Pega (c. 673 – c. 719) is a Christian saint who was an anchoress in the ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom of

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879) Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era= Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ...

, and the sister of St Guthlac.

Life

The earliest source of information about Pega is in Felix's 8th-century Latin ''Life of Guthlac'', where she is referred to as 'the holy virgin of Christ Pega'. As the sister of Guthlac, Pega would have been the daughter of Penwalh of Mercia and thus belonged to one of Mercia's great noble families. She lived as an anchoress at what is now

Peakirk Peakirk is a village and civil parish in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. For local government purposes it forms part of Glinton and Castor ward; for parliamentary purposes it falls within Peterbor ...

("Pega's church") near

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

, not far from Guthlac's hermitage at

Crowland Crowland (modern usage) or Croyland (medieval era name and the one still in ecclesiastical use; cf. la, Croilandia) is a town in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated between Peterborough and Spalding. Crowland ...

. When Guthlac realised that his end was near in 714, he summoned Pega, who travelled by boat to her brother's oratory to bury him. One year later, she presided over the translation of his remains into a new sepulchre, when his body was found to be

incorrupt Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints and beati) to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their ...

. At this time, Pega also used a piece of glutinous salt, which had been previously consecrated by Guthlac, to cure the eyesight of a blind man who had travelled to Crowland from

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and only 5 miles ...

. Henry of Avranches, in his 13th-century poetic life of Guthlac, adds the detail that Guthlac banished Pega from Crowland after the devil assumed her appearance and tempted him to break his fast. In the 15th-century Croyland Chronicle, Pseudo-Ingulf claims that Pega inherited Guthlac's psalter and

scourge A scourge is a whip or lash, especially a multi-thong type, used to inflict severe corporal punishment or self-mortification. It is usually made of leather. Etymology The word is most commonly considered to be derived from Old French ''escorgi ...

, both of which she later gave to Kenulph, the first abbot of

Crowland Abbey Crowland Abbey (also spelled Croyland Abbey, Latin: ''Croilandia'') is a Church of England parish church, formerly part of a Benedictine abbey church, in Crowland in the English county of Lincolnshire. It is a Grade I listed building. History A ...

Death, miracles and legacy

Pega went on pilgrimage to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

after Guthlac's death and died there on 8 January 719, according to a 12th-century account by Orderic Vitalis. Orderic claims that her remains were kept at a church built in Rome in her honour, and that miracles took place there. The precise location of Pega's hermitage is not known, but it is possible that it was on the site of the 13th-century chapel at St Pega's Hermitage in Peakirk, which is a private residence. Peakirk's parish church is uniquely dedicated to Pega. There is a local legend that Pega's heart was returned to Peakirk and was kept as a relic in the church contained in a heart stone. Its broken remains can still be seen in the south aisle window.

St Pega's Hermitage

St Pega's Hermitage is now a private home on what is considered most likely to have been the site of St Pega's cell. A chancel was expanded with a 15th-century nave. It was rebuilt and restored over various centuries, with an order of Anglican nuns housed in accommodation built in the 1850s, and which was extended around 1930. The nuns, latterly from the

Society of the Precious Blood The Society of the Precious Blood is an Anglican religious order of contemplative sisters with convents in England, Lesotho and South Africa. The sisters follow the Rule of St Augustine. History The Order dates its history from 1905 when Mother ...

, had left by the end of the 20th century, after which the property was deconsecrated by the Bishop of Peterborough,

Ian Cundy Ian Patrick Martyn Cundy (23 April 19457 May 2009) was a Church of England cleric who served successively as area Bishop of Lewes and Bishop of Peterborough. Background Born in Sherborne, Dorset, on 23 April 1945, he was the son of Henry Mart ...

, and sold. It has since been converted into a private residence with an atrium linking the chapel buildings, which retain the altar and other historic features, with the convent buildings. The Hermitage is Grade II listed.

References

{{authority control 7th-century births 8th-century deaths Mercian saints People from Peterborough 8th-century Christian saints 7th-century English people 8th-century English people East Anglian saints Christian female saints of the Middle Ages 7th-century English women 8th-century English women