Saint Lewina (or Lewinna, Levinna, Lewine, Leofwynn; 7th century) was a British virgin and martyr who was put to death by

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

invaders. Her feast day is 25 July.

Life

Little is known of Lewinna's life. One source says she was a British woman who lived during the reign of King

Ecgberht of Kent Ecgberht I (also spelled Egbert) (died 4 July 673) was a King of Kent (664-673), succeeding his father Eorcenberht. He may have still been a child when he became king following his father's death on 14 July 664, because his mother Seaxburh wa ...

(r. 664–673). As a virgin, she was killed by a Saxon heathen due to her faith during the life of Archbishop

Theodore of Tarsus Theodore of Tarsus ( gr, Θεόδωρος Ταρσοῦ; 60219 September 690) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 668 to 690. Theodore grew up in Tarsus, but fled to Constantinople after the Persian Empire conquered Tarsus and other cities. Afte ...

(died 690). She was buried at a monastery in Sussex dedicated to

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Pete ...

. Possibly Saint Lewinna's name is connected with that of the town of

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of t ...

, which once had a church of Saint Andrew and is near Seaford. Lewinna may be the Latin version of Leofwynn, a Saxon rather than British name. She has been associated with Bishopstone, also near Seaford. A Benedictine monk called Drogo from the abbey of

Bergues Bergues (; nl, Sint-Winoksbergen; vls, Bergn) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is situated to the south of Dunkirk and from the Belgian border. Locally it is referred to as "the other Bruges in Flanders". Bergues ...

in Flanders wrote a lengthy account of the removal of Lewina's relics in 1058 by another monk of Bergues named Balgerus. Balgerus sailed in a merchant vessel to England, and after riding out a storm landed in Sevordt (Seaford). The next day he went to Saint Andrew's Abbey, away, where he was told Lewinna's body lay. He heard of the miracles wrought by the saint, and after struggling with his conscience stole her relics and took them to his ship. They were carried to the monastery at Bergues and stored in a chest adorned with gold and silver. In 1522 they were destroyed during some religious disturbances.

Monks of Ramsgate account

The monks of

St Augustine's Abbey, Ramsgate St Augustine's Abbey or Ramsgate Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey in Ramsgate. It was built in 1860 by Augustus Pugin and is a Grade II listed building. It was the first Benedictine monastery to be built in England since the Reformation. In ...

wrote in their ''Book of Saints'' (1921),

Dunbar's account

Agnes Baillie Cunninghame Dunbar (1830–1920) in her ''Dictionary of Saintly Women'' (1904) wrote,

Butler's account

The hagiographer

Alban Butler Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiographer. Biography Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Aston le Walls, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. His father died when ...

(1710–1773) wrote in his ''Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints'', under July 24,

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewine Romano-British saints 7th-century deaths 7th-century Christian saints Female saints of medieval England 7th-century English women