Att text: Medieval tradition attributed the Life of St. Winefred to Saint Ilar, but also to Robert of Salop from the 12^th century (Rees, 1853). However, scholars typically reject both attributions arguing for an anonymous author from roughly the 12^th century (Wade-Evans, 1944; Callander, 2023).

Rees, W.J. (1853) Lives of the Cambro-British Saints: Of the Fifth and Immediate Succeeding Centuries. Llandovery: W. Rees.
Wade-Evans, A. W. (1944) Vitae Sanctorum Brittanniae et Genealogiae. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
Callander, D. (2023) Vita Sanctae Wenefredae: Edition and Translation. Cardiff: Cardiff University. Available at: ORCA (Online Research at Cardiff).

Chapter 1: Here begins the Life of Saint Winefride, Virgin and Martyr #

¹ As wholesome as it is to keep secret the counsel of a king, so it is grievous not to make known the great works of God; therefore we shall endeavour to relate, as is fitting, whatever by God’s favour has been handed down in the tradition of the ancients concerning the blessed Winefride, for the glory of God himself and the declaration of the virgin’s merits. In the days when Cadvan reigned over the regions of North Wales, there lived in Tegeingl a certain valiant soldier, the possessor of three villages, named Teuyth son of Eiludd. Of these villages, the first was called Abelityc, the second Maingwen, and the third Gwenphennan. Teuyth had no children except a single daughter named Winefride, who from her youth began to love a heavenly spouse, and, rejecting mortal suitors, dedicated her virginity to him alone. When her father discovered this, he was partly sorrowful and partly rejoicing, and thus to be both pitied and congratulated. He grieved because he had no children save her alone, and this troubled him the more deeply because she refused to marry anyone, by which means his inheritance might have been preserved for his descendants; on the other hand, he truly rejoiced that his offspring had subjected herself to the power of God, and for this reason he resolved to have her instructed in the liberal arts. While he held this intention, the blessed Beuno, having been deprived of his dwelling at Selem on account of an excess of sons, came to his house; observing him to be learned and devout, Teuyth consulted him concerning his daughter and made known his wish regarding her. When the soldier’s words had been considered, Beuno said, “If you will entrust your estate to my care, I will dwell with you and instruct your daughter in the divine law.” To this Teuyth replied, “If it lay in my power, no one would more readily do such a thing; but now, servant of God, I ask you to remain here, unless it should seem too long to you, until I receive an answer from the king concerning these matters.” And Beuno said, “My dearly beloved son, God will go with you wherever you have business.”

² Teuyth therefore went from his house to the king’s court, sought the palace of his lord, and earnestly entreated him to grant what he desired from his patrimony. The king replied, “O venerable man, it would by no means be fitting either for me or for you to separate your land from the unity of the province, lest it become of no use to you and I should come to need it; but I will freely give you one of these three villages for divine service, if it please you, and will retain the others for myself.” When he had heard the king’s excellent answer, Teuyth returned home and related to Beuno what the king had said, adding, “Therefore, if you desire to remain with me for the service of God, choose from my patrimony the place which seems to you most suitable.” The blessed Beuno replied, “I choose that my dwelling be in the solitude of Belaye,” and so it was done. Beuno therefore, together with Teuyth, established his dwelling on Teuyth’s land, in a valley which in the British tongue was called Sychnant; there he built a small church, in which he celebrated Mass and daily instructed the virgin Winefride in divine learning. Teuyth also, with his household, went daily to the Mass, at which Beuno officiated.

³ It happened on a certain Sunday that Teuyth had gone with his wife to hear Mass, and Winefride remained in her father’s house in order to bring with her what was necessary for the Mass, namely fire and water with salt. Meanwhile Caradog, son of Alauc, descended from royal stock, being wearied by hunting wild beasts, came to the house and asked for drink, as he was thirsty; on his arrival he enquired who was the owner of the dwelling, saying that he had a secret which he wished to communicate to him.

