St Edith of Wilton

St Edith (c961-c984) (also known as Eagdyth) is one of the canonised saints associated with the Diocese of Clifton. A natural daughter of Edgar, King of England (reg. 959-75), she was born at Kemsing (near Sevenoaks) but was brought up by the nuns at Wilton Abbey where her mother, Wilfreda (Wulfthyth), eventually became Abbess. Edith refused to become Queen after the murder of her half-brother Edward in 978. She built a church at Wilton dedicated to St Denis and invited Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to consecrate it. Dunstan is said to have wept throughout the mass, declaring that Edith would die within three weeks. This prophecy proved to be accurate. Many miracles were attested to her after her death and Edith became the focus of a major cult in Wilton. Three Wiltshire churches and about eighteen more beyond that county were titled for her. Until its dissolution in 1539 Wilton Abbey was one of the most important nunneries in England.