Cwenburh of Wimborne was an 8th-centuryAnglo-Saxon saint,[1] a sister ofKing Ine of Wessex and of SaintCuthburh. Her sister Cuthburh was married to KingAldfrith of Northumbria and then became the firstabbess ofWimborne monastery.
Very little information survives about Cwenburh. She is known primarily from a mention in a single annal of theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle:
She is also included in the genealogical preface to theChronicle in one copy, as part of a pedigree for the 9th-century KingÆthelwulf of Wessex, the father of KingAlfred the Great of Wessex.
It is possible that Cwenburh succeeded Cuthburh as abbess there after her sister's death.[1]Cuthburh is later mentioned again in a list entitledOn the Resting-Places of the Saints, found in two 11th century manuscripts
In one version of the list the words"and Cwenburh" appear after Cuthburh. According toFelix Liebermann who made an edition of the text in the 19th century this appears to be a later addition, and the subsequent clause remains grammatically singular, referring only to Saint Cuthburh.[2]
The Abbess Tetta is sometimes viewed as a familiar name for Cwenburh, or alternatively as a third sister.[3][4]
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