Alfrida is a saint, venerated in the Roman Catholic Church, as a virgin, and recluse, died ca. 795. This saint, whose name is variously written Elfthritha, Ælfleda, Æfthryth, Alfritha, Etheldreda, etc., was a daughter of King Offa of Mercia. According to a late and not very trustworthy legend she was betrothed to St. Ethelbert, King of the East Angles, but when he came to the court of Offa to claim her, he was treacherously murdered by the contrivance of Cynethritha, Offa's queen. After this Alfrida retired to the marshes of Crowland, where she was built into a cell and lived as a recluse to the end of her days. It is impossible not to suspect the existence of some confusion with Ælfleda, another daughter of Offa, whose husband was also murdered by treachery. Offa (or Alavivaz Olauus) (? - c. ... Ethelbert (or Æthelbert, or Aethelberht) (c. ... Trinity Bridge, Crowland Location within the British Isles Crowland (modern usage) or Croyland (medieval era name) is a town in Lincolnshire, England, positioned between Peterborough and Spalding, with two major sites of historical interest. ...

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Catholic Encyclopedia (also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia today) is an English-language encyclopedia published in 1913 by the The Encyclopedia Press, designed to give authoritative information on the entire cycle of Catholic interests, action and doctrine. // History The writing of the encyclopedia began on January 11...