Neddy’s Palaver :: Saint Edna

Edana of West Ireland, died 516 AD

The feast day of July 5th is celebrated as a memorial for Saint Edna. Her name, Edna or Edana (EH-dah-nah), meant "little fire". Edna, venerated in western Ireland and sometimes written "Etaoin, Edaene or Etaoin", lived near the confluence of the Boyle and Shannon Rivers during the sixth century. Legend says that the holy virgin Edna received her veil from Saint Patrick (circa 390-464) himself. It is believed that she became canonized as Saint Modwenna in the ninth century, but her biography is hopelessly confused with other similar named saints. Few details of her life have survived as she was canonized "Pre-Congregation". In Gaelic, the prefix "MO" means "my"; which suggests that Modwenna or Medana was understood as a devotional phrase, which translated into English is "My Edna".

There are parishes in western Ireland named for Saint Edana. She is the patron of the parishes of Tuarnia in western Ireland in the dioceses of Elphin and Tuam.

The City of Edinburgh, now Scotland's capital, is believed by some to have been named for the Irish nun: "Dùn Édana", meaning "Edana's castle" or "Edana's fortress". Saint Edna went to Scotland and founded a convent there in the 6th century. Many Scottish historians have claimed that the city was named for a fort built there about 638 AD by King Edwin, an Angle from Northumbria. After he captured the site from the Gododdin he built "Dùn Éideann" ( Scots Gaelic for "Dunedin") - Eidyn's fort. However, long before the time of King Edwin, there was Edana's sanctuary, where the Irish nun founded her convent or nunnery.

There is historical evidence that in the 13th century or earlier, it was known as as ‘Castrum Puellarum’ (Castle of the Maidens). There is a legend that in the Dark Ages the Castle was used as a safe residence for Pictish princesses, and it is also believed that it housed a nunnery in that era. Indeed, it was during the time of William the Conqueror that the Saxon princess Margaret and her family escaped to Scotland. The Scottish King took them into "Maiden Castle", where they were safe. A modern rose has been dedicated to Saint Edana; the Double Yellow Rose (Rosa Sulphurea).

Saints of the Feast Day, July 5th
St. Edna or Edana of West Ireland - The City of Edinburgh was named for her: "Dùn Édana" or "Edana's castle".

St. Modwenna of Whitby

St. Modwenna of Polesworth

St. Modwenna of Burton-on-Trent

St. Erfyl

St. Fragan and St. Gwen

St. Grace and St. Probus of Cornwall

"TSI says that Modwena (Moninne, Edana) had many convents. She reposed A.D. 516. Killeavy near Newry in Down continued until the 12th century. She also sought guidance from Ibar for her nuns at Beg-Eri. She is said to have received her veil from St. Patrick. Brigid gave her a silver shrine as recorded in Irish Annals. In Scotland the modern names of Edinburgh and Maiden Castle are associated with the name Medena or Mo-Edana, commemorated in the Breviary of Aberdeen November 19th. Skene says, in Celtic Scotland, that Edinburgh was supposedly named for a fort there built by king Edwin, but long before that was Edana's sanctuary and a place of pilgrimage."

TSI also lists another Modwena today (Moninna) of Whitby, in the second half of the seventh century. As an Abbess in Ireland, king Aldfrid of England who had stayed in Ireland to study for twenty years asked Modwena to be the second Abbess of Whitby after the death of Hilda around 680. The king's sister Elfleda was trained in religious rule and monastic administration, at the request of the king. After Modwena finished helping Elfleda, Modwena returned to Ireland, and Elfleda became Abbess of Whitby. (Celtic Orthodox Christian Monthly)

There is another Saint Edna which seems to be a different one from Saint Edna of Inishmore's 6th Century. She was Saint Modwenna, an Irish nun who lived in the 9th century. The prefix "MO" in Gaelic means "my", so it is suggested that Modwenna may be understood as a devotional phrase, translated into English as "My Edna". This Edna was a princess, daughter of a King. Renouncing her wealth, Edna offered her life to the service of God and people. In the convent she was reowned for her sanctity and miracles. Her feast day is also celebrated on July 5th.

Rosa Sulfurea by Pierre Joseph Redoute. The double yellow rose, Rosa Sulfurea, has been dedicated to Saint Edna.

French Artist of Napolean's Court
In the history of the rose, few families of the roses at Malmaison by Pierre-Joseph Redouté (“Ray-dew-tay”) have immortalized not only the specimens but the artist as well.

Redouté (1759-1840) was born into a family of artists and followed the footsteps of his grandfather and father, both of whom served as painters at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert. With little formal education, Redouté left home at 13 and spent the next decade in Holland and Flanders. There he earned his living as a portrait painter and became acquainted with the sumptuous flower portraits of the Dutch masters.

Redouté, at the age of 23, then settled in Paris. Perhaps inspired by the works of the Dutch masters, he continued his exploration of flower painting. While drawing specimens at the Jardin du Roi, good fortune brought Redouté to the attention of Charles-Louis L’Héritier de Brutelle (1746-1800), a French aristocrat, botanist and bibliophile. Benefiting from the patronage of L’Héritier and the mentorship of the Dutch flower painter Gerard van Spaendonck (1746-1822), Redouté grew as a scientist and artist.

While working in London on a portfolio for L’Héritier, Redouté learned the relatively new technique of stipple engraving from Fransesco Bartolozze (1727-1815). Redouté’s transition to stipple engraving, a technique in which small dots are used rather than crisscrossed lines, increased not only the detail and color fidelity of his work but his reputation as well.

Having survived a period as the official artist to the executed queen Marie-Antoinette, Redouté found in Napoleon’s wife, Jopsephine, his greatest patron. The restoration of Malmaison and the planting of its extensive botanical collections provided Redouté with years of work. His documentation progressed through Jardin de la Malmaison (1803-05), Les Liliacés (1802-1816) and Description des Planted rares cultivées à Malmaison (1812-17).

It is the Les Roses folio, published in three volumes from 1817 to 1824, that has become Redouté’s most widely recognized body of work. In Les Roses Redouté captures the elegance and dimensionality of 117 specimens through his mastery of detail and tonal range. Les Roses remains among the most widely reproduced works of botanical illustration of all time.