| Honorific Prefix: | Saint |
| Æthelnoth | |
| Archbishop Of: | Archbishop of Canterbury |
| Appointed: | 1020 |
| Ended: | 1038 |
| Predecessor: | Lyfing |
| Successor: | Eadsige |
| Consecration: | 13 November 1020 |
| Other Post: | Dean of Canterbury |
| Death Date: | 28, 29, 30 October or 1 November 1038 |
| Buried: | Canterbury Cathedral |
| Parents: | Æthelmær the Stout |
| Feast Day: | 30 October |
| Venerated: | Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Canonized Date: | Pre-Congregation |
Æthelnoth (died 1038) was the archbishop of Canterbury from 1020 until his death. Descended from an earlier English king, Æthelnoth became a monk prior to becoming archbishop. While archbishop, he travelled to Rome and brought back saint's relics. He consecrated a number of other bishops who came from outside his archdiocese, leading to some friction with other archbishops. Although he was regarded as a saint after his death, there is little evidence of his veneration or of a cult in Canterbury or elsewhere.
Æthelnoth was a son of the Æthelmær the Stout and a grandson of Æthelweard the Historian, who was a great-great-grandson of King Æthelred of Wessex. In the view of the historian Frank Barlow, Æthelnoth was probably the uncle of Godwin of Wessex.[1] He was baptised by Dunstan, and a story was told at Glastonbury Abbey that as the infant was baptised, his hand made a motion much like that an archbishop makes when blessing. From this motion, Dunstan is said to have prophesied that Æthelnoth would become an archbishop.[2]
Æthelnoth became a monk at Glastonbury, then was made dean of the monastery of Christ Church Priory, at Canterbury, the cathedral chapter for the diocese of Canterbury.[3] He was also a chaplain to King Cnut of England and Denmark as well as Dean of Canterbury when on 13 November 1020 Æthelnoth was consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.[4] Æthelnoth's elevation probably was a gesture of appeasement, as Æthelnoth's brother Æthelweard had been executed in 1017 by Cnut, who also banished a brother-in-law named Æthelweard in 1020. A later story stated that Cnut favoured Æthelnoth because Æthelnoth had bestowed chrism on the king. This may be a garbled account of Æthelnoth's participation in Cnut's confirmation as a Christian in 1016 or his coronation in 1017.[2] There are some indications that he was a student of Ælfric of Eynsham, the homilist.[5]
In 1022, Æthelnoth went to Rome to obtain the pallium,[6] and was received by Pope Benedict VIII. On his return trip, he bought a relic of St Augustine of Hippo for 100 silver talents and one gold talent.[2] He gave the relic to Coventry Abbey.[7] He also presided over the translation of the relics of Ælfheah, his predecessor at Canterbury who was regarded as a martyr and saint.[8] In 1022, Æthelnoth consecrated Gerbrand as bishop for the Diocese of Roskilde,[9] which was in Scandinavia. The archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen was the metropolitan of Roskilde, and the fact that Gerbrand was consecrated by an English archbishop later caused friction between the bishop and his metropolitan.[8] Cnut was forced to concede that in the future he would not appoint bishops in Bremen's archdiocese without the metropolitan's advice. A later tradition held that Æthelnoth consecrated two Welsh bishops, one at Llandaff and one at St. David's.[10] He also consecrated Dúnán, the first bishop of Dublin, and other Scandinavian bishops.[11]
The medieval chronicler William of Malmesbury praised Æthelnoth's wisdom. A story of doubtful authenticity tells how he refused to crown King Harold Harefoot,[12] as he had promised Cnut to crown none but a son of the king by his wife, Emma.[2] He was a leading figure in the third generation of the English Benedictine Reform.[13]
Æthelnoth died in 1038, on either 28 October,[2] [4] 29 October,[4] [14] 30 October, or 1 November.[2] [4] Prior to his death, some of his episcopal functions were performed by a royal priest, Eadsige. He was buried in Canterbury Cathedral.[2] He is considered a saint,[14] with a feast day of 30 October. While he is listed in Jean Mabillon's Lives of the Benedictine Saints and in the Acta Sanctorum, there is no contemporary or later evidence of a cult being paid to him at Canterbury or elsewhere.[15]