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William of Roskilde

Bishop of the Diocese of Roskilde

William
Bishop
Died	10 May 1074
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Feast	2 September

William of Roskilde (Danish: Vilhelm, German: Wilhelm, Latin: Wilhelmus; died 8 May or 10 May c. 1074)^[1] was a Danish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the Bishop of RoskildeinDenmark from about 1060.

Nothing is known about William's early life. A contemporary historian, Adam von Bremen, recounts him as a cleric serving Archbishop Adalbert of Bremen before becoming bishop of Roskilde, which suggests a German descent.^[2] While the Gesta DanorumbySaxo Grammaticus written a century later frames him as Anglo-Saxon who previously served Cnut the Great in England as his priest and clerk.^[3]

The sources around William's tenure as bishop are scarce. He is attributed with initiating the construction of Roskilde Cathedral that his successor completed in around 1080.^[4]

According to Saxo Grammaticus, William had a close relationship with King Sweyn II that allowed him to secure valuable land and power for his bishopric. He also retells an appropriated fictional story based on a legend with Saint Ambrose and Theodosius I originally written by Paulinus the Deacon about murder and penitence to explain their relationship development.^[5]

William's death is commonly recorded on either 8 May or 10 May and around year 1074^[2] because evidence suggest that he died before King Sweyn II^[a] as the king selected his successor after he had passed.^[1] William's remains were buried in Roskilde Cathedral.^[6]

William of Roskilde's date of canonization is unknown,^[b] but his memorial is observed by the Roman Catholic Church on September 2.^[7][8][c]

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Roskilde

• Saxo Grammaticus (2015). "Book eleven". In Friis-Jensen, Karsten (ed.). Oxford Medieval Texts: Saxo Grammaticus: Gesta Danorum: The History of the Danes, Vol. 2 (in English and Latin). Translated by Fischer, Peter. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 787–863. ISBN 9780198705765.
• Jones, Terry (16 August 2009). "Vilhelm".
• Monks at St. Augustine's Abbey (1921). The Book of saints; a dictionary of persons canonized or beatified by the Catholic Church (1 ed.). London: A. & C. Black, ltd. p. 275.
• Olrik, Hans (1904). "Vilhelm". In Bricka, Carl Frederik (ed.). Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Vol. 18. Gyldendalske Boghandel. pp. 589–590. Retrieved 26 February 2024.

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