Venerable Tetta of Wimborne
died c. 772
Abbess of the great double monastery of Wimborne, who governed a community of many nuns and formed Saint Lioba and other women sent to the German mission.
Our Venerable Mother Tetta, Abbess of Wimborne
Life
Tetta (died c. 772) was the abbess of Wimborne, a large Anglo-Saxon double monastery in Dorset, England, during the early eighth century. Of royal birth, she is described in the sources as a sister of the king, though she was esteemed more for her conduct than for her lineage.
Under her governance Wimborne flourished as a house of many nuns and an educational centre in the Benedictine tradition, and it was from her community that Saint Lioba, Saint Thecla of Kitzingen, and other women were sent to assist Saint Boniface's mission in Germany.
She is chiefly known through Rudolf of Fulda's Life of Leoba, which preserves accounts of her strict enclosure, her formation of the nuns by example, and miracles associated with her intercessory prayer. Her feast is kept on September 28.
Timeline4 momentsReadHide
- c. 705Wimborne foundedThe double monastery of Wimborne is established in Dorset by Cuthburh, later the community that Tetta would govern.
- early 8th centuryAbbess of WimborneTetta, a sister of the king, governs the double monastery, ruling both the men's and women's communities with a strict rule of enclosure.
- 748Nuns sent to the German missionAt Saint Boniface's request, Tetta consents to send Lioba, Thecla, and other sisters from Wimborne to assist his mission in Germany.
- c. 772DeathTetta dies after governing Wimborne; she is venerated as a saint, her canonisation being pre-Congregation.
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