Statue of St Frideswide in an aisle chapel at the Church of St Michael in the North Gate, Oxford.
Moniale en
Angleterre (+ 720)
Elle fonda un monastère à Thorbury en Angleterre et fut enterrée à Oxford, raison pour laquelle elle est la patronne céleste de l'Université.
À Oxford, vers 730, sainte Frideswide, vierge. De famille royale, elle devint
abbesse et gouverna un double monastère, l'un d'hommes, l'autre de
moniales.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/8604/Sainte-Frideswide.html
La Fuite de Sainte Frithuswith, vitrail de la
cathédrale Christ Church, Oxford
St
Frideswide
hides from King Algar amongst swine: part of the St Frideswide window at Christ Church, Oxford. Stained-glass
window, 1858 Edward Burne-Jones (1833 - 1898); Photograph: User:Pruneau,
: 24/06/2008
Also
known as
Fredeswida
Fredeswinda
Frévisse
Friday
Frideswida
Frideswith
Friðuswiþ
Fris
Fritheswithe
Frithuswith
Fridesvida
Profile
Daughter of Prince
Didan. When a neighbouring noble, Prince
Algar, as for her hand in an arranged marriage,
Frideswide fled to Thomwry Wood, Birnsey, England
where she lived as a hermitess.
Benedictine
nun.
Founded Saint Mary’s Convent,
and served as its abbess. The monastery
is now Christ Church College, University
of Oxford,
and the convent
church became Oxford cathedral.
Born
c.650
in the upper Thames region of England
c.735
of natural causes
in 1561
Calfhill, Canon of Christ Church, desecrated and destroyed her relics
Benedictine
nun
with an ox
Additional
Information
A
Garner of Saints, by Allen Banks Hinds, M.A.
Book
of Saints, by the Monks
of Ramsgate
Lives
of the Saints, by Father
Alban
Butler
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
The Story of Saint
Frideswide, Virgin and Patroness of Oxford, by Father
Francis Goldie, S.J.
download in EPub format
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Saints
and Their Attributes, by Helen Roeder
other
sites in english
images
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en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001
edición
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in italiano
Readings
Whatsoever is not God is nothing.
– Saint
Frideswide
MLA
Citation
“Saint Frideswide“. CatholicSaints.Info.
4 June 2026. Web. 6 October 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/tag/name-frithuswith/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/tag/name-frithuswith/
Saint
Hilda, Sainte Frideswide, Stained glass window, St Andrew, Bethune Road, London Borough of Hackney
St. Frideswide
Feastday: October 19
Death: 735
Benedictine hermitess and nun, the daughter of Prince Didan of the Upper Thames
region of England. She is sometimes called Fredeswinda. When Prince Algar of a
neighboring kingdom asked for her hand in marriage, Frideswide fled to Thomwry
Wood in Birnsey, where she became a hermitess. She founded the St. Mary’s Convent in Oxford and is
patroness of the university of that city. Her relics are
extant. In liturgical art she is depicted as a Benedictine, sometimes with an
ox for companion.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=3471
St. Frideswide
(FRIDESWIDA,
FREDESWIDA, French FRÉVISSE,
Old English FRIS).
Virgin,
patroness of Oxford, lived from about 650 to 735. According to her legend, in
its latest form, she was the child of King Didan and Safrida, and was brought
up to holiness by
Algiva. She refused the proffered hand of King Algar, a Mercian, and fled from
him to Oxford. It was in vain that he pursued her; a mysterious blindness fell
on him, and he left her in her cell. From this eventually developed the monastery,
in which she died in 19 October (her principal feast), and was buried. The
earliest written life now extant was not composed until four hundred years
after her death, but it is generally admitted that the substance of the
tradition has every appearance of verisimilitude. From the time of her
translation in 1180 (commemorated 12 Feb.) from her original tomb to
the great shrine of her church, her fame spread far and wide; for the university was
now visited by students from all parts, who went twice a year in solemn
procession to her shrine and kept her feasts with great solemnity. Cardinal
Wolseytransformed her monastery into
Christ Church College, King Henry made her church into Oxford cathedral,
but her shrine was dismantled, and her relics,
which seem to have been preserved, were relegated to some out-of-the-way
corner. In the reign of Edward VI, Catherine Cathie was buried near the site of
her shrine. She was a runaway nun,
who had been through the form of marriage with Peter Martyr, the ex-friar.
The Catholics,
as was but natural, ejected her bones in the reign of Queen
Mary. But after Elizabeth had reinstated Protestantism,
James Calfhill, appointed Canon of Christ Church in 1561, dug up Cathie's bones
once more, mixed them up (in derision of the Catholics)
with the alleged remaining relics of
the saint,
and buried them both together amid the plaudits of his Zwinglian friends
in England and Germany,
where two relations of his exploit, one in Latin and one in German, were
published in 1562. The Latin relation, which is conveniently reprinted in
the Bollandists,
is followed in the original by a number of epitaphs on the theme Hic jacet
religio cum superstitione, but it does not seem that these words were incised
on thetomb,
though it is often said that they were. The episode strikingly illustrates the
character of the continuity between the ancientfaith and
the reformed religion of England.
Sources
Acta SS., Oct., VIII,
533-564; MABILLON, Acta SS. Ben. (1672), III, I, 561; HOLE in Dict.
Christ. Biog., s.v.; HUBERT, Historia Bucerii, Fagii, item C. Vermiliæ (1562);
PARKER, Early Oxford, 727-1100 (1885); PLUMMER, Elizabethan
Oxford (1887).
