KEYNE (CAIN), saint, (fl. late 5th century - early 6th century)
Parent: Brychan ap Anlach
Gender: Female
Occupation: saint
Area of activity: Religion
Author: Hywel David Emanuel
According to the 'The Situ Brecheniauc' Wade-Evans, vitae Sanctorum Britanniae et Genealogiae, 313-5) and 'Cognacio Brychan' (op. cit., 315-8), Keyne was one of the saintly daughters of Brychan Brycheiniog.
Her legend is told in the summary 'Life' of S. Keyne, compiled in the mid 14th century by John of Teignmouth from an unknown original. S. Keyne, despising marriage and thus winning the appellation 'Cein-wyry' ('Keyne the virgin'), [often shortened to 'Ceinwr ' and 'Gaynor' - or again 'Ceinwen' i.e. 'Cain the holy'], departed from her native region and settled at a place, now Keynsham, in Somerset, where she lived a hermit's life. After many years, she returned to South Wales and established a monastery at a place not identified with certainty, but perhaps Llangeinor in Glamorgan. The 'Life' states that she was buried by S. Cadoc.
S. Keyne is the patroness of Llangeinor, and her name is remembered in Llan-gain and Capel Cain Wyry (parish of Talley) in Carmarthenshire, in Llangeinwen in Anglesey, and perhaps in Machen, Monmouthshire. Other churches named after her occur in Herefordshire, Somerset, and Cornwall. Her festival is celebrated usually on 8 October.
[Avoid confusing Keyne (Cain) with Canna, another female saint (The Lives of the British Saints ii, 69-71). Llan-gain Carmarthenshire derives from S. Keyne, but Llan-gan Glamorganshire and Canton (Cardiff) from S. Canna.]
Author
- Hywel David Emanuel, (1921 - 1970)
- Baring-Gould and John Fisher, The Lives of the British Saints: the saints of Wales and Cornwall and such Irish saints as have dedications in Britain, ii, 52-5
- Horstman (ed.), Nova legenda Anglie as collected by John of Tynemouth, John Capgrave, and others, and first printed, with new lives, now re-edited with fresh material from MS and printed sources by C. Horstman (1901), ii, 102-4
- Acta Sanctorum Bollandiana (1643), lii, 275-7
- G. H. Doble, S. Nectan, S. Keyne, and the Children of Brychan in Cornwall (1930), 34-48
- Wade-Evans, Vitae Sanctorum Britanniae et Genealogiae (Cardiff 1944), 313-8
Sources
- Wikipedia Article: Cain/Keyne
Further Reading
- Wikidata: Q4218975
Additional Links
Published date: 1959
Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/
The Dictionary of Welsh Biography is provided by The National Library of Wales and the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. It is free to use and does not receive grant support. A donation would help us maintain and improve the site so that we can continue to acknowledge Welsh men and women who have made notable contributions to life in Wales and beyond.
Find out more on our sponsorship page.