Saint Waltheof

Waltheof came from a noble Anglo-Norman family. He was the youngest son of Simon de Sanlis , 1st Earl of Northampton , and Matilda Huntingdon , the only daughter of Waltheof , the last Anglo-Saxon Earl executed by William the Conqueror in 1076 . The second husband of Matilda in 1113 was the Scottish prince David (since 1124 - King of Scotland David I).

Choosing a spiritual career, Waltheof between 1128 and 1131 entered the Nostel Monastery with the goal of becoming an Augustinian canon . He soon became a prior of the Kirkham Monastery in North Yorkshire . After the death of the Archbishop of York of Turkistan in 1140, Waltheof was elected his successor. However, King Stefan rejected Waltoff's candidacy, perhaps not wanting the stepson of Scottish King David, one of Stephen's main opponents in the civil war in England, to be appointed to this politically important post in Northern England. After several years of struggle for the post of archbishop, Waltheof admitted defeat and retired in 1143 to the Cistercian monastery of Rivo . Five years later, he became the abbot of the recently founded Melrose Abbey in Southern Scotland, a subsidiary of Riveau Monastery. Until the end of his life that followed in 1159 , Waltheof remained Abbot of Melrose and did much to develop this monastery, which soon became one of the most important and most influential in Scotland.

After the death of Waltheof, rumors spread about his holiness. William, Waltoff's successor as abbot of the Melrose Monastery, opposed the spread of this cult, but this caused dissatisfaction of the monks and pilgrims , and in April 1170, William refused to lead the abbey. The newly elected abbot Jocelyn began to support the spread of the cult of Waltheof. The Melrose Chronicle, under 1170, contains a message that the grave of Waltheof was uncovered and it was discovered that his remains were not subject to decay . This was taken as evidence of the holiness of Waltheof, and Melrose acquired in his person his heavenly patron.

St. Waltheof's Day is celebrated in England and Scotland on August 3 . He is considered the patron of Melrose Abbey and Northamptonshire .

• Melrose Chronicle
• Fawcetts R., Oram R. Melrose Abbey. - Stroud, 2004.