Stigand

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StigandTemplate:Efn (died 1072) was an Anglo-Saxon churchman in pre-Norman Conquest England who became Archbishop of Canterbury. His birth date is unknown, but by 1020 he was serving as a royal chaplain and advisor. He was named Bishop of Elmham in 1043, and was later Bishop of Winchester and Archbishop of Canterbury. Stigand was an advisor to several members of the Anglo-Saxon and Norman English royal dynasties, serving six successive kings. Excommunicated by several popes for his pluralism in holding the two sees, or bishoprics, of Winchester and Canterbury concurrently, he was finally deposed in 1070, and his estates and personal wealth were confiscated by William the Conqueror. Stigand was imprisoned at Winchester, where he died.

Stigand served King Cnut as a chaplain at a royal foundation at Ashingdon in 1020, and as an advisor then and later. He continued in his role of advisor during the reigns of Cnut's sons, Harold Harefoot and Harthacnut. When Cnut's stepson Edward the Confessor succeeded Harthacnut, Stigand in all probability became England's main administrator. Monastic writers of the time accused Stigand of extorting money and lands from the church, and by 1066 the only estates richer than Stigand's were the royal estates and those of Harold Godwinson.

In 1043 Edward appointed Stigand to the see of Elmham. Four years later he was appointed to the see of Winchester, and then in 1052 to the archdiocese of Canterbury, which Stigand held jointly with Winchester. It was later claimed that five successive popes, including Nicholas II and Alexander II, excommunicated Stigand for holding both Winchester and Canterbury, but there is no evidence for this.<ref>Cowdrey Lanfranc: Scholar, Monk, and Archbishop p. 82</ref> Stigand was present at the deathbed of King Edward and at the coronation of Harold Godwinson as king of England in 1066. After Harold's death, Stigand submitted to William the Conqueror. On Christmas Day 1066 Ealdred, the Archbishop of York, crowned William King of England. Stigand's excommunication meant that he could only assist at the coronation.

Despite growing pressure for his deposition, Stigand continued to attend the royal court and to consecrate bishops, until in 1070 he was deposed by papal legates and imprisoned at Winchester. His intransigence towards the papacy was used as propaganda by Norman advocates of the view that the English church was backward and needed reform.

Early lifeEdit

Neither the year nor the date of Stigand's birth is known.<ref name=DNB/>Template:Efn He was born in East Anglia, possibly in Norwich,<ref name=Barlow59>Barlow Edward the Confessor p. 59</ref> to an apparently prosperous family<ref name=Douglas324/> of mixed English and Scandinavian ancestry,<ref name=Hill61/> as is shown by the fact that Stigand's name was Norse but his brother's was English.Template:Efn His brother Æthelmær, also a cleric, later succeeded Stigand as bishop of Elmham.<ref name=Douglas324/> His sister held land in Norwich,<ref name=Conquest46>Williams English and the Norman Conquest p. 46</ref> but her given name is unrecorded.<ref name=Smith200/>

Stigand first appears in the historical record in 1020 as a royal chaplain to King Cnut of England (reigned 1016–1035). In that year he was appointed to Cnut's church at Ashingdon, or Assandun,<ref name=Hill61>Hill Road to Hastings p. 61</ref><ref name=Handbook28>Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 28</ref><ref name=Lawson138>Lawson Cnut p. 138</ref> which was dedicated by the reforming bishop Wulfstan of York.<ref name=1000Church77>Barlow English Church 1000–1066 p. 77</ref>Template:Efn Little is known of Stigand's life during Cnut's reign, but he must have had a place at the royal court,<ref name=Smith200/> as he witnessed occasional charters.<ref name=DNB/> Following Cnut's death Stigand successively served Cnut's sons, Harold Harefoot (reigned 1035–1040) and Harthacnut (reigned 1040–1042).<ref name=Barlow59/><ref name=Handbook29>Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology pp. 28–29</ref> After Harthacnut died Stigand became an advisor to Emma of Normandy, Cnut's widow and the mother of Harthacnut and his successor Edward the Confessor.<ref name=Barlow59/><ref name=Handbook29/>Template:Efn He may have been Emma's chaplain,<ref name=Emma112>Stafford Queen Emma and Queen Edith pp. 112–113</ref> and it is possible that Stigand was already one of her advisors while Cnut was alive, and that he owed his position at Ashingdon to Emma's influence and favour. Because little is known of Stigand's activities before his appointment as a bishop, it is difficult to determine to whom he owed his position.<ref name=Smith200>Smith "Archbishop Stigand" Anglo-Norman Studies 16 p. 200</ref>

