in Oxfordshire; and although Birinus dedicated the new 'basilica' at Winchester in the sixth year of Kynewald, son and successor of Kynegils, the 'almifluus Confessor' never assumed it as the place of his see, but was himself buried at Dorchester. He is said by Bede to have built and dedicated many churches, and to have converted numbers of the people,-outlying villagers in the Marks, among whom his labours must have been more difficult, and far more perilous, than in the towns and royal villas of Kynegils.

Whether Birinus was compelled to address the people through an interpreter, is uncertain. His successor, ÆGELBYRHT, a Frank like himself, was, beyond a doubt, very imperfectly acquainted with the Anglo-Saxon language; and the King, Coinwalh, finding that much difficulty arose from his ignorance, divided the kingdom into two dioceses, leaving Ægelbyrht at Dorchester, and appointing WINI, a native Saxon, to the other see, the place of which was fixed at Winchester. Egelbyrht, offended by this arrangement, which was made without his concurrence, withdrew to his native country, where he became Bishop of Paris. Wini himself was subsequently expelled from his new see by Coinwalh, and is said to have bought' the bishopric of London from Wulfhere of Mercia. Wessex was for some time without a bishop, until Egelbyrht, whom Coinwalh in vain entreated to return, recommended his nephew, HLOTHERE, as a proper person to be ordained in his room. He was accordingly consecrated by Theodore of Tarsus, then Archbishop of Canterbury.

[A.D. 676.] Hlothere died at Dorchester in the year 676. His successor, HEADDA, who had been Abbot of Whitby in Northumbria, removed the espiscopal seat to Winchester, as had been originally intended; and translated thither the

a A place of considerable importance during the British and Roman periods. It is called by Bede Civitas Dorcinia.

bones of St. Birininus. From this time the succession of bishops of Winchester continues unbroken; but under the next Bishop, DANIEL, the see was permanently divided. Hitherto, except during the temporary appointment of Wini, the bishopric, as was the case elsewhere in England, had been coextensive with the kingdom. Wessex, however, had materially enlarged its boundaries since the conversion of Kynegils; the original provisions had become insufficient; and, accordingly, a second see was established by King Ine at Sherborne in Dorsetshire,-the first bishop of which was the celebrated Aldhelm, the master and preserver of the great cycle of learning in the South, as Bede was in the North of England.

[A.D. 837.] Of the bishops of Winchester between Daniel and HELMSTAN, who died after the year 841, little more than the names has been recorded. Athelwulf, afterwards King of Wessex, and father of Alfred, is said by some of the later chroniclers to have succeeded Helmstan as bishop of Winchester, and to have been subsequently released from his orders by the Pope ". There is no sufficient authority, however, for this statement, and Helmstan's real successor was, no doubt, SWITHUN, who had been prior of the monastery attached to the cathedral. He was, say the chroniclers, a diligent builder of churches in places where there were none before, and a repairer of those that had been destroyed or ruined. He also built a bridge on the east side of the

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The change may possibly (although this is uncertain) have been occasioned by the victories of Ethelred of Mercia, who had now (circ. 686) become the most powerful king in England. No bishops of Dorchester can be clearly recognised from Headda until the year 752, when the see was certainly within the bounds of Mercia, and Offa appointed Berthun bishop. After the Conquest, Remigius removed the chief place of his see from Dorchester to Lincoln. (See that Cathedral.)

• See Salisbury for further notices of the bishopric of Sherborne. a See the arguments for and against Ethelwulf's priesthood in Pauli, Life of Alfred, sect. 1.

city, and during the work he made a practice of sitting there to watch the workmen, that his presence might stimulate their industry." One of his most edifying miracles is said to have been performed at this bridge, where he restored an old woman's basket of eggs, which the workmen had maliciously broken. It is more certain that Swithun was one of the most learned men of his time, and the tutor, successively, of Athelwulf, and of his son, the illustrious Alfred. He died in the year 862, and was buried, according to his own desire, in the churchyard of Winchester, where "passers by might tread on his grave, and where the rain from the eaves might fall on it." His reputation as a weather saint is said to have arisen from the translation of his body, from this lowly grave to its golden shrine within the cathedral, having been delayed by incessant rain. Hence the weather on the festival of his translation (July 15) indicated, according to the old rhyme, what it would be for the next forty days:

"St. Swithun's day, if thou dost rain,

For forty days it will remain ;

St. Swithun's day, if thou be fair,

For forty days 'twill rain na mair."

