Romanus (bishop of Rochester)
| Saint Romanus | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Rochester | |
| Term ended | before 627 |
| Predecessor | Justus |
| Successor | Paulinus of York |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | c. 624 by Justus |
| Personal details | |
| Died | before 627 |
Romanus (died before 627) was the second bishop of Rochester and presumably was a member of the Gregorian mission sent to Kent to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their native Anglo-Saxon paganism. Romanus was consecrated bishop around 624 and died before 627 by drowning. Little is known of his life beyond these facts.
Career
Presumably, Romanus came to England with Augustine of Canterbury's mission to Kent.[1] He would have arrived either in 597 with the first group of missionaries or in 601 with the second group.[2] He was consecrated as bishop by his predecessor Justus in 624,[1] after Justus became Archbishop of Canterbury.[3] He was the second bishop at Rochester.[4]
Romanus died before 627,[3] probably about 625.[4] He drowned in the Mediterranean Sea off Italy while on a mission to Rome for Justus.[3] Presumably this happened before Justus' death in 627.[1] He was certainly dead by 633, when Paulinus of York became bishop at Rochester after fleeing Northumbria.[3]
Nothing else is known of Romanus' life beyond these facts.[3] The medieval writer Bede is the primary source of information, as Romanus is mentioned twice in the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum; the first time in connection with his consecration, where Bede says that Justus "consecrated Romanus as Bishop of Rochester in his place".[5] The second mention concerns Romanus' death after Paulinus had left Northumbria. Bede says that "[a]t this time, the church of Rochester was in great need of a pastor, since Romanus its bishop who had been sent by Archbishop Justus to Pope Honorius I as his representative, had been drowned at sea off Italy."[6] Romanus is further mentioned in both the Winchester Manuscript (Version A) and the Peterborough Manuscript (Version E) of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,[7] but the reference is not likely to be contemporary and probably draws on Bede for its information.[8]
See also
References
- Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Back to citation occurrence 1.2 Beazley "Romanus" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- Back to citation Mayr-Harting Coming of Christianity pp. 61–62
- Back to citation occurrence 3.0 Back to citation occurrence 3.1 Back to citation occurrence 3.2 Back to citation occurrence 3.3 Back to citation occurrence 3.4 Blair World of Bede pp. 96–97
- Back to citation occurrence 4.0 Back to citation occurrence 4.1 Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 221
- Back to citation Bede History of the English Church and People p. 112
- Back to citation Bede History of the English Church and People p. 139
- Back to citation Swanton (trans.) Anglo-Saxon Chronicle p. 24
- Back to citation Swanton "Introduction" Anglo-Saxon Chronicle pp. xviii, xxi, and xxvi
Bibliography
- Beazley, C. R. (2004). "Romanus (d. in or before 627)". In Marios, Costambeys (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. revised by Marios Costambeys (October 2005 Revised ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/24040. Retrieved 12 March 2009. (subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required)
- Bede (1988). A History of the English Church and People. Translated by Shirley-Price, Leo. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044042-9.
- Blair, Peter Hunter (1990). The World of Bede (Reprint of 1970 ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-39819-3.
- Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
- Mayr-Harting, Henry (1991). The Coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 0-271-00769-9.
- Swanton, Michael James, ed. (1998). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-92129-5.
- Swanton, Michael James (1998). "Introduction". In Swanton, Michael James (ed.). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. New York: Routledge. pp. i–xxxv. ISBN 0-415-92129-5.
External links
- Romanus 1 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England