Eadgyth of Aylesbury also known as Eadridus was a Christian saintOxford Dictionary of Saints, of Anglo-Saxon England.Yorke, Barbara (2003). Nunneries and the Anglo-Saxon Royal Houses. London. p. 22Thacker, Alan (2001). "Dynastic monasteries and family cults: Edward the Elder's sainted kindred". In N. J. Higham and D. H. Hill. Edward the Elder 899–924. London: Routledge. p. 257.
History She is known to history mainly through the hagiography of the Secgan manuscript,, British Library but also the Anglo-Saxon ChronicleAnglo-Saxon Chronicle manuscript C (1046).
One of her sisters was Eadburh of Bicester; the other, Wilburga, was married to Frithuwold of Chertsey. Wilburga's daughter St Osyth grew up in the care of her maternal aunts.
A 'Saint Edith' is also mentioned in Conchubran's Life of Saint Modwenna, a female hermit who supposedly lived near Burton-on-Trent. The text, written in the early 11th century, mentions a sister of King Alfred by the name of 'Ite', a nun who served as the Kings tutor and had a maidservant called Osid. Although an Irish nun called 'St Ita' was active in the 7th century, Ite's name has been interpreted as "almost certainly a garbling of Edith"Thacker, Alan (2001). "Dynastic monasteries and family cults: Edward the Elder's sainted kindred". In N. J. Higham and D. H. Hill. Edward the Elder 899–924. (Routledge, 2001). p257. and that of 'Osid' a rendering of Osgyth.Robert Bartlett, Geoffrey of Burton. Life and miracles of Modwenna (Clarendon, 2002) pp. xviii-xix.
See also Edith of Polesworth
Further reading Hohler, C. (1966). "St Osyth of Aylesbury". Records of Buckinghamshire 18.1: 61–72. Hagerty, R. P. (1987). "The Buckinghamshire Saints Reconsidered 2: St Osyth and St Edith of Aylesbury". Records of Buckinghamshire 29: 125–32
References