Eanflæd (19 April 626 – after 685, also known as Enfleda) was a

Deira Deira ( ; Old Welsh/Cumbric: ''Deywr'' or ''Deifr''; ang, Derenrice or ) was an area of Post-Roman Britain, and a later Anglian kingdom. Etymology The name of the kingdom is of Brythonic origin, and is derived from the Proto-Celtic *''daru' ...

n princess, queen of

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

and later, the

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Copt ...

of an influential Christian monastery in Whitby,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. She was the daughter of King

Edwin of Northumbria Edwin ( ang, Ēadwine; c. 586 – 12 October 632/633), also known as Eadwine or Æduinus, was the King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from about 616 until his death. He converted to Christi ...

and Æthelburg, who in turn was the daughter of King

Æthelberht of Kent Æthelberht (; also Æthelbert, Aethelberht, Aethelbert or Ethelbert; ang, Æðelberht ; 550 – 24 February 616) was King of Kent from about 589 until his death. The eighth-century monk Bede, in his ''Ecclesiastical History of the Engli ...

. In or shortly after 642 Eanflæd became the second wife of King

Oswiu of Northumbria Oswiu, also known as Oswy or Oswig ( ang, Ōswīg; c. 612 – 15 February 670), was King of Bernicia from 642 and of Northumbria from 654 until his death. He is notable for his role at the Synod of Whitby in 664, which ultimately brought the ch ...

. After Oswiu's death in 670, she retired to

Whitby Abbey Whitby Abbey was a 7th-century Christian monastery that later became a Benedictine abbey. The abbey church was situated overlooking the North Sea on the East Cliff above Whitby in North Yorkshire, England, a centre of the medieval Northumbrian ...

, which had been founded by

Hilda of Whitby Hilda (or Hild) of Whitby (c. 614 – 680) was a Christian saint and the founding abbess of the monastery at Whitby, which was chosen as the venue for the Synod of Whitby in 664. An important figure in the Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon Engla ...

. Eanflæd became the abbess around 680 and remained there until her death. The monastery had strong association with members of the Northumbrian royal family and played an important role in the establishment of Roman Christianity in England.

Birth, baptism, exile

Eanflæd's mother had grown up as a Christian, but her father was an

Anglo-Saxon pagan Anglo-Saxon paganism, sometimes termed Anglo-Saxon heathenism, Anglo-Saxon pre-Christian religion, or Anglo-Saxon traditional religion, refers to the religious beliefs and practices followed by the Anglo-Saxons between the 5th and 8th centurie ...

and he remained uncommitted to the new religion when she was born on the evening before Easter in 626 at a royal residence by the River Derwent, Yorkshire, River Derwent. Bede recounts that earlier on the day that Eanflæd was born, an assassin sent by Cwichelm of Wessex made an attempt on Edwin's life. Afterward, Edwin, prompted by Æthelburg's bishop, Paulinus of York, Paulinus, agreed to Eanflæd's baptism and promised to become a Christian if he was granted a victory over Cwichhelm. Eanflæd was baptised, Bede says, on the feast of Pentecost (8 June 626) with eleven others of the royal household. Edwin campaigned successfully against Cwichelm and adopted the new faith in 627. His reign ended in 633 with his defeat and death at the battle of Hatfield Chase. Fleeing the unsettled times which followed Edwin's death, Æthelburg, together with Bishop Paulinus, returned to Kent, where Eanflæd grew up under the protection of her uncle, King Eadbald of Kent.

Return, marriage

In 642 Oswiu, King of Bernicia, head of the rival Northumbrian royal family, sent a priest named Utta to Kent, which then was ruled by Eanflæd's cousin, Eorcenberht of Kent, Eorcenberht, to ask for her hand in marriage. Oswiu already had been married, to a British princess, named Rhiainfellt, Rieinmellt, but recently had become king on the death of his brother, Oswald of Northumbria, Oswald, at the battle of Maserfield. King Penda of Mercia, the victor of Maserfield, dominated central Great Britain, Britain and Oswiu was in need of support. Marriage with Eanflæd would provide Kentish, and perhaps Frankish, support, and any children Oswiu and Eanflæd might have would have strong claims to all of Northumbria. The date of the marriage is not recorded. If Oswiu's goal in marrying Eanflæd was the peaceful acceptance of his rule in Deira, the plan was unsuccessful. By 644 Oswine of Deira, Oswine, Eanflæd's paternal second cousin, was ruling in Deira. In 651 Oswine was killed by one of Oswiu's generals. To expiate the killing of his wife's kinsman, Oswiu founded Gilling Abbey at Gilling East, Gilling where prayers were said for both kings.

