Saint Canna
Saint Canna was a 6th-century mother of saints and nun in south Wales.
According to the writings of the unreliable Iolo Morganwg, Canna was a daughter of the Breton King Tudur Mawr.[1]
She went to Wales with her husband Sadwrn and their son Crallo. After the death of Sadwrn, she remarried and became the mother of Saint Elian Geimiad.[2]
She seems to have become a nun and lived at Llangan, Pembrokeshire:[citation needed] at Llangan, in the Vale of Glamorgan, she was deemed important enough for her image to be carved on the church cross. The nearby Ffynnon Ganna, Canna's Holy Well, was a site for pilgrimage for many centuries after her death.[3]
Her name also appears as part of two Cardiff suburbs: Canton (English translation of the Welsh Treganna, 'Saint Canna's Town'); and Pontcanna (Welsh for 'Canna's Bridge').[4]
Canna's Feast day is celebrated on the 25 October.[2]
A Masonic Lodge No. 6725, within South Wales Eastern Division, is named after Saint Canna.[5]
References
- ^ Iolo Manuscripts: A Selection of Ancient Welsh Manuscripts, in Prose and Verse, from the Collection Made by the Late Edward Williams, Iolo Morganwg, (Thomas Price, ed.), Longman and Company, London, 1848, p. 534
- ^ a b Proja, Giovanni Battista. "Santa Canna", Santi e Beati, August 10, 2007
- ^ BBC. "Reading the Ruins". History Wales. BBC. Retrieved 2006-10-26.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Matthews, J. Hobson. "Placenames of the Cardiff District", Transactions of the Cardiff Naturalists' Society, Volumes 32-33, 1901, p. 39
- ^ Helion Lodge. "Guestbook". Helion Lodge, Huntsville, Alabama. Helion Lodge. Retrieved 2006-10-26.