For #InternationalWomensDay

Saint Wihtfyr [ ᚹᛁᚻᛏᚠᚣᚱ ] (Light of Wight) is an unattested / local #Justish #saint who lived in the 7th century; she was the sister of King #Arwald.

According to local legend she was born in Rowridge Valley on the #IsleOfWight and sent to #Kent at an early age to marry the then underage king, Ecgberht I where she converted to Christianity.

According to legend, through the village of Bearsted when she encountered a terrifying creature known as a #Manticore. This creature was said to have the body of a lion, the wings of a bat, and a long, barbed tail that could impale its victims.

With her unwavering faith and her trust in God, she drew upon her strength, confronted the Manticore and defeated the creature. From that day forward, she became known as a symbol of courage and victory over evil.

Eventually she was revered as a holy woman and a defender of the faith in parts of the Isle of Wight. After her death, her holy relics were said to have been brought to the Island and placed within a shrine in hamlet of Rowridge. If true, it would have been the first Christian shrine to be built on the Island. NB the shrine has been lost

Wihtfyr's has been depicted holding a sword with a crown on it and standing on the plane Manticore.

#WyrdWednesday #histodons #AngloSaxon #medievodons #medieval

@anglosaxon @histodons @medievodons

#OldEnglish #WordOfTheDay

wælmist [ ᚹᚫᛚᛗᛁᛋᛏ]: A mist that covers the bodies of the slain.

wæl: the slain, the dead, a number of slain, generally of death in battle.

The wælmist rises off the slain in a way that leaves the mortal heart arching with loss and fear -- the wælbrecða (or heart of sorrow for the slain).

They say, that after the battle between #Arwald (the last #pagan king in Britain) and #Cædwalla, Cædwalla's troops move their camp into the woodland of the #IsleOfWight at the sight of the wælmist lest the #Death (Hel) mistook them or one of her own.

#AngloSaxon #Jutish #histodons #History #Historian #Folklore #Paganism

@histodons
@folklore
@languagelovers
@oldenglish
@anglosaxon

#Friday gets it’s name from the #AngloSaxon #Goddess Frīg (Pronounced Free-ya, with a rolling r). She was the Devine queen, the Devine Feminine, Wife of Ƿōden (#Woden pronounced Whooden).

Island #folklore says that #Brading (below) was the site of worship for Frīg, and after the defeat of #Arwald, the last #Pagan king, the land was reconsecrated for Mary, and made the the mother church of the #IsleOfWight

On nights like this, Frīg still be walks the #wyrd

#FolktaleWeek #FolktaleWeek2022