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On the links of Beadnell are traces of an ancient chapel dedicated to St Ebba,
Abbess of Coldingham. She was one of the three sainted princesses of Northumbria.
(Coldingham is a town & parish in Berwickshire.)
St Abb, St Helen and St Bey,
They a' built kirks which to be nearest to the sea,
St. Abbs upon the nabs,
St Helen's upon the lea,
St Bey's upon Dunbar sands
Stands nearest to the sea.
English Folk-Rhymes, GF Northall, 1892
St Ebba the Younger, abbess & martyr; d. Coldingham, Berwick, England, 870
(feast, April 2). According to 13th century writer Matthew Paris, the sole source,
the Danes martyred her with the whole community after she attempted to buy
a reprieve by mutilating her own face.
(From the New Catholic Encyclopedia, see 8/25 re St Ebba the Elder)
Matthew Paris also provided the source material for the gentle ballad "Halbert the Grim"
as rendered in Motherwell. We wish we had a tune for it.
© Abby Sale - all rights reserved
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