29 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

New Study reveals how England’s ‘White Queen’ worshipped a disembowelled saint at the Chapel of St Erasmus

A new study reveals the story of how England’s “White Queen”, Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV, once worshipped at the chapel of St. Erasmus.

Erasmus of Formia, also known as Saint Elmo, was a bishop who lived in the 3rd century CE and fell afoul of Western Roman Emperor Maximian. He was reportedly variously tortured, imprisoned, burned alive (which, according to the legends, he survived), imprisoned, and ultimately killed by having his entrails wound slowly around a windlass.

In addition to being one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers—saintly figures revered specifically as intercessors in Christian tradition—he is also known as the patron saint of sailors, children’s health, and abdominal pain.

And new research suggests, a sacred space dedicated to the royal cult of Saint Erasmus of Formia.

The Chapel of St Erasmus was built at a section of Westminster Abbey in the late 1470s under order of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of King Edward IV and Queen consort, also known as the ‘White Queen’.

Elizabeth Woodville, wife of King Edward IV and Queen consort, is now also known as the 'White Queen'. She was the grandmother of Henry VIII
Elizabeth Woodville, wife of King Edward IV and Queen consort, is now also known as the ‘White Queen’. She was the grandmother of Henry VIII

Little was known about the chapel until recently; all that was left of it after it was destroyed in 1502 was an intricate stone frame. The chapel, which was at the east end of the Abbey church, can now be reconstructed thanks to a thorough study.

The chapel likely contained gruesome images of the saint’s death, as well as one of his teeth, among other relics that were stored there.

According to Abbey archivist Matthew Payne, and John Goodall, a member of the Westminster Abbey Fabric Advisory Commission, it may have been a site of worship used by England’s ‘White Queen’ Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV.

According to Goodall and study co-author Westminster Abbey archivist Matthew Payne, the Chapel of St Erasmus was a place of devotion to the ‘cult’ of the disembowelled saint, but also a royal burial site.

Commenting on the prominence of the chapel, Matthew Payne, said: “The White Queen wished to worship there and it appears, also, to be buried there as the grant declares prayers should be sung ‘around the tomb of our consort (Elizabeth Woodville).

The spectacular reredos frame. (Payne & Goodall, J. Br. Archeol. Assoc., 2022)
The spectacular reredos frame. (Payne & Goodall, J. Br. Archeol. Assoc., 2022)

“The construction, purpose and fate of the St Erasmus chapel therefore deserves more recognition.”

Although its precise location is unknown, the chapel was almost certainly built on space formerly allotted to a garden and near stalls where English merchant William Caxton sold his wares, according to the authors.

Henry VII ultimately gave the order to demolish the chapel so that his and his wife’s chantry and burial place could be built. The authors speculate that a statue of St. Erasmus in the Lady Chapel, which took its place, maybe a nod to the now-forgotten chapel.

Despite her connections to Westminster, the White Queen was buried with her husband, King Edward IV, at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, after her death in 1492.

The presented evidence, the researchers say, suggests that further investigation into this lost piece of English history is warranted.

https://doi.org/10.1080/00681288.2022.2101237

Cover Photo: A reconstruction of the chapel. (Stephen Conlin/Payne & Goodall, J. Br. Archeol. Assoc., 2022)

Related Articles

A Roman statue of the sea god Triton discovered near A2, London Road

13 September 2023

13 September 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered a Roman Statue of Triton during excavations in preparation for a housing development in Kent, England. Archaeologists...

Women May Have Ruled El Algar in the Bronze Age

12 March 2021

12 March 2021

The diadem found in the Bronze Age tomb belonging to the El Algar culture may have belonged to a queen....

The New Study Says the Iranian Plateau in the Pleistocene is a Bridge Between East and West

19 May 2021

19 May 2021

Iranian researchers say the Iranian plateau served as a migration route between East and West during the Pleistocene period, which...

Mythical Viking stronghold Jomsborg could be on Hangman’s Hill near Wolin, archaeologist say

14 July 2023

14 July 2023

A new hypothesis about the location of the mythical Viking stronghold on Hangman’s Hill near Wolin (West Pomerania) has been...

40 Skeletons in Giant Jars Found in the Corsica Necropolis

16 May 2021

16 May 2021

Archaeologists working on the French island of Corsica discovered around 40 ancient graves where persons were buried inside gigantic jars...

From Researchers, a New İnterpretation of Norse Religion

26 February 2021

26 February 2021

Recent research on pre-Christian Norse religions shows that the variation in Norse religions is far greater than previously imagined. Ten...

Ancient Cretans ‘Killed’ Their Tombs in Symbolic Feasts 4,000 Years Ago

24 April 2025

24 April 2025

An international team of archaeologists has unveiled a remarkable ritual practiced by the ancient Cretans, revealing how they symbolically “killed”...

A Nymphaeum was discovered in the ancient Thracian city of Perperikon

18 August 2023

18 August 2023

New researchs uncovered a huge monumental sanctuary of water (Nymphaeum) above the reservoir in the southern quarter of Perperikon. Professor...

Archaeologists uncover 850-year-old 170 silver medieval coins in an ancient grave, in Sweden

27 April 2024

27 April 2024

During archaeological excavations in a medieval graveyard in Brahekyrkan on the Swedish island of Visingsö, archaeologists uncovered about 170 silver...

Egypt unearths ancient quarters of mining leader in the Sinai Peninsula during the Middle Kingdom

19 January 2022

19 January 2022

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced recently that an Egyptian archaeological mission working in Wadi Al-Nasab in South...

Scandinavia’s Oldest Identified Ship Burial in Trøndelag “Rewrites History”

14 November 2023

14 November 2023

In Leka, a municipality in Norway’s Trøndelag county, archaeologists have uncovered Scandinavia’s oldest identified ship burial, dating back to around...

Early Female Emperors in Japan “Empress Kōken”

2 July 2021

2 July 2021

Born into the aristocratic Fujiwara clan, this extraordinary woman first ascended to the throne as Empress Kōken and became the...

Archaeologists find an Anglo-Saxon church at Stoke Mandeville excavation site

13 September 2021

13 September 2021

Archaeologists working on the HS2 project found the remains of an Anglo-Saxon church during their excavations at the former St...

A submerged stone bridge constructed 5600 years ago shed light on the human colonization of the western Mediterranean

31 August 2024

31 August 2024

An interdisciplinary research team, led by University of South Florida (USF) geology Professor Bogdan Onac, has examined an ancient submerged...

Norwegian Boy in Search of Granddad’s Wedding Ring Finds 1500-year-old Roman Jewellery

11 August 2021

11 August 2021

Sander Magnus Vang (12) needed to find his grandfather’s lost wedding ring. Instead, he found a 1500-year-old ring. The golden...