In Iceland, holy springs seem to originate with the activity of
Bishop Gudmund the Good, of Holar (1203-37) who apparently spent
much time traipsing around the island and blessing springs, wells,
etc. This - as well as his collection of relics - seems to have
been considered an innovation, and was laughed at by many of
his contemporaries and political opponents. We are told that
in one case they urinated in the spring, but that it performed
miracles no less for that.
Whatever the truth of that story, Iceland presents an intersting
case in that it was only settled in the ninth century, and any
"holy wells" dating from before Gudmundr's time can only have
had a tradition of a few centuries behind them, if that. In fact,
I have not noticed any indications that would associate wells,
in particular, with pagan gods.
Meg Cormack
> Dear List,
> These are the queries I have previously sent to the wells-and-spas list,
> which Graham Jones was referring to. Unfortunately, I couldn't work out
> right now how to merge the three messages, so I shall have to forward them
> as three separate messages to your list also - my apologies for that!
> I have had a number of interesting comments from the wells-and-spas list,
> but would also appreciate it if any of you would like to comment!
> Best wishes,
> Ingegerd Holand
> Dr. Ingegerd Holand
> e-mail: [log in to unmask]
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ingegerd Holand <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 13. november 1998 13:11
> Subject: Re: Holy wells and springs
> >Dear List,
> >I was wondering whether your holy wells and springs are generally
> considered
> >as being sacred already in pre-Christian times, or whether there are any
> >definite examples of this status being added only in Christian times?
> >In Norway we have a number of St. Olaf's wells, named after Olaf Haraldsson
> >who Christianized Norway, and which are therefore regarded as Christian
> holy
> >wells, and springs and wells are not usually considered as sacred features
> >in pre-Christian times in Norway. I find this unlikely, considering the
> >importance of these features in other, contemporary religions (e.g.
> Celtic),
> >which is why I am interested to know whether there are any purely Christian
> >holy wells or whether they were just renamed and taken over by the church.
> >Best wishes,
> >Ingegerd Holand
> >
> >
Margaret Cormack [log in to unmask]
Dept. of Philosophy and Religion fax: 843-953-6388
College of Charleston tel: 843-953-8033
Charleston, SC 29424-0001
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