The Life of Saint Audrey

"La Vie Seinte Audree" (English: "The Life of Saint Audrey") is a 4625-line hagiography detailing the life, death, and miracles of Saint Audrey, an Anglo-Saxon saint from Ely in Britain.

The only existing copy of "La Vie Seinte Audree" is contained in a manuscript in the British Library, Additional 70513, recorded in the early 14th century. However, scholars have proposed a date of composition for the poem itself in the late 12th or early 13th centuries.

Authorship

"La Vie Seinte Audree" was recently attributed to the French medieval poet, Marie de France. The lines in which the author declares her identity are strikingly similar to what one finds elsewhere in the :

:"Ici escris mon non Marie":"Pur ce ke sois remembree"::"La Vie Seinte Audree", verses 4624-4625

:"Me numerai pur remembrance":"Marie ai nun, si sui de France"::"Les Fables" by Marie de France, epilogue, verses 3-4

In addition, the source materials for the "Seinte Audree" would have been found in Ely, which is near Saltry - the location of Marie's Latin sources for her Espurgatoire Seint Patriz. [McCash, June Hall. "Introduction." "The Life of Saint Audrey: A Text by Marie de France." Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2006.]

ources

While "La Vie Seinte Audree" is allegedly a translation of a Latin text, the original source material is unknown. Rupert T. Pickens suggests that, in actuality, Marie de France combined three Latin texts to create her "Seinte Audree": the life of Saint Etheldreda, "De secunda translatione", and "Miracula Sancte Etheldrede". [Cited in McCash xiv.]

References