OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# Dictionary of the Swatow dialect/niap
### niap

* 揑niap633649
* To trump up a charge; to find a pretext for accusing another; to fabricate.

#### niap-sṳ̂ bû-hām;

    to inform against falsely.

#### niap cêk khí ūe lâi tàⁿ;

    made up a story to tell about him.

#### niap-cheng khiam i kâi cîⁿ;

    falsely testified that he owed him money.

#### cía sṳ̄ sĭ niap-cău kâi;

    this is a fabrication.

#### niap kàu ŭ chêng ŭ lí, ŭ cèng ŭ kṳ̆;

    made up a charge that appeared wholly reasonable, and capable of proof.

#### niap kàu cí kĭaⁿ sṳ̄ sĭo-sĭo;

    fabricated a story which had a close resemblance to the truth. ​
* 襵niap4114518
* To lay folds or plaits; to pucker.

#### niap kâi kóiⁿ;

    lay a plait.

#### niap kàu cĕng-cĕng kóiⁿ;

    it is all puckered up.

#### mīn tèng niap kâi kóiⁿ;

    he has a puckered scar on his face.
* 鑷niap63216718
* Forceps; pincers; tweezers; to nip up; to pull out.

#### niap-kíaⁿ;

    tweezers.

#### cêk ki ah-niap;

    a pair of nippers used in plucking out duck's feathers.

#### thih niap;

    forceps.

#### niap chiu;

    pluck out the beard.

#### cía tîeh ŭ ki niap lâi niap cìaⁿ ŭ pō;

    there must be a pair of nippers to pull this out with, then it can be effectively done.
* 攝niap7506418
* To act for; capable of directing; to control.

#### cêk kuaⁿ niap nŏ̤ ìn;

    one officer holding two offices.

#### i kâi hûn khṳt kúi niap khṳ̀ kâi īeⁿ;

    he is as if possessed by a devil.

#### niap tău-thâi kâi ìn sì kâi gûeh;

    acted as Intendant of Circuit for four mouths.

#### cóng-tok kiam niap bú-īⁿ;

    the Governor acts also as Major General.
* 𦄾nîap63312018
* To ran a seam; to sew.

#### cí kâi saⁿ sùaⁿ-cūe lîh khṳ̀, tîeh lêng-ūaⁿ nîap hó̤;

    the seam in this tunic is ripped, it must be again run together.

#### nîap bûa;

    to run together.

#### i kâi cam li-li nîap, li-li nîap;

    her needle flies in and out.
* 㖏nîap633807
* A railing, wrathful tone; to mimic tones.

#### i kâi chìe khek sĭ nĭap âu-lêng tó̤ chìe;

    he sings his ballads in a female voice.
* 揑nîap633649
* To mould ; to work over.

#### cang thô lâi nîap cêk kâi sìeⁿ;

    take clay and make an image.

#### nîap kàu nĕ sĭo-sĭo;

    moulded it into a very close likeness.

#### sìo-bâk táng i khṳ̀ nîap;

    as to the accounts, wait till ho goes and brings them into shape.

#### tâng sòi nîap kàu tōa;

    worked at it from childhood to manhood.

#### tâng cheⁿ nîap kàu sêk, hẃn-lío bōi m̄ khṳ̀;

    have had it in hand from the time when it was green until it became ripe, and still have not sold it.
* 捻nîap633648
* To pinch; to hold tightly; to take up; to manipulate.

#### cúa li pô̤h, chíu màiⁿ nîap;

    the paper is thin, do not grasp it tightly.

#### chíu cē nîap m̄ kín cū ka-lâuh khṳ̀;

    if you do not grasp it tightly it will drop out of your hand.

#### nîap lío m̄ hó̤ cò̤ bói bōi;

    after they have been handled over they are not saleable.

#### chíu khṳ̀ nîap in-nî, nîap kàu âng-âng;

    has dabbled in the rougetill her hands are red.

