Princess, Abbess, Saint

Etheldreda (AD 636-79) was a tough operator: a woman of strong character, intelligence and faith – becoming one of the most revered saints in medieval England. It was 1350 years ago that Etheldreda founded a monastery at the site of Ely cathedral. Here is a vivid picture of life as a woman, a Princess or a nun in those resourceful times.

By any standards, Etheldreda was a remarkable woman in a time of remarkable women. Far from being the wishy washy figure of so much stained glass, she was – had to be – a tough operator.

Great saints are not pushovers. She got her way. She changed the map in the Not-Yet-England of her time (c. 636 AD-679 AD).

What was it like to be a Princess then, an Abbess in a land where the old gods were still honoured by many? What power did women in her position wield? What did it mean to be revered as a Saint?

Dr Charles Moseley's lively account puts Etheldreda in context, painting a vivid picture which reveals what it was like to be a nun in those days, how marriage was viewed, what the countryside which these intrepid people crisscrossed looked like.

2023 marks 1350 years since St Etheldreda first established a monastery in Ely in AD 673. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have flocked to Ely Cathedral in her name and churches across the country have been named in her honour.