Celtic and Old English Saints 20 June =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Fillan of Munster * St. Edburga of Caistor * St. Goban * St. Govan of Wales * St. Edward of England * St. Oswald of Northumbria =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
St. Fillan of Munster, Missionary to Loch Earn, Scotland (Foelan, Foellan, Foilan, Foillan, Fulan) --------------------- Early 8th century; in Ireland his feast is celebrated on January 9. (And in some places January 19.) The Irish Fillan, son of Feriach, grandson of King Ceallach of Leinster, received the monastic habit in the abbey of Saint Fintan Munnu. Then he accompanied his mother, Saint Kentigerna, and his uncle, Saint Comgan, to Scotland, where he became a missionary monk. He was perhaps a monk at Taghmon in Wexford and a hermit at Pittenweem, Fife, before being chosen as abbot of the nearby monastery, which he governed for some years. He retired to Glendochart in Perthshire, where he lived a solitary life and built a church. There he died and was buried at the place now called Strathfillan in his honour. Until the early 19th century, the mentally ill were dipped into the pool here and then left all night, restrained, in a corner of Fillan's ruined chapel. If they were found loose the next morning, they were considered cured. Further north, in Ross-shire, there are dedications to his memory and that of his uncle (Kilkoan and Killellan). Both Irish and Scottish martyrologies recorded his sanctity, and the Aberdeen Breviary relates some extraordinary miracles performed by him. History also records that Robert the Bruce put his hopes of victory at Bannockburn into the hands of Saint Fillan. It is reported that he brought an arm relic of the saint into battle having passed most of the night praying for his intercession. Not surprisingly, the Scottish victory at Bannockburn revived and perpetuated his cultus, and his feast is still kept in the diocese of Dunkeld (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Farmer, Gill, Montague). The bell and staff of Saint Fillan still exist. The outer covering of his staff (crosier) can be seen at http://www.cushnieent.force9.co.uk/photogallery1.html St. Edburga, Virgin of Caistor in Northamptonshire ----------------------------------------- (also known as Idaberga, Edburge, Eadburh) Died late 7th century. It is odd that a pagan, King Penda of Mercia, should have born so much fruit for the Kingdom of God. He was a staunch opponent of Christ, yet four of his daughters, including Edburga, rank among those in the heavenly court. Her sisters by blood and faith were Saints Kyneburga (wife of King Alfred of Northumberland), and Kyneswide and Chinesdre, who consecrated their virginity to God when they entered the convent of Dormundcastor or Caistor in Northamptonshire. Edburga also seems to have made her vows and was buried there. When her brother Wulhere finished Peterborough, her relics with those of her three sisters were translated to the new foundation. About 1040, the monk Balger carried all their relics and some of those of Saint Oswald to Berg Saint Winnoc in Flanders, probably by the authority of King Hardecanute of England, son of Emma, who had lived in Flanders in his youth. The relics of Saints Oswald, Edburga, and Lewin were lost in a great fire at the abbey in 1558. Yet an inscription there informs us that some of their dust still remains in the tomb (Benedictines,Husenbeth). St. Goban (Gobain, Govan, Gavan), Martyr --------------------------------------------------------- Born in Ireland; died c. 670. Goban was ordained priest in his native land. Then he became a monk under and disciple of Saint Fursey at Burgh Castle in Suffolk. He accompanied his abbot on his mission to evangelize East Anglia. Both saints then crossed to France. For a short time Goban lived at Corbeny, before the abbey was built, and later they settled together as hermits at Laon. From there they withdrew into the forest on the Oise. There Goban founded a stately church dedicated to Saint Peter, now called Saint Gobain, on land given to him by King Clotaire III. Here Goban was beheaded by thieves at a place now called Saint-Gobain and previously known as Le Mont d'Hermitage. His relics were lost during the Thirty Years War, except for his head which is still in his church (Benedictines, Encyclopaedia, Farmer, Husenbeth). He is venerated in Burgh (Suffolk) and Saint Goban (Oise) (Roeder). St. Govan of Wales (Goven, Cofen) ---------------------------------------------------------- 