St Beuno church: Tower and façade, Clynnog Fawr (Wales).
Saint Beuno
Abbé gallois (+ v. 642)
Beuno ou Beunon, abbé de Clynnog-Fawr
(Caernarvonshire) Pays-de-Galles.
Connu aussi sous le nom de Bono, du latin 'bonus'.
Il est vénéré comme le guide spirituel de sainte Wénefride; il
fut un personnage important de la vie monacale du VIe siècle. Il fonda des
églises et des monastères et avait une réputation de grande charité, il mourut
à Clynnog
Fawr (site en anglais) où l'église est encore de nos jours un lieu de
dévotions.
Il figure au 20 avril sur le calendrier
liturgique du Pays-de-Galles (en anglais) mais n'apparaît pas dans le martyrologe
romain. Il figure au 21 avril sur de nombreux sites...
St
Beuno's (site en anglais) est un centre de spiritualité ignatienne au
Nord du Pays-de-Galles.
A lire aussi: Saint
Beunon, Abbé de Clynnog-Fawr, recherches d'un fidèle internaute,
fichier pdf.
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/12720/Saint-Beuno.html
St. Beuno
Abbot of
Clynnog, d. 660(?), was, according to the "Bucced Beuno", born in
Powis-land and, after education and ordination in
the monastery of
Bangor, in North Wales,
became an active missioner, Cadvan, King of Gwynedd, being his generous
benefactor. Cadwallon, Cadvan's son and successor, deceived Beuno about some
land, and on the saint demanding justice proved obdurate.
Thereupon, Cadwallon's cousin Gweddeint, in reparation,
"gave to God and
Beuno forever his township", where the saint (c.
616) founded the Abbey of
Clynnog Fawr (Carnarvonshire).
Beuno became the guardian and restorer to life of his
niece, the virgin St.
Winefride, whose clients still obtain marvellous favours at Holywell (Flintshire).
He was relentless with hardened sinners, but full of compassion to those in
distress. Before his death "on the seventh day of Easter"
he had a wondrous vision. Eleven churches bearing St. Beuno's name, with
various relics and
local usages, witness to his far-reaching missionary zeal. He
is commemorated on the 21st of April.
Sources
REES, Lives of Cambro-British Saints (1853);
the Bucched Beuno found in this work gives a secure basis of names
and dedications; cf. POLLEN in The Month, February, 1894, 235;
STUBBS, Councils, I, 160; Dict. Nat. Biog., IV, 444.
Ryan, Patrick W.F. "St. Beuno." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 20 Apr.
2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02540a.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for
New Advent by Vivek Gilbert John Fernandez. Dedicated to Mary, Queen of
Comforters.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. 1907.
Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop
of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02540a.htm
Chiesa di San Beuno, Clynnog Fawr
Saint Beuno Gasulsych
Also known as
Beuno of Wales
Beunor…
Benno…
Bennow…
Memorial
21 April
Profile
Son of Beugi, and grandson of a Welsh prince,
and, legend says, grand-nephew of King Arthur
himself. Educated in
Herefordshire and Bangor, Wales. Ordained at Bangor.
Founded and served as abbot in
Clynnog Fawr (Carnarvonshire), North Wales.
Uncle, spiritual teacher, and guardian of Saint Winifred.
Late in life he received a series of visions. Legend says that when Winfred was
beheaded by a jilted suitor, Beuno placed the severed head back on the body
and Winifred lived.
People still sit sick
children on the great stone slab of his tomb in hopes of their healing.
Born
c.545 at
Powis-land, Wales
Died
c.640 at
Clynnog Fawr, Wales of
natural causes
miraculous healings reported
at his tomb
Canonized
Pre-Congregation
Patronage
diseased
cattle
sick
animals
sick
children
Representation
restoring the head of Saint Winifred
Additional Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Catholic
Encyclopedia
Legends
of Saints and Birds, by Agnes Aubrey Hilton
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
New
Catholic Dictionary
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other sites in english
Britannia Biographies
Catholic Ireland
Catholic
Online
Celtic Saints
Independent Catholic News
Wikipedia
fonti in italiano
Wikipedia
MLA Citation
“Saint Beuno Gasulsych“. CatholicSaints.Info. 10
November 2020. Web. 1 March 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-beuno-gasulsych/>
Beuno of Wales, Abbot (AC)
(also known as Beunor)
Died c. 630; he has another feast on January 14. There is evidence that Beuno
was a Welsh man of importance, founder of several monasteries. His story that
has been handed down to us is a legend written in 1346, but it may contain
elements of truth. According to the legend, Beuno was the son of Beugi (Hywgi)
and grandson of a Welsh prince. He was educated in Herefordshire, perhaps at
Bangor Abbey, near which there is still a village called Llanfeuno. Beuno was
the uncle of Saint Winifred, who was restored to life after her suitor severed
her head.
