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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Etheldreda's story is somewhat murky to say the least. Her father gave her to her first husband, Tonbert. The kingdom of East Anglia probably profited by his endowment of Ely and its fenlands to her (though there is some disagreement as to whether he owned it first or she had it from the start as a dowry). Her brother subsequently gave her to Egfrid of Northumbria but no one says what he got in return. The agreement in both cases to respect her virginity was upheld in the second marriage by her alliance with archbishop Wilfrid. In the seventh century chaste marriage (either non-consummated or entailing a later vow of abstinence) was upheld by the church on the grounds hat Joseph and Mary had a valid marriage. It was also an instrument for trying to get priests who were married to give up their conjugal rights (with mixed success). The issue in canon law did not arise until the 12th century, I believe. It is possible that Egfrid agreed to the non-consummation of his marriage because he already had a sexually active wife or acquired one in the course of the marriage. Bede makes a villainess out of his "second" wife Iurmenberg because she was hostile to Wilfrid but the chronology of these marriages was far from clear. I suspect he may have consistently fudged or concealed polygamous habits among the Anglo-Saxons. Why should they have been more monogamous than other Germanic royalty of the age? In any case, Egfrid did try to renege and both Etheldreda and Wilfrid had to flee the kingdom as a result. Though again, their may have been more political causes for the breach than Bede cares to let on. Jo Ann McNamara ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marjorie Greene" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2005 1:55 AM Subject: Re: [M-R] saints of the day 23. June > medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture > > Do we have a clue why someone who eschewed conjugal delights wed not once > but twice? > "E. married at a young age, but convinced her husband that >>virginity was much nicer than wedded bliss. He died three years later. >>E. then lived a secluded life on the island of Ely for five years before >>marrying a Northumbrian boy-prince." > MG > >>From: Phyllis Jestice <[log in to unmask]> >>Reply-To: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious >>culture <[log in to unmask]> >>To: [log in to unmask] >>Subject: [M-R] saints of the day 23. June >>Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 19:21:55 -0700 >> >>medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture >> >>Today (23. June) is the feast day of: >> >>Etheldreda (Audrey) (d. 679) Etheldreda was an East Anglian princess. >>She was one of five sisters, all of whom were honored as saints. E. >>married at a young age, but convinced her husband that virginity was much >>nicer than wedded bliss. He died three years later. E. then lived a >>secluded life on the island of Ely for five years before marrying a >>Northumbrian boy-prince. When he grew up enough to claim his conjugal >>rights, E. refused on the grounds that she had consecrated her virginity >>to God. St. Wilfrid was consulted and upheld E's claim. She became a >>nun, and soon built a double monastery at Ely, serving as abbess for the >>rest of her life. >> >>Lietbertus (d. 1076) Lietbertus (Libert) was a noble of Brabant who served >>as archdeacon and provost for his uncle the bishop of Cambrai before >>succeeding him in 1051. In 1054 L. led a pilgrimage to Jerusalem but >>never got there. He returned and built the monastery and church of the >>Holy Sepulcher at Cambrai. >> >>Innocent V (blessed) (d. 1277) Peter of Tarentaise was a Dominican who >>won renown as a preacher and theologian before becoming archbishop of >>Lyons in 1272. He played an important role in the Council of Lyons in >>1274. He was elected to the papacy in 1276---the first Dominican >>pope---and took the name Innocent V. I. was beatified in 1898. >> >>********************************************************************** >>To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME >>to: [log in to unmask] >>To send a message to the list, address it to: >>[log in to unmask] >>To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion >>to: [log in to unmask] >>In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: >>[log in to unmask] >>For further information, visit our web site: >>http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html > > _________________________________________________________________ > Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! 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