Saint Austrebertha (also known as Austreberta, Eustreberta, or Austreberta of Pavilly; french: Austreberthe) (630–February 10, 704) was a French nun of the Middle Ages, who took the veil very young and was a nun at the Port Monastery in the Ponthieu. Then she became abbess to the foundation of Pavilly, where she died at the beginning of the eighth century, at the age of 74 years. Her feast day is February 10.

Life

The daughter of Saint Framechildis and the

Count Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

Badefrid, she was born about 630 in Thérouanne, Pas-de-Calais. She refused to be part of an

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...

and in around 656 entered the Port-le-Grand Monastery in Ponthieu. She received the veil from Saint Omer before founding another monastery in Marconne in Artois in the house of her parents. She later established a monastery at Pavilly. Although not well known outside of Upper Normandy, Austreberthe was said to have performed miracles during her lifetime. It was said that the water of a spring appeared in a chapel and gave rise to a river that had healing properties for the disabled and lame. There is a chapel in an open field, in Saint-Denis-le-Ferment, in the Eure where a pilgrimage takes place on Whit Monday. Some of her relics are said to have been brought to Canterbury by the Normans. The two towns named Sainte-Austreberthe refer to her.

Austrebertha and the wolf

A popular legend told of Austrebertha states that Austreberthe and her nuns used to wash the sacristy cloths of the abbey of Jumieges a few leagues distant from Pavilly. A donkey used to carry the linen from one monastery to another. One day, while looking for the donkey, she came across a

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

. The wolf admitted to killing the donkey and begged for forgiveness. Austrebertha reprimanded the wolf, but forgave him and commanded that he carry the laundry himself, a task that the wolf performed for the rest of its life.Wolves and Early Saints
At the place of the death of the donkey a chapel was erected in the seventh century; then, when it fell into ruin, a simple stone cross replaced it. It, in turn, was later replaced by an oak, in which was placed a statue of the Virgin. This tale is depicted in the stained glass window of the chapel in the village of Sainte-Austreberthe.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Austrebertha Frankish abbesses 630 births 704 deaths 8th-century Frankish saints Female saints of medieval France 7th-century Frankish nuns 8th-century Frankish nuns