CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 15
THE third of these, Ceolfrith, was a man of acute mind, conscientious in everything he did, energetic, of mature judgement, fervent and zealous for his faith. It was Ceolfrith, as we mentioned above, who, at Benedict’s behest and with his aid, first founded St Paul’s monastery, saw its completion and ruled it for seven years. Then, for twenty-eight years after this both monasteries were under his wise rule; or, to be more accurate, he was abbot of one monastery in two different places, that of the blessed apostles Peter and paul. He promptly saw to the completion of all the notable works of piety embarked upon by his predecessor; and, in addition to the other necessities which it fell to him to provide during his long tenure of office, he built several chapels. He also enlarged the stock of church plate, altar vessels and every kind of vestment. He doubled the number of books in the libraries of both monasteries with an ardour equal to that which Benedict had shown in founding them. He added three copies of the new translation1 of the Bible to the one copy of the old translation which he had brought back from Rome. One of these he took with him as a present when he went back to Rome in his old age, and the other two he bequeathed to his monasteries. For eight hides of land by the River Fresca he exchanged with King Aldfrid, who was very learned in the scriptures, the magnificently worked copy of the Cosmographers which Benedict had bought in Rome. The land went to the monastery of the blessed apostle Paul. Benedict, when still alive, had drawn up this arrangement with King Aldfrid, but died before the matter could be settled. Later, during the reign of King Osred, Ceolfrith traded the land together with a fair balance in money, for twenty hides at a place known locally as the township of Sambuce, because this new plot was nearer the monastery. He sent monks to Rome during the reign of Sergius of blessed memory to obtain an indult granting privileges for the protection of the monastery similar to those granted by Pope Agatho to Benedict. When it was brought back and produced before the synod, the assembled bishops and the noble King Aldfrid confirmed it with their signatures in the same way, as is well known, the former privilege was publicly confirmed in synod by the king and bishops of the time. It was also in Ceolfrith’s time as abbot that Witmer, an aged and devout servant of Christ, a man well-versed in every branch of secular learning as well as in the scriptures, consecrated himself to religion in the monastery ôf the blessed apostle Peter, and made over to the monastery in perpetuity the ten hides of land Aldfrid had given him in the township of Dalton.2