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Information About

Saint Mildred




  birth Date unknown
  death Date unknown
  feast Day 13 July
  death Place Minster-in-Thanet
  major Shrine formerly Minster-in-Thanet<br>


Saint Mildrith ('' Floruit '' 694716 x 733 ), also '''Mildryth''' or '''Mildred''', was an Anglo-Saxon Abbess .

Mildrith was the daughter of King Merewalh of Magonsaete , a sub-kingdom of Mercia , and Eormenburh (Saint Eormenburga), herself the daughter of King Æthelberht Of Kent . Her sisters Milburh (Saint Milburga of Much Wenlock) and Mildgyth (Saint Mildgytha) were considered to be saints. Goscelin , probably relying on a now-lost history of the rulers of the Kingdom Of Kent , wrote a Hagiography of Mildrith.

Mildrith's maternal family had close ties to the Merovingian rulers of Gaul , and Mildrith is said to have been educated at the prestigious Merovingian royal abbey of Chelles . She entered the abbey of Minster-in-Thanet , which her mother had earlier established, of which she became abbess by 694. Suggesting that ties to Gaul were maintained, number of dedications to Mildrith exist in the Pas-de-Calais , including at Millam . Mildrith died at Minster-in-Thanet and was buried there.

Her remains were Translated to St Augustine's Abbey , Canterbury in 1035, the translation is commemorated on 18 May .

Mildrith was apparently followed as abbess by Eadburg , correspondent of Saint Boniface .


REFERENCE

  • Love, R.C., "Mildrith, St" in Michael Lapidge et al., ''The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England.'' Blackwell, 1999. ISBN 0-631-22492-0

  • Rollason, D.W., ''The Mildrith Legend: A Study in Early Medieval Hagiography in England'' (series "Studies in the Early History of Britain", Leicester University) 1983.