Æbbe, also called Tabbs, ( – 683) was an Anglian

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

and noblewoman. She was the daughter of Æthelfrith, king of

Bernicia Bernicia () was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England. The Anglian territory of Bernicia was approximately equivalent to the modern English cou ...

from to 616. She founded monasteries at Ebchester and St Abb's Head near Coldingham in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Life

Early life

Æbbe was the daughter of King Æthelfrith of

Ziegler, Michelle. "Æbbe of Coldingham", Monastic Matrix, Ohio State University
/ref> and

Acha of Deira Acha of Deira was a princess of Deira, and the daughter of Ælla of Deira. Her brother was Edwin of Northumbria, and her grandfather was Yffe but apart from him, her earlier origin is unknown. Biography She married Æthelfrith, king of Berni ...

. Her brothers were Oswald of Northumbria and Oswiu. Æthelfrith invaded the neighbouring kingdom of Deira in 604, and deposed the heir, Acha's brother Edwin, who fled into exile. Æthelfrith was the first Bernician king to also rule Deira, giving him an important place in the history of the later

Kingdom of Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

. Edwin took refuge in the court of King Rædwald of

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

, and with his support in 616, raised an army against Æthelfrith. Edwin's forces defeated and killed Æthelfrith, and Edwin gained the throne of Bernicia and Deira. The kingdom was no longer safe for Æthelfrith's children, as they presented potential rival claims to Edwin's rule. Æbbe fled north with her mother and brothers to exile in the court of Eochaid Buide of

Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaels, Gaelic Monarchy, kingdom that encompassed the Inner Hebrides, western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North ...

. It was during this time of exile in western

that she and her brothers were converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

."Princess Aebbe", DigVentures
/ref>

Life as Abbess

While the sons of Æthelfrith always represented a threat to Edwin, he was finally deposed by an alliance of the

Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

n King Penda and the Welsh king Cadwallon. They raised an army against Edwin and killed him in battle in 633. Eanfrith, eldest son of Æthelfrith, and Æbbe's half-brother, returned as King of Bernicia, however the alliance proved short-lived and he was later killed by Cadwallon. The year following, Æthelfrith's son Oswald returned and drove the invaders from both Bernicia and Deira, thus establishing himself on the throne of

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

. He was however defeated and killed in battle in 642 by Penda, and was succeeded as king by his brother Oswiu. With her brothers on the throne of Northumbria, Æbbe could return from exile and with their support established a monastery at Ebchester and later within the remains of a 6th-century fort at ''urbs Coludi'', now known as Kirk Hill at St Abb's Head, latterly evolving into Coldingham Priory. This religious house lasted for about 40 years and was a double separate monastery of both monks and nuns governed by Æbbe. Legend says she became a nun to avoid the attentions of a certain Prince Aidan. However, he refused to give up his suit and it is said that due to her prayers the tide stayed high around Kirk Hill for three days and protected her. Æbbe was instrumental in the spread of Christianity to the still largely pagan Angles on the Northumbrian coast. Her political prowess also proved important in rectifying a dispute between her nephew Ecgfrith, King of Northumbria, who had succeeded his father Oswui in 670, and the Bishop

Wilfrid Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and beca ...

. Ecgfrith of Northumbria was the son of Æbbe's brother Oswiu, who arranged a marriage between the then fifteen year old Ecgfrith and Æthelthryth, daughter of King

Anna of East Anglia Anna (or Onna; killed 653 or 654) was List of monarchs of East Anglia, king of East Anglia from the early 640s until his death. He was a member of the Wuffingas family, the ruling dynasty of the East Angles, and one of the three sons of Eni of ...

. The dispute started with Wilfrid's support for Queen Æthelthryth, who wished despite her marriage to preserve her virginity, and to enter a monastery. With his support she had become a nun at Æbbes monastery. Æbbe educated the ex-queen Æthelthryth, first wife of Ecgfrith, who later after graduating from Æbbe's tutelage established a religious site on which now stands

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...

. The ill feeling in court against Wilfrid continued with Ecgfrith's second wife, Iurmenburh, who became hostile to Wilfrid on account of the vast estates which he had acquired and the way he travelled about with a large armed retinue, like that of a king. This culminated in Wilfrid being imprisoned at

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the Anglo–Scottish border, English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and ...

at Ecgfrith's whim. Thanks to Æbbe's political skills, on a visit by Ecgfrith to the monastery on Kirk hill, she managed to persuade her nephew to release the bishop. Many double monasteries were often inhabited by the younger offspring of noble families, and would have been a place for eating, drinking and entertainment. While Æbbe, herself was noted for her own piety, she had trouble enforcing discipline at the monastery. The monks and nuns thus became very lax and worldly. This leads to one of the most famous miracles surrounding the patron saint of southeast Scotland and northeast England, St.

Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne () ( – 20 March 687) was a saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Hiberno-Scottish mission, Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monastery, monasteries of Melrose Abbey#Histo ...

who visited Æbbe's monastery to instruct the community. At night Cuthbert would disappear to bathe and pray in the sea, to stop himself succumbing to temptations of the flesh. Very early one morning, a monk from the monastery spied him praying and singing psalms in the sea and as Cuthbert came ashore, he saw or imagined he saw two otters bound out of the sea and join Cuthbert. They licked his ice cold feet until they were warm again, and dried them with their fur. The most likely location for this event is Horse Castle bay at the base of the Kirk Hill.

Death

Shortly after the death of Æbbe, and as foretold in prophecy by a monk named Adamnan, in 683 the monastery burned down. The monastic site was abandoned, and by the first half of the 8th century, as

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

confirms, the site was deserted. The early work of Æbbe in establishing the Christian religion in south-east Scotland was not forgotten, and in a book written about c. 1200 by the monks of Coldingham, they tell of many pilgrims visiting the Kirk Hill and the spring at Well Mouth, located at the top of the beach now called Horse Castle Bay. St. Æbbe's feast day is celebrated on August 25.

Archeology

The remains of a possible monastery at Coldingham was discovered near Coldingham Priory (a historical house for Benedictine monks), according to the announcement on 8 March 2019 by DigVentures, a U.K.-based group led by archaeologists and supported by crowdfunding. Monastery of 7th-Century Scottish Princess (and Saint) Possibly Discovered
By Laura Geggel, Associate Editor, Live Science. March 11, 2019.

References

Sources

* * * *https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-47495826

External links

*
St. Abbs Community Website
Archived 25 July 2008

Archived 15 April 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Aebbe of Coldingham 610s births 683 deaths Anglo-Saxon royalty Northumbrian saints Anglo-Saxon abbesses 7th-century Christian saints Royal House of Northumbria 7th-century English nuns 7th-century Christian nuns 7th-century Scottish people 7th-century Scottish women People from Ebchester People from Berwickshire