THE P RTAL
April 2012 Page 12
Anglo-Saxon Saints of Derbyshire by Harry Schnitker
As is well-known , the Anglo-Saxons had founded several kingdoms in what is now England . In the north lay the Kingdom of Northumbria ; this crossed the current border with Scotland , and stretched from the Humber to the Forth . It is in Derby that one of Northumbria ’ s many saints is found , even though the city was never part of that kingdom .
the royal family of Northumbria
St Alkmund was born into the royal family of Northumbria , although doubts exist over his true parentage . Simeon of Durham , a most reliable chronicler , tells that “ Alchmund was the son of King Alcred as some say ”.
Obviously , Simeon did not believe them ! However , this did not prevent our saint from becoming embroiled in the extremely violent affairs of the Northumbrian royal family . His father , Alcred , had gained the throne in a coup in 765 , but his reign lasted only nine years . He was expelled at Easter of 774 .
During that brief reign , he did make a significant contribution to the Church . He authorised the mission of St Willehad to Frisia and Saxony . The people of the northern region of what is now Holland and Germany were still staunchly pagan , and the Emperor Charlemagne drew heavily on missionaries from the Anglo-Saxon world to convert them . In 787 , Willehad became the first bishop of Bremen , a key see in the conversion of the region .
fled to the Picts
When Alcred lost his throne , he fled to the Picts , north of the River Forth , in what is now Scotland . His son , Osred , remained and , after biding his time , killed his father ’ s usurper in 788 . Two years later , he was imprisoned and exiled to the Isle of Man , but returned in 792 , only to be killed .
St Alkmund ’ s family history was a tragic one , and it is little wonder that he fled . Roger of Wendover , in his Flower of History , records that Alhmund or Alkmund was caught by the “ guardians of King Eardwulf ” [ of Northumbria ] and murdered in 800 , which was immediately believed to be martyrdom . This is an interesting notion , for later tradition tells that Alkmund was popular for his devotion to the poor and to orphans .
The murder took place in Shrewsbury , and his body was moved to Derby in 1100 , for reasons unknown . Alkmund had married the widow of King Ealhmund of Kent and mother of King Egbert of Wessex , with whom he had a daughter who was also to become a saint . St
St Alkmund Elburga or Alburga was the foundress and first abbess of Wilton Abbey in Wiltshire . This had been the earldom of her late husband , Wulfstan , who had been killed in the Battle of Kempsford in 802 .
violence , tenderness and piety
A strange mixture of violence , tenderness and piety marks the patron saint of Derby . His sarcophagus may still be seen in the Derby museum , together with a great ninth-century cross that was wrongly named after him in the nineteenth century .
The church where his body rested and which was a place of minor pilgrimage , was first destroyed and rebuilt in 1846 , and subsequently demolished in 1968 to make way for a road .