Cwenthryth (also Quendreda, ang, Cwēnþrȳð) was a princess of

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ye ...

, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in central England, who lived in the early 9th century. She was the daughter of

Coenwulf of Mercia Coenwulf (; also spelled Cenwulf, Kenulf, or Kenwulph; la, Coenulfus) was the King of Mercia from December 796 until his death in 821. He was a descendant of King Pybba, who ruled Mercia in the early 7th century. He succeeded Ecgfrith, the son ...

and the sister of

Saint Kenelm Saint Kenelm (or Cynehelm) was an Anglo-Saxon saint, venerated throughout medieval England, and mentioned in the ''Canterbury Tales'' (The Nun's Priest's Tale, lines 290–301, in which the cockerel Chauntecleer tries to demonstrate the reality o ...

and also the sister of Burgenilda. Roger of Wendover names "Quendridam et Burgenildam" as the daughters of Kenulfus. And William of Malmesbury identifies "Quendrida" as the older sister of St Kenelm. In 811 she subscribed a charter (S 165) of King Coenwulf of Mercia to

Beornmod __NOTOC__ Beornmod was a medieval Bishop of Rochester. He was consecrated in 804. He died between 842 and 844.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 221 Citations References * External links * Bishops of Roch ...

, Bishop of Rochester, in which she is identified as "Quoenðryð filia regis", Quendreda the king's daughter. After Coenwulf's death, his son was killed fighting the Welsh, possibly due to Cwenthryth's treachery. Cwenthryth was also the Abbess of

Minster-in-Thanet Minster, also known as Minster-in-Thanet, is a village and civil parish in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is the site of Minster in Thanet Priory. The village is west of Ramsgate (which is the post town) and to the north east of Cant ...

who inherited property and authority from Coenwulf.

Wulfred Wulfred (died 24 March 832) was an Anglo-Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury in medieval England. Nothing is known of his life prior to 803, when he attended a church council, but he was probably a nobleman from Middlesex. He was elected archbishop ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, challenged her for the authority over her abbey estates. She was ultimately compelled to resign.The Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 63 By Sir Sidney Lee p.173

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* {{authority control Anglo-Saxon abbesses Anglo-Saxon royalty 9th-century deaths Year of birth unknown Mercian people English princesses 9th-century English women 9th-century English people People from Minster-in-Thanet