Hieu (abbess)

Hieu
Abbess
Born	c. 7th century
Died	12 March, c. 7th century Healaugh, Yorkshire, England
Venerated in	Eastern Orthodox Church Roman Catholic Church
Feast	2 September

Hieu was a 7th-century Irish abbess who worked in Northumbria. She was foundress of abbeys at Hartlepool and Healaugh in Yorkshire England. Hieu was also the first of the saintly recluses of Northumbria, ^[1] and the first known woman to rule a double monastery. ^{[2] [3]}

Life

Nothing is known of her early life, until she met Aidan of Lindisfarne who appointed her abbess of Hartlepool Abbey and subsequently a monastery at Healaugh near Tadcaster. ^{[4] [5]}

She died at Healaugh on 12 March of an unknown year in the 7th century. ^[6] It is possible that the towns of Hartlepool (Hereteu) and Healaugh are named after her.

Hieu's memorial is kept on September 2. ^{[7] [8]}

References

1. Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum, lib. iv, c. 23.
2. Archaeologia Aeliana , Vol. xix, 47.
3. Eckenstein, Lina. (1972) Woman Under Monasticism. Cambridge University Press. p. 88.
4. Michael Lapidge, & Helmut Gneuss, Learning and Literature in Anglo-Saxon England: Studies Presented to Peter Clemoes on the Occasion of His Sixty-fifth Birthday (Cambridge University Press, 1985) page 8.
5. Bell, Susan G. (1980) Women, from the Greeks to the French Revolution. Stanford University Press. p. 103.
6. Dunbar, Agnes. (1904) A Dictionary of Saintly Women. London: G.Bell.
7. "Saint Hieu". CatholicSaints.Info. 6 August 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
8. September 2/September 15. Orthodox Calendar (PRAVOSLAVIE.RU).

External links

• Heiu 1 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England