Botwulf of Thorney

Botwulf of Thorney
Botwulf of Thorney
Born	7th century
Died	680
Venerated in	Anglican Communion; Orthodox Church; Roman Catholic Church; Lutheran Church (particularly in Denmark & Sweden);
Feast	17 June (England); 25 June (Scotland); 1 December (translation of relics);
Patronage	Travellers and farming

Botwulf of Thorney /ˈbɒtʊlf/ (also called Botolph, Botulph or Botulf; died around 680) was an English abbot and saint. He is regarded as the patron saint of boundaries, and by extension, of trade and travel,^[3] as well as various aspects of farming. His feast day is celebrated either on 17 June (England) or 25 June (Scotland), and his translation falls on 1 December.^{[citation needed]}

Life and works[]

St Botolph's Church, Iken, Suffolk

Little is known about Botwulf's life, other than doubtful details in an account written four hundred years after his death by the 11th-century monk Folcard. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records for the year 653:¹ "The Middle Angles, under earldorman Peada, received the true faith. King Anna was killed and Botwulf began to build the church at Ikanho". Botwulf founded the monastery of Icanho in Suffolk. Icanho, which means 'ox hill', has been identified as Iken, located by the estuary of the River Alde in Suffolk; a church still remains on top of an isolated hill in the parish.² The Life of St Ceolfrith, written around the time of Bede by an unknown author, mentions an abbot named Botolphus in East Anglia, "a man of remarkable life and learning, full of the grace of the Holy Spirit".³

Botwulf is supposed to have been buried originally at his foundation of Icanho, but in 970 Edgar I of England gave permission for Botwulf's remains to be transferred to Burgh, near Woodbridge, where they remained for some fifty years before being transferred to their own tomb at Bury St Edmunds Abbey on the instructions of Cnut. The saint's relics were later transferred again, along with those of his brother , to Thorney Abbey, although his head was transferred to Ely Abbey and various body parts to other houses, including Westminster Abbey.

Church dedications[]

St Botolph's Church, the earliest church in Boston, Lincolnshire

Many English churches are dedicated to Botwulf. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Saints, 64 ancient English churches were dedicated to him, but later research has suggested the true number may have been as high as 71, with a high concentration of dedications in East Anglia. St Botolph's Church in Boston, Lincolnshire, known locally as "The Stump", is one of the most famous. Boston, or 'Botolph's town' also gave Boston, Massachusetts its name. St Botolph's Priory in Colchester, Essex, the first Augustinian monastery in England,^[4] was built on an earlier Saxon church dedicated to Botolph.^[5] St Botolph's Church in Hardham, West Sussex, houses some of the most ancient surviving wall paintings in Britain, including the earliest known depiction of St George in England.

In Botwulf's role as a patron saint of travellers, four City of London churches were dedicated to him, all of which were close to gates in the City walls: St Botolph Billingsgate, which was destroyed in the Great Fire and never rebuilt; St Botolph's, Aldersgate, St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate, where the poet John Keats was baptised, and St Botolph's Aldgate. It is believed that these dedications were made because the churches provided places for incoming travellers to give thanks for their safe arrival and for outgoing travellers to pray for a safe journey. An alternative possibility is that the churches were dedicated to the saint because his relics came through the four gates when Edgar moved them from Iken to Westminster Abbey.

Beyond the North Sea, Budolfi Church (Sankt Budolfi kirke) in Aalborg, Denmark, originally a smallish building, grew to be the major church of the town by the late Middle Ages and is now the cathedral church of the diocese of Aalborg.

Secular connections[]

Botwulf is remembered in the names of both the market town of Boston, Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom and Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Boston was originally Botolphston (from "Botolph's stone" or "Botolph's town").

In Boston, Massachusetts, Botwulf gives his name to the St Botolph Club, a private club,^[6] a street in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, and the President's House at Boston College. There is also a St Botolph Street in London.