June and July, however, have their weather saints in the calendars of France and of Belgium, as well as in those of other parts of Europe:

"Quand il pleut à la Saint Gervais (June 19)

Il pleut quarante jours après,"

is the French proverb. Wedermaend, the month of storms,' was the old Flemish name of July.

[A.D. 879.] DENEWULF, who became Bishop of Winchester about 879, is said by an ancient tradition (which will not bear sifting) to have been the swincherd at whose cottage, in the Isle of Athelney, Alfred took shelter during his retreat. It was Denewulf's wife, says the story, who reproved the King so sharply for allowing the cakes to burn. Alfred had been greatly struck by Denewulf's natural

powers and intelligence; and on his return to power, caused him to be ordained, and appointed him Bishop of Winchester. His wife we must suppose was dead; at all events, the second part of the tradition takes small account of her. Dates, however, to say nothing of other difficulties, render the truth of this story impossible; although Denewulf was very probably of humble origin.

[A.D. 963.] ETHELWOLD, Abbot of Abingdon, became Bishop of Winchester in the year 963. He repaired throughout, if he did not completely rebuild, the cathedral and monastery; removing into the former the body of St. Swithun, together with those of other sainted bishops of less note. The new church was dedicated, in honour of the Apostles SS. Peter and Paul, Oct. 20, 980, by Archbishop Dunstan and eight other bishops, in presence of King Ethelred, and of nearly every 'duke, noble, and abbot' of England. Prodigious feasting succeeded the dedication; and Wolstan, a contemporary monk, has supplied, in a poetic life of Ethelwold, a most curious description of the new buildings. Ethelwold was himself a workman, like his contemporary, Dunstan; and before his elevation to the see of Winchester, "the malignity of the adversary endeavoured to compass his destruction by allowing a great post to fall upon him, whilst the holy man was working at construction." Notwithstanding his zeal for the rebuilding and decoration of his cathedral, he is said to have sold for the benefit of the poor, in a time of famine, many of the precious ornaments belonging to it, asserting that it was possible to replace them, but that a life once lost could never be restored. [A.D. 1032-1047.] ALDWIN, or AELFWIN, was the bishop on whose account Emma, mother of the Confessor, was compelled to undergo the fiery ordeal in the nave of the Saxon cathedral. He bestowed on the church of Winchester

See it in Mabillon, Acta Sanct. Ord. Bened., or extracts in Willis.

Stigand. Walkelin.

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nine manors from his own patrimony,—including Stoneham and the two Meens. His successor,―

[A.D. 1047-1069.] STIGAND became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1052, but never resigned the bishopric of Winchester. See Canterbury for a notice of the life of this prelate, whose insatiable avarice, and the consequent wealth which he had collected, combined with his English birth and turbulence to bring upon him the hostility of the Conqueror. He died in prison, it is said of voluntary starvation, at Winchester; and according to Malmesbury, a key was found on his body after his death, which opened a casket containing a clue to the various places in which his enormous treasures had been hidden, a great part of them under the beds of rivers. They fell, of course, into the hands of William. Stigand was buried in the Cathedral of Winchester, where his tomb, which has now disappeared, was to be seen in Godwin's time. [A.D. 1070-1098.] WALKELIN, the first Norman bishop, was of noble birth and related to the Conqueror. His brother, Simeon, was first made Prior of Winchester, and afterwards Bishop of Ely. He rebuilt the cathedral from the foundations, as has already been mentioned (Pt. I.). W. Rufus granted Walkelin half a hide in the Isle of Wight, with license to search for and excavate stone for his new cathedral, per planum et silvam: si silva tantæ parvitatis fuerit ut per eam transeuntes cornua cervi appareant." Of the manner in which he procured timber for the completion of the church, the following story is told. The Conqueror had granted him as much wood from the forest of Hanepinges (Hempage-wood, on the old Alresford road) as his carpenters could take in four days and nights. "But the Bishop," says the old annalist, "collected an innumerable troop of carpenters, and within the assigned time cut down the whole wood, and carried it off to Winchester." Presently after, the King, passing by Hanepinges, was struck with amazement, and cried out,-"Am I bewitched, or