Gittos, Helen (1 January 2024). "The Cerne Giant in Its Early Medieval Context". Speculum. 99 (1): 1–38. doi:10.1086/727992. ISSN 0038-7134.
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