Lindsay Rudge PhD Thesis - University of St Andrews

occasioned Boniface’s reply on the subject, Eangyth and Bugga acknowledged that
We are aware that there are many who disapprove of this ambition and
disparage this form of devotion. They support their opinion by the argument
that the canons of councils prescribe that everyone shall remain where he
has been placed; and where he has taken his vows, there he shall fulfill them
before God. But, since we all live by diverse impulses and the judgements of
God are unknown and hidden from us... and since his secret will and
pleasure in this matter are completely hidden from us, therefore, in these
dark and uncertain problems, we beseech you with bowed heads to be our
Aaron, that is, our mountain of strength... We trust in God and beseech his
mercy, that through the supplication of your mouth and your innermost
prayers He may show us what He judges most profitable and useful:
whether to live on in our native land or go forth upon our pilgrimage. 101
In the event, Bugga (by then abbess) did make her pilgrimage, and met Boniface himself
in Rome. 102 This event was described by king Aethelberht of Kent (725-762) in a letter to
Boniface of 748 x 754, which is particularly of interest as it identifies Bugga as a royal
relative. 103 Together, the abbess and bishop made ‘frequent visits’ to the shrines of the
Apostles. On her return, Bugga arranged a meeting with Aethelberht to convey
Boniface’s promise to pray for him, at the same time discussing ‘other matters of
importance’. Bugga’s foreign travel made her perfect as an emissary.
Anglo-Saxon pilgrimages are difficult to place in a pan-European context since
there are so few specific examples of Frankish people going on pilgrimage, let alone
religious women. There are occasional references: Willibald mentions that while
Boniface was in Rome, ‘Many Franks, Bavarians and Saxons who had arrived from
101 Epist. 14, MGH Epp. III, 260-4; tr. Emerton, The Letters of Saint Boniface, 36-40, at 39.
102 As Barbara Yorke notes, it is uncertain of which monastery in Kent Bugga and her mother Eangyth were
consecutive abbesses. Discounting Minster-in-Thanet, whose abbesses are known from other sources, the
remaining royal communities were Folkestone, Hoo, Lyminge and Sheppey. See B. Yorke, ‘The
Bonifacian mission’, 145-172.
103 Epist. 105, MGH Epp. III, 391-2; tr. Emerton, The Letters of Saint Boniface, 177-9.
198