What little is known about him comes from 8th-century writer Bede,[2] but inconsistencies between various works have led to confusion about the exact circumstances of Wighard's election and whether he was ever confirmed in that office.
[4] The 8th-century writer Bede says that Wighard was selected to be Archbishop of Canterbury, and that he was sent to Rome to visit Pope Vitalian for confirmation and to receive his pallium.
The historian Nicholas Brooks points out that although Bede may have indeed misread Vitalian's letter, Oswiu had other reasons for involving himself in Deusdedit's replacement, not least of which was a concern that the exiled Northumbrian bishop Wilfrid, who was in Kent and Mercia at the time, not be selected as the new archbishop.
[1] The historian D. P. Kirby sees Oswiu's involvement in Wighard's selection as an attempt to help restore the Anglo-Saxon church, and perhaps as the beginning of steps to secure York as an archbishopric.
In the letter, which also mentions that a messenger from Oswiu had been among the companions of the archbishop-elect, the pope apologises that he has been unable to find a successor to Wighard yet.