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In Memoriam
The Abbess, St Ebba the Elder,
died Aug. 25, 683 (feast, Aug. 25).
On the links of Beadnell are traces of an ancient chapel dedicated to St
Ebba, Abbess of Coldingham, 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.
Eng. Folk-Rhymes, GF Northall, 1892
She was the daughter of Ethelfrid, king of Northumbria, and was forced to
go into exile after her father's defeat by Edwin in 616. She became a
Christian and later was professed a nun at the double monastery at
Coldingham by Bp. Finian of Lindisfarne (d. 661). At Coldingham she was
visited by St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, and by King Egfrid (d. 684) and
Queen Ermenburga of Northumbria with whom she interceded on behalf of Bp.
Wilfrid of York. At the urging of Adamnan of Iona, she undertook to reform
her convent, which was falling away from a strict observance of the rule.
Her relics were translated from Coldingham to Durham in the 11th century.
(From the New Catholic Encyclopedia)
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