St Osith of Chich
Today is the feast of the martyr St Osith of Chich (d. c.700) (also Osyth, Osgyth and Ositha). An obscure Anglo-Saxon princess, she was married to Sighere, King of the East Saxons (c. 664-683) in a bid to consolidate Christianity in Essex, whose state was precarious owing to Sighere’s apostasy. St Osith founded a convent at Chich (now the town of ‘St Osyth’ in Essex), died there and was almost immediately venerated as a saint. Little else reliable is known of her life. St Osith and Sighere had a son, 'Offa of Essex', who became King of the East Saxons, but he abdicated in 709 in order to travel to Rome. Offa spent the rest of his life as a monk in a Roman monastery.
St Osith’s late legend includes many picturesque details. It was claimed that she was a virgin despite having a son. It was said that a large and aggressive white stag appeared whenever Sighere attempted to consummate their marriage. St Osith's martyrdom was attributed to pirates who grew violent because she refused to commit idolatry. A spring welled up where her severed head fell and it was believed that St Osith carried her detached head to a church three miles distant, immediately after her martyrdom, much to the surprise of the pagan pirates.
St Osith’s cult remained popular throughout the middle ages. Her principal shrine was located at the Augustinian Abbey of SS Peter, Paul and Osyth, at Chich, but relics of her arms were also venerated by the canons of St Paul’s, London and by the Benedictines of Canterbury Cathedral Priory. Four ancient churches were dedicated in St Osith’s honour.
