Saint Beuno | |
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| Born | late 6th century Powys |
| Died | (640-04-21)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), sometimesanglicized asBono, was a 7th-centuryWelshabbot,confessor, andsaint.Baring-Gould gives St Beuno's date of death as 21 April 640,[1] making that date his traditional feastday. In the currentRoman Catholic liturgical calendar for Wales,[2] he is commemorated on 20 April, the 21st being designated forSaint Anselm.[3]
His name has been reconstructed as*Bou[g]nou inOld Welsh, with a proposed derivation from thecommon Celtic *Bou[o]-gnāw-, with a meaning related to "Knowing Cattle".[4]
Beuno was said to have been born atBerriew inPowys and to have been the grandson of a prince of the local dynasty, which descended fromVortigern,king of Britain. After education and ordination in themonastery atBangor in northernWales, he became an active missionary with the support ofCadfan,king of Gwynedd. Cadfan's son and successorCadwallon deceived 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 Fawr on theLlŷn peninsula. Beuno established his own monastery at the site and died there peacefully "on the seventh day ofEaster".[5]
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]
Eleven churches bear Saint Beuno's name, including one in his monastery at Clynnog Fawr, and one inCulbone on 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 aJesuit spirituality retreat centre.[6]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913)."St. Beuno".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.| International | |
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