Saint Eigen, Eurgen, Eurgain or Eurgan was the legendary, and possibly historical first female Christian saint among the Britons. Her name has doubtfully been linked to two Welsh churches and is found in manuscripts from the collection of Iolo Morganwg making historical evidence of her existence dubious and limited.[1]
The parish church of Saint Eigon in Llanigon, Wales
Eigen is noted as the daughter of Caratacus in the History of Dunraven Manuscript, a manuscript giving the genealogy of Taliesin from the collection of Thomas Hopkin of Coychurch, one from the Havod Uchtryd collection and in an extract he claimed to have copied from the Long Book of Thomas Truman.[2][3] This reference can also be found in the family records of Iestyn ab Gwrgant, where it is said of her; "She lived in the close of the first century, and was married to Sarllog, who was a lord of Caer Sarllog, or the present Old Sarum".[4] In this manuscript, Eigen is said to have returned from Rome with Caratacus with Saint Cyllin and Saint Ilid and formed a religious college of twelve named Cor Eurgain (the choir of Eurgain), suggesting the early entry of Christianity into Britain; "the Cymry embraced the faith in Christ through the teaching of the saints of Cor-Eurgain".[5] Attempts have also been made to identify Eigen with the Claudia mentioned by Saint Paul in the Second Epistle to Timothy, however evidence for this is largely coincidental. Some authors also claim she was called Gladys on the suggestion that this was a Welsh word for princess.[6]
Eigen is also discussed as the first female saint in the works of Rice Rees, Jane Williams, Sabine Baring-Gould and John Williams (Ab Ithel).[7][8][9]
In the annals of Tacitus, a daughter of Caratacus is mentioned appearing in front of the Roman Senate and Emperor Claudius in approximately 53 CE. Caratacus' daughter is never named in the record of Tacitus and she is not mentioned with her mother, father and uncles as having been given a pardon from the brutality of a Roman execution by the Emperor.[10][11]
Eigen features in a cantata by Edward Elgar in 1897-8 devoted to the defeat and capture of the king by the Romans. It was first performed at the Leeds choral festival in 1898. Her name in the Cantana has variously been claimed to be both historical and derived from a neighbour of Elgar's in Malvern called Eigen Stone.[12][13] Eigen, spelt as Eigon is also the subject of a modern, time-slip novel by Barbara Erskine called The Warrior's Princess, published in 2008.[14]
The parish church of Llanigon, Wales is dedicated to "Saint Eigon", but this almost certainly refers to Eigion, brother of St Cynidr, to whom the parish church in neighbouring Glasbury was dedicated.[15]
Another Welsh church in Northop (Welsh: Llaneurgain), Flintshire, is dedicated to "Saint Eurgain", said to have been the daughter of Prince Maelgwn Gwynedd and niece of St. Asaph. She is said to have lived in Flintshire in the 6th century CE and has a feast day on 30 June. There is evidence that the church of St Eurgain and St Peter has existed since the 6th century.[16][17]
^Geoffrey (of Monmouth, Bishop of St. Asaph); Saint Tysilio; Gildas (1811). The Chronicle of the Kings of Britain. E. Williams. pp. 294–. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
^Iolo Morganwg; Owen Jones; Society for the Publication of Ancient Welsh Manuscripts, Abergavenny (1848). Iolo manuscripts: A selection of ancient Welsh manuscripts, in prose and verse, from the collection made by the late Edward Williams, Iolo Morganwg, for the purpose of forming a continuation of the Myfyrian archaiology; and subsequently proposed as materials for a new history of Wales. W. Rees; sold by Longman and co., London. pp. 350–. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
^Mabinogion (1849). The Mabinogion, from the Llyfr coch o Hergest, and other ancient Welsh MSS., with an Engl. pp. 391–. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
^Anonymous (31 March 2004). The Genealogy Of Iestyn The Son Of Gwrgan. Kessinger Publishing. pp. 513–. ISBN 978-0-7661-8411-4. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
^Richard Williams Morgan (1861). St. Paul in Britain; or, The origin of British as opposed to papal Christianity. The Marshall Press. pp. 161–. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
^Jae Williams (1869). A history of Wales: Derived from authentic sources. Longmans, Green & Co. pp. 42–. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
^S. Baring-Gould; John Fisher (30 June 2005). The Lives of the British Saints: The Saints of Wales, Cornwall and Irish Saints. Kessinger Publishing. pp. 416–. ISBN 978-0-7661-8765-8. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
^Rice Rees (1836). An essay on the Welsh saints or the primitive Christians, usually considered to have been the founders of the churches in Wales. Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman. pp. 355–. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
^John Williams (1844). The eccles. Antiquities of the Cymry; or: The ancient British church. Cleaver. pp. 58–. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
^Tacitus, Annals 12:33-38
^Tacitus, Annals 13:32
^Martin Clayton; Bennett Zon (2007). Music and Orientalism in the British Empire, 1780s-1940s: Portrayal of the East. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 165–. ISBN 978-0-7546-5604-3. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
^Jerrold Northrop Moore (16 September 1999). Edward Elgar: A Creative Life. Oxford University Press. pp. 230–. ISBN 978-0-19-816366-4. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
^Barbara Erskine (28 December 2008). The Warrior's Princess. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-0-00-728720-8. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
^S. Baring-Gould; J. Fisher (1908). Lives of the British Saints. Vol. 2. Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. p. 417. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
^St. Augustine's Abbey (Ramsgate, England) (1931). a book of the saints. Taylor & Francis. pp. 79–. GGKEY:FBQ2KW4XCSB. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
^Joseph Hemingway (1839). Panorama of the beauties, curiosities, and antiquities of North Wales. pp. 249–. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
SaintEigen, Eurgen, Eurgain or Eurgan was the legendary, and possibly historical first female Christian saint among the Britons. Her name has doubtfully...
