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goffik G
goffik Oct 10, 2004 19:01:41
Replying to goffik

Funnily enough, I've been to 2 "holy" wells today - both in Oxfordshire.

<b>Fair Rosamund's Well</b> (<b>SP436164</b>) was quite uninspiring (Probably cos it was behind a locked wrought iron fence in the grounds of Blenheim Palace's - I hate that!) – I'm sure with a little TLC, it would be quite lovely… A large stone wall with the water gushing out near the bottom, through a metal mesh into a large rectangular pool. Would be such a lovely place to sit peacefully on a lovely sunny day like today…

The other - quite a lovely one - by the tiny church in Binsey, and dedicated to St Margaret (<b>SP486081</b>). Within the churchyard itself, it sits recessed into the ground, with stone steps leading down to it… The water is held in a perfectly circular, relatively modern, basin. Looks like it may have had a lid or door over it originally… A latin inscription dated 1874 above it states the English name for it – simply "<b>St Margaret's Well</b>". The legend is that Saint Frideswide, born in 680 to a christian nobleman, was pursued by the Mercian prince Algar, who wanted to marry her. She legged it off to Binsey where she worked as a swineherd for 3 years. Prince Algar, somewhere along the line, was blinded by lightning! Frideswide prayed to St Margaret of Antioch and caused the well to appear. She then cured the prince's blindness using the water. Powerful stuff, eh? ;o)

This story sounds familiar to me, although not using the same names… sounds like a christian modernization of an older story, maybe?

G x

G goffik
goffik Oct 10, 2004 21:00:46
Replying to goffik

As if to back all this up, http://www.thames-search.com/binsey.html says of the church and well:

"It is part of the ancient priory of St Frideswide, a Mercian princess (died 735) who founded a nunnery in Oxford. Regardless of her decision to live a cloistered life, she was forced to flee the attentions of the persistent King Algar. Whilst Frideswide lived secretly and simply beside the Thames with a swineherd and his wife, Algar marched on Oxford with his army and the town was saved from devastation only by providence: Algar was suddenly struck blind, presumably as punishment.

The good Frideswide, though, felt sorry for Algar and prayed that his sight should be restored. In answer to her supplications a holy well sprang up (can a well spring up?) and Algar was healed by its magical water. St Frideswide built a church beside the well, which she dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch.

She probably felt some affinity with Margaret, the daughter of a pagan priest during the time of the Roman emperor Diocletian (245-313) who ordered the last great persecution of the Christians. Margaret also had to flee from the advances of an unwelcome suitor, the prefect Olybrius, who then denounced her as a Christian. She went through various tortures such as being swallowed by Satan in the guise of a dragon, and was finally beheaded."

So, an almost identical story, carried forward and repeated several hunred years later, from an old Pagan story? More like this, and I might start thinking I'm half right! ;o)

G x