St. Audry – also known as

Æthelthryth (or Æðelþryð or Æþelðryþe;

4 March 636 – 23 June 679)

was, according to Wikipedia,

“princess, wife, queen, nun and abbess,

enjoying every possible position of power

a woman could claim in early Anglo-Saxon England.”

She died of a growth in her throat,

which she believed was God’s punishment

for the expensive necklaces she wore when she was young.

She died in what was later the Cathedral of Ely.

Over the centuries, fairs at the Cathedral sold a necklace

advertised as “St. Audrey’s lace.”

As the necklaces got cheaper and cheaper,

their name changed to “tawdry.”