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, Copt ...
.
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 whi ...
later incorporated into
Christ Church, Oxford.
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=
, ...
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 ...
whose lands occupied western
Oxfordshire and the upper reaches of the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
.
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
John of Worcester (died c. 1140) was an English monk and chronicler who worked at Worcester Priory. He is usually held to be the author of the ''Chronicon ex chronicis''.
''Chronicon ex chronicis''
The ''Chronicon ex chronicis'' is a world wi ...
. A longer adaptation of this work is attributed to
Robert of Cricklade, head of the
Priory of St Frideswide, Oxford
St Frideswide's Priory was established as a priory of Augustinian canons regular, in 1122. The priory was established by Gwymund, chaplain to Henry I of England. Among its most illustrious priors were the writers Robert of Cricklade and Phi ...
.
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 (
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 th ...
) seeks to marry her in spite of her vow of
celibacy. 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. 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
Binsey is a village by the River Thames about northwest of the centre of Oxford. It is the opposite side of the river from Port Meadow and about southwest of the ruins of Godstow Abbey.
History
Binsey's most noted feature is the parish chur ...
. To avoid having to fetch water from the distant
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
, 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 ...
adaptations of the Life of Frideswide are included in the ''
South English legendaries''. These include several minor variants on the narrative.
The priory
St Frideswide's Priory, a medieval
Augustinian house (some of the buildings of which were incorporated into
Christ Church, Oxford following the
dissolution of the monasteries) is claimed to be the site of her abbey and
relics. 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 canons.
In 1180, the
Archbishop of Canterbury Richard of Dover 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 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 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 much of the world. M ...
and a set of
wax tablets.
Henry Chichele, 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 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
The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford (currently Steven Croft), and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. It contain ...
. Her shrine was reinstated by
Queen Mary in 1558, but was later desecrated by
James Calfhill, 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
Peter Martyr Vermigli (8 September 149912 November 1562) was an Italian-born Reformed theologian. His early work as a reformer in Catholic Italy and his decision to flee for Protestant northern Europe influenced many other Italians to convert a ...
, 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, Copt ...
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
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman ...
in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, in the chapel where her shrine is also located.
See also
*
St Frideswide's Church, Oxford
*
Frideswide Square 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 hagiogr ...
, 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 Cale ...
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