Fritheswith
Anglo-Saxon noble and patron saint of Oxford, England
Feast: 12 February (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Frideswide, patroness of Oxford, lived from about 650 to 735. According to her legend she was a king's daughter who refused the hand of a Mercian king and fled to Oxford; he was struck blind and left her in her cell.
Her cell grew into a monastery, where she died on 19 October and was buried. From 1180 her shrine drew the students of Oxford twice a year in procession.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: she has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
A consecrated virgin who became the patron of Oxford.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Frideswide
- Wikidata Q1314431 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Frithuswith (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.