medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Greetings all,
A colleague and I are working on projects relating to holy wells, and
more specifically, Holywell in Wales, the shrine of St. Winnifred. We'd appreciate
any help you can give with relevant literature on holy wells in the middle ages (or later),
on this particular shrine, on placenames - the town is called Holywell, not
something derived from St. Winnifred - and on St. W. herself. We would be especially
intersted as to how old the association of St. W. is with Holywell (it appears
that her uncle Beuno may have been the more important saint at one time);
where else her cult is known (are there church dedications, etc.? How old?)
and what the significance might be of visits to Holywell by Henry V and Edward IV.
Were these monarchs inclined to visit holy sites in general - was this a bit
of PR to keep the Welsh happy - or what? Finally, Holywell survives the Reformation -
easier for a well than for a statue, especially if its healing powers could
be secularized by calling them medicinal - how typical is this? Were wells and
springs associated with saints generally speaking objects of iconoclastic violence?
Many thanks,
Meg
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