Iwig (alternatively Iwi, Iwigius, or Ywi of Lindisfarne) was a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

venerated in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. He was reputedly a

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

, said to have died and to have been buried in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

.Blair, "Saints", p. 541 Historian

David Dumville David Norman Dumville (born 5 May 1949) is a British medievalist and Celtic scholar. He attended at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he studied Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic; Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; and received his PhD a ...

called him "the other principal saint of Wilton", in reference to Saint Eadgyth. He was supposedly a follower (''alumnus'') of Saint Cuthbert.de G. Birch, "Ivy-Church", p. 83 He is listed in two 11th-century

litanies Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Judaic worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin '' litania'' from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (''li ...

. A narrative of that century claimed that his

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

had been brought to Wilton Abbey by Breton monks in the 10th century, and left for safe-keeping at the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...

of Saint Eadgyth. The narrative claims that the relics subsequently became immovable hrough the wish of the saint to reside there though historian John Blair suspected that this story may have been invented to justify Wilton's theft of the relics. His feast day was celebrated on 8 October.Blair, "Saints", p. 541; Dumville, ''Liturgy'', p. 62, n. 131 The Priory of Ivychurch in Wiltshire is thought to have been named after him.

References

* * * {{authority control History of County Durham History of Northumberland History of Wiltshire Northumbrian saints People from County Durham Religion in County Durham Religion in Northumberland Religion in Wiltshire Colombanian saints