The University of Cambridge's poetry journal in the 1950s, to which Ted Hughes contributed, was called St Botolph's Review. It was named for St Botolph's Church, Cambridge as one of its founders, Lucas Myers, lived at the rectory of St Botolph's Church in Cambridge. A second edition of the journal was published in 2006. "St Botolph's College" has been used as a hypothetical college in Cambridge University communications and Tripos examinations.^{[citation needed]}

The parish of Buttsbury in Essex was initially called Botolfvespirie,^[7] meaning Botolph's or Botwulf's Pear Tree. It is sometimes surmised that the name refers to a tree under which St Botolph preached.

Footnotes[]

Note 1: But see Penda footnote 1.
Note 2: See Life of St Botolph external link.
Note 3: For a summary of the politics of East Anglia in the transition between Paganism and Christianity, see Care Evans, A., Chapters 13 and 14.

References[]

^ Fr Andrew Phillips. "Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome". Orthodoxengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-11-07. Retrieved 2010-01-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Churches in the Landscape, p217-221, Richard Morris, ISBN 0-460-04509-1
^ "Houses of Austin canons: Priory of St Botolph, Colchester | British History Online". British-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
^ Ashdown-Hill, John (2009), Mediaeval Colchester's Lost Landmarks. Published by The Breedon Books Publishing Company Limited. (ISBN 978-1-85983-686-6)
^ "Boston, MA – Home". St. Botolph Club. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
^ Eilert Ekwall. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names. 4th ed.

Sources[]

Attwater, D., The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, London (1965)
Care Evans, A., The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial, London (1986) ISBN 0-7141-0544-9
Ryan, George E., Botolph Of Boston, Christopher Publishing House (1971) ISBN 0-8158-0252-8
Savage, A., The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, Godalming (1995) ISBN 1-85833-478-0

External links[]

Botwulf 1 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
Botulph, from the Catholic Encyclopaedia website.
Botulph – East Anglian Saint, from the Diocese of Ely website.
Church of St Botolph, Cambridge
Society of St Botolph

[1] Fr Andrew Phillips. "Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome". Orthodoxengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-03-20.

[2] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-11-07. Retrieved 2010-01-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[3] Churches in the Landscape, p217-221, Richard Morris, ISBN 0-460-04509-1

[4] "Houses of Austin canons: Priory of St Botolph, Colchester | British History Online". British-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 2017-03-20.

[5] Ashdown-Hill, John (2009), Mediaeval Colchester's Lost Landmarks. Published by The Breedon Books Publishing Company Limited. (ISBN 978-1-85983-686-6)

[6] "Boston, MA – Home". St. Botolph Club. Retrieved 2017-03-20.

[7] Eilert Ekwall. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names. 4th ed.

