Mærwynn

Mærwynn, also known as St. Merewenna or Merwinna, was a 10th-century saint and abbess of Romsey Abbey. [1][2][3]

Saint Mærwynn
Abbess of Rumsey
Died10th Century
Venerated inCatholic Church
Feast13 May
10 February (former)
23 October (translation of relics)

Life

Legend has it that she was born in Ireland and educated by St. Patrick, but five centuries separate them. She is known more historically from a Charter of Edgar the Peaceable,[note 1] the Liber Vitae of the New Minster[4] and the Secgan Manuscripts Hagiography.[5]

Romsey Abbey

She was the Abbess of Romsey (fl 967 – 975 AD), and there is some certainty that she was appointed to the position of abbess by King Edgar the Peaceable on Christmas day in 974.[6]

King Edgar sent Ælfflæd, his daughter,[7] to Mærwynn for care, and she became like a foster mother to the princess.[8][9]

Legacy

The foundations of Mærwynn's abbey (destroyed by Vikings in 1003 AD)[note 2] have been found under the tower, choir stalls and part of the nave of the current Norman church.[10]

She was buried at Romsey Abbey and was venerated post-mortem. Her Feast Day is 13 May, but was originally 10 February.[11][12][13]

Notes
  1. Charter, King Edgar to Romsey Abbey
  2. Mærwynn's Abbey was the second of the four church buildings to be built on the site.
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References
  1. "St. Merewenna". Eucharist and Truth.
  2. David Hugh Farmer (2011). The Oxford Dictionary of Saints (5 rev. ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 307.
  3. Alban Butler, Paul Burns, Butler's Lives of the Saints, Volume 10 (Alban Butler, Paul Burns, A&C Black, 1995) page 30
  4. The Liber Vitae of the New Minster, Winchester Fol 26r.20.ix
  5. The secganManuscript II.34
  6. Thomas Perkins, Bell's Cathedrals: A Short Account of Romsey Abbey (Project Guttenberg, 2007) p. 70.
  7. "The Abbey Church of St. Mary & St. Aethelfla". Archived from the original on 2016-06-19. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
  8. The Liber Vitae of the New Minster, Winchester Fol 26r.20.ix
  9. The secgan Manuscript II.34
  10. Thomas Perkins, Bell's Cathedrals: A Short Account of Romsey Abbey (Project Guttenberg, 2007) p17.
  11. merewenna at Saints SQPN.org.
  12. Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
  13. David Farmer,Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Oxford University Press, 1996), p157.
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