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Hygeberht | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Lichfield | |
| Appointed | after 787 |
| Term ended | demoted c. 799 |
| Predecessor | Berhthun (as bishop) |
| Successor | Ealdwulf (as bishop) |
| Other post(s) | Bishop of Lichfield (779–787) |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | c. 779 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | probably Mercia |
| Died | after 803 |
Hygeberht[a] (died after 803) was the bishop of Lichfield from 779 and archbishop of Lichfield after the elevation of Lichfield to an archdiocese some time after 787, during the reign of the powerful Mercian king Offa. Little is known of Hygeberht's background, although he was probably a native of Mercia.
Offa succeeded in having Lichfield elevated to an archbishopric, but the rise in Lichfield's status was unpopular with Canterbury, the other southern English archbishopric. Offa was probably motivated by a desire to increase the status of his kingdom and to free his kingdom's ecclesiastical affairs from the control of another kingdom's archbishopric, and possibly the need to secure the coronation of Offa's successor, which the archbishop of Canterbury had opposed. After Offa's death his distant relative Coenwulf became king, and petitioned the pope to have Lichfield returned to a simple bishopric. The pope agreed to do so in 803, by which time Hygeberht was no longer even considered a bishop: he is listed as an abbot at the council that oversaw the demotion of Lichfield in 803. The date of his death is unknown.
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