Some of you may have noticed that during the last week, St Hardulph has been in the news due to exciting discoveries just down the road at Anchor Church on the banks of the River Trent. Why is this? What did Hardulph do? And what is his connection to Breedon Priory? We thought we’d take this opportunity to give you a little bit more detail!
Who was St Hardulph?
To begin with, was he even one man? Various records give us three different names: contemporary 8th to 9th documents refer to King Eardwulf of Northumbria, a 12th century monk refers to an Ardulfus Rex buried at the Anglo-Saxon minster at Breedon and an early 16th-century tale (of which more below) refers to a hermit called St Hardulche who lived by the Trent. Given the uncommon name, it is accepted that they are the same person, but ultimately we don’t know. Anglo-Saxon studies are a bit like a dot to dot; you connect the dots up and sometimes it’s a cat and at other times it’s a dog, but so long as no-one proves it’s in fact a cow you’re fine!
(Image: Key locations for King Eardwulf’s reign, source: Mike Christie, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eardwulf_locations.gif)
Who was King Eardwulf?
King Eardwulf ruled Northumbria between 796-806 and 808-811/c.830. This is a period before England was formed and before the Vikings, when most reigns were…eventful. Eardwulf was no exception! In 790, he miraculously came back from the dead following an execution attempt by King Aethelred I of Northumbria outside Ripon Minster. Having been crowned shortly after Aethelred’s assasination in 796, he was quickly immersed in a struggle for the throne and, after several battles with fellow Northumbrians as well as Mercia (the kingdom to the south of which Breedon was part), he was deposed in 806. Unsurprisingly he was a little miffed at this, and went abroad to the courts of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne, and Pope Leo III, who returned him to Northumbria in 808. At this point, the historical records becomes even murkier, so we cannot be sure how long his second reign lasted. Some historians say his reign ended as early as 811, some that it was as late as 830. We can only speculate when he was replaced by his son, Eanred and if he resigned or if he was pushed.
(Photo credit: https://emc.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/full-record/20170043)
Hardulche the hermit
It’s at this point we should tell the tale of Hardulche the hermit, which comes to us courtesy of an early 16th-century book fragment. A man of learning, he was in the equivalent of a 9th-centry book club with St Modwen, who lived just downriver at Burton-on-Trent. One day, she didn’t receive the book she’d asked for and, somewhat upset by this, sent two maidens in a boat to retrieve it. There was a storm, and the boat with accompanying damsels in distress sank. St Modwen came to St Hardulche, demanding to know where her book and girls were and, upon hearing the maidens were missing, both saints prayed to be shown where they were. At this point, the waters of the River Trent parted like Moses’ Red Sea to reveal the boat and the girls, miraculously unharmed. And, most importantly of all, St Modwen got her book!
Hardulche’s hermitage has long been associated with Anchor Church between Ingleby and Foremark, but it has now been positively identified as being Saxon in origin. Work by Ed Simons, of Wessex Archaeology and the Royal Agricultural University, has found definite proof that the cave contains Saxon doorways and columns, so if St Hardulche did indeed live by the Trent it was probably in this cave.
Ardulfus Rex
So, how does a Northumbrian king end up living out his life in quiet retirement in the heart of Mercia on the Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire border? Being a rival kingdom, Mercia was all to happy to shelter Northumbria’s rivals as well as celebrate them; fellow Northumbrian Alkmund had been killed by Eardwulf in 800 and was commemorated as a saint and a martyr in nearby Derby. In addition, quiet retirement was almost certainly preferable to assasination; Eardwulf’s immediate predecessor, Osbald, had chosen the same fate and Bede lists at least 6 other kings who made the same lifestyle choices.
Whatever his reasons a 12th-century source suggests that after his death, he was buried at Breedon. Fragments of early to mid-9th-century sarcophogus can be seen in the south aisle of the church, and it is entirely possible that these were once part of his tomb. It’s remarkable to think that, 1300 years on from his demise, we are still uncovering more about his life!
(Photo credit: Martin Vaughan)
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