Councils of Clovesho - The Purpose and Nature of The Councils

The Purpose and Nature of The Councils

When Archbishop Theodore of Tarsus held the Council of Hertford in 672 or 673, he declared to the assembled bishops that he had been "appointed by the Apostolic See to be Bishop of the Church of Canterbury". A canon was passed to the effect that in future yearly synods should be held on 1 August every year "in the place which is called Clofeshoch". This ruling represents the inauguration of the first parliamentary system known to have operated in the British Isles; "there had never before been a parliament with authority enough to decide on matters concerning all the English peoples". Meetings were held at Clovesho for more than 150 years.

The councils at Clovesho, and those generally of the Anglo-Saxon period, were mixed assemblies which included bishops, abbots, the king of Mercia and the chief men of his kingdom. The councils had the character not only of a church synod but of the Witenagemot, an assembly of the ruling class whose primary function was to advise the king. The affairs of the Church were decided by the bishops, who were in turn presided over by the archbishop. The king presided over his chiefs and gave his authority to their decisions. There is no evidence of any royal interference in the spiritual legislation or judgments of the Church. The England was not yet united into one kingdom, but the decisions made at Clovesho, as far as can be judged from participants' signatures, represented the decisions of the whole English Church south of the Humber.

Seventy years after the Hertford council, the first Council of Clovesho of which we have an authentic record was held. The Canterbury Cartulary contained a charter stating that in 716 the privilege of Wihtred to the churches was "confirmed and ratified in a synod held in the month of July in a place called Clovesho". Some doubt has been expressed about the authenticity of this document.