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The Life of St. Æthelthryth - Old English Aerobics\nThe Life of St. Aethelthryth\nSt. Æthelthryth, the seventh-century abbess of Ely, was one of Anglo-Saxon England's most widely venerated saints. This life of her by Ælfric was written in the last years of the tenth century. Ælfric's collection of saints' lives was edited by Walter W. Skeat, Ælfric's Lives of Saints, Early English Text Society 76. 82. 94, 114 (Oxford, 1881-1900).\nVIIII KALENDAS IULII. NATALE SANCTE ÆÐELDRYÐE VIRGINIS.\n Wē wyllað nū āwrītan, þēah ðe hit wundorliċ sȳ, be ðǣre hālgan sancte Æðeldrȳðe þām Engliscan mǣdene, þe wæs mid twām werum and swā ðēah wunode mǣden, swā swā þā wundra ġeswuteliað þe hēo wyrċð ġelōme.  Anna hātte hyre fæder, Ēastengla cynincg, swȳðe Cristen man, swā swā hē cȳdde mid weorcum, and eall his tēam wearð ġewurðod þurh God.  Æðeldrȳð wearð þā forġifen ānum ealdormenn tō wīfe.  Ac hit nolde se ælmihtiga God þæt hire mæġðhād wurde mid hǣmede ādylegod, ac hēold hī on clǣnnysse, for ðan þe hē is ælmihtiġ God and mæġ dōn eall þæt hē wile, and on manegum wīsum his mihte ġeswutelað.\n Se ealdorman ġewāt þā ðā hit wolde God, and hēo wearð forġifen Ecfride cynincge, and twelf ġēar wunode unġewemmed mǣden on þæs cynincges synscype, swā swā swutele wundra hyre mǣrða cȳðaþ and hire mæġðhād ġelōme.  Hēo lufode þone Hǣlend þe hī hēold unwemme, and Godes ðēowas wurðode.  Ān þǣra wæs Wilfrid bisceop, þe hēo swȳðost lufode, and hē sǣde Bēdan þæt se cyning Ecfrid him oft behēte myċel on lande and on fēo, ġif hē lǣran mihte Æðeldrȳðe his ġebeddan þæt hēo bruce his synscipes.  Nū cwæð se hālga Beda, þe þās bōc ġesette, þæt se ælmihtiga God mihte ēaðe ġedōn nū on ūrum dagum þæt Æðeldrȳð þurhwunode unġewemmed mǣden, þēah ðe hēo wer hæfde, swā swā on ealdum dagum hwīlon ǣr ġetīmode þurh þone ylcan God þe ǣfre þurhwunað mid his ġecorenum hālgum, swā swā hē sylf behēt.\n Æðeldrȳð wolde ðā ealle woruldþincg forlǣtan, and bæd ġeorne þone cynincg þæt hēo Criste mōste þēowian on mynsterliċre drohtnunge, swā hire mōd hire tō spēon.  Þā lȳfde hire se cynincg, þēah þe hit embe lang wǣre, þæs þe hēo ġewilnode, and Wilfrid bisceop þā hī ġehādode tō myneċene, and hēo syððan on mynstre wunode sume twelf mōnað swā, and hēo syððan wearð ġehādod eft tō abbudissan on Eliġmynstre, ofer manega myneċena, and hēo hī mōdorlīċe hēold mid gōdum ġebysnungum tō þām gāstlican līfe.\n Be hire is āwryten þæt hēo wel drohtnode tō ānum mǣle fæstende, būtan hit frēolsdæġ wǣre, and hēo syndriġe ġebedu swȳðe lufode and wyllen weorode, and wolde seldhwænne hire līċ baðian būtan tō hēahtīdum, and ðonne hēo wolde ǣrest ealle ðā baðian þe on ðām mynstre wǣron, and wolde him ðēnian mid hire þīnenum, and þonne hī sylfe baðian.\n Þā on þām eahteoðan ġēare siððan hēo abbudisse wæs, hēo wearð ġeuntrumod, swā swā hēo ǣr wītegode, swā þæt ān ġeswel wēox on hire swūran myċel under þām ċynnbāne, and hēo swīðe þancode Gode þæt hēo on þām swūran sum ġeswinc þolode.  Hēo cwæð: "iċ wāt ġeare þæt iċ wel wyrðe eom þæt mīn swūra bēo ġeswenċt mid swylċere untrumnysse, for ðan þe iċ on iugoðe frætwode mīnne swūran mid mæniġfealdum swūrbēagum, and mē is nū ġeþūht þæt Godes ārfæstnyss þone gylt āclǣnsiġe, þonne mē nū þis ġeswel scȳnð for golde, and þes hāta bryne for hēalicum ġymstānum."