Bishop of Elmham and WinchesterEdit

Stigand was appointed to the see of Elmham shortly after Edward the Confessor's coronation on 3 April 1043,<ref name=Handbook29b>Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 29</ref> probably on Emma's advice.<ref name=Barlow76>Barlow Edward the Confessor p. 76</ref> This was the first episcopal appointment of Edward's reign.<ref name=Higham122>Higham Death of Anglo-Saxon England p. 122</ref> The diocese of Elmham covered East Anglia in eastern England,<ref name=Handbook217/> and was one of the poorer episcopal sees at that time.<ref name=Smith200/>Template:Efn He was consecrated bishop in 1043,<ref name=Handbook217>Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 217</ref> but later that year Edward deposed Stigand and deprived him of his wealth.Template:Efn During the next year, however, Edward returned Stigand to office.<ref name=Barlow77>Barlow Edward the Confessor p. 77</ref> The reasons for the deposition are unknown, but it was probably connected to the simultaneous fall from power of the dowager queen, Emma.<ref name=Emma248>Stafford Queen Emma and Queen Edith pp. 248–250</ref> Some sources state that Emma had invited King Magnus I of Norway, a rival claimant to the English throne, to invade England and had offered her personal wealth to aid Magnus.<ref name=ASE426>Stenton Anglo-Saxon England p. 426</ref>Template:Efn Some suspected that Stigand had urged Emma to support Magnus, and claimed that his deposition was because of this.<ref name=Mason44>Mason House of Godwine p. 44</ref> Contributing factors in Emma and Stigand's fall included Emma's wealth, and dislike of her political influence, which was linked to the reign of the unpopular Harthacnut.<ref name=Stafford87>Stafford Unification and Conquest p. 87</ref>

File:British.Library.MS.Add.33241.jpg

Emma of Normandy, seated with sons Harthacnut and Edward the Confessor, in this manuscript copy of the Encomium Emmae Reginae from about 1042

By 1046 Stigand had begun to witness charters of Edward the Confessor, showing that he was once again in royal favour.<ref name=Smith201>Smith "Archbishop Stigand" Anglo-Norman Studies 16 p. 201</ref> In 1047 Stigand was translated to the see of Winchester,<ref name=Handbook217/><ref name=Handbook223>Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 223</ref> but he retained Elmham until 1052.<ref name=Barlow87>Barlow Edward the Confessor p. 87</ref> He may have owed the preferment to Earl Godwin of Wessex, the father-in-law of King Edward,<ref name=Loyn58>Loyn English Church pp. 58–62</ref> although that is disputed by some historians.<ref name=1000Church108>Barlow English Church 1000–1066 p. 108</ref> Emma, who had retired to Winchester after regaining Edward's favour, may also have influenced the appointment, either alone or in concert with Godwin. After his appointment to Winchester, Stigand was a witness to all the surviving charters of King Edward during the period 1047 to 1052.<ref name=Smith201/>

Some historians, such as Frank Barlow and Emma Mason, state that Stigand supported Earl Godwin in his quarrel with Edward the Confessor in 1051–1052;<ref name=Barlow123>Barlow Edward the Confessor p. 123</ref><ref name=Mason65>Mason House of Godwine p. 65</ref> others, including Ian Walker, hold that he was neutral.<ref name=Walker49>Walker Harold p. 49</ref> Stigand, whether or not he was a supporter of Godwin's, did not go into exile with the earl.<ref name=DNB/><ref name=Brooks305a>Brooks Early History pp. 305–306</ref> The quarrel started over a fight between Eustace of Boulogne, brother-in-law of the king, and men of the town of Dover. The king ordered Godwin to punish the town, and the earl refused. Continued pressure from Edward undermined Godwin's position, and the earl and his family fled England in 1051.<ref name=Stafford90>Stafford Unification and Conquest pp. 90–91</ref> The earl returned in 1052 with a substantial armed force but eventually reached a peaceful accord with the king.<ref name=Barlow123/> Some medieval sources state that Stigand took part in the negotiations that reached a peace between the king and his earl;<ref name=Mason73>Mason House of Godwine p. 73</ref> the Canterbury manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle calls Stigand the king's chaplain and advisor during the negotiations.<ref name=Rex61>Rex Harold II p. 61</ref>

