Bregowine^[a] (died August 764) was a medievalArchbishop of Canterbury. Little is known of his origins or his activities as archbishop, although a number of stories were told about his possible origins after theNorman conquest in 1066. There are no records of him prior to his becoming archbishop. He possibly owed his elevation to theKentish monarch. The records after his elevation to Canterbury are mainly about disputes over land, but knowledge of his time in office is hampered by the destruction of many of the contemporary records. After his death, he wasconsidered asaint and alife about him was written in the 12th century.

Various stories have been told about Bregowine's origins, including that he was a nobleman and a continental Saxon who converted to Christianity and came toCanterbury because of the saintly reputation ofTheodore of Tarsus. Others say that he owed his elevation to KingÆthelbert II of Kent, but all these stories rest on works that were written after the Norman conquest of England in 1066. There are no contemporary records of Bregowine before he wasarchbishop. It does not appear, however, that he was of Mercian origins like his predecessorsTatwin andNothhelm.^[1]

Whatever his upbringing, Bregowine was consecrated as archbishop on 27 September 761.^[3] His election took place in a brief period whenKent was free ofMercian dominance between 756 and 764, so the story that he owed his election to Æthelbert does fit with the time frame.^[4] He wrote letters to ArchbishopLul ofMainz which still exist, and which discuss an earlier meeting between the two men. Other activities as archbishop are recorded in survivingcharters. One records that he protested at the loss of a church atCookham that was confiscated by KingCynewulf of Wessex sometime after 760. Another surviving charter from Dunwald, athegn of King Æthelbert, concerning land in Canterbury, records that Bregowine consented to the gift of land. Unfortunately, many of the early charters of thediocese of Canterbury are lost, which restricts knowledge of Bregowine's activities as archbishop.^[1]

Bregowine died in 764^[3] and was originally buried in the baptistry in Canterbury, but his remains were moved to thechoir ofCanterbury Cathedral in 1123. This followed an attempt in around 1121 to remove his remains to another monastery, which came to nothing.^[1] The remains were placed by the altar of St Gregory in the southtransept, after having been briefly placed in the north transept.^[2] Bregowine was laterconsidered a saint, with a feast day of 26 August, althoughFlorence of Worcester, a 12th-century writer, recorded his death date as 24 August.^[2] Other sources record the death date as 25 August. His life was later written byEadmer in the 12th century.^[1]

• Bregowine 1 atProsopography of Anglo-Saxon England

• Kentish saints
• Archbishops of Canterbury
• 8th-century archbishops
• 8th-century Christian saints
• 764 deaths
• 8th-century writers in Latin
• 8th-century English writers
• Letter writers in Latin

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Good articles
• Use British English from July 2017
• Use dmy dates from July 2017
• Year of birth unknown