Born at Stallington, Lindsey, England; died at Barking, England, 678;
feast day formerly October 11; feasts of her translations on March 7,
May 4, and September 23 at Barking. The histories of the various saints
named Ethelburga are confused almost
beyond my ability to sort them one from another. Two, including today's
saint, are said to have been the daughters of King Anna of the East
Angles and died within 20 years of one another.
Not enough is known about Saint Ethelburga's life to make it remarkable
to commemorate it more than a thousand years after her death except that
she hailed from one of those incredibly holy families. Her eldest sister
Saint Sexburga, married King Erconbert of Kent and greatly influenced
her husband to order the complete abandonment and destruction of idols
throughout his kingdom. He issued an order that everyone should observe
the Lenten fasts.
Her sister Queen Saint Etheldreda was abbess of Ely. Her youngest
sister, Saint Withburga, took the veil after Anna died in battle and
live mostly in the convent she founded at Dereham. Her brother
Erconwald, who later became bishop of London, founded monasteries at
Chertsey, which he governed, and at Barking, over which he placed his
sister Ethelburga. A late tradition notes that Erconwald invited Saint
Hildelith to leave Chelles in France and serve as prioress at Barking in
Essex. She was placed in the difficult position of teaching Saint
Ethelburga the observance of monastic traditions while remaining in a
subordinate role. Eventually Ethelburga learned and governed alone as a
great abbess.
The Venerable Bede wrote that "she showed herself in every way worthy of
her brother, in holiness of life and constant solicitude for those under
her care, attested by miracles from above." He then relates several
unusual events that occurred shortly before the death of Ethelburga,
including the death of a three-year-old boy after calling out the name
Edith three times, and the cure of Saint Tortgith of paralysis after a
vision of Ethelburga
(
Attwater,
Benedictines,
Bentley,
Delaney,
Farmer).
In art, Saint Ethelburga is depicted as an abbess holding Barking Abbey.
Sometimes she is shown with Saint Erconwald, her brother, or with Saint
Hildelith, who trained her
(
Roeder).