![[Saint Alphege of Winchester]](http://saints.sqpn.com/saintajw.jpg "151kb jpg photograph of a stained glass window of Saint Alphege of Winchester at the clerestory of Great Saint Mary's church, Cambridge, England; photographed by Brother Lawrence Lew, OP; swiped off his flickr site and used with permission")
Also known as
- Alphege the Martyr
- Alphege of Canterbury
- Alfege….
- Alphage….
- Alphege….
- Alphegus….
- Elphege….
- Godwine….
- Ælfheah….
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
- 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
Additional Information
- Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
- Brittania Biographies
- Catholic Encyclopedia, by P W F Ryan
- Catholic Online
- Catholic Online
- Ecole Glossary, by Karen Rae Keck
- Encyclopedia Brittanica
- Golden Legend
- Lives of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler
- Medieval Religion Listserv, by John Dillon
- Our Lady and Saint Alphege Church, Bath, England
- Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
- Wikipedia
MLA Citation
- “Saint Alphege of Winchester“. Saints.SQPN.com. 18 April 2013. Web. 21 May 2013. <>