⁴ The maiden, being the only one in the house, quickly met him, and when first addressed she greeted him graciously and said that her parents had gone to Mass to hear the preaching of Beuno. Caradog, therefore, gazing upon the maiden’s face, marked by purity and resolve, and admiring the beauty of her whole figure and countenance, began in his heart to burn with desire for her. Finding her alone at home, with no witness present, and overcome by the intensity of his passion, he forgot his thirst and said to her, “O most dear virgin, consent to my advances and behave towards me with the intimacy of lovers, for I ardently desire to possess you.” To this the virgin replied, “My lord, what words are these, spoken by one so noble as you to a maiden so lowly as I am? Moreover, sir, I cannot do this, for I am betrothed to another man, whom I must presently marry.” On hearing this, Caradog was filled with fury and said, “Cease this foolish, frivolous, and trifling talk, and consent to lie with me; marry me, and I will take you as my wife.” The maiden, perceiving that his mind was greatly inflamed with passion, resorted to a stratagem so that she might not be overpowered by his violence, and said, “Grant me, sir, that I may go to my chamber, so that, being properly clothed and adorned, I may be more fit to be with you; I will set aside the task laid upon me, as I must, and will be at your pleasure.” Caradog answered her, “If you make no delay, you may do so; for your being out of my sight for a short while will not seem too much to me.”

⁵ The girl, having obtained permission, went swiftly through the house and down into the valley, eager to be out of the man’s sight as quickly as possible. When Caradog realised that he had been deceived by the maiden’s cunning, he was filled with rage and sharply spurred his horse, determined to overtake her. She fled ahead of him until she reached the door of the monastery, seeking to obtain the protection of peace from God and Beuno. As she was about to set her foot across the threshold, the man forestalled her with a blow and struck off her head. When her parents saw this, they were for a time stunned with amazement, and when they came to themselves they were bathed in tears of grief. Beuno also, seeing this devastation, was seized with the deepest sorrow, and leaving the altar he hurried to the door, wishing to know who had committed so great a crime.

⁶ Lifting up his eyes, he saw Caradog still standing there, his sword stained with blood; and when he understood that the deed had been done by him, he cursed him on the spot, and immediately Caradog melted away before his sight like wax before the fire. Then Beuno returned to the body, and fitting the head, which by the force of the blow had been thrown inside, back onto the body lying outside, he earnestly implored God to restore the body to life, lest the enemy should triumph over it. In answer to the prayer, the body with all its powers received the soul again, and no scar appeared except a small line upon the neck; but the floor, stained with her blood, split open, and a spring burst forth in a rushing stream at that place. The stones there appear bloody even now as they did at the beginning, and the moss smells like frankincense and cures various diseases.

⁷ Beuno, observing that God had worked the miracle on her behalf, said to her in the presence of her parents, “My sister, God has appointed this place for you; it is fitting that I should go elsewhere, where God will provide for me through Bendimare. And about this time each year, do this for me: send to me a cloak of your own making.” “My lord,” she said, “to do this for you will be no trouble to me at all, but the greatest difficulty seems to be how it will reach you, for I do not know where you dwell.” The saint replied, “As for that, take no care. There is a stone in the middle of the stream of the spring on which I have been accustomed to meditate in prayer; place the cloak upon it at the appointed time, and if it is to come to me, it will come.” And so, after exchanging blessings, they parted.

⁸ The blessed Winefride then lived for many days in the same wilderness, as Beuno had advised her. Moreover, on the vigil of John the Baptist each year, she sent a cloak to Beuno in the following manner: she placed it upon the stone, and the stone, gliding over the waters of the spring, carried it dry both within and without as far as the sea, and then across the sea to the harbour of Sachlen, to Beuno. Thus Beuno received the virgin’s gift every year. Such was the power in this cloak, on account of the virgin’s merit, that wherever Beuno might wear it, it was neither soaked by rain nor was its nap disturbed by the wind.

⁹ From this event Beuno named the cloak Siccus. At that time, as the account relates, he went to Rome in order to visit the shrines of the saints, so that there, in the presence of their relics, he might offer himself devoutly to God. This having been accomplished, he returned to his former wilderness. In those days all the saints of Britain were summoned to the Synod of Winefride, to which Saint Winefride herself came with other saints. There all matters were ordered according to synodal custom: namely, that saints who had previously lived apart, governed by no rule but their own will, should thereafter live together in communities, in places suitable for the purpose, and reform their lives under superiors appointed over them. As a result, the blessed Winefride was chosen to be set over eleven virgins, so that they might receive from her an example of life and holy conduct.

¹⁰ With what eloquence of learning this virgin shone it is not in our power to say, for the words of her speech were judged by the ears of her hearers to be sweeter than honey and more pleasant than milk. For this reason she was called by all people the White Winefride, because she spoke with the clarity of wisdom and lived in gentle purity. The place where she lived with the virgins was called Gwytherin, where, after completing the course of her life among her fellow virgins, she was buried on the eighth day before the Kalends of July. There she rests in Christ, to whom be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

¹¹ Here ends the Life of Saint Winefride, Virgin and Martyr.

