| Saint Frithuswith | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 650 upper Thames region |
| Died | 727 |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church; Anglicanism; Eastern Orthodox Church; Oriental Orthodox Church |
| Feast | 19 October |
| Patronage | Oxford, England; University of Oxford |
Saint Frithuswith[1] (c. 650 – 19 October 727; Old English: Friðuswīþ; also known as Frideswide, Frideswith, Fritheswithe, Frevisse, or simply Fris) was an English princess and abbess who is credited with establishing Christ Church in Oxford.
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Two twelfth-century Latin lives (edited by John Blair)[2] underlie two Middle English accounts of the Life of Saint Frithuswith included in the South English Legendary[3] which differ slightly in their story. Frithuswith was born to Didan (an Anglo-Saxon sub-king) and his wife Safrida around AD 650. With the help of her father, Frithuswith founded a priory (St Frideswide's Priory) while still young, but even though Fritheswith was bound to celibacy, Algar (that is, Ælfgār), a Mercian king, sought to marry her. When Frithuswith refused him, Algar tried to abduct her.
According to the longer tale in the South English Legendary, Fritheswith flees to Oxford. There she finds a ship sent by God which takes her to Bampton. Meanwhile the King searches for her in Oxford, but the people refuse to tell him where she is. When he has searched the whole town but cannot find her, he becomes blind.[4] In the shorter version, Frithuswith hides in a forest outside Oxford, but when Algar comes to look for her, she sneaks back into the town. The king follows her, but just outside the Oxford city gates he falls off his horse and breaks his neck.[5]
In the longer life, the nuns in Binsey complain of having to fetch water from the distant River Thames, so Frideswide prays to God and a well springs up. The well water has healing properties and many people come to seek it out. This well can still be found today at the Church of St Margaret in Binsey, a few miles upriver from Oxford.
St Frideswide's Priory, a medieval Augustinian house which became Christ Church, Oxford following the dissolution of the monasteries is claimed to be the site of her abbey and relics. The authority on the subject, Dr. John Blair of Queen's College, Oxford believes that Christ Church Cathedral is built on the site of her Saxon church.
Frithuswith is the patron saint of Oxford.[6] Her feast day is 19 October. In art, she is depicted holding the pastoral staff of an abbess, a fountain springing up near her and an ox at her feet. The fountain probably represents the holy well at Binsey. She appears in medieval stained glass and in Pre-Raphaelite stained glass by Edward Burne-Jones in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, in the chapel where her shrine is also located.