Cuthburga, St.
CUTHBURGA, ST.
Anglo-Saxon queen and abbess; d. after 724. She was the daughter of Coenred, a member of the West Saxon royal house, and sister to King ine; she married King Aldfrith of Northumbria, who died in 705. She then became a nun at barking under Abbess hildelide; she later founded wimborne abbey. It is not clear whether she was the sole foundress or whether the cost was shared by her sister Tetta as some traditions maintain. Cuthburga became first abbess; she unfortunately never had a contemporary biographer.
Feast: Aug. 31; Sept. 3 with St. Hildelitha in the Diocese of Brentwood.
Bibliography: Acta Sanctae Sedis Aug. 6:696–700. a. m. zimmermann, Kalendarium Benedictinum, (Metten 1933–38) 2:641–643. j. warrilow, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart et al. (Paris 1912) 13:1120–21.
[e. john]