St. Winifred is a very awesome Welsh saint from the 7th century. The story goes that Winifred was a Welsh nobleman's daughter. Her father gave a clergyman named Beuno a parcel of land on which to build a church in exchange for educating Winifred. Beuno agreed. Meanwhile, Caradog - the son of a neighboring chieftain - attempted to "force the chastity" of Winifred. She ran away down the hill toward the church which made Caradog so mad that he pulled out his sword and chopped off her head. Her head rolled all the way down the hill into the church where the whole town was attending mass. Her parents were there as well, and they of course panicked seeing their daughter's head. Beuno picked up the head, and walked outside to find Caradog still standing with Winifred's body. Beuno laid a curse upon Caradog who died on the spot (one source says he "melted" - !!!), and then the holy man placed Winifred's head next to her body. Beuno then urged the congregation to pray with him for the restoration of the young girl. The prayers worked! Winifred opened her eyes and got up. But she had a visible white scar around her neck for the rest of her life from where she had been decapitated.
Healing springs are said to have sprung up both in the place where her head originally fell and in the place where it stopped rolling. The floorboards of the church were cracked and water began to seep through. The second spring is said to have rocks around it which look as though they are covered in blood, but the water smells perfumed.
OK, so, for Winifred, I am wearing a choker. I don't have a white one, but I do have this red one which I have never worn before and which recalls the bloodiness of the stones at her well:
No comments:
Post a Comment