Anfleda

Birth, Baptism, Link

Enfleda's mother was raised as a Christian, but her father was a pagan. He remained unbaptized when Enfleda was born the night before Easter in 626 at the royal residence on the Derwent River. Misfortune the Venerable wrote that earlier on the birthday of Enfleda, the killer sent by the king of Wessex, Quichelm, attempted to encroach on Edwin's life. Subsequently, Edwin, yielding to the entreaties of the confessor of his wife Pauline , agreed to baptize his daughter if he was granted the victory over Quiquelm. Enfleda was baptized on the occasion of Pentecost (June 8, 626) along with eleven other members of the royal family ^[3] .

Edwin successfully opposed Quihelm and adopted the new faith in 627 ^[4] . His reign ended in 633 with defeat and death at the Battle of Maken . After the death of the king, turbulent times came and Ethelburg, along with Bishop Paulin, returned to Kent, where Enfleda grew up under the protection of her uncle, King Edbald of Kent ^[5] .

Return, Marriage

In 642, the king of Bernice, Oswiu , who ruled in the north of Northumbria, sent the priest Utt to Kent, who at that time was ruled by Enfleda's cousin, Erconbert, with the proposal of marriage ^[6] . Oswiu was already married to the British princess Rimmelt and recently became king after the death of his brother Oswald at the Battle of Mays Cogwy . King Penda of Mercus , who won this battle, dominated central Britain, and Oswiu needed support. A marriage with Enfleda would provide support for Kent, and possibly Francia, as children of Oswiu and Enfleda, could claim the throne of the whole of Northumbria ^[7] . The exact date of marriage is unknown ^[8] .

If the goal of Oswiu in marriage with Enfleda was to peacefully accept his rule in Deira, the plan was unsuccessful. By 644, the second cousin of Enfleda Oswin ruled in Deira ^[9] . In 651, Oswin was killed by one of the commanders of Oswiu. To atone for the murder of his wife’s relative, Osviu founded the abbey in Gilling, where prayers were offered for both kings ^[10] .

Children, Patroness of Wilfrid, Supporter of Rome

With varying degrees of certainty, the children of Enfleda and Oswiu were Egfreet , Alfvin , Ostrita and Elfleda . The complicated story of Oswiu's marriage and relationship makes it difficult to pinpoint the mother of each of his children. Kirby claims that Eldfreet, Elfreet and Elhfleda were not her children ^[11] .

Enfleda was patronized by Wilfried , who played a large role in Northumbrian politics during the reign of Egfrit, Eldfreet and Osred , and also participated in the politics of other seventh-century Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. When Wilfried wished to go on a pilgrimage to Rome, the queen recommended him to her cousin, King Kent Erkonbert ^[12] .

Widow, abbess, saint

A few years after the death of Oswiu Enfleda went to a monastery in Whitby. This monastery was closely associated with the royal family and many of its members were buried there. Disagreement in the Church of Northumbria led to the fact that in this monastery in 664 the Synod of Whitby took place, during which Oswiu agreed to resolve calendar disputes about Easter, adopting the Roman method of dating. Whitby Abbey was both a female and male monastery, in which monks and nuns lived in separate rooms, however, performed church and religious rites together. After the death of his relative and founder of the monastery, Hilda , in 680, Enfleda became an abbess with her daughter Elfleda . She died during the reign of her stepson, Eldfreet (685–704). At this time, the remains of King Edwin were reburied at Whitby. ^[13]

Some later sources mark Enfleda's memorial day as November 24th. Along with Edwin, Oswiu, Hilda, and then Elfleda, she was buried in Whitby. William of Malmesbury believed that her remains were later reburied at Glastonbury Abbey, where in the twelfth century her monument was located ^[1] .

• Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Translated by Leo Sherley-Price, revised RE Latham, ed. DH Farmer. London: Penguin, 1990. ISBN 0-14-044565-X
• Craig, DJ (2004), Oswiu , Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, doi : 10.1093 / ref: odnb / 20930 , < http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/20930/20930? back =, 20909,20930,8392 > . Retrieved May 20, 2012.  

• Eddius, "Life of Wilfrid" in DH Farmer (ed.) & JH Webb (trans.), The Age of Bede. London: Penguin, 1998. IBN 0-140-44727-X
• Higham, NJ, The Convert Kings: Power and religious affiliation in early Anglo-Saxon England. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-7190-4828-1
• Higham, NJ, The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350-1100. Stroud: Sutton, 1993. ISBN 0-86299-730-5
• Holdsworth, Philip, "Edwin, King of Northumbria" in M. Lapidge, et al., (Eds), The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Oxford: Blackwell, 1999. ISBN 0-631-22492-0
• Holdsworth, Philip, "Oswiu" in M. Lapidge, et al., (Eds), The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Oxford: Blackwell, 1999. ISBN 0-631-22492-0
• Kirby, DP, The Earliest Anglo-Saxon Kings , Routledge, 1991 ISBN 0-415-09086-5
• Lapidge, Michael, "Eanflæd" in Michael Lapidge et al., The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Blackwell, 1999. ISBN 0-631-22492-0
• Lapidge, Michael, "Paulinus" in Michael Lapidge et al., The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Blackwell, 1999. ISBN 0-631-22492-0
• Thacker, Alan Eanflæd (St Eanflæd) ( b. 626, d. After 685) (unspecified) . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,. Oxford University Press (2004). Date of treatment August 20, 2007.

• Eanflæd 1 // Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
• Page on Britannia.com