The legend says that Cadvan
was king of North Wales, and had recently been victorious over King Ethelred of
Northumberland, who, about 607, had massacred the monks of Bangor. Saint Beuno
gave the king a golden sceptre, and the prince in turn assigned a spot for
Beuno's monastery near Fynnon Beuno (Beuno's Well), in the parish of Llanwunda,
of which he is titular saint. But as he was laying the foundation, a woman came
to him with a child in her arms, saying that the ground was this infant's
inheritance. Troubled by this, the holy man took the woman with him to the king
and told him that he could not devote to God another's patrimony. The king
refused to pay any attention to his remonstrances. So the saint left. But Gwyddeiant,
the king's cousin, immediately went after him, and bestowed on him the township
of Clynnog Fawr, his undoubted patrimony, where Beuno built his church about
the year 616. King Cadvan died about that time; but his son and successor
Cadwallon surpassed him in his liberality to the saint and his monastery.
It is related, among other
miracles, that when a certain man had lost his eyebrow by some hurt, Saint
Beuno healed it by applying the iron point of his staff: and that from this
circumstance a church four miles from Clynnog, perhaps built by the person so
healed, retains to this day the name of Llanael Hayarn, i.e., church of the
iron brow.
His name is particularly
associated with Clynnog in Caernarvonshire, where he may well have had a small
monastery. There are many other foundations (including Aberffraw and Trefdraeth
on Anglesey Island), both in central East Wales and in Clwyd, dedicated to him
that may have be established by his disciples. Clynnog Fawr later passed into
the hands of Benedictines of the congregation of Cluny (Clugni), from which it
gets its name; previously it was named after its founder.
Beuno died and was buried
at Clynnog Fawr, where a stone oratory was built over his tomb. Later his
relics were translated to a new church (Eglwys y Bedd), where miracles were
reported. The beautiful stone church is large and magnificent as is Saint
Beuno's chapel, which is joined to the church by a portico. In this chapel, the
fine painted or stained glass in the large windows is much effaced and
destroyed, except a large figure of our blessed Savior extended on the cross.
Opposite this crucifix, about three yards from the east window, is Saint
Beuno's tomb, raised above the ground, and covered with a large stone, upon
which people still lay sick children, in hopes of being cured.
Beuno's
cultus survived the Reformation. During the reign of Elizabeth I, there were
complaints that lambs and calves were offered at his tomb and later brought
back because Beuno's cattle "prospered marvelous well." Sick people
were still brought to the supposed grave towards the end of the 18th century,
where they bathed in his holy well and spent the night in his tomb. The ruins
of his primitive oratory were excavated in 1914. In our age, Beuno's memory has
been revived by the Jesuits' establishment of Saint Beuno's College in northern
Wales (Attwater, Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Gill, Husenbeth). In art,
Beuno is shown restoring his niece's head (Roeder). He is chiefly venerated at
Clynnog (Roeder).
St. Beuno, or Beunor, Abbot of Clynnog, in
Caernarvonshire, Confessor
HE was a native of Powis-land, 1 and son of Beugi, or, as the Welch
write it, Hywgi, grandson to the prince of Powis-land, or at least part of it,
called Glewisig. For the sake of his education he was sent into Arvon, the
territory opposite to Anglesey, from which island it is separated by the river,
or rather arm of the sea, called Menai. This country was also called Snowdon
forest, from its hills, the highest in Britain, which derive their name from
the snow which covers them, being called in Welch, Craig Eriry, words of the
same import with their English name Snowdon. These mountains afford such an
impregnable retreat, and so much good pasture, that the usual style of the
sovereigns was, Princes of North-Wales, and Lords of Snowdon. Sejont, called by
the Romans Segontium, was the capital city, situated on the river Sejont. Its
ruins are still visible near the town and castle of Caernarvon, (or city of
Arvon,) built by Edward I., on the mouth of the river, at the great ferry over
to Anglesey. That island had been, under the pagan Britons, the chief seat of
the Druids, and was afterwards illustrious for many holy monks and hermits. On
the coast opposite to this island, in the county of Caernarvon, stood three
great monasteries: that of Clynnog Fawr, near Sejont, or Caernarvon; that of
Conway, on the extremity of this county, towards Denbighshire, on the river
Conway, which separates the two counties; from which it is called Aberconway,
that is, Mount of the Conway. It was the burying-place of the princes of
North-Wales. Edward I. built there a strong castle and town facing Beaumaris,
the capital of Anglesey, though the passage here is much broader than from Caernarvon.
