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The Lost Monastery of Cynefryth
Queen Cynefryth was the wife of the Mercian King Offa. Offa united most of southern England (and may have been one of the historical figures who’s tales were conflated into the Mabinogion and associated with King Arthur).
About his wife, not much is known. We know her name, we know how many children they had, but we don’t know her parentage… However, she is the first queen to appear on coinage.
And we do know what happened to her after she was widowed. She took over a monastery. (I have a theory that this story later got attached to Guinevere, given the similarity of the names and the fact that it made a lot less sense in the 4th century than the 8th).
What we didn’t know was where her monastery was. We had a lot of history, but nothing that revealed the exact location.
Finding Cynefryth’s Monastery
First of all, co-ed monasteries were not unusual at the time. Co-ed monasteries led by women? Also not unusual. Saint Hilda founded the monastery at Whitby. A side note, but I always find it significant to mention when we talk about this era.
Retiring to an abbey wasn’t a way for Cynefryth to escape the world. It was a way to retain power as her husband’s enemies (who appear to have murdered her son only 140 days after Offa’s death) closed in.