or an attempt by the archbishops of Canterbury to retain some authority over the province of Lichfield. Offa died in July 796 and his son Ecgfrith 141 days later. Coenwulf, a distant relative, succeeded to the Mercian throne after Ecgfrith's death. Soon after his accession Coenwulf sought to replace the two archdioceses with one at London, arguing that Pope Gregory I's original plan had been that there be an archbishopric at London instead of at Canterbury. In 797 and 798 Coenwulf sent envoys to Rome to Pope Leo III, suggesting that a new archdiocese be created at London for Æthelhard. The king's envoys laid the blame for the problems encountered with the Lichfield archdiocese on Pope Hadrian I's incompetence. Displeased by criticism of the papacy, Leo ruled against the king's plan. In 801 Coenwulf put down a Kentish rebellion, allowing him to once more assert his authority in Canterbury and control the archbishopric. Finally, in 802, Pope Leo III granted that Hadrian's decision was invalid, after the English clergy told him it had been achieved by Offa's misrepresentation. Leo returned all jurisdiction to Canterbury, a decision announced by Æthelhard at the Council of Clovesho in 803. Resignation and death Hygeberht had resigned his see before Lichfield was demoted back to a bishopric. He was still named as archbishop in 799, but evidence suggests that he no longer controlled all of the suffragan bishops that he once had. Possibly, he was replaced at Lichfield; his successor Ealdwulf attended a council in 801, and was named bishop in the council's records. By the time that Æthelhard held another council at Clovesho in 803, Hygeberht was no longer even named as a bishop, and appears at that council as an abbot. Which abbey he was abbot of, and his exact date of death, are unknown. Hygeberht's contemporary at Canterbury, Æthelhard, was the first Archbishop of Canterbury to require an affirmation of faith from his subordinate bishops when they were elected. The historian Eric John argues that this custom began because of the creation of the archbishopric of Lichfield. Notes Citations References External links 8th-century archbishops Anglo-Saxon bishops of Lichfield Year of birth unknown 9th-century deaths