UTHRED OF BOLDON

Oxford theologian censured for his doctrine of "clear vision"; b. Boldon, Durham, England, c. 1324; d. Finchdale, Durham, January 28, 1396. Though he was at Oxford by 1337, he interrupted his studies in 1342 to become a Benedictine at Durham. He returned to Oxford (Durham College) in 1347 and took his doctorate in theology in 1357. In disputations he rejected the mendicancy of the friars and defended the endowments of the Church. He opposed John wyclif. He developed a thesis that the soul, between life and death, has a clear vision of real truth and the choice between the acceptance or rejection of God, a doctrine that saw a revival in the 19th century. At the instigation of the friars this was examined for orthodoxy and censured by Abp. simon langham in 1368. Uthred had left Oxford in 1367 to become prior of Finchdale (a Durham dependency), and then subprior of Durham. He returned to Oxford for three years in 1383, but spent his last decade at Finchdale. His many theological treatises that defend the traditional views on the Eucharist and predestination reveal his adoption of views associated with nicholas of autrecourt. Other works treat the monastic ideal and discipline.

Bibliography: w. a. pantin, "Two Treatises of Uthred of Boldon on the Monastic Life," Studies in Medieval History Presented to Frederick Maurice Powicke, ed. r. w. hunt et al. (Oxford 1948) 362–385, gives a list of Uthred's works. d. knowles, The Religious Orders in England, 3 v. (Cambridge, England 1948–60) v.2. a. b. emden, A Biographical Register of the Scholars of the University of Oxford to A.D. 1500, 3 v. (Oxford 1957–59) 1:212–213. d. knowles, "The Censured Opinions of U. of B.," Proceedings of the British Academy 37 (1951) 305–342.

[f. d. blackley]