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The Life of St. Aethelthryth

St. Æthelthryth, the seventh-century abbess of Ely, was one of Anglo-Saxon England's most widely venerated saints. This life of her by Ælfric was written in the last years of the tenth century. Ælfric's collection of saints' lives was edited by Walter W. Skeat, Ælfric's Lives of Saints, Early English Text Society 76. 82. 94, 114 (Oxford, 1881-1900).

VIIII KALENDAS IULII. NATALE SANCTE ÆÐELDRYÐE VIRGINIS.

[1] wyllað āwrītan, þēah ðe hit wundorliċ sȳ, be ðǣre hālgan sancte Æðeldrȳðe þām Engliscan mǣdene, þe wæs mid twām werum and swā ðēah wunode mǣden, swā swā þā wundra ġeswuteliað þe hēo wyrċð ġelōme. [2] Anna hātte hyre fæder, Ēastengla cynincg, swȳðe Cristen man, swā swā cȳdde mid weorcum, and eall his tēam wearð ġewurðod þurh God. [3] Æðeldrȳð wearð þā forġifen ānum ealdormenn wīfe. [4] Ac hit nolde se ælmihtiga God þæt hire mæġðhād wurde mid hǣmede ādylegod, ac hēold on clǣnnysse, for ðan þe is ælmihtiġ God and mæġ dōn eall þæt wile, and on manegum wīsum his mihte ġeswutelað.

[5] Se ealdorman ġewāt þā ðā hit wolde God, and hēo wearð forġifen Ecfride cynincge, and twelf ġēar wunode unġewemmed mǣden on þæs cynincges synscype, swā swā swutele wundra hyre mǣrða cȳðaþ and hire mæġðhād ġelōme. [6] Hēo lufode þone Hǣlend þe hēold unwemme, and Godes ðēowas wurðode. [7] Ān þǣra wæs Wilfrid bisceop, þe hēo swȳðost lufode, and sǣde Bēdan þæt se cyning Ecfrid him oft behēte myċel on lande and on fēo, ġif lǣran mihte Æðeldrȳðe his ġebeddan þæt hēo bruce his synscipes. [8] cwæð se hālga Beda, þe þās bōc ġesette, þæt se ælmihtiga God mihte ēaðe ġedōn on ūrum dagum þæt Æðeldrȳð þurhwunode unġewemmed mǣden, þēah ðe hēo wer hæfde, swā swā on ealdum dagum hwīlon ǣr ġetīmode þurh þone ylcan God þe ǣfre þurhwunað mid his ġecorenum hālgum, swā swā sylf behēt.

[9] Æðeldrȳð wolde ðā ealle woruldþincg forlǣtan, and bæd ġeorne þone cynincg þæt hēo Criste mōste þēowian on mynsterliċre drohtnunge, swā hire mōd hire spēon. [10] Þā lȳfde hire se cynincg, þēah þe hit embe lang wǣre, þæs þe hēo ġewilnode, and Wilfrid bisceop þā ġehādode myneċene, and hēo syððan on mynstre wunode sume twelf mōnað swā, and hēo syððan wearð ġehādod eft abbudissan on Eliġmynstre, ofer manega myneċena, and hēo mōdorlīċe hēold mid gōdum ġebysnungum þām gāstlican līfe.

[11] Be hire is āwryten þæt hēo wel drohtnode ānum mǣle fæstende, būtan hit frēolsdæġ wǣre, and hēo syndriġe ġebedu swȳðe lufode and wyllen weorode, and wolde seldhwænne hire līċ baðian būtan hēahtīdum, and ðonne hēo wolde ǣrest ealle ðā baðian þe on ðām mynstre wǣron, and wolde him ðēnian mid hire þīnenum, and þonne sylfe baðian.

[12] Þā on þām eahteoðan ġēare siððan hēo abbudisse wæs, hēo wearð ġeuntrumod, swā swā hēo ǣr wītegode, swā þæt ān ġeswel wēox on hire swūran myċel under þām ċynnbāne, and hēo swīðe þancode Gode þæt hēo on þām swūran sum ġeswinc þolode. [13] Hēo cwæð: "iċ wāt ġeare þæt wel wyrðe eom þæt mīn swūra bēo ġeswenċt mid swylċere untrumnysse, for ðan þe on iugoðe frætwode mīnne swūran mid mæniġfealdum swūrbēagum, and is ġeþūht þæt Godes ārfæstnyss þone gylt āclǣnsiġe, þonne þis ġeswel scȳnð for golde, and þes hāta bryne for hēalicum ġymstānum."