#### kha chìu tîeh pàng khùe cē màiⁿ cêk kâi thâu cū nîap cêk kùa;

    you must move faster and not be a half day dressing your hair.
# Dictionary of the Swatow dialect/nioh
### nioh

* 蠕nioh30514214
* To squirm; to wriggle; to twitch.

#### nîoh-nîoh-tăng;

    just able to move; to twitch and squirm slightly like a half killed reptile.

#### cûa hŵn-lío ŏi nih-nioh tin-tăng, tîeh phah ke nŏ̤ ē;

    the snake can still wriggle a little, you must give him a couple of blows more.

#### cúi-koi tok cò̤ nŏ̤ saⁿ kò̤ hŵn-lío ŏi nih-nioh tin-tăng;

    a frog when cut in two or three pieces will still continue to twitch and jerk.

#### ŏi nîoh-nîoh-tăng, sĭ ŏi ûah kâi īeⁿ;

    it squirms, as if it were alive.

#### hía īeⁿ sĭ būe sí kâi īeⁿ, hŵn ŏi nîoh-nîoh-tăng;

    that does not appear to be dead, it still moves a little.
# Dictionary of the Swatow dialect/nioⁿ
### nioⁿ

* 抓nioⁿ32644
* To tickle, titilate or cajole.

#### tṳ cē nioⁿ i cū ût lô̤h khṳ̀;

    titilate a pig a little and he will go to sleep.

#### cē nioⁿ cū àiⁿ chìe;

    if you tickle him he will laugh.

#### úa m̄-ùi nioⁿ;

    I am not easily tickled.

#### khuaⁿ-khuaⁿ lâi nioⁿ i;

    gradually cajole him into it.
* 嫋娜níoⁿ-nó̤632
* Lissome; slender; flexible.

#### seⁿ lâi sĭm sĭ níoⁿ-nó̤;

    is naturally very graceful.

#### níoⁿ-níoⁿ nó̤-nó̤;

    very graceful.
* 縐nìoⁿ96217010
* To wrinkle; creases.

#### nìoⁿ bâi;

    to scowl.

#### i kâi mīn phûe ŏi nìoⁿ;

    her face is wrinkled.

#### hîah tèng ŏi nìoⁿ hûn;

    his brow is furrowed.

#### nìoⁿ cêk cūe hûn;

    make a crease.

#### i kai mīn phûe pô̤h-pô̤h, cn̂g kâi bŏi nìoⁿ;

    her face is fair, and without wrinkles.

#### cih hó̤-hó̤, màiⁿ nìoⁿ hûn;

    fold it nicely and do not wrinkle it.

#### cŏ̤ kàu saⁿ nìoⁿ-nìoⁿ;

    sat till lier tunic was rumpled.

#### i thóiⁿ tîeh, phīⁿ nìoⁿ chùi nìoⁿ;

    when he saw it he drew up his face as if to laugh.

#### cúi mīn kâi cúi-po̤-hûn nìoⁿ-nìoⁿ;

    the surface of the water is rippled.

#### i cìeⁿ lău, kâi phûe to bŏi nìoⁿ;

    though so old, his skin is not shriveled.
# Dictionary of the Swatow dialect/niuⁿ
### niuⁿ

* 揀niuⁿ383649
* To reject from the mouth, using tongue and teeth in selecting the offending object.

#### ŭ kut, tîeh cai níuⁿ tīo, màiⁿ kéⁿ tîeh;

    if there are bones in it you must pick them out of the month and not get choked by them.
* 綹niuⁿ5491208
* A fob or pocket.

#### cíen-níuⁿ;

    a cut-purse.

#### kṳ́n hûang cíen-níuⁿ;

    beware of pickpockets.
* 扭níuⁿ639644
* To collar; to gripe; to clutch.

#### níuⁿ i khṳ̀ phṳ̀a;

    collar him and take him to the yamun.

#### níuⁿ kàu pùaⁿ lō, khṳt i cáu khṳ̀;

    dragged him half way, when he made his escape.

#### níuⁿ tŏ̤ cí kò̤ kùe;

    took him by force past here.

