THE
P RTAL
January 2013
Page 13
Anglo-Saxon Saints
in Birmingham
by Harry Schnitker
Birmingham is a young city. The area we now call Birmingham was not incorporated until 1911.
When we are looking for Anglo-Saxon saints in modern Birmingham, we are, therefore, looking at what
would have been a large and diverse region before the Norman Conquest. In religious terms, the modern city
straddles two ancient dioceses: Worcester and Lichfield.
Domesday Book, and derive from the
Scandinavian Klint or ‘cliff ’. They
contain the tomb of one who
was once one of England’s most
popular saints. St Kenelm or
Cynehelm was so famous that
he even made an appearance in
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. His
fame lay in his prediction of his
own murder and the place where
this was to occur.
The latter’s great prominence in the
growth of Anglo-Saxon Christianity
through the work of St Chad makes
it tempting to focus on that saint.
Indeed, the modern Catholic
cathedral of Birmingham carries
Chad as its titular.
Staffordshire Hoard
Tempting it may be, but a
recent lucky find has rather
upset our traditional narrative
of the arrival of Christianity
in the region. I am referring to
the Staffordshire Hoard (right),
discovered in 2009. Dating back to
the early seventh century, it contained
a number of crucifixes, and shows an
earlier Christian presence than previously assumed.
Lichfield is not Birmingham
Even if we recognise that St Chad played a significant
role, we must admit that Lichfield is not Birmingham.
So if it is not useful to focus on St Chad, we may perhaps
have more joy from the titular of Birmingham’s original
parish church, St Martin of Tours. Unfortunately, there
is no evidence that a church stood here prior to the
Norman Conquest, indeed, before the twelfth century!
the Clent Hills
Things get worse when we consider that all other
churches in Birmingham post-date the Reformation,
and that the archaeological record is much damaged
by the rapid expansion of the city since the mid-
eighteenth century. We are, then, looking for the
proverbial needle. However, only nine miles south-
west from the centre of Birmingham are the Clent
Hills, and it is here that we have to go for our Anglo-
Saxon saint for the Birmingham Ordinariate.
St Kenelm or Cynehelm
The
low-lying
hills
are
mentioned
in
the
working miracles
Legend has it that the seven-
year old boy, the heir to the crown
of Mercia, was slain by the lover of
his jealous sister.
This occurred in the Clent Hills, where his body was
left to rot. However his soul took a scroll to Rometo
announce the event to the Holy Father, who ordered
the Archbishop of Canterbury to search for the body.
They found it, and Kenelm was interred, his remains
working miracles for centuries thereafter.
if only it were true
A lovely story, if only it were true. In fairness, we have
to admit that the real Kenelm was the son of Coenwulf,
distant cousin and heir to the famous Mercian King,
Offa. He was a young boy-king when Pope Leo III
wrote to him around 798, and he died when he was
around 25, but from natural causes.
strong link
The pious legend contains one kernel of truth: the
strong link between the Mercian kingdom and the
Papacy. It is also likely that the young King was buried
in the Clent Hills. His tomb is, therefore, a statement
of the centrality of Rometo the Anglo-Saxon monarchs
and their Church, and one would be hard-pressed to
think of a more appropriate saint for the Birmingham
Ordinariate group.