Bangor, or Banchor, i. e. White Choir, or Place of the Choir, was on the
same coast, in the midway between Caernarvon and Aberconway. This monastery and
bishopric were founded by St. Daniel, about the year 525. The very town was
formerly called Bangor Fawr, or the Great Bangor: but the monastery and city
were destroyed by the Danes; and, though the bishopric still subsists, the town
is scarcely better than a village. St. Beuno seems to have had his education in
the monastery of Bangor: he afterwards became the father and founder of several
great nurseries of saints. Two monasteries he built in the isle of Anglesey,
Aberffraw and Trefdraeth, of both which churches he is to this day titular
saint. On the continent, he founded Clynnog, or Clynnoc fechan, i. e.
Little Clynnog; and Clynnog Fawr, or Vawr, i. e. Great Clynnog. This
last was situated near the river Sejont, and the present Caernarvon. Cadvan was
at that time king of North-Wales, and had lately gained a great victory over
Ethelred, king of the pagan English Saxons of Northumberland, who had
barbarously massacred the poor monks of Bangor, in the year 607, or somewhat
later. St. Beuno made the king a present of a golden sceptre, and the prince
assigned a spot to build his monastery upon, near Fynnon Beuno, or Beuno’s
well, in the parish of Llanwunda, of which he is titular saint. But when he was
beginning to lay the foundation, a certain woman came to him with a child in
her arms, saying, that ground was this infant’s inheritance. The holy man, much
troubled hereat, took the woman with him to the king, who kept his court at
Caer Sejont, and told him, with a great deal of zeal and concern, that he could
not devote to God another’s patrimony. The king, refusing to pay any regard to
his remonstrances, the saint went away. But one Gwyddeiant, cousin-german to
the king, immediately went after him, and bestowed on him the township of
Clynnog Fawr, his undoubted patrimony, where Beuno built his church about the
year 616. King Cadvan died about that time; but his son and successor Cadwallon
surpassed him in his liberality to the saint and his monastery. It is related,
amongst other miracles, that when a certain man had lost his eye-brow by some
hurt, St. Beuno healed it by applying the iron point of his staff: and that
from this circumstance a church four miles from Clynnog, perhaps built by the
person so healed, retains to this day the name of Llanael hayarn, i. e.
church of the Iron brow: though popular tradition is not perhaps a sufficient
evidence of such a miracle; and some other circumstances might give occasion to
the name. Some further account of St. Beuno will be given in the life of St.
Wenefride. The year of his death is no where recorded.—He is commemorated on
the 14th of January and 21st of April. And on Trinity Sunday great numbers
resort to the wakes at Clynnog, and formerly brought offerings to the church
This monastery passed afterwards into the hands of Benedictins of the
congregation of Clugni: whence it had the name of Clynnog, or Clunnoc, being
formerly known only by that of its founder. The church, built of beautiful
stone, is so large and magnificent as to remain to this day the greatest
ornament and wonder of the whole country, especially St. Beuno’s chapel, which
is joined to the church by a portico. In this chapel, the fine painted or
stained glass in the large windows is much effaced and destroyed, except a
large figure of our blessed Saviour extended on the cross. Opposite to this
crucifix, about three yards from the east window, is St. Beuno’s tomb, raised
above the ground, and covered with a large stone, upon which people still lay
sick children, in hopes of being cured. This great building, though very
strong, is in danger of decaying for want of revenues to keep it in repair.