Archbishop of CanterburyEdit

Appointment to Canterbury and issues with the papacyEdit

The Archbishopric of Canterbury became drawn into the conflict between Edward and Godwin.<ref name=Smith202>Smith "Archbishop Stigand" Anglo-Norman Studies 16 pp. 201–203</ref> Pope Leo IX was beginning a reform movement later known as the Gregorian Reform. Leo first focused on improving the clergy and prohibiting simony – the buying and selling of clerical and ecclesiastical offices. In 1049 Leo IX publicly pronounced that he would take more interest in English church matters and would investigate episcopal candidates more strictly before confirming them.<ref name=Stafford89/> When Archbishop Edsige of Canterbury died in 1051 the monks of the cathedral chapter elected Æthelric, a relative of Earl Godwin's, as archbishop.<ref name=Huscroft6>Huscroft Ruling England p. 6</ref> King Edward opposed the election and instead appointed Robert of Jumièges, who was Norman and already Bishop of London. Besides furthering Edward's quarrel with Godwin, the appointment signalled that there were limits to Edward's willingness to compromise on ecclesiastical reform.<ref name=Stafford89/>

Although not known as a reformer before his appointment, Robert returned in 1051 from Rome, where he had gone to be confirmed by the papacy, and opposed the king's choice for Bishop of London on the grounds that the candidate was not suitable. Robert's attempts to recover church property that had been appropriated by Earl Godwin contributed to the quarrel between the earl and the king. When Godwin returned to England in 1052 Robert was outlawed and exiled,<ref name=Stafford89>Stafford Unification and Conquest pp. 89–92</ref> following which King Edward appointed Stigand to the archbishopric.<ref name=Handbook214>Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 214</ref> The appointment was either a reward from Godwin for Stigand's support during the conflict with Edward or a reward from King Edward for successfully negotiating a peaceful conclusion to the crisis in 1052.<ref name=Walker49/> Stigand was the first non-monk to be appointed to either English archbishopric since before the days of Dunstan (archbishop from 959 to 988).<ref name=Handbook214/><ref name=Monastic66>Knowles Monastic Order p. 66</ref><ref name=Brooks306>Brooks Early History p. 306</ref>

The papacy refused to recognise Stigand's elevation, as Robert was still alive and had not been deprived of office by a pope.<ref name=Smith202/> Robert of Jumièges appealed to Leo IX, who summoned Stigand to Rome. When Stigand did not appear, he was excommunicated.<ref name=ASE465>Stenton Anglo-Saxon England pp. 465–466</ref> Historian Nicholas Brooks holds the view that Stigand was not excommunicated at this time, but rather was ordered to refrain from any archiepiscopal functions, such as the consecration of bishops. He argues that in 1062 papal legates sat in council with Stigand, something they would not have done had he been excommunicated.<ref name=Brooks307>Brooks Early History p. 307</ref> The legates did nothing to alter Stigand's position either,<ref name=Rex184>Rex Harold II p. 184</ref> although one of the legates later helped depose Stigand in 1070.<ref name=1000Church306>Barlow English Church 1000–1066 p. 306</ref> However Pope Leo IX and his successors, Victor II and Stephen IX, continued to regard Stigand as uncanonically elected.<ref name=ASE465/><ref name=Intro108>Blair Introduction to Anglo-Saxon England p. 108</ref>