#### níuⁿ kau;

    seize and deliver to the authorities.
* 鈕níuⁿ6381674
* A button, a knob.

#### saⁿ níuⁿ;

    buttons on a tunic.

#### saⁿ liap níuⁿ;

    three buttons.

#### có̤-níuⁿ;

    buttons made of knotted cord.

#### phah có̤-níuⁿ;

    to make cloth buttons.

#### níuⁿ phàng;

    a loop, used as a button hole.

#### kng mīn kâi níuⁿ;

    plain metal buttons.

#### hue níu;

    ornamental buttons.
* 謬nĭuⁿ60114911
* Falsity; error; to mislead.

#### pŭe-nĭuⁿ;

    misleading; fallacious.

#### hṳ-nĭuⁿ;

    fabulous.

#### lṳ́ thóiⁿ i kâi uē ŭ nĭuⁿ a bô̤?

    Do you think what he says extravagant?

#### châng-nĭuⁿ;

    conceal a falsehood.
# Dictionary of the Swatow dialect/noiⁿ
### noiⁿ

* 壆nòiⁿ2103213
* Hard and crisp; solid; dense.

#### cîah tîeh tōiⁿ-nòiⁿ tōiⁿ-nòiⁿ nē;

    in eating it, it seems very firm-fleshed.

#### pû lío cong-kú tōiⁿ-nòiⁿ;

    after being cooked it continues very hard.

#### mông tîeh hṳ́ tói ŏi tōiⁿ-nòiⁿ;

    can feel a hard lump inside.
* 蓮nôiⁿ53314011
* The lotus, the flower consecrated to Buddha.

#### nôiⁿ hue;

    the lotus or water-lily, of which there are many varieties.

#### nôiⁿ ci, nôiⁿ ki, nôiⁿ hieh, nôiⁿ kău;

    the seeds, stems, leaves and roots of the lotus.

#### nôiⁿ kng;

    a large jar in which water-lilies are grown.

#### so nôiⁿ;

    the dwarf lotus.

#### n̂g nôiⁿ;

    yellow lilies.

#### hṳ̂ nôiⁿ;

    ground lilies.

#### tôk-kha nôiⁿ;

    a plant like the arum.

#### nôiⁿ-hue hah, nôiⁿ chīu;

    petals and stamens of the lotus.

#### nôiⁿ tî;

    a lotus pond.

#### hŵn lâu i kâi nôiⁿ pō;

    still detain her from departing.

#### nôiⁿ pō;

    a lady-like gait.

#### nôiⁿ pô;

    the seed-pod of the lotus.
* 荔nôiⁿ5221406
* The lichi, a fruit found in Southern China.

#### nôiⁿ-kúe; nôi-kúaiⁿ;

    the lichi.

#### cù hût nôiⁿ-kúaiⁿ;

    the small-seeded lichi.

#### o hîeh nôiⁿ-kúaiⁿ;

    the dark foliaged lichi.

#### nôiⁿ kúaiⁿ kuaⁿ;

    dried lichis.

#### hŏng hue nôiⁿ-kúaiⁿ;

    the thick-rinded yellow lichi.
* 菱nôiⁿ5441408
* An aquatic vegetable.

#### nôiⁿ-kak;

    the water caltrop, or buffalo horn, whose fruit is eaten.

#### nôiⁿ-kak tî;

    a pool in which the water caltrop grows.

#### tiah kúi lîap cheⁿ nôiⁿ-kak lâi cîah;

    pick a few water caltrops to eat.
* 栜nōiⁿ536759
* A tree bearing lilac flowers, the melia azederach$^*$, or Pride of India.

#### kho-nōiⁿ chīu;

    the Pride of India tree.
* 踹nōiⁿ111579
* To set the heel upon and grind down; to tread upon.

#### cang kha lâi nōiⁿ;

    set the foot upon and destroy.

#### nōiⁿ cò̤ nêk-cìeⁿ;

    trampled to a jelly.
# Dictionary of the Swatow dialect/nih
### nih

* 瞬nih78410913
* To wink.

