Werburgh
Chester |
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Werburgh (also Wærburh, Werburh, Werburga, meaning "true city";
. Her feast day is 3 February.Life
Werburgh was born at
Werburgh was instrumental in convent reform across England. She eventually succeeded her mother Ermenilda, her grandmother Seaxburh, and great-aunt Etheldreda as fourth Abbess of Ely. She died on 3 February 700 and was buried at Hanbury in Staffordshire.
Veneration
Following Werburgh's death, her brother Coenred became king of Mercia. In 708 he decided to move his sister's remains to a more conspicuous place within the church at Hanbury. When the tomb was opened, her body was found to be miraculously intact. This preservation was taken as a sign of divine favour. A year later Coenred had abdicated as king and taken holy orders, becoming a monk in Rome.[4] It was at this time that the most famous story about Werburgh appeared, according to which she restored a dead goose to life after it had been eaten, as recounted by the medieval hagiographer Goscelin.[1] A stained glass window in the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Weedon Bec, Northamptonshire relates to another tale in which she was said to have banished all the geese from the village.[5]
The shrine of St Werberh remained at Hanbury until the threat from Danish
By 1057 the Abbey church was rebuilt and further endowed by
Even after 1066 and the
In 1540 the
Today
St Werburgh remains the
At least ten churches in England, and some overseas, are dedicated to St Werburgh, including those in
See also
References
- ^ a b c "St Werburgh's Roman Catholic Parish, Chester".
- ^ "History – St. Werburgh", The Parish Church of St. Werburgh, Spondon, (Church of England)
- ^ Norfolk.), George FISHER (of Swaffham (7 February 1832). "A companion and key to the history of England; consisting of copious genealogical details of the British sovereigns, with an appendix, exhibiting a chronological epitome of the successive holders of the several titles of the ... nobility, etc, with their armorial bearings" – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Werburgh". www.newadvent.org.
- ^ "Weedon's Local History". BBC Domesday Reloaded. BBC. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
Further reading
- Roy Wilding, Death in Chester (2003) ISBN 1-872265-44-8