Saint Swithun
Ninth-century bishop of Winchester, little known but famous through the rain proverb
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Bishop
- Life
- d. 863
- Era
- 9th century
- Feast
- 15 July
- Countries
- United Kingdom
Life story
Very few contemporary documents mention Swithun. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia he was consecrated bishop of Winchester, probably on 30 October 852, by Archbishop Ceolnoth of Canterbury. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records his death and he appears in some charters. The Catholic Encyclopedia gives the date of death as 2 July 862, while other sources give 863. He was one of two counsellors whom King Egbert of Wessex trusted on church matters and probably taught Egbert's son Æthelwulf. It is often said he was a Benedictine monk and prior of Winchester, but the Catholic Encyclopedia says there is no evidence for this.
Tradition says that on his deathbed he asked to be buried outside the north wall of the cathedral, where passers-by would walk over his grave and rainwater from the eaves would fall on it. About a century after his death, late in the tenth century, his remains were moved to a new shrine, and Dunstan and Æthelwold took him as patron of the restored church of Winchester. The miracles recounted from then on, such as the story that he mended a basket of eggs broken by workmen, appear in lives written around 1000 and later, and scholars treat them as legend.
In 1093 the remains were moved into the new church built by Bishop Walkelin, and the shrine was destroyed in 1538. His feast is 15 July, the date of the first translation. The proverb says that rain on that day means forty days of rain; the Catholic Encyclopedia says the origin of the belief is not generally accepted, and records of weather over many years do not bear it out.
Works and witness
- Consecrated bishop of Winchester, probably on 30 October 852
- Church counsellor to King Egbert of Wessex and probably tutor to Æthelwulf
- Died around 862-863; sources disagree
- His remains were moved to a new shrine in the late tenth century, making him patron of Winchester's church
- Miracle stories and the 15 July rain proverb are legend
Patron of
Winchester Cathedral
Saints from the same country
References
- Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent), 'St. Swithin', 1912
- Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent), 'Ancient See of Winchester'
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.