Pollen, John
Hungerford. "St. Frideswide." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
6. New York: Robert Appleton Company,1909. 19 Oct.
2019 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06303b.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Steven Fanning.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2026 by New Advent LLC.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06303b.htm
October 19
St. Frideswide, Virgin,
Patroness of Oxford
SHE
was daughter of Didan prince of Oxford, and the neighbouring territory, and
learned from her cradle that most important Christian maxim, that “whatsoever
is not God, is nothing.” Her mother’s name was Safrida. From her infancy she
exerted all her powers and strength, and made it her whole study to please him
alone. Her education was intrusted to the care of a virtuous governess, named
Algiva, and in the early period of her life her inclinations led her strongly
to a religious state. Riches, birth, beauty, and whatever appeared flattering
and dazzling in the eyes of the world, made no weight in the scales with her,
unless it was to make her dread more the dangers and snares into which they
often betray souls. In the duties of an active life she feared, in the
dissipation and hurry of external duties, she should not have strength so well
to stand her ground, but her heart would suffer some division. Every virtuous
and just interest may and ought ultimately to terminate in God: thus are
worldly duties to be made the objects of pure virtue, directed by the divine
love. But to live in the world in such a manner that her affections should
contract nothing of its dust, seemed to Frideswide a difficult task: and the
contemplative life of Mary presented charms with which her pure soul was
infinitely delighted. She therefore desired earnestly to devote her virginity
to God in a monastic state. Her mother was then dead, and her most religious
father rejoiced in the choice which his daughter had made of the better part; and,
about the year 750, he founded at Oxford a nunnery, in honour of St. Mary and
all the saints, the direction of which was committed to her care. 1
Sincere
love or charity consists not in words, but in deeds. The holy virgin therefore
considered, that to profess in words that she belonged wholly to God, would be
a base dissimulation, and criminal hypocrisy, unless, by most strenuous
endeavours, she made good her solemn promise to God, and studied to be entirely
his in her whole heart, and in all her actions. The devil envying her happy
progress, assailed her virtue with implacable rage; but his fury rendered her
victories more glorious. Algar, a Mercian prince, smitten with her beauty and
virtues, and not being able to overcome her resolution of chastity, gave so far
a loose to the reins of his criminal passion, as to lay a snare to carry her
off. The holy virgin escaped his pursuits by concealing herself a long time in
a hog-stye. The prince is said to have been miraculously struck with blindness
just as he entered the city, and to have recovered his sight by his repentance
and the prayer of the saint. After this accident, the holy virgin, to shun the
danger of applause, and live more perfectly to God in closer retirement, built
herself a little oratory at Thornbury, near the town, where, by the fervour and
assiduity of her penance and heavenly contemplation, she made daily advances
towards God and his kingdom. The more she tasted of the sweetness of his holy
love, the more she despised the straws and dung of earthly vanities, and the
more earnestly she.sighed after the light of the children of God. The fountain
which the saint made use of in this place was said to have been obtained by her
prayers. St. Frideswide died before the end of the eighth century, was honoured
by many miracles, and the church in which she was buried became famous for the
treasure of her relics, and took her name. Wood and others mention, that Martin
Bucer’s Dutch wife, whom he brought over in the reign of Edward VI. was buried,
in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, in the spot where the relics of St. Frideswide
had been scattered, with this inscription: Hic jacent religio et superstitio:
the obvious meaning of which would lead us to think these men endeavoured to
extinguish and bury all religion. St. Frideswide was honored as the patroness
of the city and university of Oxford; also of Bommy near Terouenne in Artois,
and some other religious houses abroad. See William of Malmesbury, Brompton,
the Monast. Anglic. vol. 1. pp. 173, 981. Ant. Wood, Hist. et Antiquitates
Acad. Oxon. l. 2. p. 246. Leland’s Itinerary, published by Hearne, vol. 4. app.
p. 156. Mabill. sæc. 3. Ben. part. 2. p. 561. Bulteau, c. 6. Britannia Sancta,
and Leland Collect. vol. 1. p. 342
Note
1. The nunnery of St. Frideswide being dispersed in the
Danish wars, this became a house of secular priests, till, in 1111, Roger,
bishop of Salisbury, founded in this church of St. Frideswide a monastery of
Regular Canons of St. Austin. Cardinal Wolsey, in 1525, began in it the
foundation of a noble college; but all his lands and revenues being seized by
King Henry VIII. in 1529, that prince reestablished this collegiate church in
1532, for a dean and twelve canons, but dissolved it in 1545. This king erected
a new bishopric for Oxfordshire, which he settled first at Osney, then a priory
of Austin Canons; but, in 1546, he removed it to Oxford, making this church of
St. Frideswide (which from that time is called Christ Church) the cathedral,
and refounding the college both of canons and students. This royal and ample
foundation consists of a dean, eight canons, and one hundred students, besides
chaplains, choristers, &c. See Chamberlain’s Present State of England;
Tanner’s Notitia Monastica; Historia Fundationis Prioratus S. Frideswidæ Oxon.
per Will. Wyrley, MS.; also Registra, Chartas Originales, &c. in
Thesaurario Ædis Christi Oxon. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler
(1711–73). Volume X: October. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
St. Fritheswith,
Abbess of Oxford
(c.AD 665-735)
Supposedly born in Oxford
about AD 665, which was then in the Kingdom of Mercia, St. Fritheswith - more
commonly called Frideswide - was the daughter of pious parents, sub-King Didan
and Sefrida. These two committed her to the care of a holy woman named, Aelfgith,
but, after her mother's death, Fritheswith returned to live with her father.
She persuaded him to build her a church at the gates of Oxford and, there, she
took the veil with twelve young women of her acquaintance. Didan enhanced the
establishment, by erecting convent buildings nearby and, there, they lived, not
bound by the rules of the cloister, but by holy charity and love of seclusion.
