Eanflæd

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eanflæd (also Eanflaed, Eanfled, Aeonfleda ; * April 19, 626 , † between 685 and 704) was a Northumbrian king's daughter and queen. She later became abbess of Whitby Abbey . She is considered a saint .

Life

Eanflæd was the daughter of the Anglo-Saxon pagan king Edwin (616-633) of Northumbria and his Christian second wife Æthelburg († 647), a daughter of the king Æthelberht I of Kent. Beda Venerabilis reported that on April 19, 626, the day she was born, her father Edwin was assassinated. Edwin is said to have sworn to have Eanflæd baptized and to convert to Christianity himself if he would find out who was behind the attack and defeat it. Edwin kept his promise and had Eanflæd baptized on June 8, 626 ( Pentecost ) and himself at Easter 627 by Bishop Paulinus of York . According to Welsh tradition, Eanflæd was baptized by Rhun mab Urien on Easter day 626 and Edwin with 12,000 others on Easter day 627 . After the death of her father Edwin, who was killed in the battle against Cadwallon ap Cadfan of Gwynedd and Penda of Mercia on October 12, 633 in the Battle of Hatfield Chase , Æthelburg had to live with their children Eanflæd, Wuscfrea, the grandson Yffi and the Bishop Paulinus flee from the plundering enemies to the southern Kingdom of Kent , where they were taken in.

Eanflæd from the royal house of Deira married her cousin Oswiu (642-670), who came from the royal house of Bernicia , around the year 644 . The marriage resulted in several children: the son Ecgfrith (* around 645), the daughters Ælfflæd (* around 654, abbess of Whitby) and Osthryth and probably also his son Ælfwine (* around 661).

In Deira at that time Oswine (642–651), a relative of Eanflæd, ruled. With this marriage, Oswiu probably wanted to reinforce his claim to a united kingdom of Northumbria. Around 648 the 14-year-old Wilfrid came to the Oswius court. Through Eanflæd's intercession he was educated at Lindisfarne Monastery for a number of years . She later helped Wilfrid on his pilgrimage to Rome by asking her cousin Earconberht I , the King of Kent, to arrange for Wilfrid's further journey. In 651 Oswiu attacked the neighboring kingdom of Deira. Its king Oswine was killed in Ingethlingum (Gilling in the Ryedale district ) by treason on behalf of Oswius. This outrage revolted the whole country and made Oswine a martyr . Eanflæd, a relative of Oswine, had an atonement monastery built in Gilling, the first abbot of which was her relative Trumhere . Their daughter Ælfflæd was born around the year 654. Oswiu was in the Irish-Scottish tradition, while Eanflæd followed the Roman Catholic rite, which was probably also observed in the Gilling monastery. According to Beda's report, this even went so far that Easter was celebrated at different times within the royal household. To end this state of affairs, Oswiu convened the Synod of Whitby in 664 , which opted for the Catholic rite. Around 664 Ealhfrith (655–664), Oswius' son from a previous marriage, disappeared from the sources. Ecgfrith (664–670), probably a son of Eanflæd, took his place as sub-king in Deira. From 670 to 685 he was king of all Northumbrias.

Whitby Abbey ruins

After Oswiu's death in 670, Eanflæd entered Whitby Abbey as a nun , where Oswiu was buried in St. Peter's Church . After the death of the abbess Hilda , she took over the management of the monastery together with her daughter Ælfflæd. During her tenure, her dead father Edwin's body was transferred to Whitby. He was revered as a martyr and a royal cult developed, which, however, never achieved the importance of the cult around his nephew Oswald († 642). Eanflæd died between 685 and 704 and was buried at the side of her husband Oswiu in Whitby.

Adoration

There is no evidence of a cult around Eanflæd prior to the Norman conquest. According to William of Malmesbury , a 12th century chronicler, her relics are said to have been transferred to Glastonbury Abbey , where she was venerated as a saint in his day . Eanflæd's feast day is November 24th.

swell

literature

  • Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eanflæd 1 ( Memento from December 23, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) in Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE)
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Alan Thacker: Eanflaed ( Memento from October 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (paid registration required). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved October 24, 2011
  3. ↑ a b c d Michael Lapidge: Eanflæd . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , p. 153.
  4. ↑ Beda: HE 2.9
  5. ↑ Nennius: Historia Brittonum , 63
  6. ^ A b Philip Holdsworth: Edwin, King of Northumbria . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , pp. 163-164.
  7. ↑ Beda: HE 2.20
  8. ^ Philip Holdsworth: Oswiu . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , p. 349.
  9. ↑ RC Love: Æthelthryth . In: Michael Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England , Wiley-Blackwell, 2001, ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1 , p. 18.
  10. ↑ a b c d e Beda: HE 3.24
  11. ↑ Bertram Colgrave: The Earliest Life of Gregory the Great , Cambridge University Press, 1985, ISBN 978-052131384-1 , S. 42nd
  12. ↑ Beda: HE 4,21
  13. ↑ Beda: HE 5,19
  14. ↑ Beda: HE 3.25
  15. ↑ Simon Keynes: Kings of the Northumbrians . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , pp. 502-505.
predecessor Office successor
Hilda Abbess of Whitby Abbey
680–685 / 704
with Ælfflæd 		unknown
personal data
SURNAME Eanflæd
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eanfled; Eanfleda
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Queen of Northumbria, Abbess of Whitby
DATE OF BIRTH April 19, 626
DATE OF DEATH between 685 and 704
Place of death Whitby