Lyfing, Archbishop of Canterbury
Lyfing (d. 12 June
1020) was born "Aelfstan" and took his ecclesiastical name from
leof-carus (= "darling"). He became Bishop of Wells in
999, and in
1013 King
Ethelred the Unready appointed him
Archbishop of Canterbury. Lyfing was taken captive by
Vikings and held prisoner for a time, but he was released in time to attend the Witenagemot in
1014, and he started repairs of the damage the Vikings had done to
Canterbury Cathedral.
As Archbishop of Canterbury, Lyfing crowned two English kings: Ethelred's son Edmund Ironside in 1016 and Canute the Great in 1017.