Non (also Nonna or Nonnita) was, according to

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

tradition, the mother of

Saint David Saint David ( cy, Dewi Sant; la, Davidus; ) was a Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail a ...

, the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Legend

The ''Life of St David'' was written around 1095 by Rhigyfarch, and is our main source of knowledge for the lives of both St David (died c. 589) and his mother. Rhigyfarch was a Norman cleric whose father had been Bishop of St David's for 10 years.''An Essential Guide to Celtic Sites and their Saints'', Rees, Elizabeth, Burns & Oates, 2003, pp. 208-209. He states that she was a nun at Ty Gwyn ("the white house") near Whitesands Bay (Pembrokeshire), (although she may have become a nun later as a widow). Tradition holds that Nonita was raped and that the product of that rape was David – she was "unhappily seized and exposed to the sacrilegious violence of one of the princes of the country". Rhigyfarch recounts the tradition that the rapist was Sanctus, King of Ceredigion, who came upon Non while travelling through Dyfed (in

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

). After conceiving, Nonita, who remained celibate both before and afterwards, lived on bread and water alone. When a preacher found himself unable to preach in the presence of her unborn child, this was taken as a sign that the child would himself be a great preacher. A local ruler learned of this pregnancy and feared the power of the child to be born. He plotted to kill him upon birth, but on the day of her labour a great storm made it impossible for anyone to travel outdoors. Only the place where Nonita groaned with birth-pangs was bathed in light. The pain was said to have been so intense that her fingers left marks as she grasped a rock and the stone itself split asunder in sympathy with her. A church was built in the place of David's birth and this stone is now concealed in the foundations of the altar. Variations on her story state that: * Non may have been the daughter of the nobleman Cynyr of Caer Goch (in

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park oc ...

).Nash Ford, David
St. Non
in ''Early British Kingdoms'', 2001, accessed 17 October 2012. * The chieftain who fathered David may have been named Xantus, SanddeThe early life of David
BBC Local History Page, archived version from 10 January 2008 accessed 17 October 2012. or Sant.''An Essential Guide to Celtic Sites and their Saints'', Rees, Elizabeth, Burns & Oates, 2003, pp. 224-225. (Rees points out that names meaning 'Holy' and 'Nun' might be seen as fitting for the parents of a great saint.) * Non may have been married to Sant before David's birth or after the birth of the saint.Rabenstein, Katherine I., ''Saint of the Day'' Summaries prepared in 1989

accessed 17 October 2012. * She brought the boy up at Henfeynyw near

Aberaeron Aberaeron, previously anglicised as Aberayron, is a town, community, and electoral ward between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, in Ceredigion, Wales. Ceredigion County Council offices are in Aberaeron. The name of the town is Welsh for ''mouth o ...

and founded a convent nearby at what is now called Llanon (the village being named after her). * Subsequently, Non may have travelled to

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

and ultimately ended her days in a Breton

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Angl ...

. * In some sources, Non is commemorated as a male companion of David.

Veneration

The place where Non gave birth to Saint David is now named Capel Non, and is marked by the

Chapel of St Non St Non's Chapel The Chapel of St Non is located on the coast near St David's in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. Held by tradition to mark the birthplace of St David, the ruin cannot be accurately dated but is unusual in that it is aligned north–south ...

. Close to the ruins of this chapel is her holy well; nearby also stand a modern retreat house, and a chapel dedicated to ''Our Lady and Saint Non'' built in 1934.''An Essential Guide to Celtic Sites and their Saints'', Rees, Elizabeth, Burns & Oates, 2003, pp. 128-129. The ruins are easily accessible from the

Pembrokeshire Coastal Path The Pembrokeshire Coast Path ( cy, Llwybr Arfordir Sir Benfro), often called the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, is a designated National Trail in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. Established in 1970, it is a long-distance walking route, mostly ...

. Other churches bear her name in Devon, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire.Mullins, Daniel J.. ''Early Welsh Saints''. Carreg-Gwalch Press, 2003, p. 32. Saint Non's Chapel - Außen

Non's

relic 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 ...

s were initially venerated at Altarnun in

. However, these were destroyed during the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. Medieval glass fragments which remain above the altar may depict Non; there is a holy well nearby with a long tradition of bringing the insane to be immersed (one legend has them being thrown in backwards) in hope of a cure.''An Essential Guide to Celtic Sites and their Saints'', Rees, Elizabeth, Burns & Oates, 2003, pp. 135. She is also the patron of Pelynt in Cornwall where there is St Nonna's Holy Well.''An Essential Guide to Celtic Sites and their Saints'', Rees, Elizabeth, Burns & Oates, 2003, pp. 145-146. Non died at Dirinon, Brittany, ten miles east of Brest, and is buried there; her shrine can still be seen in Dirinon's parish church. An alterenative legend puts here being martyred at the hands of druids at Bradstone in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

where the church is dedicated to her. St Non's feast day is given as 2 March by Mullins and by the 18th century text of Browne Willis cited by Rees. Nash Ford identifies 3 March as her date of death. 3 March is also the date recognised by Simpson.Simpson, Ray. ''Saints of the Isles: A Year of Feasts''. Kevin Mayhew, 2003, p. 105. She is listed under 5 March in the 1995 revision of the Church in Wales calendar. At the Parish of Pelynt, which contains St Nonna's Holy Well, the feast of St Nonna is celebrated on the second Sunday after

Midsummer's Day Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer usually held at a date around the summer solstice. It has pagan pre-Christian roots in Europe. The undivided Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Christian martyr S ...

. St Non is not officially commemorated in the current liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church: she does not appear in the 2004 edition of the

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approve ...

, nor the Roman Catholic calendar for Wales.National Calendar for Wales
accessed 17 October 2012.

Legend

Veneration

See also

References

External links