Saturday Saints- #7

Today’s Saint is another woman born of high station who turned to the monastic life:

Saint Frithuswith (c. 650 – 19 October 727; Old English: Friðuswīþ; also known as Frideswide, Frideswith, Fritheswithe, Frevisse, or simply Fris) was an English princess and abbess. She is credited with establishing a religious site later incorporated into Christ Church in Oxford — Frithuswith was the first abbess of this Oxford double monastery. Frithuswith was the daughter of a Mercian sub-king named Dida of Eynsham, whose lands occupied western Oxfordshire and the upper reaches of the River Thames. Dida is known to have endowed churches in Bampton and Oxford.

(Wikipedia article on her can be found here)

I found a couple of things interesting about her. The first is the connection to Oxsford, and how the center of learning there originated as a monastery, although it went through a number of changes before then. Also interesting to me is the tale of a Mercian king trying to abduct her when she refuses to marry him. In either version of the tale of her life (there are two), it doesn’t end well for him. Having heard of similar stories with other female saints, I think any man would be well advised to understand that trying to abduct a woman who wishes to live a monastic life is a sure-fire way to ruin (or end) his life.

St. Frithuswith