Saint Bega facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Saint Bega |
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Stained glass window in St Bees Priory showing the arrival of St Bega on the coast.
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| Born | Ireland |
| Died | Northumbria |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Church |
| Major shrine | St Bees Priory, Cumbria |
| Feast | 31 October (Aberdeen Breviary) 7 November (in St Bees) |
| Attributes | virginity, bracelet |
| Major works | "Oracio ad Sanctam Begam" |
Saint Bega was a special woman from the Early Middle Ages. People believed she was an Irish princess who chose to live a quiet, religious life as an anchoress. She was known for her strong faith.
According to an old book called The Life of St Bega, she was supposed to marry a Viking prince from Norway. But Bega didn't want to marry. She secretly left Ireland and sailed across the Irish sea. She landed at a place called St. Bees on the coast of Cumbria, in England.
Bega lived there for a while, showing great devotion to God. But then, pirates started attacking the coast. So, she moved to Northumbria for safety. This likely happened after the year 850 AD, when Vikings began settling in Ireland.
Contents
What Do We Know About St. Bega's Life?
The story of Bega escaping from Ireland comes from a book called Life of St Bega. This book was written around the mid-1200s. It was part of a collection of stories about English saints.
The book says that Bega found a thick forest near the sea. It was a perfect place for her to live alone and dedicate her life to God. She built a small, simple home there and stayed for many years.
Even when pirates started coming to the area, Bega wasn't afraid of dying or losing things. She had very little, only a special bracelet. The story says that God told her to leave the area. She left her bracelet behind so that miracles could happen there later, showing how holy she was.
After leaving St. Bees, Bega traveled to Northumbria. There, she made special promises to God. Some old stories also say she started a convent (a place for religious women) at Hartlepool Abbey. However, today's historians think the writer of the Life might have mixed up Bega with other holy women. This might be why some stories place her in the 600s, which doesn't fit with the Viking raids that made her flee.
Amazing Stories: The Miracles of St. Bega
Many legends tell of miracles connected to Bega. The most famous one is called the "Snow miracle." The Life of St Bega describes it like this:
A powerful man named Ranulf le Meschin had given land to the monastery. Later, there was a disagreement about how much land they owned. The monks were worried they would lose their case. On the day they were supposed to walk the boundaries, something amazing happened. There was a lot of snow everywhere around the monastery's land, but not a single snowflake fell on the monastery's property!
This version of the story says the miracle happened long after Bega died. It helped the monks of the Norman Priory.
Another old book, the Sandford manuscript, also tells a version of the Snow Miracle. This book was written after the monastery closed down (after 1539). This version is a bit confusing. It says the miracle happened when St Bega was still alive.
The Life manuscript also shares nine other miracles linked to St Bega. These are like old folk tales with a special, religious meaning.
- One story is about a raider from Scotland who tried to steal a horse. His mother warned him not to steal from St Bega's land. But he didn't listen. As he rode away, arrows were shot at him, and he was hurt.
- Another tale tells of Godard of Millom. His men let their horses wander onto the monks' fields. When the men tried to saddle the horses, they found their hooves were almost cut off! To make up for it, Godard gave the field to the monks.
- The seventh miracle is about three men from Workington. They were put in jail at Egremont Castle for killing someone. But after they prayed to St Bega, she helped them escape. They found safety at St Bees.
- The ninth miracle tells of two sick brothers. After seeing a vision, they traveled to St Bees in a cart. They were healed and left their cart as a thank you.
Records from St Bees Priory also mention miracles. In 1310, it was written that "God worked many miracles by the prayers and merits of St Bega." In 1313, "A certain Irish boy received his sight in the chapel of St Bega through the merits and prayers of the said virgin." Many people saw this happen.
The Special Bracelet and St. Bega's Worship
The village where St. Bega lived was once called Kirkeby Becok. This name was used in old documents from the time of King Henry II and King Richard I. This shows that there was a church dedicated to St Bega in St Bees even before the Normans arrived.
