Right-Believing
Cwenthryth
An Anglo-Saxon noblewoman honored as a saint; few details of her life survive.
Uncertain source. We are looking to verify this information as soon as we can.
- Era
- 9th century
Life
Cwenthryth was a daughter of King Coenwulf of Mercia, attested between 811 and about 827. She was abbess of Winchcombe, Reculver and Minster in Thanet, which she inherited from her father. She also inherited a dispute with Archbishop Wulfred of Canterbury over Reculver and Minster; in 827 Wulfred gained control of them, and she is not recorded afterwards. A late and unreliable source accuses her of murdering her brother Cynehelm, who was later venerated as Saint Kenelm. The sources show no veneration of her as a saint.