Menefrida is the 5th-century
Cornish saint associated with the parish of
St Minver
St Minver ( kw, Sen Menvra) is the name of an ecclesiastical parish, a civil parish and a village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.
The civil parish of St Minver is in Bodmin Registration District and is nominally divided into St Minv ...
, near the
Camel estuary
The River Camel ( kw, Dowr Kammel, meaning ''crooked river'') is a river in Cornwall, England. It rises on the edge of Bodmin Moor and with its tributaries its catchment area covers much of North Cornwall. The river flows into the eastern Ce ...
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 ...
, England.
Alternative spellings of her name include Menefreda, Menwreda, Menfre, Mynfreda and Minefreda. At the time of
King Henry VIII the parish was known as St. Menifryde.
Menefrida was one of the many children of the Welsh king
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 ...
,
and has been referred to as a saint since at least 1256.
William of Worcester
William Worcester, also called William of Worcester, William Worcestre or William Botoner (1415) was an English topographer, antiquary and chronicler.
Life
He was a son of another William of Worcester, a Bristol whittawer (worker in white lea ...
records, ''Sancta Menefrida, virgo non martir, die 24 Novembris'' ("Saint Menefrida, virgin, not a martyr, 24 November"), which he copied from a calendar at
Bodmin into the notes made during his travels around Britain during the late 15th century.
Her feast day is 24 July.
The church dedicated to St. Menefrida in St Minver is a stone building in the
Transitional Norman and
Early English styles.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menefrida, Saint
Late Ancient Christian female saints
5th-century Christian saints
Children of Brychan
5th-century births
Date of birth unknown
Date of death unknown
Medieval Cornish saints
Female saints of medieval Wales
Welsh Roman Catholic saints
5th-century Welsh people
5th-century Welsh women