Not long afterward,
Aelfgar, a minor Prince of Mercia, heard of Fritheswith's great beauty, as well
as her wealth as Didan's heiress, and sent a messenger to ask for her hand in
marriage. She excused herself, upon the plea of her vow of celibacy but the
prince persisted and, eventually, made a plan to carry her off. Luckily,
Fritheswith discovered the scheme and fled, just in time, to the River Thames.
Finding an unattended boat there, she floated to Bampton, about ten miles from
Oxford. She took up her abode in a deserted hut used to shelter the pigs that
fed upon the acorns in the surrounding forest. A fountain sprang up at her
prayer and she was thus able to survive concealed there for about three years.
Prince Aelfgar had been
determined not to be beaten so easily, however, and continued to try and find
the lady's hiding place. By the time she felt it safe to return to Oxford, he
was absolutely fuming. Hearing of her return, Aelfgar besieged the city and
threatened to burn it to the ground unless Fritheswith was given up to him. He
vowed to sacrifice the lady, not only to his own brutality, but to that of his
men. Both Fritheswith and her father's defending army were worn out with
fatigue. Just as she was about to fall into Aelfgar's hands though, she was
reminded of the early saintly ladies of the Church who had saved their honour
at the price of life. She thus invoked SS. Catherine and Cecilia who
immediately struck her persecutor blind at the moment he broke through the city
gates and entered Oxford. With their leader so wounded, Aelfgar's fear-stricken
men dispersed.
The unmolested
Fritheswith only agreed to restore the prince's sight upon his earnest
repentance; but for centuries no king of England would enter Oxford, for fear
of being similarly struck blind. King Henry III was the first to disregard the
tradition and persons were not wanting who attributed all his misfortunes to
this presumption. The princess returned to her nunnery and collected around her
a number of Saxon maidens and monks, over whose double monastery she presided
in great holiness for many years. The origins of the University of Oxford are said,
by some, to lie in the school she established there.
Abbess Fritheswith was
well known for the miracles she performed during her own lifetime. One
well-known tale reveals how she was once accosted by a local leper who appealed
to her, in the name of Christ, to kiss him. Overcoming her fear of infection
and natural disgust at his loathsome condition, the holy lady made the sign of
the cross and kissed him. Immediately the scales fell away and his flesh came
again like that of a child.
St. Fritheswith died on
19th October AD 735 and was buried in her monastery in Oxford, where Christ
Church Cathedral now stands. Multitudes of pilgrims resorted to her tomb, to
the chapel at Binsey - on the supposed site of the pigs' hut - and to the
fountain nearby. All became famous for miraculous cures, though it is clear
that the place of her flight was originally understood to be Bampton. Further
claimants are Frilsham in Berkshire and Bomy, near Theronanne in Artois
(France), where the holy well of St. Fritheswith and St. Frevisse respectively
are still pointed out. She is represented, in art, with the pastoral staff of
an abbess, a fountain springing up near her and an ox at her feet.
Partly edited from Agnes
Dunbar's "A Dictionary of Saintly Women" (1904).
St. Frideswide
Patroness of Oxfordshire or Berkshire?
Frideswide,
or Fritha as she was known to her family and friends, was the daughter of King
Didan of Lower Mercia and his wife, Sefrida. She was born at her father's
palace in Oxford in the mid seventh century, and was brought up by a governess,
a holy woman named Elgitha,
at her father's estate named after him, at Didcot.
This lady greatly influenced the young princess's life, teaching her that
"Whatever is not God is nothing". Thus, from an early age, Frideswide
inclined towards a spiritual life. After her mother's death, Frideswide
returned to Oxford to live with her father. Soon she had persuaded him to give
her a large parcel of land at the gates of the city where she could build a
church. Here she took the veil with twelve companions, and Didan built them a
convent adjoining the church. The ladies were not, however, bound by the strict
rules of the cloister, but only by their love of seclusion and chastity.
Frideswide's fame spread
far and wide, and as a beauty with plenty of money, she was seen as a rich
prize. Aelfgar, the Earl of Leicester, a Prince of the Royal Mercian House,
decided to press his suit upon the lady and sent her messengers asking for her hand
in marriage. Though he greatly flattered her, Frideswide would not give in to
his entreaties for she had taken a vow of chastity. Thus she refused the
prince. Aelfgar was furious and decided on a plan to take Frideswide by force.
Didan's spies, however, got wind of the plan and his daughter thought it best
to flee to Oxford with two of her companions.
Down by the Thames, the
three found a small boat tended by a white robed youth. Unbeknown to them, the
young man was an angel in disguise who readily agreed to take them down the
river to Abingdon.
From here the ladies sought refuge in the deep oak forest which covered much of
Berkshire at that time. They travelled many miles on foot to a place then
called Bentona, now Yattendon.
Here they discovered a small ivy-covered pig-sty where the swineherds brought
their animals in autumn to feet on the acorns of the forest. Frideswide made
the sty into a small oratory for the three companions and here they lived off
the land for some three years, drinking from a well which appeared when Frideswide
had prayed for water.
In the meantime, Prince
Aelfgar continued to search for Frideswide. He sent his emissaries all over the
heptarchy looking for her, but to no avail. In desperation he gathered a large
force of men and marched on Oxford. At the city gates, he threatened to burn
the city down if Frideswide was not delivered to him. Didan would not sacrifice
his daughter, but the people of Oxford were frightened of loosing their homes.
They opened the city gates to Aelfgar and revealed the princess's hiding place.
At a drunken party that
night, Aelfgar declared he would take Frideswide for his pleasure, and that of
his men too, whether she liked it or not. However, in the sober light of day,
he felt more conciliatory, and hoped to win her round with an open display of
his persistent affection. He sent two messengers into the forest with gifts and
songs of love. Frideswide received the ambassadors with quiet reverence, and
listened to what they had to say. Her answer, however, was as before. The two
returned to Oxford, but as they entered the city gates to report to Aelfgar,
they were both struck blind.