Stigand did not travel to Rome to receive a pallium,<ref name=DNB/> the band worn around the neck that is the symbol of an archbishop's authority,<ref name=Coredon>Coredon Dictionary p. 209</ref> from the pope. Travelling to Rome for the pallium had become a custom, practised by a number of his predecessors.<ref name=Brooks291>Brooks Early History pp. 291, 299, 304</ref> Instead, some medieval chroniclers state that he used Robert of Jumièges' pallium.<ref name=DNB/> It is not known if Stigand even petitioned the papacy for a pallium soon after his appointment.<ref name=Reform420>Darlington "Ecclesiastical Reform" English Historical Review p. 420</ref> Owing to the reform movement, Stigand probably knew the request would be unsuccessful.<ref name=Smith202/> In 1058 Antipope Benedict X, who opposed much of the reform movement, gave Stigand a pallium.<ref name=Brooks306/><ref name=BHOArchCant>Greenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 2: Monastic Cathedrals (Northern and Southern Provinces): Canterbury: Archbishops</ref> However, Benedict was deposed the following year;<ref name=Brooks306/><ref name=Huscroft62/> the reforming party declared Benedict an antipope, and nullified all his acts,<ref name=Brooks306/> including Stigand's pallium grant.<ref name=Huscroft48>Huscroft Ruling England p. 48</ref> The exact circumstances that led to Benedict granting a pallium are unknown, whether it was at Stigand's request or was given without prompting.<ref name=Reform420/>

After his translation to Canterbury, Stigand released Elmham to his brother Æthelmær but retained the bishopric of Winchester.<ref name=Handbook223/> Canterbury and Winchester were the two richest sees in England,<ref name=Higham137>Higham Death of Anglo-Saxon England p. 137</ref><ref name=1000Church79>Barlow English Church 1000–1066 p. 79</ref> and while precedent allowed the holding of a rich see along with a poor one, there was no precedent for holding two rich sees concurrently.<ref name=Brooks305>Brooks Early History p. 205</ref> He may have retained Winchester out of avarice, or his hold on Canterbury may not have been secure.<ref name=Stafford94>Stafford Unification and Conquest p. 94</ref> Besides these, he held the abbey of Gloucester and the abbey of Ely and perhaps other abbeys also.<ref name=Knowles72>Knowles Monastic Order p. 72</ref> Whatever his reasons, the retention of Winchester made Stigand a pluralist: the holder of more than one benefice at the same time.<ref name=Stafford94/> This was a practice that was targeted for elimination by the growing reform movement in the church.<ref name=Huscroft62/> Five successive popes (Leo IX, Victor II, Stephen IX, Nicholas II, and Alexander II)<ref name=BHOArchCant/> excommunicated Stigand for holding both Winchester and Canterbury at the same time.<ref name=Knowles72/> It has been suggested by the historian Emma Mason that Edward refused to remove Stigand because this would have undermined the royal prerogative to appoint bishops and archbishops without papal input.<ref name=Mason78/> Further hurting Stigand's position, Pope Nicholas II in 1061 declared pluralism to be uncanonical unless approved by the pope.<ref name=Huscroft62>Huscroft Ruling England p. 62</ref>

Stigand was later accused of simony by monastic chroniclers, but all such accusations date to after 1066, and are thus suspect owing to the post-Conquest desire to vilify the English Church as corrupt and backward.<ref name=Huscroft46>Huscroft Ruling England pp. 46–47</ref> The medieval chronicler William of Poitiers also claimed that in 1052 Stigand agreed that William of Normandy, the future William the Conqueror, should succeed King Edward. This claim was used as propaganda after the Conquest, but according to the historian David Bates, among others, it is unlikely to be true.<ref name=BatesWC77>Bates William the Conqueror pp. 77–78</ref><ref name=Rex141>Rex Harold II p. 141</ref> The position of Stigand as head of the church in England was used to good effect by the Normans in their propaganda before, during and after the Conquest.<ref name=Douglas170>Douglas William the Conqueror p. 170</ref>

Ecclesiastical affairsEdit

The diocese of York took advantage of Stigand's difficulties with the papacy and encroached on the suffragans, or bishops owing obedience to an archbishop, normally subject to Canterbury. York had long been held in common with Worcester, but during the period when Stigand was excommunicated, the see of York also claimed oversight over the sees of Lichfield and Dorchester.<ref name=Barlow27>Barlow Feudal Kingdom p. 27</ref> In 1062 papal legates of Alexander II came to England. They did not depose Stigand, and even consulted with him and treated him as archbishop.<ref name=Walker127>Walker Harold p. 127</ref> He was allowed to attend the council they held and was an active participant with the legates in the business of the council.<ref name=Walker148>Walker Harold pp. 148–149</ref>

