Saint Senara, also known as Asenora, Sinara, or Sennara, is a legendary Cornish saint with links to the village of

Zennor Zennor (; (village) or (parish)) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish includes the villages of Zennor, Boswednack and Porthmeor and the hamlet of Treen. Zennor lies on the north coast, about no ...

on the north coast of

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, UK. The Church of Saint Senara, Zennor is dedicated to her, and according to legend her name inspired the name of the village of Zennor along with local features like

Zennor Head Zennor Head is a 750-metre (2,460 ft) long promontory on the Cornish coast of England, between Pendour Cove and Porthzennor Cove. Facing the Atlantic Ocean, it lies 1 kilometre north-west of the village of Zennor and 1.6 kilometres east ...

and

Zennor Quoit Zennor Quoit is a ruined megalithic burial chamber or dolmen, located on a moor about a mile (1.6 km) east of the village of Zennor, Cornwall, England, UK. It dates to 2500–1500 BC. Aside from the roof, which collapsed some time between ...

Historical records

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 ...

, in his commentary on

Nicholas Roscarrock Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In turn, the name ...

's (c. 1548-1634) ''Lives of the Saints'' notes that a male of Zennor was recorded in 1170, and in 1235 as a female ; since 1235, this saint has been identified as female. Nothing else is known about her, unless she is identified with Azenor, the mother of

Saint Budoc Budoc of Dol (also Budeaux or Beuzec) was a 5th-century Breton monk and Bishop of Dol, who has been venerated since his death as a saint in both Brittany (in France) and Devon (in England). Budoc is the patron saint of Plourin in Finistère wher ...

. Orme also notes the similarity to Saint Senan at

Sennen Sennen () is a coastal civil parish and a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Sennen village is situated approximately west-southwest of Penzance.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' Sennen parish is bounded by ...

, another saint of the Penwith peninsula.

Legend

According to a 1907 source, Saint Senara was a widow and her feast day is celebrated on May 1. She is frequently connected to Azenor, mother of Saint

Budoc Budoc of Dol (also Budeaux or Beuzec) was a 5th-century Breton monk and Bishop of Dol, who has been venerated since his death as a saint in both Brittany (in France) and Devon (in England). Budoc is the patron saint of Plourin in Finistère wher ...

. According to versions of the story which identify her with Azenor, Senara or Asenora was a Breton princess of Brest. Her husband, a Breton king, wrongly accused her of adultery and threw her into the sea in a barrel while pregnant. She was visited by an

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

whilst floating in the sea off the westernmost end of Cornwall, and gave birth to a son in the waves, who later became Saint Budoc or an Irish bishop. She was washed up on the Cornish coast, where she founded

before continuing to

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 ...

. Due to the striking similarity, the legend's origins possibly lie in

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

and the story of

Danaë In Greek mythology, Danaë (, ; ; , ) was an Argive princess and mother of the hero Perseus by Zeus. She was credited with founding the city of Ardea in Latium during the Bronze Age. Family Danae was the daughter and only child of King Acr ...

who was also cast to sea with her son

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of ...

in a wooden box.

Legacy

She gives her name to St Senara's Church in Zennor. A statue of St Senara lies in an enclosed garden next to the church. There has been a church at this site since at least the 6th century AD, but the current building was constructed in the 13th and partly the 15th century. The church contains the Mermaid Chair, an ancient chair with carvings of fish on the seat and a mermaid admiring herself in a mirror on the pew end. It is believed to be at least 600 years old. The mermaid was highly venerated by local fishermen and is said to represent the dual nature of Christ (human and divine).

Modern adaptations

Sue Monk Kidd Sue Monk Kidd (born August 12, 1948) is an American writer from Sylvester, Georgia. She is best known for her historical novels, which frequently deal with themes of race, feminism, and religion and include '' The Secret Life of Bees'' and '' Th ...

's ''

The Mermaid Chair ''The Mermaid Chair'' is a 2005 novel written by American novelist Sue Monk Kidd, which has also been adapted as a Lifetime movie. Synopsis ''The Mermaid Chair'' is the tale of Jessie Sullivan, a middle-aged woman whose stifled dreams and des ...

'' links the legend of St. Senara to that of the

Mermaid of Zennor The ''Mermaid of Zennor'' () is a Cornish folk tale which originates in the village of Zennor. The legend tells the story of a mysterious woman who occasionally attended the parish church of Zennor; a young man followed her home one day, and n ...

. In Kidd's reimagining of the myths, Senara was originally a mermaid named Asenora who would remove her fish tail to walk on land. An abbot stole and hid the fish tail, allowing Asenora to be tamed and converted. Characters attribute the story to ''Legenda Aurea: Readings on the Saints,'' but although this is the title of an actual reference work, no such story appears in the real-life work. The Mermaid Chair of Kidd's book is much more ornate and bejeweled than the real-life artifact which inspired it, with the arms consisting of carved, winged mermaids. The book was adapted into a movie in 2006.The Mermaid Chair
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Senara (saint) Female saints of medieval Brittany Medieval Breton saints Castaways Cornish folklore Folk saints Female saints of medieval Cornwall Medieval Cornish saints Medieval legends Angelic visionaries