The prince was furious at
the second rebuff. He jumped on his horse and rode off into the forest to
confront this defiant woman. She was going to be his wife whether she liked it
or not. His men chased after him, and barely managed to keep up. Near
Frideswide's oratory, her two companions were out gathering berries when they
heard Aelfgar's approach. They ran to their mistress to warn her. Frideswide's
body, however, was weak and her spirit broken. She had tried to outwit her
pursuers, but now it seemed she was cornered at last. She would not give up her
chastity, but she knew the alternative all too well. She resigned herself to
joining the Almighty. Then suddenly she remembered Saints Catherine and
Cecilia, who had also had to defend their virtue at the price of life, and she
prayed to them for help. Just as she became within grasping distance of Prince
Aelfgar, he was suddenly struck blind, just like his emissaries before him.
The prince fell to the
ground, stumbling around in the mud and crying out for help. He pleaded
forgiveness from Frideswide and swore to his repentance. He would leave her be,
if only he could see again. Having pity on this pathetic sight, Frideswide took
Aelfgar by the hand and led him to her well. Here she bathed his eyes and
prayed for his sight to be restored: and it was. Frideswide now decided to
return to her nunnery at Oxford. She, however, refused Aelfgar's offers of a
ride home, and travelled on foot.
On her way back through
the lanes of North Berkshire, she and her companions were accosted by a hideous
leper. Her friends were repulsed, but when he asked her to kiss him, Frideswide
overcame her natural revulsion. She made the sign of the cross and gave the man
a sisterly kiss on the lips. At once his leprous skin fell away, to reveal his
flesh to be as smooth as a baby's bottom once more. He was cured. It was a
miracle.
Frideswide lived happily
at Oxford for many years. She eventually retired to quiet seclusion in
Thornbury Wood where, at Binsey, she built a small chapel. She prayed for water
once more, this time to St. Margaret, and a spring appeared to feed her for the
rest of her life. She eventually died on 19th October 735 and was buried in her
nunnery's church in Oxford. Many pilgrims visited the holy lady's grave and so
many miracles occurred there that she was soon proclaimed a saint.
And what of her little
oratory and well left deep in the Berkshire forest, near Yattendon? This too
became a place of pilgrimage, and a small village grew up around them. They
called it Fritha's Home or Frilsham.
SOURCE : https://web.archive.org/web/20190816030545/http://www.berkshirehistory.com/legends/frideswide01.html
St. Frideswide
Folklore or Fact?
Frideswide
is a Saxon name, properly spelt Frithuswith. In France, she was known as
Frevisse. She was born around AD 665. Her father, Didan, or more properly Dydda
or various other variations, appears to have been a real man, who did indeed
give his name to Didcot:
Dydda's Cottage. His wife should properly be Saethryth (Safrid is a man's
name!). Didan appears to have ruled around the Upper Thames Valley, an area
which changed hands several times during this period, between the West Saxons
and Mercians. Didan's supposed Mercian connections ring true for his reign
would line up quite well with a period of Mercian domination. He was probably a
sub-King under the overlordship of King Wulfhere of Mercia. His Kingdom may
have included the whole of Berkshire, for the southern boundary of the River
Blackwater was known, at that time, as the Deadbrook, that is Dydda's Brook.
Other sites possibly associated with Didan are Dydda's Valley, mentioned as
being on the western bounds of Kingston Lisle in a charter of 963, and
Dudebeorh or Dydda's Barrow in the Uffington Charters. This latter lies very
near the Uffington
White Horse and would appear to have been Didan's burial place, perhaps
indicating that, unlike his daughter, he was not a Christian. Recent excavation
has shown that the barrow was originally a Roman burial mound reused in Saxon
times.
There are other known
Royal and landed personages from this period whose names had the prefix, Frith.
It was the Saxon custom for family members to have recurring elements in their
names. So these people may have been related to Didan and Frideswide (Frithuswith).
The most well known of such characters was Frithuwold, another sub-king under
King Wulfhere and also his brother-in-law. He is usually referred to as King of
Surrey. His Kingdom, however, was probably much larger than this, spreading way
up into Buckinghamshire, for his daughter St. Osith was said to have been born
at his palace in Quarrendon (Bucks). His Kingdom would thus have covered the
Berkshire Province of Sonning and would have adjoined that of Didan. Frithuwold
appears to have been somehow connected to one Frithuric, a landed gentleman
from Leicestershire who signed several of the former's charters. Both may have
been St. Frideswide's brothers. In a third character, Frithugith, who married
King Aethelheard of Wessex in 730, may have been her niece.
It may have been through
Frithuric that Prince Aelfgar heard of the beautiful Frideswide, for they both
apparently lived in the same area. Aelfgar is portrayed as a powerful man,
probably more so than Didan, variously described as King, Prince and Earl of
Leicester or Mercia. He may have been a sub-King, like Didan, or more likely a
younger member of the ruling House of Mercia, or possibly both. The term Earl
is Norse and stems from the word Jarl, the equivalent of the Saxon Ealdorman
(modern Alderman), but the office did not exist during this early period. The
name Aelfgar does appear amongst the legendary ancestors of the 11th century
Earl Leofric of Mercia (husband of Lady Godiva), and this may be from where the
Prince sprang.
The identity of Bentona
is the most controversial part of St. Frideswide's story. The traditionalists
from Oxford claim it is Binsey, where our story says the saint retired. This
lies just outside the city, not quite in Berkshire, where the county boundary
departs from the Thames and follows, instead, the Seacourt Stream. St.
