Archbishop of Canterbury, died 2 August, 914. He was a Mercian, and spent his early life near Chester as a hermit on an island called after him Plegmundham (the present Plemstall). His reputation for piety and learning caused King Alfred to summon him to court, where he helped the king in his literacy work. In 890 he was chosen Archbishop of Canterbury and went to Rome to receive the pallium from Pope Formosus. When the acts and ordinations of Formosus were condemned in 897 and the condemnation was confirmed in 905, the position of Plegmund became questionable, and in 908 he paid a second visit to Rome, probably to obtain confirmation by Sergius III of his acts as archbishop, and to arrange a subdivision of the West Saxon episcopate. This was carried out the following year, when Plegmund consecrated seven bishops in one day, five for Wessex and two others. He died in extreme old age and was buried in his cathedral at Canterbury.

The Catholic Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive resource on Catholic teaching, history, and information ever gathered in all of human history. This easy-to-search online version was originally printed in fifteen hardcopy volumes.

Designed to present its readers with the full body of Catholic teaching, the Encyclopedia contains not only precise statements of what the Church has defined, but also an impartial record of different views of acknowledged authority on all disputed questions, national, political or factional. In the determination of the truth the most recent and acknowledged scientific methods are employed, and the results of the latest research in theology, philosophy, history, apologetics, archaeology, and other sciences are given careful consideration.

No one who is interested in human history, past and present, can ignore the Catholic Church, either as an institution which has been the central figure in the civilized world for nearly two thousand years, decisively affecting its destinies, religious, literary, scientific, social and political, or as an existing power whose influence and activity extend to every part of the globe. In the past century the Church has grown both extensively and intensively among English-speaking peoples. Their living interests demand that they should have the means of informing themselves about this vast institution, which, whether they are Catholics or not, affects their fortunes and their destiny.

Copyright © Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company New York, NY. Volume 1: 1907; Volume 2: 1907; Volume 3: 1908; Volume 4: 1908; Volume 5: 1909; Volume 6: 1909; Volume 7: 1910; Volume 8: 1910; Volume 9: 1910; Volume 10: 1911; Volume 11: - 1911; Volume 12: - 1911; Volume 13: - 1912; Volume 14: 1912; Volume 15: 1912

Catholic Online Catholic Encyclopedia Digital version Compiled and Copyright © Catholic Online