Paris (c. 1200–1259), whose chronicle alleges that St Alban's Abbey had clerical competence over the nuns of Markyate. "It would almost seem that in the Gesta Abbatum the origins of Markyate and Sopwell have been confused. There Markyate Priory is said to have arisen through occupation of the hermitage of Roger, a former monk of St Albans, by a saintly recluse called Christina, for whom Abbot Geoffrey built a house. In reality, Markyate was not dependent on St Albans, as it would have been if founded by the abbot, and as Sopwell was." This makes it "very possible that what we are dealing with here is a later piece of fiction from a monastic chronicler." A medieval cult of the anchoress Christina is not substantiated by liturgical or historical sources. The Vita'''s existence and references to Christina in Gesta Abbatum Monasterii Sancti Albani still suggest interest in instigating such a cult in the 13th and 14th centuries. See also Women in Anglo-Saxon society References Works cited Bugyis, Katie Ann-Marie (2019). The Care of Nuns: The Ministries of Benedictine Women in England During the Central Middle Ages. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-085128-6. Further reading Anne-Marie Legras and Paulette L'Hermite Leclerc, Vie de Christina de Markyate'', Paris, Ed. CNRS, 2007, External links Map showing Markyate and other places mentioned in the Life of Christina of Markyate The St Albans Psalter 11th-century births 12th-century deaths Roman Catholic mystics People from Huntingdon People from Markyate Women mystics English Catholic mystics Anglo-Saxon nuns Catholic spirituality 12th-century English nuns 12th-century Christian mystics