Margaret's Church was St. Frideswide's pig-sty-cum-oratory, and her well, St.
Margaret's Well. It was a great place of pilgrimage in the middle ages. Tradition
says the deserted medieval village of Seacourt (in Wytham parish) had
twenty-two inns to house the vast numbers of pilgrims visiting Binsey
(excavation has shown there was only actually one). But if St. Frideswide had
prayed to Saints Cecilia and Catherine for deliverance, then why the dedication
to St. Margaret? Though it seems unlikely that Bentona is related to Yattendon
(Etingedene 1086, Gettendon 1195, etc.), Frilsham's
parish church is dedicated to St. Frideswide and not far away is her holy
well. This was still visited by loved one's, early last century, to see if the
male partner was approved of by the well's spitting toad. If the man's
intentions were not honourable he would be violently spat at! Also nearby is
Kings Wood (King Aelfgar's wood perhaps), and Reading Abbey held some of
Frideswide's relics. Place-name experts tell us that Frilsham means Frithel's
Homestead. However, such a personal name is unrecorded elsewhere, and a
diminutive form of Frithuswith seems at least possible. There are, of course,
other claimants: Bampton and Benson, also in Oxfordshire, and Bomy in Artois
across the Channel in France. This latter also has the obligatory chapel and
well of St. Frideswide (Frevisse) and displays her bones. However, the legend
never mentions the saint crossing the Channel, and, indeed, only the site at
Frilsham is consistent with her journey down the Thames to Abingdon. The first
rendering of the story in c.1125 by William of Malmesbury does not mention the
place by name, and the slightly later life of St. Frideswide confusingly says
she hid at Bampton, in a wood called Binsey. Unfortunately the two are nowhere
near each other, and the writer was clearly confused. Later writers dropped
Bampton, claiming the place was Binsey, in a wood called Thornbury. Recent excavations
at Binsey have revealed an Iron-Age/Early Saxon enclosure surrounding St.
Margaret's Church which is consistent with the name Thorn-bury, the Thorny Fort.
Recent analysis, however, also indicates that Bampton was originally understood
to be Bentona. There is a church and well here too, but any Frideswide
association has long since been lost. Thus the later Binsey connection, as put
forward by the Berkshire tale, is perhaps given some credence.
The Oxford version of the
story also tells how during a lull in Aelfgar's searches, St. Frideswide
returned home to Oxford. It was at this point that the Mercian prince
descended, besieged the city, and eventually forced his way in to carry her
off. Just as he entered through the city gates, he was struck blind! Ever since
the superstition grew up that the same would happen to any monarch who entered
the City of Oxford. Accordingly, the Kings of England stayed away until the
reign of Henry III. Some say that all the ills of his reign were due to this
presumption. Perhaps, if the kings had known the Berkshire version: that the
people of Oxford were St. Frideswide's betrayers, not her defenders, then
perhaps they would have visited the place sooner.
St. Frideswide's nunnery
was destroyed by the Danes in 1002. The monastery was re-established for Austin
Canons in 1122. The church was rebuilt in 1180 and St. Frideswide's body
translated to a beautiful shrine. Many pilgrims visited her there, including
Henry III, Edward I and Henry VIII's queen, Catherine of Aragon. In 1525,
Cardinal Wolsey gained permission from Pope Clement VII to dissolve the
monastery and transform it into Cardinal College, with the Abbey Church as the
college chapel. In 1546, Henry VIII changed this to Christ Church College and
the church became the Cathedral of the new Diocese of Oxford. St. Frideswide
still lies buried there beneath part of her reconstructed shrine. However, she
is not alone. In 1561, a religious fanatic named Caldiff, a canon of Christ
Church and a commissioner of Elizabeth I, mixed her bones with those of one
Catherine Cathie Dammartin, a former nun and latter wife of the Zwinglian
Regius Professor of Divinity, Canon Peter Martyr Vermigli.
SOURCE : https://web.archive.org/web/20190810211903/http://www.berkshirehistory.com/legends/frideswide02.html
St
George Bickley: stained glass window (9), London Borough of Bromley
Santa Fridesvida di
Oxford Badessa
Festa: 19 ottobre
Alto Tamigi, Inghilterra,
circa 650 - Binsey, Oxfordshire, Inghilterra, 19 ottobre 727
E' una figura centrale
della memoria religiosa dell'antica Oxford e la patrona della città,
dell'università e della diocesi. Vissuta tra il VII e l'VIII secolo, è tradizionalmente
ricordata come vergine consacrata e prima badessa della comunità religiosa
sorta sul luogo dell'attuale Christ Church Cathedral. Le notizie contemporanee
sulla sua vita non sono conservate e la ricostruzione biografica dipende
soprattutto da tradizioni tramandate in testi dell'XI e soprattutto del XII
secolo. La sua memoria, tuttavia, è attestata liturgicamente già all'inizio
dell'XI secolo, e il sito della sua sepoltura divenne nel Medioevo uno dei
principali luoghi di pellegrinaggio di Oxford. La narrazione più celebre
racconta la fuga della giovane religiosa da un potente pretendente,
identificato nelle fonti con Algar, e la sua permanenza presso Oxford e Binsey.
La tradizione attribuisce alla santa anche guarigioni e altri miracoli. Il
culto conobbe un forte rilancio nel XII secolo, quando i canonici agostiniani
di St Frideswide recuperarono le reliquie e le collocarono in un nuovo
santuario.
Martirologio Romano: A
Oxford in Inghilterra, santa Fridesvida, vergine, che, nata da stirpe regale e
divenuta badessa, resse due cenobi, l’uno di monaci, l’altro di vergini
consacrate.
