Biography
Hildelith of Barking
About Hildelith of Barking
Hildelith succeeded Æthelburh as abbess of Barking. Bede describes her long leadership, care for communal needs and observance of monastic discipline. He also records her decision to gather the remains of the community’s deceased members into the church of Mary because the burial space was limited.
Later accounts give her a royal background and a period of religious formation in France. These details are less secure than her abbacy, and the year of her death remains uncertain.
She is commemorated on March 24.
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