ABSTRACT
The advent of Wærferth to the bishopric of the Hwicce marked the beginning of a new era in the history of the diocese of Worcester. From the political point of view this period coincided with the rise of the house of Wessex, and the close relationship between King Alfred and Bishop Wærferth, who was directly involved in the cultural and educational programme promoted by the king, contributed to the preservation of the church of Worcester’s interests throughout the process which took the main centre of power in England from Mercia to Wessex. Wærferth became bishop of the Hwicce – a conservative title which was still used even though the kingdom of the Hwicce had long ceased to exist – between 869 and 873. His elevation therefore occurred during the reign of Burgred (?852-73/74), arguably ‘the last independent ruler of the Mercians’.1 By this time the church of Worcester had already accumulated its extensive landed endowment, thanks to the grants issued in its favour by earlier rulers both of the Hwicce and of the Mercians. By the mid-ninth century the church of Worcester had also managed to achieve direct control of many minsters which had been independently founded in the seventh and eighth centuries within its diocese; consequently, the estates which had belonged to those old minsters had also come under the bishop’s control.2 In the middle years of the ninth century, in spite of the disruption and uncertainty caused by intense Viking activities, the church of Worcester consolidated its vast
1 The date of Wærferth’s accession cannot be established with certainty; his predecessor’s latest attestation of a charter was in 869 (S 214 (BCS 524)), and John of Worcester gives 872 as the date of Wærferth’s succession, but says that he was ordained on 7 June, Whit Sunday. However, 7 June was Whit Sunday in 873. Cf. John of Worcester, Chronicle, II, 300-301, n. 1. According to this source Wærferth had been educated at Worcester (sancte Wigorniensis ecclesie nutritus). On Burgred see S. Keynes, ‘Mercia’, in BEASE, 306-8, at 308.
