Bosa of York

This article is about the 6th century Bishop of York. For commune in Italy, see Bosa.

Bosa of York
Bishop of York
Diocese	York
Appointed	678
Reign ended	c. 705
Predecessor	Wilfrid
Successor	John of Beverley
Orders
Consecration	678
Personal details
Born	unknown
Died	c. 705
Sainthood
Feast day	9 March

Bosa (died c. 705) was a Northumbrian, educated at the great Abbey of Whitby under the abbess Hilda. He later joined the brethren there as a monk and became a noted scholar.

In 678, when Wilfrid was ejected from the bishopric of York and banished from Northumbria, Bosa was given his diocese over which to preside. Wilfrid declared that he was unable to work with Bosa because he considered Bosa not a member of the Catholic Church. His episcopate lasted nine years, but with Wilfrid back in favour in 687, Bosa was removed just like his predecessor. He was returned once more in 691. He is regarded as a saint, with a feast day of 9 March. While archbishop, Bosa introduced a communal life for the clergy of the cathedral, and set up a continuous liturgy in the cathedral.

Bosa was still alive in 704; the date of his death is not known. He appears as a saint in an eighth century liturgical calendar from York, but this is the only sign that he was venerated as a saint before the Norman Conquest of England. The 16th century English antiquary John Leland listed Bosa on his list of saint's resting places in England, giving it as York. His feast day is on 9 March.

References

• Blair, John (2002). "A Handlist of Anglo-Saxon Saints". In Thacker, Aland and Sharpe, Richard. Local Saints and Local Churches in the Early Medieval West. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 495–565. ISBN 0-19-820394-2. 
• Blair, John (2002). "A Saint for Every Minster? Local Cults in Anglo-Saxon England". In Thacker, Aland and Sharpe, Richard. Local Saints and Local Churches in the Early Medieval West. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 455–494. ISBN 0-19-820394-2. 
• Farmer, David Hugh (2004). Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Fifth ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-860949-0. 
• Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X. 
• Kirby, D. P. (2000). The Earliest English Kings. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-24211-8. 
• Lapidge, Michael (2001). "Bosa". In Lapidge, Michael; Blair, John; Keynes, Simon; Scragg, Donald. The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1. 
• Stenton, F. M. (1971). Anglo-Saxon England (Third ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5. 
• Thacker, Alan (2004). "Bosa (St Bosa) (d. 706)" (subscription or UK public library membership required). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/2926. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/2926. Retrieved 9 November 2007. 

External links

• Prosopography of Anglo Saxon England entry for Bosa

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Wilfrid	Bishop of York 678–c. 705	Succeeded by John of Beverley