6th cent. A hermit who lived halfway down a cliff at St Govan's Head in Dyfed in Wales where his stone hut can still be seen. He is probably buried under the altar in the hut, which later became a small chapel. Govan was probably a disciple of St Ailbe. A Pilgrimage to Saint Govan's Chapel http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/orthodoxchurch/Pilgrimage%20to%20Saint%20Govan.ht m St Govan's Head - St Govan's Chapel http://www.britainexpress.com/wales/az/churches/churches14.htm On St Govan's Head, near Bosherton. St. Govan's Chapel is a small medieval church clinging to the ragged rock halfway down the cliffs of a secluded headland. It is difficult to imagine a more strikingly situated church in all of Britain. St. Govan was a sixth century hermit who established a cell for himself on this lonely spot, in the fashion of early Celtic Christian monks, who tended to live in isolated places. Legends sprang up about the saint, and about the curative properties of the natural spring which used to rise just inside the door of the chapel. During the medieval period the holy well and cell became a place of pilgrimage for cripples seeking a cure, and the original cell was rebuilt as a small chapel in the 13th century. The chapel is a very simple rectangular building with a steeply pitched roof and bellcote. Access is by way of 52 stone steps from the top of the cliffs. Legend has it that the chapel was founded when St. Govan hid in a rocky fissure of the cliff to escape from pirates. A further legend states that King Arthur's knight Sir Gawain lies buried beneath the stone altar of the chapel. St. Govan's Chapel is contained within the Pembrokeshire National Park, and the Pembrokeshire Coast National Trail runs along the nearby cliffs. The area is far enough off the beaten track that even today it retains an air of secluded beauty. Elevation of the Relics of St. Edward, King and Martyr of England --------------------------------------------- THIS Edward was chosen, being only thirteen years old, to succeed his father Edgar A.D. 975, before which time the West Saxon kingdom had grown into that of the English generally. He appears to have been a good young king, and beloved by his people. After a four years' reign he was cruelly murdered, probably by the contrivance of his stepmother AElfthryth [Elfrida], whose son Ethelred was then elected king at the age of ten. The English Chronicles under the year 987 lament the crime without naming the criminal. "Here was Eadweard king slain at eventide at Corfes-gate, on xv. kal. Apr., and men buried him at Waerham without any kingly worship. Never was done worse deed among Englishmen that this since first they sought Britain. Men murdered him, but God honoured him. He was in life an earthly king, he is not after death a heavenly saint," etc... The Sarum Breviary dwells much on his goodness, and he was popularly considered to have died a martyr... Under the year 980 the Chronicles say, "Here in this year S. Dunstanus and AElfere ealdorman fetched the holy king S. Eadward's body at Waerham, and carried it with mickle worship to Scaeftesbryig" [Shaftesbury]. Florence of Worcester [anno 979] says that the body was incorrupt (Blunt). Service to St Edward (under Liturgica, right-hand column) http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/ Icons of St. Edward http://www.allmercifulsavior.com/icons/Western.html http://www.odox.net/Icons-Edward.htm##1 http://htmadmin.phpwebhosting.com/images/a-297.jpg Translation of the Relics of St. Oswald, Missionary and Martyred King of Northumbria ---------------------------------------- Sources: ======== Attwater, D. (1958). A Dictionary of Saints. New York: P. J. Kenedy & Sons. [Attwater 2] Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. (1947). The Book of Saints. NY: Macmillan. Blunt, J.H. (1893) Annotated Book of Common Prayer. Coulson, J. (ed.). (1960). The Saints: A Concise Biographical Dictionary. New York: Hawthorn Books. Green & Co. Farmer, D. H. (1997). The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Husenbeth, Rev. F. C., DD, VG (ed.). (1928). Butler's Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints. London: Virtue & Co. Montague, H. P. (1981). The Saints and Martyrs of Ireland. Guildford: Billing & Sons. Roeder, H. (1956). Saints and Their Attributes, Chicago: Henry Regnery. 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 ***************************************** ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