Many of the bishops in England did not want to be consecrated by Stigand.<ref name=Chibnall39>Chibnall Anglo-Norman England p. 39</ref> Both Giso of Wells and Walter of Hereford travelled to Rome to be consecrated by the pope in 1061, rather than be consecrated by Stigand.<ref name=Huscroft51>Huscroft Ruling England p. 51</ref> During the brief period that he held a legitimate pallium, however, Stigand did consecrate Aethelric of Selsey and Siward of Rochester.<ref name=Walker136>Walker Harold pp. 136–138</ref> Abbots of monasteries came to Stigand for consecration throughout his time as archbishop. These included not only abbots from monastic houses inside his province, such as Æthelsige as abbot of St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury, but also Baldwin as Abbot of Bury St. Edmunds and Thurstan as Abbot of Ely.<ref name=Brooks307/> After the Norman Conquest, Stigand was accused of selling the office of abbot, but no abbot was deposed for buying the office, so the charge is suspect.<ref name=1000Church113>Barlow English Church 1000–1066 pp. 113–115</ref>

Stigand was probably the most lavish clerical donor of his period when great men gave to churches on an unprecedented scale.<ref name=ASA230>Dodwell Anglo-Saxon Art pp. 230–231</ref> He was a benefactor to the Abbey of Ely,<ref name=Conquest46/> and gave large gold or silver crucifixes to Ely, St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury, Bury St. Edmunds Abbey, and to his cathedral church at Winchester.<ref name=Piety576>Smith, et al. "Court and Piety" Catholic Historical Review p. 576</ref> The crucifixes given to Ely, Bury and Winchester all appear to have had about life-size figures of Christ with matching figures of the Virgin and John the Evangelist, as is recorded in the monastic histories, and were probably permanently mounted over the altar or elsewhere. These would have been made with thin sheets of precious metal over a wooden core.<ref name=ASA220>Dodwell Anglo-Saxon Art pp. 211–213, 220 n. 39</ref> No comparably early rood crosses with the side figures of Mary and John seem to survive, though we have large painted wooden crucifixes like the German Gero Cross of around 980, and the Volto Santo of Lucca (renewed with a later figure) which is known to have inspired Leofstan, Abbot of Bury (d. 1065) to create a similar figure, perhaps covered in precious metal, on his return from a visit to Rome.<ref name=ASA211>Dodwell Anglo-Saxon Art p. 211</ref>Template:Efn To Ely he gave gold and silver vessels for the altar, and a chasuble embroidered in gold "of such inestimable workmanship and worth, that none in the kingdom is considered richer or more valuable".<ref name=ASA181>Dodwell Anglo-Saxon Art pp. 181 and 205</ref> Although it does not appear that Stigand ever travelled to Rome, there are indications that Stigand did go on pilgrimage. A 12th-century life of Saint Willibrord, written at the Abbey of Echternach in what is now Luxembourg, records that "to this place also came Stigand, the eminent archbishop of the English". In the work, Stigand is recorded as giving rich gifts to the abbey as well as relics of saints.<ref name=Piety575>Smith, et al. "Court and Piety" Catholic Historical Review p. 575</ref>

Advisor to the kingEdit

During Edward's reign, Stigand was an influential advisor at court and used his position to increase his own wealth as well as that of his friends and family. Contemporary valuations of the lands he controlled at the death of King Edward, as listed in Domesday Book, come to an annual income of about 2500 pounds.<ref name=DNB/> There is little evidence, however, that he enriched either Canterbury or Winchester.<ref name=DNB/><ref name=Brooks307a>Brooks Early History pp. 307–309</ref> He also appointed his followers to sees within his diocese in 1058, having Siward named Bishop of Rochester and Æthelric installed as Bishop of Selsey.<ref name=Loyn58/> Between his holding of two sees and the appointment of his men to other sees in the southeast of England, Stigand was an important figure in defending the coastline against invasion.<ref name=Loyn64>Loyn English Church p. 64</ref>

