Template:Did you know nominations/Alfred Westou


 * The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as |this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Yoninah (talk) 21:53, 20 March 2019 (UTC)

Alfred Westou

 * ... that Alfred Westou is said to have combed the hair and cut the nails of St Cuthbert (pictured), even though the saint had been dead for more than three centuries? Source: "It seems that Alfred frequently opened the coffin of St Cuthbert, who had been dead for over three hundred years, combing the saint's hair, and even cutting off locks in order to demonstrate to his friends that they were non-inflammable." (p1) & "[Reginald] told how Alfred used to open the saint's wooden reliquary-coffin, combing the hair and clipping the fingernails of the incorrupt body" (p99)
 * ALT1:... that Alfred Westou cared for the body of one saint (pictured), moved the remains of as many as ten others, and was the great-grandfather of another? Sources: As above for Cuthbert; translation of up to 10 saints: "[Ælfred] was commanded by a vision to visit in succession the sites of the ancient monasteries and churches in the province of the Northumbrians; and he raised from the ground the bones of such of the saints as he knew were buried in these places; and he left them above ground, in order that they might be exhibited to the people, and venerated. I allude to the bones of Balther and Bilfrid, the anchorites; of Acca also and Alchmund, the bishops of Hexham; and of king Oswin: as also those of the venerable abbesses Ebba and Aethelgitha. A portion of all these relics he conveyed with him to Durham, and deposited them along with the body of the father Cuthbert." (p2) & "Admonished by a revelation, [Ælfred] went to the monastery of Melrose, whence he translated the bones of St. Boisil..." (p3) & "It is generally said that an enterprising relic-hunter named Ælfred stole Bede's remains from Jarrow early in the eleventh century and brought them secretly to Durham." (p1) all from Kendall 1984, also covered in the Google Books link; for the 10th: "Eata was arguably Hexham's most prestigious saint. ... According to his Life, he was originally buried 'next to the sanctuary of the aforesaid church of Hexham...' later his remains were placed together with due honour within the church... The author of the Life thought it likely that Alfred Westou was also responsible for this translation." (pp 101–2) . Great-grandfather of another saint: "Alfred was indeed the great-grandfather of Ailred of Rievaulx..." (p98 in prev. link)
 * ALT1a:... that Alfred Westou cared for the body of one saint (pictured), is said to have moved the remains of ten others, and was the great-grandfather of another? Sources: As Alt1
 * Reviewed: Park Crescent West ice well
 * Comment: Moved to mainspace on 22 February. The main hook is true as stated, but modern historians think Reginald was perhaps making his details up. In the alternative hook, 8 of the 10 saints are uncontroversial; Bede is generally attributed to Alfred Westou; Eata I've only seen mentioned in the book by John Crook (2011). The name has a lot of variants in the literature.

Moved to mainspace by Espresso Addict (talk). Self-nominated at 02:36, 24 February 2019 (UTC).


 * Symbol confirmed.svg Article is long enough, nominated timely, and well cited. No copyvios are found. The hooks are interesting and sourced, and the sources are carefully analyzed as to reliability. I prefer the original hook although ALT1a is also OK. The image is public domain. QPQ done. Interesting and well-written article. -- MelanieN (talk) 20:09, 19 March 2019 (UTC)