Switzerland Eigen, Thurgau, locality in the municipality of Lengwil in the canton of Thurgau, Switzerland Manfred Eigen (1927–2019), German biophysicist Saint Eigen...
Williams, Sabine Baring-Gould and John Williams (Ab Ithel) as brother of SaintEigen and father of King Coel. He is also noted in a manuscript giving the...
Vita S. Gudilae en de Gesta Episcoporum Cameracensium.', Eigen Schoon en De Brabander 95 (2012) 311-346. Portals: Saints Biography Catholicism Belgium...
'Onulfus van Hautmont (ca. 1048), auteur van de Vita S. Gudilae anonymo', Eigen Schoon en De Brabander 95 (2012) 595–643. Van Droogenbroeck, F. J., Nova...
This list of Welsh saints includes Christian saints with Welsh connections, either because they were of Welsh origin and ethnicity or because they travelled...
"Thomas Meunier voelt zich kiplekker na monsterzege tegen Barça en opent eigen zaak" (in Dutch). Nieuwsblad. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017...
Ilah (10 July 2023). "Gemengde gevoelens over vertrek Mark Rutte in zijn eigen buurt: 'Op wie moet ik nu stemmen?'" [Mixed feelings about Mark Rutte's...
Moreover, he is said to have returned from Rome with Caratacus, Saint Cyllin and Eigen and formed a religious college of twelve named Cor Eurgain (the...
2 July 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2018. "Van der Wiel over geel: "Dom, eigen schuld"" (in Dutch). FC Update. 2 July 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2018...
1Limburg | Nieuws en sport uit Limburg (in Dutch). "Ambitieus Den Bosch op eigen veld vernederd in Dallinga-show". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 3 September...
Dennis. "Schepen leefmilieu Zwijndrecht: "Verbod op het eten van eieren van eigen kippen staat zo goed als vast"" [Alderman for the environment of Zwijndrecht:...
March 2016. Minnaard, Mitchell. "Wolff een gebroken rib, De Punder een eigen doelpunt als aandenken". PZC. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016...
sacred space, history and identity in the monastery of Fulda. Amsterdam: In eigen beheer. 1-20. Raaijmakers. Sacred time, sacred space, history and identity...
2019. Verweirder, Luc (10 December 2020). "Cercle Brugge trekt kaart van eigen jeugd: Somers, Decostere en Vanhoutte verlengen tot 2023". Het Laatste Nieuws...
Retrieved 25 September 2022. Melaerts, Lauranne (15 July 2019). "Citytrip in eigen land: deze Belgische steden zijn geweldig om te bezoeken". Newsmonkey (in...
Liesbeth; De Wit, John; Hoogesteeger, Marcel (2005). "Tevredenheid met het eigen lichaam en zelfwaardering van homoseksuele mannen: Maakt een grote(re) penis...
Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 December 2010. "Ann Verhelst stapt uit eigen modehuis". HLN. 20 November 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2019. "Ann Demeulemeester...
Courtois say I do". ynetnews. Retrieved 2 July 2023. "Courtois speelt mee met eigen internethype: Thibauting". Sporza. 21 January 2013. Archived from the original...
Lapillus Chantal Vantomme, fictional character in two Belgian TV series Eigen Kweek (2013, 2016, 2019) and Chantal (2022) Chantalle Ng (born 1995), Singaporean...
'Paltsgraaf Wigerik van Lotharingen, inspiratiebron voor de legendarische graaf Witger in de Vita Gudilae', Eigen Schoon en De Brabander 93 (2010) 113-136....
August 1946 im Alliierten Kontrollrat zusammengefasst: "Es muss nicht eigens betont werden, dass Preußen in den letzten 200 Jahren eine Bedrohung für...
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(in Dutch) Gaspar de Crayer, De onthoofding van de H. Barbara door haar eigen vader, 1650-1669, Brussel, Zavelkerk (in Dutch) Bestuur Monumenten en Landschappen...
Reinildis en Vita S. Berlendis', Eigen Schoon en De Brabander 94 (2011) 367–402. Berlinda at Saints.SQPN.com Portals: Saints Biography Catholicism Belgium...
Netherlands. KNLTB, the Dutch national lawn-tennis association. Vereniging Eigen Huis, the largest home-owners association in the Netherlands; with 700,000...