Iwig

Summary

Iwig (alternatively Iwi, Iwigius, or Ywi of Lindisfarne) was a saint venerated in Wiltshire, England in the Middle Ages. He was reputedly a Northumbrian monk, said to have died and to have been buried in Brittany.[1] Historian David Dumville called him "the other principal saint of Wilton", in reference to Saint Eadgyth.[2] He was supposedly a follower (alumnus) of Saint Cuthbert.[3]

Saint Iwig of Lindisfarne
Saint
Born7th-century
DiedBrittany
Major shrineWilton Abbey
Feast8 October

He is listed in two 11th-century litanies.[1] A narrative of that century claimed that his relics had been brought to Wilton Abbey by Breton monks in the 10th century, and left for safe-keeping at the altar of Saint Eadgyth.[1] The narrative claims that the relics subsequently became immovable [through the wish of the saint to reside there], though historian John Blair suspected that this story may have been invented to justify Wilton's theft of the relics.[1]

His feast day was celebrated on 8 October.[4] The Priory of Ivychurch in Wiltshire is thought to have been named after him.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Blair, "Saints", p. 541
  2. ^ Dumville, Liturgy, p. 62, n. 131
  3. ^ a b de G. Birch, "Ivy-Church", p. 83
  4. ^ Blair, "Saints", p. 541; Dumville, Liturgy, p. 62, n. 131
  • Blair, John (2002), "A Handlist of Anglo-Saxon Saints", in Thacker, Alan; Sharpe, Richard (eds.), Local Saints and Local Churches in the Early Medieval West, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 495–565, ISBN 0-19-820394-2
  • Dumville, D. N. (1992), Liturgy and the Ecclesiastical History of late Anglo-Saxon England: Four Studies, Woodbridge: Boydell Press, ISBN 0-85115-331-3
  • de G. Birch, W. (1896), "Ivy-Church", Wiltshire Notes and Queries: An Illustrated Quarterly Antiquarian and Genealogical Magazine, Volume I, Devizes G. Simpson, p. 83