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Talk:Domne Eafe

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This page seems to have had the best summary so far we have of the text I have come across under the name of Þá hálgan. Now it appears that this is known as the "Mildrith legend" because its main aim seems to be to establish that Mildrith's remains are at Thanet, even though Mildrith herself hardly plays any part in it. The full text of the legend is reproduced here, in the variant readings of three manuscripts, the oldest of which is Stowe 944 (dated 1031). But:

  • all three texts agree explicitly that Eafe and Eormenburg are two names of the same person
  • this page claims that there is a 10th century version of the legend

unfortunately, the 10th century ms is not identified.

If there is such a claim, predating 1031, we should definitely cite it. If there are only later mss making Eafe and Eormenburg sisters, the lectio difficilior is certainly that these two different names refer to the same person. --dab (𒁳) 16:15, 3 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Relying on the various versions of the Mildrith Legend to decide about the Eafe/Eormenburg issue could never be decisive as the error could be in the earlier versions, and corrected in the later, just as easily as the other way round. Fortunately Rolleson's 1982 book on the Mildrith Legend has identified a late 7th century charter (CS 99 in the Cartularium Saxonicum), which Rollason claims, "is attested by Eebba (the Latin form of Domne Eafe) and Eormenburg, who were presumably Eormenrod's daughters. It is clear that they were separate persons." (Rollason, 1982, p.39). I would think that with a major work on the topic having come to that conclusion, wikipedia should follow it (plus a section about the fact of the early confusion), unless anyone knows subsequent published material that points to the opposite. RobinLeicester (talk) 23:01, 13 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]