Le origini di Fridesvida (Frideswide, Frithuswith, Friðuswiþ, Frideswida) sono difficili da ricostruire. Non esistono racconti contemporanei alla sua vita e le prime narrazioni estese furono composte diversi secoli dopo la sua epoca. Le fonti agiografiche medievali la presentano generalmente come appartenente a una famiglia di rango principesco del regno di Mercia e collegano la sua fondazione religiosa a Oxford.
Gli studi moderni distinguono quindi tra il nucleo storico della tradizione e gli elementi narrativi sviluppatisi successivamente. È plausibile che dietro la leggenda vi sia una fondazione religiosa anglosassone dell'inizio dell'VIII secolo e che Fridesvida ne sia stata effettivamente la prima guida. La natura originaria della comunità rimane invece incerta: la tradizione parla di un monastero doppio, comprendente uomini e donne, mentre la documentazione successiva mostra trasformazioni istituzionali profonde.
La data di nascita non è documentata. La tradizione moderna propone
generalmente una nascita intorno alla metà del VII secolo, ma l'anno circa 650
non può essere considerato un dato certo. Anche il luogo preciso di nascita
rimane incerto. Oxford è indicata dalla tradizione, mentre altre ricostruzioni
hanno proposto località dell'area merciana dell'alto Tamigi.
La fondazione religiosa di Oxford
La tradizione attribuisce a Fridesvida la fondazione di una comunità religiosa presso Oxford, sul luogo dove sorge oggi Christ Church Cathedral. Il nucleo storico di questa tradizione è considerato plausibile da diversi studiosi, anche se i dettagli della fondazione sono conosciuti soprattutto attraverso testi agiografici posteriori.
Il sito conobbe una lunga continuità religiosa. La valutazione archeologica e
storica considera probabile l'esistenza di un minster anglosassone nell'area
dell'attuale Christ Church. La forma originaria della comunità non è però
completamente chiarita. Nel corso dell'XI secolo il complesso passò attraverso
diverse trasformazioni istituzionali e fu collegato per un certo periodo
all'abbazia benedettina di Abingdon. Nel 1086 vi risultava una comunità di
canonici secolari.
La fuga da Oxford e la tradizione di Algar
La parte più celebre della vita di Fridesvida appartiene alla tradizione agiografica. Il racconto è già attestato nella sintesi di Guglielmo di Malmesbury, composta intorno al 1125, e fu ampliato nel XII secolo in due diverse Vite.
Secondo questa tradizione, Fridesvida avrebbe rifiutato le nozze con Algar, identificato come un potente signore o principe di Leicester. Di fronte all'insistenza del pretendente, la giovane avrebbe lasciato Oxford e cercato rifugio fuori dalla città, accompagnata da alcune compagne. Le versioni successive sviluppano il racconto con viaggi in barca lungo il Tamigi, soggiorni presso località dell'area oxoniense e interventi miracolosi.
Quando Algar avrebbe cercato di raggiungerla a Oxford, Dio lo avrebbe colpito
con la cecità. In seguito, dopo il pentimento e l'intercessione di Fridesvida,
egli avrebbe riacquistato la vista. Il racconto costituisce il nucleo
principale della leggenda medievale, ma non può essere utilizzato come cronaca
contemporanea degli avvenimenti.
Binsey e le tradizioni miracolose
Le tradizioni medievali collocano una parte importante della vicenda di Fridesvida nell'area di Binsey, presso il Tamigi. Qui la santa avrebbe condotto per un certo periodo una vita appartata insieme ad alcune compagne.
Alla sua figura furono associati racconti di guarigioni e in particolare una sorgente ritenuta miracolosa. Il cosiddetto Treacle Well di Binsey è rimasto legato alla memoria della santa e alla geografia devozionale del territorio.
Questi racconti appartengono alla tradizione agiografica e non possono essere
separati dalla funzione religiosa assunta dal culto nel Medioevo. La raccolta
dei miracoli composta nel XII secolo presso St Frideswide costituisce tuttavia
una testimonianza storica importante non tanto per verificare i singoli
prodigi, quanto per documentare concretamente lo sviluppo del pellegrinaggio e
della devozione presso il santuario.
La morte e la memoria della sepoltura
La tradizione colloca la morte di Fridesvida al 19 ottobre, generalmente nell'anno 727, anche se alcune fonti moderne hanno proposto date differenti. La morte sarebbe avvenuta a Binsey oppure nell'area di Oxford, mentre la sepoltura viene collegata alla chiesa da lei fondata.
La data del 19 ottobre è particolarmente antica: compare già in un martirologio
di Abingdon dell'inizio o della metà dell'XI secolo, considerato la più antica
attestazione liturgica conosciuta del culto della santa. La tradizione della
morte nel 727 è invece posteriore e non può essere considerata certa allo
stesso livello.
La distruzione del 1002 e la ricostruzione
Nel 1002 la chiesa di St Frideswide fu distrutta durante gli avvenimenti collegati al massacro degli abitanti danesi di Oxford. I Danesi che avevano cercato rifugio nella chiesa furono uccisi e l'edificio venne incendiato. La documentazione relativa alla fondazione andò in larga parte perduta.
Nel 1004 il re Æthelred II emanò una carta destinata a confermare e ristabilire
i diritti e i possedimenti della chiesa. Questo documento costituisce una
testimonianza storica importante dell'esistenza e della consistenza
patrimoniale dell'istituzione all'inizio dell'XI secolo.
La rifondazione agostiniana
Nel XII secolo il sito fu interessato da una profonda riorganizzazione. Intorno al 1122 St Frideswide fu rifondata come priorato di canonici regolari di Sant'Agostino. La nuova comunità contribuì in modo decisivo alla riscoperta e alla valorizzazione della memoria della santa.
