This must be Dympna. D. H. Farmer's _Oxford Dictionary of Saints_ gives
this account:
"(7th century (?)) martyr. Her cult is an excllent example of the relics
and shrine of considerable antiquity of a saint, under whose patronage
admirable work for the unfortunate has been and still is accomplished.
But this is linked with an almost complete dearth of historical
knowledge. The Legend of Dypmna seems almost pure folklore. According
to this source she was the daughter of a Celtic or British king; her
mother died when she was a child; when she grew up she looked extremely
like her mother; her father fell in love with her, and to escape his
incestuous intentions she fled with her confessor St. Gerebernus to
Antwerp and then to Gheel (twenty-five miles away). Her father pursued
them, tracing them by coins they had used, and found them living as
solitaries. When they refused to return, the attendants killed the
priest and the king killed his daughter. Both bodies were buried on the
spot: they were translated in the 13th century, an event marked by
numerous cures of epileptics and lunatics. This was the reason why she
became the patroness of the insane. From then onwards the town of Gheel
has had a splendid record in the care of the mentally ill; in modern
times it has been among the pioneers of their residence and supervision
in the homes of farmers and other local residents. Feast: May 15."
(Vita in AASS May iii, 477-97.)
Deleheye in his _Legends of the Saints_ notes that her story is an
adaptation of the "celebrated [folk] tale of the ass's skin," but it's
not celebrated enough: I haven't a clue what it is.
Your friend's question evoked fond memories of a college friend who, as
the occasion demanded (and this holy season of final exams was one of
them), invoked her as "the nervous breakdown saint."
John Shinners
On Sat, 19 Dec 1998, Michele Bacci wrote:
> A friend of mine - a musicologian - asked me a question about a mysterious
> Irish female saint, named alternatively Dimna, Dipna, Dimpna, Dinna or Tinna
> in 17th-century oratorios. If you have some information about her, please
> let me know.
> Thank you in advance
>
> Michele Bacci
> Pisa (Italy)
>
>
--
John R. Shinners e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Associate Professor Phone (office): (219) 284-4494
Humanistic Studies Program Phone (dept.): (219) 284-4485
Saint Mary's College Fax: (219) 284-4716
Notre Dame, IN 46556
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