Chapter 2: Here begin the Miracles of the Same #

¹ We have decided to recount some miracles that are known to the inhabitants, or that seem worthy to be recorded, from the day on which the spring began to flow where the blood of the martyr was shed. A miracle unheard of in the world, marvellous to relate and astonishing to look, was seen in the very midst of the bubbling of the spring: three exceedingly bright stones rose and fell with the surging of the water, ascending and descending in turn, like stones hurled by a sling. They remained so for many years, but at the time when the Dacians were subject to the Britons in Tegeingl, a certain ill-fated woman went down to the spring, and seeing the stones was seized with a desire to play with them. She took hold of one, and immediately the other two vanished; she then returned home and was at once struck by illness, and within a few days died. Before her death she confessed and restored the stone, but she entirely concealed what she had done previously. Nor is it strange, brothers, that the stones bore witness to the power of the martyr, for we read that the holy fathers carried stones as testimony.

² It also happened at one time that a man was accused of theft at the spring, and confirmed his denial by perjury in the chapel of the martyr’s church; but the blessed virgin in due course made known to the presumptuous man what he had falsely sworn. For the goat which he had just eaten let out an audible bleat from the belly of the thief, and thus revealed his guilt. A matter dreadful enough: that what a rational creature denied on oath was disclosed by a brute beast, and what is more extraordinary, by one that had already been eaten. There is no doubt that the Lord works wonders on account of his saints, for he himself is altogether wonderful among his saints [Psalm 68:35].

³ Moreover, in the days of the Franks, a fitting vengeance was worked in that land by the same martyr. For a certain matron, stirred up by envy against her maidservant, beat her with harsh blows and continued the beating in fury, even as the girl fled to the church of the virgin seeking protection. The maid, named Miscella, when she reached the church, tried to enter, but found the door firmly shut; having previously hoped to find safety within the church, she then did not know what to do, yet she clung tightly to the door, though its material in no way protected her from being beaten. The martyr of the Lord saw the violence inflicted upon her, had pity on her modesty, and, moved with compassion for her misery, immediately obtained vengeance from the Lord. After the victim had been beaten for a long time and at last lay trampled underfoot, she rose up, as God ordained, and thrust her head against the cheek of her mistress who was lying upon her; by this blow the woman’s cheekbone was wrenched from its joint, her throat was twisted back towards her ear, and she remained so disfigured until her death. For it was fitting that she who would not cease from scourging even to the point of suffocation, almost to the separation of body and soul, should herself not go unpunished when corrected. May it thus come to pass that those who do not revere the tabernacles of God and of the saints shall have their faces filled with shame.

⁴ At another time, when justice was everywhere violated throughout the land the Franks and the Welsh were in conflict with one another, and countless robbers from North Wales were plundering the whole of Tegeingl, they sent eight sacrilegious men to rob the dwelling and village of the virgin Winefride. These men hurried there and carried off the animals that were tied to the wall of the church; but they were not long to be congratulated, for within a very short time they suffered a dreadful death. Likewise, the chief instigators of this wickedness, who had urged the deed forward, died miserably before a year had passed. What more shall I say? Scarcely one of so great a multitude escaped from among those who had remained of their band; for when the zeal of the house of the Lord consumes him, they are cast down while they think themselves exalted [Psalm 69:9].

⁵ Again, in those days, a certain deacon of the same church, wearing the sacred tokens about his neck for protection, was riding home with the tithe from a town in his parish. When he had come within the bounds of the martyr’s estate, he happened to fall in with thieves, who showed no reverence either for the martyr or for her holy things. They robbed him and forced him to go with them along with the stolen goods, while he implored them, for the sake of God and his martyr, to show him mercy. But when he had been taken some distance away, it came into his mind, by the prompting of God and his martyr, that he should attempt to flee. When he began to do so, he was closely pursued by the leader of the thieves himself; and as he was about to seize him, he was struck down by destruction, for he was pierced in the leg by his own spear, lost the strength of his thigh, and could not continue the pursuit. Thus, while one was punished in his body, all the others were punished in their minds; and the deacon, giving thanks to God and the martyr for his deliverance, returned home safely with his goods.

