RELATIONSHIP OF CHURCH AND STATE IN ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 8TH CENTURY: The Case of the King Eadberht (737/738–758) and the Archbishop of Ecgbert (735–766) Cover Image

ОДНОС ЦРКВЕ И ДРЖАВЕ У АНГЛОСАКСОНСКОЈ ЕНГЛЕСКОЈ У ПРВОЈ ПОЛОВИНИ 8. ВЕКА: Пример краља Едберта (737/738–758) и архиепископа Екгберта (735–766)
RELATIONSHIP OF CHURCH AND STATE IN ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 8TH CENTURY: The Case of the King Eadberht (737/738–758) and the Archbishop of Ecgbert (735–766)

Author(s): Ivica Čairović
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Sociology of Religion, History of Religion
Published by: Матица српска
Keywords: Anglo-Saxon England; symphony of the Church and state; King Eadberht; Archbishop Ecgbert; York; Pope Paul I

Summary/Abstract: Eadberht was the king of Northumbria from 737/738 until 758, and his reign was understood and interpreted through the centuries as a return to the imperial desires and hints that the Nortambrian rulers had in the 7th century. On the other hand, the economic development of the northern part of the British Isles was obvious in this period. Although Eadberht had major internal political problems, as several candidates for the position of the ruler were a permanent danger, he confirmed his status in several battles in which he defeated the rivals for the throne and continued to rule independently. In the year of 758, Eadberht abdicated for the benefit of his son and settled down in York, where his brother Ecgbert was Archbishop. This act shows that the prodigious relationship between these two rulers was one of the strongest links in an unbroken chain of close relations between state and Church in the first half of the 8th century. Archbishop Ecgbert died in 766 and was buried in the Cathedral Church in York. During his archbishop service, Ecgbert was seen as a church reformer, but the same continued after his death, as indicated by the creators of the canons and disciplinary provisions for the Anglo-Saxon clergy and the laity who attributed their writings to Ecgbert. It is concluded that Ecgbert was serving the Church in the canonical, dogmatic, pastoral, and exegetical fields. On the other hand, concerning the state, the authorities and Anglo-Saxon society, in general, had the help of his brother, King Eadberht. It was this family relationship that paved the way for the relationship between the Church and the state in Anglo-Saxon England. Thus, a very close relationship between the Archbishop and the King in the later period of the British Isles is proof of the tradition that started in the first half of the 8th century in Northumbria and York. On the other hand, the relationship between Church and state property was established in the earlier period, and in the period when Ecgbert and Eadberht ruled, it is only directed to the family of the ruling house deciding on the property of the Church and the state. One of the best examples for this is family monasteries, headed by a hegumen from the ruling family, who worked with a relative who ruled the areas in which the monastery was. This paper analyzes available historical sources to determine the relationship between clergymen and rulers in Anglo-Saxon England in the first half of the 8th century. The historical methodology in this study will describe the relationship between Church and State in Anglo-Saxon England, on the example of Eadberht, King Northumbria (737/738–758), and his brother Ecgbert, the first Archbishop of York (735–766). An example of the symphony of church and state in Anglo-Saxon England in the first half of the 8th century is the example of Ecgbert and Eadberht, that can serve to understand later historical phenomena in the history of the Church and the state of Western Europe, especially when analyzing the phenomenon of investiture. Thus, the proposed research with its conclusion hypotheses can serve as a first step in the process of analyzing the phenomenon of investiture and its eventual conclusion in the late Middle Ages in Western Europe.

  • Issue Year: 2019
  • Issue No: 171
  • Page Range: 411-421
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: Serbian