#### nih mâk;

    to wink.

#### mâk cē nih cū kàu;

    will reach there now in a jiffy.

#### chioh-chioh-nih;

    to look around as if lost in thought.

#### nih-a-nih;

    winking slowly.

#### thiⁿ kong nih mâk;

    the thunder-god winks; it lightens.
* 蹜nih78015711
* To walk softly and with short steps.

#### nih kha nih kha khuaⁿ-khuaⁿ kîaⁿ;

    walk slowly and with short steps.

#### i cò̤-nî nih kha nih kha, m̄ káⁿ kîaⁿ tōa hûah?

    Why does he walk so carefully, not venturing to take long steps?

#### kîaⁿ khṳ̀ nih-a-nih;

    walks mincingly.
* 㲞nih1014828

#### nih-chih-tó̤;

    short hair.

#### i kâi thâu-mô̤ⁿ nih-chih-tó̤, cò̤ hó̤ tá cang?

    Her hair is very short, how can she do it up in the style of a grown woman?

#### hui-chṳ́ kâi mô̤ⁿ nih-chih-tó̤, chēng cò̤ ŏi sie?

    A squirrel's fur is short, how can one be warm in wearing it?
* 蔕nih84614011
* The rootlets of leaves or grasses; appendages.

#### i bô̤ tùe bô̤ nih, tī-kò̤ to hó̤ khṳ̀;

    he has encumbrances, and can go anywhere.

#### i tùe-nih kâi bó kâi kíaⁿ tŏ̤ kò̤;

    he is cumbered by a wife and children.

#### i kâi sìo-bâk hâiⁿ khṳ̀ hó̤ căi, cṳ̄-lâi m̄ pat ŭ tùe-nih;

    he squares up his accounts in a very exact way, and has not ​heretofore left any balance to be afterward settled.

#### sio-bâk chŵn bŏi nih khìam;

    his account has no small balance left for collection.

#### cìeⁿ-seⁿ tùe-tùe nih-nih kang-khó căi;

    there are all sorts of little hindrances making it very difficult.
# Dictionary of the Swatow dialect/nin
### nin

* 汝們nín298
* You, plural.

#### cía sĭ nín kâi;

    this belongs to your folks.

#### nín chíaⁿ cŏ̤;

    please take seats.

#### nín tī-tiang-sî lâi?

    When did you all come?

#### cí kò̤ châng sĭ nín kâi a sĭ in kâi?

    Is this field yours or theirs?

#### m̄ cai sĭ nín kâi a sĭ un kâi;

    do not know whether it is yours or ours.

#### i kio nín ŭ chin mē?

    Is he a relation of yours?

#### in pat nín;

    they are acquainted with your people.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement/Brabourne, Baron

​BRABOURNE, Baron. [See Knatchbull-Hugessen, Edward Hugessen, 1829–1893.]
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement/Brady, Hugh