Stigand may have been in charge of the royal administration.<ref name=Mason78>Mason House of Godwine pp. 78–79</ref> He may also have been behind the effort to locate Edward the Atheling and his brother Edmund after 1052, possibly to secure a more acceptable heir to King Edward.<ref name="Harold75">Walker Harold p. 75</ref> His landholdings were spread across ten counties, and in some of those counties, his lands were larger than the king's holdings.<ref name=Smith204>Smith "Archbishop Stigand" Anglo-Norman Studies 16 p. 204</ref> Although Norman propagandists claimed that as early as 1051 or 1052 King Edward promised the throne of England to Duke William of Normandy, who later became King William the Conqueror, there is little contemporary evidence of such a promise from non-Norman sources.<ref name=Stafford92>Stafford Unification and Conquest p. 92</ref> By 1053, Edward probably realised that he would not have a son from his marriage, and he and his advisors began to search for an heir.<ref name=Confessor214>Barlow Edward the Confessor pp. 214–215</ref> Edward the Atheling, the son of King Edmund Ironside (reigned 1016), had been exiled from England in 1017, after his father's death.<ref name="Harold75" />Template:Efn Although Ealdred, the Bishop of Worcester, went to the Continent in search of Edward the Exile, Ian Walker, the biographer of King Harold Godwinson, feels that Stigand was behind the effort.<ref name="Harold75"/> In the end, although Edward did return to England, he died soon after his return, leaving a young son Edgar the Ætheling.<ref name=Thomas18>Thomas Norman Conquest p. 18</ref>

Final years and legacyEdit

Norman ConquestEdit

File:KingHarold Coronation BayeuxTapestry.PNG

HIC RESIDET HAROLD REX ANGLORUM. STIGANT ARCHIEP(I)S(COPUS). "Here sits Harold King of the English. Archbishop Stigand". Scene immediately after the crowning of Harold by (according to the Norman tradition) Stigand. Detail from the Bayeux Tapestry.

File:William1.jpg

William the Conqueror, shown here from the Bayeux Tapestry, at first accepted Stigand's position, but later allowed papal legates to depose him.

King Edward, on his deathbed, left the crown to his brother-in-law Harold Godwinson, the son of Earl Godwin.<ref name=Thomas18/> Stigand performed the funeral services for Edward.<ref name=Rex197>Rex Harold II p. 197</ref> Norman writers claimed that Stigand crowned Harold as king in January 1066.<ref name=Chibnall21>Chibnall Anglo-Norman England p. 21</ref> This is generally considered false propaganda, as it was in William's interest to portray Harold as uncanonically crowned. If Harold was improperly crowned, then William was merely claiming his rightful inheritance, and not deposing a rightful king.<ref name=Higham175>Higham Death of Anglo-Saxon England pp. 175–180</ref> The Bayeux Tapestry depicts Stigand at Harold's coronation, although not actually placing the crown on Harold's head.<ref name=Rex151>Rex Harold II p. 151</ref>Template:Efn The English sources claim that Ealdred, the Archbishop of York, crowned Harold, while the Norman sources claim that Stigand did so, with the conflict between the various sources probably tracing to the post-Conquest desire to vilify Harold and depict his coronation as improper.<ref name=Walker136/> Current historical research has shown that the ceremony was performed by Ealdred, owing to the controversy about Stigand's position.<ref name=Huscroft48/><ref name=Chibnall39/><ref name=Walker136/> However, one historian, Pauline Stafford, theorises that both archbishops may have consecrated Harold.<ref name=Stafford83>Stafford Unification and Conquest p. 83</ref> Another historian, Frank Barlow, writing in 1979, felt that the fact that some of the English sources do not name who consecrated Harold "tip(s) the balance in favour of Stigand".<ref name=1000Chuch60>Barlow English Church 1000–1066 p. 60 footnote 4</ref>

Stigand did support Harold, and was present at Edward the Confessor's deathbed.<ref name=Barlow249>Barlow Edward the Confessor pp. 249–250</ref> Stigand's controversial position may have influenced Pope Alexander II's support of William the Conqueror's invasion of England.<ref name=ASE586>Stenton Anglo-Saxon England p. 586</ref><ref name=Loyn98>Loyn English Church p. 98</ref> The reformers, led by Archdeacon Hildebrand, later Pope Gregory VII, opposed the older type of bishop, rich and installed by the lay powers.<ref name=Rex208>Rex Harold II pp. 208–209</ref>