Those of the monastery were chiefly settled on the Principal of Jesus College
in Oxford, except what was reserved for the maintenance of a vicar to serve the
parish. Some still bring offerings of some little piece of silver or chiefly of
lambs, which are sold by the church-wardens, and the money put into St. Beuno’s
box, to be employed in repairing the chapel. From an ancient custom, farmers in
that country continue to print on the foreheads of their sheep what they call
St. Beuno’s mark. Mr. Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt, the great Welch antiquarian,
has given us an ample list of benefactions bestowed upon Clynnoc, by princes
and others. On St. Beuno see his MS. life, Howel’s History of Wales, p. 11 and
12, and a long curious letter, concerning him and his church, which the
compiler received from the Rev. Mr. Farrington, the ingenious vicar of Clynnog
Fawr, or Vawr, as the Welch adjective Mawr, great, is written in several parts
of Wales.
Note 1. Powis-land was a great principality in Wales, and anciently comprised
all the country that lay between the Severn as high as the bridge at
Gloucester, the Dee, and the Wye. The capital was Pen-gwern, now Shrewsbury.
King Offa, to restrain the daily incursions and depredations of the Welch,
drove them out of all the plain country into the mountains, and annexed the
country about the Severn and the Wye to his kingdom of Mercia, and for a curb,
made a deep ditch, extending from one sea to the other, called Clawdh Offa, i.
e. Offa’s dike. On this account the royal seat of the princes of Powis was
translated from Pengwern to Mathraval, in Montgomeryshire. In the time of St.
Beuno, Brochwel, called by some, in Latin, Brochmaclus, was king of Powis and
Chester. He resided at Pen-gwern, in the house where, since, the college and
church of St. Chad were built; was religious, and a great friend to the monks
of Bangor. When Ethelred, the Pagan Saxon king of Northumberland, had massacred
a great number of them, Brochwel assembled an army, and being joined by Cadfan,
king of Britain, Morgan, king of Demetia, (now Caermarthenshire, Pembrokeshire,
and Cardiganshire,) and Blederic, king of Cornwall, gave a memorable overthrow
to Ethelred, upon the river Dee, in the year 617. Brochwel was soon after
succeeded in Powis by his son, Cadelh-Egbert, king of England, who, having
discomfited the Danes and Welch together at Hengist-down, about the year 820,
made all Wales tributary, and annexed Chester, called till then Caer Dheon ar
Dhyfrdwy, for ever to England, which till then had remained in the hands of the
Welch. Under King Ethelwulph, Berthred, his tributary king of Mercia, defeated
and slew at Kettel, Merfyn Frych, king of the Welch. But his son Roderic,
surnamed Mawr, or the Great, united all Wales in his dominion in 843. But, in
877, left it divided among his three elder sons, having built for each a royal
palace. That of Gwineth, or North Wales, at Aberffraw, he gave his eldest son
Anarawd: that of South Wales at Dinefawr, or Cardigan, he left to Cadelh: and
to his third son Merfyn, he gave Powis, with the palace of Mathrafel; but this
was soon usurped by Cadelh, and added to South Wales. King Athelstan drove the
Britons from Exeter, and confined them in Cornwall, beyond the river Cambria,
now Tamar, and in Wales beyond the Wye. All Wales was again united under Howel
Dha, i. e. Howel the Good, in 940, who, having been long prince of South
Wales and Powis, was, for his great probity, elected king of North Wales. He
drew up the code of the Welch laws, which he prevailed upon the pope to
confirm, and Lambert, archbishop of St. David’s, to declare all transgressors
excommunicated. He died in peace in 948, and his kingdom was parcelled among
his four sons, and the sons of the last king of North Wales; but by his laws
all the other princes in Wales paid homage to the prince of North Wales.
