Saint Æþelþrýð of Ely
One of the great wealths of the spirituality of præ-Conquest, præ-Schismatic Old England is that it is home not only to a great many princes and holy men, but a great number of holy women also, whose mild witness was every bit the equal in fervour, depth and sincerity of their male contemporaries. The much-celebrated Saint Boniface held written correspondence with not one but three notable, well-educated and holy women in England (Éadburg of Thanet, Wealdburg of Heidenheim and Leobgýð of Tauberbischofsheim), all of whom went on to become saints in their own right. This small historical fact demonstrates the broader reality that – far from being misogynist – the traditional, mediæval Orthodox Church in England appreciated, venerated and honoured both the feminine genius in general and all of its particular and sundry women saints: abbesses, nuns, princesses and martyrs. Among the greatest of these is the saint celebrated today in the Orthodox Church: Saint Æþelþrýð of Ely [modernised as Etheldreda or Audrey].
Saint Æþelþrýð’s life is quite well-attested, most notably in the History of Saint Bede. She was among the four natural daughters of Anna King of East Anglia, all of whom went on to become saints. She may have been mentored in her early years by the Burgundian Saint Felix of Dunwich, and she swore herself to virginity at a very early age, conceiving a desire for the contemplative life from then. Nevertheless, she was married twice for political reasons. The first time was to an ealdorman of the south Gyrwas named Tondberht, from whom she received the isle of Ely (so called, says Bede, because of the ‘vast number of eels’ who liked swimming in the marshy waters around it) as a morning gift, and who respected her vow of celibacy but died shortly after their wedding. At around the same time, her father Anna was killed in battle against the heathen Penda of Mercia.
Her second marriage, arranged by Saint Óswíu of Northumbria, was to Ecgfrið, king of Dere (and later Northumbria) and brother of Abbess Saint Ælfflæd of Whitby, who was nine years her junior and fifteen years old at the time of their wedding. Apparently, Æþelþrýð dearly loved Ecgfrið and vice-versa, but their marriage was somewhat troubled by the fact that her much-younger husband wanted to consummate. Bede relates of this troubled marriage that Ecgfrið offered ‘to give estates and much money’ to anyone who could cajole Æþelþrýð into his bed, but that she was steadfast in her refusals (as proven by the testimony of Saint Wilfrið and the incorruption of her relics) and eventually convinced her husband reluctantly to let her join a convent: that of Coldingham Priory of the Columban rule, governed by Abbess Saint Æbbe.
Æþelþrýð there received the nun’s veil and wimple from the hands of Bishop Saint Wilfrið himself. This was not the only saint of the North with whom the holy woman had been in contact; she also took instruction from Holy Father Cuðberht and was a great benefactress of his monastery, contributing not only money but also her own work of a hand-embroidered stole and cuffs. The new nun spent a year in Æbbe’s house before she was given leave to found her own community of nuns on the Isle of Ely, which had been her property before she gave it to the Church’s use.
Under Æþelþrýð’s kindly direction, the Abbey of Ely became a great school for saintly women in England – Æþelþrýð’s blood-sisters Seaxburg, Æþelburg and Wihtburg prominently among them.
Æþelþrýð lived a life of great ascetical devotion and rigour toward herself, though she was lenient and kind toward her sisters in the convent. She only wore woollen garments and never linen; she bathed in hot water only on the high holy days of Pascha, Pentecost and Theophany (and at that only after she had assisted all the other nuns in bathing); she ate only one meal a day unless hospitality or bodily need demanded she eat more; and she stood at constant prayer in the church from Matins until dawn unless bodily infirmity prevented her. She even foretold the plague that would claim her life, as well as reckoned the number of nuns who would repose with her in that event. She ruled Ely for seven years, and went to the Lord in the presence of her beloved sisters there.
A translation was ordered seventeen years after by the abbess who succeeded her – her sister Saint Seaxburg. She had a marble reliquary brought from Grantchester, for Ely was on all sides surrounded by swampy fens without any suitable material. When Æþelþrýð’s remains were exhumed, they were found to be wholly without corruption; and this was more to the astonishment of her physician Cynefrið who had accompanied her in her last days and who had opened and drained a large, painful tumour on the saint’s jaw. Of the tumour there was no trace, except for a faint scar where Cynefrið had made the incision.
The linens in which the saintly abbess was buried, Bede relates, had the power to expel devils from the possessed; and the stones of the Grantchester coffin themselves (which were found already cut to dimensions that, wondrously enough, fitted Æþelþrýð’s relics perfectly) were hallowed to the point that they could cure blindness and ailments of the eyes.
Of all the saints of the early English Church, Æþelþrýð seems to be the single one most consistently and enduringly popular in terms of her veneration, even in the modern day when English religiosity in general appears to be at a low ebb. The Cambridge town has held revival fairs in her honour on International Labour Day in 1987, 1997 and 2000, which turned out to be great successes. May it yet be granted that this great and holy woman of Ely guide her country again toward the true light of Christ! Holy Mother Æþelþrýð, chaste in mind and humble and gracious in heart, we beseech you pray to Christ our God to save our souls!
Saint Bede even composed a hymn in Latin, in honour of Saint Æþelþrýð and her vow of virginity. It makes up the twentieth chapter of Book IV of the History of the English Church and People:
O Trinity, who thro’ the ages long
Has ruled the spheres, give aid to this my song.
Let Maro wars extol – of peace I sing,
And praise the gracious gifts of Christ our King.
