Carolyn writes:
>Two years ago Jim Bugslag asked:
>Is this not also the feast day of St Columban, the 6th-century Irish
>monk and missionary, founder of Luxeuil and Bobbio, and author of
>both a monastic rule and a couple of rather harsh-sounding
>penitentiaries?
Attwater says the 23rd, while Farmer is more specific: '21 (in Ireland 23)
November'...
While better-qualified colleagues can give us chapter and verse, this does
provide me with an opportunity to put a couple of questions to m'learned
friends (the less urgent one first):
1. Something which has always niggled at me, and for which I'm sure there is
an obvious answer, is the occasional tendency for similarly-named saints to
cluster calendrically. This is not a terribly good example (there being so
many 'Celtic' Columbas, but a Cornish female Columb (recorded by 13th c.)
was commemorated variously Nov. 1 - 21;
while of the three or four best-known Irish Colmans, note Colman of Cloyne
(5th c.), Nov. 24; Colman of Dromore (5th c.), Nov. 20.
2. While on the subject of Columbas (hopefully you will see where the
lateral thinking is going, rather than flow of consciousness), I need a
quick answer to the following: Does any area of Continental Europe (or
beyond) exhibit a _strong_ tendency among its local saints to possess (or be
given) names indicative of whiteness as a synonym for sanctity?
Allow me to explain. Scores of 'Welsh' saints have names which include the
element 'gwyn' or 'gwen' ('finn' in Irish, and tending to drop the 'g', as
in St Winifrid). This has two broad meanings: 'holy/blessed', and
'white/bright'. Its Latin cousin (in meaning) is 'candidus/a'. Its breadth
and depth of meaning allows semantic and cultural parallels to be drawn with
'lug-'/'llew' (the name of the 'Celtic' deity of light) and hence with Lucy
(remember the eyes on the platter!).
The relationship of whiteness to holiness (as in the whiteness of the dove,
'columba', for example) is obvious and needs no explanation, though it can
lead to onomastic difficulties. Is Wenlock, the name of St Mildburh's
monastery in western England, 'the white _locus_', or 'the holy _locus_'?
What is exercising me is the apparent particularity of so frequent a use of
this dual term in 'Celtic' religious culture, not least because its use may
have been as much retrospective and inventive as baptismal. But it only
looks peculiarly 'Celtic' because I am ignorant of matters elsewhere.
Can anyone point to similar usage in other parts of Christendom?
Graham
*****************************************************************
Dr Graham Jones
Stott Fellow
Prifysgol Cymru / University of Wales
Canolfan Uwchefrydiau Cymreig a Celtaidd / Centre for
Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies
Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / National Library of Wales
Aberystwyth
Ceredigion SY23 3HH
Wales
Tel: +44 (0)1970 626717, ext. 18
Fax: +44 (0)1970 627066
e-Mail: [log in to unmask]
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Web: http://users.aber.ac.uk/gkj/
http://www.le.ac.uk/elh/grj1/
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