text: æthelbert of york æthelbert ( sometimes æthelberht , albert , , aethelberht , or ; died 8 november 780 ) was an eighth century scholar , teacher , and archbishop of york . related to his predecessor at york , he became a monk at an early age and was in charge of the cathedral 's library and school before becoming archbishop . he taught a number of missionaries and scholars , including alcuin , at the school . while archbishop æthelbert rebuilt the cathedral and sent missionaries to the continent . æthelbert retired before his death , and during his retirement built another church in york . early life æthelbert , was the teacher and intimate friend of alcuin , whose poem on the saints and prelates of the church of york , versus de et de sanctis et , is the principal source of information concerning æthelbert 's life . he was a kinsman of his predecessor ecgbert , who was brother to eadberht , king of northumbria . æthelbert 's family placed him in a monastery as a young child , where he was a pupil in the school founded at york by ecgbert . ecgbert ordained æthelbert as a priest put him in charge of the school . æthelbert was instrumental in forming a library at york , which was probably the largest contemporary collection of books to be found in europe outside of rome . alcuin mentions several latin and greek classical authors , as well as the fathers and other christian writers that formed the 8th century canon . æthelbert , in his search for books , travelled far , and we know that he visited rome among other places . alcuin 's poem versus lists 41 different authors , including some who wrote in hebrew . he taught both the trivium as well as the quadrivium , plus how to figure the dates of church festivals and natural science . archbishop in 766 æthelbert succeeded ecgbert as archbishop ; he was consecrated 24 april 767 , the feast day of his predecessor wilfrid . this may have been deliberate and a sign that æthelbert wished to revive wilfrid 's ambitions for the archiepiscopal see . æthelbert received his pallium from pope adrian i in 773 . alcuin was appointed head of the cathedral school after æthelbert became archbishop . much of alcuin 's description of æthelbert 's time as archbishop has the flavour of a panegyric , as alcuin praised æthelbert as a model bishop suitable for other bishops to use as a role model . æthelbert rebuilt york minster , which had been destroyed by fire in 741 , giving eanbald and alcuin the job of overseeing the construction . alcuin wrote that it had bright windows and ceilings and that the liturgical vessels and altars were decorated with precious metals and gems . the new building also had 30 altars as well as upper apartments . æthelbert dedicated one of the altars to saint paul and it was located on the location where edwin , the first christian king of northumbria , was baptized . æthelbert sent out missionaries to the pagans of northern europe , among them and , who went to northern germany . had earlier been a pupil at the school in york , and went on to become the first bishop of munster . æthelbert was the recipient of letters from one of the missionaries - lull , the archbishop of mainz , assuming that lull 's correspondent " " , who is an archbishop and who was being asked for the works of bede , is actually æthelbert , as most historians seem convinced of . books were sent to the missionaries from the york library . in 774 , æthelbert called a council which deposed alhred the king of northumbria and sent the ex - king north into exile with the picts . the cause of the deposition may have been related to missionary work . the historian d. p. kirby feels that æthelbert was not a supporter of alhred prior to his deposition . alhred was replaced with æthelred , who was replaced in 778 by ælfwald , the son of . kirby sees æthelbert 's withdrawal of support as instrumental in the deposition of æthelred , noting that ælfwald was closely related to æthelbert , unlike both alhred and æthelred . kirby also notes that medieval chroniclers noted that æthelbert is said to have not " spared evil kings " . retirement and death æthelbert retired some time before his death , consecrating eanbald as his successor . the exact date this occurred is unclear . alcuin gives a date corresponding to july 778 , but it could be 777 too . eanbald 's position may have just been as an associate bishop , with æthelbert remaining in office until his death while sharing the office with eanbald . during his retirement , he had constructed a new church dedicated to alma sophia . he lived long enough to consecrate the new church , ten days before his death on 8 november .