Ælfflæd of Whitby
Encyclopedia
Saint Ælfflæd was the daughter of King Oswiu of Northumbria
and Eanflæd. She was abbess of Whitby Abbey
from the death of her kinswoman Hilda in 680, first jointly with her mother, then alone.
Most of Ælfflæd's life was spent as a nun. When she was about a year old, her father, in thanksgiving for his victory over Penda of Mercia
at the Battle of the Winwæd, handed her over to abbess Hilda to be brought up at Hartlepool Abbey
. When Hilda left to found Whitby Abbey
in 657 or 658, she brought Ælfflæd with her.
Like her mother, Ælfflæd was associated with Bishop Wilfrid
, and played a large part in the settlement which placed her nephew Osred
son of Aldfrith on the throne in 705. She was an important political figure from the death of her brother Ecgfrith
in 685 until her death.
Her piety was praised by contemporaries such as Bede
and Eddius
. Bede refers to her high degree of holiness and devotion, while Eddius calls her the consoler of the whole kingdom and the best counsellor.
Ælfflæd was considered a saint and her feast day was celebrated on 8 February. She was buried at Whitby. A late hagiography
, the Vita sanctae Elfledae, survives, collected in John Capgrave
's Nova Legenda Angliae of 1516.
Oswiu of Northumbria
Oswiu , also known as Oswy or Oswig , was a King of Bernicia. His father, Æthelfrith of Bernicia, was killed in battle, fighting against Rædwald, King of the East Angles and Edwin of Deira at the River Idle in 616...
and Eanflæd. She was abbess of Whitby Abbey
Whitby Abbey
Whitby Abbey is a ruined Benedictine abbey overlooking the North Sea on the East Cliff above Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. It was disestablished during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under the auspices of Henry VIII...
from the death of her kinswoman Hilda in 680, first jointly with her mother, then alone.
Most of Ælfflæd's life was spent as a nun. When she was about a year old, her father, in thanksgiving for his victory over Penda of Mercia
Penda of Mercia
Penda was a 7th-century King of Mercia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom in what is today the English Midlands. A pagan at a time when Christianity was taking hold in many of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Penda took over the Severn Valley in 628 following the Battle of Cirencester before participating in the...
at the Battle of the Winwæd, handed her over to abbess Hilda to be brought up at Hartlepool Abbey
Hartlepool Abbey
Hartlepool Abbey was a Northumbrian monastery founded in 640 CE by Hieu, the first of the saintly recluses of Northumbria, and Aidan of Lindisfarne, on the Headland Estate of Hartlepool now called the Heugh or Old Hartlepool, in County Durham, England....
. When Hilda left to found Whitby Abbey
Whitby Abbey
Whitby Abbey is a ruined Benedictine abbey overlooking the North Sea on the East Cliff above Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. It was disestablished during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under the auspices of Henry VIII...
in 657 or 658, she brought Ælfflæd with her.
Like her mother, Ælfflæd was associated with Bishop Wilfrid
Wilfrid
Wilfrid was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Gaul, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and became the abbot of a newly founded monastery at Ripon...
, and played a large part in the settlement which placed her nephew Osred
Osred I of Northumbria
Osred was king of Northumbria from 705 until his death. He was the son of King Aldfrith of Northumbria. Aldfrith's only known wife was Cuthburg, but it is not certainly known whether Osred was her son...
son of Aldfrith on the throne in 705. She was an important political figure from the death of her brother Ecgfrith
Ecgfrith of Northumbria
King Ecgfrith was the King of Northumbria from 670 until his death. He ruled over Northumbria when it was at the height of its power, but his reign ended with a disastrous defeat in which he lost his life.-Early life:...
in 685 until her death.
Her piety was praised by contemporaries such as Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
and Eddius
Eddius
Stephen of Ripon is the author of the eighth-century Vita Sancti Wilfrithi . Another name which has been traditionally attributed to him is Eddius Stephanus or Æddi Stephanus, but since his identification with the bearer of this name is no longer accepted by historians today, modern usage tends to...
. Bede refers to her high degree of holiness and devotion, while Eddius calls her the consoler of the whole kingdom and the best counsellor.
Ælfflæd was considered a saint and her feast day was celebrated on 8 February. She was buried at Whitby. A late hagiography
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
, the Vita sanctae Elfledae, survives, collected in John Capgrave
John Capgrave
John Capgrave was an English historian, hagiographer and scholastic theologian-Schooling:Capgrave was born in Bishop's Lynn, now King's Lynn, Norfolk – "My cuntre is Northfolke, of the town of Lynne"...
's Nova Legenda Angliae of 1516.