# Modwenna

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{{Short description|Nun and saint in England}}
{{about||Saint Moninne of Ireland|Moninne|the property company|St. Modwen Properties}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Modwen Whittington.jpg|thumb|Medieval [stained glass](/source/stained_glass) image of Modwenna, taken from Burton Abbey to [Whittington](/source/Whittington%2C_Staffordshire)]]
'''Modwenna''', or '''Modwen''', was a [nun](/source/nun) and [saint](/source/saint) in [England](/source/England), who founded [Burton Abbey](/source/Burton_Abbey) in [Staffordshire](/source/Staffordshire) in the 7th century.<ref>[https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/staffs/vol3/pp199-213. Baugh, G C, et al., "Houses of Benedictine monks: The abbey of Burton". ''A History of the County of Stafford'' Volume 3. (M W Greenslade, R B Pugh, eds.) London, 1970, British History Online. Web. 13 July 2024]</ref>
thumb|Modern statue

According to the medieval ''Life of St Modwenna''<ref>British Library [Cotton Cleopatra](/source/Cotton_Cleopatra) A.ii</ref> she was an [Irish](/source/Ireland) noblewoman by birth and founded the abbey on an island in the [River Trent](/source/River_Trent).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.burtonsaintpaul.org.uk/ |title=Saint Paul's Church, Burton upon Trent |accessdate=2008-05-09}}</ref>

Modwenna is reported to have performed many [holy miracle](/source/holy_miracle)s at Burton Abbey, and to this day the well on the site is said to have healing properties. After a time Modwenna left [Burton-upon-Trent](/source/Burton-upon-Trent) and travelled to Scotland where she died in [Langfortin](/source/Langfortin), near [Dundee](/source/Dundee), reportedly at the age of 130. Her body was returned to Burton-upon-Trent for burial.<ref name="burton2000">{{cite web |url=http://www.burton2000.co.uk/History/Modwen/index.htm |title=Saint Modwen and the Burton Abbey |accessdate=2008-05-09}}</ref> Another abbess and saint, [Osyth](/source/Osyth) (died 700), was raised under Modwenna's direction.

Others, however, say that she has been confused with St Monenna ([Moninne](/source/Moninne)) of Ireland and with a Scottish saint also called Modwenna, said to have established seven churches in Scotland, including one in [Longforgan](/source/Longforgan), near Dundee, and that the Anglo-Norman text of her life has little historical value.<ref>{{cite book |last=Farmer |first=David Hugh |title=[Oxford Dictionary of Saints](/source/Oxford_Dictionary_of_Saints) |publisher=[Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press) |year=1992 |isbn=0-19-283069-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/adversaries/bios/scot_pict/modwscot.html |title=St. Modwenna ''of Scotland'' |accessdate=2022-04-03}}</ref> This may be how she comes to be associated with [Alfred the Great](/source/Alfred_the_Great), whom she is said to have known, even though he lived in the 9th century, some two hundred years later.

[St Modwen's, Burton upon Trent](/source/St_Modwen's%2C_Burton_upon_Trent) is dedicated to her as is the chapel at [Pillaton Hall](/source/Pillaton_Hall) and the [Catholic](/source/Catholic) [St Mary and St Modwen Church, Burton-on-Trent](/source/St_Mary_and_St_Modwen_Church%2C_Burton-on-Trent).<ref>[http://www.maryandmodwen.org.uk/st-modwen.html SS Mary and Modwen, Burton upon Trent]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{given name|Modwen|nocat}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Modwen}}
Category:Anglo-Saxon nuns
Category:Mercian saints
Category:Medieval Irish saints
Category:7th-century Christian saints
Category:Burials in Staffordshire
Category:7th-century Irish nuns
Category:7th-century Christian nuns
Category:7th-century Irish abbots
Category:Irish expatriates in England
Category:Christian female saints of the Middle Ages
Category:7th-century English women
Category:Female saints of medieval Ireland

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Modwenna](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modwenna) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modwenna?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.