Æthelthryth
Æthelthryth | |
|---|---|
| Virgin, Abbess of Ely | |
| Born | 4 March 636 Exning, Suffolk |
| Died | 23 June 679 (aged 43) Ely, Cambridgeshire |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church,
True Orthodox Church Catholic Church Anglican Communion |
| Major shrine | St Etheldreda's Church, Ely Place, Holborn, London; Originally Ely Cathedral (now destroyed) |
| Feast | 23 June (Catholic), 17 October (Anglican) |
| Attributes | Abbess holding a model of Ely Cathedral |
| Patronage | Throat complaints |
Æthelthryth (or Æðelþryð or Æþelðryþe; 4 March 636 – 23 June 679) was an East Anglian princess, a Fenland and Northumbrian queen and Abbess of Ely. She is an Anglo-Saxon saint, and is also known as Etheldreda or Audrey, especially in religious contexts. She was a daughter of Anna, King of East Anglia, and her siblings were Wendreda and Seaxburh of Ely, both of whom eventually retired from secular life and founded abbeys. Æthelthryth was "in turns, princess, wife, queen, nun and abbess, enjoying every possible position of power a woman could claim in early Anglo-Saxon England".