Christina of Markyate

Christina of Markyate
Thought to be Christina from St. Albans Psalter

Christina of Markyate was born with the name Theodora in Huntingdon, England, about 1096–98 and died about 1155. She was an anchoress and prioress who came from a wealthy Anglo-Saxon family trying to accommodate with the Normans at that time. She became head of a community of nuns.

Originally named Theodora, she was born into a wealthy merchant family. Her mother's name was Beatrix, marking an effort to appear more Norman, and her father's was Auti. Her mother told a story of "knowing" her daughter would be holy because a dove had flown into her sleeve and lived there for seven days while she was pregnant.

As a child, Theodora is said to have talked to Christ "as if he were a man whom she could see." She befriended an older man named Sueno, who became her first religious mentor. It is mentioned in her hagiography that Sueno had once led an unholy life and that Christina's faith renewed his, so that they helped each other. Theodora visited St Alban's Abbey in Hertfordshire with her parents as a teenager, and the visit apparently instilled in her a deep faith that prompted her to make a private vow of chastity. Of this she told Sueno, but no one else.

While visiting an aunt, Elfgifu, Theodora met Bishop Ranulf Flambard. Her aunt was the bishop's concubine and Ranulf lusted after young Theodora, seeking to make her another one of his concubines. According to one account, when Ranulf attempted to force his attentions on her, Theodora suggested that she lock the door to guarantee their privacy. When he agreed, she proceeded to do so, from the outside, trapping him within. Rebuffed, he then exacted revenge by brokering a marriage for her with a young nobleman named Beorhtred.

Theodora's parents readily agreed, but Theodora did not, in view of her vow. Her angry parents arranged for Beorhtred to have access to her room, only to discover next morning that the two had spent the night discussing religious subjects. On one occasion Theodora recounted the life of St Cecilia, who according to legend, was guarded on her wedding night by a vengeful angel. On another occasion, she hid behind a tapestry while Beorhtred searched for her in vain. As word went round of Theodora's plight, a hermit name Eadwine, with the blessing of the Archbishop of Canterbury, helped her escape, disguised in men's clothes. Eadwine then took her to stay with an anchoress at Flamstead named Alfwen, who hid her from her family. Here Theodora changed her name to Christina.