When the first monastery was started, one of the people who signed the document was named Gillebecoc. This name means "devotee of Beghoc," which suggests that people were already worshipping St Bega.
The Life story says that a heavenly being gave St Bega a special bracelet in Ireland. She left it behind in St Bees when she moved to Northumberland. This bracelet was said to have a holy cross on it, a style common in the 800s and 900s.
The bracelet is mentioned many times in the old records of St Bees Priory. In the mid-1200s, a man named John of Hale took an oath by touching "the sacred things ... and upon the bracelet of St Bega." Even as late as 1516/1517, records show that people were still making offerings to St Bega's bracelet. This means that the worship of St Bega and her relic (the bracelet) was still important at that time.
Celebrating St. Bega
St Bega's Day
Around the year 1400, it was noted that St Bega's day was celebrated at the main monastery, St Mary's Abbey, York. A special prayer book from the 1400s, now in the Bodleian Library, lists her day as November 7. Since this was discovered recently, St Bega's day is now celebrated in St Bees on November 7.
Hymn to St Bega
A special song, "Oracio ad Sanctam Begam," was found in that same 15th-century prayer book. This song would have been sung on St Bega's day. The full words are available online. The song was performed again for the first time in modern times on St Bega's Day in 1981 at St Bees Priory. It used new music written for an orchestra, church bells, and a choir.
Was St. Bega a Real Person or a Story?
Today, many experts think that St Bega might not have been a real person. Instead, they believe she might represent a local belief or worship. One expert said that because the old stories don't always agree, and because her bracelet was so important, it's possible that the abbess (leader of a convent) never existed.
It's more likely that "St Bega" was a way to describe a special worship in Cumbria that focused on "her" bracelet. The Old English word for bracelet is "beag."
The 1999 edition of the Dictionary of National Biography has an article by Professor Robert Bartlett. He writes that St Bega is a mythical figure, meaning she's a character from a legend, not a historical person. A paper from 1980 by John Todd also looked at all the historical information about her. He concluded that finding the "historical St Bega" might be very difficult.
The Modern Legend of St. Bega
The historian John Leland in the 1500s might have started the idea that Bega founded a "humble little monastery." Sadly, some local historians in the 1800s just accepted the old dates without question. They added to the story, saying she founded a convent.
But as John Todd wrote in 1980, "Local historians in the last century had no doubt about the answer. She was an Irish saint who crossed the sea about 650 to found a convent at St Bees, which was destroyed in the Viking invasion. But there is no evidence in the Life or elsewhere that Bega's life at St Bees was other than solitary." This means there's no proof she started a convent or lived there in the 600s. Unfortunately, these ideas are still found in many guidebooks today.
St. Bega in Books and Plays Today
Melvyn Bragg wrote a long historical novel called Credo. St Bega is the main character in this book. He combined events and dates from many centuries into her lifetime. He openly said this was for the story, unlike the old medieval writers. This book helped people become interested in St Bega again.
In 2000, a local writer named Jill Hudson wrote a play about St Bega. It was called 'The Bracelet of St Bega'. The play was performed at St Bees Priory for three nights. A new version of the play was performed there again in 2010.
The poet Lorna Goodison wrote a poem called Across the fields to St Begas. It was published in The Guardian.
Alex Langstone, who writes about folklore, also wrote about Bega in his book Spirit Chaser. It includes parts of her legendary life and her connections to Bassenthwaite and St Bees in Cumbria.
Churches Named After St. Bega
Several churches are dedicated to St Bega:
- The parish church of Bassenthwaite, Cumbria, is named after St Bega. It was built around 950 AD. It is still used for services and weddings. It is a very old and important building.
- The Roman Catholic church of St Begh in Whitehaven, built in the 1860s, is also dedicated to St Bega.
- An Orthodox church in Keswick and Braithwaite Chapel are dedicated to St Bega, along with St Mungo and St Herbert.
See also
- St Bega's Way