Lewelyn ap Gryffydh, the brave last prince of North Wales, after many great
exploits, being betrayed and slain near the river Wye, Edward I. in the twelfth
year of his reign, united Wales to England, built two castles in North Wales,
at Conwey and Caernarvon, and caused his queen Eleonore to lie-in soon after in
the latter place, that in his new-born son Edward II. he might give the Welch a
prince, according to his terms, who was born in Wales, could speak no English,
and was of an unblemished character. King Henry VII. abolished the oppressive
laws which his predecessors had made against the Welch, and Henry VIII. ordered
their code and customs to be laid aside, and the English laws to take place in
Wales
Public annals of Wales were
kept, in which all things memorable were recorded, in the two great monasteries
of Conwey in North Wales, and Ystratflur in South Wales, where the princes and
other great men of that country were buried. These were compared together every
three years, when the Beirdh, or Bards, i. e. learned writers, belonging
to those two houses, made their visitations called Clera. These annals were
continued to the year 1270, a little before the death of the last prince
Lhewelyn, slain at Buelht, near the Wye, in 1283. Gutryn Owen took a copy of
these annals, in the reign of Edward IV. Humphrey Lloyd, the great British
antiquarian, in the reign of Henry VII. translated them into English. And from
them David Powel compiled his History of Wales, under Queen Elizabeth,
augmented by Mr. W. Wynne, in 1697. [
back]
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume IV: April. The Lives of the Saints. 1866
St. Beuno
Gasulsych
(Died AD 640)
(Latin: Bonus; English: Bono)
St. Beuno was born around
AD 545, the son of Bugi ap Gwynllyw and Princess Peren, daughter
of King Lot Luwddoc of Gododdin. His paternal
grandfather was a minor Prince of Powys (the son of Tegid ap Cadell Ddyrnllug) and, in this area, Beuno was
raised.
The young Beuno was sent to Caerwent, in the south, to be educated by St.
Tathyw, in the college founded by King Ynyr Gwent there. Here he "obtained a
knowledge of all the Holy Scriptures. Afterwards he learned the service of the
Church and its rules and took orders and became a priest." It is said that
Ynyr Gwent himself, in his old age, granted Beuno lands in Ewyas and that he
became his disciple. This is now Llanfeuno, a chapelry under Clodock, near
Longtown in Herefordshire. Whilst there, Beuno heard that his father was ill so
he committed his foundation in Ewyas to three of his disciples, and hurried
back to Powys, where, "his father, after receiving communion, making his
confession and rendering his end perfect, departed this life." Beuno made
a foundation there on the spot and planted an acorn by his father's grave. It
grew into a mighty tree of which one branch curved down to the ground and then
rose again "and there was a part of this branch in the soil, as at
present; and if an Englishman should pass between this branch and the trunk of
the tree, he would immediately die; but should a Welshman go, he would in no
way suffer."
Next, Beuno was granted land at Berriew, near Welshpool, in Montgomeryshire. A
standing stone called the 'Maen Beuno' marks the spot where he is said to have
preached to the people. One day, however, when he was walking by the Severn, he
heard the hunting cries of an Englishman from across the river and he went to
his disciples and said: "My sons, put on your clothes and shoes and let us
leave this place, for the nation of the man with the strange language, whose
cry I heard beyond the river urging on his hounds, will invade this place and
it will be theirs, and they will hold it as their possession."
Beuno therefore commended his foundation at Berriew to a disciple named
Rhithwlint, and travelled to Meifod to visit St. Tysilio and the Royal Court. stayed for
some forty days and nights, after which King Cynan Gawyn gave him lands in Meirionydd, at Gwyddelwern,
near Corwen. Gwyddelwern implies the site of an Irish settlement, but the
saint's biography says that it was so called because Beuno raised an Irishman
back to life there. This was probably Llorcan Wyddel, mentioned as one of the
six persons said to have been raised by him. Beuno did not stay long on this
spot, because of trouble with Cynan's grandsons, the sons of Prince Selyf Sarffgadau, who came and demanded food for
themselves and their party. Beuno killed a young ox for them, but they
complained that he had bewitched the food. When he heard this, he cursed the
young men, saying: "What your grandfather gave to God free, do you demand
of it tribute and service? May your kin never possess the land, and may you be
destroyed out of this kingdom and be likewise deprived of your eternal
inheritance." Truly it was a risky thing to interfere with these old
Celtic saints! The real facts seem to have been that the young men claimed food
and shelter as a right, such as they could demand of any lay householder in the
tribe; but this was precisely a claim from which the ecclesiastics considered
themselves to be exempt.
As a result of this event, Beuno left Meirionydd and went back to Powys, to
what is now Flintshire. His brother, Tyfid, was living here, with his wife and
young daughter, and Beuno offered to become the latter's teacher in return for
some land on which to build a place of worship. He was given the lordship of
Abeluyc (Trefynnon alias Holywell) and, there, daily instructed the
girl, Gwenfrewy (alias Winifred), in the
ways of the Christian Church. She secretly took the veil but her chosen path
was not to run smoothly. While everyone was at church one day, Gwenfrewy was
troubled by the unwelcome attentions of a libidinous huntsman. When rejected,
he chased the girl to the church steps and chopped off her head! Rushing from
within, Beuno cursed the hunter and, picking up his niece's head, he replaced
it on her shoulders. Miraculously, she was restored to life.
