Elfed, abbess of Whitby
Overview
Title social-statusabbess of WhitbyDate of Birthc.654Date of Death713Biography
Elfed (Aelfled, Aelffled), daughter of Oswy of Bernicia, king of Northumbria, was offered as an infant to a convent which Oswy would found, if he prevailed over his enemies. He did and she was. She trained under Hild/Hilda at Hartlepool and Whitby, a cousin of Elfled’s mother, who trained five men who became bishops and the poet Caedmon. Elfled became abbess of Whitby when she was about 26, at Hild’s death in 680. She was a figure of some importance in her world. When archbishop Theodore made peace with Wilfrid of York, she was one of those he sent an official announcement to, along with kings of Northumbria and Mercia. And when leading dignitaries of church and state were called together at a synod of the Nidd (706) to decide the fate of Wilfrid, Elfled was among them, spoke in support of Wilfrid, and affirmed her brother’s last command in Wilfrid’s favor. She was a friend of Cuthbert, whom her brother king Egfrid appointed bishop; Cuthbert met with her and gave her a linen girdle that cured her of a serious illness. She is reported to have wrapped his body in a double linen cloth when it was translated. St. Trumwin retired to her monastery for his last years. Eddi/Eddius called her “the comforter and best counsellor” (consolatrix optimaque consiliatrix), a source of strength to the whole province and Bede said “she increased the lustre of her royal lineage with the higher nobility of a more exalted virginity” (Life of Cuthbert, ch.34) and quotes Cuthbert addressing her as “a woman wise and well-instructed in the Holy Scriptures” (ch.24).(1)
