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.
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 |
Career
editPresumably, 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
editCitations
edit- ^ a b c Beazley "Romanus" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ Mayr-Harting Coming of Christianity pp. 61–62
- ^ a b c d e Blair World of Bede pp. 96–97
- ^ a b Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 221
- ^ Bede History of the English Church and People p. 112
- ^ Bede History of the English Church and People p. 139
- ^ Swanton (trans.) Anglo-Saxon Chronicle p. 24
- ^ Swanton "Introduction" Anglo-Saxon Chronicle pp. xviii, xxi, and xxvi
References
edit- Beazley, C. R. (2004). "Romanus (d. in or before 627)". In Costambeys, Marios (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 or UK public library membership required)
- Bede (1988). A History of the English Church and People. Translated by Leo Sherley-Price. 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
edit