¹ There was in former times in Powys a most illustrious prince named Brochwel Ysgithrog, and consul (earl) of Chester, who at that time dwelt at Pengwern Powys, which in Latin signifies the Head of the Marsh of Powys, but which is now called Shrewsbury; and his dwelling or residence stood on the spot where the college of Saint Chad is now situated.

² This same illustrious prince freely granted his same dwelling and mansion for the service of God, and at the same time, from a sense of his duty, for works of charity, and made a perpetual grant of it for himself and his heirs.

³ At length, on a certain day in the year of our Lord 604, the said prince went hunting to a place in Britain called Pennant, within the principality of Powys. When his hounds had started a hare, the dogs pursued it and he followed them to a certain bramble thicket, large and full of thorns. In this thicket he found a certain virgin, fair in appearance, praying with the utmost devotion and wholly given to divine contemplation, and with her the hare lying beneath the hem of her garment, with its face turned boldly and without fear towards the dogs.

⁴ Then the prince cried out, “Catch her, little dogs! Catch her!” Yet the more he shouted and urged them on, the further away the dogs drew back, retreating and fleeing from the small wild creature with howling. At last the prince, utterly astonished, asked the virgin how long she had lived alone on his lands, in so desolate a place. She replied that for fifteen years she had never in any way seen the face of a man. He then asked her who she was, and where she had been born and from whom she was descended. With all humility she answered that she was the daughter of a king of Ireland, and said, “Because my father intended me to be the wife of a certain great and noble man of Ireland, I fled from my native land, God guiding me, and came here so that I might serve God and the spotless Virgin with my heart and with a chaste body until my death.”

⁵ Then the prince asked the virgin what her name was. To this she replied that her name was Monacella. Then the prince, pondering in his inmost heart the flourishing yet solitary state of the virgin, burst forth in these words:

⁶ “O most worthy virgin Monacella, I perceive that you are a handmaid of the true God and a most sincere worshipper of Christ. Therefore, because it has pleased the supreme and almighty God, for your merits, to grant safety to this little wild hare, giving it safe conduct and protection from the attack and pursuit of ravenous and biting dogs, I freely give and present to you these my lands for the service of God, that they may be a perpetual asylum, refuge, and defence, in honour of your name, O excellent virgin. Let neither king nor prince dare to be so rash or so bold before God that he should presume to drag away any man or woman who flees here and seeks protection within your lands, provided that they in no way defile or pollute your sanctuary or asylum. But if any wrongdoer, while enjoying the privilege of your sanctuary, should go out in any direction to commit harm, then the freeholding abbots of your sanctuary, who alone take cognisance of such offences, shall, if they afterwards find the guilty and culpable persons, take care that they are handed over and delivered to the officers of Powys to be punished.”

⁷ This virgin Monacella, so exceedingly pleasing to God, lived a solitary life in this same place, in the manner described above, for thirty-seven years. And the hares, wild little creatures, just as if they were tame animals, lived in familiarity around her every day throughout her whole life. During this same time, by the aid of divine mercy, miracles and various other favours were not lacking to those who sought her help and implored her favour with inward devotion of heart.

⁸ After the death of the most illustrious prince Brochwel Ysgithrog, his son Tyssiliau held the principality of Powys; then Conan, the brother of Tyssiliau; afterwards Tambryd; then Gurmylk and Durres, who was called the Lame. All of these confirmed the said place of Pennant Melangell as a perpetual sanctuary, asylum, and refuge for the wretched, thereby ratifying the grant of the same prince.

⁹ The same virgin Monacella, with great care and diligence, took pains to appoint and instruct certain virgins in that region, so that they might persevere and live holy and modest lives in the love of God, spending their days and nights wholly in the service of God, and in no other occupation.

¹⁰ After this, when the virgin Monacella herself had departed this life, a certain man named Elisse came to Pennant Melangell, and, wishing to violate, ravish, and defile the virgins there, died on the spot and suddenly perished in a most dreadful manner. Whoever has violated the liberty and sanctity of this virgin has rarely been seen to escape divine vengeance, as may be observed even to this day.

¹¹ Praise be to the Most High God, and to his virgin Monacella.