Saint Æthelflæda of Romsey (born c. 962) was an early Abbess of Romsey Abbey in the reign of King Edgar. Her identity is obscure, though in later stories she was said to be the daughter of a tenth-century nobleman. She has been distinguished from Ælflæda, daughter of

Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin ...

, who was herself connected with the founding of the Abbey.

Life

Æthelflæda appears in a small number of eleventh- and twelfth-century monastic calendars. A 14th-century life of her, amongst a collection of saints lives once belonging to Romsey Abbey, is held in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

's Lansdowne manuscripts, MS Lansdowne 436, fols. 43v-45v. According to that account Æthelflæda was the youngest daughter of Ethelwold (died 962), a noble of King Edgar, and either Ethelwold's first wife, Brithwina, or his second, Elfrida. After her father's death, Edgar sent Æthelflæda to be educated by

Saint Merwinna In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ort ...

at Romsey. Several miracles were ascribed to Æthelflæda. After her candle went out at the lectern, light shone from the fingers of her right hand enabling her to read. On another occasion she miraculously saw through a stone wall, discovering that her teacher Merwynna was cutting and hiding switches with which to beat the students. The Queen, to whom she was distantly related, heard of her and invited her to stay. Æthelflæda had a secret habit of naked ''al fresco'' bathing and prayer, and on one such occasion was followed by the Queen. The Queen ended up distressed and fitting in her chamber until quietened by Æthelflæda's prayers. Æthelflæda succeeded Merwinna's successor Elwina as Abbess of Romsey. She died on 23rd October. Though initially buried unostentatiously in the churchyard, she was subsequently reinterred in the church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:AEthelflaeda of Romsey Anglo-Saxon abbesses 10th-century English nuns Benedictine abbesses 960s births Year of birth uncertain Year of death unknown