Bertwald
Bregwin (Bregowine) of CanterburyDied 765. The 12th archbishop of Canterbury (761-765), Bregwin's vita was written by Eadmer. According to this, he was a Continental Saxon who went to England to receive his education at the abbey-school run by Saint Theodore. He received the pallium from Pope Saint Paul I. As archbishop he tried to recover Cookham Abbey in Berkshire from King Cynewulf of Wessex and he convened a synod. Like his predecessor Saint Cuthbert, he was buried in the baptistery of Canterbury cathedral, rather than in the abbey church of Saint Augustine, which had been traditional. When the baptistery was destroyed in 1067 by fire, Bregwin's relics were placed in a vault over the north transept with those of the other archbishops buried there.
An attempt was made to translate Bregwin's body c. 1121 by a German monk named Lambert to a monastery he was planning to build. He had obtained permission from the dying archbishop Ralph, but he himself died suddenly and was buried at Canterbury. Later Bregwin's relics were moved to the altar of Saint Gregory in the south transept of the cathedral, which was the occasion of the short vita by Eadmer.
His letters to Saint Lullus at Mainz can still be read. One of them refers to their friendship made during a visit to Rome, indicates regret that war had led to the loss of contact, and refers to a reliquary he was sending as a gift. There is no surviving indication of an early cultus. His death has been cited as August 24 or 26 depending on the calendar used (Benedictines, Farmer).
