Saint Melangell
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Melangell (, ) was a Welsh
hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...
and
abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...
. She possibly lived in the 7th or 8th century, although the precise dates are uncertain. According to her hagiography, she was originally an Irish princess who fled an arranged marriage and became a
consecrated virgin In the Catholic Church, a consecrated virgin is a woman who has been consecrated by the church to a life of perpetual virginity as a bride of Christ. Consecrated virgins are consecrated by the diocesan bishop according to the approved liturgical ...
in the wilderness of the
Kingdom of Powys The Kingdom of Powys (; ) was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. It very roughly covered the northern two-thirds of the modern county of Pow ...
. She supernaturally protected a
hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live Solitary animal, solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are precociality, able to fend for themselves ...
from a prince's hunting dogs, and was granted land to found a sanctuary and convent. Melangell's
cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...
has been closely centred on her 12th-century shrine at
St Melangell's Church St Melangell's Church () is a Grade I Listed building, listed medieval building of the Church in Wales located in the former village of Pennant Melangell, in the Tanat Valley, Powys, Wales. The church was founded around the 8th century to comm ...
, Pennant Melangell, which was founded at her grave. The church contains the reconstructed Romanesque shrine to Melangell, which had been dismantled in the aftermath of the
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
. Since the medieval period, she has been venerated as the patron saint of hares; for many centuries, her association with hares was so strong that locals would not kill a hare in the parish of Pennant Melangell.


Life

Melangell's primary
hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...
is the ''
Historia Divae Monacellae The is the medieval Latin hagiography of Melangell (), an early medieval Welsh saint whose cult is centred at St Melangell's Church in the former village of Pennant Melangell. The chronicles the legendary life of Melangell, a consecrated vir ...
'', written in the 15th century. The ''Historia'' survives in three complete and two incomplete manuscripts, with the earliest dating from the late 16th century, along with one printed copy of a 17th-century manuscript. Melangell's chronology is unknown, with some evidence pointing to the 7th or 8th century. Although the ''Historia'' gives a date of 604 AD, this date is suspect due to its likely origin in
Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...
's ''Historia Ecclesiastica'', which is viewed as historically unreliable by scholars. Jane Cartwright, a professor at the
University of Wales Trinity Saint David The University of Wales Trinity Saint David () is a public university with three main campuses in South West Wales, in Carmarthen, Lampeter and Swansea, a fourth campus in London, and learning centres in Cardiff, and Birmingham. The university ...
, draws a parallel between Melangell's hagiography and Welsh apocryphal legends about
Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...
; both having become penitents deep in the woods and not seeing men for many years. In their respective tales, men who attempt to approach them in the wilderness are struck by their divinity.


Hagiographical account

The ''Historia'' depicts Melangell's life with heavy emphasis on her virginity, placing it as the essence of her sanctity. A lesson that the narrative puts forth is that
divine retribution Divine retribution is supernatural punishment of a person, a group of people, or everyone by a deity in response to some action. Many cultures have a story about how a deity imposed punishment on previous inhabitants of their land, causing th ...
awaits those who attempt to violate a virgin, a moral also found in the hagiography of
Winefride Saint Winifred (or Winefride; ; ) was a Wales in the Early Middle Ages, Welsh virgin martyr of the 7th century. Her story was celebrated as early as the 8th century, but became popular in England in the 12th, when her hagiography was first writ ...
and legends surrounding other Welsh
virgin martyrs The title Virgin (, ) is an honorific bestowed on female saints and Beatification, blesseds, primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. Chastity is one of the seven virtues in Christian tradition, listed by Pope Gregor ...
. According to the ''Historia'', Melangell was a princess of
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
who fled an arranged marriage. She lived in the wilderness of
Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...
as a
consecrated virgin In the Catholic Church, a consecrated virgin is a woman who has been consecrated by the church to a life of perpetual virginity as a bride of Christ. Consecrated virgins are consecrated by the diocesan bishop according to the approved liturgical ...
for fifteen years before being discovered by a prince by the name of Brochwel Ysgithrog. In 604 AD, Brochwel was hunting near Pennant (now Pennant Melangell). His dogs, chasing a hare, led him to a "virgin beautiful in appearance" devoutly praying, with the hare lying safe under the hem of her dress. The prince urged the dogs on, but they retreated and fled from the hare. After hearing Melangell's story, Brochwel donated the land to her, granting perpetual asylum to both the people and animals of the area. Melangell lived for another 37 years in the same place, founding and becoming abbess of a community of nuns. The hares and wild animals behaved towards Melangell as if they were tamed, and miracles were attributed to them. After Melangell's death, someone by the name of Elise attempted to attack the virgins, but "came to an end most wretchedly and perished suddenly."


