''De Sanctimoniali de Wattun'' or ''On the Nun of Watton'' is a 12th-century

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

story, describing events which took place in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

in the mid-12th century at the

nunnery A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...

Watton, East Riding of Yorkshire Watton is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The village is situated on the A164 road, about north of Beverley and south of Driffield. According to the 2011 UK census the civil parish of Watton had a populat ...

. It is also called ''A Certain Wonderful Miracle''. ''De Sanctimoniali de Wattun'' survives in one manuscript, MS Corpus Christi College 139. It is thought to have been written around 1160. The author is usually thought of as the Cistercian abbot

Ailred of Rievaulx Aelred of Rievaulx ( la, Aelredus Riaevallensis); also Ailred, Ælred, and Æthelred; (1110 – 12 January 1167) was an English Cistercian monk, abbot of Rievaulx from 1147 until his death, and known as a writer. He is regarded by Anglicans an ...

, an identification that is probable if not certain. The author's source for the events described were the older nuns of the monastery. It is set in the Gilbertine nunnery of Watton, and tells the story of the

Nun of Watton The Nun of Watton (born in the 1140s) was the protagonist of a drama at Watton Priory in Yorkshire, recorded by St Aelred of Rievaulx around 1160 in ''De Quodam Miraculo Mirabili'', long known as '' De Sanctimoniali de Wattun''. In this story o ...

. The author related that as a four-year-old girl, she was given to the nunnery by

Henry Murdac Henry Murdac (died 1153) was abbot of Fountains Abbey and Archbishop of York in medieval England. Early life Murdac was a native of Yorkshire.Knowles ''Monastic Order'' p. 239 He was friendly with Archbishop Thurstan of York, who secured hi ...

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

, but failed to embrace the religious life with much enthusiasm. Finally, she begins an affair with a lay brother, becoming pregnant. After the other anchoresses discover the affair, she escapes being burned to death or skinned alive and is locked in a cell, before being forced to castrate her ex-lover. Back in her cell, God intervenes, ends her pregnancy and frees her of her chains, events which the community came to recognise as miracles.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:De Sanctimoniali De Wattun 12th-century history books 12th-century Latin books Christian hagiography Cistercian Order Latin historical texts from Norman and Angevin England Gilbertine Order 12th-century Christian texts

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