Alburga
Encyclopedia
Æthelburh or Alburga of Wilton (died 810), was a member of the royal house of Wessex
, abbess of Wilton
and a saint.
Alburga was the daughter of Ealhmund of Kent
, Subregulus of Kent, half-sister of Egbert, King of Wessex
, and wife of Wulfstan, ealdorman of Wiltshire
(also known as Weohstan).
On her husband's death in 802, she turned the college of secular priests which he had established in an old church in Wilton, Wiltshire
, into a Benedictine
convent with twelve nuns, of which she became the abbess and is held to be the founder. She died there on Christmas Day 810, and her feast is celebrated accordingly on 25 December.
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
, abbess of Wilton
Wilton Abbey
Wilton Abbey was a Benedictine convent in Wiltshire, England, three miles from Salisbury on the site now occupied by Wilton House. A first foundation was made as a college of secular priests by Wulfstan, Ealdorman of Wiltshire, about 773, but after his death was changed into a convent for twelve...
and a saint.
Alburga was the daughter of Ealhmund of Kent
Ealhmund of Kent
Ealhmund was King of Kent in 784.The only contemporary evidence of him is an abstract of a charter dated in that year, in which Ealhmund granted land to the Abbot of Reculver...
, Subregulus of Kent, half-sister of Egbert, King of Wessex
Egbert of Wessex
Egbert was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was Ealhmund of Kent...
, and wife of Wulfstan, ealdorman of Wiltshire
Wulfstan, ealdorman of Wiltshire
Wulfstan, ealdorman of Wiltshire or Weohstan, , a leader of Wessex who ruled Wiltshire as Ealdorman under Cynewulf and Beorhtric...
(also known as Weohstan).
On her husband's death in 802, she turned the college of secular priests which he had established in an old church in Wilton, Wiltshire
Wilton, Wiltshire
Wilton is a town in Wiltshire, , England, with a rich heritage dating back to the Anglo-Saxons. Today it is dwarfed by its larger and more famous neighbour, Salisbury, but still has a range of notable shops and attractions, including Wilton House.The confluence of the rivers Wylye and Nadder is at...
, into a Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
convent with twelve nuns, of which she became the abbess and is held to be the founder. She died there on Christmas Day 810, and her feast is celebrated accordingly on 25 December.