Upon Beuno's advice, Gwenfrewy set up the first nunnery in Britain, while he
decided it was best to depart for Ireland. She regularly worked him a chasuble
or some other pretty piece of needlework and had a stream carry it to him.
However, about the year AD 612, King Cadfan of Gwynedd died and Beuno thought
it might be politique to pay his respects to the new monarch, Cadwallon.
Beuno made the King a present of a golden sceptre which had been given to him
by Cynan Garwyn of Powys. In return, Cadwallon gave the holyman a patch of land
at Gwredog in Arfon and, there, the saint built a church. Whilst he was
enclosing his new foundation with an earthen bank, a woman came with a baby and
asked the saint to bless it. "Presently," he replied, "as soon
as this job is finished." But the child's cries disturbed him so much that
he asked the woman why her baby was squealing all the time. "He has good
reason," replied the mother, "for you are enclosing land that
belonged to his father and is properly his." On hearing this, Beuno shouted
to his monks: "Leave off this work, and, whilst I baptise this child, make
my chariot ready. We will go to the King with this woman and child."
So they went to see Cadwallon at nearby Caer-Segeint (Caernarfon) and Beuno
said to him: "Why did you give me the land when it was not yours to give,
but belonged to this child? Give me other land, or else, return to me the gold
sceptre worth sixty cows that I gave to you."
"I will give you nothing else," replied the King, "and as for
the sceptre, I have already given it away." Then Beuno in great wrath,
cursed Cadwallon:
"I pray to God that you may not long possess the land." And then he
left.
However, when Beuno had crossed the River Saint, he sat on a stone and a cousin
of Cadwallon's caught up with him. His name was Gwyddaint and "for his own
soul and that of Cadwallon" he offered him his own township of Clynnog
"without tribute or service, or any one having any claim on it."
Beuno readily accepted and, from then onwards, Clynnog became his main abode.
It is beautifully situated on the north coast of Lleyn, under the mountains of
BwIch Mawr and Gyrn Ddu.
Now it happened that a skilled and handsome young carpenter from Aberffraw was
invited to Caerwent, to build a palace there. Whilst he was there, Tigiwg the
daughter of Ynyr, the king, fell in love with him and accompanied him on
his journey back home. But the carpenter was not particularly amorous, or was
ashamed of taking a princess to his native hovel, and on the way back he
murdered her, or so the legend says. She was found by Beuno's Shepherds who
reported the matter to the saint. He resuscitated her and induced her to lead
the religious life. (It is possible that she was simply deserted, rather than
killed, by the carpenter). After a while, rumour of what had happened reached
Caerwent, and Iddon, her brother, came in search of her. His
sister, however, refused to return, either from a preference for the religious
life or from fear of having made far too great a fool of herself over the
carpenter. Her brother accepted this, but he asked Beuno to go with him to
Aberffraw to support his claim for the "horses and gold and silver"
which the carpenter had carried off along with his sister. Beuno agreed to this
and off they went to the court of Cadwallon of Gwynedd at Aberffraw. As soon as
Iddon set eyes on the young carpenter, he drew his sword and would have killed
him but for those who were standing nearby holding him back. (A story that Iddon
cut off the carpenter's head, and that Beuno replaced it, is no doubt a later
mediaeval embellishment.) At first Cadwallon refused to have the goods
restored, but Beuno insisted and the King, perhaps afraid of incurring another
curse, gave way. He also gave Beuno the palace called Aelwyd Feuno. Beuno
returned to Clynnog, well content, and remained there the rest of his days,
dying on 21st April AD 640.
St. Beuno was buried in a chapel on the south-west side of the church. It is
said to have been destroyed by those searching for his relics. His holy well,
Ffynon Feuno, is about 200 yards from the church. In former days, rickety and
epileptic children, as well as impotent folk generally, were dipped in it, and
then carried to the chapel and put to lie overnight on the saint's tombstone.