No rape of Helen forms my present theme,
Or idle tale for venal, shallow men:
Such foolish tales I shun, and here proclaim
The gifts of God that raise our hearts again.
See! God most high resigns His royal throne,
Descends to earth, and enters Mary’s womb;
To free the sons of men from all their tears
A spotless Virgin her Creator bears,
The Gate of Heaven, thro’ which its radiance pours.
Now sing, O choirs of virgins, of your Queen,
The peerless one whose like has ne’er been seen,
To whose high honour countless flowers arise
To follow her and imitate her ways.
Fair Agatha stands firm amid the flame;
Eulalia, too, prefers their sting to shame.
Strong in her faith, the virgin Thecla stands;
Euphemia faces beasts with prayerful hands.
Sweet Agnes smiles to greet the deadly thrust;
Cecilia meets her death and keeps her trust.
High triumph waits the faithful, trusting heart;
God’s loving care no worldly power can part.
Now Etheldreda shines on these our days,
And sheds the light of grace upon our ways.
Sprung of a royal and illustrious line,
She brings yet nobler gifts to Christ her King.
A glorious queen, a starry sceptre she
Receives from Him, a well-won dignity.
What earthly prince a worthy groom would be
When Christ makes her His bride æternally?
In Mary’s heavenly train you move in grace,
And, in her pattern, bear a royal race.
Twelve years you reigned a queen to your royal lord,
Then took the veil, and gave yourself to God.
Renowned for holy deeds, this blessed saint
Returned her life to God still free from taint.
For sixteen years her body, sealed away,
Remained untarnished by the tomb’s decay.
Thine was the power, O Christ, that did maintain
Her holy body and its robes from stain.
The direful dropsy and disease depart
When her fair garments touch the ailing part.
And Satan, Eve’s seducer, burns with hate
As this victorious virgin seals his fate.
Chaste bride of Christ, what glory rings you now
As heaven and earth your name and graces show!
Raise high the torches! Light the Bridegroom’s road:
Prepare a joyful welcome for our God!
Take up the harp, and sing a sweet new song –
Repeat its happy chorus, saintly throng!
None from the Lamb’s own flock can e’er remove
The souls close-bound to Him by chains of love.Alma Deus Trinitas, quæ sæcula cuncta gubernas,
adnue iam cœptis, alma Deus Trinitas.
Bella Maro resonet; nos pacis dona canamus:
munera nos Christi; bella Maro resonet.
Carmina casta mihi, fedæ non raptus Helenæ;
luxus erit lubricis, carmina casta mihi.
Dona superna loquar, miseræ non prœlia Troiæ;
terra quibus gaudet, dona superna loquar.
En Deus altus adit uenerandæ Uirginis aluum
liberet ut homines, en Deus altus adit.
Femina uirgo parit mundi deuota parentem,
porta Maria Dei femina uirgo parit.
Gaudet amica cohors de Uirgine matre Tonantis;
uirginitate micans gaudet amica cohors.
Huius honor genuit casto de germine plures,
uirgineos flores huius honor genuit :
Ignibus usta feris uirgo non cessit Agathe,
Eulalia et perfert ignibus usta feris,
Kasta feras superat mentis pro culmine Tecla,
Eufemia sacra kasta feras superat,
Læta ridet gladios ferro robustior Agnes,
Cecilia infestos læta ridet gladios.
Multus in orbe uiget per sobria corda triumphus,
sobrietatis amor multus in orbe uiget.
Nostra quoque egregia iam tempora uirgo beauit ;
Ædilthryda nitet nostra quoque egregia.
Orta patre eximio, regali et stemmate clara,
nobilior Domino est, orta patre eximio.
Percipit inde decus reginæ et sceptra sub astris ;
plus super astra manens percipit inde decus.
Quid petis, alma, uirum, sponso iam dedita summo?
sponsus adest Christus ; quid petis, alma, uirum?
Regis ut ætherei matrem iam, credo, sequaris,
tu quoque sis mater regis ut ætherei.
Sponsa dicta Deo bis sex regnauerat annis,
inque monasterio est sponsa dicata Deo,
Tota sacrata polo celsis ubi floruit actis
reddidit atque animam tota sacrata polo.
Uirginis alma caro est tumulata bis octo Nouembres,
nec putet in tumulo uirginis alma caro.
Xhriste, tui est operis, quia uestis et ipsa sepulchro
inuiolata nitet; Xhriste, tui est operis.
Ydros et ater abit sacræ pro uestis honore ;
morbi diffugiunt, ydros et ater abit.
Zelus in hoste furit, quondam, qui uicerat Euam ;
uirgo triumphat ouans, zelus in hoste furit.
Aspice, nupta Deo, quæ sit tibi gloria terris ;
quae maneat cælis aspice, nupta Deo.
Munera læta capis, festiuis fulgida tædis ;
ecce uenit sponsus, munera læta capis.
Et noua dulcisono modularis carmina plectro,
sponsa hymno exultas et noua dulcisono.
Nullus ab altithroni comitatu segregat Agni,
quam affectu tulerat nullus ab altithroni.
In thee the image of God was preserved, O noble Æþelþrýð,
For thou didst take up thy cross and follow Christ.
Royal virgin, thou didst teach the multitude
By thine example that the flesh is to be scorned as fleeting,
While the soul needeth great care as immortal.
Wherefore, O holy Æþelþrýð, thou dost now make glad with the angels.
Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire
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