After the death of Harold at the Battle of Hastings, Stigand worked with Earl Edwin and Earl Morcar, as well as Archbishop Ealdred of York, to put Edgar the Ætheling on the throne.<ref name=Walker183>Walker Harold pp. 183–185</ref> This plan did not come to fruition, however, due to opposition from the northern earls and some of the other bishops.<ref name=Douglas204>Douglas William the Conqueror pp. 203–206</ref> Stigand submitted to William the Conqueror at Wallingford in early December 1066,<ref name=Huscroft18>Huscroft Ruling England pp. 18–19</ref><ref name=BatesWC94>Bates William the Conqueror p. 94</ref> and perhaps assisted at his coronation on Christmas Day, 1066,<ref name=DNB/> although the coronation was performed by Ealdred.<ref name=BatesWC96>Bates William the Conqueror p. 96</ref> William took Stigand with him to Normandy in 1067,<ref name=Knowles104>Knowles Monastic Order p. 104</ref> although whether this was because William did not trust the archbishop, as the medieval chronicler William of Poitiers alleges, is uncertain.<ref name=Conquest11>Williams English and the Norman Conquest p. 11</ref> Stigand was present at the coronation of William's queen, Matilda, in 1068, although once more the ceremony was actually performed by Ealdred.<ref name=BatesWC100>Bates William the Conqueror pp. 100–101</ref>

Deposition and deathEdit

After the first rebellions broke out in late 1067 William adopted a policy of conciliation towards the church. He gave Stigand a place at court, as well as giving administrative positions to Ealdred of York and Æthelwig, Abbot of Evesham.<ref name=Barlow57>Barlow English Church 1066–1154 p. 57</ref> Archbishop Stigand appears on several royal charters in 1069, along with both Norman and English leaders.<ref name=ASE623>Stenton Anglo-Saxon England pp. 623–624</ref> He even consecrated Remigius de Fécamp as Bishop of Dorchester in 1067.<ref name=DNB/> Once the danger of rebellion was past, however, William had no further need of Stigand.<ref name=FeuBarlow87>Barlow Feudal Kingdom p. 87</ref> At a council held at Winchester at Easter 1070,<ref name=Huscroft60>Huscroft Ruling England pp. 60–61</ref> the bishops met with papal legates from Alexander II.<ref name=Handbook590>Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 590</ref> On 11 April 1070 Stigand was deposed<ref name=Handbook214/> by the papal legate, Ermenfrid, Bishop of Sion in the Alps,<ref name=BHOArchCant/><ref name=Blumenthal148>Blumenthal Investiture Controversy pp. 148–149</ref> and was imprisoned at Winchester. His brother Æthelmær, Bishop of Elmham, was also deposed at the same council. Shortly afterward Aethelric the Bishop of Selsey, Ethelwin the Bishop of Durham and Leofwin Bishop of Lichfield, who was married, were deposed at a council held at Windsor.<ref name=Douglas324>Douglas William the Conqueror p. 324</ref><ref name=Barlow93>Barlow Feudal Kingdom p. 93</ref><ref name=ASE659/> There were three reasons given for Stigand's deposition: that he held the bishopric of Winchester in plurality with Canterbury; that he not only occupied Canterbury after Robert of Jumièges fled but also seized Robert's pallium which was left behind; and that he received his own pallium from Benedict X, an anti-pope.<ref name=DNB/><ref name=Lords33>Powell and Wallis House of Lords pp. 33–34</ref> Some accounts state that Stigand did appear at the council which deposed him, but nothing is recorded of any defence that he attempted. The charges against his brother are nowhere stated, leading to a belief that the depositions were mainly political.<ref name=ASE659/> That spring he had deposited his personal wealth at Ely Abbey for safekeeping,<ref name=Conquest46/> but King William confiscated it after his deposition, along with his estates.<ref name=Brooks309>Brooks Early History p. 309</ref> The king appointed Lanfranc, a native of Italy and a scholar and abbot in Normandy, as the new archbishop.<ref name=Thomas123>Thomas Norman Conquest p. 123</ref>

