Adwen or Adwenna was a 5th-century Christian

virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

and saint.Baring-Gould, Sabine & al
''The Lives of the British Saints: The Saints of Wales and Cornwall and Such Irish Saints as Have Dedications in Britain'', Vol. II, pp. 107 ff
Chas. Clark (London), 1908. Hosted at Archive.org. Accessed 18 Nov 2014. She is recorded as a daughter of

Brychan Brychan Brycheiniog was a legendary 5th-century king of Brycheiniog (Brecknockshire, alternatively Breconshire) in Mid Wales. Life According to Celtic hagiography Brychan was born in Ireland, the son of a Prince Anlach, son of Coronac, and ...

, king of

Brycheiniog Brycheiniog was an independent kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Norman ...

in south

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, in the Cornish ''Life of

Saint Nectan Saint Nectan, sometimes styled Saint Nectan of Hartland, was a 5th-century holy man who lived in Stoke, Hartland, in the nowadays English, and at the time brythonic-speaking county of Devon, where the prominent St Nectan's Church, Hartland is d ...

'' and in Robert Hunt's collection of Cornish legends. These sources associate her with the establishment of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

of Advent in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. The saint's feast day is unknown. In Cornwall Adwen was traditionally the patron saint of sweethearts.Ellis, P. B. (1992) ''The Cornish Saints''. Penryn: Tor Mark Press, p. 5

References

Medieval Cornish saints Medieval Welsh saints Children of Brychan 5th-century Christian saints 5th-century Welsh people 5th-century Welsh women Female saints of medieval Wales {{saint-stub

See also

References