[14] Þā wæs þǣr sum lǣċe on ðām ġelēaffullum hēape, Cynefryð ġehāten, and cwǣdon þā sume þæt se lǣċe sceolde āscēotan þæt ġeswell. [15] Þā dyde sōna swā, and þǣr sāh ūt wyrms. [16] Wearð him þā ġeðūht swilċe hēo ġewurpan mihte, ac hēo ġewāt of worulde mid wuldre Gode on þām ðriddan dæġe syððan se dolh wæs ġeopenod, and wearð bebyrġed swā swā hēo bæd sylf and hēt, betwux hire ġeswustrum, on trēowenre ċyste.

[17] Þā wearð hire swustor Sexburh ġehādod abbudissan æfter hire ġeendunge, sēo ðe ǣr wæs cwēn on Cantwarebyriġ. [18] Þā wolde sēo Sexburh æfter syxtȳne ġēarum dōn hire swustor bān of ðǣre byrġene ūp and beran intō þǣre ċyrċan; and sende þā ġebrōðra tō sēċenne sumne stān swilċere nēode, for ðan þe on þām fenlande synd fēawa weorcstāna. [19] rēowan þā Grantanċeastre, and God sōna ġehradode, swā þæt þǣr ġemētton āne mǣre þrūh wið þone weall standende, ġeworht of marmstāne eall hwītes blēos bufan þǣre eorðan, and þæt hlyd ðǣrtō ġelimplīċe ġefēġed, ēac of hwītum marmstāne, swā swā hit macode God.

[20] Þā nāman ðā ġebrōðra blȳðelīċe þā ðrūh and ġebrōhton mynstre, myċċlum ðanciġende Gode; and Sexburh sēo abbudisse hēt slēan ān ġeteld bufan ðā byrġene, wolde þā bān gaderian. [21] sungon ðā ealle sealmas and līċsang þā hwīle þe man ðā byrġene bufan ġeopenode. [22] Þā læġ hēo on ðǣre ċyste swilċe hēo lǣġe on slǣpe, hāl eallum limum, and se lǣċe wæs ðǣr ðe þæt ġeswell ġeopenode, and scēawode ġeorne. [23] Þā wæs sēo wund ġehǣled þe se lǣċe worhte ǣr; ēac swilċe þā ġewǣda þe hēo bewunden wæs mid wǣron swā ansunde swylċe eall nīwe wǣron.

[24] Sexburh þā hyre swuster swīðe þæs fæġnode, and þwōgon ðā syððan þone sāwllēasan līċhaman, and mid nīwum ġewǣdum bewundon ārwurðlīċe, and bǣron intō ðǣre ċyrċan, blyssiġende mid sangum, and lēdon on ðǣre þrȳh, þǣr ðǣr hēo līð þis on myċelre ārwurðnysse, mannum wundrunge.

[25] Wæs ēac wundorliċ þæt sēo ðrūh wæs ġeworht þurh Godes forescēawunge hire swā ġemǣte, swylċe hēo hyre sylfre swā ġesceapen wǣre, and æt hire hēafde wæs āhēawen se stān, ġemǣte þām hēafde þæs hālgan mǣdenes.

[26] Hit is swutol þæt hēo wæs unġewemmed mǣden, þonne hire līċhama ne mihte formolsnian on eorðan, and Godes miht is ġeswutelod sōðlīċe þurh hī, þæt mæġ ārǣran ðā formolsnodan līċhaman, se ðe hire līċ hēold hāl on ðǣre byrġene ġīt þisne dæġ; him ðæs ā wuldor. [27] Þǣr wǣron ġehǣlede þurh ðā hālgan fēmnan fela ādliġe menn, swā swā ġefyrn ġehȳrdon; and ēac ðā þe hrepodon þæs rēafes ǣniġne dǣl þe hēo mid bewunden wæs wurdon sōna hāle; and manegum ēac fremode sēo ċyst miċċlum þe hēo ǣrest on læġ, swā swā se lārēow Bēda on ðǣre bēċ sǣde, þe ġesette be ðysum.

[28] Oft woruldmenn ēac hēoldon, swā swā ūs bēċ secgað, heora clǣnnysse on synscipe for Cristes lufe, swā swā mihton reċċan ġif ġē rōhton hit tō gehȳrenne. [29] secgað swā ðēah be sumum ðeġne, se wæs þrȳttiġ ġēara mid his wīfe on clǣnnysse. [30] Þrȳ suna ġestrȳnde, and siððan būta ðrīttiġ ġēara wǣron wuniġende būtan hǣmede and fela ælmyssan worhton oð þæt se wer fērde munucliċere drohtnunge; and Drihtnes enġlas cōmon eft on his forðsīðe and feredon his sāwle mid sange heofonum, swā swā ūs secgað bēċ. [31] Manega bysna synd on bōcum be swylċum, oft weras and wīf wundorlīċe drohtnodon and on clǣnnysse wunodon wuldre þām Hǣlende þe þā clǣnnysse āstealde, Crist ūre Hǣlend, þām is ā wurðmynt and wuldor on ēċnysse. Amen.