Celtic and Old English Saints 21 December =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Elgiva of Shaftesbury * St. Beornwald of Bampton =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
St. Elgiva of Shaftesbury, Queen & Nun ( Aelgifu, Algyva, Aelgytha) ------------------------------------------------------ Died 971. As the mother of Kings Edwy and Saint Edgar the Peaceful and wife of King Edmund of Wessex (921-46), Saint Elgiva was "the adviser and ennobler of the whole kingdom." On the death of her husband, Elgiva retired to the convent of Shaftesbury, where she ended her days and which is the centre of her cultus. William of Malmesbury praised her forher generosity, wise counsel, and the gift of prophecy. He also wrote about the miracles wrought at her intercession (Benedictines, Farmer, Gill). St. Beornwald, Priest-Martyr Near Oxford at the Village of Bampton (Berenwald, Byrnwald) ------------------------------------- 8th century? Little is known for certain about the priest Beornwald, whose memory was venerated at Bampton until the Reformation, and some ofhis shrine remains in the north transept marked by a brass depicting a figure clothed in vestments with a crozier but no mitre. His name is listed in the litanies of the 11th century and in martyrologies of 12th and 15th centuries. There is other evidence of his existence, but no details. He may have founded the large Mercian minster church in Bampton (Farmer). ******************************** Suppliers of Icons of Celtic Saints for the church or the prayer corner at home. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints/message/2875 ********************************* Lives kindly supplied by: 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 ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