The Life of Saint Audrey

<p> Preserved in a single manuscript in the British library the <I>Life of Saint Audrey<I> or <I>Vie Seinte Audree</I> is the story of an Anglo-Saxon princess who though twice married remains a virgin until her death. Her tale reveals that spiritual marriage was not an easy path to sainthood particularly with an unwilling husband. The text is a fine example of what some critics have called a hagiographical romance--a saint's life that borrows many characteristics from secular romance.</p><p> Recent scholarship thoroughly discussed in this book's introduction suggests that the <I>Vie Seinte Audree</I> is a fourth text by Marie de France to whom the <I>Fables</I> the <I>Lais</I> and the <I>Espurgatoire Seint Patriz</I> have been attributed. Written in the late twelfth or early thirteenth century the <I>Vie Seinte Audree</I> is published here for the first time in English along with the Old French text.</p><p> The editors of this new edition provide helpful material on the life of the historical Saint Etheldreda (as St. Audrey is called in Latin) and her Anglo-Saxon world. They also discuss women's writing in Anglo-Norman England as well as the subject of spiritual marriage. In addition they examine secondary sources that have focused on the <I>Vie Seinte Audree</I>. A map of seventh-century England a table of proper names and a genealogical chart of the Royal Lineage of Saint Audrey are all included.</p>