Ælfheah of Canterbury

Ælfheah (Old English: Ælfhēah, "elf-high"; 954 – 19 April 1012), officially remembered by the name Alphege within some churches, and also called Elphege, Alfege, or Godwine, is an Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester, later Archbishop of Canterbury.

He becomes an anchorite before being elected abbot of Bath Abbey.

His perceived piety and sanctity lead to his promotion to the episcopate, and eventually, to his becoming archbishop.

Ælfheah furthers the cult of Dunstan and also encourages learning.

He is captured by Viking raiders in 1011 and killed by them the following year after refusing to allow himself to be ransomed.

Ælfheah is canonized as a saint in 1078.

Thomas Becket, a later Archbishop of Canterbury, prays to him just before his own murder in Canterbury Cathedral.

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