AElfflaed of Whitby's letter to Adela of Pfalzel

Darby, Peter

Abstract

In early medieval Europe, many high-status women commanded great influence as abbesses of important monasteries. These women, who were often connected to local ruling elites through kinship, were responsible for managing large estates and exerting spiritual leadership over their communities. Their connections to the Church, on the one hand, and the secular aristocracy, on the other, gave them a rare ability to straddle those worlds and exert authority in both. This was certainly the case for the abbesses of Whitby (Streanaeshalch) in Northumbria in the late seventh and early eighth centuries. The monastery at Whitby was established c. 657 during Northumbria's conversion to Christianity. It was a large and influential double monastery (in which separate male and female communities were institutionally conjoined under the care of an abbess) located on a coastal headland overlooking the North Sea. The centre was intrinsically linked to the local aristocracy, with strong ties to the rulers of both of Northumbria's regional sub-kingdoms, Bernicia and Deira. Under its founding abbess Hild, the monastery hosted a major synod in 664, in which kingdom-wide policies were implemented regarding paschal.

Citation

Darby, P. (in press). AElfflaed of Whitby's letter to Adela of Pfalzel. The Mediaeval Journal,

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 20, 2025
• Deposit Date: Apr 8, 2025
• Print ISSN: 2033-5385
• Electronic ISSN: 2033-5393
• Publisher: Brepols Publishers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/47550529