​BRADY, HUGH (d. 1584), bishop of Meath, was an Irishman by birth, and a native of the diocese of Meath. He is said to have been born at Dunboyne by one ​account, and by another to have been son of Sir Denys O'Grady or O'Brady of Fassamore, co. Clare (Cogan, Diocese of Meath, ii. 17; Cotton, Fasti Eccl. Hib. iii. 116); but the son of Sir Denys appears to have been a different Hugh Brady (of. Cal. Fiants, Eliz. No. 3943). The bishop was on his appointment described by the English privy council as 'one Hugh Bradby [sic], one of that nation, a graduate in Oxford, being a professor of divinity, and well commended for his conversation' (Cal. Carew MSS. 1515-71, p. 359); but no one of that name appears in the university register. Brady was appointed bishop of Meath by patent dated 21 Oct. 1563. He arrived at Dublin on 3 Dec. 1563 following, and was consecrated on the 19th. He was almost immediately sworn of the Irish privy council, of which he remained an active member until his death (Hist. MSS. Comm. 16th Rep. App. iii. 130 sqq.) He was also energetic in defending his bishopric against the attacks of Shane O'Neill [q. v.] His conduct as bishop of Meath was warmly commended; the lord deputy, Sir Henry Sidney [q. v.], wrote that 'his preaching was good, his judgment grave, his life exemplary, and his hospitality well maintained' (Cal. State Papers, Ireland, 1509-73, p. 298). He made a parochial visitation of his diocese in 1575, accompanied Sidney on his western tour in the following year, and restored the ruined church of Kells in 1578; in 1568 the bishopric of Clonmacnoise was united to that of Meath by act of parliament.
Brady's virtues and abilities suggested his promotion to the archbishopric of Dublin in 1566, when Hugh Curwen [q. v.] was translated to Oxford. In April 1566 the lord deputy and Adam Loftus [q. v.], archbishop of Armagh, urged Brady's promotion, but soon afterwards Brady had a dispute with Loftus 'in the execution of the commission for causes ecclesiastical,' and in September Loftus wrote that Brady was 'unfit for the archbishopric. Eventually Loftus secured his own translation to Dublin, and Brady remained bishop of Meath until his death on 13 Feb. 1583-4. He was buried in Dunboyne parish church. His widow Alice, daughter of Lord-chancellor Robert Weston [q. v.], who afterwards married Sir Geoffrey Fenton [q. v.], was described as 'a very virtuous and religious lady, charged with many children' (ib. 1574-85, p. 511); the eldest son, Luke, graduated M.A. from Christ Church, Oxford, in 1592 (Foster, Alumni Oxon. 1500-1714).
[Cal. State Papers, Ireland, 1609-85; Cal. Carew MSS.; Cal. Fiants, Ireland; Hist. MSS. Comm. 15th Rep. App. iii.; Ware's Bishops (ed. Harris); Mant's Hist. Church of Ireland; Cotton's Fasti; Bagwell's Ireland under the Tudors.]
A. F. P.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Sewell, Jonathan

​SEWELL, JONATHAN (1766–1839), chief justice of Lower Canada, son of Jonathan Sewell (1728–1796), the last attorney-general of Massachusetts, was born at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in June 1766, in the ‘old family mansion,’ came over to England with his parents, and was educated at Bristol grammar school. In 1785 he went with his father to New Brunswick and studied law in the office of Ward Chipman, going to Quebec in 1789, where he was called to the bar of Lower Canada on 30 Oct. 1789. In 1793 he became solicitor-general, and in 1795 attorney-general and advocate-general; about the same time he entered the House ​of Assembly as member for William Henry, for which he sat through three parliaments, till in 1808 he became chief justice of Quebec, speaker of the legislative council, and president of the executive council.
One of his earliest acts as chief justice produced a remarkable episode in Canadian history. In 1809 he introduced rules of practice into the procedure of the courts. In 1814 they were attacked by the assembly, under the leadership of James Stuart (1780–1853) [q. v.], as a breach of privilege by law-making and as affecting the liberty of the subject. Sewell was impeached for subverting the constitution, and charged with malicious influence over the governor, leading to various specified acts which covered the whole range of conflict between the house and the government under Sir James Henry Craig [q. v.], the press cases, the Bedard case, and the John Henry scandal. Monk, chief justice of Montreal, was joined in the indictment. The new governor, Sir George Prevost (1767–1816) [q. v.], tried to bring the assembly to reason and incurred its wrath. Sewell went to England to defend himself, and was by its order in 1815 restored to his post. It was clear to the home government that the action of the assembly was due to political and religious animosity which had probably been inflamed by Sewell's sarcasm and indifference; but Sir John Coape Sherbrooke [q. v.], who had succeeded Prevost, stated that Sewell's reinstatement added enormously to the difficulties of the government. Early in 1817 an effort was made to revive the impeachments, but Stuart suddenly seemed to lose his influence; the matter was dropped, and Sewell received compensation for ill-treatment. The rest of his career was uneventful. In 1829 he resigned his seat on the council, and in 1838 the post of chief justice. He died in Quebec on 12 Nov. 1839, and was buried amid general mourning. Sewell was married, and had three sons, who settled in Quebec.
Sewell was an excellent chief justice, stern, but with great command of temper. He was created an honorary LL.D. by Harvard University.
He published:
* ‘A Plan for the Federation of the British Provinces of North America,’ 1814.
* ‘An Essay on the Judicial History of France,’ 1824.
* ‘The Advantages of Opening the St. Lawrence,’ 1824.
* ‘Dark Days of Canada,’ 1831.
[Morgan's Sketches of Celebrated Canadians, and Bibliotheca Canadensis; Quebec Mercury, 12 Nov. 1839, and a letter in issue of 16 Nov. 1839; Roger's History of Canada, pp. 254–7, 321, 326.]
C. A. H.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Sewell, Richard Clarke

