Patron saints of the Hen Ogledd

Hen Ogledd, around the time the saints discussed here were alive (late 6th & early 7th centuries)

This is a list of saints associated with Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire and the wider Hen Ogledd: many of them have links to regions with significant ancient British history, such as Wales, Cornwall, Brittany or Devon.

Saint Kentigern[]

St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, Glasgow. Named after St Kentigern's other moniker, the museum is unique in being one of the only museums in the world that is dedicated to interfaith relations. Saint Kentigern/Mungo is said to have been one of the first to bring Christianity to Scotland.

Saint Kentigern, also known as Saint Mungo is said to have been the son of Taneu, a princess of Gododdin, in the Hen Ogledd. He is believed to have died around 612 AD.^[1] Taneu became pregnant after her rape by the leader of the Kingdom of Rheged, Owain mab Urien. Later in his life, after expulsion from Pictland, the region of the Picts, he was invited to live in another Hen Ogledd kingdom called Ystrad Clud (Strathclyde). From there it is believed he was one of the first saints to introduce Christianity to Scotland.

Saint Patrick[]

Saint Patrick statue at Toxteth, Liverpool

Saint Patrick lived in Britain in the 5th century.^[2] At the age of 16 he was kidnapped by Irish pirate and spent nearly 6 years in Ireland until he escaped and returned to Britain. Later, he became ordained and returned to Ireland, where it is believed that he performed numerous miracles, such as ridding the snakes from Ireland - though this is thought to be an allegory for the subduing of paganism on the island. In some traditions he was born in Glannoventa, modern day Ravenglass in Cumbria, which was then part of the kingdom of Rheged.

Saint Oswald and Saint Cuthbert[]

Although Saint Oswald and Saint Cuthbert are Anglian in origin, their names often appear in Old Welsh texts and may have been venerated by the people of Cumbria to a notable extent.

Saint Oswald (c. 604 - 642)^[3] and Saint Cuthbert (634/635 - 687)^[4] are recorded in many texts originating in the Hen Ogledd as being part of personal names with the element 'gos', meaning 'servant of'. For example, in Jocelin's lives of the Saints- Gospatrick, Gosmungo (an alias, Mungo's original name was Kentigern), Gososwald and Goscuthbert all appear as people's personal names. The form of gos is unique in Cumbric. As well as this, the fact that many people in the Hen Ogledd chose to use these saints in their names is evidence for a following of these saints in the region.

In the White Book of Rhydderch there is a mention of Gospatrick, in the Black Book of Carmarthen there is an alternate spelling as Gosparth.

References[]