Two 12th-century Latin texts (edited by John Blair) were adapted into two Middle English accounts of the Life of Saint Frithuswith, which are included in the "South English Legendary". The accounts differ slightly in their story. The shorter tale recounts that Frithuswith was born to Didan (an Anglo-Saxon sub-king) and his wife Safrida around AD 650. With the help of her father, Frithuswith founded a priory (now called Priory of St Frideswide, Oxford) while still young, but even though Frithuswith was bound to celibacy, Algar (that is, Æthelbald), a Mercian king, sought to marry her. When Frithuswith refused him, Algar tried to abduct her.