La produzione agiografica conobbe allora un notevole sviluppo. Due Vite latine
del XII secolo ampliarono il racconto tradizionale, una delle quali è stata
probabilmente composta da Robert di Cricklade, priore di St Frideswide. La
nuova comunità aveva così a disposizione una narrazione della fondatrice e una
base letteraria per lo sviluppo del culto.
Il recupero delle reliquie e il santuario
Nel 1180 i canonici identificarono e trasferirono solennemente le reliquie attribuite a Fridesvida in un nuovo santuario. Il trasferimento rappresentò una svolta nella storia del culto. Negli anni immediatamente successivi il priorato raccolse numerosi racconti di miracoli attribuiti all'intercessione della santa.
La raccolta dei Miracula sancte Frideswide, compilata negli anni 1180-1183, conserva 117 racconti di pellegrini, tra i quali 76 donne. Essa costituisce una delle più importanti testimonianze medievali sul pellegrinaggio femminile in Inghilterra e documenta la funzione terapeutica e devozionale assunta dal santuario.
Nel 1289 le reliquie furono nuovamente sistemate in un magnifico reliquiario
collocato sopra un nuovo basamento monumentale in pietra calcarea e marmo di
Purbeck. Il santuario divenne uno dei principali luoghi di pellegrinaggio
dell'Oxfordshire.
Il culto medievale
Il culto di Fridesvida si consolidò progressivamente e la santa divenne patrona di Oxford. Nel Medioevo il suo santuario fu frequentato da pellegrini provenienti anche da lontano, soprattutto da persone che cercavano guarigioni.
La devozione coinvolse anche figure di alto rango. Nel XVI secolo Caterina d'Aragona si recò al santuario pregando per ottenere un figlio maschio. Il culto rimase profondamente legato all'identità religiosa della città e dell'università.
La sua memoria liturgica del 19 ottobre è attestata in fonti medievali e
continua a essere celebrata. Il Martyrologium Romanum la commemora ad Oxford
come vergine.
La distruzione del santuario durante la Riforma
Il santuario fu smantellato nel 1538, durante la soppressione dei culti e delle istituzioni religiose medievali sotto Enrico VIII. Le parti principali del monumento furono distrutte o riutilizzate nell'edificio.
Le reliquie attribuite alla santa subirono una sorte complessa. Nel 1561 furono
associate ai resti di Catherine Dammartin, moglie del riformatore protestante
Peter Martyr Vermigli, e la loro identificazione divenne da allora
problematica. Le vicende cinquecentesche sono documentate anche da una
relazione contemporanea agli eventi.
Il santuario attuale
Alcuni elementi del basamento medievale del santuario furono recuperati in epoca moderna. Parti furono individuate nell'Ottocento e altre nel 1985. Il basamento è stato ricostruito nella Latin Chapel di Christ Church, incorporando gli elementi medievali superstiti e integrazioni moderne.
La memoria di Fridesvida continua così a essere strettamente legata a Christ
Church Cathedral, costruita sul luogo dell'antico priorato. Il santuario
ricostruito costituisce ancora oggi il principale luogo di memoria della santa
a Oxford.
Il problema storico della biografia
La distanza cronologica tra Fridesvida e le prime narrazioni estese impone una distinzione netta tra il personaggio storico e la leggenda. Non esistono testimonianze contemporanee della sua vita. Le fonti agiografiche principali appartengono al XII secolo, mentre l'attestazione liturgica del suo nome risale all'inizio dell'XI secolo.
Il nucleo storico più plausibile comprende l'esistenza di una figura femminile
associata a una fondazione religiosa anglosassone presso Oxford e la precoce
venerazione della sua memoria. I dettagli relativi alla famiglia, alla fuga da
Algar, ai viaggi, ai miracoli e alle modalità della morte appartengono invece
in larga parte alla tradizione agiografica sviluppatasi successivamente.
La canonizzazione
Fridesvida è talvolta indicata in fonti tarde o divulgative come canonizzata
nel 1480. Questa attribuzione non è sostenuta da un decreto pontificio di
canonizzazione. Studi recenti sottolineano invece che la santa non era
formalmente canonizzata nel XII secolo e che il suo culto era già consolidato
molto prima dello sviluppo della procedura pontificia di canonizzazione. La sua
presenza nel culto liturgico e nel Martyrologium Romanum deriva quindi da una
venerazione antica e consolidata, non da una canonizzazione quattrocentesca
documentata.
Il santuario e i pellegrinaggi
La documentazione del XII secolo permette di conoscere concretamente la
funzione del santuario. La raccolta dei miracoli attribuiti a Fridesvida
registra pellegrini provenienti da differenti località e mostra una particolare
presenza femminile. Il culto non fu quindi soltanto una memoria locale della
fondatrice, ma divenne un fenomeno devozionale inserito nella più ampia cultura
medievale del pellegrinaggio ai sepolcri dei santi.
Curiosità
- Il nome Frideswide deriva dall'inglese antico friþ e swīþ e significa 'forte pace'.
- Il 19 ottobre è la memoria liturgica della santa e compare già in un martirologio di Abingdon dell'XI secolo.
- Il santuario medievale fu ricostruito in epoca moderna utilizzando parti originali del basamento ritrovate in momenti diversi, anche nel 1985.
- La raccolta dei miracoli di Fridesvida è una fonte particolarmente importante per lo studio del pellegrinaggio femminile nell'Inghilterra medievale.
- La tradizione iconografica associa alla santa un bue, una fontana e il
pastorale della badessa. Il bue compare in particolare in una rappresentazione
collegata all'Evangelistarium del cardinale Wolsey.
Cronologia
- circa 650 - Nascita tradizionalmente collocata nell'area dell'alto Tamigi, nel regno di Mercia.
