Saint Juthwara | |
|---|---|
| Died | c. eighth or sixth century |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Major shrine | Sherborne Abbey (until the sixteenth century) |
| Feast | 18 November (Catholicism) 1 July,[1] 13 (Orthodoxy) |
| Attributes | round soft cheese; sword; with Sidwell; as cephalophore |
Juthwara or Jutwara was a virgin and martyr from Dorset. According to her legend, she was an eighth-century Saxon, and sister to Sidwell, though some historians have theorised she was a Briton living in the sixth century.[2] Her relics were translated to Sherborne during the reign of Ethelred the Unready. Nothing further is known with certainty about her life.
Juthwara's name is how she is known in Anglo-Saxon. Some have suggested that it is a corruption of the British Aud Wyry (meaning Aud the Virgin),[3] the name by which she is known in Brittany. However, since Aud Wyry simply means "Aud the Virgin" (Aud is a Germanic name used in Northern France and not a Celtic name) it is more likely that Aud Wyry is a Breton reinterpretation of her original name.[4] Those who prefer a 6th-century British origin have hypothesised her as sister to Paul Aurelian and Wulvela, though this is debated.
- ^ "St. Juthwara of England", Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
- ^ Farmer, David Hugh. (1978). The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- ^ St. Aude Wyry alias St. Juthwara.
- ^ Sheard, K. M. (2011). Llewellyn's Complete Book of Names: For Pagans, Wiccans, Witches, Druids, Heathens, Mages, Shamans & Independent Thinkers of All Sorts who are Curious about Names from Every Place and Every Time. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications. p. 319. ISBN 978-0-7387-2368-6.