Veneration

Melangell and
Winefride Saint Winifred (or Winefride; ; ) was a Wales in the Early Middle Ages, Welsh virgin martyr of the 7th century. Her story was celebrated as early as the 8th century, but became popular in England in the 12th, when her hagiography was first writ ...
are the only two Welsh female saints to have Latin hagiographies. Melangell's cult likely flourished locally for centuries before the ''Historia'' was written; the Romanesque shrine and church built over her grave indicate that her cult had become established in Pennant Melangell by the 12th century, with her grave being a subject of veneration since before the
Norman conquest of Wales The Norman invasion of Wales began shortly after the Norman conquest of England under William the Conqueror, who believed England to be his birthright. Initially (1067–1081), the invasion of Wales was not undertaken with the fervour and purpose ...
.


Association with hares

Welsh antiquarian
Thomas Pennant Thomas Pennant (16 December 1798) was a Welsh natural history, naturalist, traveller, writer and antiquarian. He was born and lived his whole life at his family estate, Downing Hall, near Whitford, Flintshire, in Wales. As a naturalist he had ...
, in his work ''Tours in Wales'', described Melangell's association with hares, noting that they were nicknamed "St Monacella's lambs" (). Pennant also remarked that "till the last century, so strong a superstition , that no person would kill a hare in the parish; and even later, when a hare was pursued by dogs, it was firmly believed, that if anyone cried 'God and St. Monacella be with thee,' it was sure to escape." As late as the year 1900, the locals of Pennant Melangell were noted for their refusal to kill hares. Archaeologist Caroline Malim posits a connection between the local veneration of hares (along with other local traditions) and pre-Christian Celtic religion, noting that hares have historically been associated with moon goddesses in mythologies around the world.


Shrine at Pennant Melangell

The settlement of Pennant itself was likely an 8th-century foundation, and the earliest part of the church dates to the 12th century. At the east end of the church, behind the
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
, is a small chamber known as the ''cell-y-bedd'' (cell of the grave), which housed the original shrine. The grave was that of Melangell, and it would have served as a
reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''Chasse (casket), chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''. Relics may be the purported ...
, displaying her remains for visiting pilgrims. The ornate Romanesque carving on the shrine, now located in the chancel, is characteristic of local work of the late 12th century. In the
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
period and the centuries afterwards, the cell was turned into a schoolroom and the shrine was dismantled. The sculptured stones of the shrine were reused in the walls of the church and in the
lychgate A lychgate (from Old English ''līc'', corpse) or resurrection gate is a covered gateway found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style churchyard. Examples also exist outside the British Isles in places such as Newfoundland, the ...
. In 1958, restoration work was undertaken on the church, which included reconstructing the shrine in its original location, the ''cell-y-bedd''. In 1991, the reconstructed shrine was moved to its present location in the chancel. Melangell is also represented in an effigy traditionally identified as the saint, and in the carved
rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...
. The effigy depicts a woman wearing 14th-century clothing, with animals (possibly hares) at her feet. If the animals are indeed hares, then it would likely be a cult effigy to Melangell, similar to those found at
St Pabo's Church, Llanbabo St Pabo's Church, Llanbabo is a medieval church in Llanbabo, in Anglesey, North Wales. Much of the church dates to the 12th century, and it is regarded as a good example of a church of its period that has retained many aspects of its original f ...
, and
St Iestyn's Church, Llaniestyn St Iestyn's Church, Llaniestyn is a medieval church in Llaniestyn, Anglesey, in Wales. A church is said to have been founded here by St Iestyn in the 7th century, with the earliest parts of the present building dating from the 12th century. Th ...
. The late 15th-century rood screen illustrates the story of Melangell and the hare.


References


Citations


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Further reading

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Melangell Melangell 7th-century Welsh women 7th-century Welsh people 8th-century Welsh women 8th-century Welsh people Female saints of medieval Wales History of Powys