Celtic and Old English Saints 6 April =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Berthanc of Kirkwall * St. Elstan of Abingdon * St. Ulched of Anglesey =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
St. Berthanc (Bertham, Berchan) Fer-da-Leithe of Kirkwall, Bishop -------------------------------------------------------------- Born in Scotland; died in Ireland, c. 840. Saint Berthanc was reputedly a monk of Iona and later bishop of Kirkwall in the Orkneys Islands. He was buried at Inishmore in Galway Bay. Sometimes he is given the surname of "Fer-da-Leithe," meaning "the man of two parts (or countries) (Benedictines, Montague). St. Elstan of Abingdon -------------------------------------------------------------- Died 981. Elfstan was one of the monks trained by St. Ethelwold in the monastery at Abingdon, which he was given by King Edred to restore. Ethelwold had been ordained with St. Dunstan, and they both worked together to restore the discipline of the monastic houses in England and bring them under the Benedictine Rule. St. Benedict lays great emphasis in his rule on visitors being received as Christ, and he impresses upon monks that at the judgement "He is going to say, I was a guest and ye received me". Throughout, the rule obedience is enjoined as the evidence of humility, and monks are told to regard the instructions of their superiors as those of Christ, whom they seek to serve, and to remember His words, "Who hears you, hears me". When Ethelwold came to Abingdon from Glastonbury, he found the abbey almost derelict and had to organise considerable building works, including the rebuilding of the abbey church, which he transformed with a double rotunda. Elfstan was in charge of the kitchens and was told to make sure that the workmen were properly fed. He set about this task with enthusiasm, doing all the cooking, serving, washing up and cleaning of the kitchen without asking for any assistance, although the rule specifically provided for help to be given at times when there were extra numbers. One day Ethelwold, doing his abbatial rounds, discovered Elfstan's heroic humility, and congratulated him on it. Wishing to test the extent of his obedience, he went on to say, "If you are such a soldier as you seem to be, plunge your hand into that boiling cauldron and draw me out a piece of meat". Without a pause Elfstan did so and was unharmed by the boiling water. Elfstan succeeded Ethelwold as Abbot of Abingdon, when the latter became Bishop of Winchester, and in 970, he was appointed Bishop of Ramsbury, in succession to Osulf. Stanton says he was Bishop of Wilton, but he is probably confused by Florence of Worcester, who says that he was buried at Wilton. Ramsbury was the poorest See in Wessex, and so would have suited Elfstan's temperament. It seems that there was no proper Cathedral church, Florence listing the bishops residing at Sunning. When S. Elfstan died, his body was taken to Abingdon, and he was buried in the Abbey church there (Bowen, Stanton, Farmer, Florence of Worcester). St. Ulched (Ulchad, Ylched) -------------------------------------------------------------- Date unknown. All that is known is the name, which was given to the church of Lleuchulched in Anglesey (Benedictines). Sources: ======== Benedictine Monks of Saint Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. (1947). The Book of saints. NY: Macmillan. Bowen, Paul. When We Were One: A Yearbook of the Saints of the British Isles Complied from Ancient Calendars. Florence of Worchester, The Chronicle of Florence of Worcester Translated by J Stevenson, The Church Historians of England, Seeleys, 1853. Montague, H. P. (1981). The Saints and Martyrs of Ireland. Guildford: Billing & Sons. Stanton, R.A. (1887) Menology of England and Wales. (Burns & Oates. For All the Saints: http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/ss-index.htm An Alphabetical Index of the Saints of the West http://www.orthodoxengland.btinternet.co.uk/saintsa.htm These Lives are archived at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
