Saint Juthwara
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Juthwara or Jutwara was a
virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...
and
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
from
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
. According to her legend, she was an eighth-century Saxon, and sister to Sidwell, though some historians have theorised she was a
Briton British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, w ...
living in the sixth century.Farmer, David Hugh. (1978). ''The Oxford Dictionary of Saints''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Her
relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...
s were
translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
to
Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo (South Somerset), River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish include ...
during the reign of Ethelred the Unready. Nothing further is known with certainty about her life. Juthwara's name is how she is known in
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
. Some have suggested that it is a corruption of the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
Aud Wyry (meaning ''Aud the Virgin''), the name by which she is known in
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 ...
. However, since Aud Wyry simply means "Aud the Virgin" (Aud is a Germanic name used in Northern France and not a Celtic name) it is more likely that Aud Wyry is a Breton reinterpretation of her original name. Those who prefer a 6th-century British origin have hypothesised her as sister to
Paul Aurelian Paul Aurelian (known in Breton as Paol Aorelian or Saint Pol de Léon and in Latin as Paulinus Aurelianus) was a 6th-century Welshman who became first bishop of the See of Léon and one of the seven founder saints of Brittany. He allegedly die ...
and Wulvela, though this is debated.


Legend

The
legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...
of Juthwara is known from
John Capgrave John Capgrave (21 April 1393 – 12 August 1464) was an English historian, hagiographer and scholastic theologian, remembered chiefly for ''Nova Legenda Angliae'' (New Reading from England). This was the first comprehensive collection of lives o ...
's '' Nova Legenda Angliae'', after John of Tynemouth mid-fourteenth century. According to this, she was a pious girl who was the victim of a jealous stepmother. She prayed and fasted often, and frequently gave
alms Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving. Etymology The word ''alms'' come ...
. Upon the death of her father, she began to suffer pain in her chest. Its source was ascribed to her sorrow and austerities. As a remedy, her
stepmother A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a female non-biological parent married to one's preexisting parent. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse. Culture Ste ...
recommended two soft cheeses be applied to her breasts, telling her son, Bana, that Juthwara was pregnant. Bana felt her underclothes and found them moist, whereupon he immediately struck off her head. A spring of water appeared at the spot. Juthwara then miraculously picked up her head and carried it back to the church. According to the Breton tradition, Bana repented of his deed and became a
monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
, founding a
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
of Gerber (later known as Le Relecq) on a battlefield.


Location

Juthwara's death took place at ''Halyngstoka'', generally accepted as
Halstock __NOTOC__ Halstock is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, situated approximately south of Yeovil in Somerset. It lies on the route of the ancient Harrow Way. In the 2011 census the parish had a population o ...
in Dorset, where she is known as Juthware, and where local tradition points to a field still called by her name, modernised to 'Judith'. Baring-Gould and Fisher suggested instead
Lanteglos-by-Camelford Camelford () is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately north of Bodmin and is governed by Camelford Town Council. The ward popu ...
in
North Cornwall North Cornwall () is an area of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is also the name of a former local government district, which was administered from Bodmin and Wadebridge . Other towns in the area are Launceston, Bude, Padstow, and Camel ...
where the church is now named for
Julitta Cyricus and his mother Julitta are venerated as early Christian martyrs. According to traditional stories, they were put to death at Tarsus in AD 304. Cyricus Some evidence exists for an otherwise unknown child-martyr named Cyricus at Antio ...
, but may have originally borne Juthwara's name. At
Laneast Laneast () is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies above the River Inny valley, about six miles (11 km) west of Launceston. The population in the 2001 census was 164, increasing to 209 at the 2011 census ...
ten miles to the east the church is dedicated to her sisters, but this has apparently arisen by a modern confusion between Laneast and Gulval (also known as Lanestly): at Laneast the dedication in 1436 was to SS. Sativola and Thomas the Martyr, Wolvela does not appear until George Oliver's ''Monasticon''. In July 2012, Halstock's
parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...
of
St Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loreto. ...
had its dedication extended to include Juthware, in recognition of the local tradition.


Veneration

Juthwara's
feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
is 28 November, though ''A Devon And Cornwall Calendar'' gives 13 July and refers to other sources as giving 23 December. Juthwara's body was translated to
Sherborne Abbey Sherborne Abbey, otherwise the Abbey Church of St. Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England church in Sherborne in the English county of Dorset. It was formerly a Saxon Catholic cathedral (705–1075) and a Benedictine abbey church (998–1539) ...
in the early eleventh century and her
shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...
remained a place of
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
there until the Dissolution. The
Sherborne Missal The Sherborne Missal (London, British Library, Add MS 74236) is an early 15th-century English illuminated manuscript missal, one of the finest English examples of International Gothic painting. With 347 vellum leaves measuring , it weighs 20&nbs ...
(c.1400), contains a Mass for St Juthware for 13th July, the date of her translation, and an illustration of Juthwara's beheading."St Juthware", The Old Shirburnian Society
/ref> Juthwara is depicted in the Great East Window of Sherborne Abbey, and on a number of
altar screen A Dossal (or dossel, dorsel, dosel), from French ''dos'' (''back''), is one of a number of terms for something rising from the back of a church altar. In modern usage, it primarily refers to cloth hangings but it can also denote a board, often ...
s in
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
, in company with her sister Sidwell. Her traditional emblem is a round soft cheese and/or a sword. She is depicted as a
cephalophore A cephalophore (from the Greek for 'head-carrier') is a saint who is generally depicted carrying their severed head. In Christian art, this was usually meant to signify that the subject in question had been martyred by beheading. Depicting the ...
in a late medieval statue in Guizeny, in
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 ...
.


References

{{Use dmy dates, date=January 2020 Briton people Anglo-Saxon people Southwestern Brythonic saints Anglo-Saxon saints Burials at Sherborne Abbey 6th-century Christian martyrs 6th-century English women 8th-century Christian martyrs 8th-century English women Cephalophores Year of birth unknown Legendary English people People from Dorset Virgin martyrs