Hello Mara,
As far as Britain goes, I think this could be a tricky one to be definite
about, because nowhere do we have a reasonably full list of British holy wells
to consult (this may change in future, eh Rich?) . It's fair to say that
Ladywell/Marywell etc is the most common dedication. After that, who knows?
For Wiltshire, I find that the frequency of dedicatee saints at wells is as
follows:-
Women:-
Mary the Virgin 10
Catherine 2
Keyne 1
Sidefull 1
Edith 1
Emily (?) 1
Bride (?) 1
Men:-
Thomas Becket 1
Peter 2
Aldhelm 1
James 1
Michael 2
Bede (?) 1
So fairly evenly divided if you leave Mary out of it. The (?) denotes wells
where the name could have another meaning, not necessarily the name of a saint.
Katy
On Mon, 20 Dec 1999 14:24:30 -0800 Mara Freeman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi there!
> I have always had the impression that holy wells in Britain and Ireland are
> dedicated more to female saints than males, in keeping with the usual
> mythic correlation of water with the feminine. But I wonder if that is
> factually the case -- does anyone happen to know?
>
> Thanks for any help anyone can throw my way,
>
> Mara
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Katy Jordan
Faculty Librarian, Engineering & Design
Library & Learning Centre
University of Bath
BA2 7AY
Tel: 01225-826826 x5612
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The Holy Wells Web - Gateway to Waterlore
http://www.bath.ac.uk/~liskmj/holywell.htm
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