\n Þā wæs þǣr sum lǣċe on ðām ġelēaffullum hēape, Cynefryð ġehāten, and hī cwǣdon þā sume þæt se lǣċe sceolde āscēotan þæt ġeswell.  Þā dyde hē sōna swā, and þǣr sāh ūt wyrms.  Wearð him þā ġeðūht swilċe hēo ġewurpan mihte, ac hēo ġewāt of worulde mid wuldre tō Gode on þām ðriddan dæġe syððan se dolh wæs ġeopenod, and wearð bebyrġed swā swā hēo bæd sylf and hēt, betwux hire ġeswustrum, on trēowenre ċyste.\n Þā wearð hire swustor Sexburh ġehādod tō abbudissan æfter hire ġeendunge, sēo ðe ǣr wæs cwēn on Cantwarebyriġ.  Þā wolde sēo Sexburh æfter syxtȳne ġēarum dōn hire swustor bān of ðǣre byrġene ūp and beran intō þǣre ċyrċan; and sende þā ġebrōðra tō sēċenne sumne stān tō swilċere nēode, for ðan þe on þām fenlande synd fēawa weorcstāna.  Hī rēowan þā tō Grantanċeastre, and God hī sōna ġehradode, swā þæt hī þǣr ġemētton āne mǣre þrūh wið þone weall standende, ġeworht of marmstāne eall hwītes blēos bufan þǣre eorðan, and þæt hlyd ðǣrtō ġelimplīċe ġefēġed, ēac of hwītum marmstāne, swā swā hit macode God.\n Þā nāman ðā ġebrōðra blȳðelīċe þā ðrūh and ġebrōhton tō mynstre, myċċlum ðanciġende Gode; and Sexburh sēo abbudisse hēt slēan ān ġeteld bufan ðā byrġene, wolde þā bān gaderian.  Hī sungon ðā ealle sealmas and līċsang þā hwīle þe man ðā byrġene bufan ġeopenode.  Þā læġ hēo on ðǣre ċyste swilċe hēo lǣġe on slǣpe, hāl eallum limum, and se lǣċe wæs ðǣr ðe þæt ġeswell ġeopenode, and hī scēawode ġeorne.  Þā wæs sēo wund ġehǣled þe se lǣċe worhte ǣr; ēac swilċe þā ġewǣda þe hēo bewunden wæs mid wǣron swā ansunde swylċe hī eall nīwe wǣron.\n Sexburh þā hyre swuster swīðe þæs fæġnode, and hī þwōgon ðā syððan þone sāwllēasan līċhaman, and mid nīwum ġewǣdum bewundon ārwurðlīċe, and bǣron intō ðǣre ċyrċan, blyssiġende mid sangum, and lēdon hī on ðǣre þrȳh, þǣr ðǣr hēo līð oð þis on myċelre ārwurðnysse, mannum tō wundrunge.\n Wæs ēac wundorliċ þæt sēo ðrūh wæs ġeworht þurh Godes forescēawunge hire swā ġemǣte, swylċe hēo hyre sylfre swā ġesceapen wǣre, and æt hire hēafde wæs āhēawen se stān, ġemǣte þām hēafde þæs hālgan mǣdenes.\n Hit is swutol þæt hēo wæs unġewemmed mǣden, þonne hire līċhama ne mihte formolsnian on eorðan, and Godes miht is ġeswutelod sōðlīċe þurh hī, þæt hē mæġ ārǣran ðā formolsnodan līċhaman, se ðe hire līċ hēold hāl on ðǣre byrġene ġīt oð þisne dæġ; sȳ him ðæs ā wuldor.  Þǣr wǣron ġehǣlede þurh ðā hālgan fēmnan fela ādliġe menn, swā swā wē ġefyrn ġehȳrdon; and ēac ðā þe hrepodon þæs rēafes ǣniġne dǣl þe hēo mid bewunden wæs wurdon sōna hāle; and manegum ēac fremode sēo ċyst miċċlum þe hēo ǣrest on læġ, swā swā se lārēow Bēda on ðǣre bēċ sǣde, þe hē ġesette be ðysum.\n Oft woruldmenn ēac hēoldon, swā swā ūs bēċ secgað, heora clǣnnysse on synscipe for Cristes lufe, swā swā wē mihton reċċan ġif ġē rōhton hit tō gehȳrenne.  Wē secgað swā ðēah be sumum ðeġne, se wæs þrȳttiġ ġēara mid his wīfe on clǣnnysse.  Þrȳ suna hē ġestrȳnde, and hī siððan būta ðrīttiġ ġēara wǣron wuniġende būtan hǣmede and fela ælmyssan worhton oð þæt se wer fērde tō munucliċere drohtnunge; and Drihtnes enġlas cōmon eft on his forðsīðe and feredon his sāwle mid sange tō heofonum, swā swā ūs secgað bēċ.  Manega bysna synd on bōcum be swylċum, hū oft weras and wīf wundorlīċe drohtnodon and on clǣnnysse wunodon tō wuldre þām Hǣlende þe þā clǣnnysse āstealde, Crist ūre Hǣlend, þām is ā wurðmynt and wuldor on ēċnysse. Amen.