Children, patron of Wilfrid, supporter of Rome

With varying degrees of certainty, Eanflæd's children with Oswiu are identified as Ecgfrith of Northumbria, Ecgfrith, Ælfwine of Deira, Ælfwine, Osthryth, and Ælfflæd of Whitby, Ælfflæd. Oswiu's complicated series of marriages and liaisons makes identifying the mother of each of his children difficult. Kirby states that Aldfrith of Northumbria, Aldfrith, Ealhfrith of Deira, Ealhfrith, and Ealhflæd were not born to Eanflæd. Eanflæd was the early patroness of Wilfrid, who played a large part in Northumbrian politics during the reigns of Ecgfrith, Aldfrith, and Osred I of Northumbria, Osred, and elsewhere in seventh century Britain. When Wilfrid wished to travel on pilgrimage to Rome, the Queen recommended him to her cousin, the Kentish king Eorcenberht.

Widow, abbess, saint

Perhaps several years after Oswiu's death, Eanflæd retired to the monastery at Whitby. This monastery was closely associated with her royal family and many members were buried there. Divisions within the Northumbrian church led to the Synod of Whitby held at this monastery in 664, during which Oswiu had agreed to settle a calendar controversy about Easter by adopting the Roman dating method. Whitby Abbey was a double monastery, housing the nuns and monks in separate quarters although they shared the church and religious rites. Following the death of her kinswoman and the founding abbess of the monastery, Hilda of Whitby, Hild, in 680 Eanflæd became abbess jointly with her daughter Ælfflæd. She died in the reign of her stepson, Aldfrith (685–704). During this time, the remains of King Edwin were reburied at Whitby.Holdsworth, "Edwin"; Lapidge, "Eanflæd"; Thacker. Thacker gives her death date as "after 685", Lapidge, Wiktionary:circa, circa 704. Some late sources give the feast day of Eanflæd as 24 November. Along with Edwin, Oswiu, Hilda, and later, Ælfflæd, she was buried at Whitby. William of Malmesbury believed that her remains later had been removed to Glastonbury Abbey where a monument to her was said to exist in the twelfth century.Thacker, Eanflæd

Notes

References

* Bede, ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People.'' Translated by Leo Sherley-Price, revised R. E. Latham, ed. D. H. Farmer. London: Penguin, 1990. * * Eddius, "Life of Wilfrid" in D. H. Farmer (ed.) & J. H. Webb (trans.), ''The Age of Bede.'' London: Penguin, 1998. IBN 0-140-44727-X * Higham, N. J., ''The Convert Kings: Power and religious affiliation in early Anglo-Saxon England.'' Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997. * Higham, N. J., ''The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350–1100.'' Stroud: Sutton, 1993. * Holdsworth, Philip, "Edwin, King of Northumbria" in M. Lapidge, et al., (eds), ''The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England''. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999. * Holdsworth, Philip, "Oswiu" in M. Lapidge, et al., (eds), ''The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England''. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999. * Kirby, D. P., ''The Earliest Anglo-Saxon Kings'', Routledge, 1991 * Lapidge, Michael, "Eanflæd" in Michael Lapidge et al., ''The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England.'' Blackwell, 1999. * Lapidge, Michael, "Paulinus" in Michael Lapidge et al., ''The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England.'' Blackwell, 1999. *

External links

*
Britannia.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eanflaed 626 births Northumbrian saints Anglo-Saxon royal consorts Anglo-Saxon nuns 7th-century English nuns 7th-century Christian saints Yorkshire saints Abbesses of Whitby Year of death unknown English princesses Female saints of medieval England House of Kent