​SEWELL, RICHARD CLARKE (1803–1864), legal writer, eldest son of Thomas Sewell of Newport, Isle of Wight, brother of Henry Sewell [q. v.], premier of New Zealand, and of William Sewell [q. v.], was baptised at Newport on 6 Feb. 1803, and entered Winchester College in 1818. He matriculated from Magdalen College, Oxford, on 26 July 1821, was a demy of his college from 1821 until 1837, and a fellow from 1837 to 1856. He served as senior dean of arts in 1838, as bursar 1840, and was vice-president and prælector of natural philosophy in 1843. He graduated with a second-class in lit. hum., B.A. 1826, M.A. 1829, and D.C.L. 1840. He was awarded the Newdigate prize in 1825 for an English poem on ‘The Temple of Vesta at Tivoli.’ On 25 June 1830 he was called to the bar at the Middle Temple, became known as a special pleader, and took business on the western circuit and at the Hampshire sessions. Later in life he went to Australia, where he practised in the criminal law courts, and was in 1857 appointed reader in law to the university of Melbourne. He died at Melbourne on 9 Nov. 1864.
Sewell was a man of varied learning. He published:
* ‘Collectanea Parliamentaria,’ 1831.
* ‘A Digest of the New Statutes and Rules, with the Cases decided at Banc and at Nisi Prius,’ 1835.
* ‘The Municipal Corporation Act, 5 and 6 Will. IV, c. 76,’ 1835.
* ‘Vindiciæ Ecclesiasticæ, or a Legal and Historical Argument against the Abolition of the Bishops' Courts in Cases of Correction, as proposed by the Church Discipline Act,’ 1839.
* ‘A Manual of the Law and Practice of Registration of Voters in England and Wales,’ 1835; 2nd ed. 1844.
* ‘A Treatise on the Law of Sheriffs with practical Forms and Precedents,’ 1842.
* ‘A Treatise on the Law of Coroner, with Precedents and Forms,’ 1843.
* ‘A Letter to the Members of the Venerable House of Convocation [on the subject of the Proceedings against W. G. Ward],’ 1845.
* ‘Sacro-Politica: the Rights of the Anglican Church examined with, and tested by, the Laws of England and the Principles of the British Constitution,’ 1848.
* ‘Legal Education: an Inaugural Lecture,’ Melbourne, 1857.
* ‘The Speech of R. C. Sewell in defence of G. Chamberlain and W. Armstrong, charged with intent to murder W. Green,’ Melbourne, 1859.
For the English Historical Society Sewell edited ‘Gesta Stephani,’ 1846, and contributed to the ‘Field’ ‘The Papers of a Hampshire Fisherman.’
[Gent. Mag. March 1865, p. 386; Bloxam's Reg. of St. Mary Magdalen College, Oxford, 1881, vii. 284–7.]
G. C. B.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Sexburga (d.678)

