Wulfhelm

Wulfhelm (died 12 February 941) was Bishop of Wells before being promoted to the Archbishopric of Canterbury about 926. Nothing is known about his time at Wells, but as archbishop he helped codify royal law codes and gave lands to monasteries. He went to Rome soon after his selection as archbishop. Two religious books that he gave to his cathedral are still extant.

Biography

Wulfhelm was elected and consecrated Bishop of Wells between 923 and September 925. Nothing else is known about his time at Wells.

Wulfhelm was translated from the Bishopric of Wells to be Archbishop of Canterbury in about 926. While he was archbishop, he was a frequent attendee of the royal court, and King Æthelstan of England says in his law code that Wulfhelm was consulted on the drafting of the laws. Wulfhelm also advised the king on the Ordinance on Charities issued by Æthelstan. One of the surviving manuscripts of Æthelstan's laws has an epilogue that stated that the law was declared and decided at a synod held at Grately where Wulfhelm was present. From other parts of the laws issued by the king, it appears that Wulfhelm also presided at a council held at Thunderfield, at which the reeves of London pledged to keep the king's peace. The implication of the various accounts of the laws of Æthelstan is that Wulfhelm was highly involved in royal efforts to improve the law code.

Wulfhelm also went to Rome to receive his pallium in person from Pope John X.

Wulfhelm died while archbishop on 12 February 941. He was buried at first the church of St John the Baptist near the Saxon-era Canterbury Cathedral. When a new cathedral was constructed under Archbishop Lanfranc after the Norman Conquest of England, the earlier archbishops of Canterbury were moved to the north transept of the new cathedral. Later, Wulfhelm and his predecessor as bishop and archbishop Athelm were moved to a chapel dedicated to St Benedict, which later was incorporated into the Lady Chapel constructed by Prior Thomas Goldstone (d. 1468).