⁶ And the Lord sent his angel among those who fear him, to deliver them [Psalm 34:7]; but upon those who did not set before their eyes the fear of the Lord and of the saints, their iniquity descended upon their own hatred and upon their heads [Psalm 7:16]. At that same time a certain Frankish soldier, the owner of his own estate, built a mill upon the stream of the spring, and the water began to be held back. When the soldier noticed that the water was striking against Beuno’s stone, which lay nearby in a pool in the middle of the river, he ordered that it be moved into the pool; but though a hundred yoke of oxen were set to shift it, they could not raise it, for it was so firmly fixed as if it had taken root and could not be moved. At last the soldier, thinking that the workmen were pretending, urged them again and again, and, supposing that he alone could move the stone with his foot, struck it in anger. Immediately the sinews of his legs bent back towards his knees and stiffened, and he remained lame for the rest of his life. Around the same time, the wife of this soldier, acting with reckless presumption, entered the mouth of the spring, which was set apart for the sick, and bathed there unlawfully; nor did she escape punishment, for she remained childless to the end of her life and grieved bitterly because of it. For it was right that those who came into the inheritance of the martyr and unlawfully defiled her sanctuary should, above all others in their region, be mocked and shamed by the denial of healing.

⁷ With such deeds, and with infinitely more marvellous miracles than these against the wicked, did the virgin of the Lord shine; and if all of them were committed to writing in full, time would fail sooner for the telling than material for the tale. But these examples, set down for the punishment of the wicked, that they may not dare to do harm against the rights of the virgin, shall suffice, for we desire to plough other furrows and to proceed in another way, namely to relate the benefits of the virgin towards the sick. Thus, in the time of the Franks, there lived in the same region a wealthy man afflicted with disease, who had much money but no benefit from it; and when he heard of the fame of the virgin, he went to her as quickly as he could, being carried in a carriage.

⁸ When he came to the shrine of the blessed virgin, he gave all his property to the church and to the poor, made himself poor, and placed his trust in the Lord. Afterwards, when he had washed himself three times in the water of the spring and had spent the third watch of the night in the church in prayer, one might hear and see that he who from birth had had great cavities in his feet, legs, and arms, and whose bones were dreadfully twisted and drawn up towards his buttocks, now stretched them out and set them rightly in their joints. You might have thought that you then saw a joyful company standing there and giving thanks to God and the virgin. You might also observe how just the recompense was: that he who had deprived himself of the private substance of his wealth should receive the full substance of strength and sensation; what he had loved he had given away, and what he had desired to possess he had found. Thus he who had come in a carriage without the use of his feet returned walking, sound and whole.

⁹ A certain man, who for his crimes had undergone penance and had been bound with iron chains for many years, his arms being miserably eaten away by the rust of the iron, came to the same sanctuary. Having spent the whole night there in vigil and prayer, he went to the spring at daybreak; and when he had washed his hands and stretched his arms into the water, he saw his hands become smooth and whole, and the bonds loosened and fall from his arms. Who then can doubt that the virgin was present: when a man went from the church to the spring in chains, and returned from the spring to the church free, giving thanks to God and his martyr? As a sign, he hung up those chains there, and they were seen hanging for many generations. Consider therefore, men, and consider also women, how reverently and honourably this virgin of the Lord and martyr, who so openly came to the aid of those who prayed to her, is to be venerated by all. Nor should it be passed over what she did for a man suffering from dropsy who came to her: after the vigils and washings in the waters of the spring had been completed, she so relieved him of the excess of moisture that nothing remained except what was fitting for the balance of human nature.

¹⁰ An epileptic also experienced the manifest touch of the virgin. For when he was brought, according to custom, to the church, he spent the night there in vigil and prayer, and the illness assailed him in a remarkable way: it seized him twice, and on each occasion did not prevail. At daybreak he perceived the epilepsy coming upon him and ran swiftly to the church; and when the name of the Lord and of the martyr was invoked over him by the priests, the attack that had begun left him. On another day, when the disorder seized him at dawn, he was cast into the spring, and after that it never returned. Likewise, two boys who were brothers, afflicted with the same infirmity, were placed in the spring and were completely cured. So too were many others, indeed countless people; for it is attested that the virgin by her merits cured this grievous disease and washed away many others. For no illness is more afflicting than that which destroys the senses: it eats away the heart, almost expels the soul, shakes the brain, consumes the tongue, causes foaming and roaring, contorts the limbs, and rends the whole body; and for this reason it is especially fitting that it should be cured.

¹¹ Likewise, a certain woman who had a son dumb from birth brought him with her to the shrine of the blessed martyr. Having duly performed the rites of vigil, she thrust him into the spring and applied the water to him; and she heard him clearly forming words and asking for his clothes. When this was seen, those standing by marvelled, glorified God, and rejoiced with the mother.