King William appears to have left the initiative for Stigand's deposition to the papacy and did nothing to hinder Stigand's authority until the papal legates arrived in England to depose the archbishop and reform the English Church. Besides witnessing charters and consecrating Remigius, Stigand appears to have been a member of the royal council, and able to move freely about the country. But after the arrival of the legates, William did nothing to protect Stigand from deposition, and the archbishop later accused the king of acting with bad faith.<ref name=ASE623/> Stigand may even have been surprised that the legates wished him deposed.<ref name=Loyn69>Loyn English Church p. 69</ref> It was probably the death of Ealdred in 1069 that moved the pope to send the legates, as that left only one archbishop in England; and he was not considered legitimate and unable to consecrate bishops.<ref name=ASE659>Stenton Anglo-Saxon England pp. 659–661</ref> The historian George Garnett draws the parallel between the treatment of King Harold in the Domesday Book, where he is essentially ignored as king, and Stigand's treatment after his deposition, where his time as archbishop is as much as possible treated as not occurring.<ref name=Garnett107>Garnett "Coronation and Propaganda" Transactions of the Royal Historical Society pp. 107–108</ref>

Stigand died in 1072<ref name=BHOArchCant/> while still imprisoned,<ref name=BatesWC168>Bates William the Conqueror pp. 168–169</ref> and his death was commemorated on 21 February or 22 February.<ref name=BHOArchCant/> Sometime between his deposition and his death the widow of King Edward and sister of King Harold, Edith of Wessex, visited him in his imprisonment and allegedly told him to take better care of himself.<ref name=Godwins161>Barlow Godwins p. 161</ref> He was buried in the Old Minster at Winchester.<ref name=DNB/>

At King Edward's death, only the royal estates and the estates of Harold were larger and wealthier than those held by Stigand.<ref name=Emma>Stafford Queen Emma and Queen Edith p. 123 footnote 136</ref> Medieval writers condemned him for his greed and for his pluralism.<ref name=DNB>Cowdrey "Stigand" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography</ref> Hugh the Chanter, a medieval chronicler, claimed that the confiscated wealth of Stigand helped keep King William on the throne.<ref name=Rex79>Rex Harold II p. 79</ref> A recent study of his wealth and how it was earned shows that while he did engage in some exploitative methods to gain some of his wealth, other lands were gained through inheritance or through royal favour.<ref name=Smith211>Smith "Archbishop Stigand" Anglo-Norman Studies 16 p. 211</ref> The same study shows little evidence that he despoiled his episcopal estates, although the record towards monastic houses is more suspect.<ref name=Smith213>Smith "Archbishop Stigand" Anglo-Norman Studies 16 p. 213</ref> There is no complaint in contemporary records about his private life and the accusations that he committed simony and was illiterate only date from the 12th century.<ref name=1000Church80>Barlow English Church 1000–1066 pp. 80–81</ref>

Although monastic chroniclers after the Norman Conquest accused him of crimes such as perjury and homicide, they do not provide any evidence of those crimes.<ref name=Smith217>Smith "Archbishop Stigand" Anglo-Norman Studies 16 p. 217</ref><ref name=Emma151>Stafford Queen Emma and Queen Edith p. 151</ref> Almost 100 years after his death, another Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, was taunted in 1164 by King Henry II's barons with Stigand's fate for daring to oppose his king.<ref name=Rumble180>Rumble "From Winchester to Canterbury" Leaders of the Anglo-Saxon Church p. 180</ref> Modern historians views tend to see him as either a wily politician and indifferent bishop or to see him purely in terms of his ecclesiastical failings. The historian Frank Stenton felt that his "whole career shows that he was essentially a politician".<ref name=ASEQ466>Stenton Anglo-Saxon England p. 466</ref> Concurring with this, the historian Nick Higham said that "Stigand was a seasoned politician whose career had been built on an accurate reading of the balance of power."<ref name=Higham219>Higham Death of Anglo-Saxon England pp. 219–220</ref> Another historian, Eric John, said that "Stigand had a fair claim to be the worst bishop of Christendom".<ref name=John174>John Reassessing Anglo-Saxon England p. 174</ref> However, the historian Frank Barlow felt that "he was a man of cultured tastes, a patron of the arts who was generous to the monasteries which he held".<ref name=1000Church79/> Alexander Rumble argued that Stigand was unlucky in living past the Conquest, stating that it could be said that Stigand was "unlucky to live so long that he saw in his lifetime not only the end of the Anglo-Saxon state but also the challenging of uncanonical, but hitherto tolerated, practices by a wave of papal reforms".<ref name=Rumble179>Rumble "From Winchester to Canterbury" Leaders of the Anglo-Saxon Church p. 179</ref>