Ælfheah, purportedly born in Weston on the…

Ælfheah, purportedly born in Weston on the outskirts of Bath, had become a monk early in life.

He had first entered the monastery of Deerhurst, but then moved to Bath, where he became an anchorite.

Noted for his piety and austerity, he had risen to become abbot of Bath Abbey.

Probably due to the influence of Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury from 959 to 988, Ælfheah in 984 had been elected Bishop of Winchester, and on October 19 of that year was consecrated.

While bishop, he was largely responsible for the construction of a large organ in the cathedral, audible from over a mile (sixteen hundred meters) away and said to require more than twenty-four men to operate.

He also built and enlarged the city's churches, and promoted the cult of Swithun and Swithun's predecessor, Æthelwold of Winchester.

Following a Viking raid in 994, a peace treaty had been agreed with one of the raiders, Olaf Tryggvason.

Besides receiving danegeld, Olaf had converted to Christianity and undertook never to raid or fight the English again.

Ælfheah may have played a part in the treaty negotiations, and it is certain that he confirmed Olaf in his new faith.

Ælfheah had succeeded Ælfric as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1006, taking Swithun's head with him as a relic for the new location.

He had gone to Rome in 1007 to receive his pallium—symbol of his status as an archbishop—from Pope John XVIII, but was robbed during his journey.

While at Canterbury, he has promoted the cult of Dunstan, ordering the writing of the second Life of Dunstan, which Adelard has composed between 1006 and 1011.

He has also introduced new practices into the liturgy, and is instrumental in the Witenagemot's recognition of Wulfsige of Sherborne as a saint, which will occur in about 1012.

Ælfheah had sent Ælfric of Eynsham to Cerne Abbey to take charge of its monastic school.

He was present at the council of May 1008 at which Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York, preached his Sermo Lupi ad Anglos (The Sermon of the Wolf to the English), castigating the English for their moral failings and blaming the latter for the tribulations afflicting the country.

The Danes in 1011 again raid England, and from September 8 to 29 they lay siege to Canterbury.

Aided by the treachery of Ælfmaer, whose life Ælfheah had once saved, the raiders succeed in sacking the city.

Ælfheah is taken prisoner and held captive for seven months.

Godwine (Bishop of Rochester), Leofrun (abbess of St Mildrith's), and the king's reeve, Ælfweard are captured also, but the abbot of St Augustine's Abbey, Ælfmaer, manages to escape.

Canterbury Cathedral is plundered and burned by the Danes following Ælfheah's capture.