¹² Likewise, on another occasion, certain young men who were companions came together and went down into the spring, but health was granted to one alone, because he believed firmly. When this man descended and stretched out his limbs, a great cry was uttered by him, and the ears of those who heard it, both near and far, rang; for the power of the Lord, when it went forth from him through the prayers of the saints, could not be hidden [Luke 8:46]. Moreover, a certain boy whose limbs had been cut off because they were useless had them immediately restored to their proper size through the merits of the departed virgin, for by her prayers she granted him the natural condition of all his limbs. Likewise, a man who was blind from birth, having performed divine service in the shrine of the martyr, went to the spring, washed, received his sight, and gave thanks. Also two boys afflicted with the stone, on praying to the virgin, obtained natural relief; and one of them, having been cured of his ailment, was thereafter constantly endowed with the gift of prophecy. Many who were eaten away by worms even to the marrow acknowledged the help of the virgin, for when the worms were destroyed they returned home in good health. Some who had been deprived of their reason, troubled by unclean spirits, gnashing with their teeth and uttering senseless words, and brought to the place with difficulty in chains, returned from there to their homes fully restored to the rule of reason.

¹³ Likewise, those afflicted with fevers, keeping vigil in hope of her freely given goodness, were cured of fevers of every kind by the application of the water of the holy spring. This virgin also very often relieved those suffering from dropsy, restored the paralysed, strengthened the gout-ridden, and cured the melancholic. Nor did she less readily remove hip-gout, eradicate cancers, and extirpate haemorrhoids; she also cured stubborn coughs, drove away cramps and fluxes of the bowels, dissolved obstructions causing barrenness, and checked excessive or immoderate bleeding. Why should I, by listing a few, be drawn into naming them all? So many and so great were the benefits of the virgin that their very multitude forbids them to be numbered. Yet, to glance briefly at the whole, she piously and kindly, without delay, brought immediate relief to the weary, the afflicted, and the sick of whatever disease they suffered, who with pure faith towards God sought her help, and she fully restored to them both the senses and the strength proper to humankind. Nor should it be consigned to the silence of Lethean oblivion that, after the expulsion of the Franks from the whole of North Wales, the following event occurred at the fountain of this virgin: the spring was seen to flow with a milky liquid for the space of three days, and on the first morning of those days it had the true colour and taste of milk. For a priest, going at daybreak after duly performing divine service in the church of the said martyr, found this near the pavement of the spring, and ran quickly with a bottle in order to fill it and keep it with care and diligence. He then hurried back with a sponge so that he might also soak it, but by then the liquid had somewhat lost its former quality.

¹⁴ And so, over the course of three days, as it gradually lost the true colour and taste of milk, it returned to its former state. Lest anyone should think that this happened because of storms of wind or rain, it should be known that for a considerable time before and after, and during those days themselves, there was no disturbance of the elements at all. Nor should there be any doubt or hesitation about the matter, for it was known and reported among the inhabitants as having truly occurred. The liquid which the priest had collected was carried about and drunk in many places, and by healing those who partook of it, it provided the help which the virgin was accustomed to bestow. And the spring fittingly appeared with a milky and sweet taste, in which the same spotless Winefride showed herself kind, gentle, meek, gracious, pious, courteous, pleasing, delightful, and merciful to those who sought her aid.

¹⁵ Nor is what was once done by this virgin on behalf of a little girl to be passed over lightly. One day, as evening was drawing on, a man brought with him the body of a dead girl to the shrine of the martyr to be buried. The priest, seeing that night was approaching, postponed the burial until morning, and left the rigid body, wrapped in the coldness of death and covered with cloths, inside the church, and securely locked the doors. When the priest entered the church very early the next morning, as was customary, to celebrate the service of vigil, he found the young girl almost freed from her burial wrappings and cloth, sitting up, with her hands still resting on the ground because of weakness. She soon became entirely free from every sign of death, asked for food and lodging, and gratefully gave thanks to God and the martyr.

¹⁶ What wonder is it if, by her prayer, she recalled the dead to life, since she herself, who had been dead, lived again? It should also be recalled what was done for the correction of wicked persons, which we omitted above. Two clerics committed sacrilege at different times within the dwellings of the virgin. One of them carried off a small service book and was immediately caught in theft; and since a labourer is worthy of his wages, he was punished with stripes. The other stole a missal, which he offered for sale to everyone, everywhere, but found no one willing to buy it from him. Then, directed by God, he returned; and being no longer able to conceal his sacrilege, he was hanged, as he deserved. God, who alone worked these miracles on account of his virgin and martyr Winefride, will not cease to act for the benefit of the faithful and for the chastisement of the wicked; he who, in the perfect Trinity, lives and reigns as one for ever and ever. Amen.

¹⁷ Here ends the account of the Passion of Saint Winefride, Virgin and Martyr, on the eighth day before the Kalends of July.