St Bega – Myth, Maiden, or Bracelet? An Insular Cult and its Origins

Clare Elizabeth Downham

doi:10.1016/J.JMEDHIST.2007.01.003

St Bega – Myth, Maiden, or Bracelet? An Insular Cult and its Origins

Clare Elizabeth Downham^* (Corresponding Author)

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This short article examines the origins of the cult of St Bega in Ireland and Britain. Insular and Scandinavian analogues of her Life are explored and so is the popularity of Celtic saints in northern Europe during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. This topic can shed light on broader issues of cultural identity in the Irish Sea Region during the middle ages.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	33-42
Number of pages	10
Journal	Journal of Medieval History
Volume	33
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JMEDHIST.2007.01.003
Publication status	Published - Mar 2007

Bibliographical note

This paper was delivered at the Seventh Symposium of Societas Celtologica Nordica, Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Oslo, 7 May 2005. It was written for John and Mary Todd in thanks for their kindness during my two years at St Bees. I would like to thank John Todd and Fiona Edmonds who read and commented on a draft of this paper, David Dumville for helpful discussion, Margaret Cormack who drew my attention to mentions of Irish saints in Icelandic church records, and Debby Banham who helped me to translate part of Bega's Life.

Keywords

St Bega
Vikings
Irish saints
Bede

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Cite this

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title = "St Bega – Myth, Maiden, or Bracelet? An Insular Cult and its Origins",

abstract = "This short article examines the origins of the cult of St Bega in Ireland and Britain. Insular and Scandinavian analogues of her Life are explored and so is the popularity of Celtic saints in northern Europe during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. This topic can shed light on broader issues of cultural identity in the Irish Sea Region during the middle ages.",

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AB - This short article examines the origins of the cult of St Bega in Ireland and Britain. Insular and Scandinavian analogues of her Life are explored and so is the popularity of Celtic saints in northern Europe during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. This topic can shed light on broader issues of cultural identity in the Irish Sea Region during the middle ages.

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KW - Irish saints

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St Bega – Myth, Maiden, or Bracelet? An Insular Cult and its Origins

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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Cite this