St. Pachomius Library

Denewulf, Bishop of Winchester.

IX/X Centuries
A popular story asserts that Denewulf was originally a poor herdsman of Athelney. King Alfred, staying at his hut incognito, accidentally burned the family's oat-cakes and was rebuked by Denewulf's wife; her husband so impressed the King, however, that he arranged for the herdsman's education and eventual consecration as bishop of Winchester. Other versions, while agreeing that Denewulf was a poor herdsman of Somerset, differentiate him from the husband of the woman with the cakes. Whatever his origins, Bishop Denewulf of Winchester indeed existed and overlapped Alfred.
Norman Hugh Redington

ABOUT:
- Denewulf. --- Britannia.com
- King Edward the Elder: Grant of Land at Bishop's Walton, Hants., to Bishop Denewulf.. Facsimile of an ancient legal document. Data about several similar grants from the king may be found in Anglo-Saxon Charters: King Edward the Elder, (British Academy - Royal Historical Society "Electronic Sawyer" project). The Alfred section of the same work contains information about earlier grants to Denewulf from King Alfred. --- British Library

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