Euphemia de Walliers

Euphemia de Walliers (1100s – 26 April 1257), also known as Euphemia of Wherwell, was a Benedictine nun of Flemish descent who became the abbess of Wherwell Abbey. She is known for building and rebuilding at the abbey whilst the number of nuns rose by 40 to 80 during her management.

Background Her mother was Margaret de Walliers and her father is considered to be Theodore de Walliers although her birthplace and birthday are unknown. In 1212 she was a nun at Wherwell Abbey when her aunt, Matilda de Bailleul, died. Matilda is regarded to have been Euphemia's maternal aunt, with Euphemia being named after Matilda's mother, Euphemia of St. Omer. Her aunt had been the abbess and de Walliers was elected as her replacement. She became head of an abbey with four prebends with forty nuns The Saint Bertin psalter is still extant and Euphemia was the second abbess to add annotation and details to it. Continuing her aunt's work, de Walliers constructed a great number of buildings for and expanded the abbey during her time as abbess. Euphemia was often complimented on her "manly spirit."

She embellished the Norman church that had replaced the original Saxon church with crosses, reliquaries, precious stones, vestments, and books. When the decaying bell tower collapsed on to the dorter in the early hours, narrowly missing the nuns, she built a tall and handsome replacement that matched the remaining buildings and in her old age she had dismantled and rebuilt with 12-foot deep foundations the sanctuary of the church.

Beneath the infirmary, there was a water channel that could have aided the infirmary by removing toxins per medieval understandings of health.

Death and legacy She died on 26 April 1257 and it is presumed that she was buried in the Abbey's church. de Walliers had added details of her relatives' obituaries and prayers to the psalter given to her by her predecessor, Matilda. Her legacy of charity and hospitality continued after her death as her final act as abbess was to provide from the nuns and the poor, and the infirmary continued to serve those in need.