One of the most perplexing ‘mistakes’ in the Liber Eliensis is the claim that St Hild’s sister Hereswitha was the mother of St Æthelthryth. Bede makes it very clear that this is not the case and we know that the author of the Liber Eliensis leaned heavily on Bede. The heavenly pedigree leans on other [...]
Archive for the ‘Audrey of Ely’ Category
9 Nov
LKM: Bernicia/Bryneich
Bernicia or Bryneich?
We know that the name of the kingdom was British and their name for it was Bryneich. No one has put forth a compelling translation for Bryneich. It appears to have been the southern part of Votandini (Gododdin) territory under the Romans, although it may have been independent then just without its [...]
23 Jun
Audrey, Cuthbert and the Durham Stole
[I haven't been able to post much lately, but life seems to be getting straightened out so I hope on a regular basis back soon. It may be August before I'm back to the frequency I had last spring though. Hang in there with me...]
Today is the feast of St Æthelthryth so I can’t let [...]
7 Jun
Bede on the Plague
In John Maddicott’s article “Plague in Seventh Century England” reprinted with slight modification in Plague and the End of Antiquity (2007), he discusses how Bede alone of the writers of the Justinian plague did not see the plague as a curse or punishment from God.
Northumbria’s Golden Age
Maddicott points to Bede’s recognition that the plague occurred [...]
26 May
Epidemiology, Climate Change, and the Justinian Plague
I’ve been reading Robert Sallares book chapter “Ecology, Evolution, and Epidemiology of Plague” this weekend. Its a fascinating read. Epidemiology of the plague brings up all kinds of factors of medieval culture that are largely invisible by other means.
In his contribution to the same book, Michael McCormick wrote that “it is just imaginable that the [...]
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