FRIDESWINDA, Saint. — Daughter of Prince Didaro, born in Oxford toward the end of the 7th century. She retired at a young age to a monastery built in 646 by the bishop of her native city, refusing marriage to Prince Albert of Mercia. To live in even greater seclusion, she had an oratory erected not far from Thornbury, where she devoted herself entirely to the contemplative life. She died on October 19, probably in the year 735. She is the patron saint of the city and University of Oxford and of Frisham in Berkshire. At Bony, in Artois, she is venerated under the name of Frevisa.
BIBL.: Acta SS. Octobris, VIII, Paris 1853, pp. 533-590; W. Hunt, s.V. in Dictionary of National Biography, VII, p. 715 sq.; E. K. Kirk, Church Dedications of the Oxford Diocese, Oxford 1946, pp. 48-66.