Ely Cathedral | Page 3

of the Gospel spread over the
kingdom; three monasteries were founded, one at Bury St. Edmunds,
another at Burgh Castle, near Yarmouth, and a third at Soham; and the
first Bishop of East Anglia was consecrated. The pagan king of Mercia
frequently disturbed the tranquility of the kingdom, and Sigebert and
his cousin Egric (to whom Sigebert had resigned his kingdom) were
both slain in repelling an invasion. Anna met with the same fate; he
was a prince greatly esteemed for his good qualities; he married
Heriswitha, sister of St. Hilda, the foundress of Whitby Abbey, and had
a numerous family, among whom may be named Sexburga, who was
married to Ercombert, king of Kent; Withburga, who founded a
nunnery at Dereham; and Æthelryth, or, as she is more commonly
called, Etheldreda, the renowned foundress of the monastery at Ely,
who was born about the year 630, at Exning, in Suffolk, a short
distance from Newmarket.
Before commencing our sketch of the life of Etheldreda, we may by
way of explanation say that what is now the Isle of Ely, was "anciently
called Suth Girwa,"[1] and is a large tract of high ground en-compassed

with fens that were formerly overflowed with water, of which Ely is the
principal place, and gives name to the whole. The boundaries as now
recognised are Lincolnshire on the north, Norfolk on the east,
Huntingdonshire and Northamptonshire on the west, and
Cambridgeshire on the south, of which county it forms the northern
portion, with a jurisdiction partially separate; within its bounds there
are, besides the city of Ely, several towns and villages, as Wisbech,
March, Chatteris, &c. and the former great waste of marsh and fen has
become, by means of drainage, a fertile corn-growing district of great
importance. Ely is believed to have taken its name from Elig in the
Saxon tongue, signifying a willow; or from Elge in the Latin of Bede
the historian, from the abundance of eels produced in the surrounding
waters. We now continue our sketch.
[Footnote 1: Bentham's History, i. 47.]
Etheldreda, or Audrey, a princess of distinguished piety, devoted
herself to the service of God in early life, but urged by her parents, was
married to Tonbert, or Tonberet, Earldorman, or Prince of the South
Gyrvii, or Fenmen, A.D. 652, who settled upon her the whole Isle of
Ely as a dower. Three years after her marriage Tonbert died, and left
Etheldreda in sole possession, who, after a short time, committed the
care of her property to Ovin, her steward, and retired to Ely for the
purpose of religious meditation, for which it was well adapted, as being
surrounded by fens and waters it was difficult of access. She was again
solicited to enter the marriage state, and, although for some time
reluctant, she was induced by her uncle Ethelwold, then king of East
Anglia, to give her hand to Egfrid, son of Oswy, king of
Northumberland, and she afterwards became queen by the accession of
her husband to his father's kingdom. After the lapse of twelve years she
gained the permission of her husband to withdraw from his court, and
retired to the Abbey of Coldingham, where she took the veil; thence
withdrew to Ely, and repaired the old church founded by Ethelbert, at a
place called Cratendune, about a mile from the present city, (of which
place however nothing is now known); but, shortly after, a more
commodious site was chosen nearer the river, where the foundations of
her church were laid, and the monastery was commenced.

The history of this distinguished princess as related by various writers,
would be interesting and amusing, if space allowed; it is to be found in
Bede's Ecclesiastical History, in the Liber Eliensis, a very valuable
manuscript written or compiled by Thomas, a monk of Ely, who lived
in the twelfth century; and Mr. Bentham also relates it at some length in
his work;[2] but it would extend far beyond the limits allowed in this
sketch; we have, however, we hope given sufficient to throw some light
upon remarks we may make in subsequent pages. She governed her
house in such a manner as to gain the esteem both of its members and
the inhabitants of the surrounding country; living and dying an example
of piety and holiness, for we read that "in her last sickness, when
sensible of her approaching end, she was calm and composed, and
retained her memory and understanding to the last, and expired in the
very act of her calling, in the presence of her flock; and whilst she was
instructing them how to live, by her example also taught them how to
die."[3] She was interred, in accordance with her own wish, in the
grave-yard of the monastery, but after a period of sixteen years her