Domne Eafe

Domne Eafe (Old English pronunciation: [ˈdomne ˈæɑve]; floruit late 7th century), also Domneva, Domne Éue, Æbbe, Ebba, was, according to the Kentish royal legend, a granddaughter of King Eadbald of Kent and the foundress of the double monastery of Minster in Thanet Priory at Minster-in-Thanet during the reign of her cousin King Ecgberht of Kent.

When her two brothers, Æthelred and Æthelberht, were murdered (and subsequently venerated as saintly martyrs) she obtained the land in Thanet to build an abbey, from a repentant King Ecgberht.

There are six Anglo-Saxon charters (legal documents) dating from the time she was Abbess, all of which simply refer to her by the Latin title (or name) Æbbe.

[4] One of these, a Charter from 699, names three other 'renowned abbesses', Hirminhilda, Irminburga and Nerienda, who, along with Æbbe, are present to witness that various privileges had been granted to the Kent Churches.

[9] From the 12th century onwards, some writers have liked the idea that a Kentish monastic princess should be called Eormenburg rather than Domne Eafe, and thus only refer to Ermenburg (or variants), as the Abbess of Thanet and mother of Mildrith.

Following a lead perhaps given by William of Malmesbury in c. 1135[10] books such as 'Villages of Britain',[11] web sites such as 'Hidden historical heroines',[12] and modern lists of saints[13] refer to her simply as Ermenburg.

The legend claims that Domne Eafe was offered (or requested) as much land as her pet hind could run around in a single lap.

[21] A number of Kentish charters from the reigns of Oswine and Wihtred name Domne Eafe, or rather "Æbbe", as witness or beneficiary of grants to Minster-in-Thanet.

Rollason argues that these show that Minster-in-Thanet was the main beneficiary of Kentish royal patronage of monasteries, surpassing even St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury.

The family tree below, based solely on the information in the various versions of the Kentish royal legend, finds various points of corroboration in Bede's writings and in other early documents.