John of Beverley (died 7 May 721) was an English bishop active in the kingdom of Northumbria. He was the bishop of Hexham and then the bishop of York, which was the most important religious designation in the area. He went on to found the town of Beverley by building the first structure there, a monastery. John was associated with miracles during and after his lifetime and was canonised a saint by the Catholic Church in 1037. As this is prior to the Great East–West Schism of 1054, he is also recognised as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Life
John was said to have been born of noble parents at Harpham, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, He is said to have received his education at Canterbury under Adrian, He was for a time a member of the Whitby community, under St Hilda, a fact recorded by his friend Bede.
In 687 he was consecrated bishop of Hexham by Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury (602–690), and in 705 was promoted to the bishopric of York. Of his new activity little is known beyond that he was diligent in visitation, considerate towards the poor, and attentive to the training of students whom he maintained under his personal charge. Many miracles of healing are ascribed to John, whose pupils were numerous and devoted to him, and the popularity of his cult was a major factor in the prosperity of Beverley during the Middle Ages. He was celebrated for his scholarship as well as for his virtues. Around 1066, Folcard was commissioned to write a Life of John. An account of John's miracles was written by William Ketel in the 11th or 12th century which contains the first mention of King Æthelstan's visit to Beverley.
The earliest existing mention of John's banner is in 1138 when Thurstan incorporated it into the standard which gave its name to the Battle of the Standard. By 1266 it was accepted that when levies were made in Yorkshire for the royal army, it was sufficient for Beverley to send one man with the banner of John.
Henry V gave the credit for his victory at the Battle of Agincourt to the miraculous intervention of John, the battle having been fought on the anniversary of John's translation.