The Abbess of Coldingham Monastery cutting off her nose and upper lip as an example for her Nuns to follow
This illustration has been copied from an original Copper Plate engraving published in 1773 The Abbess of Coldingham Monastery cutting off her nose and upper lip as an example for her Nuns to follow to prevent being Ravished by the Danes St. Æbbe the Younger is a semi-mythological abbess of Coldingham. In 870 AD a raiding party of Danes landed at the coast near the house and sacked it. Legend has it that faced with the dishonour that St Æbbe and her sisters expected, they mutilated themselves by cutting off their noses and lips. The nuns made themselves as unappealing as possible to the marauders, thereby foregoing rape and accepting martyr's deaths. The story is somewhat unreliable as there are no near contemporary accounts, and it is first recorded by Matthew Paris some 250 years later.
Size: 3168px × 4567px
Photo credit: © 19th era / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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