medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
A bit more on Winifred - according to all the vitae I've read, a young
woman from a noble family in north-east Wales. She was beheaded by the
local prince because she had dedicated her life to God and would not submit
to the prince's advances. As a result she is generally treated as a martyr
- but in fact her uncle St Beuno healed her. After a period as a hermit she
went on a pilgrimage to Rome. Subsequently she convened and presided over a
synod of all the British churches which introduced the idea of the communal
monastic life to Britain. She then founded the nunnery at Gwytherin and
was its first abbess. Her relics were taken from Gwytherin to Shrewsbury by
Prior Robert Pennant, who wrote one of the best versions of her life (he
does not appear to have been quite the monster depicted by Ellis Peters)
but her reliquary at Gwytherin was still being venerated in the eighteenth
century. A fragment of it survives at Holywell.
Topical reference - the Gunpowder conspirators went to Holywell on
pilgrimage to pray for success. That didn't work - but James II and Mary of
Modena also went there to pray for a son, and that was apparently
successful.
Maddy
Dr Madeleine Gray, in the foothills of God's golden county of Gwent
(Department of Humanities and Science
UWCN Caerleon Campus
PO Box 179
Newport NP18 3YG
Tel: +44 (0)1633.432675
http://humanities.newport.ac.uk/HIST.html)
' "Education!" said Eyore bitterly. "What is Learning?" asked Eyore. "A
thing Rabbit knows! Ha!" '
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