St. Chad's, Lichfield - St. Chad and the Stag

St. Chad	His life In Bede's own words St. Chad and the Stag

THIS LEGEND was preserved at the monastery at Peterborough, of which Wulfhere, the Mercian king who appears in the story, was a founder.

It is said that it was illustrated in a series of windows in the cloisters, but, sadly, these were destroyed by parliamentary forces during the Civil War.


Wulfhere Wulfhere was the Christian king who had asked Theodore, the archbishop, to provide him with someone to be bishop in Mercia, and so Chad had come to Lichfield. According to this legend, Wulfhere, though, later renounced his Christian faith at the persuasion of an evil counsellor called Werbode, and two of his sons, Wulfhad and Ruffin, were brought up as pagans. The legend While out hunting one day, Wulfhad raised a stag which he followed to St Chad's cell at Lichfield, where it plunged into the spring there - now St Chad's Well - before fleeing into the forest again. On reaching the spring, Wulfhad saw Chad and asked him which way the stag had gone. Chad told him that he was to follow the stag no further. Its purpose had been to bring him here, to Chad's cell, so that he could be baptised in the Christian faith. Wulfhad challenged Chad, if his God was so great, to bring the stag back by prayer. Chad knelt and prayed, the stag returned and Wulfhad was baptised at the spring. The next morning, Wulfhad returned home and told his brother all that had happened. Ruffin decided that he, too, would be baptised and the stag once more appeared, to lead them through the forest to Chad's cell. Thereafter, the two brothers made frequent visits to Chad to be instructed in the Christian faith. However, the evil Werbode became suspicious and, after a successful spying mission, reported the brothers to their father, the king. In an uncontrollable rage, Wulfhere went to Chad's cell and demanded of his two sons that they renounced their new faith. When they refused, he slew them both. (Chad was saved, we are told, because on hearing their father approaching, the brothers had persuaded him to slip away.) Later, realising what he had done, Wulfhere was overcome by guilt and fell ill. Eventually, he agreed to follow the advice of his wife and seek out Chad so that he could repent and be absolved of his sin. The stag made its third appearance, to lead Wulfhere to Chad. On arriving at the cell, Wulfhere could hear Chad saying Mass, and, conscious of his guilt, was reluctant to go in. When Mass was finished, Chad hung his vestments on a convenient sunbeam (or so we are told) and came out to meet Wulfhere. As a penance for his sins, Wulfhere was instructed to replace paganism with Christianity throughout his kingdom, to found churches and monasteries, and to lead a Christian life. A true story? Sadly, this wonderful tale is difficult to square with historical fact. It is unlikely that Wulfhere ever renounced his Christianity, and Wulfhad and Ruffin appear nowhere but in this legend. On the other hand, Wulfhere's name is recorded among the founders of the abbey of Peterborough. Regardless of the historical truth of the details of the legend, it correctly depicts Chad as being responsible for the ongoing conversion of Mercia. TOP CHURCH GUIDE