Morwenna
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Morwenna is the
eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of
Morwenstow Morwenstow () is a civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish abuts the west coast, about six miles (10 km) north of Bude and within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Morwens ...
, a
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
and village in north Cornwall, UK. Her name is thought to be
cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...
with Welsh '' morwyn'' "maiden", although the first name is also used in
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
and said to be composed of "Mor" and "Gwenn", meaning "White sea" in both Welsh and
Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...
.


Life

Morwenna first appears in a 12th-century
life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
of
Saint Nectan Saint Nectan, sometimes styled Saint Nectan of Hartland, was a 5th-century holy man who lived in Stoke, Hartland, in the nowadays English, and at the time Brythonic-speaking, county of Devon, where the prominent St Nectan's Church, Hartland i ...
that lists her alongside Endelient, Mabyn and Menfre (among many others) as a daughter of the Welsh king
Brychan Brychan ap Anlach of Brycheiniog was a legendary 5th-century king of Brycheiniog (Brecknockshire, alternatively Breconshire) in Mid Wales. Name variations Brychan had Irish ancestry and came from Ireland to Wales, therefore his original name ...
. Orme, Nicholas (2000). ,
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, p. 196. She was trained in Ireland before crossing over to Cornwall. Morwenna made her home in a little hermitage at Hennacliff (the Raven's Crag), afterwards called Morwenstow (meaning "Morwenna's holy-place"). It stands near the top of a high cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, where the sea is almost constantly stormy, and from where, in certain atmospheric conditions, the coast of Wales can be seen. She built a church there, for the local people, with her own hands. It is said that she carried the stone on her head from beneath the cliff and where she once stopped for a rest, a spring gushed forth to the west of the church. Early in the sixth century, while she lay dying, her brother, St. Nectan, came to see her, and she asked him to raise her up so that she might look once more on her native shore. She was buried at the church in Morwenstow. A painting was later found on the north wall of the Morwenstow church, thought to represent St. Morwenna. It shows a gaunt female clasping a scroll to her breast with her left hand; the right arm is raised in blessing over a kneeling monk. A
local saint A locally venerated saint or local saint (in Russian Orthodox Church: , ''mestnochtimy svyatoy'') is a saint who was canonized within a particular diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastic ...
, she is depicted in a
stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
window of the parish church, St Morwenna and St John the Baptist's ( Saint John was added as a dedication when the church was given to St John the Baptist's hospital in
Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...
). Morwenna of Morwenstow is commonly misidentified with "Marwenne" of Marhamchurch and the patron of
Lamorran Lamorran () is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of St Michael Penkevil, in the Cornwall district, in the ceremonial county of Cornwall, England. Lamorran lies southeast of Truro, within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natu ...
, a saint "Moren".


Morwenna's Well

According to
Nicholas Orme Nicholas Orme FSA FRHistS (born 1942) is a British historian specialising in the Middle Ages and Tudor period, focusing on the history of children, and ecclesiastical history, with a particular interest in South West England. Orme is an eme ...
, a well in the parish (at ) is nowadays associated with her; it is located just over 500 metres to the west of the church, 'halfway down a precipice' and is now dry. The well house is a grade II
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. In legend this is the spot where Morwenna once stopped to rest whilst carrying stones from the beach below up to the church she was building on the cliff top.


References


See also

* Christianity in Cornwall {{Authority control Children of Brychan Female saints of medieval Cornwall Medieval Cornish saints Female saints of medieval Wales Medieval Welsh saints Holy wells in Cornwall 6th-century deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown