ÆLFERIC, an eminent ecclesiastic of the 10th century, was the son of an earl of Kent, and a monk of the Benedictine order in the monastery of Abingdon. In 963, he was settled in the cathedral of Winchester, under Athelwold the bishop, and undertook the instruction of the youth of the diocese, for which purpose he compiled a Latin Saxon vocabulary, and some Latin colloquies. He also translated from the Latin into Saxon many of the historical books of the Old Testament. While he resided at Winchester he drew up Canons, which are a kind of charge to be delivered by the bishops to their clergy. He was afterwards abbot of St Alban's, bishop of Wilton, and, finally, in 994, translated to the see of Canterbury. Here he had a hard struggle for some years in bravely defending his diocese against the incursions of the Danes. He died in 1005, and was buried at Abingdon; but his remains were removed to Canterbury in the reign of Canute. Ælfric is held up as one of the most distinguished prelates of the Saxon church. His learning, for the times, was considerable, his morals were pure, and his religious sentiments were untainted with many of the corruptions of the age in which he lived. Besides the works already mentioned, he translated two volumes of Homilies from the Latin Fathers.