Calne, Council of

Calne, Council Of

(Concilium Calnense). Calne is a town in Wiltshire, England, where a convention was held in 979, in the fourth year of Edward, king and martyr, in consequence of the dispute then rife between the monks and clergy, the former of whom were unduly favored by Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury, to the great prejudice of the latter. Dunstan himself presided in this council, at the head of the chief nobility, the bishops, and other ecclesiastics. No decision was, however, arrived at, owing to a singular accident, which broke up the council-the floor of the chamber in which they were assembled giving way, all were precipitated to the ground, except Dunstan, whose seat escaped. See Baroius, A.D. 977; Labbe, Concil. ix, 724; Wilkin, Concil. i, 263,