​SEXBURGA, SEAXBURG, or SEXBURH (d. 673), queen of the West-Saxons, the wife of King Cenwalh, Kenwealh, or Coinwalch [q. v.], succeeded to the throne after her husband's death, and reigned for one year. William of Malmesbury says that her husband appointed her to succeed him, that she ruled with masculine energy, collecting armies, keeping her troops under control, and defying her enemies, and that her one year's reign was ended by her death. The St. Albans writer, whose work was accepted by Wendover and Paris, relates that at the end of a year she was banished from the kingdom by the nobles, who would not fight under the leadership of a woman. Bishop Stubbs notes that in reading William of Malmesbury's account of her, it should be remembered that the historian had ‘a special regard’ for her husband Cenwalh, and observes that possibly both Malmesbury and the St. Albans writer represent the ideas of the age of the empress Matilda. There was no reason why in the seventh century it should be thought unseemly that a queen should reign.
[Bede's Hist. Eccl. iv. c. 12; A.-S. Chron. an. 672; Ethelwerd, c. 7, ap. Mon. Hist. Brit. p. 506; Henry of Huntingdon, p. 65 (Rolls Ser.); Will. of Malmesbury's Gesta Regum, i. sect. 32; Flor. Wig. i. 273, Rog. Wend. i. 162 (both in Engl. Hist. Soc.); Dict. Chr. Biogr. art. ‘Sexburga’ (1), by Bishop Stubbs.]
W. H.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Sexburga (d.699?)

​SEXBURGA, Saint (d. 699?), queen of Kent and second abbess of Ely, was the eldest daughter of Anna (d. 654), king of the East-Angles. Her sisters were St. Etheldreda [q. v.], first abbess of Ely; Ethelburga, abbess of Faremontier in Brie; and St. Witburga, a nun of Ely. Saethryd, abbess of Faremontier, was her half-sister. She married Earconbert, king of Kent, about 640, the year of his succession to his father Eadbald [q. v.], and lived with him twenty-four years until his death in 664, having by him two sons, Egbert (d. 673?) and Hlotheri or Lothar (d. 685?), both successively kings of Kent, and two daughters, St. Earcongota, a nun of ​Faremontier, and St. Ermenhilda or Eormenhild, queen of Wulfhere, king of Mercia, and abbess of Ely. After her husband's death she is said to have ruled for a time for her son Egbert. She founded a monastery for nuns in the isle of Sheppey, it is said for, or in memory of, her husband, which came to be called Minster, and, having received the veil from Archbishop Theodoric, ruled it as abbess. After a while—about 675—she entered the monastery of Ely, desiring to be instructed by her sister Etheldreda, then abbess there. The Ely historian records a speech that she is supposed to have made to her nuns in Sheppey, bidding them farewell, and appointing her daughter Ermenhilda to succeed her as abbess. On the death of Etheldreda, probably in 679, Sexburga was chosen to succeed her. Sixteen years later, in 695, she built a shrine for Etheldreda's body, which she laid in a white marble coffin, procured from the ruined city of Grantchester. After a long life she died, and was buried near her sister, the supposed year of her death being 699, and her day in the calendar 6 July. Her daughter Ermenhilda succeeded her as abbess, being herself succeeded at Sheppey by her own daughter, St. Werburga or Werburh [q. v.] The life of Sexburga, printed in Capgrave's ‘Nova Legenda’ and the ‘Acta Sanctorum,’ is taken from Cotton. MS. Tib. E. 1. There is another Latin life in a twelfth-century manuscript, Cotton MS. Calig. A. viii., and a fragment of an English life of two folios in Lambeth MS. 427.
[Bede's Hist. Eccl. iii. c. 8, iv. cc. 19, 22, Flor. Wig. i. 261 (both in Engl. Hist. Soc.); Liber Elien. i. cc. 18, 25–6, 28, 35 (Angl. Chr. Soc.); A. SS. Bolland. Jul. ii. 346–9; Hardy's Cat. of Mat. i. 360–2 (Rolls Ser.); Montalembert's Monks of the West, iv. 401–4, ed. Gasquet; Dict. Chr. Biogr. art. ‘Sexburga’ (2), by Bishop Stubbs.]
W. H.