March
23
/ 2021
It’s a name most people have never heard of and even fewer can pronounce, but St Aethelthryth of Ely is one of England’s most fascinating saints whose name has survived throughout the centuries and continues to be used today in the modernized name of Audrey (an Anglo-Norman English feminine given name). The story of her life reads like a historical fantasy novel, but it poses some interesting questions for the reader: was Aethelthryth a woman trapped in a man’s world, fighting to win her freedom in whatever way she could? Or was she the essence of holy feminine virtue, wholly dedicated to serving God above all earthly responsibilities? Was her life a shining example of a triumph of faith, or
