Odo (St.) of Kicxt (or Caxtiaxl's), an English prelate, was born in the province of East Anglia about 875. His parents were Danes, who had followed Ingar and Ilubba in their expedition. Driven away from the parental home on account of his conversion to the Chris- tian faith, Odo was protected by Athelm, one of the lords of the court of Alfred, king of England, who fur- nished him means to study and to enter the Church. He took him with him to Itome in 897, and Odo was there ordained priest. After his return to England, he was employed by Alfred and by Edward, his son and successor, on several important missions. King Athel- stan appointed him his chaplain, and about 930 made him bishop of Wilton. Edmund I. who succeeded his brother Athelstan in 941, prized so highly the advice of Odo that, in order to have him always near, he appointed him archbishop of Canterbury in 94"2. Odo now became a Benedictine, as at that time the diocese was always governed by men belonging to some mo- nastic order. In 955 he crowned at Kingston Edwy, the eldest son of Edmund. This was the time when the first Sacramentarians, who rejected the doctrine of the real presence, appeared in England. Odo strenuously opposed them. He excommunicated king Edwy, some say for holding to these opinions, others say for incest. The jMercians and Northumbrians, tired of the excesses of Eilwy, rose against him, and appointed his brother Edward in his place. Edward governed by the advice of Odo, who is said to have been the originator of many good and useful laws. Odo died at Canterbury July 4, 9G1, and was buried in the cathedral. He wrote Syn- odal Constitutions, published in Labbe's Collection of Councils (vol. ix), together with a letter of the arch- bishop to his suftragans. Pits considers him the au- thor of some other works, which are not now extant. Wright says : " It would be difficult to clear entireh' the writings of Odo of Kent from the confusion in which they have been involved by ascribing to him books written by other persons of the name of Odo; but they seem to have consisted chiefly of commentaries on the Holy Scriptures and of sermons." See Dom Ceillier, Hist, des auteurs eccles. xx, 97 sq. ; A eta Sanctorum, July 4 ; Godescard, Vies des Peres, des Martyrs, etc. ; Mabillon, Annales ordinis S. Benedicti (5th centurj'); Wright, Bior/. Britannica Litterai'ia (A.-S. Period.), p. 428 sq. ; Hill, Fnglish Monusticism, p. 155 sq. ; Chur- ton, Early Fmjlish Vh. Hist. p. 227 ; Collier, Feci. Hist, of Britain (see Index in vol. viii) ; Hook, Eccles. Biog. vii, 452; Bossuet, Vuriutiom, i, 158-9. (J. H.W.)
Odo of Moiumoxd died, according to his epitaph, Aug. 31, 1200. We possess no definite information con- cerning his life. It is supposed that he was abbot of Beaupre, another Cistercian abbey, before he was made abbot of Morimond, but this is not proved. It is also difficult to ascertain among the works bearing his name those which are really his and those which are some
other Odo's. Among those which are undoubted are five sermons published by Combefis {Bihlioth. i, 2.5, 299, 797). He wrote a large number of others, which were never published. There are three collections of them in the Imperial Library of Paris, under the num- bers 3010 fond du Roi, 80 of the Cordeliers, and 839 of the Sorbonne. We find also as 3352 B, 3352 C du Roi, and 606 of St. Victor, a treatise De nuinerorum signijicatione, which in most catalogues is attributed to him. Oudin and the authors of the Histoire litteraire, think that it was written by William, abbot of Auberive, a pupil of Odo, under the latter's inspiration, but this appears doubt- ful. The work treats on mathematics, theology, philos- ophy, etc. ; and is not of much account, but is well writ- ten and full of original though paradoxical errors. The library of Troyes contains a MS. of this treatise, which is probably the original of the others ; it contains also under the No, 868 a MS. coming from Clairvaux, enti- tled Odonis tractcdus de Analeticis ternarii ; and under the No. 450 a MS. entitled Tres gradus quihus jjerveni- tur ad hwreditatem salutis, which Mr. Harmand consid- ers as the production of Odo. - See Hist, litter, de la France, xii, 610; Hcnriquez, Menologiuni Cisterciensis, p. 303 ; Gallia Christ, vol. ix, col. 835 ; Oudin, De sci-ipt. eccles. vol. ii, col. 1418 ; De Visch, Bibl. Cistercietisis, p. 258 ; Catal. des rnanuscrifs des Bibl. departementales, ii, 202, 322, 359. — Hoefer, A'ouv. Biog. Generale, xxxviii, 497. (J. N. P.)
Odo of Soissons, abbe of Ourcamp, died about 1170. The bibliographers who give him the title of cardinal-bishop of Tusctdum confound him with Odo de Chateauroux (q. v.). Those who, with Mr. Daunou, make him bishop of Preneste are equally mistaken ; there is in the Italia Sacra of Ughelli no bishop of Preneste named Odo. The only work of Odo de Sois- sons which has been preserved to us has for a title Qucestiones. Quite a large number of manuscripts of this are in existence. We designate here No. 3244 of the old library of the king, and No. 140 of Troyes. The Qucestiones proposed by Odo de Soissons are all theological, and he treats them, as a faithful disciple of Pierre Lombard, with a delicate prudence. This dog- matic collection is a book little known ; it is, however, preferable to many compilations of the same kind com- posed in the 13th centurv. As for the two other works inscribed by Mr. Daunou in the catalogue of the works of Odo de Soissons, a Commentary on Jeremiah, and Sentences — the first does not exist, and the second be- longs to Ungues de Saint-Victor. See Histoire litter, de la France, torn. xix. — Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, xxxviii, 496.