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show v t Saints of Anglo-Saxon England
British / Welsh	Aldatus of Oxford Arilda of Oldbury Barloc of Norbury Brannoc of Braunton Branwalator of Milton Credan of Bodmin Congar of Congresbury Dachuna of Bodmin Decuman of Watchet Elfin of Warrington Ivo of Ramsey Judoc of Winchester Juthwara of Sherbourne Melorius of Amesbury Nectan of Hartland Neot of Cornwall Patrick of Glastonbury Rumon of Tavistock Samson of Dol Sativola of Exeter Urith of Chittlehampton
East Anglian	Æthelberht of East Anglia Æthelburh of Faremoutiers Æthelthryth of Ely Æthelwine of Lindsey Athwulf of Thorney Botwulf of Thorney Cissa of Crowland Eadmund of East Anglia Eadnoth of Ramsey Guthlac of Crowland Herefrith of Thorney Huna of Thorney Pega of Peakirk Seaxburh of Ely Walstan of Bawburgh Wendreda Wihtburh of Ely
East Saxon	Æthelburh of Barking Hildelith of Barking Osgyth Sæbbi of London
Frisian, Frankish and Old Saxon	Bertha of Kent Felix of Dommoc Helier of Jersey Grimbald of St Bertin Wulfram of Grantham
Irish and Scottish	Aidan of Lindisfarne Boisil of Melrose Echa of Crayke Indract of Glastonbury Maildub of Malmesbury
Kentish	Æbbe of Thanet (Domne Eafe) Æthelberht of Kent Æthelburh of Kent Æthelred of Kent Albinus of Canterbury Berhtwald of Canterbury Deusdedit of Canterbury Edburga of Minster-in-Thanet Eanswith of Folkestone Mildrith of Thanet Nothhelm of Canterbury
Mercian	Ælfnoth of Stowe Ælfthryth of Crowland Æthelmod of Leominster Æthelred of Mercia Aldwyn of Coln Beorhthelm of Stafford Coenwulf of Mercia Cynehelm of Winchcombe Cyneswith of Peterborough Eadburh of Bicester Eadburh of Pershore Eadgyth of Aylesbury Ealdgyth of Stortford Earconwald of London Egwin of Evesham Frithuric of Breedon Frithuswith of Oxford Frithuwold of Chertsey Mildburh of Wenlock Mildgyth Mildrith of Thanet Milred of Worcester Oda of Canterbury Oswald of Worcester Osburh of Coventry Rumwold of Buckingham Werburgh of Chester Wærstan Wigstan of Repton
Northumbrian	Acca of Hexham Æbbe "the Elder" of Coldingham Æbbe "the Younger" of Coldingham Ælfflæd of Whitby Ælfwald of Northumbria Æthelwold of Farne Æthelwold of Lindisfarne Alchmund of Hexham Alkmund of Derby Balthere of Tyningham Beda of Jarrow Bega of Copeland Benedict Biscop Bercthun of Beverley Billfrith of Lindisfarne Bosa of York Botwine of Ripon Ceadda of Lichfield Cedd of Lichfield Ceolfrith of Monkwearmouth Ceolwulf of Northumbria Cuthbert of Durham Dryhthelm of Melrose Eadberht of Lindisfarne Eadfrith of Leominster Eadfrith of Lindisfarne Eadwine of Northumbria Ealdberht of Ripon Eardwulf of Northumbria Eata of Hexham Ecgberht of Ripon Eosterwine of Monkwearmouth Hilda of Whitby Hyglac Iwig of Wilton John of Beverley Osana of Howden Osthryth of Bardney Oswald of Northumbria Oswine of Northumbria Sicgred of Ripon Sigfrith of Monkwearmouth Tatberht of Ripon Wihtberht of Ripon Wilfrith of Hexham Wilfrith II Wilgils of Ripon
Roman	Augustine of Canterbury Birinus of Dorchester Blaise Florentius of Peterborough Hadrian of Canterbury Honorius of Canterbury Justus of Canterbury Laurence of Canterbury Mellitus of Canterbury Paulinus of York Theodore of Canterbury
South Saxon	Cuthflæd of Lyminster Cuthmann of Steyning Lewina of Bishopstone
West Saxon	Æbbe of Abingdon Ælfgar of Selwood Ælfgifu of Exeter Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury Ælfheah of Canterbury Ælfheah of Winchester Æthelgar of Canterbury Æthelnoth of Canterbury Æthelwine of Athelney Æthelwold of Winchester Aldhelm of Sherborne Beornstan of Winchester Beornwald of Bampton Centwine of Wessex Cuthburh of Wimborn Cwenburh of Wimborne Dunstan of Canterbury Eadburh of Winchester Eadgar of England Eadgyth of Polesworth Eadgyth of Wilton Eadweard the Confessor Eadweard the Martyr Eadwold of Cerne Edor of Chertsey Evorhilda Frithestan of Winchester Hædde of Winchester Mærwynn of Romsey Margaret of Dunfermline Swithhun of Winchester Wulfsige of Sherborne Wulfthryth of Wilton
Unclear origin	Rumbold of Mechelen

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