*Ø* Blogmanac July 17 | The legend of Kenelm


Lo, in the lyf of seint kenelm I rede,
That was kenulphus sone, the noble kyng
Of mercenrike, how kenelm mette a thyng.
A lite er he was mordred, on a day,
His mordre in his avysioun he say.

[Now, take St Kenelm's life which I've been reading;
He was Kenulph's son, the noble king
Of Mercia. Now St Kenelm dreamt a thing
Shortly before they murdered him one day.
He saw his murder in a dream, I say …]
Geoffrey Chaucer, The Nun's Priest's Tale



Strange tale of dreams and mystery

Kenelm was an English prince and saint, the son of Coenwulf (Kenwulf), King of Mercia, in the early 9th Century. Tradition says he was murdered on his sister's order, at Clent, Worcestershire. This wicked sister, Quendreda (Cynefrith or Quoenthryth), wanted to be Queen of Mercia, but young Kenelm stood in the way.

Somewhere between 812 and 821, Quendreda bribed her brother’s tutor, Askbert (really), to take seven-year-old Kenelm on a hunting trip to the forest of Clent in Worcestershire, far from his home in Winchcombe, and whilst he was there to murder the boy. At this time, young Kenelm had a prophetic dream, as recorded by Jacobus de Voragine in The Golden Legend, or Lives of the Saints:

“And in this while, and at that same time, this young holy king was asleep, and dreamed a marvellous dream. For him seemed that he saw a tree stand by his bedside, and that the height thereof touched heaven, and it shined as bright as gold, and had fair branches full of blossoms and fruit. And on every branch of this tree were tapers of wax burning and lamps alight, which was a glorious sight to behold. And him thought that he climbed upon this tree and Askeberd his governor stood beneath and hewed down this tree that he stood on. And when this tree was fallen down, this holy young king was heavy and sorrowful, and him thought there came a fair bird which flew up to heaven with great joy. And anon after this dream he awoke, and was all abashed of this dreme, which anon after, he told to his nurse named Wolweline. And when he had told to her all his dream, she was full heavy, and told to him what it meant, and said his sister and the traitor Askeberd had falsely conspired his death. For she said to him that he had promised to Quendred to slay thee, and that signifieth that he smiteth down the tree that stood by thy bedside. And the bird that thou sawest flee up to heaven, signifieth thy soul, that angels shall bear up to heaven after thy martyrdom.”

The day of the hunt arrived, and Askbert and Kenelm made for the woods. After the exertions of the chase, the young lad soon tired with the heat and lay down under a tree for a nap. Askbert, meanwhile, began to dig a grave.

Askbert took out his sword to kill the boy, but Kenelm awoke and said “You think to kill me here in vain, for I shall be slain in another spot. In token, thereof, see this rod blossom”, and stuck his walking stick into the ground. Over the years, this grew to be a great ash tree, which was known as St. Kenelm's Ash. Askbert managed to slice off the boy's head, whereupon a white dove flew out of the boy's head and flew away.

Jacobus de Voragine:

“And anon, his soule was borne up into heaven in likeness of a white dove. And then the wicked traitor drew the body into a great valley between two hills, and there he made a deep pit and cast the body therein, and laid the head upon it. And whilst he was about to smite off the head, the holy king, kneeling on his knees, said this holy canticle: Te Deum laudamus, till he came to this verse: Te martyrum candidatus, and therewith he gave up his spirit to our Lord Jesu Christ in likeness of a dove, as afore is said.”

Askbert buried the prince’s body and went to tell the triumphant Quendreda of his success.

Jacobus de Voragine informs us,

“And it was so that a poor widow lived thereby, which had a white cow, which was driven in to the wood of Clent. And anon as she was there she would depart and go into the valley where Kenelm was buried, and there rest all the day sitting by the corpse without meat [food, grass]. And every night came home with other beasts, fatter, and gave more milk than any of the other kine [cattle], and so continued certain years, whereof the people marvelled that she ever was in so good point and ate no meat. That valley whereas Saint Kenelm's body lay is called Cowbage.”

The miracle of the dove

The murder was miraculously made known at Rome by the dove, which alighted at St Peter’s, bearing in its beak a scroll with the words

In Clent cow pasture, under a thorn,
Of head bereft, lies Kenelm, King-born.

[or, depending on source:
In Clent in Cowbage, Kenelm, king born,
Lieth under a thorn, His head off shorn.]

which it deposited on the high altar. Clerics tried to read, but they could not make it out, as it was written in English. At last, however, an Englishman was found, and he told them what it said. The Pope sent emissaries to England to discover the meaning, and before long the searchers found a grave under a thorn by a white cow. When the body was removed from the grave a light shone and healing water sprang from the ground – it became known as Saint Kenelm’s Well, and in time, a small village called Kenelmstowe sprang up around the site of his martyrdom ...

... Read the rest of the tale at the Scriptorium's articles department


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