Frithuswith, commonly Frideswide (c. 65019 October 727; ang, Friðuswīþ), was an English princess and
abbess
An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey.
Description
In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...
.
She is credited as the foundress of a
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
later incorporated into
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
.
She was the daughter of a sub-king of a
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 ...
named
Dida of Eynsham
Dida of Eynsham (also called Didan or Didanius) was a 7th-century sub-king of the Mercian territory around Oxford, near the Chilterns. Little is known of his life, although he is mentioned briefly in the various Anglo-Saxon chronicles, and he h ...
whose lands occupied western
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
and the upper reaches of the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
.
Life
The earliest narrative of the saint's life is the ''Life of Saint Frideswide'' ( la, Vita sancte Frideswide) preserved in a manuscript from the early twelfth century, copied in the hand of
John of Worcester. A longer adaptation of this work is attributed to
Robert of Cricklade
Robert of Cricklade (–1174×79) was a medieval English writer and prior of St Frideswide's Priory in Oxford. He was a native of Cricklade and taught before becoming a cleric. He wrote several theological works as well as a lost biography of ...
, head of the
Priory of St Frideswide, Oxford.
The story recounts that Frideswide was born to
King Didan and his wife Safrida. She founds a monastery with her father's assistance while still young. Her parents die soon after. Algar, king of
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
(
Æthelbald of Mercia
Æthelbald (also spelled Ethelbald or Aethelbald; died 757) was the King of Mercia, in what is now the English Midlands from 716 until he was killed in 757. Æthelbald was the son of Alweo and thus a grandson of King Eowa. Æthelbald came to t ...
) seeks to marry her in spite of her vow of
celibacy
Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the ...
. When she refuses him, Algar attempts to abduct her, and Frideswide flees into the wilderness. On fleeing, she finds a ship sent by God which takes her to
Bampton, Oxfordshire
Bampton, also called Bampton-in-the-Bush, is a settlement and civil parish in the Thames Valley about southwest of Witney in Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Weald. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,564. Bam ...
. Algar searches for her in Oxford, but the people refuse to tell him where she is, and he is struck blind.
Frideswide later seeks greater solitude and migrates to
Binsey, Oxfordshire. To avoid having to fetch water from the distant
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
, she prays to God and a well springs up. The well water has healing properties and many people come to seek it out. A nineteenth-century reconstruction of this well can be found at the Church of
Saint Margaret in Binsey. She later returns to Oxford and remains abbess until her death.
Two
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...
adaptations of the Life of Frideswide are included in the ''
South English legendaries
South English legendaries are compilations of versified saints' lives written in southern dialects of Middle English from the late 13th to 15th centuries. At least fifty of these manuscripts survive, preserving nearly three hundred hagiographic wor ...
''. These include several minor variants on the narrative.
The priory
St Frideswide's Priory, a medieval
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to:
*Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine
*Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs
*Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo
* Canons Regular of Sain ...
house (some of the buildings of which were incorporated into
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
following the
dissolution of the monasteries) is claimed to be the site of her abbey and
relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
s. From early times the abbey appears to have been an important landowner in the area; however, it was destroyed in 1002 during the events of the
St. Brice's Day massacre.
A shrine was kept at the abbey in Frithuswith's honour; later a monastery was built there for
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to:
*Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine
*Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs
*Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo
* Canons Regular of Sain ...
canons.
In 1180, the
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 ...
Richard of Dover
Richard (died 1184) was a medieval Benedictine monk and Archbishop of Canterbury. Employed by Thomas Becket immediately before Becket's death, Richard arranged for Becket to be buried in Canterbury Cathedral and eventually succeeded Becket at Ca ...
translated Frithuswith's remains to a new shrine in the monastery church, an event that was attended by King
Henry II of England
Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...
. The later history of the monastery was chequered, but it remained sufficiently prominent that
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...
visited the shrine during her final pregnancy.
The priory seal, designed in the late 1180s, depicts Frideswide with a
lily
''Lilium'' () is a genus of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in mu ...
and a set of
wax tablets
A wax tablet is a tablet made of wood and covered with a layer of wax, often linked loosely to a cover tablet, as a "double-leaved" diptych. It was used as a reusable and portable writing surface in Antiquity and throughout the Middle Ages. C ...
.
Henry Chichele
Henry Chichele ( , also Checheley; – 12 April 1443) was Archbishop of Canterbury (1414–1443) and founded All Souls College, Oxford.
Early life
Chichele was born at Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, in 1363 or 1364; Chicheley told Pope Euge ...
, the archbishop of Canterbury, officially declared Frideswide the patron saint of Oxford and the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
in 1440. Her
feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
is 19 October, the traditional day of her death; the date of her translation is commemorated on 12 February; and the invention (discovery) of her relics on 15 May.
The shrine was repeatedly vandalized during the
Dissolution of the Monasteries and beyond. In 1546 the monastery church became (and still remains) the cathedral church for the
diocese of Oxford. Her shrine was reinstated by
Queen Mary in 1558, but was later desecrated by
James Calfhill
James Calfhill (also Calfield) (1530?–1570) was an Anglican priest, academic and controversialist, who died as Archdeacon of Colchester and Bishop-designate of Worcester.
Life
He was a native of Edinburgh, was educated at Eton College, and ...
, a
Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
canon of the church, who was intent on suppressing her cult. As a result, Frithuswith's remains were mixed with those of
Catherine Dammartin
Catherine Dammartin (died 15 February 1553) was a nun in Metz who left her convent, adopted evangelical views, and married Peter Martyr Vermigli. She is buried with Frideswide, the patron saint of Oxford.
Life
Catherine lived for her early adu ...
, wife of
Peter Martyr Vermigli, and they remain so to this day.
In modern tradition
Frideswide remains the
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of Oxford and its university, and there is a revived tradition of pilgrimages to Christ Church.
In later art, she is depicted holding the pastoral staff of an
abbess
An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey.
Description
In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...
with a fountain springing up near her and an ox at her feet. She appears in medieval stained glass, and in Pre-Raphaelite stained glass by
Edward Burne-Jones in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, in the chapel where her shrine is also located.
See also
*
St Frideswide's Church, Oxford
*
Frideswide Square
Frideswide Square is a square to the west of central Oxford, England. The square is named after the patron saint of Oxford, St Frideswide.
The "square" is actually more of a tapered rectangle in shape. Immediately to the north, the modern Saï ...
in central Oxford
*
Frithuwold of Chertsey
Frithuwald was a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon ruler in Surrey, and perhaps also in modern Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, who is known from two surviving charters. He was a sub-king ruling under King Wulfhere of Mercia. According to late hagiographic ...
, a purported ancestor of Frithuswith
*
List of Catholic saints
This is an incomplete list of people and angels whom the Catholic Church has canonized as saints. According to Catholic theology, all saints enjoy the beatific vision. Many of the saints listed here are to be found in the General Roman Calend ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
650 births
727 deaths
Anglo-Saxon royalty
West Saxon saints
People from Oxford
Christianity in Oxford
Burials at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Anglo-Saxon abbesses
8th-century Christian saints
Christian female saints of the Middle Ages
Female saints of medieval England
7th-century English women
8th-century English women
7th-century English people
8th-century English people
Oxfordshire folklore
English Roman Catholic saints
English Roman Catholics
History of Catholicism in England