Saint Everild of Everingham ( ang, Eoforhild) was an Anglo-Saxon saint of the 7th century who founded a convent at Everingham, in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

. All we know of her comes from the York Breviary.David Hugh Farmer, ed. ''The Oxford Dictionary Of Saints'', ''s.v.'' "Everild (Everildis, Averil)". There are two churches dedicated to St Everilda: St Everilda's Church, Nether Poppleton, and

Ss Mary & Everilda, Everingham The Chapel of St. Mary the Virgin and St. Everilda, in the village of Everingham in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, is an impressive Italianate-style Roman Catholic chapel within the Diocese of Middlesbrough. The chapel is owned by the Gu ...

. She was converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

by Saint

Birinus Birinus (also ''Berin'', ''Birin''; – 3 December 649 or 650) was the first Bishop of Dorchester and was known as the " Apostle to the West Saxons" for his conversion of the Kingdom of Wessex to Christianity. He is venerated as a saint ...

, along with King

Cynegils of Wessex Cynegils () was King of Wessex from c. 611 to c. 642. Cynegils is traditionally considered to have been King of Wessex, but the familiar kingdoms of the so-called Heptarchy had not yet formed from the patchwork of smaller kingdoms in his life ...

, in 635. Her legend in the York Breviary states that she was of the

Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

. She fled from home to become a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

, and was joined by Saints Bega and Wuldreda. Saint Wilfrid of York made them all nuns at a place called the Bishop's Dwelling, later known as Everildisham. This place has been identified with present-day Everingham. She gathered a large community of some eighty women.

Veneration

Her name appears in the ''

Martyrology of Usuard The ''Martyrology of Usuard'' is a work by Usuard, a monk of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and

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 ...

. Her feast day is

9 July Events Pre-1600 *118 – Hadrian, who became emperor a year previously on Trajan's death, makes his entry into Rome. * 381 – The end of the First Council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Theodosi ...

Notes

External links

"St. Everildis, Virgin, in England"
''Butler's Lives of the Saints''
Saints of July 9: Everild of EveringhamCatholic Online entry
{{Authority control Converts to Christianity from pagan religions West Saxon saints Northumbrian saints Anglo-Saxon nuns History of the East Riding of Yorkshire Christianity in the East Riding of Yorkshire Yorkshire saints 7th-century Christian saints Female saints of medieval England 7th-century English nuns