Æthelflæd of Romsey
Ethelflaeda | |
|---|---|
| Abbess of Romsey | |
| Born | c. 963 |
| Died | c. 1016 |
| Resting place | Romsey Abbey |
| Honored in | Catholic Church |
| Canonized | Pre-congregation |
| Major shrine | St Ethelflaeda’s Chapel [1] |
| Feast | 23 October |
| Patronage | Abbey Church of St Mary and St Ethelflaeda |
| Other names | Aethelflaeda, Ethelfleda, Ælflæd, Æthelflæda |
| Predecessor | St. Mærwynn |
| Parents |
|
Saint Æthelflæd of Romsey (also Ælflæd and Æthelflæda) was a late tenth-century abbess of Romsey Abbey.[2] She is recognized as the patron saint of the Abbey Church of St Mary and St Ethelflaeda (fmr. Romsey Abbey) in Romsey, England.[3]
There is a doubtful record of a sainted daughter of King Edward the Elder (reigned 899-924) called Ælflæda of Romsey, but this is probably a confusion with Æthelflæd of Romsey.[4]
Life
Her identity is obscure, though in later stories she was said to be the daughter of a tenth-century nobleman[5] or King Edgar of England.[2] According to the Women in World History Encyclopedia, Æthelflæd's mother was a woman named Elfthrith (945–1002).[2]
Æthelflæd became abbess of Romsey Abbey in c. 1003 after St. Mærwynn and Elwina according to Reverend H.G.D. Liveing's “Records of Romsey Abbey.”[6] She was known for "chanting psalms whilst standing naked in the River Test at night."[7]
Her feast day is 23rd October.[8]
Æthelflæd appears in a small number of eleventh- and twelfth-century monastic calendars.[5]
A 14th-century life of her and a predecessor as abbess, Merewenna, amongst a collection of saints lives once belonging to Romsey Abbey, is held in the British Library's Lansdowne manuscripts, MS Lansdowne 436, fols. 43v-45v. It was printed by C. Horstmann, Nova Legenda Angliae, 1901, vol I, pp. 379-381; and translated by H. Liveing, Records of Romsey, 1912, pp. 19-26.[9][10]
Legacy
St Ethelflaeda's tomb is in the Abbey Church's St. Ethelflaeda Chapel. The "abbess’s crozier... [is] down the side of the tombstone." The chapel also contains a late 15th century "painted panel of a kneeling priest," a statue of St Benedict, and a "list of vicars of Romsey."[1]
The Ethelflaeda festival is held at Abbey Church in her honor.[11] A controversial diptych of her life created in 2016 by Christopher Gollon was added to the Abbey Church in 2018.
References
- 1 2 "St Ethelflaeda's Chapel". Romsey Abbey - An Introductory Tour (Audio guide) – via YourAudioGuide.com.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Commire, Anne; Klezmer, Deborah. "Ethelflaeda (c. 963–c. 1016)". Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. p. 292.
- ↑ Herbert, Shiranikha (January 26, 2018). "Chancellor permits Romsey Abbey to buy diptych of its patron saint St Ethelflaeda". Church Times.
- ↑ Thacker, Alan (2001). "Dynastic Monasteries and Family Cults". In Higham, N. J.; Hill, D. H. (eds.). Edward the Elder 899–924. Abingdon, Oxfordshire: Routledge. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-415-21497-1.
- 1 2 Cynthia Turner Camp (2019). "Looking for Holy Grandmothers in Late Medieval Nunneries". In Jay Paul Gates; Brian O'Camb (eds.). Remembering the Medieval Present: Generative Uses of England's Pre-Conquest Past, 10th to 15th Centuries. Leiden; Boston: Brill. pp. 150–151. ISBN 9789004408333.
- ↑ Perkins, Thomas (October 3, 2007). Bell's Cathedrals: A Short Account of Romsey Abbey. E-book edited by Jonathan Ingram, Anne Storer, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team. Project Gutenberg.
- ↑ "A brief history". Romsey Abbey. Retrieved 2026-08-22.
- ↑ "Dmitry Lapa. Venerable Merewenna and Ethelfleda of Romsey". OrthoChristian.Com. Retrieved 2025-12-14.
- ↑ "Chronicle and British saints' lives. Lansdowne MS436: 14th century". British Library. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
- ↑ Foot, Sarah (2000). Veiled Women. Vol. II. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate. p. 151 n. 1. ISBN 978-0-7546-0044-2.
- ↑ "'Joyful' and 'thought-provoking' time at Ethelflaeda Festival". Hampshire Chronicle. 2023-10-29. Retrieved 2026-08-22.
See also
- Collier, Christopher (1990). "Romsey Minster in Saxon Times" (PDF). Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society. 39: 41–52.
- Hollis, Stephanie (2013). The Literary Culture of the Anglo‑Saxon Royal Nunneries: Romsey and London, British Library, MS Lansdowne 436. Brepols.