Frithuswith

Frithuswith, more commonly known as Frideswide (Old English: Friðuswīþ; c. 650 – 19 October 727), was an Anglo-Saxon princess and abbess who is honored as the patron saint of Oxford and its university. She is best remembered for founding a monastery that would later become part of Christ Church, Oxford. She was the daughter of Didan (or Dida) of Eynsham, a sub-king of Mercia whose territory included western Oxfordshire and the upper Thames Valley.

The earliest known account of her life appears in the Vita sanctae Fritheswithae uirginis ("Life of Saint Frideswide the Virgin"), preserved in a twelfth-century manuscript written by John of Worcester. A longer version of her story was later produced by Robert of Cricklade, who served as the head of the Priory of St Frideswide in Oxford.

According to legend, Frideswide was born to King Didan and Queen Safrida. With her father’s support, she established a monastery while still young. After the deaths of her parents, she took a vow of celibacy. However, Algar, the king of Leicester—often identified with Æthelbald of Mercia—attempted to force her into marriage. When she rejected him, he tried to abduct her, prompting her to flee into the wilderness. During her escape, she is said to have found a divinely provided boat that took her to Bampton in Oxfordshire. When Algar pursued her to Oxford, the townspeople protected her, and he was struck blind as divine punishment.

Frideswide eventually sought deeper seclusion and settled in Binsey, near Oxford. Troubled by the distance to the River Thames, she prayed for help, and a miraculous well sprang forth. This spring was believed to have healing powers and became a destination for pilgrims. A Victorian-era reconstruction of this well still stands beside the Church of Saint Margaret in Binsey. Frideswide later returned to Oxford, where she served as abbess until her death.

To this day, Frideswide is venerated in Oxford, and pilgrimages to her shrine in Christ Church continue. She is typically depicted in art as an abbess holding a pastoral staff, with a spring of water nearby and an ox at her feet. Her image appears in medieval stained glass and in the richly colored Pre-Raphaelite windows created by Edward Burne-Jones in Christ Church Cathedral, where her shrine is located.