St. Mildred of Thanet: biography of a cult

St. Mildred of Thanet stands out as one of the most celebrated female saints in medieval England, with her cult enduring from the 7th century to the present day. Unlike other Anglo-Saxon saints, her legacy survived through physical relics and a vibrant tradition of devotion, including saintly biographies (vitae) and pilgrimage sites. Her relics were notably transferred from Minster Abbey to St. Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury before the Norman Conquest, where they became central to a new shrine and narrative. Despite the suppression during the English Reformation, her cult persisted in France and Belgium, with relics later returning to England in 1954. This study highlights Mildred's unique cultural and religious significance, contrasting her enduring legacy with the fading presence of other Anglo-Saxon saints.

Swensson, Ericka Marie (author). (2013). St. Mildred of Thanet: biography of a cult [University of Southern California Digital Library (USC.DL)]. https://doi.org/10.25549/USCTHESES-C3-295642