Dida of Eynsham (also called Didan or Didanius) was a 7th-century sub-king of the
Mercia
Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...
n territory around
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, near the
Chilterns. Little is known of his life, although he is mentioned briefly in the various
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
chronicles, and he has been purported, since ancient times, to be the father of
St Frideswide, patron saint of Oxford.
Biography
The date of Dida's birth is not known. He appears to have acted as a sub-king of the Chilterns around 670–675. Anglo-Saxon chronicles describe him as controlling areas of
Mercia
Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...
n territory around Oxford and the Chilterns. He appears to have been in constant dispute with the
West Saxons
The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886.
The Anglo-Saxons beli ...
over land boundaries.
It is speculated that he was a Mercian nobleman who was raised to the status of sub-king by
Wulfhere of Mercia
Wulfhere or Wulfar (died 675) was King of Mercia from 658 until 675 AD. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he converted from Anglo-Saxon paganism. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of North ...
; although it is not known for certain how long he held this position,
or even if he lost his authority only upon his death. Because of his connection to St. Frideswide, it is also assumed that he was related to the sub-king of
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
,
Frithuwold of Chertsey
Frithuwald was a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon ruler in Surrey, and perhaps also in modern Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, who is known from two surviving charters. He was a sub-king ruling under King Wulfhere of Mercia. According to late hagiographi ...
.
The chronicles do not record the date of Dida's death.
Legends
In a ''Vita'' (or ''Life'') of St Frideswide,
William of Malmsbury
William of Malmesbury (; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a gifted historical scholar and ...
mentioned Dida, and describes him as "a catholic and upright man",
who was married to a "worthy wife" named Safrida. Their only child was
Frideswide, whom he ordered to be baptised. When Safrida died, Dida built a church at the behest of his daughter, dedicating it to the
Holy Trinity
The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...
, the
Virgin Mary
Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
and all the saints. There he allowed Frideswide to become its first abbess. After the death of Dida, a certain Algar of Leicestershire (apparently
Æthelbald of Mercia
Æthelbald (also spelled Ethelbald or Aethelbald; died 757) was the King of Mercia, in what is now the English Midlands from 716 until he was killed in 757. Æthelbald was the son of Alweo and thus a grandson of King Eowa. Æthelbald came to th ...
)
succeeded him and wooed Frideswide; but she, rejecting his advances, escaped from him until the providence of God caused him to fall from his horse and break his neck.
Frideswide continued as the abbess of the monastery at Oxford until her death. She was later to become patron saint of Oxford and of the
university
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
there.
See also
*
Anglo-Saxon Christianity
In the seventh century the Anglo-Saxon paganism, pagan Anglo-Saxons were converted to Christianity () mainly by missionaries sent from Rome. Irish missionaries from Iona, who were proponents of Celtic Christianity, were influential in the conve ...
* The ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons.
The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...
''
References
External links
* {{PASE, 19511, Anonymous 10087
Mercian monarchs
Anglo-Saxon royalty
People from Oxford
7th-century English monarchs