Hereford.
("Doomsday Book.")
On the borders of Wales is Herefordshire, and almost in the centre of
the county is its ancient capital, Hereford. A Roman station is supposed
to have been in the neighbourhood, under the name of Ariconium, which is
considered to be identical with the present Kenchester. The present name
of Hereford is derived from the pure Saxon. Like Oxford, it had no
bridges at first. As the river had to be crossed, the shallowest part
was chosen.
This consideration probably determined the site of Hereford to be upon
the left bank of the river Wye, and the pass over it was called by the
Saxons, Here-ford, or "Military ford." We glean little information of
this place till the seventh century. An episcopal see is stated to have
existed in this place before the invasion of Britain by the Saxons. From
this uncertainty we arrive at something more definite, which took place
in 655. Oswy, then King of Mercia, in that year made Hereford part of
the diocese of Lichfield, which already wielded jurisdiction over the
whole of the kingdom of Mercia.
A few years later it was decided by a synod held here under the
presidency of Theodore, then Archbishop of Canterbury, in 673, to make a
division of the diocese of Lichfield. Very naturally Wilford, then
bishop of that see, refused to recognise the decree, and for this piece
of contumacy was subsequently deprived of part of his diocese. His
successor, Sexulph, however, was more amenable, and with his consent
Hereford was detached from Lichfield and restored to its original
independence as a separate diocese. Putta was straightway translated
from Rochester See to become the first bishop of Hereford in 680. This
instance is one of many such in the history of the Church. The shuffling
of dioceses, the enlargement of one at the expense of another, whether
from motives of malice or a sense of right distribution, occurs usually
in the early years of Christianity in England, and also at the general
winding up of the monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII.
Hereford was by no means the only see that suffered these changes. It
was simply a unit in the great policy of welding together the churches
of the several kingdoms into one whole, which had never been carried
into effect till Theodore of Tarsus came to England. He was a Greek monk
little known till the Pope elected to fill the vacant archbishopric of
Canterbury. Only three bishops were left in the whole of England; of
these two were rivals for the See of York, and the third had bought the
See of London. The first thing that Theodore did after his arrival was
to travel throughout the country. By consecrating new bishops and
creating a thorough organisation, he acquired a complete understanding
with the Church. He also instituted a system of synods, which he
intended should meet annually to discuss the general welfare of the
Church. This, however, seems to have fallen into disuse.
In all, Theodore managed to divide England into a matter of fifteen
dioceses, through the subdivision of the old dioceses. Truly a great
achievement when we remember that the conversion of the English kingdoms
mostly depended upon the good-will of their respective kings. Thus it
came about that one king in each kingdom had one bishop, generally his
chaplain at first, who took his title, not from a see, but from the
people. He was either bishop of Mercia, or Northumbria, or some other
large kingdom. As we have seen in the collision with Wilford,
Theodore's policy did not suit every prelate's views. His influence,
however, effected the installation of three bishops in Northumbria, four
in Mercia, two in East Anglia, and two in Wessex. Kent already had two
since 604.
Thus the result was the complete conversion of England, effected by
Theodore from about 673 to 688 A.D.
Prior to the eighth century Hereford is known to have been the capital
of the kingdom of Mercia, as it is now of Herefordshire, which is much
reduced in size. From the years 765 to 791 Mercia was governed by King
Offa. Apart from his connection with the Cathedral of Hereford, his
reign must possess some interest to the collectors of coins. For though
the die-sinker's art was practised in England as far back as the Roman
occupation, and an indigenous coinage came into existence in the seventh
century, it is not till this monarch's reign that genuine English
coinage was properly in currency. It appears that Offa had to pay an
annual tribute of 365 mancuses in coin to the Pope. As a mancus was
equal to 30 pennies, the sum was a considerable one.
In the year 782 an event occurred which laid the foundation of the
Cathedral. From Marden, the original place of sepulture, the body of
Ethelbert, King of the East Angles (who, by the way, is not to be
confounded with Ethelbert of Kent, who welcomed St. Augustine), was
removed to Hereford. He had been treacherously slain by his intended
mother-in-law, the Queen of Mercia. In expiation of the murder King
Offa, with munificent donations, enabled a nobleman called Milfride, a
viceroy under Egbert, to found the Cathedral about 825. The building was
dedicated to St. Mary and St. Ethelbert. It fell into decay in less than
two centuries and necessitated a rebuilding during the prelacy of Bishop
Athelstan, between 1012 and 1015. It was burnt by the Welsh in 1055, and
remained in ruins till 1079, when the first Norman bishop, Robert of
Lorraine, was appointed to the See.
He commenced a new edifice on the lines of Aken, now Aix-la-Chapelle. It
was carried on, with the exception of the tower left to be erected by
Bishop Giles de Braos in the following century, by Bishop Raynelm, in
1107, and eventually completed in 1148 by Bishop R. de Betum.
[Illustration: HEREFORD