Ælfheah the Bald

Life

Ælfheah began his career as a monk and was made Bishop of Winchester in 934 or 935 . He was a relative of Dunstan, and took the young man into his service, and later ordained him priest. Ælfheah was an early mover towards the monastic reforms of the next generation and was tutor of Aethelwold. He died on 12 March 951 and was buried in Old Minster in Winchester. He was subsequently revered as a saint. Following the Norman conquest, Archbishop Lanfranc downgraded a number of Anglo-Saxon saints, including Ælfheah, to bring the liturgical calendar more in line with that of Bec. However, under Anselm's influence, he was subsequently reinstated.