- inizio dell'VIII secolo - Probabile fondazione di una comunità religiosa presso Oxford, secondo una tradizione che conserva un possibile nucleo storico.
- 19 ottobre 727 - Data tradizionale della morte di Fridesvida, non verificabile come dato certo.
- 1002 - Distruzione della chiesa di St Frideswide durante gli eventi legati al massacro dei Danesi di Oxford.
- 1004 - Æthelred II conferma i diritti e i possedimenti della chiesa dopo la distruzione dei precedenti documenti.
- inizio dell'XI secolo - Il nome di Fridesvida compare in un martirologio di Abingdon, prima attestazione liturgica conosciuta del culto.
- 1086 - Il sito risulta occupato da una comunità di canonici secolari.
- 1122 - Rifondazione del complesso come priorato di canonici regolari di Sant'Agostino.
- circa 1125 - Guglielmo di Malmesbury inserisce una breve Vita di Fridesvida nella sua opera Gesta Pontificum Anglorum.
- circa 1140-1170 - Composizione delle più ampie Vite latine della santa, una delle quali è probabilmente attribuita a Robert di Cricklade.
- 1180 - Recupero e solenne traslazione delle reliquie attribuite a Fridesvida in un nuovo santuario.
- 1180-1183 - Compilazione della raccolta dei miracoli attribuiti all'intercessione della santa.
- 1289 - Nuova sistemazione delle reliquie in un monumentale santuario.
- 1538 - Distruzione e smantellamento del santuario durante la Riforma inglese.
- 1561 - I resti attribuiti a Fridesvida vengono associati a quelli di Catherine Dammartin.
- XIX secolo - Recupero di alcune parti del basamento medievale del santuario.
- 1985 - Scoperta di ulteriori elementi originali del basamento.
- epoca contemporanea - Ricostruzione del basamento del santuario nella Latin
Chapel di Christ Church Cathedral.
Valutazione storico-critica
- Identità: Fridesvida, Frideswide o Frithuswith è una figura storica legata alla prima fondazione religiosa di Oxford e al successivo culto sviluppatosi presso il sito dell'attuale Christ Church.
- Biografia: non esistono fonti contemporanee alla sua vita. Il nucleo storico della fondazione religiosa e dell'esistenza di una memoria cultuale antica è più solido dei dettagli narrativi della sua Vita.
- Cronologia: la data del 19 ottobre è anticamente attestata come memoria liturgica, mentre l'anno 727 appartiene alla tradizione posteriore e non è dimostrabile con certezza.
- Origini: l'appartenenza a una famiglia principesca merciana è attestata dalle fonti agiografiche, ma i dettagli genealogici non possono essere considerati storicamente sicuri.
- Leggenda di Algar: il racconto della persecuzione, della fuga e della cecità miracolosa del pretendente appartiene alla tradizione agiografica attestata soprattutto dal XII secolo. Non costituisce una testimonianza contemporanea.
- Monastero: l'esistenza di una fondazione religiosa anglosassone presso Oxford è compatibile con la documentazione archeologica e storica, ma la struttura originaria della comunità non è ricostruibile con certezza.
- Culto: la venerazione è documentata almeno dall'inizio dell'XI secolo e conosce una forte ripresa nel XII secolo con la rifondazione agostiniana e il recupero delle reliquie.
- Miracoli: i Miracula sancte Frideswide costituiscono una fonte storica rilevante per la storia del culto e del pellegrinaggio, ma i singoli miracoli appartengono al genere agiografico e non sono verificabili come eventi soprannaturali.
- Reliquie: il trasferimento delle reliquie nel 1180 e la nuova sistemazione del 1289 sono documentati nella storia del santuario; l'identificazione dei resti dopo le vicende del XVI secolo rimane incerta.
- Canonizzazione: la tradizione che attribuisce a Fridesvida una canonizzazione nel 1480 non trova conferma in un decreto pontificio noto. La sua venerazione precede di secoli tale data.
- Patronato: Fridesvida è stabilmente riconosciuta come patrona di Oxford e la
sua memoria rimane strettamente legata alla città, all'università e alla
diocesi.
Fonti e bibliografia essenziale
- Acta Sanctorum, October, VIII: tradizione agiografica e documentazione relativa a Santa Fridesvida, 19 ottobre.
- Guglielmo di Malmesbury, Gesta Pontificum Anglorum: prima ampia testimonianza narrativa conservata sulla leggenda di Fridesvida, composta intorno al 1125.
- Simon Yarrow, Saints and Their Communities: Miracle Stories in Twelfth-Century England, Oxford University Press, 2006: studio sulla raccolta dei miracoli di Fridesvida e sullo sviluppo istituzionale del suo culto.
- Carolinne White, ed., The Cambridge Anthology of British Medieval Latin, Cambridge University Press, 2024: edizione di due Vite latine del XII secolo dedicate a Fridesvida.
- John Blair, 'St Frideswide's Monastery: Problems and Possibilities', Oxoniensia, 53, 1988: studio storico-archeologico sulla fondazione e sull'evoluzione del monastero.
- Christ Church, University of Oxford, documentazione sul santuario di St Frideswide: storia del santuario, delle traslazioni del 1180 e del 1289 e dei resti oggi conservati.
- Oxford Archaeology, Saxon and Viking Oxford 410-1066, Oxford City Council: dati archeologici e storici sulla fondazione anglosassone, la distruzione del 1002 e la rifondazione medievale.
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, voce 'Frideswide': etimologia e forme storiche del nome.
Autore: Giampietro Cattini
SOURCE : https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/74430
Walking to St
Frideswide's Well : https://aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2014/10/walking-to-st-frideswides-well.html
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