If they slept, they would be cured. A custom that survived until the early
nineteenth century was one of making offerings of calves and lambs which
happened to be born with a slit in the ear, popularly called Beuno's Mark.
These "sacred beasts" were brought to church on Trinity Sunday and
the church-wardens who sold them put the proceeds into Cyff Beuno (Beuno's
chest). Into the chest also went the offerings of persons who came from distant
parts of the country, even down to the early nineteenth century, to propitiate
the saint on behalf of their cattle when afflicted with some disorder. When the
chest was opened in December 1688, it contained £15.8.3d. The money was used
for church repairs and the relief of the poor.
Edited from Baring-Gould & Fisher's "Lives of the British
Saints" (1907).
The Church in Wales is
celebrating the feast of St. Beuno, one of its greatest saints. He was a
wonder-worker and aristocrat, monk and master of monks, patriot, challenger of
tyrants — that was the medieval picture of the man which is reflected in his
Life, and which survives, carved in stone on the fourteenth century pulpit of
the Black Monks of Shrewsbury.
St. Beuno
Abbot of Clynnog, d. 660(?), was, according to the "Bucced Beuno",
born in Powis-land and, after education and ordination in the monastery of
Bangor, in North Wales, became an active missioner, Cadvan, King of Gwynedd,
being his generous benefactor. Cadwallon, Cadvan's son and successor, deceived
Beuno about some land, and on the saint demanding justice proved obdurate.
Thereupon, Cadwallon's cousin Gweddeint, in reparation, "gave to God and
Beuno forever his township", where the saint (c. 616) founded the Abbey of
Clynnog Fawr (Carnarvonshire).
Beuno became the guardian
and restorer to life of his niece, the virgin St. Winefride, whose clients
still obtain marvelous favors at Holywell (Flintshire). He was relentless with
hardened sinners, but full of compassion to those in distress. Before his death
"on the seventh day of Easter" he had a wondrous vision. Eleven
churches bearing St. Beuno's name, with various relics and local usages,
witness to his far-reaching missionary zeal.
— Catholic Encyclopedia
Patron: Diseased cattle, sick animals, sick
children.
Symbols: Restoring the head of Saint
Winifred.
Things to Do:
Legends
of Saints and Birds – The Curlew’s Nest
This is a tale of
Saint Beuno. He was the son of Hywgi ap Gwynllyw Filwr ap Glywys ap
Tegid ap Cadell Deyrnllwg, and his mother’s name was Perfferen. She was
daughter to Llewddyn Luyddog, of Dinas Eiddyn in the North. And his father’s
brother was Saint Cattwg of Llancarvan, and his mother was related to Saint
Kentigern of Strathclyde; and as he had Saint Gwynllyw Filwr and his wife
Gwladys for grandparents, we may see that he came of a family of Saints.
He was a native of Powys, and Tangwn, son of the
bard-saint Talhaiarn, taught him when he was a child. Beuno would listen to the
songs Tangwn sang – songs made by Talhaiarn, or maybe by Taliessin, that bard
of the “Radiant Brow.” Perhaps Tangwn told little Beuno the tale of how the
magpie tried to teach the woodpigeon to build a tidy nest. This is the tale.
Once upon a time there lived a magpie who was sorry to see that the woodpigeon
did not know how to build a tidy nest, and he said he would teach his friend.
So he began to show how the nest should be made, and the pigeon sat on a tree,
looking on. As the lesson proceeded the wood-pigeon bowed to the magpie,
cooing:
“Mi wn, Mi wn, Mi wn.”
“I know, I know, I know.”
The magpie was pleased to think that his friend was so
apt a pupil, but then, before he had time to utter another word of instruction,
that pigeon bowed again, exclaiming: “I know, I know, I know.”
Well, at last the magpie became angry.
“Since you know, do it then,” he said.
And that is why the woodpigeon’s nest is so untidy
even to this day, for the pigeon thought he was too clever to need teaching.
Thus a saying has arisen which is quoted to those folk who think they know all
about subjects of which they are ignorant: “As the Woodpigeon said to the
Magpie, I know!”
When Beuno was a man, Ynyr Gwent, son-in-law to
Vortimer, gave him a piece of land and the people dwelling on it, to form a
sacred tribe. Here Beuno lived for some time, but later on he went to Berriew,
in Montgomeryshire, where he was again given some land. Now, naturally the
Welsh folk hated the Saxons, the conquering tribes who had come to Britain to
slay the British people, driving all those they did not kill into the fastnesses
of the hills of Wales and Cornwall; and Beuno hated even the sound of a Saxon
voice.
