Saint Canna Explained

Canna
Death Date:6th century
Death Place:Wales
Feast Day:25 October

Canna was a sixth-century mother of saints and later a nun in south Wales, to whom two Welsh churches are dedicated.

Life

According to the writings of the unreliable Iolo Morganwg, Canna was a daughter of King Tewdwr Mawr of Armorica (modern-day Brittany) and Cornwall. She was the mother of Crallo and Elian.[1]

Canna was reputedly the sister-in-law and cousin of Illtud, and possibly established the church at Llangan, near Llantwit, due to its proximity to him. She married Sadwrn, her first cousin or uncle; together they accompanied Saint Cadfan to Britain and founded two churches, one in Carmarthenshire and another in Anglesey.[2]

Veneration

At St Canna's Church in Carmarthenshire, there was a holy well below the old church called Ffynnon Ganna, whose water was believed to have curative properties and was a site of pilgrimage for many centuries. The holy well is no longer extant. There was also a stone known as Canna's Chair, with an undated inscription possibly reading CANNA, in a field near the churchyard.

Her name also appears as part of two Cardiff districts: Canton (English translation of the Welsh Treganna, Saint Canna's Town); and Pontcanna (Welsh for Canna's Bridge).[3]

Canna's feast day is celebrated on 25 October.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Price, Thomas . 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 . 1848 . W. Rees; sold by Longman and Company, London . 534, 536 . en.
  2. Book: Archaeologia Cambrensis: a record of the antiquities of Wales and its Marches and the journal of the Cambrian Archaeological Association . January 1872 . . 4th . 3 . 235–239.
  3. Book: https://books.google.com/books?id=Hcw9AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA39 . Reports and Transactions . Cardiff Naturalists' Society . 1901 . 32-33 . 39 . en . The Placenames of the Cardiff District.
  4. Book: Jones, David Daven . The Cymry and their church . W. Spurrell . 1910 . Carmarthen . 114–115.