Beuno
Saint Beuno | |
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| Born | late 6th century Powys |
| Died | 21 April 640 Clynnog Fawr |
| Venerated in | Orthodox Christianity Roman Catholism Anglicanism |
| Canonized | Pre-congregation |
| Majorshrine | Clynnog Fawr |
| Feast | 21 April (trad.) 20 April (Cath.) |
| Attributes | Monastic habit, insignia of an abbot |
| Patronage | sick children; against diseased cattle |
Saint Beuno(Latin:Bonus;[1]d.640), sometimesanglicizedasBono,was a 7th-centuryWelshabbot,confessor,andsaint.Baring-Gouldgives St Beuno's date of death as 21 April 640,[1]making that date his traditional feastday. In the currentRoman Catholicliturgical calendar for Wales,[2]he is commemorated on 20 April, the 21st being designated forSaint Anselm.[3]
Name
[edit]His name has been reconstructed as*Bou[g]nouinOld Welsh,with a proposed derivation from thecommon Celtic*Bou[o]-gnāw-,with a meaning related to "Knowing Cattle".[4]
Life
[edit]Beuno was said to have been born atBerriewinPowysand to have been the grandson of a prince of the local dynasty, which descended fromVortigern,king of Britain.After education and ordination in themonasteryatBangorin northernWales,he became an active missionary with the support ofCadfan,king of Gwynedd.Cadfan's son and successorCadwallondeceived Beuno about some land and, when the saint demanded justice, proved unsympathetic. Thereupon, Cadwallon's cousin Gwyddaint "gave to God and Beuno forever" his land atClynnog Fawron theLlŷn peninsula.Beuno established his own monastery at the site and died there peacefully "on the seventh day ofEaster".[5]
Miracles
[edit]
Beuno was credited withraising seven people from the dead,including his niece, thevirginWinefride(Gwenffrewi), and his disciple and cousin,Aelhaiarn.He was said to have had a "wondrous vision" prior to his death.[5]
Legacy
[edit]Eleven churches bear Saint Beuno's name, including one in his monastery at Clynnog Fawr, and one inCulboneon the Somerset coast. Although his establishment at Clynnog is destroyed, his grave chapel survives. InTremeirchion,nearSt Asaph,isSt Beuno's,a former theological college and now aJesuitspirituality retreat centre.[6]
See also
[edit]- St Beuno's Church, Aberffraw
- St Beuno's Church, Berriew
- St Beuno's Church, Bettws Cedewain
- St Beuno's Church,Culbone
- St Beuno's Church,Llanycil
- St Beuno's Church, Penmorfa
- St Beuno's Church,Pistyll
- St Beuno's Church, Trefdraeth
Further reading
[edit]- Sims-Williams, Patrick (2007) [2004]."Beuno [St Beuno] (d.653/9) ".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/2317.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913)."St. Beuno".Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.
References
[edit]- ^abBaring-Gould & Fisher, "Lives of the British Saints" (1907), quoted atSt. Beuno Gasulsych,Early British Kingdoms website by David Nash Ford, accessed 6 February 2012
- ^National Calendar for Wales, accessed 6 February 2012
- ^Miller, Arthur (1885). "Beuno"InDictionary of National Biography.4.London. p 444.
- ^Koch, John T. (ed.), Celtic Culture, ABC-CLIO, 2006, p. 206.
- ^abRyan, Patrick W.F. "St. Beuno."The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 12 May 2013
- ^Beunos,retrieved 12 November 2018
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