Stigand - Bishop of Elmham and Winchester

Bishop of Elmham and Winchester

Shortly after Edward the Confessor's coronation on 3 April 1043, Stigand was appointed to the see of Elmham, probably on Emma's advice. This was the first episcopal appointment of Edward's reign. The diocese of Elmham covered East Anglia, in eastern England, and was one of the poorer episcopal sees at that time. He was consecrated bishop in 1043, but later in the year Edward deposed Stigand and deprived him of his wealth. During the next year, however, Edward returned Stigand to office. The reasons for the deposition are unknown, but it was probably connected to the simultaneous fall from power of the dowager queen, Emma. Some sources state that Emma had invited King Magnus I of Norway, a rival claimant to the English throne, to invade England and had offered her personal wealth to aid Magnus. Some suspected that Stigand had urged Emma to support Magnus, and claimed that his deposition was because of this. Contributing factors in Emma and Stigand's fall included Emma's wealth, and dislike of her political influence, which was linked to the reign of the unpopular Harthacnut.

By 1046, Stigand began to witness charters of Edward the Confessor, showing that he was once more in royal favour. In 1047 Stigand was translated to the see of Winchester, but he retained Elmham until 1052. He may have owed the promotion to Earl Godwin of Wessex, the father-in-law of King Edward; although some historians dispute this. Emma, who had retired to Winchester after regaining Edward's favour, may also have influenced the appointment, either alone or in concert with Godwin. After his appointment to Winchester, Stigand was a witness to all of the surviving charters of King Edward from the period 1047 to 1052.

Some historians, such as Frank Barlow and Emma Mason, state that he supported Earl Godwin in his quarrel with Edward the Confessor in 1051–1052; others, including Ian Walker, hold that he was neutral. Stigand, whether or not he was a supporter of Godwin's, did not go into exile with the earl. The quarrel started over a fight between Eustace of Boulogne, brother-in-law of the king, and men of the town of Dover. The king ordered Godwin to punish the town, and the earl refused. Continued pressure from Edward undermined Godwin's position, and the earl and his family fled England in 1051. The earl returned in 1052 with a substantial armed force, but eventually reached a peaceful accord with the king. Some medieval sources state that Stigand took part in the negotiations that reached a peace between the king and his earl, and the Canterbury manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle calls Stigand the king's chaplain and advisor during the negotiations.