Æthelburh (died 7 July 664), known as Ethelburga, was an
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
princess, abbess and saint.
Background
Æthelburh was one of the daughters 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 ...
although she was probably illegitimate. Her sisters were
Withburga,
Saethryth, who was abbess of
Faremoutiers Abbey in
Brie
Brie ( ; ) is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie (itself from Gaulish ''briga'', "hill, height"), the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in colour with a slight gre ...
,
Seaxburh and
Æthelthryth
Æthelthryth (or Æðelþryð or Æþelðryþe; 23 June 679) was an East Anglian princess, a Fenland and Northumbrian queen and Abbess of Ely. She is an Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the Englis ...
who were abbesses of
Ely.
Æthelburh and Saethryth were sent to the nunnery of
Faremoutiers in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
for their education.
"The Anglo-Saxons and the origins of The English People 410 – 865", The St Edmundsbury Chronicle
/ref> While there Saethryth became a nun and eventually succeeded Æthelburh as abbess. As abbess, Saethryth began work on a church in honour of the twelve apostles
In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...
which was left unfinished at her death in 664. At her request she was buried in the church. After seven years a decision was made to move her bones to the nearby church of Saint Stephen and her body was found to be uncorrupted. Her feast day is 7 July.
See also
* Wuffing dynasty family tree
References
External links
*
664 deaths
Anglo-Saxon royalty
East Anglian saints
East Anglian princesses
Anglo-Saxon nuns
7th-century Christian saints
Year of birth unknown
Female saints of medieval England
7th-century English nuns
7th-century Christian nuns
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