Bega was reputedly an
early medieval Irish princess who became an
anchoress and valued her
virginity. Promised in marriage to a
Viking prince who, according to a medieval manuscript
The Life of St Bega, (Tomlinson in his translation 'inserts phrases and indeed whole sentences of his own devising, without any warning' and therefore should be avoided) part of a collection of various English saints' lives that belonged to
Holmcultram Abbey in
Abbeytown, Cumbria, and is dated to the mid-13th century. The rest of her biography, according to her
Life, is summarised by the
Victoria County History as follows: The account has Bega living in seclusion, and after a time travelling to Northumbria, where she was admitted to sacred vows. It also states that she founded
Hartlepool Abbey, but modern historians believe the writer of the
Life created a composite St Bega, The first concerns a raider from
Galloway in Scotland, who set out to steal a horse. His mother warned him against theft on the land of St Bega, but her son was scornful and moving his hands to the private parts of his buttocks he tauntingly said, "What can that little old woman do to me?" As he escaped on the horse, arrows were shot after him as he crouched low, and the inevitable happened. The third concerns Godard of Millom, whose men would not remove their horses from the monks' pasture to which they had strayed. When the men came to saddle the horses, they found the hooves almost severed, and in penance, Godard gave the field to the Monks. The seventh miracle tells of three men of
Workington, who were imprisoned in
Egremont Castle for killing a man in a drunken brawl, but having confessed their sins to St Bega, were rescued by her and found sanctuary at St Bees. The ninth miracle tells of two sick brothers who, after seeing a vision at
Tynemouth, travelled to St Bees in a cart, and were healed; leaving the cart as thanks. The register of St Bees Priory records several miracles by the power of prayer to St Bega. In 1310 "God worked many miracles by the prayers and merits of St Bega...to the edification of all the people with many eye-witnesses". In 1313, "A certain Irish boy received his sight in the chapel of St Bega through the merits and prayers of the said virgin, all the community seeing it". The 1999 edition of the
Dictionary of National Biography includes an article (by
Professor Robert Bartlett) that treats St Bega as a mythical figure. A 1980 paper by John Todd offers a comprehensive review of the historical references to that date, including a discussion of her existence. ==Legacy==