Now, it happened that while he was in Berriew one day
he heard a Saxon shouting. The man was urging his dogs to pursue a hare on the
farther bank of the Severn. The Saxon words annoyed Beuno; he thought how the
Saxons had hounded down the Welsh folk as this one was seeking to slay the
hare, and, being angry, he turned to his disciples, saying:
“My sons, put on your shoes and let us leave this
place, for the nation of this man hath a strange language which is abominable,
and I heard his voice. They have invaded this land, and will keep it.”
So they departed from Berriew, going first to stay
with Saint Tyssilio, and afterwards to Gwyddelwern, in Merioneth. Beuno did not
stay long at Gwyddelwern, but went to Flintshire. It was while he was there
that he healed Winifred, the virtuous daughter of Teuyth, the man with whom he
lodged.
It happened on this wise. One day, when Winifred’s
father and mother were absent, a youth of royal blood who was out hunting grew
thirsty, and coming to Teuyth’s home asked for water wherewith to quench his
thirst.
Winifred was alone, and the youth, perceiving her
great beauty, began to speak to her in a manner that was not fitting. The
maiden, wishful to escape his insults, ran from him to the little chapel where
Beuno was, but the young man pursued her to the chapel door, where he struck
her with his sword in anger that she had run from him. He struck deeper than he
meant the red blood flowed from the throat of the girl, who fell to the ground.
Hearing an outcry, Beuno hastened from the chapel. There, fallen across the
doorway, lay Winifred, the maiden he had taught, while the young man was
hastily galloping away, and where the blood trickled to the ground a spring of
clear water bubbled up. Under Beuno’s loving care Winifred soon recovered, but
to this day there is the famous well of Saint Winifred that holy well in
Flintshire, where sick and infirm people may bathe in its healing waters.
Saint Beuno moved from place to place until at last he
went to Clynnog, and here he ended his days.
Now, while he lived at Clynnog on Sundays he used to
go to preach at Llanddwyn, off the coast of Anglesey. He used to walk on the
sea to cross from the mainland, as easily, we are told, as if it had been dry
land. And with him he carried the book from which he used to preach and read to
the people. In those days all books had to be written by hand, and if a copy
were lost it would take months, perhaps years, to re-write it. So books were
very rare and precious. The Irish Saints used to carry their books in satchels;
these satchels they hung from their girdles, so that the books should be in no
danger of being lost. Perhaps Beuno did not possess a satchel; anyhow, this
Sunday he started to walk on the sea carrying his book under his arm.
Coming back again the waves were higher, so that he
found it more difficult to walk than he had on his outward journey. However, he
struggled on, and had nearly crossed to Clynnog when he perceived that his book
had gone.
Well, there was a sad time then! Poor Saint Beuno knew
that the waves would toss the book about, maybe carry it away to Ireland, or
even it might be washed ashore and get into the hands of a Saxon. And he was
much troubled. However, he felt that as the waves were getting more rough and
boisterous all the time he had better make for Clynnog, trusting that when he
went to Anglesey again he might find the book had been washed ashore there.
So, much troubled, in heaviness of heart, he made for
the land. When he reached it, he saw a curlew sitting on a stone, and, being
fond of birds, he spoke to it.
“Brother Curlew, tell me if ever thou
findest a book in thy flight over the waves,” he said jestingly. And the curlew
opened his mouth and cried after the manner of curlews.
“Thou could’st carry it well in that long beak of
thine,” said Beuno, and again the curlew cried. But as the Saint drew nigh to
the bird, he saw that on the stone by its side lay the book he had lost.
“Brother Curlew,” he exclaimed, “for this service that
thou hast rendered me I will ask the Creator’s especial protection for thee and
thine.”
And he fell on his knees in the sand.
Then he took the book with him; and we may hope that,
learning wisdom, he made a satchel to carry it in before he crossed the sea to
Llanddwyn again.
But his prayer for the curlew was answered, for that
is the reason why it is hard to find the curlew’s nest, even to this day.
– taken from Legends
of Saints and Birds by Agnes Aubrey Hilton
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/legends-of-saints-and-birds-the-curlews-nest/
